Chapter 397: Detection
Evernight Academy – Branch Library
Early that morning, the Skeleton Colleague responsible for the second floor
ascended to the third-floor Ancient Archives and knocked on the door.
Zero response.
He knocked twice more. Still a statistical zero.
The skeleton pushed the door open to find the room vacant. The registration
ledger was spread across the desk, opened to yesterday's date, but today's log
remained a blank void.
"Sophy" had failed to manifest.
The skeleton descended to the first floor to locate the Director. "Director,
Sophy has not initialized her shift today."
The elderly human woman peered over the rim of her glasses. "Did she submit a
leave-request?"
"Negative."
"Audit her dormitory."
The skeleton complied. The dormitory door was locked; the interior was vacant.
The bedding was organized with clinical precision. On the desk lay a pen and a
small notebook dense with handwriting.
"Subject is absent. Assets remain on-site," the skeleton reported upon his
return.
The Director offered a dismissive "Mhm," not considering it a high-priority
variable. "Perhaps a sudden personal logistics issue. We'll wait for two cycles.
If she remains offline tomorrow, we'll liquidate her position and initialize a
new recruitment protocol."
The skeleton nodded. Before departing, he cast a look back toward the third
floor.
He had sensed a "Logic Error" regarding the new assistant. She spent her entire
uptime submerged in archaic documents, rarely initiating social synchronization.
And during sustenance processing in the cafeteria, she had looked at him—a
standard skeleton—as if he were a terminal system crash.
To each their own sub-routine, the skeleton thought, returning to the second
floor to resume book-transport.
The Dwarf colleague approached him again. "Hey, Bone-man. Assistance required?
My lumbar unit has suffered another 'Stumble Event'."
"Your lumbar fails daily."
"Because you accept the 'Help' prompt every time!"
"...Do you even possess a spine, or is it just a collection of excuses?"
The Dwarf chuckled.
Iron Fortress Territory – Evernight Castle
Simultaneously, within the Sovereign's Manor, Sophia was experiencing the most
taxing morning of her masquerade career.
Three of the Seven Generals manifested at different intervals to provide
administrative audits.
First: Skele-Avarice.
"My Sovereign, the ruin investigation team for the Elven Forest has finalized
its configuration. Uncle Sloth is acting as Lead Unit, accompanied by a mid-tier
company of Elite Undead and the third squad of the Imperial Archeological
Bureau. Deployment initializes in three cycles."
Sophia flipped through the manifest Avarice handed her.
Sloth. One of the Seven Sins.
During her battle with Kaito, she had witnessed the Authorities of the Generals
grafted onto his frame: Envy's arrows, Pride's greatsword, Wrath's mount,
Sloth's shadow-prowling, Lust's elements, and Greed's Word Spirit. But she had
never encountered the actual units themselves.
"Approved," Sophia responded, keeping the vocal output at a minimum.
Avarice exited.
Second: Skele-Gluttony.
A colossal skeleton entered, his armor so thick it functioned as a mobile
fortification. He nearly triggered a "Structural Damage" alert by grazing the
doorframe.
"My Sovereign, report on Border Patrols. Eastern perimeter: nominal. Western
perimeter: detected trace activity of Feral Undead; liquidation protocol
executed. Northern..."
Gluttony's report was dense, saturated with micro-details. Sophia nodded
throughout the data-stream, attempting to simulate a standard response. She
noted a specific behavioral habit in Gluttony: he paused after every data-block,
awaiting a "Logic Confirmed" signal.
If Kaito traditionally provided directives during these intervals, she needed to
manifest a safe variable.
"Continue," Sophia commanded.
Hearing the prompt, Gluttony resumed his data-dump. Sophia felt her internal
"Stress" parameter de-escalate. 'Continue' is an optimal safety-command.
Gluttony concluded his audit and exited.
Third: The variable Sophia dreaded most. Skele-Lust.
Lust had already manifested once the previous night. She had flagged the
"Stride-length" deviation. Sophia had manually recalibrated her gait today, but
Lust's high "Perception" stat meant zero room for error.
Lust entered the hall. This time, she held zero files.
