This took place before the Jin Double arrived at the facility alongside Reiko and Belialus.
No. 600012 was staring at his own hands.
They were artificial.
In fact, his entire body was a fabrication.
His skeleton was made of a reddish metal known as orichalcum. His muscle tissue had been harvested from a magical beast called a Gigantoavrum, and his skin was a synthetic composite. His power source was a magi reactor, and his brain was a magi-crystal.
"...To go to such lengths just to prolong one's existence. Or perhaps I have already become a different entity entirely."
Muttering with a hint of self-derision, No. 600012 looked upward.
There was a round hole in the ceiling, roughly ten centimeters in diameter.
"To think they found this base and even managed to infiltrate it... Their technological prowess is terrifying."
The hole had been made by a Command unit that had arrived with a Mini-Mole some time ago. It had been cleverly capped to avoid detection at a glance, but if one went looking for it with intent, it was easily found.
"...I want it. That technology," No. 600012 whispered, his voice strained as he squeezed his hands into fists. "Until the day I finish fulfilling the mission my Master entrusted to me, I must continue to exist."
The one occupying his thoughts was Jin Nidou.
Having detected minute vibrations earlier, he had gone to check the corresponding room, only to witness a microscopic golem vanishing from sight.
An investigation revealed a cleverly sealed round hole in the ceiling. It meant that someone had discovered this base, despite it being located three thousand meters underground.
Judging that there was a high probability the intruder—whoever they were—would return, he had deployed his fastest golem in an attempt to capture them.
"That part went well enough, at least."
He had managed to capture the intruder once, but it escaped via teleportation just as he prepared to examine it.
"To think such a tiny golem could use Teleportation Magic. But if it is Jin Nidou, perhaps it is possible..."
He had apparently obtained information from somewhere regarding Jin's activities in the demon territory.
"If I could secure his assistance, I might be able to obtain a body with even better performance..."
He had waited to see if another such scout would be sent, but perhaps they would not fall for the same trick twice; there had been no sign of them since.
He looked up at the ceiling again. No, his gaze passed through the rock and metal, looking toward the far reaches of space.
Attempting to heave a sigh, No. 600012 remembered that his body no longer had any need for respiration.
"Heh. Honestly, these habits never seem to leave me."
With a wry smile, No. 600012 left his quarters and began walking down the corridor.
"If only I could have initiated contact from this side..."
He had been commanded to 'remain unknown to others as much as possible,' and therefore, even though No. 600012 wished to contact Jin, he was forbidden from doing so.
However, if the other party came to him, that was a different story.
Thus, No. 600012 was actually looking forward to a return visit from the Shinobi Squad.
"I must continue to exist at all costs and fulfill the Master's final wish..."
That wish would be granted in an unexpected way—in a form he could never have predicted—very soon.
In a room called the incubation room.
This was the location Shinobi 2 had found, where homunculus bodies based on Arshel were being cultured.
Numerous bodies floated in a pale blue liquid. That said, no life could be felt from them yet; for now, they were no different from mere lumps of flesh. Unless a mental catalyst was used and further processing was performed, life would not take root within them, even as a facsimile.
Gazing upon the vats was a figure wearing a mask over the upper half of his face. He, too, was a No. 600012.
"It doesn't exactly feel great, you know."
A girl's voice spoke behind him.
"So you were here."
"Well, yeah. They're like my doubles, so of course I'm curious."
"Is that how it is?"
The one who had spoken to No. 600012 was a girl with black hair and red eyes. There was no mistaking her for Arshel of the Puppet Clan.
"Hey, when are you going to let me go outside?" Arshel asked, furrowing her well-shaped brows.
"I do not know yet. All I can say for now is that it will be once these bodies you've helped create have grown sufficiently, and I can transfer the entirety of my consciousness into them."
"I've heard that so many times already. When is that actually going to be?"
"Growth is taking longer than I expected. Well, I should be able to form a clear outlook within another year or so."
"An 'outlook,' huh..."
If Gloria were to see her, she would surely wonder if this was the same Arshel. The Arshel here was that quiet, harboring no trace of the madness they had seen before.
"So, is it going well? I'm getting bored of taking care of the Gigantoavrums..."
