The World of Otome Games is Tough For Mobs - Volume 13 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Love

THE BLAST FROM THE EXPLOSION swept through the rest of the room, flinging away the imperial Armors Julius had been fighting.

“Greg!” Julius roared desperately, throat raw. “Greg!”

Greg’s suit had melted completely, leaving behind only a fragment of Gunther’s Demonic Suit.

The one-on-one battle’s outcome stunned the imperials.

“Lord Gunther lost?!”

“It can’t be. There’s no way he’d ever lose!”

“Your ancestors lost the war! How long are you puny descendants going to resist the inevitable?!”

As the Demonic Knights roared in dismay, their comrades piloting Armors struggled back to their feet.

Julius desperately wanted to check the wreckage to see whether Greg survived the blast somehow, but there was no time for that right now. He gritted his teeth and swallowed the urge, steeling himself to carry out his duty first.

“If I let a single enemy slip past me, everything Greg and the others worked for will be in vain,” he reminded himself.

The few drones that remained with him took up battle stances at his side, ready to join the fight, but his enemies weren’t paying him any attention at the moment.

“The Scumbag Knight made for the reactor. Hurry after him!”

“We must carry on for Lord Gunther!”

“Ignore the white Armor!”

The Demonic Knights tried to speed past Julius toward the corridor Leon had disappeared down, but Julius fired his cannons and knocked them to the ground. They changed tack quickly after that, apparently recognizing him at last as the threat he was.

“This one will be a real pain to deal with.”

“Let’s gang up on him.”

Soon, they’d fanned out and surrounded him.

“If you’re coming at me, you’d better do it with everything you have,” Julius warned. “I’m ready to forfeit my own life to defeat you all, in the name of my love for Marie and my friendship with Leon.” He purged his cannons, and white-blue flames blasted from his rear container. His whole Armor began glowing with similar white-blue light, its output meter shooting up.

“What’s this nonsense about love and friendship?!” One of the knights roared with mocking laughter. “This is the battlefield, where the strong survive and the weak don’t!” Battle axe in hand, the knight charged him.

Julius deflected the blow with his shield, stabbing his sword straight through the enemy’s cockpit. He moved with such deadly agility and grace that the Demonic Knights didn’t dare mock him further. After their comrade’s death, they understood that he wouldn’t be an easy match.

“You may find it laughable, but I’m entirely serious,” Julius said. “I’m here because the woman I love asked me to be, and because I want to help my friend!”

As the words left his mouth, he thought back with some self-derision on the past—when he’d first dueled Leon, and Leon had handily beaten him to a pulp. I babbled on about my love for Marie then too. But the words didn’t carry the same weight then. When he spoke of love and friendship here and now, there was genuine emotion behind his words.

The Demonic Knights launched their attack with impressive coordination. The imperial soldiers in their Armors provided backup, pelting Julius with bullets, while the knights swept forward and slashed at him with their weapons. Deep gashes covered his once beautiful pure-white Armor, a web of cracks forming on the outer plating. 

Despite the overwhelming numbers against him, Julius joined them in the air and gave chase, his sword finding its mark. It didn’t matter that his Armor was a wreck; his determination to keep going remained unbroken, and his swift response to each attack began to unnerve his opponents.

Julius sensed their alarm and lifted his sword as he said, “I am Julius Rapha Holfort, the former crown prince of Holfort. You are sorely mistaken if you think you can claim my life easily.”

The Demonic Knights charged him together, whizzing through the air toward him.

“I should thank you for making my job easier,” Julius laughed. A slash of his sword cut through several of them. They fell one after another, slamming into the floor below, until only a single Demonic Knight remained by the end.

The final knight hung back. “We’ve nearly worn him down! Continue firing at him!” he ordered the other imperial soldiers. He thought it’d be best for them to keep their distance and that their guns could fell Julius.

Although dozens upon dozens of cracks spiderwebbed through his shield, which was only just staying in one piece, Julius lifted it to defend himself. The oncoming rain of bullets shattered it, leaving nothing behind. The flames that had burned blue-white at his back sputtered out.

His enemy had been right. Julius was at his limit, and it was difficult for his Armor to move at all. Still, he forced it to fly forward. “It’s not over yet!”

Julius had only one intact sword left to fight with. He darted bravely toward the imperials, despite all the rifles trained on him. 

