"Takkun!" Haruko yelled, stopping her Vespa.
Naota mumbled. Although he had escaped unscathed once more, these accidents, one after another, had taken their toll on his mental state.
Haruko turned to the new robot, enraged (already having forgotten she herself had run over Naota), and grunted, "Look what you did to Takkun!"
The formerly one-armed robot immediately assumed a battle stance; with its giant right fist, it punched Canti.
Canti collapsed with a loud metallic crash.
The weight differential between the two was so immense that the impact was like a giant truck hitting a bicycle. In terms of brute strength, the one-armed robot far surpassed Canti.
Trampling on the fallen Canti, the big robot looked like it was enjoying its revenge.
«How do you like that, [K].001 ATOMSK? Last time, I was careless and let my right arm get crushed; but in a proper fight, you're no match for me.»
Canti remained completely motionless, trampled. It had no will to fight back and lay there, passive.
Mamimi screamed.
Up until now, she'd been shocked; finally, she forced herself to acknowledge the frightening reality unfolding before her. Watching the terrifying one-armed robot, she collapsed as if she were a broken doll.
A demon—it's the Endsville demon. Because I tried to burn the town, I angered it, and now it's come here…
The one-armed demon picked up Canti's legs, swung the robot around in a semicircle, and flung it to the ground. The entire motion was a well-programmed fight sequence.
Canti's body slammed down a few feet from where Mamimi sat.
The one-armed robot ignored any surrounding people. It exhibited a single-minded malice. After finishing with Canti, perhaps it intended to annihilate the people there, too.
"Mamimi!"
When he regained control over his body, Naota ran to Mamimi, refusing to think of anything else.
This was the worst possible situation. The robot from his head was going to hurt Mamimi. There was no way he could let that happen!
"Uwaaah!" Haruko, guitar in hand, activated the manual generator on the instrument's back. She attempted to hit the one-armed robot.
The robot seized the guitar with its hand.
Haruko's instrument glowed; where it touched the robots arm, blue and white lights sparked. (Perhaps, during this exchange, another battle occurred simultaneously in some complicated dimension that couldn't be seen by human eyes.) The robot desperately blocked the guitar as Haruko pushed down.
It appeared that Haruko Haruhara really wasn't an ordinary girl.
As the robot guarded against Haruko, it also continued attacking Canti from behind. The air twisted, and the whole area was filled with a disquieting vibration.
Suddenly, Canti squeaked and sank to the ground.
It was as though an invisible foot had stepped on Canti's back. By the looks of it, the enemy robot had utilized some kind of medical machinery as a weapon.
In medical science, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a treatment in which patients are placed within a high-pressure environment to change the oxygen levels in their blood. This robot was equipped with a pressure-changing unit that could increase environmental pressure at will. That seemed to be the weapon it now employed. Canti's body was attacked repeatedly by high-pressure pinpoints, as if it had been hit everywhere by bullets. The assault was merciless.
As Canti let out a scream and a squeak, Naota and Mamimi grew terrified. Mamimi quivered in Naota's arms, unable to move. The one-armed robot's violent attacks would be directed toward them soon.
I can't take this anymore.
Naota could do nothing but hold the frightened Mamimi. It was maddening to know that he was so useless.
"Mamimi…" Naota whispered.
Canti simply had been absorbing its opponent's attacks; now, Canti's monitor suddenly lit up with a strange light.
Withstanding its enemy's high-pressure attacks, Canti stood and opened up a section of its armor. In the next second, it extended both its arms, seized Naota, and inserted him into its body. The lid closed.
In a flash, Naota had been enveloped by Canti's body, vanishing.
Watching, Mamimi shook in terror. "You ate him."
Indeed, it looked as though Canti had somehow eaten up Naota.
Where am I?
Naota considered the possibility that he was dead, which would explain why he was in an utterly dark space.
As he drifted through the darkness, however, Naota knew he still had his limbs and body.
If I'm still alive, then where am I?
His memories were jumbled up by the shock of what had happened. Finally, he remembered Canti's body had swallowed him.
Common sense would dictate that Canti's slim form couldn't possibly accommodate Naota's body. However, given that an entire robot had come out of Naota's head, common sense wasn't really an issue anymore.
Yes, I'm probably inside Canti's body: However, this isn't the time to float around in darkness. Outside, that horrific robot might be attacking Mamimi! So, what do I do now?
Naota reached out with both hands, trying to feel around, but his fingers encountered nothing.
"Heeeeey!"
When he screamed, his voice disappeared into the endless black. There was no telling how far the darkness extended. He didn't hear an echo; the shout simply was swallowed up.
From behind, something suddenly pierced Naota's head.
"Huh?"
One by one, his limbs and his organs froze; he completely lost control over his body.
He started to hear the ominous sound of something operating around him.
GON… GON… GON… GON… GON… GON… GON… GON…
Afraid of being caught in giant, rotating gears, Naota trembled.
«[K], ATOMSK shows reaction. 20:01.»
After swallowing Naota, Canti turned around in the next instant. It delivered a powerful flying kick to the one-armed robot. That devil, which had been locked in battle with Haruko, collapsed.
Canti carefully braced itself with a powerful command presence, as if it were an entirely different robot. In fact, Canti's outer appearance was changing.
Mamimi and Haruko watched the transformation.
After displaying several incomprehensible signal patterns on its monitor, the entire body color began flickering, changing to different hues. From navy to silver to green to purple—it shifted into these bright colors to a dizzying effect. Finally, it settled into a bright crimson.
Canti's body made a feral noise. Something was happening on the inside, in addition to its exterior changes.
Haruko, who had watched what was happening to Canti, glanced at the bracelet on her left arm. The chain link reacted like a magnet, pointing to Canti.
Haruko grinned. This was, apparently, a delightful development.
"Idiot!" Mamimi screamed, running to Canti and beating its back with her fists. "You're no god! Why did you eat Takkun? Stupid robot! Give back Takkun!"
She pleaded with all her might. She was bawling. It was the first time since the night she'd met Naota that she had let anyone but Tasuku see her tears. Suddenly, Mamimi stopped beating Canti and looked up at the robot, surprised.
The robot, now a crimson color, tenderly patted her head. Softly, as if it were offering her consolation, it said, "You're a good girl, aren't you?"
Mamimi was struck dumb by Canti's unexpected show of sympathy. That moment reminded Mamimi of something that she always had wanted but hadn't been able to get.
Suddenly, Canti's arm quickly moved her away, as if to signal her to get down.
The one-armed robot stood, readying its finishing attack. Its sensor eye locked Canti in its sights. What attack was it planning this time? Its whole body groaned as it prepped itself.