"This is so awesome."
If he weren't still chained up, Guinevere would truly want to jump for joy right now.
It really seems to provide exactly what's missing: just as he was dozing off, the "pillow" arrived immediately. The one drawback of the Flame of Salvation was that using it inflicted near-fatal damage on himself; this Flame projection also had the drawback of being single-use. But now, with two single summons, his Flame usage limit has increased by one more. And he's also gained the Chainsaw-Man Heart, which guarantees recovery after bearing the Flame's backlash.
Some might not grasp how valuable the Chainsaw-Man Heart is. You don't even need to consider the combat boost from transforming; just note: "After pulling the ring, the wielder automatically heals all current wounds." He truly heals "all" wounds—be it dismemberment, incineration to ash, or any other mortal-ending injury: a drop of blood and one pull on the ring, and he revives on the spot at full health. His vitality becomes more resilient than a cockroach's.
Thus, as long as he has Chainsaw-Man's transformation charge ready, he can unleash the Flame without worrying about permanent harm; the only concern is enduring the excruciating pain of release... Thinking of that terrifying memory from Norwich, Guinevere shuddered. Yes, that's a massive hurdle—not something to brush off lightly.
But regardless, the extraordinary recovery this skill offers is very tempting... So how exactly does one raise Chainsaw-Man's contract gauge? What actions truly fit the Chainsaw-Man image? Guinevere lowered his head in thought. ...It can't be "I want to be Makima-san's dog," right? That's far too abstract.
In any case, the urgent priority remains: figure out how to escape this dungeon while rescuing Artoria.
After a moment's consideration, Guinevere brought his right-hand index and middle fingers together and thumb raised—forming a gun gesture. A flash of fire appeared; his right hand sank slightly, and when he looked again, he held a futuristic black-and-white pistol in his hand.
"What a cool pistol…" Guinevere muttered, a strong sense of unreality welling up. It was his first time touching such a supernatural weapon in reality; even he felt a flicker of excitement. If it were the Flame, surely breaking these flimsy iron chains would be trivial, right?
Just as he was about to aim the Flame-pistol at the chain near his wrist, he caught a single, steady set of footsteps approaching from afar. Alarmed, he quickly canceled the Flame summon gesture and flopped back onto the ground, feigning that he had not yet woken. Those footsteps sounded crisp—clearly someone in heels or thick-soled boots: undoubtedly Tristan.
He then heard those steps pause outside his cell for a few seconds before proceeding directly to the adjacent cell. Damn—he'd forgotten Artoria was next door—Guinevere's heart tightened.
Soon he heard Tristan's voice from next door:
"Such a familiar scene. You really don't learn, do you? After so little time, you've fallen into my hands again."
"Again?" Artoria's voice first sounded stunned, then exclaimed: "What do you mean… you actually have that Queen Simulator too?"
Queen Simulator? Guinevere, eavesdropping silently, was taken aback. What's going on? They each have a life simulator, he knew, but hers is called "Queen Simulator"? He'd known Artoria and Tristan had such a simulator, but hadn't realized it was named that. Moreover, it seems Artoria's simulator works better—she can directly acquire memories—whereas his simulator lacks that effect… If he had that effect, he'd now be the unrivaled Sword Saint: fearless of pain, battle-hardened, willing to break chains at will—rather than cowering in fear of pain as he was now. …Oh no, am I on a pirated private server? The more he thought, the heavier his heart sank.
Meanwhile, Bawanshi (Barnesh) heard Artoria's words and felt her heart lurch violently. What do you mean she knows about the simulator... "too"? Why use "too"? Wasn't she the only one with a simulator? Could Mother's trial not be for her alone? In other words… she is not Mother's sole chosen? The so-called Chosen One everyone thought her to be was perhaps only one among multiple heirs Mother recognizes? Realizing this, Bawanshi staggered, nearly collapsing if not supported by the wall.
"Uh… are you okay? You look unsteady—are your shoes uncomfortable?" Artoria asked, noticing Bawanshi's shock.