His menacing determination daunted them.

“H-hurry up! Shoot him down!”

A relentless barrage of bullets flew upon Julius, piercing his plating and blowing off his entire left arm.

“Just a little bit more… Just a bit…for Leon!”

Julius’s Armor whined and groaned around him. He lifted his sword, but the enemy’s bullets reached it, shattering the blade.

***

Outside the fortress, Brad and Hubert were still battling.

“Kuh!”

Brad’s lances, and the drones Luxion had left him to control, were evenly matched by Hubert’s squadrons.

“Squadron Two, fall back,” Hubert ordered. “Squadron Five, continue firing on the enemy. Squadron Eight, focus on destroying his lances.”

They’d already managed to destroy three of Brad’s lances and a number of drones.

He commands his knights as expertly as if they were extensions of his own body, Brad thought. I have to admit he’s tough.

The Demonic Knights whom Hubert commanded wouldn’t be all that skilled on their own, but led by Hubert, they reached greater heights. One charged at Brad, swinging his weapon. Brad parried with the lance in his hand just in time, but he was forced back by the blow’s weight, unable to fully defend against it.

His opponent was obviously young and hot-blooded. He was the only one of the bunch who didn’t invariably coordinate with the others; he occasionally darted out of formation to attack Brad directly, making him an unpredictable element on the field.

“Looks like you can’t defend yourself so well in close combat!” the knight exclaimed. Although he didn’t follow commands as well as his peers, he was easily the strongest among them.

“I wouldn’t be half as charming if I were entirely perfect,” Brad said. “I need at least one weakness to offset all my strengths.” His face dripped with perspiration, contradicting his bravado.

“Enough of your babbling!” The knight raised his blade, threatening to cut Brad down entirely. 

Before the knight’s sword could do the job, though, Jilk sniped him. The bullet only grazed his left arm, but its anti-Demonic Suit properties affected it like a strong venom. The shot inflamed the limb, inflating it grotesquely until it burst completely. 

“Aaaah!” The knight’s shrill voice rang through the air like a siren.

“Laimer, fall back!” Hubert snapped at him.

“Dammit!” Laimer cursed, even as he obediently followed his superior’s order. 

“Return to the fortress and get that wound healed. We can take care of things here,” said Hubert.

Despite his reluctance to leave the battlefield, Laimer withdrew, but not before shouting over his shoulder at Jilk, “You—the bastard in the green Armor—you’re going to pay for this! Mark my words!”

In the brief reprieve while Hubert ordered Laimer off the field, Jilk said to Brad, “We can’t keep going like this. We need to retreat too!”

Jilk was having a hard time assisting. A number of Demonic Knights had swarmed him to end his continued sniping. Each time he popped his head out to try a shot, they used magic to stop him. It had taken considerable effort to bypass them and graze Laimer a moment earlier. The lengthy battle had also damaged Jilk’s Armor severely. On top of that, he was running out of ammo, which prompted his suggestion that they run for it.

Brad wouldn’t back down. “I can’t withdraw until I defeat Hubert,” he said. “Besides, he’d never let us retreat.”

He was right, of course. Hubert was too alert, too determined to finish their battle.

“It’s your fault I’ve lost so many of my men. I never imagined you’d be so formidable,” said Hubert, as if on cue.

Brad and Jilk were having a tough time against him, but still, they’d taken out half his subordinates.

“See?” Brad said. “I’m so stunning that he can’t bear to let me go.”

“Is this really the time to crack a joke?” Jilk shot back, exasperated by Brad’s ridiculous narcissism. He must’ve assumed that, if Brad sounded so arrogant, he was still going strong—but he was mistaken about that. Although force of habit made Brad sound and act like his normal self, he was reaching his limit.

“Joke? Jilk, you wound me,” Brad said dramatically. “I’m always serious.”

The two enjoyed their banter, even as—with renewed determination—Hubert commanded his men to attack.

“You really are something else, you know,” Jilk sighed. “Fine. I’ll stick with you until the end.”

Brad expertly wielded his remaining lances. There were fewer now, so his focus was less divided, and the weapons’ movements were more refined. 

Hubert himself seemed to sense how much deadlier they were. “Even after all the damage you took, you’re getting stronger?” He shook his head.

