Tale of Discovery

Sir Isaac reacts to my actions fairly quickly as he moves backward in order to stay away from me, but the two girls don't do anything, resulting in me directly clashing with the two of them.

Clash, I say, but more like the two of them running into the blade of my scythe, as they put up close to no resistance against my agile and lethal assault, resulting in the two of them both end up cleanly cut in half before falling toward the ground.

After this, I look over at Sir Isaac, only to find him floating in the air with the same smile he had on when he appeared first.

Now that I think about it, what was the ability that he tried to use on me? It seemed like it had something to do with his eyes, considering how they glowed and the words he spoke after he failed to use the ability on me.

In case it's a useful ability, I should refrain from finishing him off efficiently, but rather focus on taking him down instead.

And so, with my objective decided, I look into the man's cold eyes before gripping Excalibur and utilizing Blink to appear right behind him.

The next moment, I swing Excalibur which is endued with Holy Essence at Sir Isaac's back, which he surprisingly dodges by having his body 'fall' forward.

So he can react to such speed, huh? Could his current parameters be on par with what mine have been limited to?

{Negative.}

Startled by AI's abrupt voice in my head, I ask: What do you mean by that?

{Father's current physical capabilities far exceed the opponent's.}

In that case, why wasn't I able to strike him just a moment ago? Does he possess some ability that helped him dodge or something?

{Negative. The reason that the opponent could dodge Father's attack was that Father isn't making use of Agility's full potential.}

Hm? Are you saying that I am inexperienced in using my body's enhanced properties?

{Affirmative.}

Great… No wonder it felt like something was amiss whenever I made use of my already absurd speed during battles. Admittedly, it did help out quite a bit, but there was always this feeling that more could've been done.

Taking a glance at Sir Isaac, who has moved away from me once more, I ruminate over what could be Agility's full potential.

If I were to take reference from someone with absurd speed, it would be a character from a movie I had seen in my life back in Project Future.

In the movie, the character's perception of the world got faster, making everything seem 'slow' to him. Perhaps…

{Discovered: Enhanced Cerebration}

Following AI's voice, the air around me seems to become tense as the noises I was hearing in the distance from the battle between Kurumi and Dominion become way less.

Using Clairvoyance, I check the two of them out, only to realize that their battle has 'become' slow, or more likely, my perception has become faster than before.

{Warning: Father's Humanity has reached below 25%.}

This again…

I have yet to understand the significance of the 'race' feature from my status. All I know is that the 'old' me desired to be human for some reason. Until I find out what exactly was the reason for that, I should try to prevent it from reaching 0%, I suppose.

But then again, what exactly causes it to decrease? My ideology of the world? The number of abilities I possess? The physical capabilities of my body?

Hah~ This seems like it would be a troublesome matter.

Shifting my focus back to Sir Isaac, I notice that he is still in the same position I saw him the last time I looked. As it turns out, my thinking process itself has been enhanced, as I doubt he would just remain stationary while I take my time to think of various matters.

"Alright then," I mutter, upon which the world seems to return to the normal speed for a brief moment, "Time to try my current capabilities out."

Having said that, I proceed to move toward Sir Isaac at a relatively mediocre pace, but he doesn't react in any way apart from his eyes twitching slightly.

Once I'm in front of him, I leisurely swing Excalibur, which is currently in the form of a scythe, resulting in the blade detaching the pale man's lower half from the top without any obstruction.

Naturally, I don't stop at just that as I will for Excalibur's form to change to that of a rapier before stabbing the man's chest and dragging him down with me as I fall toward the ground.

The moment I am a meter or so away from contacting the grass below, I slam his torso into the solid ground with the rough impact causing him to cough out blood.

The world then returns to the same normal speed I am used to, allowing me to hear the man's ragged breathing as he lays against the grass while bleeding profusely.

Gazing at the pitiful state the man is in, I utter, "You put up way less of a fight than I expected you to. It seems like they really were just exaggerating your prowess."

Unexpectedly, the man chuckles for a few seconds before a bright smile covers his lips as he says, "Surely, you jest. If I had anywhere near enough capabilities to bring you down, I would've already accomplished everything I wanted."

Despite being a little startled by his ability to still talk, I don't heed it much attention as I scoff, "And what exactly were your aims?"

"The power of the spirits," he responds before his bright smile turns into one self-depreciation, "I was close to obtaining it; I could tell. But then you reappeared."

Reappeared, he says… Who does he think I am to begin with? Why did he give so much attention to me?

Unable to hold my curiosity back, I casually ask, "Who am I to you anyway?"

"The peak of power," he responds nigh-instantaneously as his expression changes to that of fascination, "All spirits knew of you – your existence. They didn't know what you looked like or what were your powers, but they knew you existed. That was the case for every spirit we successfully caught."

"Unfortunately, as time passed, the spirits no longer seemed to 'remember' you. But that didn't matter…"

His voice trails off for a few seconds before he looks over at me with a somewhat crazed look on his face as he continues, "I never forgot. They might've forgotten, but I haven't and never will."

