Chapter 281: Returning to Chaldea
After the defeat of Kiara Sessyoin, the oil base fell into a state of collapse and rapidly sank into the deep sea. At the critical moment, BB, who had been hiding behind the scenes, used her authority to perform a forced transfer, moving everyone into the broadcasting room.
Gudako, who had fallen into a deep sleep due to the shock, twitched her brow and woke up.
"Good morning, Gudako. Please rest easy; your brainwaves and pulse are all normal," said the girl with the pink ribbon, Passionlip, with a kind smile.
"Ah, good morning... Is everyone okay?" Gudako asked, looking around from her spot on the floor.
"Ugh... I'm exhausted. My head is spinning..." Beside her, the fox-eared JK, Tamamo-no-Mae, shook her head, her face pale as if from mental overexertion. She had used her Noble Phantasm to borrow the wisdom of the Buddha to assist BB with high-intensity calculations.
Nearby, Tamamo Cat stepped forward with a cake to comfort the fox girl. As the two spoke, relaxed smiles returned to their faces.
"What about Shirou-senpai, Tristan, and the others?" Gudako sat up, turning back to ask with a smile.
"The human youth went elsewhere, and that red-haired archer departed ahead of time."
"I see... They're both quite resilient, so there's no need to worry. Wait? She's not here?" Gudako blinked in confusion and scanned the room. Though other Servants were present, she couldn't find any trace of that specific girl.
"Senpai?" BB asked, noticing the girl's sudden tension.
"Where is Lilith?" Gudako looked around and turned back with a questioning gaze.
"..." This time, BB wore a complicated expression and remained silent.
.
.
.
About ten minutes prior.
Meltlilith, being a top-tier Servant, was the first to wake up after the transfer.
"Ah... this is BB's management room... Ah! I was saved by that Shirou, and then... did he return here as well?" the girl with the blue ribbon said, recalling the scene.
"Don't worry. You mean that man? He didn't follow us; he left using another method. He doesn't seem to have entered this place in the same time period as Gudako-senpai, and he appears to have other business to attend to. So mysterious, always acting cool to attract the
attention of young girls?!" BB grumbled under her breath with a look of vigilance, then looked at Meltlilith to warn her: "Don't go getting tricked just because a man treats you with a little tenderness!"
"Fickleness is bad... but I can understand the feeling. That person truly is very kind. When he handed Lilith over to me, he even told me to be careful," Lip said from the side, her face slightly flushed.
"Hah! I don't care about that guy!! Ow..." Meltlilith shouted excitedly with a red face, but because she had forcibly used their combined Noble Phantasm twice, her Saint Graph was nearing its limit.
However, she had changed Gudako's fate and protected her favorite Master, so that was enough. As the girl thought this, the sight of the fluorescent light emitted by her dissolving body no longer seemed frightening.
Yet, when she remembered the moments spent with her most precious Master (doll), the petite girl still showed a look of reluctance and asked:
"Well, even if I survived the crash, the result is the same. My Saint Graph is at its limit. BB... what will happen to us after this?"
BB looked seriously at the two girls—they were her creations, essentially her daughters, though they felt more like sisters. She spoke: "Naturally, you will disappear. You won't be going anywhere."
"If you were normal Servants, even if the Saint Graph were destroyed, as long as the record remains on the Throne of Heroes, you could be summoned again. But you aren't Heroic Spirits; you are individual aspects split off from Kiara Sessyoin, so you won't be reclaimed by the Moon Cell. Once you vanish, you will be processed as things that never existed in the first place."
"..." Both girls looked lonely, but they had actually guessed this from the beginning.
The girl with the long purple hair and red ribbon suddenly flashed her trademark small-devil smile and said, "However... that's the logic of the 'Good Boy' Moon Cell! I am the Butterfly of the Moon (Cancer), MoonCancer BB-chan!"
"I'm going to register you as 'abnormal logins' in this world right now. Because of the special circumstances here, the Throne of Heroes is starving for Heroic Spirits, so turning you into Servants will be quite simple."
"Really! BB!" Lip asked in surprise.
BB nodded in confirmation, then twitched her brow in slight annoyance. "Mhm! Since I plan to use this method to stay behind myself. Honestly, the Moon Cell used me as ammunition—once fired, I can't be brought back. I was ordered to stop the 'Conception of the True Demon' and then told to just quietly vanish. How heartless."
