"Ugh... I was expecting this, but hearing it out loud still gave me goosebumps."
Hearing the pile driver speak, Eous felt secondhand embarrassment for it. Belle, still synchronized with him, lowered her head and curled up miserably against the computer desk.
"Then let's finish this quickly. The sooner we start, the sooner we clock out."
Though his words sounded casual, Phaga never let his eyes stray from the pile driver. Even as he crouched to set Eous on the ground, he never let the machine out of sight.
"Ellen."
Phaga stood, slowly drawing the blade hidden in his umbrella handle as he called her name softly.
It was nearly quitting time, and even Phaga felt a ripple of anticipation. Take down the pile driver with Ellen, then drive home together.
"Got it. Same as the last two, right?"
At Phaga's call, Ellen bent her knee, coiled like a spring, and then launched forward with explosive force.
[Roaming Hunt]!
Ben flinched in shock, raising a hand. "Wait! I think we could handle this peacefully—"
...resolve the issue.
But before he could finish, Ellen had already charged in, weaving past the pile driver's attacks and circling it in search of an opening.
"Don't worry, Big Ben. With the last two machines, we fought first and talked later."
Eous, now waddling freely after Phaga set him down, noticed Ben's worried face and tried to comfort him.
"Is that so?"
Ben rubbed his chin, hesitating.
"I asked Grace about the details, but she wouldn't tell me. She just said mysteriously that capturing intelligent machines could shake off the 'old man' aura, help me understand the younger generation better, and keep my mindset young."
"Just catching an AI machine? Is it really that magical?"
"Heh heh..." Eous scratched the back of his head, shifting his gaze away. Rubbing two fingers together nervously, he muttered, "...It does help shake off some of that 'old man' vibe..."
"Miss Proxy, what was that? I didn't quite catch it."
"Nothing! Let's focus on the pile driver!"
"Alright."
Ben swallowed hard, heart in his throat, watching as the pile driver faltered under Ellen's assault.
"How... how can it be so fast that even I, the [Enlightened Sinner], could not react in time?! I couldn't even activate the power bestowed upon me by the Mentor! Such overwhelming force! Has evil's spread truly brought the gods to tears?!"
The pile driver shuddered, instinctively stepping back on its four legs.
But there was no escape. Its screen flickered—and in the next instant, Ellen was already upon it.
After a single circuit, she had already mapped its wiring—every exposed line now fatally vulnerable.
Swish!
With a slash, she split open the casing of one mechanical leg. Thanks to her experience dismantling the last two machines, she froze the circuits inside in an instant.
One leg disabled. The pile driver could no longer leap great distances.
Then, with a sharp flick, Ellen parried a sneak attack it had prepared, shifted her stance, and slid back using the recoil.
At the same time, another dark figure swept past her.
She caught only a fleeting glimpse—the calm beneath Phaga's monocle.
Whoosh!
A blazing scar tore through the ground where his feet had passed, a white trench igniting fiercely, following its master with unwavering loyalty toward the pile driver!
Phaga sidestepped, letting a predicted strike crash down harmlessly behind him. Shattered stone flew past, not a single piece touching him.
Seizing the moment, he tightened his grip and plunged his blade into the circuits Ellen had frozen.
Sizzle!
Thin ice melted instantly under searing heat, coldness dissolving into water.
Hum!
Wispfire danced across the wet surface. Extreme cold clashed with searing heat, overwhelming even materials built to resist Hollow corrosion.
Whoa—so your magic resistance is flawless, yet your body shatters like glass?
Boom!
A casing burst open. Exposed wires crackled with blue arcs, spreading outward, inching closer and closer to the Wispfire and the pooling water...
Phaga narrowed his eyes and retreated.
The pile driver stayed put. Its disrupted circuits left it crippled—it wasn't about to lunge over with a self-destructing leg.
"You vile abominations, defying fate, you—"
It knew exactly what Phaga and Ellen had done, spitting curses.
But before it could finish, its display was suddenly plastered with a massive red exclamation mark. And before it could process what that meant—
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted. Ben and Eous, further away, shielded themselves from the blast. Dust and blinding light consumed everything.
Even as the explosions raged on, Eous noticed something—the wind had suddenly stopped.
Lowering his hand hesitantly, he blinked—and saw deep crimson wings wrapped protectively around him like a shield.
Looking up, he saw Phaga's profile, eyes sharp and unwavering on the battlefield. Only when the wind finally died down did Phaga rise, tilt his head slightly, and ask softly:
"Master, are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine..."
Eous blinked, staring blankly at Phaga, then exhaled as though relieved. His gaze followed Phaga as he stepped forward.
Belle, stunned, didn't speak.
[Fairy: Master, there is something the Strongest AI must remind you...]
"Shut up!"
At Fairy's voice, Belle snapped out of her daze and jabbed a finger at him. "You artificial idiot! Don't ruin my good mood!!"
But in her outburst, Belle forgot to sever her link with Eous.
So to Ben, standing nearby, it looked as if Eous had suddenly developed a split personality. Caught off guard, he bent down awkwardly, not knowing whether to get closer or keep back, and finally tried to calm her down.
"Miss Proxy, please settle down!"
Not far off, Ellen clutched the butler's suit and watched Phaga approach. She asked quietly, "How is it?"
"She's safe."
Phaga answered absently, eyes locked on the pile driver. "But I'm not happy. That job almost earned me a bad review."
"Damn you! Why do you gaze upon the [Enlightened Sinner]? Do you seek to glimpse the fleeting weakness of justice's flame?!"
Thirty meters ahead, the one-legged pile driver still roared defiantly:
"Then you are mistaken! Though my body is broken, I will never be extinguished by evil! The Mentor's seal still awaits me! Burn bright, my machine soul!"
It raised its pile driver high and howled to the sky. Blue arcs of electricity surged across its body, extinguishing the clinging Wispfire in an instant.
"Earlier I merely played the weakling. Now—witness my true power!"
"My machine soul—burn with all your might!"