The cold tongue of Serenike Eskel Thousand Worlds Tree was slowly moving back and forth on Black Rider's neck.
"I said so."
◇◇◇
He felt a strong sway. The magic power was drained from the stripped nerves. The soul was melting, dissolving, and melting. Although his consciousness was clear, he could not think. His weak instinct was telling him something sadly, but to "him", it was just the subtle cry of a beast.
Unable to recognize, unable to think. Completely unable to construct logic. Unable to assert oneself, unable to even assert whether one is alive.
Even so, since we exist on earth, there are things that can be obtained. For example, information and time. As long as there is time to receive and organize information, knowledge can be generated there. Knowledge can turn feelings that have been elusive like clouds into words.
—I am alive.
It was a simple fact. Even a crying baby could subconsciously understand it, but he still didn't know what it meant to be alive.
Time passes.
Get intelligence.
Get knowledge.
Since he became self-aware, that cycle has been spinning at an abnormal speed. Originally, he was a creature created based on magic circuits. His understanding of knowledge is quite amazing.
There are humans coming and going, companions traveling through, and monsters passing by.
The humans looked at them with indifference. The companions looked at them with eyes that showed little emotion. The monsters' reactions varied, some showed no interest, some looked at them in sorrow, and some were very interested and wanted to find out what was going on.
Even so, nothing changed. The cycle of intelligence and knowledge just continued.
The knowledge that was as messy as rags was now sorted, classified, and neatly stacked like the books in a library. But the more information from the outside world was stored, the more heart-wrenching it felt in my chest.
He subconsciously chose to ignore it and continued to collect more intelligence. But the more he collected and the more he understood, the more he could not ignore that feeling.
If I convert my inner thoughts into numbers, "that" accounts for 60%. Even if something that I can no longer ignore is right in front of me, I still choose to keep it.
This cannot be dismissed as a lack of courage. After all, the so-called lack of courage is based on the understanding of what courageous behavior is. He has not yet understood that it is cowardice. He just chooses to ignore it unintentionally.
—Fate is in motion. Changing, twisting, and going crazy.
Before his eyes stood a human and a monster. Both of them were people he had seen countless times before.
The name (code) of one party, I remember it was Roger, or master.
The other party is called the caster, or teacher.
"Let's try to integrate it into the magic circuit."
After listening to Caster's words, Roger nodded and replied:
"Then, use the android here."
He carefully examined the content of the conversation. Magic circuits - to use magic, those are the pseudo nerves that are indispensable. They are the axis through which we formed our bodies. So, what does it mean to be incorporated
A chill ran down my spine, as if worms were crawling back and forth. This was an unmistakable, certain fate of death.
Using the androids here - using, in other words, is consuming. If you use, while you gain something, something will also disappear.
Since it was created, its heartbeat has always maintained a certain number of times no matter what the situation is. Just because of that conversation of less than a minute, it has become extremely unstable.
Let's look at the previous conversations. Caster and Roger had talked about golems many times. Rather than being artificial life, they are mechanical dolls constructed by magic and earth and stone. The reason for incorporating magic circuits into them is to create golems that can weave magic.
Creation is accompanied by consumption. If what is created is a "golem that uses magic", then what is consumed must be a "homunculus with magic circuits".
He finally understood the truth behind the aversion to cold.
Consumption is destruction, and destruction is death. Even if you know this sentence, you still can't understand it.
"First, let's use three or so. Uh, this, this, and this."
He was pointed out. The vivid death was strangling him as if it was suffocating his heart. The sixty percent that he had ignored was harshly declared.
You are going to "die". He had been sealed into this magic supply tank since he was born, and now, everything would be consumed meaninglessly, just because of the trivial reason of "being targeted extremely accidentally".
The two gradually left. He was sure that he would have some time to hesitate before he died.
Despair invaded. This is what I had been choosing to ignore. This is it. There is no meaning in creation, and even the meaning of existence has not yet been activated.
Even though it was like this, he couldn't cry or feel regret. He could only stare blankly with his empty eyes.
No. Is that really the case
He thought, thinking hard. Is it true that he can't do anything? He just blindly believes that "he can't do anything", isn't that right? In fact, he is doing things that other artificial people can't do.
At least, I have acquired intelligence, thought about it, drawn conclusions, and felt fear for it. I have already done so many things.
So, move forward a little bit more.
