"Whoa, so this is the prototype!"
Eous hopped twice on Greta's back before leaping down. Waddling over with small, twisting steps, the green pupils on its display blinked as it tilted its head, examining the dusty mechanical device beside the ruins.
"Hmm, aside from the color, it looks just like Greta and the others… Hey, Ellen, why's your face so red?"
Eous's attention had been on the prototype, but when it caught a glimpse of Ellen's flushed face, it asked with concern.
"Sunburn—"
"Sunburn. She's got a bit of a skin allergy," Phaga interrupted smoothly, finishing her sentence for her.
Ellen lowered her eyes and shot Phaga a sharp glare, her gaze faintly menacing.
Phaga, unfazed, simply closed his left eye beneath his monocle and curved his lips into a faint smirk.
Tsk! This guy!
Ellen suddenly remembered—she'd once used Phaga's skin allergy as an excuse herself.
"But she was fine under the sun for ages before. And that redness… it's way too defined. Doesn't look like an allergy at all. It's more like..."
Eous still looked doubtful, and Belle, linked with it, stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Why does that look so much like a handprint?
"Heh, because our Ellen—ugh!"
Phaga chuckled twice but was abruptly cut off when Ellen drove her elbow into his abdomen, forcing the rest of his words back down his throat.
She quickly slid in front of him, blocking him from view. Everyone's attention shifted her way as she said coldly, "Let's focus on what's in front of us. For example... figuring out how to get that thing running."
Then she snapped her head toward Phaga, shooting him a warning glare that told him clearly: don't you dare.
"Quite right."
As the heart of Belobog Heavy Industries, Big Ben had always been good at mediating internal tension. It didn't take much for him to notice the awkward air between Phaga and Ellen.
With his usual tact, he redirected the topic, pointing toward the gray machine nearby. "Let's figure out how to bring it back first. But after all this time, can it even still run?"
"Let's climb up and find out!"
Koleda tossed her hammer aside and hurried over. Taking advantage of her small, nimble frame, she quickly climbed up the gray machine and slipped inside.
"Me too! Me too! Phaga, help me in there!"
Eous hopped excitedly, tugging at Phaga's pant leg.
With one hand, Phaga lifted Eous, jogged forward, and sprang up the prototype's body. After a few quick steps, he leaped and tossed Eous inside.
At first, the interior was pitch black—but a moment later, a burst of bright light filled the cockpit.
A white beam shone directly onto Eous's face, so blinding that he squeezed his eyes shut, crouched down, and yelled, "Ah! Wait, don't arrest me—at least hear me out first! I may be a Proxy, but I'm a Legendary Proxy! I'm applying to go ashore to atone for my sins!"
"Huh? Proxy, what are you talking about?"
From behind the light, Koleda came around, puzzled by his panic.
When she glanced down at the spotlight in her hand, she suddenly realized—it looked almost identical to the ones the Enforcers used. No wonder it triggered his stress response.
Koleda turned the light aside, hanging it from the top of the prototype, and teased, "So even the Legendary Proxy, Phaethon, is afraid of the Enforcers?"
"Wh—what do you mean, afraid!"
Eous finally realized how ridiculous he must've looked. But as a Legendary Proxy, his shamelessness was equally legendary.
Belle made Eous take a step forward, and he puffed up his voice to hide his embarrassment. "I'm brave enough to run my shop right under Officer Mewmew's nose, you know!"
Officer Mewmew?
Koleda thought for a moment, then clapped her hands.
Oh, right—that guy in the cat suit who goes around greeting everyone with 'Have a great day, puu puu'!
Seeing Koleda's expression, Eous thought she was impressed and proudly declared, "And as a Legendary Proxy, I've never once been caught by an Enforcer!"
"That's true, Proxys are real—wait a second. Have any Proxies on the Inter-Knot ever been caught by Enforcers?"
Koleda was about to clap in approval when a thought struck her.
Hold on—that doesn't sound right!
"Of course not! Becoming a Legendary Proxy means you grow up without ever being noticed by Enforcers! I'd say everyone on the Inter-Knot has the makings of a legend, ahem!"