"My apologies. Since we have already gathered the necessary mental catalysts, we could dispose of them, but..."
"...But you have a resistance to killing living things without a purpose, right?"
"Indeed," No. 600012 nodded.
"You say that after killing millions of them to get those mental catalysts?"
"That was because they were necessary. Furthermore, the number killed was 3,295,433."
"Seriously, just how long have you been keeping them?"
"It has been about 768 years."
"Ugh, enough already. I didn't want to hear the exact numbers."
Arshel felt exasperated; it was always like this when she spoke with No. 600012.
"Honestly, you even saved that soldier who wandered in here the other day at the very last second. You're too nice."
"Is that so? I am keeping him confined because I do not wish for this place to be discovered, you know? I intend to return him eventually after erasing his memories."
"That's exactly what I mean by 'too nice.' If he's in the way, you should just get rid of him. You have the power to do that, don't you?"
No. 600012 made a sour face.
"I told you, I dislike killing living things. That is how my Master created me."
"Your Master, huh. I'm interested. He's the ancestor of us all, right?"
"Indeed. The Fallner, who were born from my Master interbreeding with your ancestors, are your direct progenitors."
Arshel looked deeply moved. "No matter how many times I hear it, I can't believe it... but it's not a lie, is it?"
"It is the truth."
Arshel looked down. What passed through her heart was a sense of regret.
(It wasn't strange for me to look a little like the Frenzy clan. After all, we all shared the same ancestors.)
Born with black hair and red eyes—the characteristics of the Frenzy clan—Arshel had been an outcast within her own Puppet Clan. After being pointed out and teased for it, Arshel had grown sulky and perverse... and had run away from the clan.
She had crossed the Pazdext Great Isthmus and come to the continent where humans lived. It had been easy for Arshel, who could use Teleportation Magic.
However, after getting carried away and climbing a mountain that caught her eye, she encountered a fourfold hardship: hunger, injuries from a rockfall, foul weather, and a decrease in the concentration of free ether. She eventually lost consciousness at the summit.
Fortunately, No. 600012 had detected her magic signature and rescued her via a Warp Gate. It was at this time that she had dropped her hair ornament.
After being saved by No. 600012, Arshel had offered him her cooperation. She provided strands of her hair to create homunculi. Then, she shared her knowledge with the homunculi that were born.
The first unit was physically perfect, but its mind was unstable. He had tried to educate it, but before that could be accomplished, it had suddenly vanished one day via Teleportation Magic, taking several Gigantoavrums with it. The Arshel whom Gloria had encountered was this first unit.
After that, he began to adjust the homunculi more cautiously. For the second unit, he tried giving it only basic knowledge, such as language, and attempted to educate it slowly.
But that, too, was in vain. It seemed to have used a Warp Gate, and the second unit also vanished abruptly one day. The Arshel whom King Cesar—who was the crown prince at the time—had found and protected was this second unit.
However, even with the debt of being saved, Arshel was sick and tired of living underground for over a year.
"Onii-chan..."
The word slipped out of her mouth involuntarily. It was the word she used to call for her brother, who had always protected her.
"Do you have a brother?"
"Yeah."
"I see. If he is your brother, he must be excellent."
"...I wonder. He was a kind brother... I want to see him."
"I am sorry. I know I am asking the impossible of you," No. 600012 apologized.
"It can't be helped. It's a promise."
Not wanting to break a promise once made was a point of pride Arshel held, despite her youth.
"Hey, why do you stay cooped up in here?"
Thinking that if he went outside, he might be able to get help from others, Arshel asked.
"'Remain unknown to others as much as possible.' This is also the Master's final wish, so I cannot go against it."
"Hmm... That sounds like a real pain."
The Master who was said to have created No. 600012. The distant ancestor of Arshel and the other demons. Since it was described as his final wish, Arshel could not press him any further.
In truth, having lost all confidence after the two units escaped, No. 600012 had left the prepared vessels alone and had not even attempted to begin their education.
If things continued this way, No. 600012 would never be able to leave his automata body, and Arshel would never be able to leave this place.
Furthermore, Arshel did not know that No. 600012 was beginning to consider if there was some way he could get his hands on her brother.
The moment their fates would begin to move was close at hand.