“There is another ‘me’—another automata—besides myself.”
“Wait, what?”
“To be precise, there is a ‘me’ who was created before I was. His control core contains Malite. Because of that, he has begun to exhibit erratic behavior from time to time.”
“...”
Malite. Mal as in “defective,” and -ite as a mineral suffix. In other words, it was a name for a faulty magi-crystal.
“Which means...”
A cold chill ran down the real Jin’s spine as he listened through the Jin Double.
“Indeed. It was likely that fellow who abducted this ‘Belialus’ you speak of.”
“Is such a thing even possible?!”
While Jin was concerned for Belialus, he felt an even greater sense of alarm at the idea that someone could interfere with a Warp Gate to alter its destination.
“I can guess what you are thinking, but no. What the other ‘me’ performed was not an interception, but a re-teleportation.”
Jin could extrapolate the meaning from those words, but he waited for the explanation just in case.
“The receiving Warp Gate must have been tampered with. I suspect that as soon as Belialus arrived, he was instantaneously teleported again to the other one’s location.”
“...Then why do you just leave him be?”
Hearing Jin’s question, No. 600012’s face contorted again.
“Because that one is also ‘me.’ I am incapable of taking any action that would bring harm to ‘myself.’”
“...That sounds like quite a predicament.”
“It is utterly embarrassing, I assure you.”
Jin’s words had been laced with a fair amount of irony, but the sentiment seemed to fly right over No. 600012’s head.
“I have the objective of fulfilling my Master’s final command. I must continue to operate until that is achieved. That is my raison d'être.”
“...”
Jin noted that No. 700672 had not been quite this obstinate.
(I suppose he became even less flexible once he transitioned to a control core instead of a biological brain...)
He entertained the theory, though he had no way of confirming it.
“So, what should we do?”
Jin shifted the focus back to Belialus.
“The other ‘me’ will undoubtedly attempt to create a homunculus using Sir Belialus as a base. Therefore, you should be able to find them if you go to the incubation room. I cannot interfere with ‘myself,’ but you can, Jin-dono. You must rescue him yourself.”
“What exactly is the incubation room?”
“It is a room equipped with the facilities to gestate a homunculus. Well then, let us proceed.”
Jin wondered if they could really afford to be so leisurely, but since No. 600012 remained perfectly composed, he simply followed along in silence.
The Jin Double and Reiko trailed behind No. 600012 as they descended a flight of stairs and moved through a corridor. Jin was genuinely impressed that such a spacious facility existed 3000 meters underground.
No. 600012 walked slowly ahead of the Jin Double. Watching through the magi-screen, Jin could see that the automata’s body was severely dilapidated.
(The quality of the materials must not have been the best to begin with...)
Though the Origin and their servants possessed advanced technology, it seemed Jin was actually superior when it came to the construction of automata.
As they continued, they suddenly came upon a passage blocked by a massive rock.
“That No. 600012... to think he would set up an obstacle like this.”
It was confusing to hear No. 600012 refer to the other by the same name, but Jin simply had to infer the meaning from the context.
“Since he cannot harm me either, it appears he is attempting to obstruct me in this manner.”
“Um, if the other No. 600012 moved Belialus using a Warp Gate, couldn't we just use that?”
The Jin Double asked if they couldn't simply take the same shortcut to avoid all this trouble.
“A reasonable question, but that Warp Gate is usually inactive. He likely only powered it up long enough to abduct Sir Belialus.”
“Ah, I see.”
It made sense; they couldn't teleport if the receiving end wasn't operational. Left with no other choice, the Jin Double stared at the boulder blocking their path.
“Is there any risk of the corridor collapsing?”
“Hmm? Are you planning something? As you can see, this corridor is made of synthetic nephrite that has undergone Toughening. It won't collapse from a little impact.”
Nephrite, also known as mutton-fat jade or soft jade, was incredibly tough due to its dense fibrous structure—far tougher than its Mohs hardness of 6 to 6.5 would suggest. While often green or white, the stone in this corridor was a pale white.
“Synthetic nephrite, you say?”
“Indeed. It is created by metamorphosing amphibole.”
Jin didn't fully grasp the science since his knowledge of minerals was limited, but he understood the general principle: a denser structure resulted in greater toughness, much like certain metal alloys. As for the process, he imagined it was something akin to Craft Magic.
“So, how do we get past?”
Because the real Jin was lost in thought, the Jin Double remained silent. Reiko, however, stepped forward to ask the question.
“We would either need to bring a magic tool to move it, or break it apart...”
“May I smash it?”
Since No. 600012 was taking his time, Reiko suggested a more direct approach.
“As long as the surrounding structure isn't damaged...”
Before No. 600012 could even finish his sentence, Reiko plunged her fist into the rock.
“Wh—?!”
With that single blow, a web of countless cracks spidered across the boulder.
“This should make it easier to move.”
Reiko spoke as if it were a trifle, then delivered a light front kick. The impact shattered the massive rock, blowing the fragments clear to the far end of the corridor. In the process, several doors along the hallway were dented or outright destroyed.
“...”
“Um, sorry about that.”
The Jin Double spoke softly to No. 600012, who stood frozen in shock, seemingly unable to process what he had just witnessed. At the sound of the voice, No. 600012 finally snapped back to reality.
“N-No. I knew from my records that Jin-dono’s servant was powerful, but I never imagined she possessed such overwhelming strength.”
Jin privately noted that the servant’s information gathering wasn't as thorough as he’d feared.
“N-Now then, let us continue.”
They moved through the corridor now scattered with stone debris. The walk seemed difficult for No. 600012’s aging body, as he occasionally wobbled or stumbled.
They reached the end of the hall and descended to a floor two levels below. Jin was struck by just how vast the facility was.
“...It feels like this is taking quite a while. Is Belialus going to be okay?”
Concerned, Jin voiced the question.
“The reason he abducted Sir Belialus was likely to create a superior homunculus. To obtain the information required for a template, a single strand of hair would suffice.”
“I see.”
Jin understood; the dermal papilla at the base of a hair follicle contained protein-rich DNA information. If there was no need to draw blood or perform surgery, No. 600012’s lack of urgency made sense.
“And what about the girl Belialus is searching for? Where is Arshel?”
Jin felt a slight twinge of guilt for asking while Belialus was still in danger, but he knew it was better to have the information.
“That girl is further underground. I had requested her help with a task only she could perform, but that has already been completed.”
“What?”
“She was assisting with the breeding of magical beasts known as Gigantoavrum.”
“Let me guess... because she can tame magical beasts?”
“Precisely. We were extracting mental catalysts from the beasts to be used in the creation of homunculi.”
As he listened, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place for Jin.
The three of them followed the corridor to its end, where they found a single door.
“This is the room.”
No. 600012 opened the door. Inside was a space roughly the size of a classroom. Jin immediately noticed a Magi Machine that looked like a Warp Gate in the corner. This was likely where Belialus had been brought.
“The room adjacent to this is the incubation room. Sir Belialus should be inside.”
The door was pushed open.
There, they found an automata wearing a mask, possessing a build nearly identical to No. 600012. Beyond him, several humanoid figures floated within vats of pale blue liquid.
“Are those... Arshel?!”
They were identical to Rouge, the girl currently with No. 700672. There was no mistaking it; they were homunculi created using Arshel as a template.
And there, lying on a workbench beside the Masked Automata, was an unconscious Belialus.