27 Successor 1

The moment she saw that form, Mio understood everything.

More accurately, she remembered.

The memory lost when Mio transferred her consciousness into her current body.

Synchronizing with her original form, the forgotten memory returned.

It was——memory from before meeting Jin.

Memory from before being called Higashi Mio.

"……ah"

That memory was shorter than the years she had lived as Higashi Mio.

Yet it overwhelmed her self-awareness in an instant.

Her definition of self was rewritten.

"Ah! No! No! No!"

She screamed.

Understanding what she truly was.

Being forced to understand.

Eight years of living as Higashi Mio drove her to scream.

"I am…"

Her eyes glowed red.

In response, the camera eye of the white humanoid ASID also glowed red.

She realized it.

The one before her is the true self.

This giant form is Mio.

Then who is this self standing here now?

This form that resembles a human—

"I am not a human—"

The moment she began to utter that definitive word—

The scorpion-type moved.

It no longer even glanced at May.

Its gaze fixed directly on Mio.

The white humanoid blocked it, intercepting the remaining pincer as it reached to seize Mio.

The motion stemmed from Mio’s defensive instinct.

She was aware it was her body reacting, not thinking—her reflexes, not her will.

Yet if instinct could act, then will could too.

Amid the shattered fragments of thought, Mio struggled to reclaim a single guiding principle.

Protect everyone.

No matter what she truly was.

No matter how others saw her.

She alone decides what she will do.

"May, san"

Enduring the pain in her chest, Mio calls out.

A being not of human kind cannot call May her sister.

"If you can move, take everyone and run. I will hold this place."

Without turning back.

Mio stares at the scorpion-type.

Resentment.

If it weren't for this one.

She would never have realized her true nature.

No—had she merely followed Mio’s command in the first place.

She might have known the truth, but chosen to look away.

She could still have remained within the circle of humanity.

But now—she cannot return.

She cannot look back.

She does not know what gaze they are giving her.

She fears seeing it.

If that gaze carries fear.

Just thinking of it freezes her neck, motionless.

"What are you saying, Higashi. You're acting like you're..."

"Please don't say it, Higata-san."

She did not want to hear any more.

She did not want to hear anything more from Jun.

She knew, just as well as he did, that saying more would only cause pain.

And one more thing— if she was to be selfish.

"Please don’t look."

I beg you.

"Please don’t see us."

Not him. Not like this.

"Emissa-san, Masaru-san."

Behind her, the presence of the two shifted.

Was she this sharp now—able to sense such a thing?

Or was it the high-precision sensory array of the core body, feeding her the data?

At this moment, Mio could no longer tell the difference.

Neither was false. Neither was real.

Not the machine body of that Mio.

Not this body of flesh and bone.

Both were real. Both were her own.

"I’m sorry."

For dragging you into this.

For deceiving you all this time— even if I never realized it myself.

There was more she wanted to say—much more.

But this was what had to be said first.

And this was all that needed to be conveyed.

She did not want to hear the reply.

She knew what insults might come, yet still did not want to hear them.

So she shouted.

Mio’s metallic scream swallowed every other sound.

Junpei’s voice.

Emissa’s voice.

Satoshi’s voice.

May’s voice.

Makoto’s voice.

Mio’s own voice.

All of them erased.

The scorpion-type roared in defiance.

Mio raised her fist, face set in resolve.

Go somewhere else.

In response to the first true feeling of rejection, Mio answered.

A white giant body ignited with light.

Etheric glow.

The flame of Mio’s soul, burning fiercely.

Focused into a single point at the fist, she swung it forward with all force.

The scorpion-type’s face collapsed. Its massive body flew into the air.

Tens of tons of mass began to fall under the artificial gravity of the ship—then halted midair.

As if by some unseen mechanism, thin, invisible threads had been woven through the space.

Their origin was Mio’s hair-like components.

Extending in countless directions, they stitched the scorpion-type together.

"I won’t forgive you."

A voice of resentment escaped.

Hate.

Mio understood now what it meant to hate.

This was her first experience hating anything.

Even when she had once despised Chi for striking Jin’s cheek, she had never felt such hatred.

"Disappear—don’t be here in front of me!"

She had never before wished for her to vanish.

Mio, bound to her hatred, responded with perfect loyalty.

Countless threads.

Coated in ether, they resonated in unison.

The sound was like a symphony of string instruments struck at once.

Beautiful in sound, yet what it brought was utterly destructive.

The scorpion-shaped casing, touching the source point of the tremor, collapsed.

Same as the Long Sword held by the Black Knight—or a more advanced vibrational weapon.

An instrument that delivered annihilation, reducing only its target to dust.

In mere seconds, the scorpion form retained no trace of its original shape, dissolving into dust.

A human presence still lingered behind.

"Tougo—"

Shu was beginning to speak.

Or perhaps beginning to act.

Before he could proceed, Mio moved first.

Mio’s hair-like components shifted swiftly, carving a single line behind her.

Shu halted his step, staring at the line deeply etched into the road.

As if to mark it as something never to be crossed.

"Goodbye."

Mio leapt onto Mio’s palm.

Mio was certain she could fly.

Mio’s hair flares outward, spreading like a halo as her massive form begins to float in midair.

Mio launches herself toward the ship's outer hull with a motion like sliding.

The gaze of no one remained.

No longer need to worry about anyone asking.

Mio whimpers, her face twisted—yet no tears fall—as a child might cry.

Help... help... please, father... help me...

To the one I rely on most.

Call upon the most dependable father in the cosmos.

But Mio understood as well.

I am not human.

As an ASID.

If that were the case.

Jin, Mio's father, is.

He is a military officer of the Defense Force and an ace pilot.

Mio is the enemy of Otō-san.

What should I do?

Where should I go?

Mio understands nothing now.

One thing was certain: they could not remain here.

This is a human world.

A place where a monster that attacks humans has no right to exist.

Reaching the airlock, she analyzed and unlocked it instantly.

Now conscious, infiltrating electronic systems and seizing control was effortless.

Looking back, she seemed to have used this ability unconsciously before.

Emerging into the vacuum.

Mio was still flesh and blood. Yet she had absolute confidence she would be fine.

She had thought, if she were to die here, it would be acceptable.

As expected, Mio’s body remained unharmed in the vacuum.

Just slightly cold. And the lack of air made her feel slightly lighter.

“Ah….”

No sound carried in the absence of atmosphere.

Yet the sound reached only her own ears—the vibration echoing through her own body.

“Truly… I am not human.”

If she were wounded now, it would hurt. Blood would flow.

But if she sustained a fatal wound, she would feel nothing. Blood would cease to flow.

This body might mimic humanity up to a point, but beyond that threshold, the pretense would surely end.

The flesh-and-blood body Mio had forged was structurally identical to a human's, yet it did not replicate function.

Mio realized this only after connecting with her.

Drifting through vacuum, she gently plucks the key from her pocket.

Something vital. Something that must not be lost. Her place of return.

Ah… yes, she realizes now.

She will never go back to that house—