Chapter Fifty-Eight: Origin II
Cipher Lock — Dead Zone
Roughly thirty kilometers away, a group of Wizards had gathered.
"I can't believe the interference is this strong…"
Mana muttered under her breath.
She stood at the front of a squadron of nearly thirty Wizards.
Beyond this point, they couldn't see anything.
They couldn't even advance further.
Afterall, the turbulence alone was bad enough.
But the EMP waves saturating the area made it outright impossible.
"Is this the power of the Cipher Systems…?"
Forcing their way through would be suicide.
Every CR Unit relied on support systems.
Jet thrusters, activation modules, combat data processors.
Even the micro-realizer embedded in a Wizard's brain depended on uninterrupted signal stability.
And brainwaves were everything to a Wizard.
If those signals were disrupted… A Wizard could be immobilized.
Worse, one could end up like Artemisia.
And this dead zone didn't merely block signals.
It killed them.
The chips implanted in their brains could shut down entirely, rendering them helpless.
"If that's so then shouldn't it also affect Lady Artemisia and her opponent?"
One of the squadron leaders said, levitating beside Mana.
Mana shook her head slowly.
"Artemisia is likely deploying a Territory that overlaps with the dead zone."
She paused, covering her mouth.
In simpler terms—
It was a trap.
Even if he defeated them, he'd be exposed to the interference of the dead zone.
He would lose lift, lose control, and plummet straight to the ground.
"So their objective isn't to kill him outright… but to restrain him."
A wave of relief spread through the Wizards behind them.
Cheers broke out.
"As expected of D.E.M's top brass!"
From a tactical standpoint, it was impressive. And yet..
That also meant whatever was happening inside could no longer be monitored.
Until Cipher Lock was disabled, there was nothing they could do.
Not that it mattered much.
Against X, numbers meant nothing.
Even if Mana herself entered the battlefield, she wasn't confident she could meaningfully contribute.
Honestly, to her, X was more terrifying than Nightmare.
Maybe it's because of the ability to bypass the territory of a wizard that he's a scary opponent.
Regardless...
"So, she really activated it."
A voice sounded as a figure appeared just right in front of Mana.
It was none other than Maya.
"Commander!"
Maya didn't look back despite the call; if anything, she was focused on the space before her.
In her vision, several systems were deployed within her gaze.
She saw the highlight of the dead zone, its length and width.
It was possible to go from above or below, but there was no guarantee she could safely enter.
Then again, she could use her territory to fight it.
But Maya wasn't sure.
"Artemisia is something else; she's holding her territory even with an EMP designed to counter wizards."
If Artemisia can do it, then there's no doubt X might be capable of doing it.
How unfair this world is.
Maya thought back to a few years ago.
Back when the woman she admired most was still alive.
Lysandra Sinclair.
A senior scientist within D.E.M.
Unlike others, Lysandra's work focused on supporting Wizards.
To improve their survivability rather than their combat efficiency.
It wasn't only her.
Lysandra's husband, Aleister, also served as their head engineer of that division.
Luckily, Maya had been assigned to her division.
At the time, Maya considered herself a failure.
Someone who had merely been lucky enough to work under Lysandra.
It was Lysandra's encouragement that kept her going.
Before she realized it, she had begun to see her as more than a superior.
Something closer to a guiding star. Maybe even… An object of reverence.
"Hey, Lysa."
Till now, she clearly remembered that day.
It was a bright afternoon.
The man walking beside her wore a white shirt, black trousers, and a lab overall draped loosely over his shoulders.
Middle aged man, with a goatee, black hair with white streaks, with a candy stick in mouth.
"About that girl who keeps sticking to you. What's her deal?"
Beside him was her.
Platinum-blonde hair tied into a high ponytail. White T-shirt, black skirt, and a spotless lab coat.
She glanced over her shoulder.
Behind a parked car, a high-school girl was awkwardly trying to hide despite failing. Lysandra smiled.
"Ah—she's a junior I got to know recently."
Aleister turned his head toward his wife and let out a long sigh.
"…Yeah, I know that part already. But hasn't she been a bit… I don't know. Fixated on you?"
"Eh? Are you jealous?"
Lysandra blinked.
"Nngh—!"
Aleister's jaw slackened.
He stared at his wife with nothing but pure exasperation before turning his gaze away, rubbing his temples.
"Well… I guess that's how it is…"
Lysandra simply shrugged.
Honestly, she wasn't sure how to handle the situation either.