It was pure coincidence that "he" who was sealed in the tank that provided magic power to the Servants would sprout the seeds of his own self, and it was also pure chance that he was designated.
However, when the two overlap, they have the same weight as destiny.
—Get moving.
For the first time in his life, he moved a finger. He tried to move his hands, clench his fists, and raise his arms.
—Get moving.
He checked the situation again. He understood that he was being sealed in a emerald green preservation solution in order to efficiently supply magic power. He temporarily put aside the meaning of existence that had not yet been activated and figured out the current purpose. He had to escape from here, now.
—Get moving!
He waved his arms and banged on the reinforced glass frantically. But he immediately realized that this was a meaningless action and gave up. It was impossible for the physical impact he had created to break the glass.
He thought for a moment and scanned his own magic circuits. He was absorbing the magic power in the atmosphere (Ma) and providing it with magic power, and he was ready to activate the circuits.
"—Strasse/Gain."
Cut off the supply. Use the language you know to drive your own mystical power. Expect the result to be destruction, and let your hands touch the reinforced glass. The magic power that has already flowed into your body captures the release destination and immediately rushes to your palms.
Understand what kind of mineral the glass you touch is made of. The magic power changes, and you can destroy it with the most appropriate and minimal force. Both hands are filled with light, and with only the weak force of light wood, you can smash the reinforced glass into pieces.
Immediately, his body fell outwards. He tried to connect with the world that was supposed to be isolated. He ignored the broken glass behind him and fell towards the passage - the present world.
I felt so uncomfortable, something was wrong. My chest felt tight, and I tried to open my mouth but couldn't.
My mouth was pressed against something like a respirator. I peeled it off and took another deep breath.
"Gu, ah!!"
I was choked. My throat felt like it was burning. I inhaled the strong smelling gas and felt a spasmodic pain in my lungs.
We must escape. Quickly, as fast as possible!
The goal has been decided, and I am about to stand up - but I find that the action of "standing up" has not yet permeated my whole body. I weakly try to stand up, but fall down embarrassingly. I can't walk at all. I crawl on the ground with my hands to get my body moving.
He advanced a tiny distance. Stay calm, he told himself, while propping up his elbows to raise his upper body. His feet touched the ground. His fragile ankles made a wail—he ignored it and slowly straightened his knees.
Then, take that step.
Every time I stepped on the ground, gravity attacked me. I always felt like I was being pressed down by someone, and the sticky liquid was very unpleasant.
My breathing finally began to calm down, but I didn't know which way to go. All I knew was that I was going to die here.
He groaned. Tears flowed from his eyes. After going through so much suffering, he only managed to get a few steps closer.
Walking, escaping from this place—a sense of futility came over him, as if he had devoted his entire life just for such a trivial act. He rebuked his decadent self and devoted himself to the "walking" task.
He heard a faint moan from behind, and he tried his best to suppress the urge to turn back. He knew what that moan meant. He had to ignore it. Compared to this, moving forward was everything.
He held onto the wall, silently reciting in his mind as he walked. Unconsciously, he had come from the room he had been in to the stone-paved corridor. Blood kept flowing from his feet. His feet, as soft as a baby's, finally stepped on the ground for the first time just now. A small stone could easily tear his skin.
The blood was flowing. The pain was coming. The information was much different from when I was immersed in the solution, and it was rubbing against each other fiercely in my brain. Due to the thick atmosphere, my lungs were always in a state of oppressive pain.
How far could a body that was not designed to walk walk? The corridor seemed endless, stretching out without change. He realized that he could no longer walk, so he squatted weakly.
Weak breathing, violently beating heart, and completely unfit body for survival. Not only walking, but even standing was rejected by them. Lacking overwhelming heat, the front of the hands and feet became cold. Blurred vision, fading voices, unable to think logically, only despair of the approaching death.
—What a meaningless life. What a meaningless existence.
Born meaninglessly, died meaninglessly. All I have to do is tremble at the cruel reality.
I am bored. I don't know what I am bored about. I am extremely irritated. I am very afraid to close my eyes. I feel that once I do that, I will never wake up again. I am afraid of sleeping, afraid of being imprisoned by darkness, afraid of the world. The only thing that is not scary is myself. Because I have nothing. I have never owned anything, and I have never engraved anything. I am colorless and transparent, just like this.
"...?"
Inadvertently, my heart was shocked.
