"Who am I, you ask?...Jin Nidou. You truly are a terrifying man."
The atmosphere surrounding Markitus shifted abruptly, and he spoke in a voice that was little more than a snarl.
"I suspected as much, but I believe you have 'multiple personalities,'" Jin replied.
Multiple personalities. In modern times, it was known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, but for Markitus, the older term felt far more fitting. After all, another distinct persona truly did lurk within him.
"'Multiple personalities,' is it? Well, in my case, I suppose 'dual personality' would be more accurate."
Jin looked at Markitus, who seemed strangely resigned to the diagnosis.
"I thought so. Your actions have been inconsistent—utterly incoherent."
"What would you know of it!" Markitus roared.
But Jin wouldn't be silenced. Speaking through Jin D, he threw back the words he had been wanting to say.
"You’re free to despair of the world all you want, but stop dragging other people into it!"
Markitus, however, remained completely unfazed.
"I have no ear for your lectures."
"...If you refuse to stop..."
"What then?"
"Then I’ll stop you myself, even if I have to use force."
Markitus sneered.
"Very well. By all means, let us see you try."
"You..."
＊ ＊ ＊
Back in the command room on Hourai Island, Jin’s face was twisted in a grimace of distaste.
"He really is abnormal."
[Yes, My Lord. His thought patterns defy comprehension.]
"So even you can’t figure him out, Laojun?"
[Correct. It is impossible to simulate such erratic and irrational logic.]
"I figured as much."
The man had claimed to have two personalities, but from what Jin could sense, it felt closer to three.
"There’s the Markitus with the urge to destroy..."
[And the intellectual Markitus who discussed the nature of happiness with you, My Lord.]
"Right. And finally, the Markitus who rejects material civilization entirely."
However, that last persona felt faint and ill-defined, as if it were being consumed by the relatively "sane" one and the one driven by destructive impulses.
"Even knowing that, I’m at a loss for what to do."
Jin felt a wave of melancholy. He had threatened to use force, but he was loath to actually carry out the deed himself. To be blunt, he wanted no part in it.
If he gave Reiko the order, the matter would be settled in a heartbeat. Yet, Jin feared ending things that way.
"To think I have the right to judge him would be nothing but arrogance..."
If he wanted to build a world ruled by law rather than the whims of men, then judicial decisions had to be left to the World Conference.
"If it were just an Origin Golem, I wouldn't hesitate."
[My Lord...]
Jin simply didn't want to become the kind of person who grew used to taking lives face-to-face.
But as it turned out, fate was on Jin’s side.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Jin Nidou! Do you truly intend to stand in my way until the end!?"
"I do. If it's to protect this world."
"Hmph. All things with form are destined for ruin, yet you foolishly resist?"
"Yeah, I’ll resist. That’s the basic instinct of any living thing."
"Instinct, you say? How primitive... gah!"
Suddenly, something went wrong with Markitus—or rather, with his slavedoll.
<Lord Markitus!>
The assistant automata were also thrown into a panic. They seemed to be in a state of high distress. Several more units of the same model appeared, and to Jin’s eyes, they appeared to be running around in total confusion.
"Father, could it be that something has happened to Markitus’s physical body?"
"Ah, that might be it."
Jin suspected Reiko’s intuition was spot on.
"Hey, you're the assistant automata, right? Where is Markitus's real body? I can use a bit of healing magic."
When he called out to one of the nearby units, it paused.
<You would help?...One moment, please.>
The assistant automata went still. In fact, all five of the other units in the room ceased movement as well.
"What are they doing?...Wait, could it be...?"
A hypothesis occurred to Jin. "Do these assistant automata share a collective consciousness and knowledge pool?"
Laojun’s report immediately confirmed it.
[My Lord, that appears to be the case. While the analysis of the captured unit is ongoing, I can report that your hypothesis is highly probable.]
"Got it. Thanks."
Jin thanked his partner and returned his focus to the machines. Just then, they began to move again.
<Jin Nidou-dono, we ask that you come with us. Please, we request your aid in healing Lord Markitus.>
"Understood."
Surrounded by the assistant automata, Jin D headed for the adjacent room. Reiko moved to follow, but an assistant automata blocked her path.
<Our apologies, but we must ask that you remain here.>
They had clearly made a shrewd assessment of Reiko’s combat capability.
"But I—"
"It's all right, Reiko. I'll be fine. You know that, right?" Jin D interrupted before she could protest.
"...Yes, Father."
Reiko nodded, albeit reluctantly. If she truly wished to, she could tear through the walls of this base as if they were wet paper, but she hated leaving Jin D’s side. Still, knowing this wasn't Jin’s actual body, she begrudgingly obeyed.
In the next room, Markitus lay upon a bed.
A Magi Machine resembling a helmet or a mask covered his head, but as Jin D approached, it was pulled away, revealing his face.
"So this is Markitus..."
He looked remarkably like the slavedoll—or rather, the doll had been modeled after him. However, he looked ancient. The man before him was clearly at the very end of his natural lifespan.
Two assistant automata stood on either side of the bed, monitoring his vitals. One turned to Jin D.
<Can you save him?>
"...I'll try. 'Heilverfahren.' 'Völlig Genesen.'"
Jin D applied both surgical and internal healing magic, knowing that if it was simply old age, his efforts might only provide temporary relief. Fortunately, Markitus’s condition seemed to take a slight turn for the better.
"Heilverfahren. Völlig Genesen."
Jin cast the spells once more.
<His vitals have stabilized further,> said the attending assistant automata.
<Jin Nidou-dono, we are in your debt.>
Jin couldn't help but feel that the situation had taken a most unexpected turn.