3

"Why are you here... no, why did you come down from the Empire's weapon? Depending on the circumstances..."

"You're going to kill me?"

"Only if you're against me."

I held the blade tip against her, waiting for Rayla's reply. My hand grew damp, slick with sweat.

I never expected to see Rayla here. She should've been fleeing the Empire, after they burned her home. So why was she working with them?

Too many things don't add up. I said I’d kill her if I had to—but if I could, I’d rather take her alive and find out what’s really going on.

"Yeah, Eld... you're like that too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Eld... you'd stab me with that sword just like you’d stab an Empire soldier who killed my father, right?"

"Wha—!?"

She spread her arms slightly, exposing her body.

Knowing Rayla’s past, her words and actions made me flinch—like I’d just pulled a lever I didn’t mean to.

Her lips twitched up—just for a second.

And then I realized. This was Rayla’s trick.

I braced my grip on the lever, lunging to plant my sword straight in front of her. But Rayla slipped through the gap—already moving—dodging past the cockpit and vanishing into the hangar, caught on the rear camera.

“Cute, huh?”

“Damn it.”

I’d been outmaneuvered. She used the very trauma I’d thought she’d never touch—what the hell had she been doing all that time she was missing?

“Hey! Who the hell—?!”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

From inside the hangar came the mechanics’ shouts and the thud of something being pounded.

I rushed in. Two Armunale units stood ready, engines humming.

Waiting for the order to launch, I guess.

I scanned the camera feed for Rayla—but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d she go!?”

The two Armunale units, already at standby, powered up almost simultaneously.

So one of them’s got Rayla in it. The other one probably just kicked on in a panic after her attack. But timing’s lousy. Which one’s hers?

I’m still trying to figure out which one to grab when one of the mechanics shouts out.

“Got taken—on this side!”

I follow the mechanic’s cry and dive straight for the one on the right. But the machine shoves my outstretched arm away—uses my own strength to slam me into the wall.

“Eld’s machine’s off-balance, huh. Just need a little push and it’ll go down easy.”

“Tch.”

A voice comes from the machine. I mutter under my breath.

Saw it and figured out my machine’s weak spot right away. But that’s nothing special—any decent knight could do the same. I’ve still got the piloting skill to make up for it, full manual control, and I keep the fight at a distance where I’m using weapons, not fists.

But the situation’s bad.

In this cramped hangar, I’ll get hit before I can even draw the weapons stored in the Artifigoj. No acrobatics with my arms—can’t even move freely. Right now, we’re already in close combat range. With only one arm, my machine’s at a terrible disadvantage.

“Got it—I’ll hold it!”

Just as I’m thinking, the other machine—just powered up—lunges at Rayla.

Rayla meets it head-on.

Same power. Both forces locked, straining, barely holding, grating against each other like iron teeth.

“Just a bit too straight, aren’t you?”

The words were barely out when Rayla yanked both hands down hard.

The momentum carried her ally’s machine forward—straight into a knee strike. Head shattered, frame flipping backward.

Rayla spun on the spot, launching a roundhouse kick.

How the hell does she pull off moves like that in such a tight space? Where’d she even learn to pilot like this?

The hit sent her ally’s machine tumbling—right toward me.

I lunged to catch it—too late. The impact cracked the hangar wall clean through.

Dizzy from the jolt, I fumbled the lever, swerving the machine sideways, keeping it upright.

“Rayla! What’s with the six-month layoff?!”

Should’ve been no chance to ride an Armunale since leaving the academy. At least a year’s gap—how come it feels so smooth?

Like I remember it by muscle memory? Maybe, but even then, that’s pushing it.

This is the real deal—full-time, fresh-off-the-line movement.

“Gap? None at all. I’ve ridden an Armunale a few times since then. After joining the mercenary group.”

“The mercs—just the ones who crashed into the castle a moment ago?!”

“Exactly. I’d practice as co-pilot. Helped with maintenance too.”

