Shiomi had expected, at the very least, a brutal fight.
The plan had been to battle U-Olga Marie, use the Unity God's power to stabilize the Second Netherworld's environment, and buy time for Master and the others to catch up. That way, they could join the fight against the 'Alien God', or at least help clear out any troublesome Alien Apostles.
Instead, there wasn't even a proper battle. U-Olga Marie fled in a panic.
At least, that was how it looked to Shiomi and Morgan.
"A panicked retreat like that… it's pretty strange," Scáthach said on the ride back to Chichen Itza, after hearing their account.
"Didn't we talk about this before?" Artoria said, recalling what they'd learned earlier. "The 'Alien God' calling itself U-Olga Marie likely incarnated by using the Director's old remains left behind at Antarctic Chaldea, and manifested in that form. Could that be related?"
Skadi leaned on the vehicle's railing, staring out over the endless grasslands. "It would be stranger if it weren't related. Marie was born from her Magus Family for a specific purpose. Her original body may have been altered with magecraft long before she was even born, all to make it suitable for whatever they intended to use it for."
"But if it's that simple, why hasn't the 'Alien God' reacted like this until now?" Shiomi asked. "It's not the first time she's seen me or fought me. It's not even the first time she's met all of us… and yet now she suddenly fell into that kind of mental breakdown…"
"Authority," Morgan said quietly, picking up the thread. "Ever since my husband's authority came to me, I keep seeing fragments of his memories without meaning to. Happy ones, sad ones, troubled ones, helpless ones… all of it."
"Hmm." Scáthach's expression turned thoughtful. "Unlike Morgan from Proper Human History, the 'Alien God' has a spiritual core that doesn't lose out to the Unity God. That would make devouring authority far easier."
So if the 'Alien God' had already begun to devour, or even digest, the authority, it would inevitably react with the power she already possessed.
And that authority, stripped from Shiomi's body, or more accurately from his very soul, would inevitably be mixed with countless memories tied to its original owner.
"I remember Touko said something like this," Shiomi said, thinking back to an earlier conversation. "Human memories exist in the body, the soul, and the mind at the same time. Because a person is born as all three in one, you don't notice the distinction. But whether a body that has lost both soul and mind still retains any memories is often impossible to prove."
He continued, recalling more of it. "If you place a brand-new personality into a body that's lost its soul and mind, whatever memories remain in that flesh can surge up into the new personality's mind instead. But no one knows what form that takes, because there aren't real samples to study."
Memories and emotions moved with the soul and mind. What lingered in the body would slowly fade away, until the body itself was gone.
Morgan followed that line of reasoning further. "But Marie's original body was cryogenically preserved, so it could be used later for things like transferring Magic Crests. Alien Chaldeas took advantage of that, fabricated a mind and soul inside an empty shell, and made it act as the 'Alien God'."
"Come to think of it, when the 'Alien God' first descended, she said some odd things," Skadi added. "Words like 'operation' and 'generation'."
"That does sound mechanical," Artoria said. "Enkidu, who appeared at the last moment in Uruk, had a similar way of speaking."
Though Enkidu's words had been far more coherent and rational, not like a machine that needed to constantly calibrate its own logic.
"But if that personality was created specifically so the 'Alien God' could function," Morgan said, raising a finger, "then it would have to have flaws. For example, it might have been designed to block out the influence of the body's memories, so it couldn't 'see' what was stored there."
Scáthach gave a light clap. "Then it fits. Those physical memories wouldn't normally interfere, but once it came into contact with my beloved disciple's authority, matching fragments resonated with each other and disrupted her rational mind."
At that, everyone turned to look at Shiomi, their eyes carrying varying degrees of teasing.
He could only spread his hands.
Love really wasn't an easy thing.
Sometimes love gave you unimaginable strength. Other times, love became the most terrifying curse in the world.
Either way, its weight was never something you could dismiss.
In other words, the 'Alien God' had been influenced by the memories in that body. Those scattered fragments were awakened, and the feelings that surged up from them, like a tide, feelings of "first love" and "adoration," kept crashing against the 'Alien God' again and again.
And that caused a failure she'd never experienced before: a being overflowing with vivid emotions, yet still operating like a machine, carrying out the task of reclaiming the Fantasy Trees and ruling the planet and humanity.
"All in all, it's a good thing," Scáthach said, sounding optimistic. "I'd like to say it's a shame you didn't chase her down, but at a moment like this it's better not to get dragged into a prolonged fight. You don't want to fall into a trap."
"Speaking of which," Artoria said, "that glowing giant that appeared when we entered the Lostbelt and fought the 'Alien God' hasn't shown up again either."
That brought a wave of unease over everyone.
Once they factored that unknown enemy into the equation, even Shiomi couldn't help but wonder what Chaldea's next battle would look like.
But they didn't have time to stay downcast. As they passed a Deinos camp on the plains, they suddenly heard panicked shouting.
"Camazotz! Camazotz!"
"The bats are here! The shadow of death is here! The sun's still up, but they came before night!"
"Run! Run! They'll drain your blood! They'll turn you into walking corpses!"
A flood of magical reactions rose from the direction of the forest sea. Shiomi stood up inside the vehicle and looked toward the approaching threat.
He didn't sense any sign of Camazotz.
Instead, he felt a large number of presences roughly on the same level as the Deinos, steeped in the stench of death.
"Looks like the Deinos are in trouble," Scáthach said, jumping off with her spear in hand. "Let's do the Dinosaur King another favor. It'll help us later."
"I'll help too," Artoria said, swinging down after her. "You two rest. They're just Deinos who've turned into ghouls. We can handle this."