Covenant Error
Chapter 6 – Imperfect Command
---
The quiet morning was interrupted by an urgent notification.
> [Incident at Intermediate Combat Zone]
[Students trapped inside]
[Suspected artificial spatial interference]
Elias immediately left his office.
Rei followed.
"I did not give an order," Elias said.
"High risk. Support is optimal."
---
The combat zone was covered by a distorted veil.
The space inside was folded like a shattered mirror.
Three students were trapped at the center.
A black interference core floated above their heads.
Not an accident.
Intervention.
Elias lightly clenched his teeth.
"Someone is testing you," he said quietly.
Rei did not react.
Only evaluated.
Distance to the core.
Degree of spatial distortion.
Probability of total zone collapse.
"Direct rescue probability: 42%," Rei said.
"And if we destroy the core?"
"May cause a backlash explosion. Students will die."
Elias lowered his voice.
"Priority: save the students."
"Understood."
---
Rei stepped into the distorted zone.
Gravity changed with every step.
Sound warped.
His body began adapting.
But this time was different.
Space was shifting continuously.
Not in a cycle.
Someone was controlling it remotely.
Rei stopped.
If he continued the normal way—
He would need three minutes to read the pattern.
Three minutes was too long.
The students ahead began to be pulled toward the core.
Elias prepared to transform into shadow.
His mana surged.
But Rei spoke:
"Not recommended."
"Why?"
"Your magic will destabilize the core."
One student screamed as the ground cracked further.
There was not enough time.
Elias looked at Rei.
"I give an order."
A brief beat.
"Save them."
Rei nodded.
---
He accelerated.
No longer avoiding optimally.
Accepting collisions.
A shard of space, sharp as a blade, sliced across his arm.
Blood sprayed.
He did not stop.
He reached the first student.
Threw them out of the interference zone.
The second.
The ground vanished.
Rei pulled hard, his shoulder dislocating.
No expression.
Only completion.
The third—
The core began collapsing.
Space twisted as if trying to crush everything.
Rei had two choices.
1. Retreat.
2. Stay and absorb the entire backlash.
He calculated.
If he retreated → survival probability of the third student: 18%.
If he stayed → probability of severe injury to himself: 76%.
Rei did not hesitate.
He pushed the student out.
The core exploded.
Black light swallowed him.
---
Elias immediately transformed into shadow.
He plunged into the collapsing zone.
Mana flared.
The dark core within him cracked slightly.
He found Rei lying at the center of the crater.
Body full of tears and wounds.
Breathing weak.
But alive.
Elias pulled him out.
Said nothing.
Only held him tighter than necessary.
---
Recovery room.
Rei lay motionless.
His body was regenerating on its own.
Wounds closed while he slept.
But the speed was slower than usual.
Because his mana core had been overloaded.
Elias stood beside the bed.
"Why didn't you retreat?"
Rei opened his eyes halfway.
"There was an order."
"You could refuse."
"Not within contract."
"I did not ask you to self-destruct."
"Mission completion probability was higher when accepting damage."
Elias clenched his hand.
"You are not a machine."
Rei looked at the ceiling.
"I do not understand the difference."
---
Outside the recovery room, the Council argued fiercely.
"He took the backlash instead of the students."
"Not because of emotion. Because of an order."
"That is even more frightening."
One elder said quietly:
"If someone gives the wrong order… he will do it."
---
In the darkness far from the academy, a hoarse-voiced man watched a recording crystal.
"He chose to stay."
"No hesitation."
"Exactly as predicted."
Another asked:
"So the next step?"
The man smiled.
"Let's see what he does when there is no order."
---
Late at night.
Rei fully awakened.
The wounds had disappeared.
Only the familiar emptiness remained.
Elias was still there.
Had not left.
"You exceeded safe limits," Elias said.
"Understood."
"Do you regret it?"
Rei thought.
A longer delay than before.
0.5 seconds.
"… No."
"Why?"
"Mission completed."
Elias lowered his head.
"Rei."
He looked at him.
"Next time… if I do not give an order, will you save them?"
The question was not in the contract.
No direct data.
Rei calculated.
No order → no clear mission.
But the variable "teammates" had been updated from the tactical class.
He recalled the lecture:
> Prioritize the collective.
A new line of data inserted into his internal system.
> Saving teammates = optimal long-term environment.
Rei answered:
"… Yes."
Elias looked up.
"Not because of an order?"
Rei looked at him.
A micro fluctuation appeared.
"No."
For the first time—
An action had been chosen without relying completely on a command.
---
A hidden status panel flickered before Elias's eyes:
> Rei (零)
EQ: 0
Independent decision recorded
Deviation from tool-model: +0.7%
Very small.
But not zero.
---
Deep within the summoning system—
A new log line appeared:
> Subject beginning to establish its own action criteria.
No longer completely dependent on the covenant.
And in the darkness—
An observing force whispered:
"Finally… he has chosen."
Arc 1 was approaching its bending point.
The error was no longer just an error.
It was learning how to decide for itself.