'Ugh.'
At that moment, there was a violent shuddering in Naota's forehead. His entire body stiffened as if he had been electrocuted.
His head started to throb.
The sirens and searchlights at the MM factory once again prepared for war.
Haruko, who was watching the factory from the corner of her eye, spurred on her beloved Vespa to the scene. 'That' night was starting all over again.
Chapter 4
Naota heard an ear-splitting ringing and felt his feet leave the ground. His body was floating in the air, just as before.
As he expected, the horns burst through his bandana and extended—long and fat—from the back and front of his head. No, Naota already knew they weren't really horns. As the two protrusions had appeared on either side of his head, he'd predicted they'd each become another robot.
As he'd surmised, the protrusions emerged gradually: Several fat fingers, a hand, and then an entire arm appeared.
Similar to the previous time, the foreign objects made the surrounding area feel paralyzed. He felt no physical pain.
Naota had been prepared for this to happen. He'd experienced the strange feeling of having a heart in his forehead before. He thought if something still were residing in his head, he wanted it out immediately. However, he didn't want it to happen right here and now!
If the thing had to come out, he wanted it to happen somewhere no one would see it. He'd known the resulting robot could be a problem. If it weren't a harmless robot like Canti, but more like that violent arm-thing instead, then its emergence in an inopportune place might be fatal.
'Ew!'
Through the ringing in his ears, he heard Mamimi's repulsed exclamation.
Mamimi stepped back instinctively and looked at Naota with a stunned expression. That was natural. Last time, Mamimi had lost consciousness and didn't remember anything. Seeing this mysterious wonder for the first time, it was no surprise that Mamimi freaked.
After pushing through Naota's head to emerge on the outside, the alien objects both appeared to be part of another robotic arm. It was the same kind of arm as before. Of course, this time, it was the right arm. There was no mistaking it. This was the other half of that violent robot.
Canti stood nearby as before, watching what was unfolding.
As Naota's floating body tilted up, the robot's entire form appeared. The sight of a huge piece of machinery jumping from Naota's tiny head was unbelievably grotesque.
The new robot was gigantic. It was human-shaped, but larger than Canti, measuring about nine feet. Compared with Canti's slim proportions, this one had a thick, beefy body. Though humanoid, it would be more accurate to say it was shaped like a sumo wrestler rather than a normal person.
Its arms were odd. The right arm resembled the full manipulator, which had previously appeared. The left arm, however, was similar solely in its upper part. Attached to the left elbow was a disproportionately small metallic arm. This smaller limb appeared imbalanced against the sturdiness of the right arm. Because of the mismatch, the robot's silhouette was reminiscent of a crab.
That strange left arm probably was an emergency replacement for the part that Canti had cut off.
The robot caught sight of Canti through the sensor eye on its head. The gigantic robot began roaring, shaking everything in sight. Most likely, it was delighted at the chance for revenge.
The MM logo had been carved on this one-armed robot, as well.
In the MM Mabase factory, the host computer once again began receiving battle reports.
«MMR Class [J].RH appears in Mabase city. 19:57.
MMR Class [K].001 ATOMSK is caught at close distance.19:57.
[K] ATOMSK displays no reaction. 19:57.
RH, receiving no reaction and not recognizing the merit of capture, readies battle plan for ultimate destruction. 19:57.
Permission granted. 19:57.
Battle begins. 19:57.
Good luck to RH in executing battle strategy. 19:57.»
The gigantic robot appeared to be starting a fight with Canti.
Its feet remained stuck, however, bogged down in Naota. For some reason, the robot's feet were still in Naota's head, and it couldn't get free.
'Ugh!'
In pain, Naota grabbed at his forehead, desperately trying to rid himself of the robot. As if it were disgusted by a piece of sticky eggshell from its birth process, the huge robot lifted its foot and shook off Naota. Consequently, Naota was flicked away.
With a scream, Naota fell to the schoolyard violently. Fortunately, the anti-gravitational force generated by the robot's appearance hadn't dissipated completely. This eased the impact, and Naota escaped with no broken bones—more or less, safe and sound.
For a moment, Naota thought,
'Waaah!'
'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.»
