Gelli nodded defensively, crossing her arms. "Fine, yes! I'm a Founder, okay?"
Haruto's eyes went wide. "Wait, does that mean—"
Cutting him off before he could finish, Gelli sighed and threw her hands up. "Yes, I'm a reincarnation too! The Goddess of Wealth, to be exact."
"Oh..." Haruto muttered, a sudden wave of understanding washing over him. "That explains a lot."
Gelli gave him a knowing smirk. "By the way, your transformation during the Wizard Quests was pretty massive. Impressive stuff."
Haruto jumped back a fraction, staring at her in sheer shock. "Hold on, how do you even know about that?! All your memories were supposed to be completely wiped!"
Gelli tapped the side of her head with a smug little grin, letting the heavy gold rings on her fingers click together. "I've got a few special cheat-tier mental defense cells stored away. Let's just say I managed to bypass the wipe."
Lilith let out a dry, unimpressed scoff, waving a hand dismissively. "Alright, fine, so you kept your memories. Big deal. But let's cut to the chase—tell us what you're actually trying to pull here. Why did you really come to this sector? Were you trying to meet up with the others, or is there something else going on?"
Haruto leaned forward, narrowing his eyes slightly. "If you actually managed to find them, what were you even planning to do?"
Gelli crossed her arms, looking away with a defiant huff. "I came to stop those two from tearing each other apart, obviously."
Lilith let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Stop them? Right. And how exactly were you planning to do that when they would've probably shot you on sight?"
"How?" Gelli stammered, her voice pitching up in panic. "Because I actually talked to them—!"
She suddenly froze mid-sentence, her eyes darting nervously toward the door as her face drained of all color. Wait... a cold sweat breaking out across her forehead. "Um... where are they right now?"
Lilith blinked, her smug expression faltering for a split second. "Well... they went out for a mandatory walk together."
Gelli's jaw dropped, and the color completely drained from her face. She looked at them like they had just lost their minds. "Are you guys completely brain-dead?!"
Lilith bristled instantly, stepping forward. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you have any idea who those two are?!" Gelli yelled, throwing her hands up in utter disbelief. "Those two are practically walking natural disasters! Leaving them alone together without supervision means they've definitely found some empty sector by now and are actively trying to murder each other!"
The room fell dead silent as the sheer weight of her words crashed down on them. Haruto, Lilith, and Gelli all stared at each other, wide-eyed and paralyzed by sudden, collective panic.
Haruto leaned forward, narrowing his eyes slightly. "If you actually managed to find them, what were you even planning to do?"
Gelli crossed her arms, looking away with a defiant huff. "I came to stop those two from tearing each other apart, obviously."
Lilith let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Stop them? Right. And how exactly were you planning to do that when they would've probably shot you on sight?"
"How?" Gelli stammered, her voice pitching up in panic. "Because I actually talked to them—!"
She suddenly froze mid-sentence, her eyes darting nervously toward the door as her face drained of all color. Wait... a cold sweat breaking out across her forehead. "Um... where are they right now?"
Lilith blinked, her smug expression faltering for a split second. "Well... they went out for a mandatory walk together."
Gelli's jaw dropped, and the color completely drained from her face. She looked at them like they had just lost their minds. "Are you guys completely brain-dead?!"
Lilith bristled instantly, stepping forward. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you have any idea who those two are?!" Gelli yelled, throwing her hands up in utter disbelief. "Those two are practically walking natural disasters! Leaving them alone together without supervision means they've definitely found some empty sector by now and are actively trying to murder each other!"
The room fell dead silent as the sheer weight of her words crashed down on them. Haruto, Lilith, and Gelli all stared at each other, wide-eyed and paralyzed by sudden, collective panic.
Gelli quickly waved her hands, gesturing for them to listen. "There's a way. When we first built this city, we set up a massive AI core down in the basement right at the center.
It wasn't just for network management—any sector within its radius automatically logs spatial data. Even if someone steps outside the city limits, their location cache stays backed up in the system for at least two days so law enforcement can track down criminals." She frowned, her expression dropping.
"Though, when the Founders split up and everything fell apart, that central hub broke..."
