The New Gate

Book 19: Chapter 3 (9)

08 did not deny Schnee’s words.

A number of counter-arguments came to mind. He was also angry with the words of those who were needed by their master.

However, he could not express them as clearly in words.

“Did you also continue to wait?”

“Yes, I have. Since the day I saw Shin leave, I have been waiting for him.”

In his conversation with Owl and the others, 08 also asked them about the event called the “Dusk of Majesty”, which took place more than 500 years ago.

The emotions in the spoken words did not let 08 dismiss them.

An event that not only famous people like the High Humans, but also the members who ruled the guild, were all gone.

They say that only a very small percentage have returned. But that information was hope for 08.

Even if it is only a small percentage, there were people who had returned. If that is the case, I am sure that Reed will come back too.

His heart, worn out from the battle, clung to that thought. 08 did not want to think that his master would not come back.

He could not deny Schnee’s words because he knew they were not lies to persuade him.

He understood that she had endured the same suffering as he had, far longer than he had slept without any logic.

“That’s, good.”

Her efforts and thoughts were being rewarded. 

He could hear her conversation with Shin. Even the slightest conversation was enviable for 08.

How can I get him to come back?

How can I get him to use me?

As 08 thought about all of this during the battle, he began to lose sight of what he was thinking and saying to himself.

Was this really what I wanted? Even that seemed to be lost.

“Ahh…”

The man who defeated gods approached with his Dragnil’s subordinate.

The strength of the magical power that surrounds him, and the intimidating feeling that was unleashed on his surroundings. 08 just felt nostalgic in front of it, which should have been terrifying.

Shin.

It was the name of the player who made him together with his master. Except for the supreme existence of Reed, he was the person who 08 felt closest to.

Shin called Schnee’s name. Seeing this scene, 08 realized what he really wanted. He became aware of what he wanted.

“…I see.”

The fact that he became aware of this did not mean that anything would change. But he thought that he was prepared to be destroyed for such a trivial thing.

With no maintenance at all, and repeated battles with the Divine Beast. His vision flickered.

And he had even used his equipment beyond its limits against Schnee and the others. It was only natural that the damages would come.

The core that produced magic power was about to stop. Unlike humans, this would not lead to death, but it was unknown when he would awaken next.

I have done so much. I will not bother to repair the cause of it. I am now a genuine piece of junk.

So one last thing. If a miracle were to happen, I would ask only this.

My Creator. The next time I wake up, please.

“Call my name… and give me…”

His vision faded to black. After those words, 08 stopped all functions.

◆◆◆◆

“It was over before we got here?”

Schnee and the others stand in front of the 08, which had stopped functioning. Seeing this, Shin was relieved to see that they had somehow managed to control the situation.

08 was clearly insane, and Shin did not know what he was going to do.

He had intended to rush over as quickly as possible, but the field was just an icy zone, and Venna Vaal was not going to go down easily.

“What’s wrong?”

Shin called out to Sety, who was nearby.

The atmosphere was a little strange for just after the battle was over.

Shin noticed that not only Schnee, who was still in the touching hand of 08, but also Filma and Sety looked a little sad.

“It’s nothing. More importantly, could you please take a look at his condition? He was pushing himself pretty hard.”

Schnee, who seemed to have heard and was close by before Sety could answer, responded.

“…Okay. Give me some time.”

Shin nodded to Schnee and approached 08, thinking it would be better to talk later.

At first glance, he could see that it had completely stopped functioning.

Since it was damaged but not incapacitated, Shin guessed that the core, which corresponded to the heart in humans, must have gone haywire.

Although the 08 was also a doll and treated as equipment, it needed a system that specialized in handling information as long as it acted independently.

The core was the organization that collectively handled the analysis and application of information obtained from the outside, streamlining magical power operations, and optimizing combat behavior. If this core was destroyed, the dolls would not work.

After having Sety deactivate the 【Mud Capture 】, Shin began examining the exterior first. The core was a delicate part, so a full-scale investigation would have to wait until after the doll was brought back to Reed’s guild house, Miraltrea.

“It looks like he took it pretty far.”

