"Things are going well. This room certainly isn't in use."
Surveying the room, Lance felt certain that the first stage of his plan was a success.
However, the real problem lay ahead.
Even straining his ears, he could hear no sound.
"So the basement is the key."
The main facilities were likely located underground to keep them hidden from prying eyes, whereas anything on the ground floor would be too exposed in an emergency.
Lance crept toward the stairs leading down. He strained his ears again, but still, he heard nothing.
"(Are they sleeping soundly, or are they simply shorthanded?)"
Either way, he had no choice but to proceed. Lance stepped onto the stairs.
He descended as silently as possible.
Basement level one. No sign of life.
Basement level two. No sign of life.
And then, basement level three.
"(...I hear breathing. One... two... three people....Hm?)"
As Lance advanced into the corridor leading to the floor, a patrol golem appeared. It was a stocky humanoid.
"(That’s an old-model golem... the kind that can only handle a single task.)"
This time, that limitation was actually a convenience. Assuming there must be a set interval for its rounds, Lance hid in the shadows and observed the situation.
With patience far exceeding that of a human, he timed the intervals between patrols.
"(It comes around every fifteen minutes.)"
With that settled, he moved into action. As soon as the golem was out of sight, Lance began to walk with muffled footsteps.
"(The breathing is coming from this room....A bedroom, then.)"
He could hear the rhythmic breathing of two people asleep.
"(The other one is... in this room?)"
That appeared to be a bedroom as well.
"(Is Ronder... in the single room?)"
Not yet knowing Ronder’s ultimate fate, Lance entertained the possibility.
"(At any rate, recovery comes first.)"
He moved further down the passage. There, he found a laboratory.
"(A noise...? Is someone awake? But I don't hear any breathing.)"
Hiding behind the door, he peeked inside and saw the back of an automata performing some kind of work.
"(Those are... Warp Gate components? Can an automata even handle those?)"
Though he had reached his objective, Lance paused to consider his next move.
"(There is no doubt that automata was also made from stolen parts. The best course of action would be to force it to stand still and bring it back... but can I neutralize it?)"
Lance’s combat capabilities were high, but not enough to overwhelm a combat golem. That had been made clear in the previous battle.
Furthermore, he couldn't be sure there was only one automata at work.
He could hear neither heartbeats nor breathing from a golem on standby.
"(Regardless, if I hesitate, the patrol golem might come back around.)"
Lance took the plunge and stepped into the room.
"What?...You are...?"
The automata looked at Lance and spoke in a surprised voice.
"Ron... der...?"
The automata’s face was an exact match for the Ronder in Lance’s memories.
"You know my name? You are... I see, you came from Gilder’s place, didn't you?"
Gilder was the name of Lance’s Creator—and Gimnas’s father.
"Since you know that... are you actually Ronder? Or are you just an automata possessing his knowledge?"
At that question, the automata let out a lonely-sounding laugh.
"I don't happen to have a precise answer to that question."
"What do you mean?"
In response to Lance’s query, the Ronder-automata began to answer with a wry smile.
"I certainly have Ronder’s knowledge. I also think of myself as Ronder. But at the same time, I know that I am an automata."
"...And?"
"I wonder... just what am I?"
"So it did turn out that way....The transcription of human consciousness was still incomplete and under research."
"I... I mean, Ronder... was out of time."
"In any case, I'll be taking back what you stole."
"That is something I absolutely cannot comply with."
The atmosphere around Ronder shifted.
"I... Ronder, have obtained this body and become immortal. I cannot let go of that. If you insist, try taking it by force."
"If you insist on that, then I have no choice."
Lance lunged forward suddenly, delivering a tsuki with his fist aimed straight for the Ronder-automata’s jaw.
But.
"Too slow."
The Ronder-automata avoided it with ease.
"What!"
"...This body is wonderful. Its performance is better than Gilder’s automata."
The Ronder-automata seemed to be about twenty percent faster.
Because of that, all of Lance’s attacks were being evaded.
Kicks, punches, body slams—none of them landed.
"Heh heh, as I thought, you are an instructor-type. It seems you can't quite master your body—or rather, your own abilities."
It was the truth. Lance’s basic control system was not made for combat, but with the primary purpose of protecting and passing on knowledge.
Despite being housed in a security-grade body, his control system lacked combat sequences, leaving him unable to fully tap into his physical potential.
And the one who knew that best was Lance himself.
"I don't understand. Why did you come alone? There should still be plenty of automata and golems left at the facility."
"There's... no reason for me to tell you that!"
Lance’s attacks continued to hit nothing but air. The Ronder-automata remained entirely on the defensive, doing nothing but evading.
"Hmm, I see. There is no one who can wake them up, is there?"
"That's your fault!"
Indeed, to wake up the automata and golems of the underground facility, one needed to have mastered a certain level of magi-craft.
However, the sole survivor, Gimnas, was still only fifteen. He lacked the skill to become a Creator.
Lance was the only one who could move freely of his own will. For that reason, both last time and this time, Lance was the one who had come outside.
"Heh heh, I see. Then I can be at ease. You have no backup!"
This was the one fact Lance had desperately wanted to keep hidden.
Because Ronder knew the advanced technology of the facility, he had feared that golems other than Lance might have been dispatched.
"Then I won't hold back. I’ll test this body's performance to my heart’s content."
"Gwah!?"
The Ronder-automata suddenly shifted to the offensive.
"Ugh... kh."
Now Lance was forced entirely onto the defensive.
"Hahahaha! This body is magnificent! I've reached heights humans could never dream of!"
While dodging the attacks at the last possible second, Lance was analyzing the Ronder-automata.
That body was not of the facility's design. It was likely a hybrid with technology from elsewhere—namely, Unifilar technology.
"Is that why... he is strong."
While the Ronder-automata had been dodging Lance’s attacks with ease, Lance was now finding it impossible to fully evade the Ronder-automata’s strikes.
"Not yet!"
The attack speed increased even further.
Using his arms, legs, and even his back, Lance blocked and parried the onslaught.
"At this rate... this is bad."
Lance decided to play his trump card.
"Wind Blow!"
"Guo!?"
A mass of wind blew the Ronder-automata away, creating distance between the two.
"Heh. So you're capable of that kind of magic as well."
The Ronder-automata smirked.
"Then, here is one from me. Storm Rush!"
"Wha—!?"
The Ronder-automata retaliated with a spell more powerful than the one Lance had cast.
Apparently, he was relishing his new physical capabilities.
Lance was blown back and slammed against the wall.
"This is bad... As I thought, I cannot... win..."
At that moment.
"Shall I lend you a hand?"
A voice spoke from right beside Lance.