He found that there was someone beside him. When did he come to him? His mind was extremely confused, and he was so scared that he even refused to know who was beside him.
The sight caught him. He knew by instinct that he was being seen. Although he thought he had to run away, he couldn't do it no matter what. His body shrank into a ball out of fear. The silence that seemed to crush him made his heart pound so hard that it was even unbearable. At this time -
"What's wrong with you? Will you catch a cold if you look like this?"
The words that came were not disdainful enough to tear his body apart. They were just warm words that showed concern for his health.
He raised his head reflexively, and their eyes met.
He took a deep breath. He had seen that face once before. He was one of the monsters that had a painful expression on his face and glanced at him. If I remembered correctly, his name was Rider.
"You'll catch a cold, right?"
Rider smiled and repeated the words. But he didn't know what to say in response. However, he was waiting for his answer, and he knew this alone.
Subconsciously, he muttered something in a hoarse voice. As if he couldn't hear clearly, Rider leaned forward and tilted his ear.
I don't know anything. What should I believe? What action should I take? I don't know, I don't know, I don't know anything.
He lost consciousness. It seemed that he had fainted. He was afraid after realizing this. It was so painful just to walk. Despite this, he still wanted to continue living... He prayed from the bottom of his heart.
◇◇◇
Astolfo found a young man squatting in the passage of the fortress.
What should I do? He thought about it.
"I must save him anyway," he had already made up his mind. What he was thinking about was actually how to save the boy.
"Let's move him away for now."
Once he decided what to do, he acted extremely quickly.
Astolfo took off his cloak, wrapped the boy up, and carried him on his shoulders. He was a slender Heroic Spirit, but carrying a human was no problem at all.
However, he immediately worried about where to move the boy.
There was no point in talking about the room he was assigned, because every few hours, Master Serenika would call him out. Even if it was a Servant he summoned, wasn't it a bit too stubborn to be so stubborn, Astolfo thought.
"Rider-sama."
Astolfo turned around when he heard himself being called. The two androids were staring at him and the boy he was carrying with emotionless eyes.
"Master Caster is looking for the escaped android. Do you have any clues?"
"No."
He answered in a fraction of a second without even thinking.
Although the android cast a glance at the boy being carried, he left after saying "Is that so?".
"You guys should also work hard~"
Astolfo waved goodbye to the departing androids with gratitude.
Although he didn't know what was going on, if Caster was chasing this android, it would be even more difficult to save him. He wanted to discuss things with someone, but Saber never talked to him, so he didn't know what her personality was like; Berserker never cared about androids - in other words, he probably wouldn't chase him, nor would he lend a hand; Assassin had a good relationship with him and was a nice person, but he had gone out and hadn't returned yet.
This leaves only one Servant left to rely on.
Astolfo arrived at Chiron's room and knocked on the door to announce his visit.
"Archer, I'm Rider, is anyone in the room?"
"Rider? No, there is no one."
That's good, Astolfo said as he opened the door. Seeing the boy on his shoulders, Chiron immediately realized something and led the two to the bed.
"This is the android that Caster is chasing."
"I think so."
Astolfo placed the android on the bed and temporarily took off his cloak. After wiping the dirty body with the towel handed to him by the considerate Chiron, he put on the borrowed robe for him. The boy's expression was full of pain and his breathing was a little rapid.
"Archer, you know a lot about medicine, right? Examine him."
"Understood."
Chiron took the unconscious man's hand, felt his pulse, and then placed his hand on his heart. He used his eyes, which were trained by his experience as an archer, to observe the body of the android in detail.
"It seems that the magic circuit almost went berserk. Since I used magic to destroy the glass, I think the remaining magic power may have caused a riot in the blood vessels. In addition, there is another simple reason, which is overwork."
"Overwork?"
"I'm afraid he has never walked in his life. Even standing up on his own feet was the first time today."
"Is he a newborn baby?"
Originally, androids are living beings that can move from the moment they are cast. If they are perfectly made, they will not die due to their lifespan. However, perhaps due to the distortion of their birth, androids usually have many physical defects.
Perhaps this android was born with a weak body. Perhaps it was because he was created for supply purposes, not for combat. Although he possessed first-class magic circuits, he did not have a body that could make use of them.
If magic is used, even if the circuit can withstand it, the body cannot.
"As long as you don't use it, it's fine, right?"
