Regarding the abnormalities on "Aris," everyone in the Game Development Department looked uncertain and alarmed.
Midori tried calling out, "Aris… chan…?"
"Aris" remained expressionless, her gaze cold, giving no response at all.
I looked at the operable holographic screen projected by the drone. The words "Hack Successful" were displayed, yet instead of feeling relieved, my mood grew heavier.
Something was wrong, deeply wrong.
There was not even a hint of resistance. Had it really succeeded just like that?
The Kei that had fallen into an eerie silence, and Aris whose eyes had changed from azure blue to purplish red, giving off an emotionless impression. There had to be a direct connection between the two.
Was the "Aris" before us truly still the Aris we knew?
Soon, "Aris" answered that question with her actions.
The red eyed android girl raised the massive cannon known as the Sword of Light and aimed it straight at us. Light gathered at the muzzle as it began charging.
This sudden change left the girls, who were completely unguarded around their companions and lacking combat experience, frozen in shock.
But not everyone reacted the same way.
Eimi, who had been silent until now while observing the situation, reacted the instant she confirmed "Aris'" hostile intent.
Her pink twin braids fluttered through the air as Eimi dashed forward, roughly aimed the shotgun at the hand holding the cannon, and decisively fired.
Even with "Aris's'" physical attributes, the tremendous force of the impact caused the barrel to veer toward an empty area. The charging was interrupted, and the light that was about to form dissipated into nothing.
"Interference confirmed, charging failed."
"Aris" said this calmly. With astonishing strength, she maintained her balance and held the incredibly heavy Sword of Light suspended in midair. Immediately after, as if wielding a cold weapon, she swung it sharply upward at an angle.
"Eliminate interference factors."
At such a critical moment, Eimi did not retreat. Instead, she rushed straight into "Aris's" arms, pressed the gun barrel against her chest, and pulled the trigger.
At this distance, with a high powered firearm and reinforced by advanced mysticism, if the enemy were an ordinary military robot, it would have destroyed most of its body. If the opponent were merely an ordinary student, it would have been enough to strip them of their ability to continue fighting.
But "Aris" merely let out a muffled grunt and took half a step back, then instantly returned a straight punch. With lightning speed, it struck Eimi's abdomen before she could dodge.
Likewise, despite "Aris's" body appearing slender and even fragile, its actual durability was terrifying. Even without using weapons, every movement carried the output of heavy construction machinery, measured in tens of tons.
If Eimi's mystic strength had not far exceeded the average student's, just that single blow would have pushed her to the limit of her halo's protection and knocked her unconscious.
Even so, Eimi staggered back more than ten steps, half crouched, clutching her abdomen with a slight frown.
In this brief exchange, it was Eimi, who clearly had more combat experience, who suffered the loss. Still, Eimi had indeed made a mistake. Even after seeing the weapon "Aris" used, she had underestimated her physical capabilities and rashly chose close range combat.
"Eimi! Are you okay!" I rushed forward to help her up.
The pink haired girl with few expressions shook her head. "Pain is something I'm already used to. Sensei, this thing is strong. You all should go first. I'll hold her off."
Midori said anxiously, "But Aris-chan, she…"
"What's in front of us isn't Aris anymore." I stared at the android girl whose face was familiar yet felt utterly foreign, and asked warily, "Kei, you took over Aris's body, didn't you?"
Momoi stood dumbfounded. "What!? Kei!?"
And this time, "Aris" did not refuse to communicate with us.
"…Aris. That is the name you use to refer to us, AL-1S."
Kei, effectively admitting her identity, said coldly, "AL-1S does not need a name. A name confuses the purpose and essence of existence. The decision AL-1S made just now is the best proof of the contamination you imposed."
I realized that Kei's willingness to respond had another motive.
On her chest, where the clothing had been blasted away by bullets, revealing pale skin beneath, the weakness I had detected through [Hawk Eye] had already disappeared.
She was buying time to heal the damage she had taken and waiting for the Sword of Light to cool down.
Confirming my suspicion, after finishing her cryptic words, Kei pressed her lips together and began charging the Sword of Light with one hand.
"From here on, all who disturb AL-1S's mind and interfere with us will be eliminated."
"Go."
Eimi leapt forward, blocking Kei.
I recalled the drone and grabbed Midori's hand, who was hesitating the most. "We're leaving the factory first."
