Inside the bridge of the Fraxinus, the air seemed to solidify.
On the main screen of the bridge, everything happening on the plateau was being clearly displayed.
The performance of the Heavenly Judgment—worthy of an award-winning actor—from the unbelievable rigidity, to the stumbling approach, from the trembling, retreating fingertips, to the gasps of intense pain, and finally, the empty, dead eyes and the cold, resolute "verdict"... every frame was filled with extreme dramatic tension and emotional impact, enough to move any bystander and make them believe it was enduring heart-wrenching agony and disillusionment.
"Ugh... that's truly heartbreaking..." Some sensitive crew members were already wiping their eyes, completely infected by this "despair."
"Shut up! This is not the time to be moved!" Kotori snapped, but her gaze was also locked firmly on the screen, her brow furrowed.
Chinatsu's reaction made sense emotionally, and was even more intense and... aligned with the classic template of "love turning to hate" or "belief collapsing due to the loss of an important person" than they had anticipated.
This should have been the "worst-case scenario" they had expected.
When those golden eyes completely lost their luster and it spoke in an utterly frigid voice, asking, "Is this... the final answer... you humans have given?" everyone felt a chill shoot up their spine to the top of their heads.
"Spiritual power readings... The Spiritual power reading of the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher is rapidly rising! It's not offensive, it's... it's some deeper, 'end-of-all-things' type of transformation!" The monitor's voice trembled with fright.
However, just as the atmosphere was filled with sorrow and panic, a crew member responsible for monitoring the Spirit's physiological indicators let out an unbelievable, trembling exclamation:
"C-Commander! This... this is impossible!"
"What is it now?!" Kotori turned her head impatiently.
"It's... it's about the real-time physiological data of the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher!"
The crew member pointed at the row of curves on his screen, which showed almost no fluctuation, his voice filled with confusion and horror.
"The Spiritual power fluctuation is indeed rising sharply, consistent with the anger and imminent rampage it is displaying! But... but its 'mood value'... the core emotional fluctuation index..."
He suddenly looked up, his face drained of color:
"It hasn't changed at all! It has remained on an almost absolute baseline! No drop, no violent fluctuations! It's as if... as if all the'sadness,' 'pain,' and 'despair' it is currently exhibiting... are all..."
He couldn't finish the word, but everyone understood what he meant.
— They are all fake.
The bridge instantly fell into a dead silence.
The mood value is an indicator derived by the Fraxinus using precision instruments to analyze multiple data points, such as the Spirit's micro-expressions, emotional factors within Spiritual power ripples, and subtle changes in vital signs, reflecting the Spirit's true emotional state.
Normally, drastic emotional shifts, especially anger, sadness, or despair, cause the mood value to fluctuate wildly like a roller coaster.
However, the mood value curve for Chinatsu currently displayed on the screen was as calm as stagnant water.
This created an extremely bizarre and completely contradictory contrast to the immense grief and towering rage it was currently exhibiting, which was enough to infect everyone around it!
"Is the equipment malfunctioning?!" Kotori demanded sharply.
"I-It has been calibrated three times! Other monitored targets, such as Tohka's mood value, are fluctuating violently, completely consistent with her rampage state! Only the Heavenly Judgment... its data is so stable... it's like..." The analyst swallowed.
"It's like there's no emotional turmoil inside it at all!"
"How is this possible?!" Kannazuki also leaned closer, staring at the flat curve with a baffled expression.
"Its appearance just now... those eyes... that posture, nearly gasping for air... how could it be completely undisturbed?! Could the emotion be so high that it exceeded the upper limit of our machine's detection, causing the data to flatline?"
The precious jewel in Kotori's mouth nearly fell out. She grabbed the data panel from the adjacent console and glared at the curve representing Chinatsu's mood value, which was infuriatingly stable.
It was like a cold straight line, running through the entire process: Shido being shot, Tohka rampaging, Chinatsu appearing, and the "breakdown performance" just now that was enough to make listeners weep.
No fluctuation.
Utterly calm.
It was as if the Spirit on the screen, who appeared to be in agonizing pain and whose beliefs had shattered, was internally a placid, perhaps even mocking, ice field.
Reine adjusted her glasses, her gaze behind the lenses sharp as a knife. Her voice was low and serious.
"This means that internally, it felt no genuine sadness or shock regarding Shido's 'death.' Either it knew Shido wouldn't die all along, or... Shido's life or death never truly tugged at its heartstrings."
Her voice carried a cold, chilling conclusion:
"This can only mean one thing—all the 'breakdown,' 'despair,' and 'anger' it displayed externally... are highly likely to be..."
"... entirely a facade."
"..."
Dead silence descended upon the bridge.
Everyone was stunned by this deduction.
If this were true, then the "grief-stricken fury" and "ultimate disillusionment" displayed by the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher—which was convincing enough to deceive Tohka, deceive the AST, and almost deceive them—was merely a masterful performance executed without any genuine emotion?
Why would it do this? What was the purpose of performing such a drama at this moment?
A profound confusion and a deeper chill replaced the previous sense of despair, flooding the entire Fraxinus bridge like an icy tide.
They realized that the Spirit codenamed Heavenly Judgment was far more complex and harder to fathom than they had imagined.
It was like an enigma wearing countless masks; every time they thought they had seen through it, the next moment it would reveal an even more perplexing side.
Kannazuki also dropped his flippant expression, his face serious:
"Regardless of the possibility, it is extremely terrifying. If it knew Shido wouldn't die, then all of its current performance is aimed at achieving some deeper objective. It is using Shido's 'death' as leverage, manipulating Tohka, and even us, entirely."
"If it simply doesn't care... then everything it previously displayed—its concern and tsundere attitude toward Shido—could be part of a much larger deception."
Kotori felt a chill shoot from her feet to the top of her head.
Kotori watched the screen as Chinatsu spoke in that cold tone, mixed with sorrow and mockery, "Is this... the final answer... you humans have given?" followed by the light yet heavy statement, "I understand." A shiver ran down Kotori's back.
(If Reine's speculation is correct... if its current 'despair' is an act... then what exactly is its goal? Is it just to recruit Tohka? Or... does it have a much larger plan?)
All their previous analyses, whether "tsundere," "having feelings," "caring due to her brother," or "belief collapsing due to Shido's 'death'"... all seemed ridiculous and wishful thinking in the face of that flat mood value curve.
This Spirit was deeper and harder to assess than they had imagined.
It was like the most brilliant actor, passionately performing joy and sorrow on stage, while internally calculating every move with cold precision.
"S-So, that whole display just now, it was all faked?" a crew member asked tremulously.
"I'm afraid... yes." Kotori's voice was dry.
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