The engine roared as Sensei pushed his car harder than he ever had, the streets of Kivotos blurring past as he raced toward Abydos. His knuckles were white against the steering wheel, Arona's data still scrolling across his tablet secured in the passenger seat.
70 hours, 15 minutes remaining.
The clinical precision of the countdown made his stomach turn. Seventy hours to save a student he had barely begun to understand, a girl who had been suffering in silence while presenting a facade of normalcy to everyone around her.
He thought about Aria's quiet demeanor, her economical speech, the way she moved with practiced efficiency. He had assumed it was personality, maybe trauma from whatever accident had brought her to Abydos.
Not this. Never this.
The research notes Arona had compiled painted a horrifying picture. Forced mystic implantation on a normal human. Repeated simulations designed to create the perfect soldier. Years spent in isolation, in liquid-filled tubes, being treated as an experiment rather than a person.
And when the experiment failed, when the transport exploded, Kaiser Corp had simply abandoned her. Left her to die in the desert snow, another failed test subject not worth the effort of retrieval.
But Hoshino and Nonomi had found her. Given her a name, a home, a purpose. And she had repaid them by hiding the truth of her deteriorating condition, protecting them from the knowledge that she was dying.
Sensei's hands tightened further on the wheel.
Not on his watch. Not while he could still do something.
Abydos appeared on the horizon, the desert school standing defiant against the encroaching sand. He barely slowed as he approached the gate, his car skidding slightly as he parked at an angle that would have been comical under any other circumstances.
He grabbed his tablet and ran.
The school was quiet, most of the building empty as always. His footsteps echoed through the corridors as he navigated toward the clubroom, following the route he had memorized during his previous visits.
Voices reached him before he arrived, tense and worried, filtering through the partially open door.
"...has to be something in the records. Some clue about where exactly she came from!"
Ayane's voice, strained with frustration.
"The truck that exploded was from Kaiser Corp, we know that much. But their facilities are scattered across Kivotos. There's the main pharmaceutical building, three research annexes, and who knows how many unauthorized sites."
Sensei pushed the door open, slightly out of breath.
"Sensei!"
Nonomi stood immediately, relief flooding her expression.
"Thank goodness you're here. Aria collapsed and she won't wake up and we don't know what to do and..."
"I know."
He cut her off gently, moving into the room.
They were all there except Aria. Hoshino sat forward in her chair, her usual laziness replaced by sharp attention. Shiroko stood by the window, her rifle within easy reach and her posture rigid with tension. Serika paced near the wall, anxiety clear in every movement. Ayane hunched over her tablet, surrounded by scattered notes and diagrams. Nonomi hovered near the center, her gentle nature struggling against obvious distress.
"You know?"
Ayane looked up sharply.
"Know what? What's wrong with her?"
Sensei set his tablet on the table and pulled up Arona's compiled data.
"Aria isn't just a survivor of an accident. She's a failed experiment from Kaiser Corporation's super soldier program. They forcibly implanted her with an incomplete mystic called Deus Ex Machina."
The silence that followed was absolute.
"What?"
Serika spoke first, her voice barely a whisper.
"They... they experimented on her?"
"Fourth generation revolutionary super soldier program, test subject fourteen."
Sensei pulled up the technical diagrams.
"They were trying to create soldiers who could counter students' natural halo abilities by implanting mystics into normal humans. The process was unstable. Most subjects died during implantation. Aria survived, but the mystic was incomplete."
"The simulations."
Shiroko's quiet voice cut through the shock.
"She told us she dreamed about different lives. That wasn't dreams. That was..."
"The mystic's primary function. Life simulation to acquire skills and traits rapidly. But without proper binding, it's been degrading. Slowly killing her from the inside."
Ayane's fingers flew across her tablet, cross-referencing the new data.
"The headaches. The nosebleeds. Her occasionally spacing out. Those were symptoms."
"And she never said anything."
Serika's voice cracked.
"She just kept working and training and acting like everything was fine while she was..."
"Nyaa..."
Hoshino stood, her expression more serious than any of them had ever seen.
"How long does she have?"
"Seventy hours, eight minutes."
Sensei stated flatly.
"After that, complete system collapse. Either death or permanent brain damage."