"Ugh…" After a small pained sound, Bawanshi tried to conceal the intense turmoil in her expression, then turned away with a cold snort:
"Heh, perfectly fitting my image of a country fairy: only now catching on?"
Guinevere observed Tristan's wavering expression and saw through her inner turmoil with Fairy Eyes, but Artoria, though noticing something, said only with awkward hesitation:
"Oh… right. Since Baggs and Lancelot both have simulators, it'd be odd if you as a fairy knight didn't, right?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
Now Bawanshi could no longer hide the shock on her face or the turmoil in her heart:
"That stupid dragon and that big ape actually have simulators too? How is that possible? They do too?!"
How could this be? They also have it? She realized Mother must have recognized them as well; she herself was not Mother's unique daughter but just one among several heirs. Bawanshi took two steps back, pressing against the wall to avoid collapsing.
Even Artoria gradually showed sympathy:
"Oh… you didn't know? The simulator is multiplayer—you can't be the last to find out, can you?"
"How… how is that possible! Don't speak nonsense! Just a country fairy, always acting so high and mighty!"
"You really want to die?"
Should she be angry? Yes—she felt deep hurt: so painful to realize she was never truly special to Mother… Her chest felt pierced by a huge needle, a searing pain as if a hole formed through her being; she felt everything slipping away through it... When hurt, she ought to be angry—and likely kill someone again. She hoped that by doing so, Mother would feel some satisfaction and focus more on her.
With that thought, Bawanshi's gaze turned fierce; she slowly raised her hand, gathering crimson magic at her fingertip.
—Damn. Artoria slapped her forehead in embarrassment. She'd relied too much on Fairy Eyes. Conventionally, Tristan should be a brutal killer, yet Artoria found, via Fairy Eyes, that Tristan held no deep hostility; Artoria herself bore no hostility toward Tristan. If so, why would Tristan ambush and capture her? It made no sense.
Artoria closed her eyes in pain. Despite many simulations, she still couldn't make the right life choices, and again she faced death over such absurd events… She truly was a fool.
Meanwhile, as Artoria resigned herself, Bawanshi hesitated: really kill her? Could she? She too was recognized by Mother as an heir—would killing her trouble Mother? Would it be improper? Yet if they all are Mother's test participants, killing the "Chosen One" might prove she's more suitable as heir—would Mother then value her more? Both possibilities existed with no way to confirm either, so Bawanshi wavered... Most importantly, she did not wish this shining fairy's light to be extinguished.
As Bawanshi struggled, a sudden loud crash rang out. Pain surged in her palm as something hot struck hard, splitting her skin and dispersing her gathered magic. She glanced down at her mildly burnt palm, then turned to the other cell and saw Guinevere pointing that strange pistol-like weapon at her.
"...Damn." Guinevere's lip twitched. Though the Flame pistol description said damage scales with his attributes, he hadn't expected much with all E-rank stats—but dealing such trivial damage in a sneak shot? What kind of lame scraping weapon is this? Such B-rank damage might not even finish off Tristan with a headshot!
Now, seeing Tristan's gaze turn to him, Guinevere's eyelids twitched wildly. But with no retreat left, he knew he could not stand by and let Tristan kill Artoria.
[Because you risked personal danger to protect a beautiful girl, your action highly fits the Chainsaw-Man image: Contract Gauge +5%; current charge: 5%.]
"?" So stepping up like a hero raises the gauge? Seeing the prompt, Guinevere inhaled and shouted with resolve:
"Let go of that girl! If you have grievances, come at me!"
[Because you spoke a non-weird phrase at a serious rescue moment, further fitting the Chainsaw-Man image: Contract Gauge +3%; current charge: 8%.]
"?" Guinevere blinked at the prompt. The next moment, a magic arrow flew from Bawanshi's fingertip—Guinevere, muddled by the prompt, failed to dodge and was blasted in the chest, flying back against the wall and sliding down.
[Because your rescue attempt failed and you were knocked away like a weakling, your clownish behavior still fits the Chainsaw-Man image: Contract Gauge +10%; current charge: 18%.]
"How did it jump so much this time?!" Guinevere exclaimed.