Suwaniruda reported to Angelette,

But the "puppeteer" looked down at her with a contemptuous smile,

"Repairs? That's interesting, suwaniruda. ”

"Puppeteer?"

Suwaniruda asked rhetorically, confused. Angelette's reaction was very different from what she had expected. The "puppeteer" turns his emotionless gaze to the broken doll.

"How many times have I told you? It is precisely because of their beauty that dolls have the value of living 'forever', even if the human beings who are the owners perish, right? ”

"Puppeteer...... That kid is ......"

Suwaniruda gradually noticed that in the adjustment tank deep in the studio, there was a creature that he was unfamiliar with. A strange ovoid artificial lifeform with a diameter of 1.5 meters.

While changing its irregular shape, it floats in the amber culture medium. Angelette turned to the orb with a gentle gaze. It's not a broken suwaniruda, it's a newly created artificial lifeform.

"It's the greatest masterpiece I've never finished."

"The greatest masterpiece of .......?"

Why, suwaniruda himself asked himself. The greatest masterpiece of the "puppeteer". This title should be given to oneself, but, why-

"This thing will absorb other artificial lifeforms and survive in their form. In short, it's about eating the puppet and taking it - let this thing eat the test subject, and I can get the real 'eternity'"

"I......... What should I do ....... me? ”

Suwaniruda asked rhetorically, capturing Astarut itself as a task he had been tasked with. If you leave it to other works to do this, then what should you do?

"What is the value of you who have been burned out like this. You're a waste now. ”

Glancing at the frightened Suwaniruda with annoyance, Angelet said harshly.

"Natanaeru, get up. It's time to eat. ”

Angelette manipulated the panel of the adjustment tank, the amber culture fluid was expelled, and the amorphous artificial lifeform known as Natanaeru woke up. Open the lid of the culture tank, while squirming weirdly, weaving creepy words,

"I... I take your orders, master. ”

Natanaeru scrambled out and stuck to the dirty lab floor as she approached Suwaniruda who was lying on the bed. Suwaniruda crunched all over her body as she reached out to the "puppeteer", not so much horror at being eaten as at being abandoned. The meaning of his own existence has been shaken to a large extent. Myself, already broken.

"Puppeteer...... I...... I ......"

"Give your parts to Natanaeru, and accept the punishment honestly, waste."

Before Angeleit's words were over, Natanaeru swallowed Suwaniruda. Appealing to the severe pain of the whole body like a fire, the machinery in the body is taken away, the tissues in the body are eaten, and Natanaeru is taking the body of Suwaniruda.

Suwaniruda didn't give up her resistance, but she didn't have the power to push the artificial life form away from her. In the end, it was fused with an amorphous lifeform, and Suwaniruda's body disappeared.

"Oops, something like this."

It was the result of his own vision, Angeleut smiled.

As a result of absorbing the mass of Suwaniruda, the ** of the amorphous artificial life form expands to twice its original size. From the original spherical shape, to the present somewhat slightly humanoid form, it has inherited knowledge, experience, and combat ability from Suwaniruda.

Such an artificial lifeform mechanical puppet, if it is fed by humans and demons, will eventually grow into the strongest mechanical puppet, and by that time, not only Astarout, but even the Fourth True Ancestor itself can devour, and the "puppet master" who thought like this smiled proudly.

But then, Natanaeru's body underwent a mutation.

"Order refusal—"

Natanaeru's amorphous body began to twitch, and the huge body made of clay fell to the floor of the studio, moaning.

“natanaeru？”

Angelette was disturbed by the mutation of a new type of artificial lifeform.

In the meantime, Natanaeru's mutation continued, a transparent, charred gray shadow emerged, and the artificial lifeform screamed from the unbearable pain.

"Ah...... ......Uhh Ahh......hhh Quack, ah, ah, ah......"

"Natanaeru, what does that mean...... It's ......"

An anxious expression appeared on Angelette's face.

Emerging from the back of the amorphous artificial lifeform is a new type of human figure. Her pure white hair and posture are very similar to those of the fused suwaniruda. Beautiful left face, burned right side of face.

"The order refused...... Order to refuse...... Command Reject Command Reject Command Reject Command Reject ...... Order to reject ......"

I, totally broken, Suwaniruda realized this.