Haruto blinked, a sudden realization hitting him. "Wait... the gampid system AI? Actually, I fixed that a little while ago."
Gelli's eyes widened in sheer astonishment. "Impossible..."
Without wasting a second, she tapped the sleek golden bracelet on her wrist. With a soft hum of energy, a glowing blue spherical robot materialized out of thin air, hovering right behind her shoulder.
Haruto stared at it, his jaw dropping. "Wait... isn't that Daisy's weapon spirit? Wait, why is it glowing blue?!"
Gelli smirked, crossing her arms. "Hmm. This is actually my weapon spirit's core, but it shares the exact same framework as Retro and Zero—Philo's weapon spirits. They were built on the same foundation, which means they can sync up and function together."
Just as she finished speaking, the glowing blue sphere chimed cheerfully and projected a crisp, digital voice into the room: "Master! You finally called me!"
"Can I ask you something One?" Gelli asked to the floating sphere.
"Is the Gampid city back online? Can you scan for a minute and say,
'Yes Master, I have sensed it's online and it's continuously trying to contact me'?" One said.
Lilith stared at the glowing blue sphere with a blank expression, crossing her arms. "What even is this thing?"
"You don't have a weapon spirit, so you wouldn't get it," Gelli replied smugly.
"Hmph. Right, sorry I'm lacking," Lilith muttered sarcastically.
Without missing a beat, Gampid projected a wide holographic screen into the center of the room. The glowing avatar flickered to life, bowing respectfully.
"Master Gelli! It is an absolute honor to see you again after all this time. You've finally returned to my system!"
"Gampid, you're actually online?" Gelli gasped.
"Yes, Master! Give me your orders," Gampid replied eagerly, its robotic tone sharpening. "I know you didn't summon me for no reason. Is there an urgent task?"
Gelli leaned in closer to the projection, her expression turning urgent. "Gampid! Can you track the exact locations of the other two Founders?"
"Affirmative, Master. Both of them are currently down in Layer 80," Gampid stated instantly.
"Just as I thought!" Gelli hissed, her eyes widening. "They're fighting!"
"Master, may I make a request before you go?" Gampid asked hesitantly.
"What is it? Spit it out," Gelli urged.
"Please feed me a portion of your essence-matter so I can draw more power for the transport," the AI requested.
Gelli didn't hesitate. She pressed her palm against her chest, drawing forth a brilliant, glowing orb of condensed wealth-essence. She caught the glowing sphere in her hand and tossed it straight into Gampid's core projection.
"There, teleportation set! Fire it up—I am heading down to Layer 80 right now!"
Before Gelli could finish inputting the coordinates, Lilith grabbed onto her arm with a tight grip, her eyes flashing with stubborn determination. "You're not leaving me behind. I'm coming too."
Gelli immediately shook her head, waving her hands in alarm. "Are you out of your mind?! You're a princess by official records, and your registered account level is only Level 4! You wouldn't even survive the atmospheric pressure in Layer 5, let alone Layer 80!"
Lilith smirked, standing her ground. "I'm a reincarnation too, in case you forgot."
Gelli blinked, pulling her hand back in sheer disbelief. "Wait... what are you talking about?"
"She's telling the truth," Haruto chimed in, crossing his arms.
"Plus, I'm already Level 15," Haruto added, puffing his chest out slightly. "And my stats keep going up thanks to my intense training."
"You stay here Haruto, you will not be able to survive layer 80 like that. Just believe me and wait." Lilith ordered.
"Ok I believe in you and your powers." Haruto said.
Gelli stared at him, then back at Lilith, her expression turning skeptical.
"Look, it's cool that you're a reincarnation and all, but you weren't originally from Layer 80. You won't be able to handle—"
"I was never said to be from Layer 80," Lilith interrupted smoothly.
Gelli let out an exasperated sigh. "Then see? Exactly—"
"I'm Level 99," Lilith finished casually, a faint, pink aura flickering to life around her as she unleashed a fraction of her true presence.
Gelli froze completely, her jaw dropping open as the sheer weight of Lilith's statement crashed down on her. She stared at the princess, her eyes wide with absolute horror and shock. "Are you seriously kidding me?!"