Chapter 14: Once Upon a Time

"Now, where should I begin..."

"Please, start with your relationship with A37... with Chrono White."

"Very well. It is a long story. It was roughly ten years after I became a Phantasm Girl. Not to boast, but I had already begun to show my talent as a strategist. However, my combat skills were only average, so I desperately needed someone to execute my plans. At the time, they tried to assign me one of the 'Originals,' who were considered the top three strongest units back then."

"It wasn't A37?"

"The higher-ups had decided that mass-produced models were insufficient for the task. However, on my way to the rendezvous point—and even before that—I had heard rumors of A37. They said there was a 'strange Lica' in the ranks. The moment I laid eyes on her, I made up my mind. I said, 'This girl is my partner.'"

Alter spoke slowly, occasional silences punctuating her words as if she were carefully unravelling each individual thread of her memories.

"Naturally, they opposed me. But I pushed through. I told them, 'I will show you results. This girl and I will save the world together.' Our progress as a duo was like swimming against the current. It was slow going at first, but A37 never failed to carry out my orders. We crossed raging rivers and climbed the waterfalls of death. Out of both affection and a desire to give her something more than a serial number, I played with her lot code and named her Asuna. Asuna A37. It felt as though I had found my one and only best friend... and yet."

The sound of Alter grinding her teeth was loud enough to reach our ears.

"The government took Asuna back. They made up some convenient excuse about her being a 'singularity' or a 'beacon of hope for mass-produced models.' Fools. Asuna’s true strength was far beyond the control of any ordinary commander. Sure enough, they eventually decided they had been mistaken—that she wasn't fit to be my partner after all—and they threw her back into a mass-produced unit. That was sixty years ago. Recently, I received word that A37 had been decommissioned. I was filled with such bitter regret... I wished I had gone to get her sooner. And despite all that..."

A loud thud echoed through the room as Alter slammed her hand onto the table. Her tightly clenched fist had turned white, the blood drained from her knuckles.

"To think she has become a Slayer."

"What exactly happens when someone becomes a Slayer?"

"For starters, they no longer receive maintenance. They spend their lives wandering, forever on the brink of death. They cast everything aside, dragging their broken, aching bodies across the earth, risking their lives for the sake of the blue sky. Why should they be forced to do such a thing? By rights, those arrogant pigs who love nothing more than looking down on everyone from their high perches should be the ones fulfilling that role."

There was a weight of ninety years behind those words, a bitterness toward the current government that only someone with her history could express.

"But back to the point... what was that power Asuna used? Mass-produced models aren't supposed to have special abilities. Girls who show an aptitude for Phantasm Girl status but lack a specific ability are the ones who become mass-produced units. Asuna should have been the same."

"I don't know. Up until now, we suspected it was some kind of time-related power... but she summoned a greatsword out of thin air."

"So it is something even more anomalous..."

Alter rested her chin on her hand, her mind clearly racing. In that posture, she looked strikingly similar to Asuna.

"Very well. At the very least, we have confirmed what we do not know. Our first priority is to track Burnatville. He is our only lead to finding Asuna. Will you lend me your strength?"

"Of course. Or at least, I'd like to say so—but is everyone else okay with this?"

"If the Commander has decided, then so have I."

"Hmph. It’s annoying, but she did save our lives. I suppose I’ll just have to dig up a weakness or two of hers to even the score."

"I’d love to talk to her! I wonder what kind of tea she likes."

"Thank you..."

Alter bowed her head deeply, and none of us could find the words to stop her.