An examination of the gauntlets revealed that they had a lower durability value than Shin had expected. Some parts were clearly more brittle than others.

“I think it’s because he forced himself to speed up his automatic recovery.”

Schnee, who was helping with the work, answered Shin’s question. Shin was convinced by the wear and tear on the machine’s exterior after hearing about the condition of 08 at the time.

“I see. No wonder the exterior strength has been reduced.”

The fast repair was an action that could not have been done in the game era.

It would be effective if it were a short-term decisive battle, but it’s not hard to imagine that using a method that differs from the original function will take a corresponding load.

No matter how high the quality of the chimeradite, if the load is too strong, it will break or deteriorate. Even Shin, whose blacksmithing skills were at the highest level, was no different.

“The overall durability of the doll has decreased, but there seems to be some rattling here and there.”

The maintenance of dolls was not the same as that of weapons, where you could disassemble them in a little time and finish them quickly.

Although it was simplified for the sake of the game, the parts used were still not compared to normal weapons and armor. That was why the cost was well worth the performance.

“Can you repair it?”

“The exterior can be repaired using only the materials on hand. However, the core of the device must be examined first. If the core is damaged, I don’t know what will happen to the doll’s personality.”

When it was a game, if a doll’s core was destroyed and stopped working, it could be restored by repairing the body or installing a new core. The personality that had been set up would not disappear.

This was because the doll’s personality data remained on the server that manages the data.

However, there was no server in the world today that stores the personal data of dolls.

If there was something like that, it would be a simple matter of time, but neither Shin nor Schnee had ever heard of such a thing.

If this was the case, then the breakdown of the core means the disappearance of the ego, which was synonymous with death.

“Is that, so?”

Schnee was disappointed, but Shin was sure that something had happened. As far as he could see, she was not directly harmed, but something that moved her heart.

“Do you want to save him?”

“’Yes, I do. I don’t want him to rot away like this.”

Schnee answered Shin’s question clearly.

“You may have to fight him again.”

“Then when that time comes, I will fight him as many times as I have to until he calms down.”

She looked like she was really serious about it.

Shin didn’t want to let 08 rot away like this; if he thought about 08, he might as well leave it as it was.

But there was also a part of him that thought that would be too sad.

He decided to put aside the debate about whether or not this would be good for 08 and decided to get to the bottom of it, just to give it a try.

Shin examined 08’s entire body, thinking that if 08 attacked again, this time it would be he who would have to deal with it, not Schnee.

“Shouldn’t we hurry with the Hades’ matter?”

“When I came to stop 08, I already knew that I would be late. I’ll have him wait a little longer.”

To Sety, who seemed worried, Shin said bluntly.

If the situation was such that they had to urgently head there, Hades would try to get in touch somehow. They could make sure that when they make contact with Eleven, they will be able to tell them about it.

They knew it would take some time when they decided to head toward 08.

Even by the time they reached the Grandmost Mountains, it had already been quite a few days. The fact that their departure was postponed by a few days was a slight margin of error.

It was not as if they were not going to head out there in the first place, nor would they leave it for years.

Furthermore, they have not promised to go by any particular date. As for Shin, he was willing to give priority to his fellow subordinates in this situation.

“Is it okay to do so?”

“It’ll be fine, as long as 08 is repaired and the return trip is a short one by teleportation. It took us days to get here by carriage, so hurrying now is too late.”

Filma didn’t seem to care to give up an important key, to Sety who was wondering if it was okay to keep the other half of Origin waiting. In fact, what Filma said was reasonable.

“Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do to help, so let’s just survey the area until Berett and the others arrive. The terrain has changed a bit, so maybe we can find something interesting?”

“Well, of course, the terrain will change if two gods go on a rampage,” Sety said.

Sety, perhaps feeling foolish for worrying, followed Filma and began to investigate the places where the gods had fallen or where their attacks had changed the terrain.

Even in the game era, there were things like items that normally couldn’t be taken after the gods passed through, and objects destroyed by the gods changed into different materials.

There were also objects that could not be destroyed by the players but could be destroyed by the god.

There were also players who dared to lead the gods to destroy the objects instead of defeating the gods, and receiving the items.