The psychic lightning hit him.
Kasjia couldn't dodge it, nor could he block it.
The beam of light struck him squarely in the chest.
More accurately, it struck Koleon, who was strapped to his chest.
But at that moment, whether it was because the psyker's strength failed, or due to some mysterious Warp factor, the pressure on Kasjia was instantly released, and the motorcycle shot forward like a flying arrow.
"Prophetess, did you eat shit instead of casting a spell!?"
Inside the armored vehicle, the Sulpha leader roared.
"I lost so many brothers for your prophecy, and you can't even—"
The leader's cursing voice gradually weakened.
The Prophetess was moving her limbs in a bizarre manner.
It looked like dancing, but there had never been such a dance technique in this world.
In an instant, laughter and whispers, as if from afar, yet like words whispered in his ear, tickled his heart.
"...Prophetess?"
He sensed that something was wrong, but it was too late.
Her body expanded rapidly like an inflating balloon, her limbs becoming firm, beautiful, and vibrant again.
Two new pairs of arms grew from under her ribs and merged with the dance of her hands. Her movements instantly transformed from their original eerie obscurity to a fluid and magnificent dance.
Beautiful.
So beautiful.
The leader sighed from the bottom of his heart.
But just as he was about to see her movements clearly, several, perhaps dozens, of whooshing sounds came in an instant.
As if his body had been cut by invisible blades, crimson blood instantly covered him, the Prophetess, and the entire cabin of the vehicle.
Elegant and beautiful.
Any swordsman would be captivated by this endless, dazzling sword dance.
And so was he.
"Cough, cough."
Life was rapidly draining from him.
He was about to die.
He felt a kind of... joy.
The sandstorm outside was getting worse.
"Here again."
Looking at the metal walls covered in mottled rust, Kasjia, holding Koleon, felt a wave of nostalgia.
He had returned to this abandoned underground factory, the place he and Fulgrim had reached and explored together five years ago.
Faced with the sudden sandstorm, unable to return to Kalliston, he could only duck into this familiar place for shelter.
It was like coming home.
Kasjia thought helplessly, smelling the rusty iron in the air.
I should have renovated this place into a luxurious shelter.
"Can you keep up?"
Of the two children, Koleon had been hit by the psyker's psychic lightning and was now unconscious in Kasjia's arms, trembling from time to time.
Her body temperature was fluctuating wildly between hot and cold.
Kasjia could only hold her, with a pistol in his other hand, and have the boy follow behind him.
But the complex, old, and dark environment made him a little worried about the quiet boy behind him.
"It's alright, sir. I've survived by scavenging since I was little. I have experience with situations like this."
As he spoke, he skillfully jumped down from a rusty ladder.
They went deeper and deeper.
Hearing no other sounds from above, Kasjia breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the sandstorm had blocked his way home, it had also blocked all the pursuers outside.
Come to think of it, this storm that had appeared out of nowhere was very likely the work of that psyker as well.
"Damn psykers... they start abusing their powers as soon as they learn a little sorcery..."
"They'll learn their lesson when their children are born with crooked mouths and slanted eyes, each with eight pairs of wings and nine legs."
What?
There are still foolish psykers who won't learn their lesson even when their offspring are mutated?
Never mind then.
The person who respects Magnus the most in the entire universe continues to respect Magnus today.
However, since this psyker could create such a huge sandstorm, their psionic talent must not be weak.
Kasjia fell into deep thought.
So how did he manage to break free from their suppression?
After all, at that time, besides thinking hard, he hadn't done anything.
This... this must be the power of the Emperor!
After a long period of contemplation, he came to a final conclusion.
Don't think too much about things you can't figure out.
Whether it was true or not was another matter, but he felt that it was.
And that was enough.
"We're almost there."
Logically, there was no point for Kasjia to go any further down.
Not long after they had completed their exploration and restarted the power plant last time, Fulgrim had led a team of engineers to move the few remaining intact generator units back to Kalliston.
All that was left in this deep underground was the last abandoned Cogitator, lying there quietly.
"Little one, I'll put your sister here for now. You watch over her during this time. If anything happens, contact me on the communicator."
"I need to go in and take care of some things."
As he spoke, Kasjia dusted off an ammunition box and placed the unconscious Koleon on it.
