"Yes!"
Takitsubo Rikou, previously frail, seemed to rally, her condition visibly improving.
"This place…"
Her usual weakness wasn't just physical. Her Ability Tracker power relied on detecting the AIM Diffusion Fields unconsciously emitted by espers, pinpointing their paths among countless fields.
Since most espers couldn't control their AIM fields, they left a trail wherever they went, making her tracking nearly infallible.
But like a dog tracking by scent, she had to draw those AIM fields into her own. As AIM fields stemmed from abilities, which were tied to the soul, absorbing them meant ingesting fragments of others' souls. This left her dazed, influenced by those remnants, contributing to her lethargic demeanor.
Takitsubo fell silent, pulling a small box from her pocket. Inside were transparent crystals.
Body Crystals, used in the Ability Rampage Analysis Explosion Experiment, were generally harmful but could yield positive results in uncontrolled states for some, like Takitsubo. Overuse, however, ravaged her body, the primary cause of her frailty.
This mission only required her to check if the target was present—no Body Crystals needed. But with no certainty now, she had to go all out.
Licking a Body Crystal, her AIM field erupted, mimicking the effect of Samuel's computational overload.
She actively swept the area with her field, finding no AIM signatures beyond their trio. Stranger still, Kinuhata Saiai's and Mugino Shizuri's fields weakened within three seconds, vanishing as if devoured.
"Results?"
"Nothing. This place is off—be careful!"
"A device blocking AIM fields? Tch… doesn't matter. In or out, we're getting what we came for. Move!"
Mugino's face twisted into a cold smirk. Samuel's presence didn't faze her. If he was here, she'd crush him; if not, all the better.
After all, rumors pegged the top-ranked Level 5's ability as support-oriented, lacking combat prowess.
"Tch… this is super unsettling!"
"What's to worry? Even if the top dog's here, we'll spank him silly!"
Unbeknownst to her, Samuel's "Firewall" logged her words.
Iron shutters slammed down, segmenting the institute into zones. Robots rose from corners, eyeing the four intruders menacingly.
"Wow… the Board's intel is detailed."
Frenda ignoring the robots and checking her phone, which displayed a partial map of Samuel's institute.
Though not emphasized earlier, the institute was massive—10,000 square meters on one level, even more with multiple floors.
Without the map, they'd be lost for ages.
"Intruders, eliminate!"
A synthetic voice rang from the robots as their patterns glowed blood-red, casting an oppressive, deadly aura across the space.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
The robots' arms morphed into machine guns, firing dozens of rounds per second.
Zzt-zzt-zzt!
Green electrons formed a wall. Bullets hitting the million-degree barrier disintegrated instantly.
Kinuhata flanked, her Nitrogen Armor forming an invisible but solid shield. Sparks flew as bullets struck, unable to halt her advance.
"Hah!"
With one punch, Kinuhata sent a robot flying meters into a wall, shattering its frame and exposing the bare metal beneath the wall's insulation and decor.
More robots focused fire on her, but her Nitrogen Armor deflected every shot.
Then…
Green beams sliced through the robots, their metal bodies halved, molten iron dripping from high-temperature cuts.
The defensive line seemed breached in an instant.
"Frenda, Takitsubo, stay outside—the terrain's bad for you two. Guard and support. Kinuhata, with me!"
Mugino issued orders, her beams piercing another iron shutter.
"Got it!"
Frenda, full of energy, dragged the drowsy Takitsubo out to their vehicle.
Kinuhata followed Mugino into a corridor.
"Frenda, report the route!"
Mugino connected via earpiece to Frenda and Takitsubo outside.
"Go straight, take the right elevator to the next floor, then…"
In Samuel's lab, a robot raised its head, electric ions crackling across its frame, its eyes glowing deep blue.
"Command: Capture priority target, Level 5 Meltdowner, Mugino Shizuri, and ITEM organization. Execute! Requesting clearance! Activate Protocol B! Firewall integration, initiate plan: Mechanical Deus Ex Machina!"
Three crystalline pillars pulsed with eerie light, their immense computational power forming a massive AIM field that surged into the robot.
Its processing capacity reached five times a Level 5's. The Firewall—Samuel's embodiment of "data and computation"—had entered the fray to personally apprehend the targets.
The robot's surface shifted from metal to skin, mimicking a familiar form.
"Samuel" appeared, but unlike the usual, this "Samuel" had eyes of pure calm and cold indifference.
***
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