"This is the 'Fool's Sanctuary'."
Alice walked slowly ahead. "If I call it an 'artificial soul' formation device, can you picture what it might be?"
Alice gave a slight nod. "A hypothesis your father once mentioned."
There were already quite a number of artificial souls. She observed the magical fluctuations within the surrounding walls and shook her head.
A pity, though. Even with sufficient numbers, a qualitative change couldn't be triggered.
These artificial souls lacked the strength of a human soul, and souls incapable of interacting with the physical world had no way to evolve.
The steady sound of the girls' footsteps echoed through the underground cavern.
Turning a corner, the faint sounds of a scuffle drifted from further away.
Raishin was facing off against Magnus, while Yaya and Hotaru glared daggers at each other.
"We're all companions caught up in this unexpected situation. Let's stand united and wait for rescue," Edward said brightly from the side, though his eyes immediately sharpened like an eagle's. "No acting on your own, understood, Raishin-kun?"
The unspoken meaning was: don't fight.
Raishin let out a breath, slowly relaxed, and pulled out a small bottle of powder, tossing it to Magnus.
"A gift for you."
Hotaru leapt up, snatching the bottle mid-air. As she moved, a tiny corner of the cloth covering her face flipped up.
The glimpse of the face beneath made Raishin's expression freeze in shock.
Why... why did she look exactly like Nadeshiko? His sister.
After carefully inspecting the bottle, Hotaru handed it to Magnus.
"I'll accept this gratefully, then."
Having said that, he warily turned his gaze towards the newly arrived girls.
Alice moved silently and lightly, coming to a stop behind Raishin.
"Confirmed?" Alice's faint voice sounded.
Raishin jolted violently, turning to look at the girl who had appeared behind him without a sound.
After a moment to collect himself, he nodded firmly.
"This guy... he used the Red Wing Array right in front of me," Raishin spat out through gritted teeth, glaring at Magnus. "He's the one who killed my sister, who slaughtered my entire clan—my older brother, Akabane Tenzen."
Silence instantly fell over the subterranean space.
Sister.
Alice immediately recalled the organs inside the members of Magnus's brigade.
Thinking about it, it seemed the organs within the brigade's dolls all belonged to the same person.
The organ inside this Hotaru was...
The brain.
Alice lifted her gaze, looking towards Hotaru ahead, her magical energy beginning to subtly radiate.
"He dismembered your sister?"
"Exactly, he..." Raishin whipped his head back around. "How did you know?"
He had never said Nadeshiko was dismembered.
Alice gently raised a hand, pointing at Hotaru. "The brain."
"The dolls in his brigade are each equipped with different organs from the same person."
The previously silent atmosphere was instantly ignited by Alice's words.
Raishin's eyes widened, and he took a forceful step forward.
"You!"
He knew his sister had been dismembered, but he didn't know she had been turned into dolls.
Magnus simply closed his eyes, offering no explanation. Hotaru glanced at her master and stepped forward, blocking Raishin's path.
"Calm down," Edward's voice boomed.
"Your sister is still alive, though only as organs," Alice said softly.
"...Just what are you trying to do?" Raishin stared intently at the eyes behind Magnus's mask.
"Resurrection, of course," Alice shrugged. "Either he wants to bring your sister back to life, or he genuinely intended to turn her into dolls."
"...Legend says that the Karyuusai created a human to resurrect his wife, but that was merely a replica of her."
The silent Magnus finally spoke.
"Bringing the dead back from the underworld is impossible—if that is the 'Truth' of the universe, then there are loopholes to exploit."
A strange light shone in Magnus's eyes.
"As long as the target of the resurrection never died."
Genius!
Alice blinked.
That was truly a genius idea.
"Nadeshiko... is still alive?"
Raishin stood there stunned. His mind could comprehend it, but his spirit resisted understanding.
"Strictly speaking, that's correct. Nadeshiko is indeed dead, but she is also alive. The path to life lies within such a contradiction."
"But, isn't the brain inside Hotaru from Nadeshiko? Then isn't Hotaru Nadeshiko?"
"Do you know where a human's 'sense of self' truly resides?"
"..."
"The soul," Magnus supplied the answer Raishin couldn't give.
"If the goal was resurrection, then why kill... dismember your sister?" Kanaria tilted her head.