"But if that's the case, even if I stay here, I won't be under the Moon Cell's management anymore. Even without the resources of a supercomputer, I can still be myself and do something for the humans here." BB narrowed her eyes and smiled.
"Good grief... that's so like you. As an AI specialized in causing trouble, you really are the type to love finding loopholes and engaging in 'irregular' activities," Meltlilith said with a wry smile.
"But it's because of BB's craftiness that we don't have to disappear," Lip said happily.
"Ah, Lilith! You will vanish here, but I will preserve your Spirit Core. Then, as a Servant, you'll be 'reused' as a tool by humanity. At that time, just like other Heroic Spirits, you will be summoned as a 'Fresh You.' The 'Current You' can't continue to exist. Is that alright?"
"Yes, that's fine! But I should say thank you to the people who helped me. Because of them, I survived and got this chance to go to the outside world..."
BB nodded and put her hands on her hips. "Understood! Your application is accepted. I'll begin the preservation process before you dissolve! Any last words you want to convey?"
"No... none. There's nothing else, BB... For her, I am just an Alter Ego. This is fine; this is enough. Our meeting was a miracle to begin with, because she and the person who found me in the church are now on different timelines. This is enough for me. I didn't fight because of 'love' or because I wanted something. I only spread my wings from the lake's surface because I wanted to experience falling in love!" the petite girl said with a final smile.
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BB recounted these events to Gudako and smiled slightly. "So, I'm passing on her message: 'We shall meet again if fate allows!'"
"I see... she really is... so stubborn until the very end..." Lip said, tears falling.
Just then, a familiar golden fluorescence flashed in the broadcasting room—the precursor to a Chaldea Rayshift.
"Well, it looks like it's time to say goodbye. Gudako-senpai, since the game has been perfectly cleared, there's no reason to keep you kidnapped any longer," BB said to the girl.
At that moment, the various Servants in the room also began returning to the Throne of Heroes. Lip opened her large eyes wide and looked at her Master.
"Master, it looks like I'm leaving too. But before that... hya!"
Chu!
"She... she kissed her..." To the side, BB-chan—who claimed her "Love Level" was higher than the other two—was stunned.
Boing, boing.
"The chest... her... chest!" BB-chan—who claimed her "Love Experience" was richer than the other two—was stuttering.
Lip had leaned forward, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, and pressed her lips against the girl's cheek before burying Gudako into her bosom.
She gave a shy smile and said: "I caught you by surprise. Lilith told me I had to do something before we parted, so I worked hard to do this. Since I have nothing else to give back, I can only repay you like this."
"Well then... we part for a while, Master. Thank you for saving me, for not hating me despite being an Alter Ego, and for saving Meltlilith... thank you for everything. Goodbye for now. If possible, I want to meet you again! Master!" the girl said with a final smile.
"Ugh... in terms of romantic offense, Lip is a much tougher opponent than Lilith... I really can't underestimate them for a second..." BB said with a complicated look.
However, the girl quickly regained her composure, turned to the Master, and said with a laugh:
"Well, you over there! That's right! You with the silly grin on your face! This place is about to vanish, so I'll send you out first. Senpai! Your performance was truly wonderful. BB-chan is very moved! If fate allows, let's meet again in the Digital Sea!"
The Rayshift activated in the next instant. Gudako felt a flash of light, and then she was back at Chaldea.
"Oh? Gudako? What's wrong? When did you get here?" Da Vinci, standing there, looked at the girl in surprise.
"Ah, Da Vinci-chan! By the way, where is Shirou-senpai?" Gudako asked urgently.
"Hmm? Shirou? Why bring him up all of a sudden? In that world, he's busy as can be with all sorts of things," Da Vinci said with a mischievous grin, covering her mouth as she recalled scenes she had peeked at through Mini-Vinci.
"No, it's good that he's okay. I just have some things I want to confirm with him, and... I want to perform a Servant Summoning," the girl said with a smile.
"Senpai? Were you looking for me?!" A grinning purple-haired girl wearing a cloak suddenly appeared and asked.
"Ehhh?! Why?! BB, why are you here?" Gudako cried out in shock.
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