[Act 3 - Trestkania Technocracy]
—Scribble Scribble…
"Hmm…" A woman in a lab coat reviewed each piece of paperwork, deciding which ones were worth her time and which were not.
Those who were creative and practical received her stamp of approval.
For those that were boring and deemed unworthy…
—Rip!!!
"Useless."
—Rip!!!
"Irrelevant."
—Rip!!!
"Too much budget."
—Rip...!!!
"...Who wrote this article?"
In a flash, she went through the huge pile of paperwork. Her routine in this job had become second nature, as she repeated the same tasks.
But she genuinely enjoyed those submissions that aligned with her tastes.
—Stamp.
"…Approved." She nodded her head, keen about what they would create this time.
"Right, they're currently on a mission responding to a distress call. I wonder what prompted a code-red near our borders?" She leaned back in her chair, stretching her back.
"Was it an accident? If so, that would be really funny." She chuckled, amused at the thought.
"Director, you shouldn't say that, given your position," They interjected, sitting down at the desk to her right.
"Is that so? Weren't you the one who chose to create such an impractical design, Alden?" She looked at him, placing all the blame squarely on his shoulders.
Despite his nonchalant attitude, Alden sighed, feeling exasperated by her usual antics.
"...I'll make sure to change the design once I'm finished with—"
"Don't! Keep it as it is." She cut him off before he could add it to his to-do list.
At that statement, the Director turned to Alden, her expression serious.
"It's best not to allocate any of our remaining resources for small and marginal modifications."
"You just find it all amusing, Director."
"That is indeed correct. Now, that's an order."
"...As you wish."
Flipping her authority card, she did all of this out of spite, as it was her way of dealing with the boredom until the hours passed.
It wouldn't be long until they returned with a report on the situation.
She had a hunch about what had happened if the emblem wasn't pressed accidentally, but it was best to wait for the full story.
"Fufu, it better be interesting, that's for sure."
—Sip…!
Taking a sip of her black coffee, she planned to finish this by noon before they came back.
...
...
...
"...Director, about establishing a recon base on—"
—Ring Ring Ring! Ring Ring—Kachick!
Before Alden could finish, the Director picked up the phone that rang just in time, motivated by one thing: to escape from work.
"Hello, hello? Who's the illiterate currently speaking to me?" she insulted the caller right away.
"..."
…
…
…
"A-An...? Haha, my bad, I thought you were someone else. It's fine, it's fine—not like anyone would care."
…
…
…
"...They've already what?"
The Director's eyes widened; her guess was correct.
On the very first day of entering Trestkania's borders, the person recommended by Orion, her right-hand man, had encountered the calamity that transformed this nation into what it is today:
A Sentinel.
"Pfft... Buhahaha!!!" She began to laugh out loud, hearing unexpected details in the report that didn't make sense.
Discovering the underground shelter they had been searching for months, to eliminating the Morzen Cultist, who could have posed a threat due to the lack of information.
It was like striking a gold mine with a simple stroll into nowhere.
"Orion, you really bought me a nice new toy, didn't you?" She smiled, her excitement exceeding her expectations.
"Director."
"Oh, liven up a little, Uncle."
The Director grimaced, ruining her fun.
"...Sigh." Alden sighed, shaking his head as he decided to focus on his paperwork rather than engage in an argument with her.
"Ahem— O daughter of mine, are they at least safe and sound?" She began to speak in a flowery tone, which usually led to trouble.
…
…
…
"...Fine, I won't call you that again, so please don't let Eskieth blow up the headquarters with her experiments. I'm talking to you, too," she added.
Avoiding a landmine, the Director stood up from his desk for a short break and looked out at the scenery below.
She was joking around here and there, but in reality, a mere encounter with the Sentinel was instant death.
She came prepared with Scarlett, the Ashen Witch, to her journey... but so what?
Sentinel Eldians were beyond humanity's reach.
A superhuman cannot stand against something greater than a superhuman, an ascendant.
To the Trestkanians, this monster bore a name that struck fear into everyone—
Deus Machina.
Their nature was to devour everything, bound to the nation of Trestkania under strict limitations.
If it weren't for a force field that kept them from being discovered, Trestkania would have been completely swallowed whole, lurking along the borders until it found new prey.