Nonomi made a small sound of distress, her hand covering her mouth.
"There has to be something we can do. Some way to fix it."
"The mystic requires proper binding to stabilize. According to Kaiser Corp's incomplete notes, they never finished developing the binding process. But the research facility where they conducted the experiments should have more complete data."
"Then we find it."
Ayane's voice turned hard and determined.
"We find the facility, we get the data, we save Aria. Simple."
"Except we don't know where it is."
Shiroko pointed out.
"Kaiser has multiple facilities. Which one conducted the super soldier program?"
"I've been trying to narrow it down."
Ayane pulled up a map of Kivotos with multiple locations marked.
"The truck was headed toward Kaiser's main pharmaceutical building when it exploded. But that's a civilian facility. They wouldn't conduct illegal human experimentation there."
"Too visible."
Hoshino agreed.
"They'd need somewhere remote. Somewhere without oversight."
Sensei studied the map, his mind racing through possibilities.
"Arona, can you access Kaiser Corporation's classified facility records?"
His tablet chimed as the AI assistant appeared.
"I can attempt unauthorized access, Sensei. However, their security systems are quite robust. It may take time we don't have."
"Do it anyway. We need any edge we can get."
"Understood. Beginning infiltration protocols now."
"In the meantime, we work with what we know."
Ayane zoomed in on different areas of the map.
"The truck was coming from the direction of the old industrial zones near the edge of D.U. If we assume it was transporting Aria from the research facility to the pharmaceutical building for disposal or further processing..."
"Then the facility would be somewhere along that route."
Shiroko finished.
"Or at least in that general area."
"D.U.'s edge is massive though."
Serika pointed out.
"We're talking about kilometers of abandoned industrial complexes, old warehouses, defunct factories. We can't search all of it in seventy hours."
"We don't need to search all of it."
Sensei pulled up satellite imagery on his tablet.
"We're looking for specific characteristics. High security despite abandonment. Power infrastructure for medical equipment. Isolated location. Probably underground or heavily shielded to avoid detection."
"Also,"
Nonomi added quietly,
"it would need to be big. If they were running a full experimental program with multiple subjects, they'd need significant space."
Ayane started filtering the map based on these criteria, eliminating locations that didn't fit.
"That narrows it down to... twelve possible sites."
"Twelve is better than hundreds."
Hoshino stood and stretched.
"This old lady suggests we split into teams. Cover more ground faster."
"No."
Sensei's tone was firm.
"We stay together. These facilities were running illegal experiments. They might still have security systems active, or worse, remaining test subjects or automated defenses. We can't risk anyone getting hurt."
"But that will take longer."
Serika protested.
"We don't have time to check twelve locations one by one."
"Then we get smarter about which ones we check first."
Shiroko moved to the map, her tactical mind engaging.
"Look at the blast site where we found Aria. The truck exploded here."
She marked the location.
"If it was coming from a facility, it would have taken the most direct route to minimize transport time and exposure. That eliminates these five locations that would require significant detours."
"And these two are too close to populated areas."
Ayane added.
"Even with Kaiser's influence, someone would have noticed unusual activity. They'd want maximum isolation."
"Which leaves five."
Nonomi counted.
"Five locations within a reasonable distance from the blast site, isolated enough for secrecy, large enough for a full research program."
Arona's hologram flickered on Sensei's tablet.
"Sensei, I have successfully infiltrated Kaiser Corporation's classified servers. However, their security protocols are more advanced than expected. I am locked out of most systems."
"What can you access?"
"Primarily logistical records. Supply manifests, transport schedules, maintenance logs. The actual research data is behind additional encryption I cannot currently break."
"Supply manifests might be enough."
Ayane pulled up her own connection to Arona's findings.
"If we cross-reference unusual supply deliveries to the five remaining locations... There."
She highlighted one location on the map.
"This facility received regular shipments of medical equipment, specialized chemicals, and high-grade computing hardware. All under classified procurement codes. The deliveries stopped abruptly three months ago, right around when Aria would have been transported."
"That's it."
Shiroko said with certainty.
"That has to be it."
"Only one way to find out."
Hoshino grabbed her shield from where it leaned against the wall.
"Let's go get our answers."
"Wait."
