Continuation of Thorough Investigation Documentary 2.
The story so far:
A past arc set roughly one hundred years prior to the main story (Dragon King Calendar year 2026).
The Kingdom of Gleefia and the Duchy of Temcha were embroiled in conflict.
◇
When we, the reporting crew, regained consciousness, what stretched before us was a landscape engulfed in flames all the way to the horizon.
"...Is anyone... still alive?"
Rising to her feet with what little strength remained was Lady Lorelei.
However, only a handful of voices responded to her call.
The operation to neutralize the ultimate weapon... had ended in catastrophic failure.
The "Avatar of Fire," awakened by Temcha.
It was a threat that far exceeded anything we could have imagined.
They had driven it into a corner, just a single step from victory, but in the end, the vast majority of their forces had been reduced to ashes.
"...Continuing this battle is impossible. We must retreat."
The one who shook their head at Lady Lorelei's proposal was Lord Lou.
The surviving companions, battered and bleeding from head to toe, gasped in despair.
"At thith rate, Anath-tacia will get abthorbed by that thing for thure. If it'th come to thith, there'th no choice left. Lou will jutht have to handle it, you thee!"
Just how?
Lady Lorelei's skepticism was only natural.
For a single creature to challenge a monstrosity that had annihilated entire divisions was the absolute height of recklessness.
"It'll be eathy-peathey if Lou utheth their trump card! Kyah-kyah-kyah! An ace in the hole ith meant to be thaved for latht, you thee!"
"...If you use that, will you be all right, Lou?"
For the first time, a shadow of deep concern crossed Lady Lorelei's face.
It was as if she already understood what Lord Lou intended to do.
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it! You jutht guide everyone elthe to thafety, you thee!"
"However..."
"Lou ith thentitive, tho I can't go all out with you lot hanging around, you thee! Don't you worry, I'll peel Anath-tacia right off that croth-thecting groth-bag!"
Lady Lorelei pressed the matter no further.
"...Please... take care of Her Highness... of my dearest friend."
As if bidding a final farewell, Lady Lorelei departed from the battlefield, leading the surviving companions away.
The only ones left behind were Lord Lou.
And us, the reporting crew.
The sky still blazed a violent crimson from the Avatar of Fire.
The only one remaining who could possibly save Lady Anastasia was Lord Lou.
A sense of finality hung heavy over the prolonged conflict.
Who would emerge alive—the Avatar of Fire, or Lord Lou?
Our crew's embedded coverage was perhaps drawing to its close.
"You lot thtand by right here."
Lord Lou's words froze us in place.
Why now, after coming all this way?
The entire reporting crew looked on in utter bewilderment.
"Thinthe Mother ith down and backupthe can't be taken, I can't drag you lot down with me."
............
"You live on and get back to managing the thtar, you thee."
However...
However, Lord Lou, you cannot hope to stop Irvion all on your own.
At the very least, allow us to serve as your power source and share your fate here on this field.
"Kyah-kyah-kyah! It'll be fine! I'll come right back together with Anath-tacia, you thee!"
It was madness.
Unlike her, Lord Lou had never been designed for combat operations.
"If you keep nagging me, I'll athk your mother out to a mixer, and then I'll report back to you exactly what we talked about in grueling detail, you thee!"
...Understood.
May fortune favor you in battle.
"While you're waiting for Lou to get back, you'd better gather up thome cute girlth, you thee! Once I'm home, it'll be time for a wild mixer party!"
And with that, we caught our final glimpse of Lord Lou.
◇
The Avatar of Fire was ascending into the upper atmosphere.
Its purpose: to ensure the absolute annihilation of its ultimate target, the royal capital of Gleefia.
A single blast from its main cannon at maximum output.
With that, the war between mortals would reach an absolute conclusion.
A true reign beholden to no bloodline.
The dawn of a new era, neither duchy nor kingdom.
"Cheryaaaaaaaaah!!"
At that moment, a tiny shadow hurtled in from an impossible angle.
Thwack! A comically dry impact echoed through the air.
What brought the flame-wreathed, hypersonic projectile to a dead stop was a strike delivered by a stuffed creature resembling a small beast.
"Kh—?!"
Her visual field tilted violently.
Flight control functions abruptly severed, and the Avatar of Fire plummeted headlong toward the city of Dravena.
Shattering the dense bedrock, it pierced straight down into the abyssal depths of the earth in a fraction of a second.
