Proof(2)

300 years ago, there was a magician who first created artificial humans.

He was neither a magician praised as great nor despised as bottom-tier, just an utterly ordinary magician who pursued magic.

However, despite being an ordinary magician, he was more cruel to life than anyone else, so one day he developed a magic using his own blood and pebbles.

Magic to create a tool that would move in his place.

The magician dropped his blood on the pebbles and created a personality based on the four basic elements of humans.

A life-like being with emotions but no life. The first magician to create it named it ‘Homunculus’.

And in the book that the magician wrote down by hand, it was specified about homunculi as follows:

[Homunculus.

It is a lifeless tool that follows its master’s orders.

All that is allowed to them is to blindly follow their master’s orders, devote their lives, and wait to be eventually broken and discarded.]

This was the thought of the first homunculus inventor, the magician, and the rule that had been passed down, and now it was a saying that had become obsolete along with the homunculus manufacturing method.

But even if most things about homunculi have become obsolete, there are inquisitive magicians who find such things.

A small number of inquisitive magicians found the obsolete homunculus manufacturing method and created homunculi, and the homunculi created by such magicians all followed this rule.

And Mu, created by Meiyel’s hands, was no exception.

The only exception might be that all homunculi who have followed this rule so far had emotions.

Until now, everyone had thought that emotions for homunculi were just a function to increase work efficiency and obedience to orders, but the reality was different.

Homunculi could have expressions because they had emotions, yearned for humans because they had emotions, and feared death because they had emotions.

Discarding, that is death for homunculi.

The emotions that were put in to increase obedience were both hope and despair for homunculi, and the most fundamental cause of thinking like humans.

How many homunculi had resented the emotions given to them because of this?

If they were going to be used like tools, why give them emotions? It would have been easier if they were just tools that didn’t know emotions and only followed orders.

There are probably too many homunculi who were broken under magicians’ orders saying such things to count on ten hands.

However, this only applies to homunculi who did not properly know the emotion of happiness and faded away in painful backgrounds.

Although extremely rare, homunculi who were created under magicians who led ordinary lives or had families, not as tools for the typically painful and desperate magicians, and felt the emotion of happiness could have hope.

Hope that they could live in hope, hope that they could be used as happy tools.

Mute, or Mu for short, also fell into this category, and although a bit rough compared to homunculi truly living in happiness, Mu was satisfied with the life given to her.

She goes to the academy with Mother, teaches students, receives praise, helps with cooking, and receives smiles.

The hand that stroked her head was warm, and the laughter that came across stimulated happiness in her heart.

That’s why Mu was living satisfied with her life and wished to meet an ordinary end, staying secure in life as Mother’s happy tool.

And because she had such a wish.

Mu felt terribly afraid of the death that was now right in front of her.

Boom─── Boom, Boom───!!!

“What’s wrong, why are you like this?! Try harder, homunculus!!!”

“Kugh…!”

All sorts of attacks flying in from all directions, aiming at her front, back, left, and right.

A catastrophe that seemed impossible for one person to show fell from the barrier and assaulted Mu.

At the attack that was like stuffing all sorts of natural disasters into a gift box and dropping it, Mu gritted her teeth and focused on maintaining the shield.

“But if I just endure like this…”

Mu, who had gone on the offensive less than 3 minutes after Aria entered the library and the fight began, had to immediately go on the defensive.

The reason was none other than Idea, who suddenly started pouring out attacks incomparable to before, as if something had been triggered at some point.

As if saying everything until now was just a warm-up, starting from a point slightly over 2 minutes, the attacks that had been pouring down in fives doubled, and after about 10 more minutes, they doubled again to 10 attacks.

Because of this, now that nearly 20 minutes had passed with the Artifact Shield spread, the attacks hitting Mu’s shield were clearly over twenty at once.

Thanks to the Artifact’s shield that perfectly nullifies damage, there was no shock or damage, but the remaining magic power was the problem.

As it’s a complete invincibility skill, the magic power consumed by the Artifact Shield can’t be ignored even with Meiyel’s body.

Therefore, even though she was drawing and using magic power from the surroundings, the time left was probably less than 1 minute.

“And probably…”

If the shield breaks and she takes those attacks, even Mu herself would die instantly.

In other words, it means facing death.

Realizing this fact, Mu felt tears welling up, but she barely swallowed them down along with her fear.

“There’s no point in getting scared anyway…”

Being scared and crying won’t provide an answer to the current situation. Rather, if tears well up, it will only blur her vision and hinder situation judgment.

Thinking this, Mu wiped away the few drops of tears that had flowed with her sleeve and glared at Idea faintly visible through the attacks beyond the shield.

“The distance is roughly 100m. It’s a distance I can reach sufficiently.”

It might be impossible with Meiyel’s body, but it’s possible with the bodies of the physical-type mothers.

First, Yeonhwa’s body is an exception as it was made with non-combat in mind.

Next, since she can’t go outside anyway due to the magic barrier Idea has set up, Kama’s body for sniping from afar is useless.