Serika hesitated, looking toward the door that led to the makeshift clinic room where Aria lay unconscious.
"Should someone stay with her? In case she wakes up, or in case..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
"I'll monitor her vitals remotely."
Ayane pulled up a connection to the basic medical equipment they had set up.
"If anything changes, we'll know immediately. But we all need to go. If we find the facility and the binding process, we'll need all hands to secure it quickly."
Nonomi moved toward the clinic room despite the plan.
"I just want to see her. Just for a moment."
No one stopped her.
They filed in quietly, surrounding the bed where Aria lay motionless. Her silver hair spread across the pillow, her skin too pale, her breathing shallow. The sinister black halo above her head flickered intermittently, the mechanical gear and mirror shards catching the light with each unstable rotation.
"She looks so small."
Serika whispered.
"Like she could just... disappear."
Shiroko reached out and gently adjusted the blanket, her expression carefully neutral but her hands trembling slightly.
"She won't. We won't let her."
Hoshino placed a hand on Aria's shoulder, her usual laziness completely absent.
"Hold on, Aria chan. This old lady and everyone else are going to fix this. We're going to bring you back."
Nonomi smoothed Aria's hair back from her forehead, tears streaming silently down her face.
"You've already given us so much. You fought for our school, worked to help with our debt, became part of our family. Now let us fight for you."
Ayane stood at the foot of the bed, her analytical mind clearly working through probabilities and outcomes she didn't want to voice.
"We will find the solution. Failure is not an option."
Sensei approached last, looking down at the girl who had hidden so much pain behind practiced smiles and economical words.
"I'm sorry we didn't see it sooner, Aria. But we see it now. And we're not going to let you face this alone anymore."
He turned to the others.
"Let's move. Every minute counts."
They filed out, leaving Aria in the quiet clinic room with only the soft beeping of monitors for company.
The journey to D.U.'s edge took them through increasingly desolate territory. The developed areas of Kivotos gave way to abandoned industrial zones, rusting infrastructure, and buildings that looked like they hadn't seen maintenance in years.
Sensei drove the lead vehicle with Hoshino, Ayane, and Nonomi. Shiroko followed on her bike with Serika riding behind her, both armed and alert.
"The facility should be another three kilometers northeast."
Ayane called out, her tablet displaying their route.
"According to the satellite imagery, it's built into the side of an old quarry. Mostly underground."
"Perfect location for hiding illegal experiments."
Hoshino observed, her eyes scanning the landscape.
"No neighbors to ask questions."
The road deteriorated further, paved surface giving way to dirt and gravel. They passed several abandoned buildings, each one screaming of desertion and decay.
"There."
Shiroko's voice came through the communication device.
"Northeast, partial structure visible."
Sensei followed her indication and saw it: a concrete structure built into a rocky hillside, almost invisible against the natural terrain except for the distinctly artificial lines of its construction.
As they drew closer, more details emerged. Reinforced blast doors, now hanging partially open. Security cameras, their lenses dark and inactive. Warning signs faded by weather and time.
And above it all, barely visible, the Kaiser Corporation logo.
They parked the vehicles a safe distance away and approached on foot, weapons ready. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the wind whistling through broken windows and rusted metal.
"Creepy."
Serika muttered, staying close to Shiroko.
"Nyaa... Very creepy..."
Even Hoshino sounded unsettled.
Ayane's drone buzzed ahead, scanning for threats.
"No heat signatures. No active power sources in the immediate area. Looks abandoned."
"Looks can be deceiving."
Sensei cautioned.
"Stay alert. Stay together."
They reached the entrance, the blast doors creating a dark maw into the hillside. The interior was pitch black, swallowing light like a hungry void.
Flashlights clicked on, beams cutting through darkness to reveal a long corridor sloping downward. The walls were reinforced concrete, industrial and sterile. Emergency lighting strips lined the ceiling but remained dark, power long since cut.
"This is it."
Ayane confirmed, checking her tablet against the supply manifests.
"This is the facility that received all those classified shipments."
Their footsteps echoed as they descended, the sound bouncing off hard surfaces and creating an eerie chorus of movement. The air grew colder, carrying a stale chemical smell that made Nonomi cover her nose.
"How deep does this go?"