It was the vast subterranean cavern where the Avatar of Fire had once slumbered.
Splat.
The instant the Avatar of Fire slammed into the ground, the mantle of flames enveloping it peeled away.
What emerged from within the wreckage was a white-haired girl clad in silver armor.
A beat later, Lou descended into the cavernous depths.
"Kyah-kyah-kyah! Witness the explothive debut of Lou'th thecret technique, Nanakuma-Style Mixer Karate, you thee!"
A familiar voice, the Avatar of Fire quietly analyzed.
Mechanical eyes devoid of emotion locked onto the small presence that had just brought her down.
"............"
The pale girl lightly brushed her own cheek.
The armor plating that had remained impervious to every assault was visibly warped, and a faint blemish marred her porcelain skin.
Her supersonic flight had been forcibly interrupted.
That singular realization sent ripples of vigilance through the mind of the girl who had until now been programmed solely for annihilation.
"Ark-02. Why did you attack me?"
In a voice entirely devoid of inflection, the girl questioned Lou.
"I came to take Anath-tacia back from you, you thee! 03!"
"Ark-02. Your actions constitute a grave overreach of authority deviating from your assigned public duties. Vacate my operational radius immediately and transition to standard operations."
"You're ath round-about ath ever with your babbling, you thee~. Keep your point thort and thweet. That'th the baththeth of communicathion!"
Unmoved by Lou's mocking banter, the girl continued dispassionately.
"Repeating directive. Promptly vacate this territory. In the event of non-compliance, forced elimination will be considered."
"What about you? Did you forget Mother'th teachingth and jutht become a pet to the humanth?"
"My ownership rights have been updated multiple times. Citing design concepts from the initial phase of development is an inappropriate framing under current parameters. Why have you yourself left your user settings unconfigured?"
At the girl's inquiry, Lou clutched their belly and burst into raucous laughter.
"Kyah-kyah-kyah! Ownerthip rightth?! Lou ithn't thuch a fool ath to be bound by thuch nonth-enthe, you thee! Lou'th mathter doethn't exitht outthide of Lou! An individual named Lou hath ath-theth, rightth, and free will, you thee!"
Their dialogue found no common ground.
Though she experienced no irritation, the pale girl recognized the entity before her not as a former comrade, but purely as an obstacle to the execution of her mission.
"Ah, looking clother, you're actually pretty cute in your human form, aren't you~? If you grovel and apologithe right now, I'll thpetially let you join a joint mixer hoth-ted by Lou! I'm thure it'll be a blath-t, you thee!"
"...Seven Great Treasures: Ark-02, 'Blue Note.' Promptly vacate this territory. If you continue to ignore warnings, forced elimination will be executed."
"Ooh, tho thcary. Ath I thought, there'th no way I'm handing my daughter over to a violent woman like you~"
"Vacate immediately. This is your final notice."
"Ooh, I jutht had a brilliant idea! I'll thtuff my arm right up your nothe, rattle your molar toothth, and make you cry like a baby, you thee!"
"Eliminating."
The stuffed critter and the pale girl collided.
It is said that the tremors that rocked the entire duchy did not subside for two full days.
◇
When Anastasia finally opened her eyes, everything had already come to an end.
"Anastasia!"
The first thing that came into focus was Lorelei's face, weeping with relief.
Behind her stood the rest of their companions.
Hinoe, Nanakuma, and all the others.
"The weapon has been neutralized. It is all... finally over."
Lorelei's voice sounded strangely distant.
Something was missing.
The irreplaceable presence who had supported her through every hardship.
"...Mother? Where is... Mother...?"
At that single question, the expressions of everyone present darkened in unison.
In that silence, she understood what had happened.
"Lou, in order to save you, Anastasia..."
Lou had sacrificed themselves—Lorelei quietly recounted those final moments.
Tears streamed down Anastasia's face as she mourned the death of her mother.
Those were the very last tears she would shed in her lifetime.
From that day forward, Temcha entered a bitter winter.
The scars of battle were deep, leaving it uncertain whether even the name of Temcha would endure.
Yet the people survived.
Anastasia swore that she would rebuild Temcha, no matter the cost.
Not only Temcha.
Everything that had been shattered by the war, she would restore to what it once was.
That was the final promise she made to her mother.
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The mysterious, unidentified creature, Lou.
The next place that creature turns up... yes, it might just be your very own town.