His knights surrounded Brad, whose lances whipped around to protect his blind spot. One by one, the lances took down knight after knight.

“You’d better not underestimate me!” said Brad.

He gradually reduced his enemy’s numbers until at last Hubert’s subordinates began ignoring their commander’s orders. All the knights who’d been busy blocking Jilk turned away from him, charging Brad’s lances and the drones.

“What are you doing?!” Hubert cried at them. 

To his dismay, they ignored him. 

“What’s going on?” Brad blurted in surprise, firing his lances at the group. They pierced their intended targets, only for the wounded knights to wrap their arms around the lances and effectively hold them in place. “Are they really sacrificing themselves?!”

By the time Brad caught on, it was already too late. Their aim had been to render him defenseless.

“Without these, victory belongs to Lord Hubert!”

“Lord Hubert, please finish them off!”

“Who ordered you to act as sacrificial pawns?!” Hubert angrily demanded of his men. However furious he was with them, he wouldn’t let their efforts be in vain. His fingers squeezed tight around his sword hilt as he charged toward Brad.

“What a crazy bunch,” Brad said. Though he was terrified of the end coming, he also had to respect the bravery throwing one’s life away for a greater purpose required. Hubert’s subordinates could do that only because they loved their commander so much.

Joined by his last three subordinates, Hubert flew forward, closing the remaining distance between him and Brad. Jilk cast his rifle aside and shot out of the fortress, using his blade to carve through the few remaining knights who’d stayed behind to block him.

“Brad,” Jilk shouted, “hold on, and I’ll be there!”

Hubert swung at Brad, who blocked the blow. He’s not just an expert commander, he found himself thinking. No, what makes him so fearsome is that he’s incredibly strong on top of that. It wasn’t out of weakness that Hubert had turned to a command role. He was actually much stronger on his own than his subordinates had been together. No matter how Brad tried to parry his attacks, Hubert was quickly carving the outer plating from his Armor.

“It seems Laimer was right that you’re weak in close combat,” said Hubert.

“Dammit.”

In the corner of his monitor, Brad saw how hard Jilk was fighting, defeating two Demonic Knights at once in his desperate attempt to reach Brad in time. He was pushing himself past his limits, and he’d somehow lost his left arm in the process.

“You’re way overdoing it, Jilk. It’s not like you,” he said.

Brad had already run out of ammunition himself, and the hidden weapon on his left arm was unusable. All he had left was one lance and an extra shortsword. Hubert knew Brad had no more tricks up his sleeve, which was why he’d seized the opportunity to engage Brad in melee battle.

“I’m ending this now,” Hubert announced. He made no lofty proclamations about doing it to avenge his fallen subordinates, but that was exactly why he was handling this personally. Charging full speed at Jilk to land his final blow and bring this battle to its conclusion, he sank his blade into the outer plating protecting Brad’s cockpit.

Brad let out a strangled laugh. “You’ve bested me flawlessly.”

The sheer momentum of Hubert’s attack sent the two crashing into Arcadia’s outer wall. The blade penetrated the remainder of the plating on Brad’s Armor, skewering Brad and pinning him to the fortress.

“Flawlessly, my foot,” Hubert rasped. “You’re the one who has bested me. It seems I really did…underestimate you…”

Brad’s shortsword protruded from Hubert’s abdomen. He’d jabbed it into the Demonic Knight when the two clashed. Sporting the fatal wound, Hubert slowly lost altitude, falling away from Brad.

“See? I can…pull it off…if I try,” Brad managed to say through gasps of air. “I won’t let anyone…say I’m bad…with the sword…ever again.”

Only after Brad fell completely silent did Jilk manage to cut down the final knight and reach his friend. “Brad?” he called desperately. “Brad!”

***

Thanks to Luxion, who piloted the Armor on Leon’s behalf, Arroganz finally reached Arcadia’s reactor. It was tucked into the deepest reaches of the fortress, housed in a chamber that encircled it, and was shaped like a pillar. Many entrances along the outer walls led out to a number of corridors.

The reactor was enormous, just like the room it occupied. It was black, and red lines similar to veins ran across its surface. They pulsed almost as if the reactor had a heartbeat, weak at first and then stronger, lighting up with each throb.

Luxion peered at the reactor from the threshold of the corridor. As he observed and analyzed it, the outer ring of his lens hummed. “So, this is the reactor, the mechanism Arcadia uses to produce demonic essence.”

