「Could it be that…」「We…」

 

「How did this happen?」

A weighty synthetic voice echoed from the control tower.

「How did this happen?」

Even Arthur muttered in disbelief, his synthetic voice leaking confusion. Kou and the others frowned at the bizarre mismatch in tone.

「Could it be that…」

「We…」

「Switched places?」

「Why…」

「That seems to be the case… Somehow, I too got caught up in it.」

The synthetic voice coming from the Control Tower was probably Arthur’s. He was now inhabiting the Control Tower, and he sounded deeply dismayed.

「Well, this is quite amusing, isn’t it?」

Behind Flack was seated the Therianthrope who had once been Libya, now basking in bliss.

「Huh?」

Asia turned toward her in confusion.

「What should I do here? Is this the function I need to use?」

Where Echidna had stood a moment ago, now appeared a stunning young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and clad in gleaming silver armor.

「Who… are you?」

Asia had an inkling already, but this knight was just too ideal—and that raised her suspicions.

「I am Arthur.」

「And Libya?」

It was Arthur who answered her voice.

「I’m here, Asia.」

The Another Silhouette’s synthesized voice had shifted to a woman’s. Everyone sensed at once—this was Libya.

「Wait, why are you inside the Silhouette?」

「How should I know?! I had merged and harmonized with Echidna’s soul. I was Libya, and I was Echidna—or so I thought.」

「Hmm. The one inside the Silhouette is the planetary management super AI Libya. When we merged, the resulting entity became 80% Libya, 20% Echidna. I am the resulting scraps of the fusion.」

Echidna, who had been Libya’s main core and now inhabited the therianthrope body, spoke with wistful reflection.

「From now on, I intend to live as a single Therianthrope, supporting and walking alongside Matt and Flack. I ask for your kindness and support.」

「U-uh, okay.」

「U-understood?」

The two nodded, still not quite comprehending what had just been said. Echidna, however, looked more content than anyone.

「Hold on, Matt. Flack. I still don’t get it. Why must I be the one taken over by myself?!」

「Wait, you’ve regained your super AI functionality?」

「Yes, I confirmed it. But since becoming a Kryptos, I’ve lost command authority over the Teras. What’s the point of being their progenitor if—」

「Because you are inside Arthur’s body now, he’s technically a Kryptos. But no matter. I’ve already cast off my past as a Teras. From here on, I’ll share Libya’s duties and serve humanity. All’s well that ends well, right?」

「Hold it right there! You’re not just trying to wrap everything up because you’ve got a human body now, are you?! Echidna, you’re way too pleased with this outcome!」

「Try putting yourself in my shoes—I suddenly turned into the main core of this place. I’m a facility-bound Kryptos now! But I must say, avatars are rather handy!」

Even Arthur sounded a little pleased.

「Arthur, sorry to interrupt but…」

「Hm? What is it, Outis?」

「Arthurian legend is supposedly from the fifth or sixth century, right? Full plate armor didn’t exist back then. Ring mail at most.」

「Let’s not nitpick over dreary historical accuracy, shall we? This isn’t the time or place for that.」

Arthur dismissed Kou’s critique without a second thought. Kou, a former metalworker and close-combat aficionado, wasn’t very pleased with such a gross inaccuracy in Arthur’s avatar’s armor, but he was having none of it.

「Okay! Stop! Everyone just stop for a second! Let’s get the situation straight—this is way too much for me alone. Everyone, stay put for now, please!」

Asia, just as overwhelmed, took command.

「So what’s the plan, Asia?」

「I guess we’ve got no choice but to rely on the so-called accumulated wisdom.」

She muttered, visibly exhausted.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

「To the Realm Defense Force: Victory is ours.」

The massive Mythology Weapons turned and fled. Trailing them, smaller Mythology Weapons like the Sphinx and squads of Kakodaimons also began to retreat.

「So it’s over. I would’ve liked to land the final blow, but…」

Albion stood, tearing the net off Orthros. Orthros, meanwhile, bolted at full speed.

「Nya~」

At Bastet’s call, Bahamut descended from the skies.

「Thanks, Bastet! Bahamut!」

Aimer waved to the pair.

「Unyanya~」

Bastet replied in a mumble, and Bahamut gave a stately nod.

「But how did Bastet manage to summon Bahamut, a giant catfish, anyway?」

Aimer couldn’t help but wonder aloud.

「It’s probably because…」

Astraea spoke, clearly reluctant.

「Another forced connection?」

Aimer guessed.

「Exactly. …You see, the English word for that species of fish is ‘catfish’.」

「That’s literally it…」

「Can we please stop connecting everything to cats?」

Nyanta complained with a perfectly straight face.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Asia’s avatar appeared beside Polymetis. Arima’s avatar materialized soon after.

「It’s rare for you to call me directly. And congrats—my link with Echidna has been severed. That means you’ve reclaimed Libya, right?」

「That’s the thing, Arima.」

「Huh?」

Asia gave him the quick summary. Arima’s expression grew steadily more grim.

「Let’s clear up one misunderstanding, Asia. I didn’t help make that so-called Starforged Sword. I’m Typhon, remember? There’s no way I’d help repair a weapon that sealed me away.」

「Thought so. Then who did?」

「No idea. It’s a fascinating mystery, though. Someone impersonated me and outmaneuvered Polymetis. I have a few guesses—but I can say for sure it wasn’t Hermes.」

「No way he’d be pulling strings while you’re still around.」

「Exactly. I wouldn’t be much of a destroyer if my greatest target slipped by under my nose.」

「Yeah… This is turning into a serious anomaly. Polymetis can’t analyze it in its current state, either. And then there’s the Arthur–Libya situation…」

「Ah, that’s a minor issue. The switch of bodies between Arthur and Libya is easy to explain.」

Asia blinked at how casually Arima brushed it off.

「Tell me, Arima. Everyone’s waiting at that place.」

「It’s simple. The data for Libya and Echidna got mixed. Even though they’re essentially the same entity, one was a Teras—Echidna—and the other a Therianthrope—Libya. Having lived even a few months as separate beings, their data became distinct. The length of separation doesn’t matter—on the quantum level, they’re entirely different persons.」

「Like bloated software?」

「Exactly. If you’re thinking in code, imagine duplicated functions ballooning into clones. The more duplicate code you have, the more bugs arise—and the bigger the data, the more memory it eats up.」

「So the control tower couldn’t hold both at once. Wait… if that’s true, doesn’t that mean an Another Level Silhouette has processing power exceeding even the control tower?」

「Specifics about Another Level Silhouettes are outside of the purview of planetary management super AIs like you; it’s not strange you didn’t know. Let’s talk about it more when we’re all gathered. There’s a good day for it—about three days from now. But Asia, you should be the first to know the truth.」

With a quiet sigh, Arima revealed a staggering truth.

「Another Level Silhouettes… to me, those things have been a nemesis since the Pioneering Era. Originally, they were designed to be vessels for the Twelve Olympians.」