“…He said he had been asleep for three hundred years—that No. 700672.”
Vivienne spoke softly, her words coming in fits and starts.
“The timing matches the Great Magic War. Perhaps… no, there is a high probability that the ones who drove a wedge between humanity and the demon race were the Negadolls.”
“Yes, that seems likely,” Stearena agreed. No. 700672 had certainly hinted as much.
“In that case, if we defeat the Negadolls, will the conflict between the demon race and humans come to an end?”
Reinhard was the one to answer.
“Only if we can prove it, and provided we can actually trust what No. 700672 says.”
He added that the emotion of hatred was not something that vanished easily.
“…I don’t know if he’s being vague on purpose or if it’s unconscious, but…” Elsa voiced a doubt of her own. “I can’t get a clear picture of this ‘Master’ he speaks of.”
She noted that she couldn't even tell if the term referred to a single individual or many.
“Let’s ask him about that.”
Laojun made the suggestion and decided to pose the question through Anne.
＊ ＊ ＊
“…My Master, you say…”
No. 700672 closed his eyes as if immersing himself in nostalgia, but eventually he opened them again and began to speak.
“It was about five thousand years ago by this planet’s calendar when my Master and the rest of us landed… At that time, there were roughly one thousand Masters.”
He explained that each Master had one or two servants.
“Therefore, when I use the singular ‘Master,’ I am referring specifically to my own. If I say ‘Masters,’ I am referring to all of my Master’s companions.”
Jin and the others on Hourai Island found this answer logical.
“In other words, the ‘Masters’ created the Negadolls, and his specific ‘Master’ created the Agujha.”
“I understand. Might I ask your Master’s name?”
“I do not have the authority to speak it… No, none of the servants do. It seems that among the Masters, names were considered sacred.”
No. 700672 closed his eyes again, looking exhausted. Neige silently spread a futon over him. Reiko, Anne, and Alectas stepped away from the bed for a moment.
“For the time being, we have learned most of what we wanted to know,” Reiko said, and Anne nodded.
“Yes. I’m sure Father is curious about more, but that can wait for another day. Right now, the Negadolls are the priority.”
“Umu. In that case, there is one more thing… No, let us ask how to neutralize the Agujha, and then we shall leave this place.”
“That sounds best.”
After a brief pause, Alectas slowly approached the bed. Neige looked up.
“Forgive me. There is one more thing I wish for you to tell me.”
“…I know. Neutralizing the Agujha. I heard you.”
“Then this will be quick. Please, tell us.”
“Of course. At the very least, the control unit for the ones I created is right here. In the next room. I will have Neige guide you. However, if the ‘Failure’ has created others… I do not know about those.”
The ‘Failure’… in other words, Nega-doll 001 was also capable of producing Agujha.
“That is fine. We intend to liberate my clan first, and then the other clans in sequence.”
“I see, I see… Neige, show them. It is number ＊？＄＆Ｄ＃.”
The sequence contained a word they couldn’t understand, but Neige walked forward without hesitation. She silently pointed to a certain magi-device. It was a different apparatus from the one Reiko had neutralized earlier.
“I see, this is it.”
It was equipped with three large windows and eight small ones.
“You do it like this.”
As Neige operated two small levers and four small buttons, the three large windows went dark. The machine appeared to have stopped.
“It’s okay now.”
After announcing this, Neige hurried back to the small room and sat down, huddling close to No. 700672.
“You have my gratitude, Servant No. 700672 of the Origin Clan.”
Alectas bowed from a short distance away.
“No, this was our own mismanagement; do not let it trouble you… Do be careful. Do not underestimate the Failure. That is all I can tell you. If possible, I would wish for you to destroy the Failure, but… that is likely impossible.”
No. 700672 spoke weakly.
“I would tell you where the Failure’s base is, but… it is likely not in any place I know of. I cannot be of help in that regard.”
“I see. That is unfortunate… Ah, that’s right.”
As she was about to leave, Anne asked one more thing that had occurred to her.
“There were many traps on the way here. Is it possible to deactivate them?”
“Traps?” No. 700672 tilted his head. Anne explained the path they had taken. “I see. From what I’ve heard, most of those were installed by the Failure. Since that creature enters and exits via transfer, the presence of traps is irrelevant to it.”
“Ah, I see…”
From traps involving chlorine—something seen for the first time in this world—to simple pits and even golems, they hadn't been able to shake the feeling that the defenses were inconsistent. Now the reason was clear.
“So they were traps added later, ignoring the need for manual passage.”
“Likely so. Furthermore, they were probably added bit by bit over time. The only things that were here originally were the bulkheads.”
Reiko, Anne, Laojun, and Jin were all convinced.
“Ah, and one more thing,” No. 700672 added as an afterthought. “If you are going outside, look at the ceiling of the corridor outside that Room of Windows. There should be a shaft leading directly to the surface. If there are Fallners present, you should be able to pass through.”
He gave them that final advice. And then—
“May fortune be with the future of the Fallners.”
With those words, No. 700672 closed his eyes once more.
“We will surely come again.”
Reiko gently stroked Neige’s head and left the room. Neige might have actually been the older of the two, but Reiko didn’t mind such details. As the three of them stepped out of the white room, the door closed soundlessly.
“I suppose homunculi do not require food,” Reiko murmured.
“Yes, Elder Sister. Most likely. They are probably able to exist solely on free ether.”
“If that is the case, the Ether Stampede may have had a tremendous impact on homunculi as well. The reason they stopped waking up might be related…”
As they spoke, Anne stopped while they were heading back.
“…There is a possibility that Nega-doll 001 will return here. Since No. 700672 doesn't know where its other bases are, we need to take some sort of countermeasure.”
“True. But what should we do?”
At that moment, a communication came in from Laojun.
“…Ah, I see.…Yes.…Understood.”
Laojun informed her that he would be sending ten Land units and ten Smith units via transporter immediately. The Smiths’ role, of course, was to analyze the magi-tools and magi-devices within the facility.
Alectas looked puzzled, as he didn't know Reiko and Anne were communicating with someone else, but since it wasn't the time to inform him, the group simply left the Room of Windows.
“A shaft… Sonar… I see, it’s there.”
Rather than searching blindly, Reiko used Sonar to look for a hollow space and found one in the ceiling about five meters down the corridor. Handrails and step-like indentations were carved into the wall, leaving no doubt. She confirmed the flow of mana with Trace, but there were no signs of any traps.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Alectas climbed up the handrails toward the ceiling. When he touched the part that looked like a hatch, it opened just like the door to the white room.
“A passage that only Fallners… no, those who draw the blood of the Origin can use?”
Inside the circular shaft, which was about one meter in diameter, a spiral staircase ran along the wall. It was only about fifty centimeters wide, but they could manage the climb if they turned sideways.
After ascending about twenty meters, they arrived in a small room about three meters square. Once the three of them were inside, the hatch to the shaft closed. Referencing Jin’s knowledge, Reiko and Anne surmised that this small room was likely an airlock.
“The exit is probably just beyond this door.”
Alectas looked back, wondering if he would be able to visit again once they stepped outside. It was a hollow, empty room, but for some reason, he felt a sense of lingering regret.
“Alectas-san, please.”
Brought back to reality by Anne’s voice, Alectas touched the door. It opened effortlessly.
Cold outside air rushed in. Alectas pulled his collar tight against the chill. His breath was white; the temperature was well below freezing. It was night, and the world outside was pitch black.
“Capricorn 1 is that way.”
Reiko, peering through the darkness, pointed in one direction. The three of them began walking toward it. The barrier that had given them so much trouble on the way in had already vanished, and the group returned to Capricorn 1 without further incident.