Chapter 306: Aerith

Next, Tifa was responsible for taking care of the unconscious Cloud, while Red XIII and Barrett rested in the same room.

Luode and Aerith then moved into a guest room alone.

That night, Luode was in his room, eyes closed, cultivating his spirit, and began to think about some issues concerning the Final Fantasy world.

In the world of Final Fantasy VII, besides this planet, Luode actually wanted to test a spell for crossing parallel universes, to see if he could reach other worlds in the Final Fantasy series.

Final Fantasy has over a dozen mainline games, countless spin-offs, and movies—this is an extremely vast setting.

Moreover, the overall combat level of Final Fantasy is not lacking at all; it even surpasses Naruto.

Here, the savage gods and those special giant summon beasts have life ranks fully equivalent to wilderness demigods; even some final bosses are true god level! For example, in the Final Fantasy XV world, the originally set final boss was not Ardyn but the Sword God Bahamut.

For instance, the boss that the milk‑big sister from Final Fantasy XIII finally faced is truly a creator‑god level.

Before crossing over, Luode had played the latest mainline entry of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XVI.

Before this game was released, all Final Fantasy fans had a combat‑power ranking in mind.

The first place was surely Lightning, the second should be some tragic prince, and third was Cloud and company.

After all, the first two are definitely capable of dealing with true‑god‑level beings; even Luode now cannot say he would surely win against them.

But after Final Fantasy XVI launched, the combat power of its protagonist directly surpassed that of the tragic prince of Final Fantasy XV, becoming a protagonist on par with Lightning.

Because the final boss he faces is also a true‑god‑level character, capable even of changing the entire planet and creating the human race.

The battle against the Dragon King Bahamut even reached into space, with the ultimate showdown taking place on the planet's surface; the special effects were simply splendid.

The apocalyptic meteor in Final Fantasy VII, if dealt with by the Dragon King Bahamut from the world of Final Fantasy XVI, would be a piece of cake!

The battle with Titan even altered a country's terrain—it was the final showdown.

Facing the ancient god that created humanity, he even displayed planetary‑level combat power; that final boss, Luode even lacked confidence he could defeat it.

Relatively speaking, although Final Fantasy VII has a bigger name, in terms of actual combat power it simply cannot compare with those few works.

Even in the World of Light within Final Fantasy Origin, some civilizations even possess the ability to restart the world—this world's waters are still deep.

When free, he could test his own parallel‑universe crossing spell, sending a clone or something else to scout ahead—it might bring unexpected benefits.

Just as Luode was pondering whether to go to a parallel universe of the Final Fantasy world,

suddenly someone knocked on the room's door.

He sensed it and immediately realized who was outside—no way? Could it be that I still have times when I'm ambushed at night? Or being ambushed by a girl who takes the initiative?

"Mr. Luode, are you there? I'm Aerith. Are you asleep? I have something I want to talk to you about."

"I'm not asleep yet, come in!" Luode sat up and said.

The door was pushed open, and Aerith, wearing a white dress and red coat, appeared at the doorway, waving at Luode.

"Mr. Luode, would you accompany me to the rooftop for a walk?" Aerith said.

"If you have something to say, just come in and speak!"

Aerith nodded, came up to Luode, took a deep breath, and asked.

"Mr. Luode! I want to ask: is the memory that Cloud inherited truly Zack's?"

This is something she urgently wants to know.

"I thought you were going to ask something else, but if it's this, then yes—it's Zack.

They were subjected to various experiments after being captured by Hojo. Cloud, this guy, had his memories accidentally fuse with Zack's." Luode said.

This girl, although she knows her original fate, still doesn't know some specific details!

"No wonder, no wonder—I felt so familiar when I first met Cloud." Aerith nodded, speaking thoughtfully.

The way this guy Cloud appeared before me was exactly the same as Zack's; as soon as he showed up, I felt instantly familiar.

"You came to see me in the middle of the night just to ask this?" Luode asked. "Mm, that's exactly what I wanted to ask—thanks, Mr. Luode, for clearing my doubts.

"Alright then! As repayment, how about we go on a date tomorrow daytime?"

Hehe! The city's tower top is said to have wonderful scenery—come find me then, and we'll go check it out together.

