Multiverse Gacha

Soon, Christoph Gardos brought Asagi to an abandoned coastal zone.

Here, all the excavated Nalakuvera units were stored, including the core Queen machine.

They led Asagi to a sealed small room, where everything she might need had already been prepared for her.

"Can you understand this?" Gardos asked.

"You want me to help you analyze the Nalakuvera's control unit commands?"

"As expected of the Cyber Empress. You figured it out at a glance."

"I can, but it'll take time."

"Of course, you have time—just not much."

"Got it."

"Then I won't disturb your work."

With that, Gardos left, closing the door behind him and posting two guards outside.

Inside the room, Asagi's face was etched with anxiety. Naturally, they wouldn't harm her until they got what they wanted.

But once they did, she'd be a dead woman walking. She knew too much and possessed skills they lacked—leaving her alive would be too dangerous.

"Yo, Missy, you look pretty stressed."

At that moment, her phone chimed, and Mogwai appeared on the screen.

"Mogwai, what do I do?"

"If I were you, Missy, I'd call for help."

"Help? From who—"

She didn't finish the sentence. She already knew the answer.

In her circle, there were two powerful figures: Kojou, the Fourth Primogenitor, and August, the mysterious enigma.

Before yesterday, she'd have chosen Kojou without hesitation. They'd been friends for years, after all.

But after yesterday and today, her faith in Kojou had plummeted.

Even this morning, when she'd been so visibly worn out that Rin had worried enough to take her to the infirmary, Kojou hadn't done a thing.

"Can you contact August?"

"Sure can. On Itogami Island, I can reach anyone you want, Missy. You sure about this?"

"I'm sure. Connect me to him."

"No problem~"

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~

A voice call went through, even without August's number.

"Hello? Who is this? How do you even have my number?" August's voice came through, tinged with confusion.

Aside from Natsuki, Himeragi, and a few others, no one was supposed to know his contact info.

Hearing his voice, Asagi let out a sigh of relief. If she could reach him, she'd be fine.

"August, it's me—Asagi."

"Oh, it's you. No wonder you tracked down my number. If it's you, it makes sense."

"I've got something to tell you. Listen carefully."

"Go ahead."

"Itogami Island's been invaded. The intruders are terrorists from the Warlord's Domain—the Black Death Faction. They want to revive an ancient weapon called Nalakuvera."

"Uh-huh."

"Are you even listening?!" Asagi snapped, irritated. This was serious—why was he acting so casual?

"How do you know all this?"

"They captured me. They want me to decrypt the control commands for them."

"Alright, leave the rest to me."

"Huh? What do you mean 'leave it to you'? Did you even understand what I said?"

"I get it. Nalakuvera's just a bunch of outdated scrap. Even if they revive it, it's still trash."

"It's an ancient god-killing weapon!"

"If it were that impressive, the three primogenitors wouldn't still be alive. Just keep yourself safe. I'll handle the rest."

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~

The call ended abruptly, leaving Asagi's face frozen in disbelief.

"That jerk—does he even realize how urgent this is?!"

"Missy, no need to worry. This friend of yours isn't ordinary."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"This guy's not weaker than a primogenitor. You're in good hands."

"Not weaker than a primogenitor?"

Asagi's mind conjured August's sharp gaze, but then it clashed with the image of him scarfing down food like a glutton. The contrast felt jarring.

Mogwai didn't elaborate. As long as Asagi was on Itogami Island, she'd be fine.

On the other end, August hung up, a flicker of surprise in his mind.

He hadn't expected Asagi to call him. Normally, when trouble struck, wouldn't the heroine turn to the protagonist?

It seemed Kojou, the supposed "protagonist," was on his way out. He'd been utterly underwhelming—his spotlight stolen by August, and even the girls were gravitating toward him instead.

That thought sparked an idea. If this "protagonist" was nearly done for, why not finish him off?

He wasn't worth much anymore. Might as well make use of him.

Protagonists were troublesome creatures—impossible to predict with logic. One slip, and they could power up out of nowhere or take off unexpectedly.

If Kojou pulled off something big down the line, it'd be a hassle to clean up.

"Eh, forget that for now. First things first: stick to the script. The show's already started."

August stood, stepping out of the office. Darkness swirled behind him, forming wings. He took off, soaring toward the docks where the Black Death Faction was holed up.

Meanwhile, Asagi began tackling the problem her own way.

The files she'd decrypted earlier were part of a startup program—likely Nalakuvera's, no doubt about it.

The Black Death Faction needed her to crack this specific segment: the control unit's command program. For it to function as a "weapon," it had to be controllable, which explained why they'd brought her here.

Fine, they wanted it? She'd give it to them.

But she'd embed a backdoor in the control program.

Under specific conditions, it'd trigger, causing all the Nalakuvera units to self-destruct. Then, everything would be resolved.

In that moment, Asagi was like an empress of the digital realm. Every line of code bent to her will with ease.

Even without Mogwai's help, she could dominate the online world.

This was Asagi—her strength as the Cyber Empress. In a way, she was a force to be reckoned with on a global scale.

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