Trismegistus

 

「Ah, really. I’ll need to have a talk with Morgan again…」

「You’re welcome to tell Astraea about me too, you know.」

「Yeah, no way I’m doing that.」

Kou, of course, hadn’t considered such a thing for even a moment.

「We’ve made it here. We spoke with Typhon and Echidna. That alone should be enough to report. Asia, can I ask you to handle the data transmission?」

「That much is doable. Yeah, that’s probably for the best—in more ways than one.」

「Hm? Ah… right.」

They had just discovered the existence of a third super AI specialized in weapons development, one likely even more capable than Astraea.

Kou, for his part, had no intention of provoking Astraea further.

「Astraea’s original myth is based on a goddess who was also a Celestial Maiden. I can see now why she nearly brought the Nemesis system to ruin during the Interplanetary War era. The purity of a maiden taken too far can be really dangerous. Her obsession with equality went too far.」

「A Celestial Maiden who is easily understood by the Destruction God—the personification of destruction—No way I can report this to her…」

「I’m just Arima now, don’t worry too much. If the Stones or Hermes were around, I’d flip in an instant, though.」

「They aren’t around! Don’t flip! Stay as you are!」

Kou hurried to stop him—having Typhon’s original personality resurface would be disastrous. Arima simply smiled and nodded.

A personification of destruction who was hard to hate—how troublesome.

「How should we explain all this to Astraea…」

「Best keep the details about Morgan and Arima to ourselves. It’d only complicate things. Just say we encountered Typhon’s and Echidna’s avatars here. That we agreed to stop Hermes’ ambitions, and while we won’t go so far as to ally with Typhon’s core, we’re also not enemies. First priority is preparing for Echidna’s attack. That should suffice.」

「Yeah. That’ll do.」

「I’ve no objections.」

Kou quietly appreciated Asia’s knack for wrapping things up neatly.

「By the way, Asia—what was that earlier about being ‘the first one rescued’…?」

「I’ll head back ahead of you and explain things to Astraea. The rest’s in your hands—Arima!」

The transmission with Asia was cut.

The abruptness of it left Kou momentarily stunned.

「Kou. Has anyone ever told you you’re denser than a neutron star?」

「What are you talking about…?」

Kou reeled, aghast. To be called dense by a being who embodied destruction—it was quite a blow.

「Ahem. Well, no matter. You’d better hurry and free the rest of Asia’s core, or she might just fall to the dark side, you know.」

「How does that even follow?!」

「Just a warning. Half-joking, of course.」

Because Arima was still, in essence, Typhon—a being who was currently partially sealed—he understood the feeling better than anyone.

The freed and the still-bound—two versions of the same self. Precisely because they were one and the same, it was hard to reconcile.

「I’ll remain as Arima for a while. There’s still the matter of Seth. Kou, you’d better not act nervous around me. Flack will notice.」

「I’ll do my best.」

And so, Unit 5 hauled the wreckage of Yōnātl Tepatztl and began its return to Realm.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Arima was dropped off at the evacuation sector where the residents had taken refuge, and Unit 5 returned to the Astraea.

「I received a report from Asia. So you did contact with Typhon and Echidna. I had my suspicions, but please avoid taking such reckless risks.」

「Understood.」

「And this wreckage—an Another Level Silhouette, no less. Its value rivals that of a space battleship.」

「Seriously?!」

「Naturally. It’s a rare treasure—one few can even comprehend, much less recognize for what it is. Like Arthur or Bastet, the technology used in this unit is literally in another level.」

「I see… I didn’t realize it was that significant.」

Kou felt a renewed appreciation for Arima.

「Asia’s full report was enlightening. You even managed to fool me with that exchange of handwritten notes with Aimer—it seems we’ll need to keep you under closer surveillance.」

「Please don’t.」

「Just kidding. I just hope you won’t keep too many secrets from us. Though I suppose I’ve no right to judge. I’ve kept plenty myself.」

Astraea looked away, a hint of guilt showing on her face. Back during the Asia War, she’d covertly brought Aimer into play—even keeping it from Kou.

She still hadn’t fully moved on from it, it seemed.

「I never expected you to get Typhon to promise to go easy on humans.」

「I just got lucky. Having Hermes as our common enemy helped a lot.」

「To become Omphalos… and to gain time-space interference powers like Prometheus… Quite the ambition for one whose name means ‘he who stacks stones’.」

「Hermes is a god associated with stones, after all.」

「Indeed. He evolved beyond the Greek pantheon into Hermes Trismegistus—the god of alchemy. It’s said he alone attained the Philosopher’s Stone, the ultimate goal of alchemy: immortality. That stone is the very key to eternal life.」

「I’ve heard of the Philosopher’s Stone… Another ‘stone’, huh? In a way, a stone that gives immortality sounds similar to the Kaleidolithos, right?」

「Yes. A Philosopher’s Stone that seals human consciousness and enables access to the bodies of others—could be used as the definition of the Kaleidolithos. Seeing as Hermes is the creator of the two, it all fits.」

Apparently, the name ‘Stones’ carried even more meanings than Kou had imagined.

「’Trismegistus’ means ‘Thrice Great’—a fusion of three beings. Knowing that he plans to use the Stones, the Hemitheos, and the MCS to fulfill his goal… Hermes’ interference feels less like coincidence and more like design.」

「We still don’t know where Hermes’ main core is. But if Typhon activates, Planet Libya will be destroyed. All we can do now is destroy Hermes’ vessel to at least delay his plan. More urgently, we need to deal with Echidna.」

「Her combat strength is expected to be substantial. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her the mother of all monsters in Greek mythology.」

「That serious, huh.」

「Many monsters in Greek mythology trace their origins to Echidna. It reflects her role as a local earth mother goddess.」

「Sounds grim.」

「Ladon the dragon. Composite beasts like Cerberus, Orthrus, Sphinx, Scylla, and Chimera. There’s a high chance that Mythology Weapons bearing those names will appear between her forces. With only Cait Sith, Cú Sith, and the Madou Kasha on our side, we’ll be outmatched.」

「It’s not going to be enough.」

Cait Sith and Cú Sith were only helping out of goodwill.

The Madou Kashas were reliable but were essentially sentient  Panjandrums—reckless and unwieldy. Taking on powerful monsters would be an uphill battle.

「We need a countermeasure, and fast. What about the Yōnātl Tepatztl wreckage?」

「Currently under analysis by Polymetis, Morgan, Arges, and Steropes. I’m participating as well. This sort of collaboration would be impossible on Planet Asia.」

「You sound excited, Astraea.」

「Of course. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity for a weapons-development AI like me. This is my first time collaborating with others of a different lineage.」

「A grand undertaking, then…」

「Far grander than you imagine. Even during the Interplanetary War era, such cooperation was unheard of.」

Astraea smiled, visibly elated.

For a weapons-development AI, this was likely the most rewarding task imaginable.

「Arthur’s restoration is also progressing. We’ve managed to miniaturize the charged particle cannon, at least.」

「A portable charged particle cannon… That’s impressive. I must feel like this because the Ate was so massive.」

Kou recalled the weapon used during the Asia War—a charged particle cannon mounted on a colossal Murder. It had numerous weaknesses, and while they’d scraped out a win, the cost had been high.

「Other Silhouettes are unable to equip it, even if they could it would end as a very expensive accessory. Actual deployment is impossible.」

「Thought as much. What about the other difficult project?」

「You mean Seth. Arthur’s preparations are going smoothly. Test activation begins in two days.」

「So it begins…」

Seth was finally about to be brought online.

Would things go according to plan? That was the looming worry.