"Father!"
Neige threw herself at him the moment his eyes flickered open.
"Father, Father...!"
"Ne...ige... is that you?"
The words were slow and halting, but he was speaking. Anne produced another vial of recovery medicine and held it out.
"Can you drink? Please, try this."
"I’ll give it to him!"
Neige gently took the ampoule, carefully pressed it to his lips, and poured the contents in.
"..."
He swallowed the medicine slowly and took a deep, rattling breath.
"...My thanks."
His voice had gained significant strength. The recovery medicine was clearly working.
"Neige, help me up."
"Yes, Father."
With Neige's support, her father pushed himself up into a sitting position on the bed.
He looked at Anne, Reiko, and Alectas in turn, his gaze finally lingering on the demon.
After staring at Alectas in silence for a full minute, a slight softness touched his expression.
"Impressive. So you have made it this far, descendant of the Fallen Ones. I commend you for discovering this place."
Alectas, who had been silent while trying to process the rapid turn of events, finally spoke.
"Y-you... no, are you... one of the Origin Clan?"
"Indeed. I am Servant No. 700672. One of those your people call the Origin Clan."
"What is this place? I mean, what exactly is this facility?" Reiko asked.
"Oho, an automaton with a will of its own? Remarkable. I shall answer. This facility was once part of the Heavenly Ship. And this room was meant to be my final resting place."
The Heavenly Ship. It was a term they recognized.
"Are you one of those who arrived here on that ship?"
"Indeed. I came to this land along with my masters."
"And where are your masters now?"
"They are no longer here. Compared to us, the lifespans of the masters were short."
"And these... 'Fallen Ones' you mentioned?" Alectas asked next.
"The Fallen Ones are the children of the masters who were born after arriving on this planet."
"Then, the descendants of the Fallen Ones are..."
"Yes. They are the children of the masters—their distant, distant descendants."
＊ ＊ ＊
Back on Hourai Island, Jin sensed that the origins of both humanity and the demon race were about to be laid bare.
He ordered Laojun to issue an emergency summons for the Family.
"Jin-nii... this is fascinating," Elsa murmured at his side.
Next came Saki. "Jin, what’s going on?"
"Did something happen?"
"Jin-kun, what is it?"
"Jin-kun, what on earth has occurred?"
"Jin-sama, did you call for us?"
Toa, Stearena, Vivienne, and Mine arrived in quick succession.
"Jin, what is all this?"
"Jin-sama, what is the matter?"
Finally, Reinhard and Berche joined them.
Jin simply pointed to the monitor and instructed them to watch.
＊ ＊ ＊
"My masters left Hale after its resources were depleted and came to Ars. This world possessed abundant resources and free ether, which allowed the masters to regain their vitality."
Hale was apparently their home world, and Ars was the planet where Jin and the others now lived.
"Some of the masters mingled with the natives of this planet and fathered children. Those in whom the masters' blood became diluted were called the Fallen Ones."
"..."
"Do you understand? This is the answer to your question. My masters are gone. There are only you Fallen Ones who inherited their blood."
＊ ＊ ＊
Jin sat on Hourai Island, pondering the implications. It seemed likely that those who inherited a strong concentration of the masters' blood could use magic, while those who didn't could not.
"Jin-kun, does this mean..."
"It does, doesn't it, Vee? It’s a story from the ancient, ancient past!"
"The precious truth is finally being told..."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Then, what have you been doing here all this time?" Anne asked.
"I shall answer. I am the last servant, No. 700672. I am merely waiting to decay in the land where my masters sleep."
"...Exactly how old are you?"
"I am a creation of the masters. Therefore, the concept of age has little meaning. If I must answer using your terms, more than five thousand years have passed since my creation, according to the calendar of this planet."
"Five thousand years!?"
Reiko, Anne, Alectas, and the group listening on Hourai Island were all stunned.
"Indeed. I am a homunculus. A fabrication of life. Therefore, I have no concept of death. I simply age, stand still, and eventually crumble."
"T-then why did you try to dominate us with those Needles?"
"Needles, you say?"
Servant No. 700672 looked genuinely confused. He thought for a moment before a realization seemed to strike him.
"Do you mean the magic tools roughly two centimeters long and one millimeter thick?"
"Yes! Tell us! Why are you trying to dominate us!?"
Alectas's voice rose as his emotions flared, but No. 700672 still looked as though he couldn't comprehend the accusation.
"Domination? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me!"
"Stop!"
Neige stepped in front of the agitated Alectas.
"It is fine, Neige. He likely has his reasons for such an outburst."
Unlike Alectas, No. 700672 remained calm and detached.
"Until you entered this room, I was in a deep slumber. I have been asleep for roughly three hundred years by your time."
He glanced toward one of the window-like displays on the wall.
"Therefore, I know nothing of this commotion you speak of."
"Three hundred years..."
Alectas and those watching from Hourai Island were half-aghast and half-awed by the sheer scale of time.
"However, I suspect I know the cause. Tell me your story."
"I... I understand. Actually..."
Forgetting his formalities, Alectas began to explain the situation of his clan. Reiko and Anne provided further details about the other affected clans.
"I see. Most likely, that is the work of the Failures."
"The Failures?"
"They were the final servants created by the masters. However, it seems this planet lacked something they required, and they turned out incomplete. They refused to obey orders."
"Are they... homunculi too?"
"Indeed. They were the failed results of the masters' attempt to create more homunculi. Those are the Failures."
"..."
Alectas was speechless. He found it hard to wrap his head around the fact that technology capable of creating humans existed, and that the being standing before him was a product of it.
"My body has been unable to move properly for about four hundred years. I have not left this place since then, and thus I was unaware of what was happening in the world outside."
No. 700672 explained that thirteen Failures had been created, and all were supposed to have been destroyed.
"However, it is possible that some of the Failures managed to avoid disposal."
"That being that called itself a Negadoll... was that one of the Failures?" Reiko asked.
"A Negadoll? Is that what it called itself?"
"Yes. We encountered it just outside this room. It escaped using teleportation magic."
"I see. I believe I understand the situation....Allow me some time to think."
No. 700672 looked exhausted. With those words, he lay back down upon the bed.