Old humanity had struggled for decades to breach Arcadia’s depths and take the fortress down, but never succeeded. Yet here he was, accomplishing what they couldn’t. It might’ve been an emotional moment if Luxion hadn’t been preoccupied with other concerns.

“Master, are you feeling all right?”

In the wake of the neutralizer Luxion had administered, Leon’s face was deathly pale.

“No. I feel like crap,” he said honestly. He was covered in perspiration, a new wave of it beading on his skin. Even one injection of the performance enhancer had taken a substantial toll on his body. Without the neutralizer, he probably couldn’t even have spoken.

“You have been falling in and out of consciousness for some time. This is a considerable improvement,” said Luxion.

“Yeah. That’s lucky, since this is the exact part I need to be awake for.” Leon leaned forward, fingers circling the control sticks, and launched several missiles from Arroganz’s rear container at the reactor. The drones accompanying him soon joined in, but both their fire and the missiles were deflected by a magic barrier protecting the reactor.

Leon grimaced, his brows drawn together. “Should’ve known it wouldn’t be this easy.”

“I recommend a close-quarter attack,” said Luxion. “Apologies, Master, but you will have to bear that on your own. I can only offer the bare minimum support due to interference from the demonic essence.” As much as he wanted to control Arroganz in Leon’s place and do the deed himself, all he could do was maintain a connection with his mobile unit. Leon would need to do this.

So long as Leon could land an attack powerful enough to penetrate the barrier, Luxion was sure they’d manage to destroy the reactor. Both it and its barrier were built to withstand a lot, but a direct attack from Arroganz would be sufficient to finish this mission.

“We’re out of missiles,” said Leon. “Let’s switch containers first.”

“Very well.”

Leon spun around to swap his container for a fresh one. Purging the previous container, he took position for a drone to transfer its cargo to him.

“Master, an enemy!” Luxion cut in. “An enemy is fast approaching us!”

“So he’s finally here.”

Before Leon could finish securing the new container to his back, an enemy had flown in, attacking the drones and causing several to explode. Fortunately, not all of them had been destroyed, which meant a container transfer was still possible. The bigger problem was their enemy’s identity.

“It’s been a while,” said a voice all too familiar to Luxion.

Brave had dropped in on them from the ceiling. He was noticeably bigger than the other Demonic Suits they’d faced, and lightning crackled across his surface. The fact that he was already unleashing his magic made it clear how seriously his pilot, Finn, was taking this battle.

Leon forced a smile through the pain. “I was hoping to see you, Finn!” He sped backward as quickly as he could, hoping to gain time to finish transferring the new container to his back. He’d need a weapon if he was going to fight Brave. But that retreat would be difficult to manage successfully, especially since Finn immediately realized what he was doing.

“Likewise,” Finn said, voice thick with sadness and regret at the conditions that had brought them here. As soon as Arroganz tried to complete the transfer, he interfered, unleashing his lightning and destroying the drones Leon was using.

“You’re really getting in my way!” Leon snapped.

“I won’t be pulling punches,” Finn said, unperturbed. “Not with you. I’m sorry it has to be like this, but I can’t afford to lose!”

Luxion began his calculations as Brave charged toward them. “Master,” he said quickly, “preparations are complete.”

“I knew I could count on you.”

“Of course. Please do not compare me to someone as unreliable as Brave.”

Overhearing their conversation, Brave exclaimed, “I’m the more reliable one between us!”

Leon knew they couldn’t finish the transfer as long as Finn had any impact on it. The hatches on his drones’ rear containers cracked open.

“Eat this!” Leon bellowed.

The drones launched a barrage of missiles; they also began firing with the guns they held. The blasts and bullets covered nearly every inch of the corridor. It was sufficiently spacious for easy travel but not wide enough to accommodate an Armor and Demonic Suit locked in battle.

Brave couldn’t run anywhere. Instead, he wrapped his wings around himself for protection. Still, he was unable to brace himself against the force of the blasts, which knocked him back through the air.

Arroganz took the opportunity to whiz past him, reaching toward one of the fallen drones. A battle axe had dropped from its container, the edge of the blade sinking into the floor. Leon yanked the weapon up and charged toward the reactor, but Finn wasn’t about to let him get away with that.

