Belialus pressed the mysterious figure who had introduced himself as Rokure for more information.
"I assume that what we just passed through was a Warp Gate. Am I correct?"
The reply was a simple "Indeed."
"Is Arshel here? I am searching for her."
Belialus laid bare the reason for his journey.
"Ah, yes. She is here."
The mysterious figure confirmed it readily. Belialus leaned in, his voice urgent.
"Please, let me see her!"
The figure made a calming gesture.
"Now, now, have patience. She is well. I will take you to her, so there is no need to be so frantic."
At those words, Belialus managed to regain a modicum of his composure.
"Come this way."
The man beckoned Belialus forward.
After a moment's hesitation, Belialus steeled his resolve and followed.
"In here."
The man opened a door in the corner of the room and gestured for Belialus to enter.
"Arshel is in this room."
Trusting the man’s word, Belialus rushed inside.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Being who you are, Jin-dono, I expect you have already realized that my body is that of an automata."
"Yes, well."
"I cannot afford to stand still just yet. Therefore, I abandoned my biological form and chose this mechanical shell."
It was an explanation Jin had more or less anticipated ever since hearing the story of No. 700672.
"As for why... it is to fulfill my Master’s final wish."
"A final wish, you say?"
"Correct. Although I cannot reveal the nature of that wish just yet."
Jin felt a flicker of distrust as No. 600012 remained vague. However, there was a more pressing matter to confirm.
"And what about Belialus...?"
"Ah, yes. I shall speak of that now. Before I assumed this body, I created several prototypes."
That was a concept Jin found easy to grasp.
"The prototype immediately preceding this one is malfunctioning."
"What?"
Jin asked for clarification, not quite understanding what he meant by "malfunctioning."
Given that the control cores of automata were produced via Trans Info, the possibility of such an error occurring was infinitesimally low.
It was perhaps comparable to copying data to a hard drive. While not one hundred percent infallible, Jin had never heard of an error that resulted in a "malfunction"—not even in the records from the era of the Predecessor.
"Are you aware that this entire region is a unique mineral deposit?"
"Yes."
Aside from being a skarn deposit, it was a source of Elradrite—also known as Mityanite.
"My Master chose this location because they were interested in such materials. It also yields a significant amount of magi-crystal. Among those, we discovered something rare."
Saying this, No. 600012 turned around and reached for a shelf, picking up a single magi-crystal.
"This is it. I have named it 'Malite'."
"That’s...!"
It was a pink magi-crystal. Jin recognized it immediately.
"Ho? You have seen it before?"
"Yes."
The control core of the Golden Destruction Princess, Elena—the automata who had once been hostile toward Anne's sister units and the lineage of the Predecessor Magi Craft Meister, Adriana—had used this same type of magi-crystal.
"It was only very recently that I realized this material possessed strange properties."
"Would those be... 'overreacting to specific mana'?"
Jin, recalling the details of Elena's repairs, spoke up before the other could finish. No. 600012's expression shifted, perhaps in surprise.
"Exactly. To be more precise, it amplifies a 'specific mana' waveform."
"Is that a property of Mityanite...?"
"Are you familiar with the properties of Mityanite? Yes, it is similar, but far more localized. It seems the specific mana waveform that is amplified varies from stone to stone."
"Is that so?"
When Jin had once attempted to copy Elena's control core, it had reacted to his mana and emitted an incredible light.
At the time, Jin and Laojun had hypothesized that it amplified specific mana, but they had no other samples to verify the theory. Now, it was being confirmed in the most unexpected of places.
"A magi-formula is written in Magi Language according to a specific magi-sequence. Through that, mana is channeled and transformed into magic. What do you think happens when a specific mana is altered within a control core performing that function?"
"It would... malfunction, I suppose?"
"Correct."
To use an analogy, it would be like certain characters becoming garbled while typing on a keyboard.
"It is impossible to predict the exact results. However, one can easily imagine that the control core will fail to function normally."
Following that analogy, it was as if the characters of a written program were partially corrupted. It was unlikely to operate properly at all.
"Even so, thanks to systems like multiple verification, redundant calculations, and cross-checking, the unit has managed to avoid a fatal rampage."
Jin caught on to a specific phrasing.
"Wait... you said it has 'managed to avoid a fatal rampage.' What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Ah, forgive me. It was to explain that very point that I provided such a long preamble."
And what No. 600012 went on to reveal was...
＊ ＊ ＊
"Wh—What is this?! Arshel! Arshel!"
Before Belialus stood five versions of Arshel, all floating listlessly in a pale blue liquid.
The liquid was contained within transparent vessels, and thus, all five Arshels were suspended inside them. The containers were large enough to be called small pools, with walls that appeared to be roughly thirty centimeters thick.
They seemed to be made of an incredibly resilient material; no matter how hard Belialus pounded on them, they didn't even vibrate.
"It is a waste of effort. Those 'Arshels' are failed works."
"What!?"
Before he realized it, Rokure was standing right behind him.
"Their strength, durability, extensibility, and versatility—nearly all their parameters exceed the required values. And yet, I must label them failures because their compatibility alone fell below the standard. It is quite a tragedy."
"Wh... What are you talking about?"
"As her older brother, perhaps you could serve as the basis for a more suitable vessel."
A disturbing sneer twisted the lips visible beneath Rokure's mask.
"Therefore, brother of Arshel, you shall cooperate with my experiments."
"Wait! Where is the real Arshel?!"
"She is floating right there, is she not?"
"This is not Arshel! These are just 'things' that happen to look like her!"
"How are they different from Arshel? Do you even know the distinction between a biological being and an inanimate object? What does it mean to be 'alive'? Are we living, or are we not?"
Belialus found the Rokure before him increasingly repulsive.
"I didn't come here for a debate! Give my sister back!"
"That is why I said she is right there. Take whichever one you prefer. You may take them all for all I care."
Their logic was fundamentally at odds. Belialus scanned the room, trying to figure out how to escape this situation.
"Th—That's right! There were two others following me! What happened to them?"
However, the answer only served to sink Belialus into further despair.
"Two others? I do not know of them. I only had eyes for you."
The voice was that of an automata, yet it carried a bone-chilling, frigid resonance.