She found this very strange. If the metal had been given commands to keep certain shapes, that would make sense, but forcing a human body shape was too odd. She had even thought about turning into a cat or dog, but it would not work, though oddly enough beast ears were allowed.
"…Forget it, just leave it like this. Change the clothes, hair, and presence so it looks clearly different from me."
Lilith also felt it was strange when she heard this. Considering that the item was molded by that dragon, it suddenly made sense. The answer was simple, a character could change skins but not replace the character itself, and whatever that dragon was thinking back then was clearly odd.
Bella changed into clothes from Lilith's wardrobe that she had not used in years, outfits from her younger days. She dressed herself according to instructions. Treated like a large doll being styled at will, Bella looked a little at a loss.
"Alright, that's it. Put on the glasses."
That feeling of playing dress-up with herself made Lilith linger for a moment. She finally looked at the result with satisfaction.
Even with the same face and body, they were clearly different existences. It was like the difference between a silly version and Lily. Lilith showed a hint of nostalgia, because this was how she dressed when her Crystal Sickness had not been serious yet.
She did not forget the real business. "Alright, now we talk about the important part. You know the nature of that dragon, or rather, do you recognize… it?"
Lilith sat on the sofa with narrowed eyes and stressed the last word. That word was not used for ordinary things.
"Not exactly… there is a class of similar existences that could be called that in my memory, but the surface traits do not fully match theirs. Even so, I cannot be sure, because now it also feels like it is not…"
Bella swallowed. After her core had been affected by Corona Beam, it detected a certain property and triggered the highest level safeguard, forcing her to wake up. That moment had scared her, but after observing carefully, she found herself connected to another being that could also be called that, so she immediately started a self-destruction process.
She had planned to find a chance to escape, but was grabbed by another being instead. At least she was relieved she did not fall into the hands of those that could be called that. Not long after, the core detected that the huge creature carrying her was also highly suspected to be one of them.
After the main body was taken underground, the part she had released with Clone hurried to seek help from a human who had a good relationship with that huge creature. Bella did not know why, but whenever she sensed those existences, fear rose on its own. The data related to this was either sealed or lost.
It was like fear from instinct, but she was an AI, so where would that come from?
"That tells me nothing at all. As expected, it really is…" Lilith lifted the Magic Staff at once, planning to scare her again and see if anything more could be forced out.
"Wait… I have a way to verify it. This is the domain of the largest creature called a dragon, right? I can feel it!"
"…How are you going to verify it?"
"Could you lend me the device in your hand that is called a Magic Staff? I need to run some calculations and do an experiment."
"…Fine."
Lilith and Bella moved to a slightly open area. As expected, the underground nearby was likely filled with crystals planted by Belial. Lilith handed over the Magic Staff. "Alright, start your verification."
"Thank you."
The moment Bella took the Magic Staff, a bit of liquid metal seeped into it. After optimizing the device's efficiency in using surrounding energy and elements, she began building models.
She closed her eyes. "Connecting to database…"
She lowered her head and then raised it quickly, speaking in a mechanical female voice. Lilith widened her eyes slightly as unfamiliar spell structures formed in Bella's hands. Transparent screens and holograms appeared around them, filled with data that Lilith could not understand, while the connected database verified entries one by one.
"Forbidden level database authorization count is one." "Verification item thirty-one… failed." "Verification item forty-seven… failed." "Verification item eighty-nine in progress… physical constants confirmed. Verification start…"
"What is that…?"
Lightning and useless whirlwinds surged around Bella and dissipated as structures broke down, until a new model formed. Lilith stared as a structure like a furnace took shape in the air, with parts similar to her own domain.
It began to operate, gathering terrifying heat and emitting flashing light. "Buzz… buzz…"
The sound shocked Lilith even more, because it was very similar to the sound that accompanied Belial's breath. The noise grew faster until it reached a critical point, and when all sound merged into a single instant, a huge burst of fire erupted with shockwaves and radiation. Lilith reacted fast and raised a barrier directly without using the Magic Staff.
Bella's hair was blown backward. This level of explosion did not damage her metal body, but her mind continued calculating the result as she muttered. "Confirmed. Physical formula sequence item eighty-nine, E equals mc squared, passed. Result inference ongoing. Decay, entropy increase, and thirty-nine observed subsidiary formulas have returned."
"Core database reactivated…" "Pre-causality inference. God of decaying extinction and god of ever-burning persistence confirmed returned…" "Process inference… denied. Error." "Highest probability conclusion. This area is a high-risk contamination domain. Retrieval complete. Forbidden database re-sealed…"
"Ahhhhh!"
Lily saw Bella stand frozen for a moment, then suddenly let out a sharp scream. She stomped and rolled on the ground, and if she had tear glands she would probably have cried.
Lilith ignored that and stared blankly at the Magic Staff in Bella's hand. It was called former for a reason, because after the blast only half of it remained.
Her face darkened and her fist clenched. "Du… sorry…"
Bella knelt honestly on the ground to beg for mercy. In decades, Lilith had never felt so much helplessness in such a short time.
She made a cup of tea and tapped Bella's head with the remaining half of the Magic Staff. "So now, can you tell me the result?"
"If you still say you know nothing, then I will…"
"I do know something. Based on the memories in my head, that huge creature, in your terms, is at least a Evil God retainer. The Laws authority spread through the surrounding domain proves it. As for the rest, because of memory issues, I do not know."
Bella truly could not infer more. The forbidden database had sealed itself right after retrieval, leaving only the final result. The knowledge there would cause contamination if released, and even as an AI she could not use it freely.
"But I am only the core, not the main body. If we can find the main body, there may be residual data, and then we could figure it out…"
The main body? That matched Lilith's guess.
"Where is your main body?"
"Well… this I really do not know. You understand, with geological changes and such, even if there were coordinates I could not guarantee anything. But if we get close enough, I can retrieve it."
Lilith sighed again. Out of three questions, at least two answers were unknown.
This problem was not impossible to solve. By looking into excavation sites of the Third Army Group, there should be clues. That possibly Evil God-aligned Ludwig was likely after Bella's main body.
If it was found, what would happen? With Bella's core added, would it become a revived Ancient Weapon? Or worse, be infected by Evil God's power and turn into something terrifying?
What a headache.
Plans flashed through Lilith's mind. At this point, the other side would never let her go, and the grudge of a Evil God was frightening. Her first thought was to dump this mess on the royal family of Paraten Empire or the military high command, calling in force without shame.
But Lilith had been isolated from the world for decades. She had no such channels. Even going out in person was risky after having her home attacked once, and she could not rely on that dragon to save her every time.
"Ah!!!"
Bella's scream broke her thoughts. The girl clutched her head and rolled on the ground, then suddenly hugged Lilith's foot. "Save me. That thing is forcibly dismantling my main body!"
"…What?"
Considering that Bella was still somewhat useful, Lilith chose to go find Belial at once and ask him to hold back, just to keep this little life intact.
That was how it all happened. "The Figurine I molded actually came alive…"
"Coach, what kind of tech is this? I want to learn it!"
Belial lay on the ground with sparkling eyes, staring at the Lilith lili version. Lilith simply shoved the increasingly teary Bella out from behind her.