“You really think you can throw me off that easily, Leon?!”

Spinning, Finn flew toward Leon, who caught the sword swinging downward with his axe. An earsplitting scream of metal against metal pierced the air, both weapons vying to overpower each other.

“Luxion, do something!” Leon shouted.

“Yes, Master.” Luxion knew exactly what he needed to do.

One of the surviving drones aimed its rifle at Brave. The bullet couldn’t pierce Brave, but it was enough to break his stance.

“Yowch!” Brave cried.

“That’s not enough to break your skin, is it?” Luxion grumbled, frustration bleeding through his electronic voice. The bullet would’ve pierced any other Demonic Knight, but not Brave.

Luxion had known Brave was a threat, but it was frustrating to realize he’d underestimated just how formidable he was.

Brave lashed out with electricity, destroying the drone that had attacked him, then promptly refocused on Arroganz. He glowered at it with narrowed eyes.

“Apologies, Master,” Luxion said. “That was the perfect opportunity, yet I wasn’t able to take Brave down.”

Leon shrugged, as if he’d never expected anything to come of it to begin with. “If he was that easy to beat, we wouldn’t have struggled so much to get here in the first place. Now, how will we handle this?”

Brave swung forward with his longsword, which Arroganz readily parried with its battle axe. Each time they clashed, Brave’s blade chipped away at the edge of the axe, until it finally cracked and shattered completely.

“Leon, I’m going to end this right here, right now!” Finn said.

Electricity crackled along the length of his longsword, wrapping it in light. When the charge came crashing in his direction, Leon leaped back, but the electric shot kept racing through the air toward him. Even if he evaded Finn’s sword, that magic was inescapable. It was lucky that they’d prepared for this fight ahead of time with full knowledge of Brave’s attacks, allowing Luxion to fashion special plating that defended against electricity magic. Still, the lightning was powerful enough to singe Arroganz’s thick outer armor.

“It would be dangerous to continue. We should withdraw for the moment,” said Luxion.

Leon shook his head. “He’ll cut me down if I turn my back on him. No, we’re going to do this.” He tossed the battle axe aside, ready to face Brave barehanded.

***

“Are you going to struggle to your last? Is that what this is?” Finn asked warily. He didn’t see how Leon could continue the fight without a weapon. That would be pointless, yet he knew Leon better than to assume nothing else was going on.

Brave shared his concerns. “Our magic did minimal damage to his outer armor. We’re up against the hardest possible match right now, Partner.”

Brave had been confident about the power of their attack; he’d hoped it would be enough to finish their opponent off entirely. However, by the looks of it, it hadn’t even dealt the significant damage he’d counted on; it had done practically nothing to Arroganz.

“Sorry, Partner,” said Brave. “It’s my fault. I underestimated them.”

Finn’s lips pulled into a taut line. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I never imagined they’d be easy to defeat.”

His longsword kept humming with electric magic. Though he knew he was pushing his luck, Finn lurched forward and swung at Arroganz again. “If a single blow won’t finish you, I’ll just have to keep chopping until nothing’s left!”

Brave’s wings fanned, helping him speed forward until he slammed against Arroganz. When his sword bit down into the armor plating, however, it met more resistance than Finn ever expected.

“I can’t cut through?!”

“Bastard,” Brave hissed. “You went and added a bunch of extra plating to improve your defenses!”

That very plating had saved Arroganz from taking substantial damage from Brave’s longsword. Now that they were face-to-face, Arroganz thrust both arms toward Brave. 

Finn immediately leaped back. “Trying your shock wave attack? Unfortunately for you, I know it’s only effective at point-blank range!”

The “shock wave attack” in question was Arroganz’s ultimate technique. Finn had accurately pinpointed its weakness, though. As long as he didn’t get close enough, Arroganz couldn’t use it.

Or so he thought.

“Impact!”

A shock wave shot forth from Arroganz’s palm. Although Finn was sure they would be safe at a distance, the shock wave rippled out and reached him.

“Gah!” Finn cried.

It jostled them so violently that he felt like his insides were being shaken, and the force of the blast sent Brave flailing backward. Finn watched through narrowed eyes as Arroganz activated what looked like a cooling device on its chest. It spat out a mist that billowed around them.