With a small smile, she decided to leave it to her husband.
"…Right. This again."
Aleister scratched the back of his head.
"Fine."
With a resigned sigh, he turned around and raised his voice.
"Hey, little lady. You can come out now. You're not fooling anybody."
"Eeeee—!"
She let out a shriek, feeling a hand land on her shoulders.
Her head creaked as she turned it to see a man with a goatee giving her a creepy smile.
Maya's face drained of all colors, her soul almost leaving through her mouth.
"Hah—hey! I didn't tell you to scare her like that!"
"It can't be helped, the fastest way to get someone to pull themselves together is a good scare. Hahaha!"
Aleister said cheerfully.
Lysandra facepalmed.
Then she gently patted Maya's head, prompting the girl to turn toward her instead.
"I'm sure I've told you, but this man here is my husband, Aliester Sinclair, and the father of my children."
"L-Lady Lisa already has kids?"
"Oh my, I didn't tell you?"
"...You didn't tell me."
Maya collapsed to her knees as if all hope had left her body, covering her mouth while exaggerated tears welled up.
Aleister and Lysandra exchanged an awkward smile.
"W-well, would you like to meet them? I'm sure you'll like them."
Lysandra said quickly, clasping her hands together with a bright expression.
She leaned forward slightly.
"Especially our firstborn. And of course, there's also our little princess."
Aleister added with a sheepish grin.
T-they had two…?
Maya's mouth fell open, and her expression grew increasingly dramatic.
Until Lysandra gently patted her back.
"Mmn."
"…What?"
"I'll meet them."
Maya declared it firmly.
And that was how it began, a day she would never forget.
The day she met those two.
For a while, it felt like that happiness would last.
But it didn't.
D.E.M. was a massive corporation.
Plus, within something that large, competition was ruthless, especially among those who wielded power.
According to the official reports, it was an on-site accident.
It was supposed to be a relatively safe experiment, afterall, Lysandra herself had said so.
And yet—
For reasons no one could properly explain, it turned into a catastrophic incident instead.
And unfortunately, that day happened to be one where she wasn't feeling well.
If she had been there…
Maybe she would have sacrificed herself to protect them. But she wasn't.
That was the truth.
She mourned her weakness more than anything else.
Maya knew D.E.M. was involved.
She had always known, but knowledge without proof meant nothing.
Even if she could prove it, what would it change?
She was just a Wizard, and a high-schooler in her third year.
..And suddenly, she was left behind with two children belonging to the person she admired most.
She understood one thing immediately:
While she was with them, she couldn't openly carry out her plans.
That much she knew.
But Morgan, like a godsend, proposed she adopt Ashley while he would live alone.
He would give Ashley seventy percent of everything they had left.
While he would have the remaining thirty.
Maya wanted to refute him.
But his decision left no room for argument.
No matter how she tried, she couldn't find words strong enough to oppose him.
With Morgan removing himself from the picture, she was finally free to act.
So she left for D.E.M.'s headquarters in England with Ashley.
With the funds Morgan had left behind, they managed to live a stable life.
And Maya worked harder than ever, doing everything she could to support Ashley day by day.
She studied their research and spent a lot of time understanding it.
Ironically, Cipher lock was the opposite of what it was supposed to do.
Rather, its original purpose was the exact opposite.
To create an omnipotent territory that enhanced a Wizard's operational abilities.
Not the sinister dead zone it was now.
But fate had other plans and Ashley eventually found out she was a Wizard.
And it was then she exposed everything to Ashley, who then expressed her desire to become one.
But under one condition:
To protect Morgan, Maya made Ashley cut all connection with Morgan for the time being.
And they did just that, and Maya fulfilled her promise, applying for her to be a Wizard.
Because of that, Maya worked even extra hard to hide all connections to both.
Harder still, she climbed the ranks.
Unexpectedly fast.
She became an agent, dispatched across countries.
And every mission she was given, she completed flawlessly.
Until she reached the top, high enough to interfere with the organization itself.
Thus, she took advantage of that power to implement a new system.
Along those lines, one could guess what she did.
However, today, she didn't expect what would happen.
Cecile O'Brien, who was calm, collected, and a cool-headed strategist, did what she did.
There was no doubt D.E.M would have connected the dots; the places she went to were under D.E.M's watch.
Of course, she didn't kill Cecile.
That was all an act, but a very risky one.
Now, she had a bad premonition of whatever was happening.