"My Sovereign."
"Mhm."
Lust stood at the desk, the soul-fire in her sockets auditing Sophia for several
seconds. Sophia maintained her focus on the documents, refusing to look up.
"Speak."
"I am auditing a specific logic path," Lust said, her tone casual—lacking the
formal bureaucracy of the other Generals. "Regarding the Old God."
Sophia's hand did not pause. "Status?"
"We have maintained global sweeps for a significant duration with zero results.
Either the entity is 'Gou-ing' at a level that bypasses our sensors… or..." Lust
paused. "Or it has already executed an action that we have yet to identify."
Sophia manually increased Lust's "Threat Level" in her mental archives.
"Which variable do you favor?" Sophia queried.
"The latter," Lust replied decisively. "An Old God waking after eons does not
simply return to sleep. It must execute a 'Reconnaissance' protocol. Gathering
intel, auditing the global state, probing our combat-stats. It is statistically
probable these actions have already occurred without triggering an alarm."
Sophia offered a silent, cynical smirk. Correct. I have indeed performed those
tasks. And I have achieved more than your simulations can calculate.
"Your proposed counter-protocol?"
Lust considered the variables. "Expand the audit radius. We stop looking for
energy spikes and start auditing Anomalous Personnel Shifts. New faces, new
hires, recent travelers—any unit that does not match the historical Imperial
Archive needs a total screening."
Sophia's heart-rate (simulated) spiked.
New hires. Like a library assistant working for 8 silver coins.
"The administrative burden for such a task is terminal," Sophia said, feigning
an evaluation of resources.
"High burden, high priority," Lust insisted. "My Sovereign, an Old God is not a
standard 'Pest.' If an entity of that tier causes a Logic Error, the resulting
fallout will be a Planar Catastrophe."
Sophia remained silent for several heartbeats.
If she rejected the prompt, how would Lust interpret the data? Would it flag as
a behavioral deviation? Kaito was notoriously obsessed with security; becoming
"Passive" regarding an Old God would be a massive Logic Error.
Refusal is not a viable path.
But if she accepted, the audit would eventually localize "Sophy" at the library.
They would find she had vanished the same cycle the Sovereign manifested in
Orlando. The data-points would connect. The truth would manifest.
Sophia calculated at terminal speed.
"Execute," she stated. "But prioritize the Critical Nodes. The Transit Hub,
Arcane Garrisons, and the administrative hearts of the territories. Rank
standard towns and villages at the bottom of the queue."
The logic was sound. An Old God seeking to "搞事" (cause trouble) would target
high-value assets, not a backwater library. Lust's audit would be funneled
toward the "Big Targets," leaving Orlando Town for the final phase.
Securing time-buffer: Success.
"Understood," Lust nodded.
Yet, she did not initialize an exit sequence.
"Further variables?" Sophia asked.
"My Sovereign, I wish to verify a hypothesis," Lust's soul-fire pulsed with a
sharp, inquisitive light. "Your manifestation in Orlando Town… did you localize
a lead?"
Sophia felt the pressure reach a terminal threshold. "Reasoning for the query?"
"You rarely initialize a personal excursion. Your last solo manifestation was
the Eldritch Realm annexation. This sudden trip to Orlando… I assume it wasn't a
leisure activity."
Sophia audited Lust. This skeleton's "Deduction" stat was dangerously high. She
needed a rationalized explanation.
"There were variables that required a personal audit," Sophia said flatly.
"Verification complete. Logic Error resolved."
"Specifics?"
"Linked to your global sweep. The Planar Authority detected a deep-stratum
fluctuation that required a field-check. It was identified as a False Positive."
The response explained the trip while simultaneously liquidating Lust's
opportunity for further questioning.
Lust's soul-fire flickered. "A False Positive?"
"Mhm."
"...Very well."
Lust finally turned to depart. At the threshold, she paused once more, looking
back over her shoulder.
"My Sovereign."
"Status?"
"Your stride-length is nominal today."
The door clicked shut.
Sophia sat in the chair, her bony fingers tapping the desk in a slow, silent
rhythm.
Lust. Detection rating: Extreme.