Serika asked nervously.
"The quarry was at least fifty meters deep before they built the facility."
Ayane reported.
"The research labs could be anywhere below us."
The corridor opened into a larger space: a reception area with an abandoned security desk, scattered papers, and outdated equipment. A directory board on the wall showed multiple levels, each with cryptic department codes.
"Level B3: Advanced Mystic Research."
Shiroko read aloud.
"That's probably where we need to go."
They found the stairwell and continued deeper, level after level, the darkness pressing in around them despite their lights. Each floor they passed showed signs of hurried abandonment: equipment left running until power failed, documents scattered, personal items dropped and forgotten.
"What happened here?"
Nonomi wondered aloud.
"Why did they leave so quickly?"
"The transport explosion."
Sensei theorized.
"When Aria's tube was destroyed and she survived, they probably assumed she was dead. Without their prize subject, the program lost funding or priority. They evacuated and sealed the facility."
"Leaving everything behind."
Ayane's voice was hard.
"Including any other test subjects who might have still been here."
That sobering thought carried them in silence to Level B3.
The stairwell door was locked, but the mechanism had degraded over time. Shiroko made quick work of it, and they emerged into a corridor markedly different from the levels above.
This was cleaner, more maintained even in abandonment. The walls were reinforced with additional plating. Observation windows revealed empty laboratory spaces filled with sophisticated equipment.
And at the end of the hall, a set of double doors marked with biohazard symbols and a simple designation:
DEUS EX MACHINA - PROJECT ARES
"Project Ares."
Sensei repeated.
"Greek god of war. How fitting for a super soldier program."
"The doors are sealed."
Shiroko examined the heavy mechanism.
"Electronic lock. Requires power and authorization code."
"Can you hack it?"
Hoshino asked.
Sensei pulled out his tablet, his newly acquired understanding of Aria's Technology Affinity making the interface seem more intuitive than it should.
"Arona, can you interface with this lock?"
"Attempting now, Sensei. The system is old but still functional on backup power. Security protocols are... surprisingly basic. Accessing."
The lock mechanism whirred, ancient servos grinding as they activated for the first time in months.
With a heavy clunk, the doors unsealed.
They swung open slowly, revealing darkness beyond.
Sensei stepped forward first, his flashlight piercing the gloom to illuminate what lay inside.
It was a large laboratory, easily the size of a gymnasium. Rows of cylindrical tubes lined the walls, each one designed to hold a human subject. Most were empty, their fluid drained, their monitoring equipment dark.
But some were still occupied.
"Oh god."
Serika's voice shook.
Inside the tubes, floating in murky liquid, were bodies. Most looked long dead, preserved by the chemical solution. Others were harder to identify, their forms twisted by failed experiments.
Nonomi turned away, unable to look.
"They were children. All of them were children."
Ayane's clinical analysis kept her functional, but her voice was tight with suppressed emotion.
"Different ages, different stages of development. They were testing the mystic implantation process across multiple variables."
Hoshino approached one tube, her expression unreadable as she looked at the small form inside.
"They treated them like objects. Like things to be used and discarded."
"Aria was one of them."
Shiroko stood before an empty tube, its designation clearly marked: SUBJECT 4-14.
"This was her prison. This is where she spent her entire life before the transport."
Sensei felt rage building in his chest, cold and focused. This wasn't just unethical research. This was systematic dehumanization, the reduction of children to experimental material.
"The research data."
He forced himself to focus on the mission.
"We need to find the binding process documentation. Arona?"
"Scanning for active data terminals. Found one, central laboratory control station."
They moved deeper into the laboratory, past the tubes and their horrible contents, to a raised platform in the center. Multiple monitors and control panels surrounded a primary workstation, all dormant but intact.
Sensei activated the system, and ancient screens flickered to life.
"Access granted. Welcome, Lead Researcher Sakamoto."
A synthesized voice echoed through the laboratory.
"You have 487 unread notifications. Latest project status: Critical failure. Recommend immediate evacuation and facility decommission."
"Pull up everything related to Deus Ex Machina binding process."
Sensei commanded.
Files cascaded across the screen, technical documents and experimental logs and procedure notes. Ayane immediately began copying everything to her tablet, her fingers flying across the interface.
