Lilia-san had called me to her office for a consultation. When I arrived and heard what she had to say... it turned out that she had apparently awakened her Heart Tool.
Apparently, Eden-san had bestowed it upon her as a reward for running an errand, and she had awakened it in just five seconds. Five seconds, huh... Yeah, I really shouldn't use this woman as a yardstick. Alice mentioned that I was on the fast side too, and since speed doesn't necessarily dictate the strength of an ability, I decided not to let it get to me.
"I understand the situation, but when it comes to Heart Tools, Alice is the real expert, not me. Even for a demonstration or testing, it would be best to consult her."
"True. Well, I’m sure she already grasps her own ability, but field testing is still essential..."
"Wait, Alice? What is that?"
"...It's just garbage. I ripped them off. She can just grow them back if she feels like it, so it's not a big deal."
Alice muttered this with a cold, hollow look in her eyes. In her hand, she gripped a pair of blood-stained mechanical wings. It was clear she had put the owner of those wings through a significant amount of pain.
I was curious, but Alice was radiating a quiet, simmering rage. I decided it was best not to poke the bear and let the matter drop.
"Anyway, so Lilia-san’s Heart Tool is a One-hit Kill Type... I see. Those definitely exist. They usually have a cooldown or specific usage restrictions, but they tend to be quite powerful."
"...Eh? Oh? Um, Alice-sama? Did I mention Hauteclere's ability to you already?"
"Oh, no. Through Hecatoncheir’s power, I can grasp an ability as long as I meet the conditions to borrow it, even if the person hasn't awakened it yet..."
Alice then began to explain the specifics of Lilia-san's Heart Tool. Its name was Hauteclere, and it took the form of a greatsword. Its power allowed her to unleash a single blow that reached the absolute peak of what her talent was capable of achieving.
Fate-san’s Authority reportedly included a power called the Critical Point of Fate, which temporarily forced a target to grow to the limits of their potential. This sounded like a version of that, limited to a single strike.
...Isn't that incredibly strong? If someone else used it, it might not be that impressive, but Lilia-san was a genuine genius whom Alice herself had labeled a "world-level bug." Alice predicted that a single strike from her would likely rival the power of the Six Kings.
Because the ability was so potent, it carried a ten-minute cooldown after each use. However, that could be shortened with Space-Time Magic... Wait, isn't that totally broken? If she could bypass the cooldown, she practically didn't have one at all. Plus, even without the active ability, it was still an exceptionally durable greatsword...
"Well, I’d like to run several tests. Does that 'single strike' strictly mean a slash? Does it apply to a blow from the hilt or even throwing the sword? Do her Magic Power and Defense also increase until the strike is completed? There are plenty of variables to verify."
"Yes. That is why, if it is not an imposition, I was hoping for your assistance, Alice-sama..."
"I don't mind. No one in this world knows more about Heart Tools than I do. For now, I'll create a subspace and we can handle it there."
Alice accepted Lilia-san's proposal without hesitation. Come to think of it, while Lilia-san's Heart Tool was absurdly powerful, Alice's Hecatoncheir was still the most incredible.
After all, she could even use Lilia-san's Hauteclere if the mood struck her...
"Kaito-san, since you're here, why don't you watch? I'll set up a barrier so the aftereffects don't hit you, so you'll be safe."
"In that case, I think I will. By the way, Alice... if you can see Heart Tools before they wake up, does that mean you know what Hina-chan and Aoi-chan will have?"
"Sure do. Hina-san's is Achilles, and Aoi-san's is Asgard. Hina-san's is modest but very user-friendly, while Aoi-san's is highly situational but quite powerful. I won't spoil the exact details here, though. We can wait until the two of them wake up."
Just as she classified Lilia-san’s as a One-hit Kill Type, I gathered there were many different categories of Heart Tools. Alice's tool seemed uniquely dominant, but apparently, the original Hecatoncheir was quite difficult to use. It had only become this monstrously powerful because Alice had ceased being human and spent years honing it to perfection.
"...Just so you know, Kaito-san, you might think Lilia-san and I have amazing tools, but in terms of base ability, yours is a total cheat. The fact that you can apply buffs that ignore the limits of a target's capabilities is already strong enough, but the fact that the scale of the buff has no upper limit and depends entirely on the strength of your heart is even crazier. On top of that, you can summon the deceased as Heart Tools based on that same strength of heart, and that part has no ceiling either."
"Y-Yeah. Now that you put it that way, I guess it is."
"Anyway, I'd like to see if the Memories buff applies to Lilia-san's strike with Hauteclere. I'll need your help in a bit."
"Understood."
Now that she mentioned it, my Heart Tool really was something. My own skill and Magic Power were so low that the effective range was narrow, but the ability itself was genuinely formidable. If someone like Alice used it, they could summon a literal army of the dead and grant massive buffs to a crowd simultaneously. As a support-type Heart Tool, its potential was through the roof.