“He’s strengthened his shock wave attack!” said Brave. “I don’t think he can use it without pausing in between, though.”

Electricity crackled over Arroganz’s plating, as if it’d reached its limits.

“You ought to have saved your little trick for later,” said Finn.

Leon should’ve finished Finn off while he had the chance. Since he hadn’t, Finn was sure victory would be his. The joy that brought him was hollow. To summon the motivation he needed to charge at Arroganz again, he had to conjure an image of Mia’s and his late sister’s faces in his head.

Meanwhile, Arroganz had already purged its extra plating, and the vapor from its cooling device clouded the air.

“What?” Finn blurted out before the realization hit him. “A smokescreen?!” 

He didn’t panic, even though his vision was obstructed. The air was thick with demonic essence, and Brave thrived in such an environment. It gave Demonic Creatures such as him the advantage on the field. Finn was confident that Brave could see through the fog, no matter how thick it was.

“This is no normal smokescreen!” Brave cried to him. “They mixed something into it. My radar’s completely scrambled!”

For a second—only a split second—they lost track of Arroganz completely.

***

“It appears our smokescreen was effective,” Luxion reported after confirming that their jamming had worked.

“That’s a big help.”

The smokescreen Luxion had prepared for just this occasion was particularly effective at confusing Demonic Creatures’ senses. The problem was that they’d never actually tested it; while it theoretically worked, Leon couldn’t be entirely certain about its efficacy.

“That was an incredibly risky gamble,” said Luxion.

Leon shrugged. “As long as it paid off, that’s all that matters.”

Having purged its extra plating, Arroganz was less well defended, as well as running out of weapons. However, the two of them had anticipated it coming to this.

Luxion swiveled, his gaze focused behind them. “Schwert is coming.”

Schwert had been secured to one of the fallen drones. Now that they’d activated the smokescreen, it lifted itself through the air and zipped toward them. It had originally been an airbike, but Luxion had refashioned it into a rear container for Arroganz. Schwert took an almost airplane-like form, slowing as it approached in order to land on Arroganz’s back.

Then Brave appeared through the mist. He charged toward them, relying on intuition alone to find his way. “I don’t think so!” he growled.

He obviously wanted to stop Schwert and Arroganz from merging, but he was a few seconds too late to prevent it. Schwert docked successfully, its generator connecting to Arroganz and providing further power output.

“Docking complete,” Luxion announced, composed despite the longsword rushing toward them. “Power output increasing. Ready when you are, Master.”

Leon shoved the control sticks forward. “Here at the end, it’s Schwert’s time to shine!”

Arroganz’s eyes flashed red as it lurched forward and slammed into Brave. The two grappled, each accelerating in a competition of power.

“Do it,” Leon said.

“Yes, Master.”

A section of Schwert’s plating slid open to reveal several round lenses. Those immediately shot blue lasers that bent and altered direction to target Brave. They were powerful enough to sear his surface.

“Ahhh! Hot! Hot!” Brave squealed.

Finn forced him to fall back, using his wings as a shield to keep the lasers from causing further damage.

Leon seized the chance to turn away and speed toward the reactor room. “I don’t have time to waste playing around with you.”

“Ngh!” Finn let out a panicked grunt. “As if I’d let you get away! Wait, what?!” He fanned out his wings to give chase, but the fallen drones had somehow gotten hold of Brave’s leg and clung to it stubbornly. They must’ve crawled toward him while he was distracted so that they could pin him back.

“Our battle can wait until later,” said Leon. Sweat glimmered on his forehead, and a small sigh of relief escaped him, since he’d somehow slipped past Finn by the narrowest margin.

“Master, we should prioritize destroying the reactor for the moment.”

Leon nodded. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.” His face was still strained from lingering pain. Even after the neutralizer, he hadn’t completely recovered from the performance enhancer, which just showed how much impact it’d had on his body.

Luxion wanted to end this as quickly as possible. This battle is pointless. The sooner we destroy this reactor, the sooner it will be over.

An explosion rocked the air behind them. Brave must’ve destroyed the drones that latched on to him. Luxion’s newest calculations indicated that Brave would likely reach them before they finished destroying the reactor.

“That was faster than expected!” Luxion said in dismay. 