Raishin suddenly snapped back to reality, his gaze turning sharp again.
This point still hadn't been clarified.
"Because that night, Nadeshiko was fated to be killed by the Akabane clan."
Fated?
"More prophecies?" Alice asked boredly, observing the souls within the cavern.
"Yes," Magnus closed his eyes for a moment.
"The largest faction of Japanese magecraft, 'Izanagi,' once prophesied that the princess who would inherit the Akabane name would bring utter ruin to Izanagi."
"At the time, the only one who fit the criteria was Nadeshiko." Magnus's flat tone made Raishin's legs tremble slightly, followed by a surge of sheer fury.
"It's the twentieth century, and you killed Nadeshiko just because you were afraid of a prophecy?!"
He roared, the sensation of holding his sister's corpse that night flooding back to him.
"Then why not disown her?" Alice, looking into the darkness in the distance, asked offhandedly. "If only a princess inheriting the Akabane name would bring disaster, then why not just strip your sister of the Akabane surname?"
If you could loophole life and death, why not this?
Silence.
Ahem. Edward cleared his throat lightly. "Magnus-kun, your current goal is to resurrect Nadeshiko, correct?"
Magnus nodded. "The tentative plan is... a soul for a soul."
"...You're not planning to sacrifice yourself, are you?" Raishin stared into Magnus's eyes. The eyes of the two brothers, who hadn't communicated in years, met.
Magnus's silence was affirmation.
"You want to play the hero?!" Raishin yelled. His older brother had hidden everything, borne it all alone, and now he wanted to die as a hero after it was all over.
He wouldn't allow it.
"It should be me, the one who couldn't accomplish anything!"
"Becoming a soul yourself, going to the entrance of the underworld to retrieve Nadeshiko... you're not capable of such a difficult task yet."
The two brothers locked eyes. Magnus's gaze was utterly calm, and Raishin's furious eyes gradually stilled.
He clenched his fists, hating his own powerlessness.
"Unnecessary."
Alice's cool voice snapped him back to attention. Raishin looked at her as if grasping at a lifeline.
"Retrieving the soul is sufficient?" Alice glanced up at the massive underground cavern.
"In legend, the final resting place of the dead, whether called the Underworld or Hades, lies deep beneath the earth."
The girl's voice echoed continuously through the underground hollow.
"Deep underground, possessing countless souls [artificial souls]... can we not consider this place to be that 'final resting place of the dead'?"
Hearing this, an unusual light immediately sparked in Edward's sharp eyes. He curled the corner of his mouth and slowly said, "'Analogy'."
Magnus also looked up, while Raishin looked down in confusion.
Edward glanced at the puzzled Raishin. "Just like using dolls as substitutes for the living in burials. Based on this principle, we can consider this cavern, which meets the conditions, to be the same existence as the underworld."
Alice nodded quietly, a slight upturn at the corner of her mouth. She was becoming somewhat interested in this loophole-exploiting resurrection method.
"What else needs preparation?" The girl's black eyes turned towards the somewhat stunned Magnus.
"...A physical body." Magnus gestured lightly, and the other dolls of his brigade crossed space to arrive there.
"Nadeshiko's organs need a physical vessel capable of bearing her." He paused, his tone becoming somewhat odd. "For example, something like Karyuusai's 'Crystal'... a substance capable of self-replication and evolution."
Magnus suddenly felt things were progressing with terrifying smoothness.
This is fate, Edward thought, stroking the beard on his chin and sneaking a glance at Alice not far away.
So, artificial cells, then? It seemed like Setsugetsuka and the others were entirely composed of that sort of material.
Alice gave a slight nod, turning to look at Kanaria. "Go inform Shouko of the situation."
Kanaria, excited, hoisted her parasol and flew out.
Watching this scene, Raishin stood dumbfounded for a moment, then spoke with disbelief. "Can this 'Analogy' thing really be done?"
"Just because they're similar, you can treat them as the same existence... that sort of thing..."
"It feels... it feels like something out of a fairy tale."
Alice closed her eyes for a moment, then silently began to walk, her steps light and somewhat brisk, heading deeper in.
She gently rubbed the small vial containing the green, oily liquid, glanced at the others standing still, and her faint, clear voice rang out.
"Isn't this a fairy tale happening right now?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.