She shouldn't forget the reason why humanity still existed.
They had merely been given a chance to live, for without that—
Humanity could be wiped out at any moment if they chose to.
Contemplating the bleak future they currently faced, the Director spun around in her chair.
In an instant, her desire for amusement faded from her face, leaving only the reflection of a brutal dictator, all for the sake of the last leaders of humanity.
"Thank you for your report, An-13. Regroup at headquarters and escort them out of there as quickly as you can."
—Click.
After ending the call, the Director sat back down and pondered what would happen next.
"Alden, what do you think of Aria?" She asked, seeking insight from others' perspectives.
"I believe she poses a threat to humanity," Alden replied, under the assumption that Aria was something else entirely.
Tests had confirmed that she was not a cultist... yet there was still something unsettling about Aria when her blood was tested in secret.
"Her blood appeared normal under standard conditions, but it was mixed with a type of energy we've never encountered before."
Alden scrolled through the files, searching for more information about the entity known as Aria Cyth.
This world has suffered at the hands of the abhorrent creatures referred to as Eldians.
While they were once all essentially the same, a mysterious evolution that occurred a year ago has made them unique—anomalies that cannot be explained by conventional means.
If Aria were an Eldia who had perfectly evolved into a human—something all Eldians strive for—she could potentially spell the end of the world with just a flick of her fingers.
"If we were to be lenient, I would suggest containment and conducting experiments indefinitely."
"...Hmm." The Director considered this, contemplating what could be done with a foreign power source beyond mana.
Humanity needs to utilize everything available before Earth becomes stale and hollow, with the active Pylons growing larger each passing year.
In Trestkania, they allowed 'partial' use of mana, which made this organization possible in the first place.
Demiurge willingly sent their saintess of
Then, Yorselania contributed its alchemy to create miracles that would help alleviate material shortages.
Every nation was helping each other survive for just another year.
If they could harness this Ichor that the subject Aria Cyth speaks of, they could truly thrive and stand against their target:
The Eldritch God, Xelthatl.
...
...
...
"Nah, it's fine," the Director shrugged, dismissing his proposal.
"Do you want to know why I rejected the idea?" The Director leaned forward, a smirk playing on her lips.
"I don't want to know the reason behind it."
"Wrong! It's because the world wouldn't be saved that way."
"...Explain."
Intrigued by the Director's assertion that they could benefit more if the subject weren't contained, Alden regarded her with curious eyes.
"Tell me, Alden. How do you theorize we could take down Deus Machina without access to nuclear weapons?"
"..."
"That's right—there's no conceivable way to bring that thing down with a forcefield that prevents all attacks from hitting it."
"What does Aria have to do with this?"
"She could take down Deus Machine if it's her."
"..."
Silence enveloped the room as Alden stared at the Director, considering the possibility that she might be insane—which, in her view, was a valid belief.
But insanity was common to those living in a world where chaos reigns today.
"No one truly knows what kind of ability Aria possesses. Given her extraordinary efficiency with mana, she's highly valuable, both figuratively and literally."
With an eerie smile, Scarlett gazed up at the sky, contemplating what might happen next.
"What I'm saying is that it's best for her to 'cultivate' her powers. Whether she turns evil or not, what else can we do but accept our fate?"
Humanity couldn't forget the day the moon shattered into two. It was a cataclysmic event, unprecedented in history.
Had luck not been on their side in many circumstances, it could have been the end.
Alden, who yearned for a better future for humanity, nodded in agreement.
"So, for this world to have any hope of being fixed, we need to take risks—is that what you're saying?"
"Aha! You finally get it, Aldy~"
"Do not call me that."
At this moment, the sun began to set, and the moon shimmered brightly.
The Director looked up as the sun sank below the horizon.
This was a gamble she was willing to take.
"Aria Cyth, will you bring salvation to this ruined world, or will you bring it to an end, just as those higher-ups have theorized?"
Like her right-hand man, Alden Thena, the Overseers besides her had considered countless ways to use her—to neutralize her and control her like a pawn—anything to prevent humanity from ceasing to exist.
—But she didn't care.
In a world where all that was good had been cast into the depths of hell,
Conventional methods had become a waste of time.
"It's up to you to decide the future of this world, Aria~."