Shaking my head in exasperation, I say, "In that case, why did you approach me the way you did? If you knew of me and had a rough idea of my power, wouldn't staying away from me have been the best for you?"

"What choice did I have?" he asks back, "In the end, my best bet would've been the eyes being able to 'see' you, but alas…"

Right… his ability. What exactly could it be? Whatever it is, I have become curious already.

Since it has come to this, I release a mild sigh before looking the man dead in the eyes and utilizing Plunder.

The next thing I know, my vision blips as I find myself in the man's body, laying powerlessly on the ground as my own body falls to the ground too.

A few seconds pass by like this, before my vision blips once more as I return to my body, but to my horror, I am unable to see anything.

{Warning: Due to an internal conflict of power, Father's vision-related functionalities have been disabled.}

Huh? What the heck? What's that supposed to mean?

{Sub-ability ???? is in an unstable state and will result in irreversible damages if assimilated.}

Then just get rid of it.

{Is Father sure?}

Wait…

"Hey, Isaac," I say as I get up from the ground and dust off my clothes. Unfortunately, as I am unable to see, I can only dust off based on where I feel would've gotten dirty.

"Is the reason you appeared before me related to your eyes?"

"What's going on?" an anxious voice responds to my query, "What did you do?"

"I stole your eyes," I respond casually, curious regarding what effect it would have on the man.

Naturally, despite being 'blind' now, I can still make use of my other enhanced senses to perceive my surroundings. As such, now I can 'see' everything around me to an extent, albeit without any color differentiation.

"That's impossible!" Isaac exclaims, "The Prophet isn't supposed to have such an ability!"

"Well, that just means you didn't know enough about me," I remark with a nonchalant look on my face as I use my senses to examine his panic-stricken face.

"Enough of that," I say somewhat impatiently, "Answer my question. What were your eyes capable of?"

"I have no reason to answer your questions," he rebukes in a firm tone.

Ah, he's no longer cooperative… How unfortunate. Even worse, I can't use Indoctrination or Hypnosis on him due to the state my eyes are in right now.

And so, I am left with no other choice than to torture the information out of him.

But, for some reason, I have a feeling that this fella will be able to endure some intense amount of pain, considering how he is despite his lower half having been chopped off not too long ago.

Leaving that aside, what am I going to do? It would be extremely risky of me to encounter Dominion as I am right now. A simple solution would be to get rid of the ability I plundered from Sir Isaac, but then again, what if it's not necessary? What if the ability is something absurd that once assimilated can greatly affect my battle capabilities.

Right now, I am searching for methods and abilities that might help me in battles. Through my recent experiences, I have come to notice that in battles, my abilities are more suited for one-on-one clashing rather than fighting off against a whole crowd.

Admittedly, this could prove to be extremely troublesome if my foes notice such a 'weakness' and make use of it to their advantage. Of course, it's not like I would be helpless in such a situation, but it's just that I want to be more reassured when taking future actions.

Thus, my current dilemma. Do I get rid of the ability for better chances once I encounter Dominion, or leave it to my luck and see how it would turn out without doing so?

Releasing a tired sigh, I focus my senses on Isaac, who is on the ground, muttering something to himself, before raising my right arm and telekinetically pulling Excalibur into my hand.

After this, I will for it to change back into the shape of a ring and proceed to put it on my right ring finger.

"Stay put; I will be back soon," I state before using Creation to produce four long bars of iron and launching them into his body.

A groan escapes from the injured man's lips as blood gushes out from both of his arms and abdomen, where the four bars have penetrated him.

Following this, I use Flight to float into the air, before following the sound of what seems to be swords clashing to get to the location Kurumi and Dominion are fighting.

As it turns out, the two of them are having a fierce battle on the ground rather than in the air, with each of them chuckling creepily now and then.

"Hello," I greet a little awkwardly while using my senses to make out the two of them, "I would appreciate it if you stopped for a moment."

I did this while wholeheartedly expecting to be ignored, only to be surprised by the fact that they did indeed stop fighting and look over at me.

Since my eyes are basically blind now, I don't look over at any of the two as I simply ask, "Why have you called me over here?"

Of the two, Dominion would obviously be able to tell that this question is meant for her as she replies in a bright yet magnetic tone, "To have you do me a favor."

Ignoring her odd way of speaking, I question, "And what exactly is this favor?"

"Free me."

For some reason, I feel like a strong wave of energy washed over my body the moment she uttered those words as if to signify their importance.

Before I can respond to her words, Kurumi's voice suddenly reaches my ears, "Terribly rude one, aren't you? To ask for a favor in such a disrespectful manner."

"It's not your business however I ask for a favor," Dominion responds in a cold tone.

"But it is," she replies, "I wouldn't let such disrespect toward my Shido pass."

"Your Shido?!" Dominion responds once more while emphasizing the word 'your', perhaps out of irritation.

