The severed head of the gray fungi rolled on the floor, the severed torso writhed roughly and the gray tentacles struggled even more violently.
The creature was literally a fungus itself. It doesn't die just because its head is cut off. For outside entities, tenacious vitality was a basic qualification they had to possess.
Unless that body is completely decomposed or burned with fire, it continues to regenerate.
In that sense, the fungus was extremely unlucky. After waking up from a long sleep, the first opponent it encountered happened to be an adversary virtually equivalent to its natural enemy.
The Knight of Heaven who repels even outside entities with the sacred power of the sky. That brilliant starlight cut the fungus's body into dozens of pieces.
The scattered flesh fragments couldn't regenerate and burned in the flames of Starlight.
As the body collapsed, the ground that had been eroded returned to its original form. The tentacles quickly shriveled and then hung like dried stems.
The only remaining severed head opened and closed its sharp teeth.
-Kwajik!
That head was strongly trampled by the Starlight warhorse whose hooves were imbued with Starlight. There was no blood splatter but the gray fungus's body crumpled like clay and melted away.The battle was over. In the process of victory, Osian closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
The creature's end was more anticlimactic than expected, but this was possible because Osian had an extremely advantageous compatibility against it. Moreover, due to its long hibernation, the fungus couldn't exert even a quarter of its original power.
'But even during that, it was trying to make a new adaptation.'
Osian's gaze turned toward the creature's fragmented body. Some of those fragments had transformed, resembling the shape of a human hand. Some looked like legs, and others were forms that had been trying to take the shape of a human head.
If more time had passed.
'That would have changed into a human form.'
If that had happened, it would have led to unimaginable consequences.
Don Quixote and David quietly observed the white knight's figure.
The appearance of the knight who had defeated a monster from the outside had an atmosphere that was difficult to express in words. Exhilaration heated their hearts and made their blood boil.
-Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Wow! That was truly amazing, friend! If I had a heart, it would surely be beating noisily!"
Neo's fawning words poured cold water on the atmosphere. Everyone silently stared at Neo.
Looking back, wasn't it Neo who had brought them to this dangerous place, saying he would introduce them to a friend?
"Huh? Friends, why are you all looking at me like that?"
"I'm sorry, friends. I didn't know that friend was so dangerous. It was the first time I saw what books call a flower, so I genuinely thought it was something good."
Neo apologized sincerely. Not knowing about the world, Neo could only make judgments based on what he had seen in books. Having never seen a flower in the wasteland-like District 49, the fungus' dormant form would undoubtedly look like a flower from stories.
Even Osian had thought it was an ominous but pretty flower until it woke up.
"He's not my friend."
Of course, even while apologizing, he didn't stop using the word "friend" to refer to that fungus.
Perhaps in that automaton's process, there was a command to call everyone "friend" regardless of who they were.
"I'm curious about something. Why did you show that to us?"
It was then that Don Quixote asked.
"If that had been a real flower, it would have been too sad to just leave it and go. Even if my leaving wouldn't change anything, isn't it too lonely for just one flower to remain here?"
Neo's reason for showing the flower to the group wasn't because of any clear goal.
'Compassion. That was the driving force that made Neo move.'
Compassion isn't something you can cultivate just because someone gives an order, nor is it something you can have rationally. It's an emotion that naturally comes to those with warm hearts.
Neo was beyond just an artificial intelligence; he could clearly think and express his emotions. Perhaps in that aspect, Neo might be much more human than the people of Tirna.
'Not human yet humane.'
That's why Neo was annoying but not dislikable. He possessed emotions that were excessively pure and warm. They weren't disgusted because those feelings were conveyed clearly.
'Looking at the way he hides himself, he's not completely foolish. He knows he should hide because it's dangerous. But even so, he helped people, prepared to be discovered.'
Simon, who is now the village head, was such a case. Neo treated him when he injured his leg from the impact of a fall and cared for him until he recovered.
Even if asked why, Neo would answer without much thought. Just that he looked pitiful, so he helped.
"Let's stop discussing what's already past."
Osian wrapped up the situation that way. It was wasteful to talk back and forth about the now-dead gray fungus.
"What's important now is what we're going to do next. Neo, are you going to stay here?"
"Of course not!"
Neo answered sharply.
"I want to go outside. I want to see more, a wider world. This place isn't bad to live in, but when you keep seeing the same scenery, you get tired of it, right?"
Neo picked up a book that had fallen on the floor. The open book showed various landscapes in black and white illustrations.
"I want to see what lies beyond this. What landscapes exist and what people are there. All I could see was the stars in the night sky."
As if dreaming. Neo's voice, imagining what he desired, was full of emotion.
"So can you take me outside? Away from the reach of those scary people."
"They don't seem to be friends?"
"They're bad people!"
Osian let out a chuckle. Yes. It seems he doesn't just have "friends" on his mind.
Osian looked at Don Quixote and David. The two didn't answer separately. Their eyes were enough.
"Alright. Let's go."
Finding Neo doesn't end the mission. Rather, it was just beginning.
"We've wasted a lot of time. Let's move right before sunrise tomorrow morning."
For that, they needed to sleep early today. The group went back up to the ground along the path they had come.
"The vehicle is still intact."
The muscle car seized from Oil Finger was still in its place. They had hidden it somewhere not visible to prevent potential theft, but anyone determined to find it wouldn't have much trouble.
It seems no one had come to this vicinity yet.
