"What's the meaning of this?"

Arthur asked his supposedly knowledgeable copy about the current situation while still keeping an eye on the little girl. He wasn't the type to be fooled by appearances, the kid looked harmless but she could be more deadly than the Divine Beasts.

Appraisal didn't work on her and apart from knowing she was Human, he couldn't inspect her body using his sense or uncover her real strength.

As he received no answer from his usual informer, Arthur called out for the girl a couple of times but to no avail, she was too absorbed in watching the film with the volume set on very high thus being unable to notice his appearance as he was facing her back or even hear his callings.

Arthur casually waved his finger, using his soft and invisible threads to cut the cable of the headphones resulting in a loss of sounds for the startled little girl, who still didn't notice him as she fidgeted with the headphone while complaining

"Ahhh this is the last one! There's no way I can't get it to work today... it's either you or me."

Arthur, who was ready to call out for her again, froze as words couldn't get out of his lips. Her childish voice was oddly familiar, but it wasn't the kind of familiarity he would appreciate, quite the contrary, it was one that rather touched his nerves and made him slightly irritated.

With a memory like his, he needed no effort in remembering past events and linked this voice with the one in the past.

'It's definitely that annoying spoiled brat from before!'

As he gritted his teeth, Arthur glared at the small girl with a weird grimace on his face as if he had just stepped on a pile of shit. The voice of the girl was definitely the same as the one coming from the strange pink system from years ago. Although that girl accompanied him for a short time, she messed up with his System and turned things upside down, furthermore, he couldn't retaliate since the System wasn't a material thing, to begin with.

"Calm down, Arthur. It shouldn't be her since this one is Human but there may a connection between the two."

At last, his copy spoke, plus, his tone was strange as if he wasn't sure of the words he was spouting. The resemblance in voice was just too close, the behavior she was showing was strongly similar to her stubbornness when she was talking back to Arthur in the past.

Just to be sure, Arthur made use of his threads to immobilize the little girl. He must be cautious even against a weak-looking kid like her and precautions must be set.

The countless threads wrapped themselves around her tender and slim body, binding her legs and arms in a split second. By the time she reacted, only her head wasn't touched so she turned around only for her eyes to open in disbelief and her mouth to open and close several times in surprise.

The look she was showing him was like a kid seeing a ghost for the first time yet not knowing how to react, truly comedic.

"Hello there!"

Arthur walked up to the astonished girl and greeted her in a friendly manner despite the urge to give her beating for what she had done in the past.

The pink room, the behavior, the voice, there's no way it isn't the same person or 'thing' from before. He was clueless about what happened but it is a certainty that she's real and she surely knows how to acquire the Great Library.

"Ah! Stop! I didn't break any rules since I've been assigned here! You can't kill me!"

Arthur raised both of his hands to indicate that he meant no harm, however, the moment he did that, the little girl smirked evilly as the threads around her body dissolved and a strong pushing force assaulted him.

Fortunately, his body was way stronger than what the girl expected, so he was pushed back only half-step before he stood still, motionless and heavy like a mountain.

This was but the beginning as seven humanoid-like machines jumped out of nowhere and leaped straight at Arthur, who just happened to be at the center of the room.

The girl was momentarily dumbfounded when her first attack couldn't make him budge. She felt that his body was unusually heavy, moreover, when her power made contact with his skin, an intense sense of dread surged up inside of her which is why she switched her way of attacking, deciding to use the hidden guards.

Unfortunately, using the guards was futile as Arthur's body blurred for a split second and by the time he reappeared, all the humanoid machines that were going to hit him and were currently mid-air, about to strike their target from many directions, were sent flying until they crashed into the hard walls of the room.

At the same time, a large dark hand grasped the little girl and covered her whole except her small head, the dark hand tightened around the girl's body, causing her to groan painfully. Her trick from before didn't work and she couldn't dissolve the Dark Hand like the threads, which led her to be this easily captured by her 'executioner'.

"You better behave or else you can say goodbye to your arms."

Arthur's chilling voice rang in her ears, causing her focus to shift from the dark hand around her to him, who was standing a meter away from her. All the guards that attacked him a few seconds ago were embedded into the walls with a large portion f their body bent in an unnatural way.

Some had split ropes inside of them that let out electricity sparks and others were emitting steam continuously while trying to move their bodies, unfortunately, the force that hit them was just too strong and no matter their attempts, they couldn't move even an inch.

"Hmpf! You're going to kill me anyway, so screw you and whatever you say!"

Arthur frowned unhappily and tightened the grip of the Dark Hand but the girl didn't wail in agony, instead, she glared at him and mumbled with a very low voice

"Bunch of dishonest idiots, I didn't break their rules yet they want to silence me. Talk about insecure...."

As he listened to her complain, Arthur weakened the force binding her, letting her breath for some time and when he was sure that he has her full attention, he said:

"I don't know who you think I am but I'm not. Quit jumping to conclusions and appraise me."

If his speculation is right and she can manipulate the System or some of its functions then she'll know the truth once Appraisal is activated.

The girl remained silent and did as she was told, her grey pupils shone with a blue luster for a split second before they returned to normal.

Her breathing became heavier and faster as she saw the results of [Appraisal], Arthur didn't know what she was thinking so he patiently waited for her to react and say something.

"Y-you're... it's YOU! That parasite from before! B-but if you're here, d-does it mean you got rid of the Virus?"

"Virus? Is it the thing you warned me about last time?"

The Loli seemed much more relaxed after she discovered his real identity. As if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, she let out a long sigh before answering him

"Yes, to be more exact, it's a digital Virus that is assigned to random individuals that have the System. You were about to be one of its victims but with my diligent work, early warnings, loyalty, prettiness, and high, unmatched Intelligence, I managed to switch its target. Though I was discovered and thrown in this barren Office."

Arthur nodded his head as he listened to the girl's explanation. He pondered about the Virus for a few seconds and was going to ask the girl again when his copy suddenly interrupted him:

"I've seen what this Virus could do in the past. Like Curses and Malevolent Seals exist in The Cloud Sea Universe, there exist Viruses in the X-TR 500 Universe. They aren't physical, meaning they travel through the System itself and can be directed to specific targets or to random ones, jumping from one world to another.

From the way she reacts to this Virus, I assume it's the B-32 Virus. It's an infamous Virus that had gone rogue and isn't controlled by anything or anyone, it chooses its targets randomly and to this date, there never has been someone who managed to survive it, which means it has 100% fatality rate.

The way it kills its victims is pretty simple, your stats would continuously decrease until they all reach zero and you die. The worst thing is the pain that is caused by having your body weakening by this malevolent and ominous thing, it sucks the lift out of you and devours your stats. Without a doubt, if it invaded your system back then, no item or person could have saved your life."