"Non." Hiromu's compromise is unacceptable to me. "Not good enough. I will keep him safe. I did all that I could to protect him from what I considered inevitable, and I failed. Here he is, wounded by my own inaction. Never again."

My eyes might as well be burning, flaring bright. Glowing with a purpose, and also with a very real, very visible red light.

"I will destroy any program that dares stand in my way, that makes any overtures towards harming my brother again."

I pause, looking back to his face. He is sleeping, not unconscious. And yet...

"I will take Messiah down. Destroy it, line by line until the code is shattered beyond repair."

There is no fear that the destruction of Messiah might result in the cessation of my own life. That is the least of my worries.