Then what’s left are Aria and Yujia’s bodies.

When only these two bodies remained as options, there was only one choice Meiyel could make.

“In close-quarters combat, Mother Yujia’s body…”

Mother herself said that Aria’s body is strongest in combat up to mid-range, but even Aria can’t beat Yujia in zero-distance fighting.

And now Mu was in a situation where she had to get to Idea somehow.

The only way to seal this merciless attack is to get close enough to involve Idea, the caster, herself.

That way, she wouldn’t be able to attack recklessly for fear of hitting herself.

Of course, since Idea herself has the ability of immortality, she might attack without hesitation, but even if that’s the case, Mu had to stick to Idea for one more reason.

“If I can just snatch away the staff, everything will become easier.”

The staff Idea is holding. If she can just snatch that staff, even if she can’t seal the magic, she can reduce these current falling attacks to 1/4.

Even though magicians and sorcerers can use magic without staves or staffs, for those who have relied on tools from the beginning, taking away that tool significantly lowers their combat ability, unless they’re those who have used magic without tools from the start.

Of course, it would be difficult to snatch easily as it’s directly connected to her own combat power, but if she can just get close, it’s a battle of strength between Yujia the ki master and Idea the sorcerer.

In other words, snatching it is simple.

“Phew…”

Having finished thinking that far, Mu concentrated all her nerves on finding a gap between the attacks pouring down in the remaining 30 seconds.

In the merciless bombardment of disasters pouring down without a moment to breathe, Mu had to buy a total of 2 seconds, including the 1 second when the Artifact Shield would disappear.

1 second for the shield to disappear while transforming the body. And 1 second to approach using Flash Step.

Flash Step, which had instantly caught up even to the dragon that had flown over 1,000m on Sky Island in the past.

It was Mu’s first time using it herself, but even if it was her first time, Mu wasn’t so clumsy as to fail at a distance of just 100m.

And Mu started counting down in her mind while calculating the intervals of the attacks falling from the front and above.

‘One, two, three… now!’

At the timing with 10 seconds of maintenance time left, as the shield disappeared, Mu’s body, which had swelled up like bubbles boiling, changed into Yujia’s with green hair fluttering.

At the same time, as the shield disappeared, attacks began to pour down, and Mu firmly caught Idea in her pupils through the attacks and kicked off the ground with her prepared legs.

“Flash Step”

A technique that instantly reduces the distance with the enemy to zero.

In an instant, Mu’s body accelerated towards Idea faster than the falling attacks.

Boom────!!!

The attacks that belatedly reached the impact point fall with a roar.

Mu, who had already reached right in front of Idea, heard that sound and reached out towards Idea, who was still looking at where she had just been.

‘She couldn’t even react to my movement. Then for sure…’

Honestly, it was natural for a sorcerer who had invested almost no ability in physical abilities to not react, but Mu inwardly burst with joy, happy that she could turn around the situation that had been one-sided until now.

The target of her reaching hand was the staff Idea was holding in her left hand.

If she could just snatch that, the tide would turn back.

With that joyful thought, Mu reached out towards that staff engraved with bizarre patterns, and.

Crack───

Just before Mu’s outstretched hand could touch the staff Idea was holding, it crumbled into powder and fluttered in the air.

“…Huh?”

At the incomprehensible situation, a questioning sound involuntarily escaped.

However, before Mu could understand the situation, Idea’s eyeballs, which had been unable to react until now, rolled towards Mu, whose posture was starting to collapse as her arm flew away.

Cold, inorganic blue eyeballs that rolled over, degu, reflect Mu’s surprised face.

“So you were here?”

“Kugh…!!”

At the sight of Idea showing a chilling smile at the same time, Mu forcibly twisted her collapsing body with physical abilities beyond Yujia’s limits and swung her leg towards Idea’s head.

Crack───

“…?!”

However, even that, just before it could touch Idea’s face, crumbled into powder and scattered into the air like her arm just now.

In an instant, one arm and one leg flew away.

Even though she saw it with her own eyes, it was a situation she couldn’t be calm about, and Mu kicked off with her supporting leg and bounced her body towards the library.

And Idea, who seemed to like this flustered appearance of Mu, watched that series of actions carefully without attacking.

Mu, who had reflexively pulled back her body and stopped in front of the library door, had no choice but to ask Idea, who was looking at her with a leisurely attitude, albeit regrettably.

“H-How on earth…”

“Obviously, did you think I wouldn’t have prepared for my staff being snatched~”

Idea shrugged with a sneer at Mu’s question asked while staggering. Then, wiggling her staff, Idea continued speaking.

“Your eyes were clearly saying ‘I’m aiming for a single blow~’ no matter how I looked at it. Even if you’re strong, it’s useless without experience. By the way, is it because you’re a homunculus? I was surprised you could change into other people’s bodies~!”

This time Idea widened her eyes while making an artificial and exaggerated expression. But that was only for a moment, Idea quickly returned to an expressionless face and stared intently at Mu.