Aerith gave a very playful smile, made a funny face at Luode, then ran out and closed the door.

Damn! Am I being hit on?

Having crossed so many worlds, the women I've met seemed to have all been won over by various means; this feeling of being hit on by a girl gives Luode a very fresh sensation.

As expected of Aerith! A little expert at picking up guys.

If you ask who's best at picking up guys in the Final Fantasy VII world, it's definitely Aerith—this girl is no ordinary!

Luode shook his head and lay back down on the bed.

All night passed without a word! Early the next morning, everyone gathered in Cloud's room; at this point the blond little yellow‑haired one had already awakened, but sat hunched on the bed with eyes dull as ash, a look of utter despair.

"Cloud! What's wrong with you, huh? Pull yourself together—are you back to normal? Please, I'm about to go crazy." Tifa shook Cloud anxiously, feeling vexed.

After Cloud woke up this morning, Tifa unusually excitedly pulled him aside, asking this and that! She wanted to know what had happened to him over the years, why her childhood friend had become like this—but Cloud just sat on the bed silent, clutching his fists tightly, his expression grim, as if he had something on his mind.

"You little brat, you've changed into a different person—hey, I'm telling you to perk up a bit!" Barrett said, thoroughly dissatisfied.

In this state, how could he go seek revenge on Sephiroth? "Aerith! I, I want to tell you, sorry, sorry, the person you've been waiting for—he's not coming back." Cloud suddenly looked at the just‑entered Luode and Aerith, and both spoke up.

"No need to apologize to me, you haven't done anything wrong—don't waste Zack's sacrifice; remember, you are now the continuation of his life, so strive to pull yourself together!" Aerith immediately waved her hand, smiling as she comforted Cloud.

"I understand—I will carry on Zack's share and live well. By the way, let's continue talking about last night's topic; I've now recovered my memory—back then I was just a soldier of the Shinra Company.

Zack had been looking out for me even before this; we two, in that laboratory, discovered a monster named Jenova.

After causing the tragedy in Niflheim, Sephiroth returned there and defeated Zack.

Finally, I picked up the Buster Sword and slew Sephiroth with a single strike." Cloud said.

"Wait, you say you killed Sephiroth? But he clearly isn't dead!" Barrett said, puzzled.

"Idiot, Mr. Luode explained yesterday—Sephiroth now is in a very special state, he has no physical body.

He is effectively like having countless bodies; anyone infected with the Jenova virus could become his vessel." Tifa gave a speechless look—Mr. Luode had already explained this yesterday.

"If that's the case, how do we destroy this guy? How do we only know who's been infected? What exactly is this Jenova thing?" Barrett asked.

"「Jenova virus has been implanted in my body by Baotiao, and many Shinra soldiers also have Jenova cells in their bodies. 」 Kelaode finished speaking and pointed at his own body."

The reason I went from being an ordinary Shinra soldier to possessing such powerful super-soldier abilities is precisely because of this Jenova virus.

You should know that he had been asleep for five years, and after just a little over a month of awakening, he has already grown to his current level—one can imagine how powerful the Jenova force is.

"「What's important now is not eliminating the Jenova virus, but helping the planet's will. Do you know what Sephiroth's goal has always been? 」 Luode spoke."

At the core of this planet, Sephiroth is battling the planet's consciousness. The planet's will has created a concrete weapon—a giant whale—and there is also a white Weapon, which is battling the black Weapon created by Sephiroth.

If Luode is not mistaken, Sephiroth likely intends to annihilate this planet's consciousness, then replace it with Jenova's consciousness, turning the entire planet into an ark to become Jenova's new body.

Therefore, the world's consciousness urgently hopes that Ailisi can return to the Lifestream.

"「Mr. Luode, do you have any way to deal with Sephiroth? 」 Ailisi asked."

"「First, we need to eliminate the Jenova virus influence on Kelaode's body, so you can free yourself from this virus"

"「Otherwise, you could be influenced by Sephiroth at any moment and become his puppet. 」"

"「Mr. Luode, do you have any solution? 」 Kelaode's eyes lit up as he asked."

"「There is a simplest and quickest way; I will inject a power called chakra into your body."

"「Then I will use this power to kill the virus in your body, though the process will be somewhat painful. 」 (End of chapter)"