Teasing as she steps out from the broken wall.

And pulls her sword out—naturally, as if it were always there.

“Why’d you end up with a mech like that…? You’re with the mercenaries, so you must be part of the Du Librep. Right?”

Yeah, the mercenary group Du Librep. You know Eld, right? Folzé always talked about him like he was some kind of joke.

Folzé!?

Of all the mercenary bands… that one? Wait—was it Folzé who rammed the castle?

No time to freak out. If it was Folzé who did it, the place wouldn’t have just blown up. Not without a fight.

The other Guard Knights headed toward the castle, I guess. But how much can they even do against Folzé? Maybe they could catch him. Or… maybe it’d be worse if we let Layra escape and let her meet up with him.

I’m running numbers in my head when I snap back to her. Gotta get what I can out of her.

“What’s the point of being a mercenary? You wanted revenge on the Empire, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did… but then I found out a few things.”

I parry her slash with Artifigius, matching her blade with my own, not backing down. Rayla catches it dead on with her shield, forces and force balanced. Seems like Rayla’s in the mood to talk. Then I’ll take you up on that—let’s gather some intel.

“What’d you find out? After you vanished from the Academy—what’d you do?”

“I traveled all over, near the front lines.”

Rayla told me what she’d been up to after vanishing from the Academy.

Apparently, she’d been hopping from village to village near the front, listening to villagers’ stories, helping with chores, gathering intel on the Empire—sometimes even trying to steal a machine.

But what she ended up uncovering was the truth about the Kingdom. Villages banned from moving. The real state of people being used as bait. The cities safe, while border villages bore all the danger—alone.

When she realized her own village had been used the same way—baited just like the others—Rayla’s anger turned toward the kingdom too.

Blocking another slash, the machine’s head slammed into hers.

“Yeah, I just found out myself not long ago. But that’s why the princess is fighting hard right now!”

“Fighting hard!? Don’t be stupid! If just trying hard could stop a war, no one’d suffer at all! And how long’ll it take for that effort to even matter? Ten years? A hundred? You want us to keep suffering through that?!”

“So what? Killing nobles isn’t gonna fix anything!”

“Then let it go full war—kingdom vs. empire. Starting a war’s easy. You can do it with a whim. But stopping it? Never. So I’ll push it until one side can’t fight anymore!”

You’ll make things a whole lot worse than they are now!

Madness. Speeding up the war, trying to shorten the time until the end like that.

Maybe it’s more practical than trying to control the war Your Majesty’s planning—but the damage it’ll bring? Too much.

Thousands, tens of thousands—dead bodies would pile up like they were nothing. If that happened, neither kingdom nor empire would walk away clean. Even if war couldn’t happen anymore, the hatred between them wouldn’t just vanish.

Once the nation’s strength comes back, they’ll start fighting again—just like before.

Better than just the borderlands suffering, that’s for sure! If we’re gonna fight, the whole country’s gotta stand together—city folk too, gotta make ’em feel the fear proper!

So you’d kill tens of thousands—just for that?

That’s my revenge!

Then I’ll stop it myself!

I stepped on the sword as it swung at my feet, stopping it cold.

“Wha—!?”

“Your arm isn’t the only one that’s moved!”

I drove my full weight into the sword, snapping it clean in half, then slashed back with a cut meant to return the favor.

The attack was blocked by the shield—but that was fine.

I let go of the blade instantly, drew the harmonica pistol from the Artifigoj, and fired off a continuous barrage at point-blank range, emptying the entire clip into the shield.

Bang, bang, bang—deafening, relentless. The shield warped and crumpled before my eyes.

Six shots. Cracks spiderwebbed across the Armunale shield.

“Hnn…!”

“Now—!”

I spun the machine on the spot, swinging the Artifigoj like a club, riding the centrifugal force.

The machine, still braced against the recoil, couldn’t dodge the attack—too close, too sudden.