“Or perhaps there weren’t five from the beginning?”

“……”

It was something she had been prepared for from the moment she tried to show her changed form, but when actually asked, Mu’s throat closed up and she couldn’t answer.

But Idea, as if she didn’t need an answer in the first place, didn’t give Mu time to answer and started walking slowly towards Mu, who couldn’t move properly with her arms and legs shattered, while holding her staff.

“You don’t have to answer. I’ll know when I kill you anyway.”

No sooner had the words ended than Idea swung her staff, and dozens of various attacks appeared from the barrier in the sky and prepared to fall.

Aiming solely at Mu herself.

At that fact, Mu finally sensed it. No, it’s not just a sense. Anyone would know if they saw attacks aimed solely at themselves like that.

That death was right in front of her.

“Ugh, urgh……”

An unfinished groan flowed from Mu’s mouth.

Trying to somehow escape the range of the attacks, Mu tried to stand up, but once she had already lost her balance and fallen, she couldn’t stand up properly with a body missing an arm and a leg.

The method of changing into another body was also impossible for Mu.

Unlike Mother who directly changes her body itself, Mu, being a homunculus, would still be missing parts of her body even if she changed bodies unless she had the clay that makes up her body.

For some reason, the arms and legs that had turned to powder by Idea’s formless magic weren’t regenerating normally, so she couldn’t change bodies either.

Therefore, all Mu could do was just flounder like a fish pulled out of water.

“Hic, hic… huu……”

The crying she had been holding back burst out between her tightly closed lips.

She tried to hold it back somehow, but at the magic in the sky that was starting to descend gradually, bitter droplets fell one by one from eyes that had never shed tears since she was first created.

“No… I don’t want to die……”

I don’t want to die.

Only those words and thoughts filled Mu’s mind.

Even if she doesn’t have something like a life, she doesn’t want to die. She wants to live a little longer.

She’s only tasted the emotion of happiness for a few months, and she hasn’t made many memories with Mother who created her.

So she wants to live a little longer.

“But still……”

But she is a homunculus. A lifeless tool.

As she was created as a tool for Mother, it is Mu’s duty to do her best as a tool and go.

At this fact that she had repeated to herself many times until now, crying was about to burst out even more, but Mu glared at Idea with blurry vision from tears while biting her lip hard enough to bleed.

She had already failed to fulfill the order to monitor Idea. In addition, it seemed she wouldn’t be able to fulfill the order she had set for herself to hold Idea until Mother came out.

So if she was going to die anyway, at least to die more usefully.

Mu started infusing magic into one of the things used when she was created.

“It’s not originally meant to be used as a bomb, but……”

The crystal of the Jade Spear, a treasure of the temple, which was used as a material to allow her, a simple clay doll, to handle all the powers of the Mothers.

Mu poured all her remaining magic into that crystal which was just there to store and control power.

“With Mother Meiyel’s… body……”

And Mu transformed her appearance, which had been Yujia’s, back into Meiyel’s.

At this, Idea, who had been slowly approaching, stopped slightly as if wary, but Mu had no intention of attacking her with magic anyway.

The reason for changing to Meiyel’s body was just to block the explosion that would occur when the crystal burst with the Artifact Shield.

When the crystal containing the Mothers’ powers explodes, it won’t end with just destroying the library, it would easily blow away an entire underwater kingdom.

Therefore, Mu grasped the staff with her remaining hand and felt the crystal on the verge of explosion, and deployed the shield.

“‘Artide…'”

“That’s enough, Mu.”

If only the hand stroking her head hadn’t interfered before she could deploy the magic.

At the hand gently patting and slowly stroking her head, Mu’s mouth and moving magic power froze like stone. And along with that, the Jade Spear crystal that had heated up to the brink of explosion cooled down again as if dipped in ice water.

At the same time, Mu turned her creaking head, or more precisely, her face full of tear marks, towards the owner of the hand placed on her head.

“You’ve worked hard, Mu.”

The two doors of the library now open.

There were clear marks on the door as if it had been kicked open roughly.

Behind those opened doors, the students peeking their heads out were visible, but they didn’t enter Mu’s eyes.

What entered Mu’s eyes was Aria. The figure of Mother filling her vision.

She could only see it when she faced the fear of death and finished preparing to give up her life.

And at that, tears that were about to flow involuntarily – Mu clenched her fist to stop them so as not to interrupt her words, but Aria’s voice that was heard the next moment shattered Mu’s dam.

“There’s a lot I want to say in many ways, but I’ll just say one thing first.”

“……”

“It’s too late to say this, but I’ll say it clearly here and now. You are never a homunculus that risks its life for me.”

Aria’s words that threw away the thoughts Mu had been holding until now into the trash.

Then Aria removed her hand from Mu’s head, stood in front of Mu, and said:

“You are not a tool, but my daughter. I acknowledge it. So first, live as a child should.”

Because there’s no more unfilial child than one who dies before their parents.