Chapter 58: Give Me That Order You’ve Always Protected, Once More.
Splosh... splat...
Formalin used for preservation spilled out across the gaps in the floor, its surface trembling as it tried to find balance amidst the filth of the battlefield.
I cradled her mangled body, shielding her pierced shoulder—a wound that would be fatal even by the standards of a Phantasm Girl.
"Alter!"
"Asuna..."
"It's okay. You’re still alive."
It was an explanation that had been repeated countless times, but normally, Phantasm Girls are designed to never grow physically. However, those who survive fierce battles and learn the weight of passion—those whose hearts are truly shaken—eventually discover a potential they had never been able to tap into before.
The more they endure, the stronger they become; the more they are moved, the more fragile their hearts grow. Eventually, their original forms can no longer contain that power, forcing their limbs and bodies to transform into something far more potent.
Those who have suffered more than anyone else—they are the ones who become S-Class Slayers. It is a cruel irony that no matter how much they try to discard their humanity, their hearts remain more human than anyone's.
But I digress. In short, Alter possessed the experience from back when she and I used to play the hero together, and after coming into contact with Dr. F’s legacy, she had evolved even further. She was now every bit the equal of an A-Class defensive specialist.
"I won't let you die. We still have so much left to do."
Healing an original is a grueling process. My own regeneration involves a simulated repair through the use of OYS, using the bodies of mass-produced units who met an honorable death in Dr. F’s laboratory—our makeshift hideout—as the cost.
Well, the right hand I ruined when I cured Amurica of her curse (refer to Chapter 23) was flooded with so much Heart-Scar attribute that it couldn't be regenerated, so I had to get a transplant.
Anyway, because Alter has lived for so many years, her internal structure is vastly different from that of a normal unit.
"But no matter how much you’ve been androidized, you’re still fundamentally human."
Visualizing every organ I could remember, and pushing the energy in my left eye to its absolute limit, I began to rewind the damage to her vital organs like a film playing in reverse.
"As... una! You can't... win like this."
"Don't talk, Alter! It’s okay. I’ll leave just enough energy for us to escape!!"
"I know you aren't counting yourself in that plan, Asuna!! Besides, even if we lose them here, I've seen the future—we'll just be slaughtered shortly after."
".....!? Alter, you..."
"I'll give you the coordinates for an efficient restoration. Commander Amane, you navigate. The time limit before he moves again is 32.43 seconds. There’s no time—can you do it?"
".....That’s not the right line, is it, Alter?"
"Ah... right. You're right."
"Prove to me that I'm not wrong, Asuna!!"
"Thirty seconds? I’ll have time to spare!!"
Receiving that nostalgic command—the heavenly order I had yearned for and waited so long to hear—I poured every ounce of my consciousness, from my past life to the present moment, into this body. Into Lica-A37.
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