What was that...
''I'm a little too sick to scream...''


　It wasn't a demon that was at the end of the forty-layered door. There was nothing inside the room. But the outer wall of the room it was made of ice, but inside it was packed tightly with human beings. It was neatly divided into limbs, body and head.

　It's like a piece of art. But I didn't think this should be called art at all.


　A cruel object at the entrance. It must have been intended to be brought here. And it keeps a person frozen like this. But what is the meaning of it?　How did this fifth labyrinth come to be....


　And I arrive at one truth. At the same time, a doll comes down from the ceiling out of nowhere.


"Huh?　People!
No, Doll. Stay back...
Yes.....


　As I lower Aria backwards, the doll begins to wobble. This doll has long black hair and also wears clothes. It certainly looks like a person at first glance. But my elemental eye, the Decoding Sight, reveals the world. This is not a human being. I can't feel any of the First Quality Primamateria that should exist in humans.


''Target supplement. Target supplement. Action is now a go!


　When I said that in some kind of one word, that guy comes charging at me with blades out of both wrists.





　When I pull out the Usukane lion, I prepare for the interruption.......and prepare for the coming attack. And as their blades intersect with each other, the sound of kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin resounds through the room. But the offensive and defense doesn't end there. My opponent holds a sword in both hands. It's obvious that he has more hands than me. Knowing this advantage, Doll launches a series of attacks. The throat, chest, and stomach are all attacks aimed at vital points. But once you understand, it doesn't matter.

　As I calmly dealt with each one of them, the next moment a blade flew out from an improbable part and landed.


"Ugh...!


　I shifted my head slightly and ducked. Yes, in the middle of this sword fight, a sword flew from my neck. I was unconsciously turned upside down by the feats that humans couldn't do, but I managed to react. However, that was dangerous if I didn't have my Elemental Eye 《Decoding Site》. Dolls don't have the First Material《Prima Terrier》. That's why I thought it was something that couldn't be detected, but that's actually not the case. The blade was covered with a sticky substance. This First Placer, the Primamateria, was probably human. I know this because I've dismantled dozens or hundreds of humans. The number of people who have been killed by this blade.


　The fact that the sacrifices of so many humans have made it easier to fight really makes me feel worthless, but I can't say that right now.


　I'm not going to miss the opportunity created by the slashes we exchanged. I tried to freeze my feet in place with alchemy, but....


I can't help but notice that it's not a good idea. Resist, go for it.


　And the alchemy team I was constructing will be resisted.

　I see........So alchemy can't be used in a half-hearted way? But if I try to make something more advanced, it will take time. If I do that, I might get torn apart too. I'm not very good at this, but I'll just have to use close combat sword fights to push through....


　Thinking this, we exchange fierce sword fights, but our opponents are also quite responsive. Rather than that.........I was about to be unable to keep up with them. I've already strengthened my body to the limit. The reaction speed has also been increased to the limit with the elemental eye 《Decoding Sight》. And yet, this doll doesn't just react to everything, it exceeds it.


''........Kuu!


　The blade is slightly grazed on my cheek. I felt a sense of discomfort as I felt blood flowing from my cheeks.


".........poison?


　As soon as I could, I matched the standard to the poison that had slipped from my cheeks and activated the Anti-Materials Code.




Antimatter Antimatter Code: Reverse!

Substance "material" = anti-material code

Matter 《Materials》: Inverse 《Reverse》 = Primary Ingredient 《Prima Materia》.



　Then the poisonous substance returns its presence to the First Quality, the Prima Terrier. But I can't solve it. I could have made my current attack a quick-death poison. Even so, I should have managed to deal with it with my anti-matter code, but I still don't know why I'm planting a nerve-paralyzing poison in that blade.


　I had a hunch that the conclusions I drew earlier from this were largely correct.


　A person embedded in the surrounding ice wall. And a doll that uses a paralyzing poison instead of killing it.


　


　I've thought about making a complete copy of a human brain. But I stopped doing that for one reason. It would require dissecting the brain while it was still alive. Once dead, the freshness of a human brain is drastically reduced and the brain is useless. That's why dissecting a person alive is essential. I sought out other ways to achieve fully independent artificial intelligence by means of copying qualia, not brain copies. However, this approach is still far from perfect, as it only replicates some of the brain functions. But this doll is probably perfect in the truest sense of the word.


　A perfect homunculus. But in fact, it was now clear that the doll was using a large amount of human brain. A doll born after inhumane experiments. Perhaps it was just a doll doing its bidding, but I can't help but feel sorry for it.


　How could this happen..... Thinking about it doesn't help the situation at all. All I can do is to kill this doll....


　Am I prepared to kill someone?　That's what I've been asking myself all along. But if we're lost in a situation where we have to kill them, they'll kill us. If that's the case........we have no choice but to do it. No matter how cruel it may be....


'At least rest in peace........'


　And I cut off Doll's head. Even though it is an artificial intelligence, it's still not perfect. It's fast, but its attack pattern is monotonous, and if it finds an opening, it has no intention of cutting off the head like this.


　The head that spun around and flew through the air rolled around on the ground and then... completely stopped functioning. The torso also collapsed away and fell to the spot.


''Oh, are you done?''
Oh, it's done.


　Saying that, I put the thin-winged dragonfly back into its sheath. Surprisingly, I wasn't stunned. I thought so. However, in the moment I faintly felt the first pledge 《Primamateria》 flicker.


''Ariah!　Watch out!
What?


　The torso that had rolled over was still moving. I was completely caught off guard. Since it was a doll, cutting its head off would not be the end of it. Of course, I was going to check it out, but it was true that I had let my guard down.


　Aria's right arm flying in the air. It's not just a matter of time before it falls to the ground with a whirlwind spin through the air.


　I quickly freeze the torso of the doll and secure it in place, and then freeze the area in the heart that seems to be the power source as well. This should have stopped it completely. But now I have to treat Aria first.


　But the scene I saw beyond that it was almost unthinkable.


''Aria you're that........''
How can this be happening?


　When they cut you off, you bleed. It's a common thing. It's a natural fact for humans. But.........not a single drop of blood flowed from Aria's right arm.


　When I looked at the severed surface, what was there was the same wiring that I had seen many times before.........................the same wiring as Doll.


''Oh no.......how could this be........''


　Aria trembles as she looks at the severed surface of her severed arm.

'Oi, no! Ahhhhhh!


　Wailing.

　And the next moment, something even more unbelievable happened.