The power of the Sword of Light was far too great, and when the user did not need to worry about their own safety, fighting it in such a confined space was utterly unwise.
No matter what plan we had, the priority was to reach a relatively open area outside and then reassess.
"But Aris…"
"Trust me." I looked at Midori with unwavering eyes.
"…Okay, I understand."
I pulled Midori along as we fled outside. Yuzu moved ahead of us, relying on her excellent memory as a game domain expert to lead the way. Momoi followed closely on my other side, chattering nonstop.
"I knew Kei couldn't be a good guy, maybe even the G.Bible she gave us was fake… sigh… when a teammate turns into an enemy midway, whether in a game or in real life, it really sucks…"
What was the point of saying this now…
Suddenly, Eimi's slightly hurried voice came from my briefcase.
"Sensei! That thing is chasing you! I'm biting at her heels right now, be careful!"
At this moment, we had not escaped very far and were in a straight, long corridor.
With Aris's body performance, how long would it take her to catch up to us?
Activating the authority of [Listener of the Wind], among the two sets of footsteps coming from dozens of meters behind us, the heavier one in front was about to round the corner.
Not only that, mixed with the footsteps was a harsh electrical noise.
My pupils shrank as I pulled Momoi and Midori in front of me and roared, "Yuzu, stop, fall back! Arona!"
Yuzu trusted me greatly, or perhaps it was tied to her lack of confidence. Either way, she obeyed immediately.
The very next moment, the Sword of Light, having already completed its charge ahead of time, emerged from the corner before its petite wielder did. Then it aimed and fired.
"Leave it to me. I will not let anyone hurt Sensei."
Only I could hear Arona's declaration.
At moments like this, the usually silly and unreliable her was always the one I trusted most.
Immediately after, I tackled all three girls to the ground. A shell seemingly formed from endless light and heat passed over our heads and slammed into the wall not far ahead, producing a deafening explosion.
Surprised by her own miss, Kei narrowed her eyes slightly. Then, in the extremely brief gap caused by firing, she was entangled once more by the arriving Eimi.
"She missed…?" Yuzu said with lingering fear.
"Sensei, Sensei, was that magic?" Momoi's eyes sparkled.
"Some kind of black tech?" Midori guessed.
I sighed, scrambling up as fast as I could and helping them up. "My princesses, right now escaping is the most important thing."
This was Kivotos. The halo that could even block bullets also gave students a heart that, in a positive sense, did not panic in the face of danger.
As the smoke dispersed, brilliant sunlight streamed in through the hole in the wall pierced by the light cannon.
Could it be that when Arona deflected the attack, she had already calculated it in advance and deliberately directed the beam outside?
That was something to think about after everything was over.
"Let's get out through there first!"
The molten residue along the edge of the hole still retained temperatures hot enough to burn, but fortunately the resistance of the halo and the Shittim Chest worked against it as well, and we successfully reached the outside of the factory.
Without time to rest, I gave instructions. "In terrain this open, the Sword of Light's charging time disadvantage will finally show. Everyone, prepare an ambush. The target is…"
I would never give up any opportunity that could make me stronger.
In other words, I would never hand over the Aris who rightfully belonged to me to anyone, not even Kei, who was deeply connected to the pre amnesia Aris.
"Subjugate Kei and rescue Aris," I said in a low voice.
The girls of the Game Development Department perked up in unison, answered affirmatively, and skillfully began looking for suitable cover.
But at that moment, yet another unexpected situation occurred.
Several robots suddenly surrounded us and launched a fierce attack.
They were not the white and yellow robots we had seen before. Their shapes were extremely strange, completely out of step with Kivotos's current trends, and they emitted light of the same color as Kei's eyes.
We had planned to ambush Kei, only to be surrounded by robots that were very likely connected to Kei instead?
Because the enemy assault was too intense, I had no choice but to change tactics and release the drone Himari had given me ahead of time.
But it was useless.
A string of "No hackable targets detected" messages made my heart sink again and again.
Why could I hack Kei earlier? No, at that time Kei had already transferred into Aris's body. In other words, what I hacked back then was just an empty shell?
I had no capacity left to think about this. All I knew was that this trump card I had thought would secure victory was now completely ineffective.
And then.
Kei, using Aris's body, once again broke free from Eimi's restraint and charged out through the opening. She coldly surveyed the girls who were locked in battle with the grotesque robots.
"Eliminate, continue operation."