Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 2===

"Designate target—Jeanne Hortensia—as additional linker. Transfer control over the domains of enemy detection, communications, and information processing. However, forbid readings from occupied cabins. This applies to me as well."

I raised my hand over Jeanne's head while she was standing nervously close by and ordered Marduk verbally.

Having just taken a shower, Jeanne's face was flushed red, this combined with her moist hair was quite sexy. Although she was dressed in the male school uniform, the bulge of her chest and the after-shower fragrance were all conspiring to keep me strongly conscious of her identity as a woman.

The sight of her in underwear earlier was surfacing vaguely in my mind, so I concentrated while mentally repeating the words I was speaking.

The final command was to prevent Jeanne and I from peeking into other people's cabins. Now what happened earlier could be averted.

"—"

The illumination in the room blinked strongly once and Jeanne shuddered.

Watching her from the side, Shion asked worriedly, "Mama, aRe YoU oKaY?"

"—Yes, I am fine."

Jeanne smiled and reassured Shion then exclaimed.

"Captain... This is amazing. Through Marduk's various sensors, I can capture an endless stream of information—It is like my vision field expanded several hundred fold..."

"Does it hurt?"

Noticing that my own headache was subsiding, I asked how Jeanne felt.

Although I had succeeded in making Jeanne the second linker, she might not be able to bear the strain.

"No problem. Although the volume of information increased greatly... There isn't any fundamental change. To begin with, my eyes have always been able to see things other people could not."

I could not help but feel in awe. Although I knew Jeanne had an extraordinary pair of eyes, I never imagined it would allow her to acquire information on par with Marduk's sensors in quality. Jeanne most likely had eyes that could capture wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum and a brain capable of processing all this information.

Soldiers of Atlantis whose abilities were fully optimized for their responsibilities—Perhaps Jeanne really was one of their descendants.

"Really, then cooperate with me from now on. Jeanne, are you able to transmit information from arbitrary coordinates to me?"

"—Let me try. There is a small island fifty kilometers or so ahead. I will mark it."

Jeanne nodded and I was informed of the coordinates of the aforementioned island. With this, I could get a lock on distant enemies to attack.

However, I suddenly noticed that Jeanne's face in front of me had grown even redder.

"Hey, are you okay? Is it making you feel unwell after all—"

I frantically asked about her condition, but Jeanne suddenly came to her senses and shook her head.

"N-No! I am completely fine. It is just that..."

Mid-sentence, she looked down awkwardly for some reason.

"Just that?"

"Umm... It is like our minds are connected, Captain... It somehow fills me with joy... And elevated my temperature a little."

Jeanne explained the reason somewhat bashfully then looked up at me.

This girly behavior made my heart race. I barely maintained composure and nodded.

"I'm glad it's not making you feel unwell. However, tell me immediately if anything feels off."

"Yes, understood. I will not overextend myself and cause you trouble, Captain. Oh—"

Jeanne nodded at me then suddenly gasped and looked into the distance.

"Mama?"

Shion called out to Jeanne in puzzlement and Jeanne looked at us stiffly.

"What happened?"

"...Well, just now—through information sharing with NIFL, data was obtained from the Akashic Record... I found out details about the Bahamut situation, and the Earth's current state..."

She did not continue, at a loss for words.

"Is the situation that bad?"

Noticing the heavy atmosphere, I asked hesitantly.

"...Yes. Shinomiya-sensei should be explaining later, but Bahamut is a monster beyond imagination. Let me link my senses with yours, Captain."

As soon as Jeanne spoke, an image of Bahamut appeared in my mind. Its gigantic body was blotting out the sky and the sun, still reminiscent of Vritra. The shadow falling upon the ground turned into an unknown territory, impossible to probe or observe, and kept expanding to follow Bahamut's movement. Outside of the shadow was pure whiteness in stark contrast—A world of silver-white.

"The ground is completely covered by—ice? Has Bahamut reached the Arctic Circle?"

If that were the case, Bahamut's speed was faster than expected. I panicked a little, but Jeanne shook her head.

"No, not yet. What you are seeing now was originally a flowing ocean... However, the temperature around Bahamut is extremely low, causing even the ocean to freeze."

"Freezing... Is this Bahamut's ability?"

"Not exactly. The cold is at most a side effect. The true nature of its ability is the absorption of thermal energy. Bahamut is a creature that devours heat. Taking in heat from the surroundings, it grows, regenerates, and evolves. So long as there exists external thermal energy, it would be no exaggeration to call it immortal."

Jeanne's explanation made my forehead break out in cold sweat.

"Devouring heat... What a crazy ability. Then explosions and lasers will all become its food?"

"Yes. Precisely because of that, only Catastrophe is capable of defeating Bahamut. Its immortality is achieved through absorbing heat to fuel its metabolism whereas Catastrophe fast forwards time from the present point. When time goes by before Bahamut's cells can absorb energy for their metabolism, it results in apoptosis."

"So that's how Basilisk defeated Bahamut... No wait, since Bahamut reappeared, doesn't that mean it was never exterminated to begin with?"

When I voiced my doubt, Jeanne shook her head somewhat hesitantly.

"No—Had it not been exterminated, Bahamut would have absorbed all heat from the ground, turning Earth into a dead planet. It must have been completely annihilated at one point. However... I do not think the present Bahamut is fake either. Left unchecked, Bahamut will kill our planet, although at the present stage, the unknown territories are causing greater damage..."

"They've grown that big?"

I gulped and asked.

"The unknown territories mentioned before are black domes, and according to Marduk's sensors, there are a total of four great holes of 'nothing at all'—It might be better to describe the Earth as having four pieces gouged out of it."

Jeanne paused then sighed heavily.

"In particular, the unknown territories on the American west coast and the northern African continent have swallowed up areas of high population density. The number of victims has probably reached the tens of millions..."

"Hold on, it's too early to say that the people inside the unknown territories are dead. There must be a way to save them."

Just like how Mitsuki and I had survived inside the darkness—

After I said that with this hope in mind, Jeanne held her breath momentarily.

"—You are right, Captain. I have erred... I jumped to conclusions accidentally. Since responsibility for enemy detection and information processing has been passed to me, I should strive for correct judgment—I am truly ashamed."

Jeanne cringed and bowed her head apologetically.

"No, it's necessary to prepare for the worst too. But at the same time, it's better to keep the ideal outcome in mind. Otherwise, you could end up losing your goal."

I recalled my days as her captain and gently patted her on the head.

"...Yes."

Jeanne nodded, still looking down.

"Papa, wHat iS iDeaL?"

Shion tugged at my clothing from the side.

"It means the best-case result. First we defeat Bahamut then we find a way to take care of the unknown territories—the darkness—and save all the people who were swallowed. Then we return to Midgard safe and sound. That's the ideal outcome."

Of course, the darkness inside Mitsuki also needed to be eliminated. Once I figured out the blue light capable of suppressing "end matter"—Neun's authority—and could use it skillfully, perhaps I would find a solution that was currently out of sight.

"Oh, iDeaL, aWEsoMe!"

Shion sounded impressed and smiled happily.

Seeing her face, I smiled naturally too, but a sliver of unease flashed through my mind.

—But was this truly the ideal outcome?

For some reason, this thought surfaced, There should not be any outcome more ideal than what I had just outlined.

But somehow, I had an uncomfortable feeling as though I had overlooked something.

I persuaded myself that I was overthinking things, but still could not erase the unease adhering to my heart.