Knowing that Kurumi would give yet another troublesome response, I quickly intervene by saying, "What did you mean by that? Is something shackling you? What am I supposed to do?"

"Certainly, something has bound me to this place," she responds, while Kurumi closes her mouth, "That thing is my very existence."

"And?"

"To get out, I need to latch my existence to another body - one that can't be constricted with any form of shackles."

"You're saying I am such an existence?"

"Are you not?" she asks back in a playful tone.

{Father, the opponent's Code has been analyzed. According to the results, her current state is weakened, and should Father fight against her, victory is almost guaranteed.}

Leave that aside, for now. It would be better for me to obtain her allegiance, after all, one more powerful ally is something that I can't easily pass on.

"So, what am I supposed to do and what would I gain from this?" I ask curiously.

"So long you get me out of here, I promise in my Code to aid you whenever necessary as long as it won't result in me being shackled once again."

A promise in her Code? AI, does this hold any significance?

{Affirmative. Such a promise would result in a Code to get terminated by unidentified means if broken.}

Is that what the current data you possess tells you?

{Affirmative.}

Oh well, if that's the case, I should be able to trust her to a certain extent. After all, for her to go to such lengths for freedom, she seriously must've been desperate to get out of here. Even so…

"What if I decide to not help you?"

"You will do it," she replies as I feel a sudden weight on my back, which is most likely as a result of her doing something.

"Alright, alright, is that all?" I question while turning my head to face her, despite having no sight to look at her through my eyes.

"Yes, that's all," she responds as the weight disappears as abruptly as it appeared.

Looks like if I wasn't going to agree, she would've seriously fought against me to her last breath – which is more than a little troubling, so miss me with that.

"Alright, with that settled, care to tell me the reason you're so adamant about fighting against Kurumi?"

"I have no such desire," she responds immediately.

"No way," I rebuke, "Just a moment ago, you seemed like you were dead-set on killing her. Isn't that right, Kurumi?"

"What could Shido be speaking of?" Kurumi asks while Dominion tilts her head with a confused look on her face.

"You two… Why are you acting as if nothing has happened? Do you think I am blind to not have…"

My words slowly trail off as I realize that I indeed am blind now. Truly, saddening.

Tired of it all, I release a sigh and say, "As long as you don't try to kill each other while I am not looking… I don't care."

Having said that, I turn around to head toward where I believe I had left Sir Isaac. Of course, despite what I just said, I am not just going to forget this little feud that they've got going. The only reason I let it go so easily is that I have a more important matter to look into – the ability I obtained from Sir Isaac.

Still, I am quite satisfied with the way things have turned out. Not only I might've obtained a precious ally, but I have obtained some ability as well that I have no idea about, yet.

Now that I think about it, could the new ability I had received be affected by my lack of vision?

{Negative. Enhanced Cerebration is completely functional.}

Good. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have been related to my sight, but rather my brain itself as I had suspected earlier.

It would've been sad if I couldn't use it anymore after having used it only once, as it was quite a marvelous thing from what I have seen so far.

Hah~ I need to consider things more seriously now, for all I know, even my strength and the rest of my parameters aren't being used to their full potential.

Heck, I doubt the Enhanced Cerebration is everything that there is to Agility…

---

Nothing. Literally, no matter what I tried, the stubborn man wouldn't let out a word regarding his eyes.

If anything, I felt like he was enjoying the pain I inflicted on him at times.

After a while of wasting time in torturing the bastard, I decided that it wasn't worth it anymore and just straight-up killed him off by destroying his body using Destruction.

Such an annoying existence is better off killed early before something troublesome happens.

And thus, I am currently making my way over to where I hear two certain ladies having a 'talk'.

"You say that despite our countenance being so similar?"

"Would you please not compare my fine hair with your grotesque white patch of shriveled grass," Kurumi responds to Dominion in a sharp tone.

"What an uncouth mouth."

Yeah, I expected this.

What exactly would happen if I were to bring the two of them over with me back to the Rift? And what about the rest who are not in the Neighboring World? Can they leave this Platform?

{Negative. From the data that has been analyzed, the entities identified as 'spirits' are incapable of leaving the Platform the way Father could.}

I believe the only exception to this is Dominion?

{Affirmative. However, Code: Dominion's body is currently in an incomplete state.}

What, a piece of her is missing or something?

{The Core of the Code has been damaged.}

Oh? How do I get it healed?

{Copulation with Father would heal the damage.}

…

…

Forget it, I will think of it once I am ready to leave. What am I supposed to do about the rest? If only I had some portable world or something to have them stay in…

{That is possible.}

What? Hold on, you can't be referring to the Arena, could you?

{Negative. The Arena is incapable of doing what Father wills for.}

Then?

{The games.}

The moment AI utters those words, a certain memory passes through my mind as I recall the first time I received a certain window. Three 'games' were displayed, but I didn't check any of them out, even until now.

{One of the games can provide Father with 'a portable world' as a reward for accomplishing the main objective.}

That's great! Which one?

{VRMMO Yggdrasil (2126).}