act19side

With my support as a newly added variable, the probability of our success is...

No, you don't have to tell me.

I'm just used to planning everything out before the actual execution. I know it was hasty of me to run out here, but I couldn't control myself.

Calculating the results will not reveal anything in advance.

Operator Greyy, what determines the result in the end will always be...

The 'impulse' that drives you forward.

I cannot confirm whether the fluctuations of my brainwaves right now were caused by this 'impulse,' but it was none other than your actions that drove me here.

Operator Ptilopsis...

Thanks.

Even more light begins to emanate above him.

This is beyond the theoretical maximum output numbers that he and Mechanist, the designers of the weapon, had yet to measure.

But these are his Arts.

There has never been a theory capable of fully explaining Originium Arts... And furthermore, this luminance comes not only from his Arts Unit... It comes from his heart.

This luminance in the end pierces through the out-of-control test subject, through the darkness, the clouds, and all the unknowns above.

This thought, hidden within the sparks of electricity, pulses once only.

Nonetheless, Greyy grasps hold of it—He can feel the possibility within.

A weak signal has been detected...

Connecting.

Phew...

Following an intense quake, the enormous test subject positions itself in front of the assembled onlookers.

There was no foreshadowing, and it left no trails of its movement. It simply appeared in that very position.

Agh...

Stand back, Greyy!

I...

That's an order—

Silence grabs Greyy's other hand.

A drone takes to the sky and, gathering the golden rays that began to disperse as Greyy's strength starts to give, charges straight toward the silver colossus that shrouds the sky.

The explosion is as loud as a thunderclap. The drone, having risen to the highest point in the sky, disintegrates into countless specks of light that flutter down.

I picked this up from Elena.

Though a trick like this will only work once.

This light... will extinguish eventually.

Message sent.

Our most crucial objective has been completed, right?

Yes...

We did it.

She reaches her other hand out to hold Ptilopsis.

The light above them slowly dissipates, revealing the enormous scale of the silver construct.

Yet it does not advance.

A layer of fine dust still stubbornly stands between them.

Dorothy...?

You're holding... a treatment band and the reagent.

You're thinking of plugging yourself in...

I want to hear their voices.

No!

I told you. I don't know how to wake them up, and I won't know how to wake you up!

You might find yourself swallowed by their consciousness, and your nervous system might see irreversible damage if we destroy this construct, and perhaps...

I'm a researcher. I'm willing to accept all the uncertainties.

But I'm your doctor!

I can't just watch you risk your own life—

It'll be fine, Olivia.

This way, I will get to be with my family.

The test subjects behind her are unable to speak.

The silver construct before her remains silent as ever.

Dorothy closes her eyes and feels the silver reagent flow into her body.

The slightly cold sensation feels as if the fingertips of her family members are caressing her up and down.

Olivia...

I need the answer.

A long, long time ago, there was a little girl who lived happily in a beautiful town.

One day, a storm brought with it countless black rocks and destroyed her home.

In search of a way to restore her homeland's beauty, she found the courage to set out on a journey.

The legends told of a most-amazing caster who lived in a faraway, marvelous land, and his Originium Arts could make all that is impossible possible.

During her journeys, she met a fowlbeast that couldn't fly and a tin man who was nothing but an empty shell.

The fowlbeast wanted to learn to fly, and the tin man wanted to find its body. They all had different dreams.

To find this marvelous land, they walked for a long, long time. So long, that the fowlbeast shed all its feathers and the tin man began to rust.

'I will give you my wings. With them, you can fan away the dust,' the fowlbeast said.

'I will give you my tin plates. With it, you can make it through the storm,' the tin man said.

The girl wore the fowlbeast's wings and the tin man's plates and flew past the desert and the storm.

She found the caster, only to discover an incoherent madman.

The girl cried in sadness, but her friends were there with her and started to talk to her.

'Thank you. I flew across an insurmountable desert,' the wings said.

'Thank you. I felt the warmth of a body once again,' the tin plates said.

'This has been such a wonderful journey,' they said together.

'In that case, my dream has come true too.' The girl hugged her friends. 'With you here by my side, I now have a new home.'

With the dreams of her friends, the girl set out on a journey again. This time, she did not set out to find a legendary caster.

She had an all-new goal. She would walk far, far away to where no one had ever gone before.

Dorothy, did you like the story Mommy told you?

She hesitated for a while, but it also seemed like the blink of an eye.

She saw green trees and red roses, a bright and beautiful day, as well as a quiet, endless dark night.

She saw a rainbow that stretched across the sky and reflected as smiles on the spectators' faces.

They walked close together, discussing food, weather, and the good harvest.

They saw her too and waved at her.

'Hello, Dorothy.'

'This is a nice place, isn't it, Dorothy?'

'There's an endless supply of clean water and food here... and all the wild beasts have gone away.'

'It's so great to relax here.'

'All the data from those experiments are driving me crazy, though. I'm always afraid that the director might show up out of nowhere.'

'We shouldn't stay here too long, though. A storm might be coming.'

'Don't worry. We know how to deal with those. Otherwise, why would we even have come here?'

'What is there to worry about, then?'

'Haha... That we can't be on our way tomorrow, of course.'

'And we don't know whether we'll ever find another place like this again.'

'It doesn't matter if we run away... tomorrow's still coming.'

'If all I do is hide here, when will I become the greatest scientist there ever was?'

'And that's why we'll be on our way as soon as it's light out.'

'Strange. What a long night this is...'

Nngh—!

It's moving more intensely! It's like... it's putting up a fight!

Perhaps that's because Dorothy is putting up a fight.

Do you believe her? This was Ms. Dorothy's experiment. Would she really willingly abandon a dream she's chased for years?

What Dorothy seeks isn't success.