Like she’d blocked it with a shield—but no shield could stop a chunk of iron spinning with centrifugal force, that heavy, that fast.

*Thud.* A heavy crack, and the whole machine gets blown back, shield and all.

“Eeep!”

As soon as Rayla’s machine toppled, she was on it in a flash, pinning the Artifigoj down across the torso, locking her in place. At the same time, she drew her sword and jammed it into the machine’s shoulder. No way she’d be moving now.

“Surrender. You’re not even stable enough to fight properly.”

“Huh… you’re getting a bit too strong, aren’t you?”

“Been fighting all my life. And this machine? It’s my custom build. Designed to fit my way of piloting—every gear, every twitch, tuned just for me.”

This ain’t the academy days. Now I’m a Guard Knight of the kingdom, got my own machine. Even if skill’s close, the edge in machine performance’s enough to win hands down.

“Say it again. Surrender. Get out of the cockpit.”

“Jumping out now’d probably get my head blown off right there.”

“I’m known for treating prisoners well.”

Never actually captured anyone, though! Back at the last fortress, I just handed ’em over to the troops quick as I could. But right now, if I hand over Layra to the soldiers… who knows what’ll happen. Better I keep an eye on her. Can speak up for the princess myself.

“Yeah, but I’ll pass. Time’s almost up.”

“Wait… what? A meet-up?”

“Sorry, I’ll be right back!”

Suddenly, a voice cuts in from above me. What’s with that casual tone, like she’s meeting a friend?

I jolt, check the camera—there, a black machine.

I lunged back, rolling to put space between us.

Clang— the thing landed beside Rayla, heavy as a tombstone.

“Folzé!”

“Long time no see, one-armed one! I just went and killed the king!”

“What?!”

Killed the king?! If that’s true, then we’ve got a real mess on our hands.

No, that’s a mess in itself—but this situation’s a mess too. Two Armunale units? That’s rough. Folzé’s got solid strength, no doubt. Even if one’s hurt, Rayla’s still no pushover. What do we do now?

“Folzé, you’re looking pretty banged up.”

“Nah, Guard Knights are all tough nuts. They wore my abilities dry. But hey, I got something out of it. You, on the other hand—got the unit, but at what cost?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Laira pried the sword from her left shoulder, standing on one arm, then pulled it free and raised it in stance.

So, Folzeh was fighting four Guard Knights all at once? That kind of monster, able to run this far even under those conditions? And the harvest? No way they’re all dead, right?

I’d braced for the worst—but looks like that worry was for nothing.

Two more units entered the base.

“Captain Eld! Don’t let it get away!”

“Dangerous one—watch out!”

The newcomers were a blade-wielding unit and another with a peculiar arm. So, that’s the First Prince’s Guard—Edgar, captain, right? And the Third Prince’s Guard—Remy, captain. Where are the other two? No matter—right now—

“The unit was seized by an enemy ally. The one right beside the black one.”

“An ally…?”

Was Eld fighting that thing? Why’s he struggling so much?

They came in—right after we’d caught it. Black one, remember?

Saying it indirectly: it’s your fault we couldn’t hold onto the black one.

“Never mind that—what about the others?”

“Still alive, I guess. Their units got wrecked, though.”

“Watch out. That one—it moves weird.”

“Weird how?”

I do recall it moving at the edge of reaction speed during our last fight, but not… that weird.

“Like an animal. The machine—it glides, smooth like a beast.”

“Huh.”

Some new trick, maybe? If so, I’ll have to face it head-on once to figure out what it is.

Pulling my sword from the Artifigoj, keeping an eye on Forze and Rayla.

“Forze, can you do it again? Breaking through here’ll be a real pain.”

“Might be cutting it close. Can manage a minute, but longer’ll be tough.”

“Then I’ll take down two in that minute. I’ll cover you.”

“Got it. Let’s go, then.”

“Here they come!”

The moment Forze’s unit dropped into a low stance, white smoke erupted from its frame.