"There's so much data. Years of research. Multiple failed attempts. And here..."
She highlighted a specific file.
"BINDING PROTOCOL - FINAL VERSION (UNTESTED)"
"Untested?"
Nonomi moved closer, hope and fear mixing in her expression.
Ayane opened the file, scanning its contents rapidly.
"It's the theoretical complete process. They designed it but never implemented it because... oh."
Her expression fell.
"Because it requires the original mystic source material to stabilize the implant. The Deus Ex Machina mystic isn't synthetic. It's a fragment of something larger, something ancient. Without access to the original source, the binding process can't be completed."
Silence fell like a hammer.
"So we came all this way for nothing?"
Serika's voice was small and defeated.
"We can't save her?"
"There has to be another way."
Shiroko insisted, though her tone suggested she was trying to convince herself.
Sensei continued reading through the documents, his mind racing.
"What about a substitute? Something that could replace the original source material?"
"The research notes suggest that's impossible. The Deus Ex Machina specifically requires..."
Ayane trailed off, her eyes widening as she read further.
"Wait. There's a secondary protocol. An emergency stabilization procedure. It's marked as 'theoretically viable but untested and extremely dangerous.'"
"What does it involve?"
Hoshino demanded.
"It requires someone with an exceptionally strong halo to directly interface with the incomplete mystic. Their halo's energy would essentially substitute for the missing source material, creating a temporary bridge that could allow manual binding."
"Temporary how?"
"It doesn't say. The procedure was never tested. Side effects unknown. Success rate unknown. Risks to both parties unknown."
"But it might work."
Sensei said quietly.
"It's the only option we have."
"The strongest halo here would be..."
Nonomi looked at Hoshino.
"As student council president, Hoshino senpai's halo is the most developed."
All eyes turned to the pink-haired girl.
Hoshino's lazy demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by sharp determination.
"Then this old lady will do it. Whatever it takes to save Aria chan."
"The procedure is dangerous."
Ayane warned.
"You could be hurt. Both of you could be hurt."
"Nyaa... Aria has been hurting alone for weeks. Maybe longer. She hid it to protect us."
Hoshino's mismatched eyes showed rare intensity.
"The least I can do is share some of that pain to save her."
Sensei downloaded the procedure files to his tablet, his jaw set.
"Then we move. We have sixty-eight hours left. We get back to Abydos, we set up the equipment we need, and we save our student."
He turned to face all of them.
"No matter what it takes."
They gathered the critical data, each of them taking copies as backup. Ayane's drone did a final sweep of the laboratory, documenting everything for future evidence if they ever had the chance to expose Kaiser Corporation's crimes.
As they prepared to leave, Shiroko paused by the tube that had held Aria.
"We're coming back for you."
She whispered, placing her hand on the glass.
"All of you. Once this is over, once Aria is safe, we'll make sure everyone knows what happened here. You won't be forgotten."
The promise hung in the cold air as they turned and headed for the exit.
The journey back up through the facility's levels felt faster, urgency driving them forward. They emerged into the fading daylight, the desert sun setting on the horizon and painting everything in shades of orange and red.
Sensei checked his watch.
"Sixty-seven hours, forty-two minutes."
"Then we don't waste a second more."
Ayane was already running toward the vehicles.
They mounted up and drove back toward Abydos, the abandoned research facility disappearing behind them as distance grew.
But its secrets came with them, downloaded and stored, a desperate gamble to save a life that had already been gambled with too many times.
In the back seat, Nonomi clutched her machine gun and prayed to any deity that might listen.
Beside her, Hoshino stared out the window, her expression unreadable but her hands clenched tight in her lap.
Serika rode with Shiroko, arms wrapped around the wolf-eared girl's waist, both of them silent as they raced against time.
And Sensei drove, his mind already working through the procedure they would have to attempt, the risks they would have to take, the unknown variables that could mean the difference between saving Aria or losing her forever.
The sun set completely as they reached Abydos's gates, darkness falling across Kivotos like a curtain.
But inside the clubroom, where Aria lay fighting for her life, a small monitor showed her vital signs still steady.
Still holding on.
Still waiting for them to save her.
The countdown continued, relentless and unforgiving.
But now, finally, they had a chance.