"That should be the case. But even so, it's very difficult to live seriously. I'm afraid I can only survive for three years."
The room was surrounded by silence. For three years, even Astolfo drooped his shoulders in the face of this overly cruel voice.
After a while, Astolfo broke the formality by speaking.
"I'm so sorry for making your bed dirty."
"That's okay. But let me ask you a question. Why do you want to save him?"
After hearing Chiron's question, Astolfo answered without hesitation.
"Because I wanted to save him."
There was no momentum in his words. He just wanted to save her. It was simple and natural. Because of this, it was difficult for anyone other than Astolfo to do this.
"It seems like Caster is chasing him?"
"Ahaha, who cares." Astolfo raised his hands to the air with a smile.
Although Chiron sighed, he also believed that his judgment must be correct.
It is true that winning on the battlefield is important, but the current situation is not such that we would forget the duties of a heroic spirit. Saving him, letting him go, should be something that is allowed and should be done.
"I'll leave this room for a while. No one should come. Even if someone knocks on the door, don't answer it."
"Thank you. Then, let me stay for a while."
Before leaving the room, Chiron suddenly asked Astolfo:
"Do you want to take responsibility until the end?"
Astolfo, who was asked this question, cast his eyes towards the android sleeping on the bed. He recalled the weight of the body on his shoulders just now, which was so light that it made him despair. The arms that trembled and protected his head were as thin as dead wood. The inherent fragility of not even being able to walk.
Even if I escape from this fortress successfully, it is hard to say whether I can survive. Taking responsibility means taking responsibility for his life. But unfortunately, I can't accompany him for three years. Even if I want to accompany him, the Holy Grail War will not last that long. So, to what extent should I save him - to respond to my wish of "wanting to save"
Astolfo didn't know. When you don't know, you should follow your heart. This point has already been decided. I must protect him and help him to fulfill his will.
"I will help him until he accepts it. I will not abandon him."
As soon as Chiron left the room, Astolfo placed his hand on the android's forehead and whispered:
"Get up. You've been awake for a long time, haven't you?"
After hearing this, the android opened his eyes, stood up shakily, and stared at Astolfo with his uneasy eyes. He was like a small animal that had nowhere to escape, Astolfo thought.
"ah."
Astolfo first tried to say hello, but was met with only silence.
"Um, ah."
"... "
"Forget it, what should I say, um..."
"... "
Astolfo tilted his head. At this moment, how could he let him know that he was his partner? After hesitating for a moment, Astolfo wrapped his arms around the android's head and held it against his chest. Astolfo kept this state and said:
"Do you understand now? There is no one here who can hurt you. I am here now to fulfill your wish."
"...?"
I don't understand. The android couldn't understand what Astolfo was saying. It wasn't that he couldn't understand the words, but he couldn't understand Astolfo's will.
"Tell me your wish."
Astolfo whispered in his ear.
The android began to think. Wishes, wishes, wishes - after all, do I have the right to turn my wishes into words
I have no power, no wealth, no history. I am just a device that supplies magic power, but I have given up even this mission.
However, he still had a desire that was not commensurate with his status. It was a wish hidden in his body, a dream. He never thought it could be realized. However, it should be okay to just talk about it, he judged.
He opened his mouth. Using his vocal organs, which he had hardly used until now, he managed to utter his "wish" despite the fact that it was a painful task.
"Please, save me."
Astolfo, hearing this wish, replied in a light tone:
"Got it. I'll save you."
It was so fast that one could hardly believe he had thought about it. Unbelievably, the android looked at Astolfo's face with such thoughts. Astolfo smiled without any scruples.
"You said 'please save me', right? I heard you. Don't look at me like this, I am also a Heroic Spirit. I will save you no matter what."
Will he save me? Will he fulfill my wish? Can I trust him
No, that's not it. I want to believe him, the android prayed.
How lucky it was for this android that the first person he met was the black rider, the perfect warrior, Astolfo.
Astolfo straightened his chest and said:
"Okay, okay, let's think about what we should do to save you. Ah, don't think that it's better to leave it all to me alone. After all, no one can compare to me, Astolfo, in terms of lack of thinking and judgment!"
The android opened his eyes wide and accepted Astolfo's words. His innocence, which made it foolish to even doubt his reliability, made the android feel deeply moved.
On this day, destiny began to move forward.
PS: On this day, boy meets girl, eeee... boy