Faced with the inquiry, Arion glanced at the murderous scum who had burned and plundered, then at 2B, standing in the blood-soaked square with her Greatsword The White Promise, still as immaculate as a white flower, though stained with blood. He wanted her to stop, to seize them and hand them over to the local government.
Better not to dirty her hands.
But this isn't Arion's call right now.
Survivors hiding in the houses hear the outside go quiet, see 2B with a knife, see the Pirate leader split in two, see pirates terrified and fleeing, and they know what happened.
" Kill them!" someone shouts first, " avenge the fallen!"
" Pirates, die already! "
" Scum! "
" Kill them all! "
The shouts rise and fall, filled with rage.
Assistant: "Only enemies who can no longer act are good enemies. Based on the scene, it's advisable to eliminate."
2B remains unmoved, waiting for Arion's command.
She also swings The White Promise, cutting off the arm of a pirate who tries to reach for a weapon.
" Die!" A girl can't wait any longer, leaps from a window, furious, holding a dagger, and stabs one pirate in the heart.
Someone leads, the rest of the villagers, fired up with bloodlust, grab weapons and farming tools, charging this group of defeated pirates, starting a new round of slaughter.
The terrified pirates have no resistance before the enraged villagers; dust settles.
" The enemy has been annihilated, life signs lost."
2B approaches Arion.
This isn't a suitable place to talk; the sight of blood, dismemberment, and corpses makes Arion feel queasy.
White-faced, Arion and 2B quietly leave together.
This is a pristine beach, with golden soft sand, coconut trees bearing ripe fruit, a blue sea sparkling in the sun, and a pleasant sea breeze.
Here, a mere chair and a sun umbrella, or sunglasses, or a coconut with a straw, or a pair of swim trunks would complete the scene.
In short, the scenery here is so incongruous with the hellish Fishing Village just now.
"Ugh—"
Arion finally pukes, wishing to purge last night's meal.
Arion was born in an era of conflict, but now in a peaceful country; the bloodiest thing he had seen was meat at a market slaughterhouse. When had he seen such sights?
The scenes he just witnessed exceed his endurance physically and mentally.
It also makes him realize life is cheap.
One harpoon can end a life easily.
But Arion isn't remorseful, nor afraid; it's a choice between life and death, and anyone would do it.
After vomiting, he tries to wipe his mouth, but the gore on his hands drives him to wash it clean at the beach.
After cleaning, he looks at 2B, forcing a smile and extends his hand: "Hi, I'm Arion."
Assistant: "This is the handshake representing friendship among Humans, a courtesy of…."
"I know," 2B interrupts the Assistant, reaching out to clasp Arion's hand.
"Hello, I am 2B, Yorha Type B, combat model android."
2B is, of course, the heroine of NieR: Automata, with silver short hair, a stoic black visor, a voluptuous figure, a prominent presence in the 3D world, a leader-like figure.
Because of such a standout heroine, she fills many gaps in the game and has drawn countless players to play.
Especially the stair-climbing scene, the view from bottom to top, the bodysuit clinging to her, has become a major draw for many players.
Moreover, the "maternal life fruit" is not small, outlined by her dress, revealing the depth of the contours within.
This reminds Arion of his college days; 2B had accompanied him through many nights, wasting much energy.
— Daytime classes, late-night gaming marathon.
This led to his mind wandering, and he did poorly in class for a period.
Thus this was his youth.
And the character he could only see on a screen appears in front of him, almost unbelievable.
The sour mood from earlier eases.
"Thanks just now," Arion lets go of 2B's hand, "if not for you, I'd be buried by pirates' guns."
"Protecting Humans is our androids' duty."
Having cleared a few games, Arion knows the setup: to give these androids hope and a goal, a lie that Humans still survive, to fight for Humans and reclaim Earth.
For Humans' glory to Forever Shine.
"But I'm not the only Humans; those guys just now…"
"They aren't Humans," Assistant says, "though they look similar, based on my scans and the biosamples collected, they're as different from Humans as apes are from Humans."
"That's a stretch…," Arion mutters; perhaps it's a system setting?
Recalling that summoning 2B requires a reason to fight for him rather than because everyone else is Humans and he won't kill.
Of course, Arion wouldn't reveal this.
"But tell me, are you really an android? To me, you and Humans aren't that different."
"I'm modeled after Humans," 2B answers, "though I look the same, internals differ: I don't feel hunger and don't need to eat for energy."
"Of course, to resemble Humans as closely as possible, eating and a digestive system exist; the energy can be fully derived from food… but feeding for energy is inefficient, so we rarely use that method."
"Modeled after Humans, huh?" Arion nods, and then asks a crucial question.
"How about the rest of you? Is everything else like Humans?"
"What?"
"Well… forget it," Arion glances at 2B's hips wider than her shoulders, scratches his head, and swallows the question back.
He, like many people on Earth, feels an inexplicable shame about such matters.
"To be as close to Humans as possible, so that one day we can extend Humans' lives, androids have been equipped with reproductive modules identical to female Humans' structure."
The usually quiet Assistant answers Arion's unspoken question.
"But the reproductive module is limited to female androids. Hint—2B's reproductive module is not fully activated, it only retains basic functions and cannot extend Humans' life. Don't waste effort on this."
"Sorry," a faint blush crosses 2B's cool face, she lowers her head in apology, "Sorry I can't help you extend Humans' glory."
"Sorry, I didn't mean that, I just asked if it's as easy as Humans," Arion says, trying to smile.
"Let's not talk about that… Anyway, what are your plans or goals from here?"
2B's reply is simple and direct: "To fight for Humans, that is my only mission."
"According to the scans, the terrain here, the biological samples aren't in my database," Assistant emits a glow, scanning the surroundings, "and there's no contact with the Orthra satellite orbital base either."
"It's likely we're no longer on Earth, so our main task now should be to protect Humans and find a way to contact the Orthra base."
"Agreed," 2B has no objection.
"Protect me?" Arion leans against a coconut tree, looking up through the leaves at a bluer sky than before.
A sharp line of a smile crosses his face.