Arroganz had gained extra thrust with the addition of Schwert, but they were up against the man said to be the strongest Demonic Knight. More importantly, Brave had earned his name due to his many accomplishments in past battles, and he had survived the war between old and new humanity.

Brave will catch up to Arroganz at this rate. If he does, Master will most likely want to use that performance enhancer again, Luxion thought. That was all he cared about. His top concern was ensuring that Leon returned safely after the fighting ended. 

Although Luxion angled to prevent the enhancer’s use, his hopes were in vain. Brave had caught up to them.

“Leeeeon!” Finn howled.

Luxion immediately had to reevaluate his previous estimations of Brave’s strength. He caught up to us, and he’s still accelerating more? I struggle to comprehend these Demonic Creatures and the variability of their strength.

“Luxion,” Leon said calmly, “inject the performance enhancer.”

Luxion was so alarmed that he hesitated a split second, then replied, “No, I cannot allow it. You still haven’t fully recovered from the damage your first use of the enhancer produced.”

Leon didn’t listen to Luxion’s laundry list of reasons why it was a bad idea. He just said, “It’s an order. Do it.” His voice was firm and unyielding.

“As you command, Master.”

The needle pierced Leon’s back, injecting the enhancer into his bloodstream. His face immediately contorted in anguish.

I’d hoped we wouldn’t have to use it twice, or in such quick succession, thought Luxion. But there was nothing I could’ve said or done to stop him.

The pain abated quickly, but the side effects were instant this time. Blood leaked from Leon’s eyes and dribbled down his cheeks.

We used it too quickly. If he doesn’t give his body time to recover, it won’t be able to endure a third shot.

Looking over his shoulder, Leon sped backward toward Brave. Lasers burst from Schwert again. Finn expertly evaded them as best he could, just shrugging off any blasts that landed. He was focused on simply catching up to Leon.

“Something is wrong,” Luxion said. “They’re stronger than they were before.”

Finn and Brave’s conversation spilled into the air, revealing something Luxion had already expected.

“You shouldn’t push yourself like this, Partner!”

“When better to push myself than now?! Mia’s future is on the line! This is a small sacrifice to make!”

“Yeah,” Brave whined, “but a drug this strong will have a serious impact on your body!”

So, that’s it. Finn and Brave are also using a performance enhancer. That was how Finn had managed to use Brave’s full potential.

Leon pulled a face at the revelation. “What, you’re doping too?”

“I assume that means you’ve done the same,” said Finn.

Both were willing to throw away their future if that allowed them to call upon their full power in this fight.

Luxion lamented that the two were fighting at all. If not for the past—if Master hadn’t been dragged into this war between old and new humanity—he never would’ve needed to fight his own friend, would he? His regret sprang from a long-held concern that his presence had only burdened Leon.

They finally broke out of the corridor and into the room housing the reactor. Schwert fired lasers at the reactor but couldn’t penetrate its magical barrier.

“Even the lasers aren’t strong enough?” Leon asked in disbelief.

“No,” Leon confirmed. “Unfortunately, it will be difficult for us to get close enough for a melee attack.”

Brave was hot on their heels. Leon pulled a greatsword out of Schwert just as Brave swung, and sparks flew as their metal blades clashed together.

“I won’t let you,” Finn hissed at Leon. “I won’t let anyone steal Mia’s future from her!”

“What do you expect me to say to that?” Leon barked back at him. “‘Okay, you’re right, I’m sorry’? You’re crazy!” 

Leon was also protecting someone important to him: his niece from his previous life, Erica. But he wouldn’t speak her name, not here. She wasn’t the only reason he was fighting. If her life had been the only one at stake, he could’ve moved her somewhere safe. He hadn’t done that, because more lives were on the line than just hers—a whole future generation’s lives.

Leon was always running his mouth off, but Luxion knew how kind he really was deep down. Kinder than most people, in fact. It was true that he had a habit of going overboard. And, like anyone, he made mistakes. Even so, he was putting his own life at risk to protect others. Luxion resented him for being so self-sacrificing, but he was equally proud to have such an incredible Master.

All I want…

When he first awoke, he’d wanted a Master who would annihilate new humanity. Leon had risen up to protect old humanity’s descendants and was fighting Luxion’s long-hated enemy. It was everything Luxion had once hoped for.

All I really want is for Master to survive.

Having gotten exactly what he’d wished for, he was heartbroken.