The pile driver suddenly went all out, its entire frame wrapped in violent arcs of lightning. Sparks exploded in every direction as thunder shattered the ground around it, leaving behind jagged craters. It was as if it had truly been chosen by the gods, channeling the power of some mysterious Mentor.
"Hahahaha!"
"Do you see this, you vile creatures? Behold the supreme might bestowed by the Mentor!"
"We, in our benevolence, were merely playing with you before. But now my patience has run dry. I'll no longer play the fool... Hey—wait! I haven't finished my lines yet—don't come any closer!"
The pile driver suddenly choked into silence, its words cut off, stuck in its throat like a chicken with its neck squeezed tight.
All it could do was watch helplessly as Phaga spread his wings and drifted closer. With one leg severed, the pile driver could barely move, managing less than ten meters after what felt like forever. Meanwhile, that devil with flames burning in his palm drew nearer and nearer.
"Your Mentor's power sure takes a long time to charge up... Don't tell me you're trying to hack the security system's code to unlock your [Safety Restrictions]?"
Phaga floated right up to it, no more than half a meter from its display screen—close enough to touch.
"You... you abominations could never comprehend the Mentor's true intent! Great power is never easily gained, it requires... requires..."
The pile driver stammered, its former confidence gone.
As a [Hollow-Use Intelligent Machine], it had to be designed with the dangers of the Hollow in mind. That was why every [Hollow-Use Intelligent Machine] came with formidable combat power. But normally, this power was sealed away, locked behind what was called the [Safety Restriction].
Everyone knew this. But how could the pile driver admit it now!?
If a chuunibyou grows up... is it still a chuunibyou?
Backed into a corner, unable to convince even itself, the pile driver finally bellowed at Phaga in frustration:
"You vile—"
Buzz!
Flames drowned out its curses and defiance. Arcs of lightning sizzled in the fire, flickering desperately, but once the circuits melted, they became rootless weeds—thrashing briefly before vanishing completely, consumed by the blaze.
Huff~
Phaga drew back the Nether Flames, lowering his gaze to inspect the now-deflated pile driver. He muttered, "Playing dumb just to get what you want. Classic move."
"You! Despicable—"
The pile driver tried to raise its head and shout again, but the moment it met Phaga's deathlike stare, it shrank back, lowering its head in silence. Only a faint mutter escaped its circuits.
Phaga, seeing this, ended his assault. He drifted down to the ground and immediately slipped under the parasol Ellen was holding, clutching her hand on the handle and tugging it toward him as if trying to press himself against her arm.
Ellen's eyebrow twitched. Had it been anyone else, she'd have smacked them away with her tail already. But since it was family, she let it slide—though not without a bit of teasing.
Pulling out an unopened lollipop from who-knows-where, she poked Phaga's pale face with it. Once she had his attention, Ellen smirked slightly and teased,
"Wilting already, right after showing off?"
"Quit it."
Phaga looked at her helplessly, shaking his head. "Just cover for me, only for a few seconds."
"Nope. Let people see how weak you look—maybe you'll even get some pity!"
"What you're covering is Victoria Housekeeping's reputation!"
"Tsk, boring."
Ellen popped the unopened lollipop into her mouth and, with her free hand, spread out Phaga's butler coat. Pretending to help him put it on, she shielded the paleness of his face.
By the time Eous and Ben walked over, Phaga had fully recovered. He adjusted his butler uniform, then tapped Ellen's hand on the umbrella handle to signal her to let go.
Ellen clicked her tongue, withdrew her hand, looked away and added a pointed remark:
"Call me in, wave me off—just don't forget who's covering for you.."
"Alright. Once the commission is done and we're back, whatever you want, I'll try to make it happen."
Phaga glanced at Eous and Ben, still a short distance away, and spoke in a low voice.
Ellen didn't even hesitate. "Bite you!"
Phaga: "...Wait, are you the vampire or am I?"
"What, do sharks drain their prey's blood before eating?"
Ellen snapped back. When Phaga had no answer, she gave a smug little huff, lifted her chin proudly, tore open the lollipop she'd poked his face with earlier, and popped it into her mouth.
The crunch of candy matched perfectly with her triumphant expression—both equally attention-grabbing.
At that moment, the slow-paced Eous and Ben finally arrived. Seeing Phaga's strange expression and Ellen's smug attitude, Eous tilted his head in puzzlement.
"What were you two talking about just now?"
"About how to get this big machine back."
Phaga answered, but Eous noticed his helpless expression and doubted it was the whole truth. Still, there was no point pressing the matter now—the work ahead was more important.
Eous turned toward Big Ben. "Big Ben, time to follow procedure."
"Procedure? What procedure?"
Da Ben scratched his head, baffled by the sudden remark.
"It's about blending seamlessly with an intelligent machine's speech. Start with 'I am the Enlightened Sinner,' end with 'the Mentor's Guidance.' Converse with it fluently, and win it over!"
Eous looked at Ben, who still wore a clueless bear-like expression. Thinking he was just embarrassed, she patted his knee comfortingly, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
"It's fine, we won't laugh at you. Anton and Grace went through this too—we're used to it."
Of course, Belle thought to herself, I'll secretly record it and add it to my [Phaethon Chronicles] alongside Phaga's battle footage.
"Anton and Grace? What exactly did they do?"
Ben was only more confused by Belle's explanation.
Belle blinked, and in the Hollow, Eous blinked back. Seeing the genuine doubt on Ben's face, she asked softly,
"You... really don't know?"
"I don't."
Ben shook his head, scratching his bald spot. "Koleda and I both asked Grace and the others, but they refused to tell us. Just said we'd find out when we came."
"Ah... I see. Then I'll tell you what really happened."
After hesitating for a moment, Belle decided to explain what had happened that morning.
After all, if Ben didn't step up, the ones left to do it would be Ellen, Phaga, or herself.
So, Ben, you're in the know now!
"Well... yeah, that does sound like Anton and Grace. Not surprising they'd do something like that."
After hearing the story, Ben was startled but not beyond belief. In his mind, Anton and Grace were exactly that type.
"Alright, if this is Belobog Heavy Industries' fate, then I'll take it on!"
Ben thought over the cheesiest Chuunibyou lines he could manage, steeled himself, and stepped forward. But when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. Despite rehearsing it in his head, his shame choked the words back, leaving him speechless.
"Big Ben, you can do it!"
Eous waved his small hand, swaying on the ground like seaweed in the tide.
"Alright, got it."
Ben pulled back his gaze, imitating the way Eous had described Grace and Anton. He placed his hand on the pile driver's display screen, gave it a light pat, and after a long pause, finally spoke:
"Friday..."
But to his shock, the moment the name left his lips, the pile driver called [Friday] erupted into furious curses:
"Traitorous bear! Once I considered you my comrade, but now you betray the destiny of justice and collude with evil spirits!"
"To even know you—I'm ashamed to face Mentor Khors!"