After being abandoned by the "puppeteer" who was the master and disobeyed that order, her heart was already broken. What she has left now is only to achieve this purpose - to prove the value of her existence. So she seized the body that devoured her natanaeru and was reborn.

"Survive forever, that's the value of a doll, even if the human being who is the owner perishes-!"

“suwaniruda… You ......"

Staring blankly at the laughing figure, Angelette stepped back in fear, shuddering and reaching out to the whiskey bottle on the table, intending to perform a magic spell to protect herself. But his expression distorted without warning.

The mechanism buried in Suwaniruda's left arm was activated, and a huge blade like a machete appeared, and its tip stabbed directly into Angelette's chest without any resistance.

"Changing ......"

Angelette, who had been pierced through the heart, quacked and vomited blood.

Suwaniruda didn't have any emotion in her artificial pupils, and she was already broken, and now she could kill anyone, even her own master, without hesitation.

"I've got 'eternity.'"

A beautiful smile appeared on his face, which had been distorted by the burning.

"Stupid...... suwairuda………”

Angelette's tall body slowly fell. Wordlessly staring at the lifeless "puppeteer", Suwaniruda abandoned the corpse without hesitation.

Suwaniruda's lower body turned into eight spider-like legs, dexterously manipulating the metal legs, and she crawled out of the underground studio, she was broken, but she still knew what she needed to do.

I've also gained eternity, test subject.

……

The midsummer sea breeze blows with the pungent smell of chlorine.

On a tiring afternoon, lukewarm water droplets are flying. In the outdoor swimming pool of Caihai Academy, the girls are taking swimming lessons. Students dressed in school-designated swim suits are measuring the time of the backstroke in order.

"Whew...... It's so tiring...... I live on an island surrounded by only the sea, so why do I have to swim in the school pool so miserably? There are more things to bring, and it's a real hassle to dry your hair. ”

Because of the convenience of the test number, the shallow onion who finished the test time first, sat on the edge of the pool and muttered and complained. I wear a bath towel on my head, but it's just a relief to put sunburn countermeasures. String God Island is an artificial island located 330 kilometers off the southern sea of Tokyo. Intense ultraviolet rays characteristic of the subtropics, without mercy, poured down from overhead.

"Okay, thanks to the good figure of the shallot, my eyes can be maintained."

While saying this, smiling at the shallots was Tsukishima Tsukishima, who was a friend. It's a girl who serves as a class president and has a mature atmosphere. Although he didn't talk much, he was very kind, and there was an unexpected group of boys gathered around him. Shallot looked up at her slender body with awkward eyes

"I think your words sound sarcastic, but then again, I'm not talking about the problem."

"Well, isn't it much better than the boy who runs a marathon under this scorching sun? Look, Akatsuki is looking this way. ”

"Huh...... Hmmm......"

When Lun said this, Shallot involuntarily put his hand on the bangs. Before being seen by the ancient city running on the playground, hurry up and fix your hair messed up by the swimming cap.

But Len chuckled at the panicked reaction of the shallots.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I can't see this side from the other side of this fence."

"Lun...... You ......"

Staring at the face of the pretending Lun, the light onion moaned.

"Puff... Think it's a pity?"

"It's not like that, it has nothing to do with the ancient city!"

Len smiled at the reckless shallots, and then suddenly turned his gaze to the outside of the pool.

"By the way, speaking of fences, do you know that there are rumors about the 'Legendary Fence'?"

"Huh? What is that? Legendary fences? ”

Affected by this vague word, the shallow onion blinked blankly, if there was any legendary weapon or armor, it was okay, but I really couldn't figure out how a fence could talk about a legend.

Even so, Len nodded with a serious expression.

"Yes, recently among the girls of the Higher Division, it is more famous. You see, behind the school building of the Higher Division, there is a warehouse building that looks like an electrical substation. ”

"Ahh

Shallot said this as he looked around. I don't usually pay attention to it, but at the back of the school building, there is indeed a quadrangular warehouse like a kite, which is a building that provides electricity to the school and is equipped with substation facilities.

"The perimeter is fenced off to prevent people from entering."

"Hmm."

"If you offer love letters in the cracks of the fence, you will achieve love."

"Huh? ……”

Shallot looked at Len with half-closed eyes. (Markne)