Chapter 610: Banana's Evil Not the Way (38)

Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Bo Ti Ou, hurry up and wake up!"

"Ahhh, San Yue Qi Xiaojie, you must absolutely not get into trouble!"

"Is there any kind soul who can help? Mika, Mianmian... anyone, come and help!"

In the hotel, all the guests watching the heavenly curtain were without exception drawn to San Yue Qi's life-or-death situation; even Alphonse excitedly clung to his head, and the enormous iron armor emitted a series of 'eh eh eh' echoes inside.

"What should we do? Brother, San Yue Qi Xiaojie is going to die! She doesn't have hidden power like Dan Heng!!"

If she really had it, she'd have to use it now; otherwise, she'd have to wait until her next life to use it!

"Stay calm, Alphonse." Edward stared fixedly at the blank, wooden face of Bo Ti Ou in the heavenly curtain, "If what Banana Helper said is true, and it's not controlling Bo Ti Ou, then it means anyone can give him orders, and San Yue Qi can too."

"Eh? That really seems to be the case." Alphonse belatedly realized, "Then how would Mr. Bo Ti Ou recover? Wouldn't we have to kill the Original Doctor, the root cause?"

"Killing the Original Doctor... I think Bo Ti Ou has no chance to recover; that guy still doesn't know where he's hiding."

Edward rested his chin and analyzed: "Pinokangni's atavistic experiment seems to be conducted separately by Banana Master and the research ape controlling Banana Helper; if we could find a way to kill it, there might be a chance to recover. It's just unknown whether those who have turned into monkeys can change back."

——

"In the hurried turn, San Yue Qi had already braced for the worst; even if she saw a sleepy banana little monkey pointing a gun at her and pulling the trigger, she wouldn't be too surprised."

"However, Bo Ti Ou's response was still far beyond her imagination——"

"\"But, sir, killing is illegal, let alone against such a beautiful lady. \""

"Along with an unheard-of tone, what appeared before San Yue Qi was a wondrous scene that could only appear in the memory realm."

"Young Bo Ti Ou carefully held a bundle of light, his eyes wide with surprise. Meanwhile, on the back of his memory, the grown him was undergoing bodily transformation, turning part of his body into mechanical alloy."

"\"Uh... I wonder if I've become the protagonist now? Because of this gun?" The young Bo Ti Ou examined the revolver in his hand, "It looks nice, but whose life did I take with it? I didn't mean to.""

"\"Or, let you two settle your grudge yourselves, I'll go ahead first?" After saying that, the boy intended to step away.

"\"You... \""

"San Yue Qi was about to say something, but suddenly realized, thinking: \"Wait, is this what you want me to witness? \""

"Banana Helper said lightly: \"That's right, you should be able to guess as well; after all, it's just an empty dream. Even if one turns into a monkey in the dream, their real bodies don't undergo physiological degeneration. And he, with his extraordinarily resilient mind, has become an even more precious sample. His mind hasn't been completely destroyed; rather... \""

"\"The one standing here is neither a monkey nor a Sea Patrol Ranger. He is, from long ago before his homeland was destroyed, a carefree soul living on the plains—a 【past Bo Ti Ou】. \""

"\"【Incomplete degeneration】... This is quite interesting." Banana Helper gave a gloomy laugh, "According to memory estimation, this appearance is at least ten years before he first pulled the trigger on bandits."

——

Magical Forbidden Book Index.

"His homeland destroyed in an instant……"

"In the sweltering summer night student dorm, Index murmured those words repeatedly, then suddenly lifted her head: \"Ah, Touma! I remember! Earlier the heavenly curtain mentioned that Bo Ti Ou deeply despised Osvaldo Schneider, the head of the Market Development Department at Interstellar Peace Company! Could it be……"

"You mean Osvaldo destroyed Bo Ti Ou's homeland?"

"Exactly!" Index clenched her fists, flailing about in the room, looking furious: "How could the company appoint such a scum who destroys homelands as a manager? It's too strange! No wonder the people in the Strategic Investment Department also dislike him; surely God will punish this wicked fellow!!"

"Well... but if God could truly punish evildoers, then perhaps we should first try punishing those research apes and the Original Doctor." Kamijou Touma turned his gaze back to the heavenly curtain, "Besides, there are so many evildoers in the universe; if we really wanted to punish them, God would probably have to queue up as well."

"No way!" Although many divine phenomena incomprehensible to Index appeared after the heavenly curtain descended, she still refused to link the Star God with her faith.

"By the way, do the 103,000 magical books in your mind contain any records of magic like 'evolution' or 'degeneration'?"

"Index shook her head; this obviously isn't something magic can do. Although the meme virus shows effects like some kind of spreading magical barrier, in the end it must be classified as 'technology' or 'superpower'."

"All right." Touma sat in the chair, sighing somewhat dejectedly.

"Although he had touched it many times before, Kamijou Touma still used his right hand to feel his own body——as expected, the Imaginary Killer did not trigger; everything remained calm and nothing happened."

"The Meme Virus does not belong to any category of 'extraordinary ability'."

"What a hassle……"

——

"\"How amazing! Whether it's the Beautiful Dream Troupe or my true self, he only needs one shot to finish it off. But the power to pull the trigger… oddly comes from the spirit, not the flesh. Now he's just a child, yet oddly he doesn't know how to fire that shot. \""

"\"All right, Cowboy, please come over. Now we'll finish your final assignment—a Sea Patrol Ranger siding with the Original Doctor, a traitor born through cultivation… this deserves a few more papers. \""

"Bo Ti Ou seemed to gradually wake from his stupor a little, starting to walk toward Banana Helper: \"…Dream? \""

"\"Hey, definitely don't go over there!" San Yue Qi tried to stop him.

"\"Please be quiet, miss, and pay attention to your etiquette during the auditing class. \""

"Bo Ti Ou held his head, his voice returning to the childish clarity of his youth, though his eyes still held a hint of bewilderment: \"Is this… a dream I'm having? \""

"\"Of course, based on your memory… where did your last memory leave off? Herding livestock, or chopping firewood? \""

"\"Nope, none of those." Bo Ti Ou objected, "I was eating hot stew; weird, how did I fall asleep? Besides, I've got a lot to do—later I'll have to be kicked awake by Nick.""

"Banana Helper laughed heartily: \"Hahaha, you haven't mentioned that name in a long time. Indeed, for you now, everything the company has done is still a distant future. \""