"Transmigrator, listen carefully." The Voice urgently rasps, "When the enhancements provided by me are fully activated, the Hero will prioritize the mission I have set before him. This quirk of his manufacture may help you escape."

As The Voice talks, the Hero's icy glare at me never wavers and he begins to stride menacingly towards my twitching body. Damn it, I can't purge the miasma from the core, meaning I have no way of fighting back. Taking a deep breath, I shut down the artificial core and the twitching immediately stops. A rush of blood surges up my throat but I bolt my mouth shut and swallow it back down. I slowly stagger back up to my feet and lean against the pit's wall for support. If I am going to be completely defenseless either way, I might as well be defenseless while not acting like a complete spaz. 

"You hurt Rose." The Hero states flatly, his spirit core barely holding in the miasma. His core is like a volcano on the brink of erupting as it positively overflows with energy. I am treading on very thin ice, one wrong move and its curtains. 

The Idol's screeching stops and the helicopter buzzing overhead begins to slowly lower itself into the pit. Big Tits and Magic Police Girl jump into the pit as well and position themselves at my rear, preventing me from making a break for it. What a joke. In my current condition I could not run even if I wanted. And I want to run, really, really badly. 

"The Perfecta hurt Rose, not me." I explain, "I never laid a finger on her."

The Hero scowls and raises any eyebrow questioningly at me. Right. He probably doesn't actually know what that monster actually is. This could be my ticket to safety. Trading knowledge for my life. 

"The Perfecta. The monster you just fought." I say, "I know all about it and the person who created it." I leave the thread hanging, hoping the Hero will take the bait. 

"Who?" a simple one word query from the Hero. I give off a cheer in my mind. The Hero's taken the bait. Now to reel him in. 

"Get me out of here and back to the ORPO line. I'll tell you there." I bargain. 

Big Tits raises her voice, "You're in no position to make deals Gallant. You will tell us everything once we have you in the lockup. Now surrender."

I turn and regard Big Tits, rolling my eyes, "I'm protected by the P5. SOPO has no authority to arrest me. Scram."

"No. No deals." the Hero answers in a low voice, "Your actions caused Rose to get hurt. I won't help you escape. Surrender to Irene and Sera. Now."

I turn back to the Hero slightly bewildered and scoff, "You for real man? That's completely off the table."

"Now!" The Hero shouts at the top of his lungs and his spirit core flares, releasing a tornado of miasma that drives everyone around him to their knees from the pressure. I feel the miasma settling around the inert artificial core but the twitching thankfully does not start. Big Tits and Magic Police Girl are not so lucky though. Both of them begin to thrash about on the ground while beginning the process of flaring their own cores to burn away the miasma.

I pick myself back up and give my body a good dusting, hopefully looking far calmer than I feel. The Hero is a hair's edge away from getting violent with me and he's become completely obsessed with Brocon being injured by my actions. An obsession that verges on monomania. From The Voice's surveillance of the Hero, it always struck me that the man was at all times at the very least amicable. His behavior now is a complete one eighty from the previous record. In the background, the helicopter lands shuts off its engine allowing the Idol to disembark. The Idol rushes out of the passenger cabin, tears in her eyes. 

The Hero barely glances at the Idol before returning his attention to me. "I won't say it again." he whispers, "Surrender. Face justice for what you did to Rose. I won't let you hurt her again."

I nod to myself. Its time for an experiment of my own, see how the Hero handles task prioritization. 

"You care more about Rose than your big breasted lover." I dryly comment, "Big Tits was actually beaten up by me you know."

"Who cares about that now!" The Hero blares, "Rose is hurt!"

I smirk as relief floods my body as my theory is proven correct. The Hero is wholly focused on Brocon now. His programming is likely urging him to secure her safety and prevent her death. After all if she dies, the Hero will fail in his objective to impregnate her. I recall what Castiel said about the Hero eventually becoming an automaton. Castiel wasn't wrong, he just got the chronology mixed up. Tensei's already an automaton. He was literally born as a machine to fulfill a specific purpose. 

And a machine can never escape its purpose.

I spread my arms wide and step closer to the Hero and Brocon. I rhythmically tap the bandoleer of grenades still hung over the trench coat. 

"See these Hero?" I ask, "I can do a lot more to hurt Rose. Whether that happens though, is up to you."

"Liar!" Magic Police Girl shouts from the rear, "Tensei, don't believe Gallant. He's obviously bluffing. The grenades will kill him too."

I take another step towards the Hero and begin tapping the grenades at a faster rhythm. The Hero's eyes go wide and he unconsciously holds Rose even tighter while taking a few steps back. The Idol pauses in her mad dash towards the Hero and takes in the situation around her. Her eyes flash with understanding and she gathers her spiritual energy and unleashes her screeching directly at me. I simply smile in response and unfasten the bandoleer. I then begin swinging the bandoleer dangerously close to Brocon while holding on to one of the flash bangs with my free hand. 

"Here's what is going to happen Hero." I shout over the rabid screeching, "I am going to take that helicopter back to the ORPO line. And no one is going to stop me. Understood?"

"Kira. Shut up." The Hero snaps irritably as he finds it difficult talking to me over the noise the Idol is making. The Idol's face reddens and she immediately quietens down, her head held low.

I press forwards all the while, confident that the Hero will accept my proposal. His objective is to save Brocon and he sees me as a threat to her. By offering to remove myself from the scene, I am presenting the easiest way for the Hero to fulfill that objective. He may not like letting me go, but 'like' means nothing to a machine. 

My guess is validated when the Hero steps aside and clears the way to the helicopter. I give him a gracious nod and walk to the helicopter as fast as I can, eager to flee this place. I board it through where the Idol disembarked and slam the door shut, breathing a sigh of relief. I did it. I survived my encounter with the Hero. 

Just as I am about to relax, a sudden sharp pain bites into my ankle. I look down and see a dismembered hand clutching on to my leg tightly. My heart leaps at this horrific sight and I quickly tear the hand off my ankle without a second thought. Blood soaks my trouser leg and I see that the hand's fingernails have elongated into sharp black claws that release a steaming liquid. What in the world is this? How did a dismembered hand get into the helicopter?

The hand squirms within my grasp, the flesh on its back shifting and assuming the form of a face bearing a nasty smile.

Naiberg. 

I scream in horror and the drop the hand, scrambling backwards. My leg completely gives way and a sickly numbness spreads throughout my body. As I collapse on to my back, the hand crawls on to my chest and stands on its middle and index fingers, allowing Naiberg's face to tower over me. 

"Figured that your powers wouldn't have recovered yet from the battle." Naiberg taunts, "Don't worry though, I just dosed you with a paralyzing agent."

"Pilot. Take us to the SOPO headquarters." Naiberg tells the pilot and the helicopter roars to life as it begins to lift off. 

"I'm looking forward to spending a little quality time with my friend here."

End of Arc Two