"You really move fast. It's only been one day, and you've already cleared everything out!"
Eta had been sitting on a stool, sketching something on a sheet of paper. Hearing the fierce voice behind her, she stopped drawing and calmly turned to look at the pink-haired girl.
"Didn't you say you were giving me the lab?"
Eta tilted her head, her voice puzzled, her expression innocent.
"I said I'd give you a lab. Why did you empty out my lab?!"
The thought of returning after parting with Cid, only to be told that the lab she had spent months in had been stripped clean of all its materials and equipment, made Sherry want to punch the expressionless Elf in front of her.
"Ah, the lab you gave me didn't have enough materials, and the equipment wasn't very useful. Then I happened to see that your lab was quite good."
"So I thought, since there's only one day left and you won't need it anymore, I might as well use everything at once. Maybe, at the very last moment, there'll be some major technical breakthrough..."
As she spoke, Eta stood up, walked to the other side, and opened a door wide. From Sherry's angle, she could see the room was packed with materials that were obviously expensive at a glance, along with instruments she could not understand.
"You're welcome to join me at any time. In certain areas, you're better than me. You have the qualifications."
Faced with Eta's words, which showed no awareness whatsoever of how outrageous her actions were, and her attitude as if she cared nothing about anyone else, Sherry's fists clenched.
"Haa... Fine. You have a point. I really won't need those things anymore. If you want them, you can have all of them."
"But return some of the basic tools to me. I need them for something right now."
Remembering that the Elf girl in front of her was not only the friend who had helped complete her plan, but also a key part of the plan herself, Sherry could only swallow her frustration and state the real reason she had come.
"...Interesting. I remember all the preparations for our plan were already finished. With your personality, at a time like this, you still have the leisure to do something else?"
When she heard Sherry's request, Eta's lazy expression stiffened so faintly it was almost imperceptible. In the next instant, she returned to normal before Sherry could notice.
"It's just an order from my current employer. He suddenly found a Sacred Gear User and wants me to perform a fusion activation procedure and mind-control surgery on him. Some of the tools needed for that surgery were taken by you too."
Sherry explained with open displeasure, her eyes filled with disgust toward her employer.
"Activation... mind control... That sounds like a test subject with considerable research value. Are you interested in telling me what grade of biological Sacred Gear it is?
"An ancient dragon species, an extremely rare fusion-type Sacred Gear, or a mythological-tier divine beast or magical beast?
"If you don't want to disclose that to me out of loyalty to your employer, then telling me the test subject's origin is fine too. I'll see whether I can obtain another one like it."
A gleam flashed through Eta's eyes. From Sherry's few words, she had sharply guessed what kind of test subject Sherry was talking about, and she asked with clear interest.
"An ancient Evil Dragon-type Sacred Gear. A particularly troublesome Evil Dragon type, at that. If you want to get involved, do it now. Once the plan starts tomorrow, he'll probably be snatched away by those Evil Dragons from the Khaos Brigade."
"One experiment, two sets of eyes watching it unfold. The hunters think they're closing in, never realizing they're being hunted themselves. Those terrorists really are entertaining.
And you, Sherry, playing errand girl for half the factions in town, you're entertaining too.
As my Master would say: when it comes to warriors, there's Lü Bu; when it comes to horses, there's Red Hare…"
Knowing just how gullible Sherry's current employers were, Eta could not help letting a faint smile tug at her lips. The evil factions involved included the Khaos Brigade, the Cult of Diablos, the Fallen Angel High Command, and Netheril. Yet among these terrorist forces, all of them top-tier villains in both reputation and substance, how many would actually receive the reward they wanted from the two of them's plan?
"I don't know what you're trying to say, but if you don't want to join in, then return my tools and I'll do it myself."
"An Evil Dragon test subject... I really do want it, but if it has to be handled tonight, forget it. I have more urgent experiments to run on my side."
"But... since the Evil Dragon is going to be taken away and can't be touched, can I cut a few pieces of meat from the Heavenly Dragon upstairs for experiments? A Heavenly Dragon is far more valuable than an ordinary Evil Dragon."
