In fact, Leon had felt something was off from the very beginning.
First, judging by how Evelyn No. 2 referred to Evelyn Parker as the Creator,
Evelyn Parker held immense significance in No. 2's heart.
If that were the case, would No. 2 really hand over the alchemical core, the Deep Diver, and the alchemical technology left behind by Evelyn Parker to an outsider like Leon so decisively?
Just to ask Leon to help her kill No. 1 and bring No. 4 back?
Second.
No. 2 claimed she was a non-combat alchemical golem and could not attack other Evelyn-series alchemical golems.
No matter how one looked at it, this didn't make sense.
If Leon were an alchemist, standard logic dictated that he should program the combat-type alchemical golems' frameworks to prevent them from attacking non-combat ones.
What kind of logic was there in restricting a non-combat golem from attacking?
The third and final point.
No. 2 claimed she couldn't attack other alchemical golems.
But according to her, No. 1 could.
Yet, the doors to the Creator's Sanctuary were not locked.
There were no restrictions whatsoever; Leon had been able to enter the Creator's Sanctuary with No. 5 at will.
Then... why hadn't No. 1, driven mad by mana contamination, broken out of the Creator's Sanctuary and killed No. 2?
After all, even if No. 1 attacked No. 2, No. 2 wouldn't be able to fight back due to the restrictions of her alchemical framework, right?
In short, Leon had noticed numerous doubts and contradictions in her words from the very beginning.
Thus, from start to finish, Leon had never chosen to believe No. 2's story.
He had decided to see the truth with his own eyes before making a judgment.
And when he saw No. 1 and felt not even a shred of mana contamination on her,
Leon had decided to capture her alive to cross-reference her account with No. 2's.
“So, Young Master Leon, the reason you didn't let me stay by No. 2's side wasn't because you didn't trust me, but because... you didn't trust No. 2?”
Inside the Creator's Sanctuary, Scott looked at Leon with hindsight.
“Of course.” Leon patted Scott on the shoulder and said,
“Though we've only met a few times, I acknowledge your alchemical skills.”
“Furthermore, I can easily perceive your inner thoughts.”
“Through this perception, I know you are actually a good person who would never play along on the surface while betraying me in the dark!”
Hearing this, an indescribable wave of emotion welled up in Scott's heart.
His eyes immediately reddened.
Clenching his fists, he said excitedly,
“Young Master Leon... I, Scott... am willing to pledge myself to your service and become your chief alchemist!”
“If you want to be my chief alchemist, you still have to work hard,” Leon said, patting Scott's shoulder once more.
Scott felt immensely encouraged, a look of determination appearing on his face.
He looked ready to go through fire and water for Leon's sake.
But Leon didn't need that.
To Leon, it was enough for Scott to do his job well and manufacture the alchemical equipment he needed.
Leon turned his head to look at No. 1, who was lying on the ground, and No. 5, whose face was filled with surprise after hearing his explanation.
“Right now, for some reason, you can only speak a few simple words and cannot formulate a complete sentence, correct?”
Leon asked No. 1, “Nod if yes, shake your head if no.”
No. 1 nodded. “Traitors.”
Seeing this, Leon turned around. “Ratahn, give her some paper and a pen.”
Ratahn pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from the gaps in his armor and handed them to No. 1.
No. 1 hesitated for a moment before retracting her weaponized hands, returning them to their normal arm forms.
She then took the paper and pen and looked at Leon.
“I'll ask, and you answer.” A bright sacred light flared at Leon's fingertips as his priest's scepter transformed into the Memory-Weaving Stringed Scepter. He began to play as he questioned her.
A moment later, by listening to her inner voice, he confirmed that No. 1 was not lying and obtained the information he wanted.
The story recounted by No. 1 was completely different from No. 2's version.
According to No. 1, more than twenty days ago, a widespread contamination erupted from the mana focus.
When the contamination first broke out, No. 4, due to her unique design, accidentally absorbed a large amount of it, which drove her into a frenzy.
In her madness, No. 4 killed No. 3, whose parts were already aging and in poor condition.
Promptly, No. 4's crazed actions were discovered by No. 1 and No. 2, who teamed up to suppress the rampaging No. 4.
Of course, due to the unique settings in No. 1's alchemical framework, the main force behind suppressing No. 4 was actually No. 2.
After suppressing No. 4, No. 1 planned to bring her into the Creator's Sanctuary for repairs.
However, at that very moment, when there were no other alchemical golems around, No. 2 ambushed No. 1 from behind!
“As Unit-01 created by the Creator, I inherited the Creator's 'humanity.' My alchemical framework is programmed so that I cannot attack other Evelyn-series alchemical golems. When No. 2 ambushed me, my only option was to flee.”
“Inherited?” Leon asked upon seeing the information on the paper. “What does 'inherited' mean? And what does it mean to inherit 'humanity'?”
Evelyn No. 1 wrote on the paper:
“When the Creator created us, she split her own soul and placed the pieces into our alchemical bodies.”
“This is how we, as alchemical golems, possess intelligence and self-awareness.”
“So that's how it is!” Upon seeing this information, Scott suddenly had an epiphany.
“I was wondering how on earth an alchemist could create a soul out of thin air and bestow self-awareness upon an alchemical creation!”
“It turns out! It turns out she split her own soul and stuffed the pieces into these alchemical golems!”
“This... this is simply insane!”
Even gods could not create a soul out of thin air!
Scott had always found it strange how Evelyn Parker was able to manufacture alchemical golems with a sense of self.
Now, he understood.
Splitting one's complete soul into several parts and then placing them into alchemical golems...
That Evelyn Parker was truly an alchemical genius whose ideas were far ahead of her time, even a thousand years ago!
Not only was she a genius, but she was also incredibly ruthless to herself!
Splitting one's soul was equivalent to the agony of amputating one's own organ without anesthesia!
In fact, it was far worse.
Amputating an organ could be done with anesthetics, and the pain was only a momentary flash when severing the connection.
But splitting a soul was more like slicing that organ off inch by inch.
Experiencing the ultimate agony with every single millimeter!
Until the soul splitting was complete!
This kind of pain would undoubtedly kill anyone with a weak will.
Yet, for Evelyn Parker...
From what Leon knew, there were at least Units 1 through 5, which meant she had split her soul five times!
She wasn't just ruthless; she was a complete and utter badass!
Evelyn No. 1 took another sheet of paper and continued writing:
“I inherited the Creator's humanity, possessing a full range of rich emotions.”
“No. 3 inherited the Creator's courage; she was never afraid.”
“No. 4 inherited the Creator's magical talent, allowing her to cast many spells. The work of repairing our home's magic circles has always been left to her.”
“No. 5 inherited the Creator's sincerity, which allows her to touch many things with her heart and guide us when we make mistakes.”
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