Realizing his bluff was about to be exposed, Eous coughed twice, glanced around nervously, and changed the subject. "Let's stay focused... Hey, this cockpit's full of bullet holes!"
Koleda immediately looked where he was pointing—and froze.
There really were bullet holes everywhere. Her thoughts snapped back to the present.
"How can there be so many bullet holes on the walls—and even on the seat? What happened here?"
Her pupils contracted as she stared at one particular hole, slightly off-center on the pilot's seat.
It had missed the exact middle by mere inches.
Everyone knew the prototype was the first step in Belobog Heavy Industries' development of intelligent machines. It didn't have a high-grade logic core like Hans, Greta, or Friday.
In other words, it needed a pilot.
And in Koleda's memory, only one person had ever qualified to pilot this machine—her father, the former president of Belobog Heavy Industries, Khors Belobog.
Koleda's gaze lingered on that bullet hole. Her pupils trembled as flickering light and shadow crossed her eyes.
Silently, she lowered her head, teeth clenching so hard they ached like her pounding heart.
For years, she'd carried a monument to her father in her heart — one buried deep in the mud, cursed and despised.
But now, that monument seemed to shake loose, just a little.
So... before the fall of the Old Capital, her father—the man who'd fled with the company's funds—had fought an unknown enemy in this prototype?
Then... the money he took... was it to repair this half-finished machine?
Koleda bit down hard, her teeth grinding audibly. Years of resentment, her father's scandals, and the bitter struggle to keep Belobog Heavy Industries alive—all crashed down inside her chest until she could barely breathe.
"Everyone, take a look! The prototype's interior—it's full of holes!"
Beside her, Eous didn't seem to notice her turmoil. Instead, he was transmitting his visuals through the tech link.
At Memorial Square, two groups were staring at their phones.
Phaga and Ellen frowned. With their combat experience, they could tell from just a glance how fierce the fight had once been.
Then a gasp came from the Belobog Heavy Industries group.
Grace muttered, "So many bullet holes... Wait, why's Sweet Peace so quiet? She hasn't said a word... No, something's wrong!"
A thought struck her, and she shouted, "Proxy! Forget that—check on the Sweet Peace's condition!"
"The Sweet Peace... Koleda?"
Eous rubbed his head, turning his camera. The view on Grace's phone shifted, centering on Koleda.
Everyone at Belobog Heavy Industries froze.
They could tell immediately—Koleda wasn't okay.
Grace screamed, "Sweet Peace! Wake up!"
The loud cry shattered the fog in Koleda's mind, and the warmth in that voice pulled her back.
In a daze, Koleda lifted her head. The display above Eous showed Grace's anxious face, and even through her blurred vision, she recognized her instantly.
Slowly, Koleda's clenched jaw relaxed.
It's over...
There's still plenty of time to find the truth.
Wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, she steadied her breath and forced a casual tone. "What's with all the yelling? It's not like I can't hear you."
"Oh, honestly!"
Koleda sighed, feeling for the armrest before sitting down. She leaned back, brushing her hand over the dented bullet hole in the seat.
She was too short—back then, that bullet must've been aimed at her father's chest.
"Let's see if this old thing still runs."
She whispered the words and gripped the control stick.
The key was still in the ignition, ready to turn.
At the plaza, watching her movements, Grace finally exhaled in relief and laughed. "Sweet Peace, you little brat—show some respect when you talk to your big sister!"
Thankfully, Koleda seemed back to normal. Under her control, the prototype's mechanical arms slowly loosened, releasing their grip on the monument, which collapsed with a thunderous crash.
No one moved. They were far enough away that even the dust couldn't reach them.
But Phaga's face suddenly changed.
He had noticed earlier that the Ether activity beneath the ruins was fluctuating wildly, but he'd been too light-headed to use Vampiric Sight.
Now, as the monument fell, he didn't even need it—he could feel the Ether reaction below spike to an absurd level.
Wait—
He suddenly remembered something.
Back when Friday was deep in his chuunibyou phase, he used to talk about guarding the mentor's seal.
Phaga's eyes trembled as he stared at the ruins.
Could that seal be—
Suddenly, the ground beneath the ruins began to quake faintly.
Phaga shouted, "Watch out!"