Chapter 36: The Manager’s Ledger

​The palace garden was a graveyard of broken stone and scorched grass. Miyeru, her body trembling and limping under the weight of her own burning mana, closed the distance to the Rangers.

R98 and R56 stood their ground, their fingers tight on the grips of their plasma guns—R98 holding his with his sole remaining hand.

​Miyeru stopped, her daggers drooping as she looked at them not with hatred, but with a desperate, agonizing curiosity.

"What makes you above us? What gives you the right to decide our lives? What makes me the villain in your report?"

​R98’s face smoothed into a mask of pure, weary professionalism.

"Nothing," he replied.

"And since there seems to be a high demand for my 'lore,' I’ll give it to you straight."

​Miyeru froze, her purple eyes searching his.

​"Like I said, I'm R98. Manager of the 98th Universe. I’m here to hit the Reset so this world returns to its 'Normal' parameters before the R300s arrive.
Because if they take over this file, I won't be satisfied with how they choose to close it."

​"Cut the garbage!" Miyeru snapped.

"Tell me the reality! What are you? How were you born? Do you really feel nothing at all?"

​R98 stared at her, his eyes reflecting a weight that made his physical age feel like a lie.

"How old are you, Miyeru?"

​"I’m eighteen physically," she replied.

"But since joining the Rebels, I've seen six hundred and eighty-nine years."

​R98 let out a slow, heavy sigh.

"Then let me introduce myself properly. I am R98-D57. I am physically nineteen. But across my fifty-seven 'respawns,' I have been active for 10,465 Earth years. I’ve worked in the 200 divisions, the 100 divisions, and interned with the 300 division as well. Where did I come from? I don't know. Do I think I'm human? Yes. I choose to believe that I am."

​"Absurd," Miyeru hissed.

"What is human about you?"

​"The fact that I believe it is enough," R98 said blankly.

"And as for feeling... I once did. But ten millennia of duty teaches you not to get attached. I’ve made bonds with thousands of characters across the stars.
But it all goes blank the moment the Reset is hit. Everything is deleted. Including my grief."

​He turned toward the people of Genova—Derrick, Liora, and Oralia.

"That is my plan for saving you. I hit the button. Every 'unnecessary' death is reversed. Every mutation is scrubbed. Everything goes back to the way it was supposed to be."

​Oralia stepped forward, her face pale.

"Does that mean... I’ll finally get my answers?"

​R98 looked at her, his eyes distant.

"No. Your suffering remains until the Plot Tree reaches its conclusion. I am just a worker. And the moment I succeed, you, your brother, and even your Gods will forget we ever stood here. You won't even know we exist."

​"Then what is the gain for you?" Oralia asked, her voice trembling.

"Why risk your life for people who won't even remember you?"

​R98 looked at the ground, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"I don't want the R300s to flag this world as 'Revolting.' If they do, I don't know what will be left of you."

For a brief second, the "Manager" looked like a man protecting something precious.

​Miyeru’s eyes turned cold.

"If you want to protect them, why not let them go free?"

​"Because then someone else gets assigned to this file," R98 replied.

"And their fate would no longer be in my hands."

​"Then let them join us!" Miyeru shouted.

"Why go this far? This isn't a maintenance officer's job! This isn't your burden!"

​R98 nodded slowly. "You’re right. But I’ve already decided my course of action. I’m seeing this through."

His eyes hummed with the light of a dying star.

​Miyeru’s teeth gritted in pure desperation.

"Why?! Why do Rangers like you even exist? And if you're so 'dedicated,' where were you when Universe 357 was burning?!"

​R98 stood perfectly still.

"The irony is, Miyeru... Universe 357 is still functional. Once you and Kiel escaped and joined the Rebels, the R300s moved in. They worked with other divisions to 'repair' the gap."

​He looked at her with a pity that was more painful than a blade.

"Right now, as we speak, there is a Universe 357 where another Kiel and another Miyeru are living their lives, unaware that you ever existed."

---

Chapter 36.5: Overtime and Absurdity

​R98 reached out with his one remaining hand and slapped R56 on the back, the hollow sound echoing through the smoldering garden.

​"Alright, lore time over!" R98 announced, his voice snapping back to its usual high-energy pitch.

"I hope everyone followed along. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Now, let’s finish the business, 56."

​R56 nodded, his face hardening.

"Yeah. Let’s finish this overtime for real." He leveled his star-plasma gun and began a rhythmic suppressive fire.

​Miyeru, her eyes still fixed on the ground, deflected the bolts with her daggers with mechanical precision. She began a slow, deliberate walk toward the Rangers.

"It seems I understand you far better than I thought I could, R98," she said, her voice quiet.

"But despite that, I refuse your ways. This isn't personal. This is for my brother. Even if we are the 'Villains' of your report, I won't back down."

​R98 watched her, his expression uncharacteristically warm.

"Well, yeah. You shouldn't forget your values. That’s your way of life, isn't it?" He let out a bright, genuine laugh that seemed totally out of place in a war zone.

​Miyeru’s eyes widened. For a moment, her predatory aura flickered, and a faint, tragic smile touched her lips.

"You truly are something else. You know... I feel like I once knew someone like you. But I can't quite remember."

​R98 immediately struck a ridiculous, heroic pose.

"Huh?! Did you fall in love with me? Hah! Sorry, kid, I’m not into dangerous types. My heart belongs to the dream: a tsundere waifu who says 'Nya' like a catgirl after every sentence!"

​Miyeru’s smile vanished, replaced by the look of someone listening to the delusions of a madman. She let out a long, weary sigh.

"It was my mistake to think I could understand a single word out of your mouth. But it seems our time is up. R98-D57... if I ever meet R98-D58, will he remember this?"

​R98’s gaze turned briefly somber.

"Not really. After each respawn, our memories tend to collapse under the weight of ten thousand years. We usually just wake up knowing our job and not much else."

​Miyeru nodded, her daggers humming with purple light.

"I feel this is goodbye, then."

She dropped into a low dash, her speed blurring the air—but just as she reached R98, the ground beneath her vanished.

​With a divine rumble, a pit opened exactly where her foot landed, sending her tumbling into a deep, stone-lined trap.

​"Nice one, Mary!" R98 shouted, giving a thumbs-up to the Goddess of Creation in the sky.

​Miyeru climbed out of the pit, her hair messy and her suit covered in dirt. She looked at R98 and began to laugh—a genuine, unhinged laugh.

"You’re incredible. You’re seconds away from being erased, and you’re still making jokes. Is it because you don't know how to do anything else?"

​R98 smirked, the blue light in his eyes flaring one last time.

"Nah. It’s because I’m not going to die here. And my plan? It’s already working."

​

To be continued...

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