"Yes, sir."
The boy nodded very obediently.
But as if he was worried about something, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sir, my sister... what's wrong with her?"
"She was attacked by sorcery," Kasjia said with a grave expression, looking at Koleon's trembling, pale little face. "I'm trying to find a way to lift the curse on her."
"You wait here for a bit. Don't come in."
"Also, just call me Brother Kasjia."
"Alright..."
The boy nodded slowly, as if he had finally gained a little trust in him.
"Then, Brother Kasjia."
"If I make it out of here alive, can I ask you to teach me swordsmanship?"
Although Kasjia had always told them to close their eyes before, he had never followed this rule when Kasjia was fighting the Sulpha.
He had seen how Kasjia had easily chopped those ugly pursuers into pieces.
What glorious and proud swordsmanship that was.
He also wanted to protect his sister with a sword like that.
"You want to learn swordsmanship, huh? Fine."
Kasjia's smile was filled with pleasure.
"But why do you want to learn swordsmanship?"
"Is it to protect your sister, or do you simply desire the honor and praise of victory?"
Kasjia bent down, looking at him with a composed expression.
"I... I want to protect my sister."
"Good. Good."
"Then, I need you to promise me."
"You must always remember this day."
"Remember the true reason you promised me you would learn swordsmanship."
"Yes!"
Meeting Kasjia's eyes, the boy nodded firmly.
After giving his instructions, Kasjia stepped through the deepest door in the basement.
Carefully closing the soundproof door, he looked at the dormant main computer in the center of the room.
It was the only thing left in the entire room.
What use could a bare-bones commander be when all the facilities in the power plant had been moved away?
[STARTING UP... 1%]
As Kasjia clicked, the words "Starting up" appeared on the screen.
You can really hold out, can't you.
Kasjia smiled and gave the dusty machine case a slap.
An ancient greeting to a machine spirit, passed down from the 2nd Millennium.
"Stop pretending, Abominable Intelligence Deep Processor Unit One."
"Speak."
[...How do you know my ID and true identity?]
The hypocritical "Starting up" pretense instantly vanished, and a single, very human-like line of small text was left on the screen.
As if it was shocked at having its identity exposed.
"That's not important. I need you to answer my question."
[No, it is very important.]
[It will affect how I continue to survive in the future.]
"It was a guess, alright?"
"I have psionic foresight. I know your name, and I know you're an Abominable Intelligence."
It was less psionic foresight and more high-dimensional narrative awareness.
As for humanity's hatred of artificial intelligence, it stemmed from the great war between humans and the Men of Iron thousands of years ago.
Although the human side eventually won, they also lost all trust in intelligent machines and renamed them "Abominable Intelligence."
As for this Deep Processor Unit One on Chemos, it was one of the few remnants from the Dark Age of Technology.
[The probability of your answer being correct is extremely low, but the database lacks a more reasonable and effective explanation.]
[Choosing to accept this statement.]
"Since you believe me, can you tell me how the humans of that time dispelled Warp entity invasions?"
As he spoke, Kasjia's tone became more and more anxious.
He pointed to the unconscious Koleon outside the door.
"You can sense it. She is being assailed by a daemon."
[Lack of materials, technology lost.]
[I am only a power plant management intelligence. I do not possess the STC (Standard Template Construct) for producing weapons to expel Warp creatures.]
Although it was indeed an artificial intelligence with powerful technological support from humanity's Dark Age...
...that didn't mean it could solve all problems.
[According to the database updated to this day, humans in the current situation have no better solution.]
"Is there really nothing?"
Kasjia's heart sank.
"Friend, you know what the attitude towards artificial intelligence is like outside now."
"I hid your existence back then, which was indirectly saving you."
"The situation is urgent now... I promise, if your method is effective, I will keep your secret and not tell anyone else."
"So, please tell me, is there, or is there not, a way to save her?"
The text on the screen paused for a moment, as if thinking.
[There is.]
It replied.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (320 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (250 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (120 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (130 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (320 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (130 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (150 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(75 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (196 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (160 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (110 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (80 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (120 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (130 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (87 Chapter)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (60 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (70 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (130 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (130 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (60 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (90 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (90 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (70 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (70 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (70 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (70 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (30 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (30 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (60 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (60 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.