Night had fallen. The group sat around a campfire lit by Rocinante.
"So this is camping!"
Neo was delighted, saying he had read about it in books. It wasn't much like camping, but considering the original purpose of the items Don Quixote had brought, it wasn't entirely inaccurate either.
The group drank soup. Neo also held a bowl, but unlike the others, his was empty. As an automaton, he couldn't eat food. On the contrary, if he poured soup straight into his mouth, his circuits might get damaged.
"On a cold day, warm soup is indeed the best. Of course, I can't feel the cold or eat soup!"
Was it because he had lived lonely in a place without people? Or because of the expectation that he could finally leave this place? Neo talked incessantly.
"Now that I'm about to leave, I can't help but feel a bit sad. After all, it's a place where I've built memories."
"Are there any memories worth remembering?"
"Of course. I met various people here. People who were lost or injured. I helped them leave safely."
Of course, there were also cases where people came back with more people, targeting Neo's uniqueness.
"Among them, is there anyone who's most memorable?"
It was a question asked with Simon, who at least remembered the favor, in mind, but Neo's answer was completely unexpected.
"The first person I met."
"The first?"
Neo is an automaton created when District 49 was established. So if District 49 had been functioning properly, he would be a cheap automaton doing miscellaneous chores inside with at least 50 years of manufacturing history.
And it was also the period Neo had been active since opening his eyes.
"When I opened my eyes, the whole world was engulfed in flames. I didn't know what 'surprise' felt like back then."
The gray fungi that crossed over from the outside due to experimentation. And the drastic choice made by Tirna to prevent the expansion of the fungi was the closure of District 49. Thus, District 49 was erased under overwhelming firepower.
"It was after everything had collapsed. That was the first sight I saw. I didn't understand it then, but looking back now, it was a terrible thing."
However, not everything disappeared in the rebirth of fire.
Life is tenacious. Among them, humans are even more tenacious. Even in that merciless bombardment of fire, there were survivors.
It's the same even if it was just providence. The humans who survived adapted, cultivated new forces, and lived in their own way.
"There, I met a person for the first time. A very small, cute child."
"A child?"
Neo spread his hands to a moderate size.
"A child about this big. Really small. It was puzzling how the child survived in that environment. But the child was alive. I don't know why. Even though I was confused at the time, that thought just came to me. That I had to save this child."
Neo discovered the child in the still-remaining flames. And he saved that child.
"The child was in such a bad state that they couldn't even speak properly. But fortunately, I had the knowledge to care for a child. Looking back now, it's strange why I knew such knowledge even before reading books. But I didn't know the reason back then!"
It seems Neo was an automaton created for miscellaneous tasks, specifically for taking care of children. The familiar yet comical appearance, unlike other automatons, was probably for that reason.
The automaton, awakened in the flames, naturally approached the fallen child and reached out. The child also extended a hand. In the wavering vision, it wouldn't have mattered whether the one saving was human or not.
At the moment the hand seeking salvation and the hand offering help touched.
"It felt like everything suddenly became clear. It's like a firework exploding in your head."
A cheap automaton with only the process for caring for a child Awakened to 'self.'
At that time, Neo didn't notice his strangeness. Rather, saving the child in front of him was the priority.
So Neo used his knowledge to care for the child.
The child he saw for the first time when he opened his eyes. That fragile life he had to take care of.
"Of course, it wasn't an easy task. The child was very damaged. The child couldn't speak properly and was constantly anxious."
It was good that he brought the child to a safe place, but the child was in terrible shape due to the shock. The biggest problem was the psychological trauma. The child didn't try to eat anything and didn't speak. It was natural, having experienced such a horrible thing at a young age.
Neo made a lot of effort. He made toys and even played for the child. But the child still sat crouched with empty eyes. Just eating a little of the food brought was all.
Neo pondered what to do. As he spent time with the child, his self became clearer and his thoughts deepened. Neo brought in various objects from the surroundings every day. He collected things that somehow maintained their form in the flames, hoping to find something useful.
Neo discovered a book among them.
A book containing the story of a knight, now considered merely a legend.
The romantic knight chasing stars, Don Quixote.
Neo doesn't know why he chose it. A freshly awakened self couldn't make clear rational judgments. But perhaps because of that, Neo instinctively found the best method.
"So I read it to the child."
If once isn't enough, then twice. If twice isn't enough, then thrice. Perhaps because that effort reached the child, light returned to the empty eyes of the child, and the child began to listen to Neo's words.
The child started to eat the food Neo barely managed to bring, and even began to speak haltingly.
Above all, the child became most active when Neo read the story of Don Quixote.
"I still remember holding the cold child in my arms, with a blanket over us, looking up at the stars in the night sky. The countless stars were truly beautiful."
The knight's story was similar. Don Quixote was an old knight who was disregarded by people. He had a fanciful dream and tried to do the impossible.
A mere human, having such a ridiculous delusion as reaching the stars. Don Quixote didn't stop even when others laughed and despised him.
That image was sometimes funny, sometimes relatable, and sometimes majestic. That's why many people loved the story but no one sincerely wanted to become like Don Quixote. Because the world was too harsh. Because Don Quixote's story was an illusion.
'But.'
Osian's gaze turned toward the old man listening to Neo's story.
'There are people who willingly chase that illusion.'
Even knowing they won't reach it. Just like the knight in the story who tried to grasp the stars.