Sherry, who had already walked up beside Eta, stopped when she heard that and looked suspiciously at the purple-haired Elf in front of her.
"You... don't tell me you're regretting this?"
Eta did not answer directly. She merely tilted her head in confusion, as if she did not understand what Sherry meant at all.
"A lot of people think they aren't afraid of death, but when death actually comes for them, they end up kneeling on the ground, begging the Grim Reaper to spare them."
What would someone nearing their death look like?
Sherry did not know. She could not apply her own case to other people, but it certainly should not look like Eta, who was leisurely reserving enough experimental materials to last several years.
"Don't compare me to people like that. They're nothing but animals ruled by their own flesh, unable to use their obsessions to overcome their survival instincts."
"Master once said that people are people because they can control themselves. Those who can't even control their own instincts are just animals wearing human skin."
"And my obsession with Master surpasses that of anyone else in this world, including you."
It was still Eta's usual lazy tone, but Sherry could clearly see the madness hidden deep in her eyes.
"I understand. I'm sorry for doubting you, Eta. I was being too suspicious."
"Not a bad apology. You're already better than those brutes who'd rather die than admit they were wrong, all for the sake of their pride. Besides, we've already taken precautions. I'm not going anywhere."
Eta smiled and raised her right arm. Strange magical symbols on her wrist glowed faintly.
"Compared to my little problem, shouldn't you be the one on guard right now, Sherry? Your state is clearly off."
"Thank you. You know, Eta, I've always considered you my closest friend. I'm just a little nervous myself..."
With Eta's reminder, Sherry realized that seeing Cid today had affected her emotions and hurriedly tried to explain.
"Stop. I'm not interested in your private affairs. Go in and get your things."
As she spoke, Eta opened the door. The Slime Suit on her body liquefied into tentacles and pushed Sherry inside.
"Thank you... Eta, about the funds you took today..."
Sherry quickly found what she needed and walked out of the room, thanking Eta. Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, she brought up another matter.
"You think I took too much?!"
"...I'm just worried it might affect the plan."
Looking past Eta at the laboratory packed full of experimental equipment and materials, Sherry could only phrase it tactfully.
"Don't worry. I won't do anything that affects the plan."
"...I trust you."
Watching Sherry leave, Eta turned her head toward her laboratory. In the area Sherry had not touched, the packed experimental materials and instruments flickered, like a computer screen suddenly short-circuiting.
"I won't do anything that affects the plan. So if it doesn't affect the plan, then I can do it."
The corners of Eta's mouth lifted slightly. She turned, shut the door, and walked outside.
...
Did my place get robbed?
Cid stared blankly at the living room, which looked as if a typhoon had swept through it, with everything in a complete mess. That thought surfaced in his mind.
"Ah, Cid-san, you're back. Give me a moment, I'll clean this up right away!"
Asia, wearing a headscarf and kneeling on the floor as she tidied the room, poked her head out from the bedroom and spoke with an embarrassed look.
"Uh... There's no rush, Asia. Can you tell me what happened here?
"Why is everything such a mess? There are sword marks on the walls, and it looks like something exploded."
"Um..."
Asia awkwardly scratched the back of her head and shifted her gaze toward the door to Eta's room.
Following Asia's gaze, Cid saw a spirited-looking girl lying on the floor. She wore a combat bodysuit, and her short blue hair had a streak of green running through it. A sword was still stuck in the floor beside her.
"Xenovia? Why is she here? Wait, why is she unconscious?"
Recognizing who the girl was only confused Cid further. Ever since Xenovia and Irina Shidou had left the day before yesterday with the Church warriors who attacked Rias and the others, the idiot duo had not returned. Why had she suddenly come back now?
"Well, Xenovia-san... She suddenly came back just now and said she needed to look for something.
"I asked if she could wait until Cid-san came back so we could look together, but Xenovia seemed really anxious. She said there was no need and started searching."
"After that, Xenovia asked whether she could go into Eta-san's room. I remembered that Eta-san said this morning that anyone who wanted to go in could go in, and that there wasn't anything private in the room, so I nodded. Then a robot about this tall jumped out and started fighting Xenovia. In the end, it knocked Xenovia unconscious, scanned her, and disappeared."
By the end, even though Asia knew she was talking about something that had happened to someone else, fear still flickered in her eyes. If Xenovia had not opened the door for her, she would have been the one lying on the floor now.
You're getting better and better at entrapment, Eta.
After hearing the whole story, Cid nodded as if he understood everything. After all, he was the one who had taught Eta that trick.
He did not really care that the robot had scanned Xenovia from head to toe. It was just one of Eta's little jokes, the kind she used to play all the time.
Eta was probably the most special of the Seven Shadows. Aside from constantly surprising him, she spent every day saying top-tier chuunibyou things like how, apart from him, no lifeform in the world stood above her, and how she had secretly conducted evil experiments on all of the Seven Shadows, herself included.
But in truth, Eta was all bark and no bite. She had the desire, but not the guts. At most, what she did counted as pranks. Otherwise, with all the strange and wonderful tools Eta had created, she could have taken out the other six all by herself if she had no reservations.
"Um, Cid-san, what should we do about Xenovia now?"
Asia asked nervously, her gaze shifting back and forth between Xenovia and Cid as she stood there at a complete loss.
"That? Easy. We just wake her up."
Cid quickly walked over to the unconscious Xenovia, raised his fingers as if about to snap them, then lightly flicked her forehead.
Then...
"Ow!"
With a smile, he watched as the unconscious Xenovia let out a shriek like a startled cat, slammed her head into the ceiling, then landed and rolled around while clutching the spot he had flicked.
"Hiss... Cid? Why am I here? And why does my head hurt so much?"
After rolling for a while, Xenovia finally recovered. She pulled out the Holy Sword beside her, held her forehead, and asked the person she knew best with confusion in her eyes.
"I should be asking why you're here. This is my house!"
"As for why your head hurts so much, I have no idea. I only flicked you lightly, and you ended up like this. Maybe it's your own problem."
He was lying to Xenovia. Cid knew perfectly well why it hurt. Just now, his finger had been in a state where soul and body overlapped, creating a physical and soul attack at the same time. Without a firm will or a protective mechanism that acted directly on the soul, it would deal fixed true damage that ignored strength.
"...It does seem like I came here on my own. But why did I come here?"
Eta, don't tell me whatever you made this time has an amnesia effect too.
Watching Xenovia actually stand there with her arms crossed and start thinking, Cid rolled his eyes, wondering if Eta had created something outrageous again. Come to think of it, the last time he met Eta, she seemed to have come up with some project and had even tried to get him to invest in it...
"I remember!"
Xenovia suddenly shouted, cutting off Cid's recollection. At the same time, a force tugged at him from the front.
"Thud!"
With an extremely grim expression, Xenovia grabbed Cid by the sleeve and quickly pulled him aside. She loomed over him in a wall-slam posture.
"Give it to me."
Her voice was so faint that if Cid had not possessed extraordinary hearing, he would not have been able to make out what she said.
"Hmm?"
"Don't play dumb! Cid, you and I both know what I'm talking about."
"Oh... You mean that will full of apologies and all kinds of guilty deeds, the one that feels like it was written by some idiot who still hasn't graduated from chuunibyou?"
Pretending to come to a sudden realization, Cid clapped his hands and stared intently at Xenovia.
"...Yes."
After a long silence, Xenovia finally nodded.
"You should've said so sooner. I've been keeping it for you this whole time."
Cid had only just taken a sheet of paper from his pocket when Xenovia snatched it away. Holy Power surged in her hand and instantly destroyed the will.
"Cid, you don't know what was written in there, right?"
After destroying the evidence, Xenovia looked down at Cid, her voice dark.
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?"
"You don't know what was written in there, right?"
"...There's a limit to self-deception."
"Cid, I consider you a friend. Don't force me to hit you with a memory wipe for slandering a Church warrior!"
"Heh!"
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