The corridors inside Arcadia leading to the fortress’s power reactor were incredibly spacious, likely in order to accommodate pilots in Demonic Suits traveling through the complex. I’d expected Demonic Knights to be protecting this area, but instead we came up against the imperial defense forces. They piloted Armors equipped with machine guns, bazookas, and tower shields. Their level of preparation suggested they’d anticipated us breaching the fortress and fighting them in this spot.
“Aren’t any of them going to charge us with swords? They’re ruining the whole medieval fantasy vibe,” I grumbled from within Arroganz’s cockpit.
“Their fighting style suggests they don’t honor the knight’s code in the same way as Holfort Kingdom,” Luxion explained matter-of-factly. “That’s more realistic and practical of them, though I hesitate to compliment them too much, given their connections to Arcadia and the other Demonic Creatures.”
They’re more about winning than upholding knightly values. Makes sense. “Well, that doesn’t make a difference to us!” I replied.
“Indeed not, Master.”
Arroganz sped along the corridor, feet gliding across the floor. Its right hand carried a battle axe, which I used to cleave through the shields of any enemies standing in our path. In its left hand was a rifle with which I pelted imperials from a distance. I was using brute force to get through, so we took quite a bit of fire, but Arroganz’s thick plating deflected it completely.
“Hate to break it to you, but your attacks are pointless. Luxion custom-made this whole Armor.” I glanced briefly at a fallen enemy before speeding along, Julius and the rest of the idiot brigade hot on my heels.
“Leon! You’re speeding too far ahead!” Julius barked at me.
“Yeah, because we’ve got to locate the reactor as fast as we can!”
That was the heart of our mission here: destroying Arcadia’s power reactor. The reactor was what fueled Arcadia, feeding him energy and allowing him to produce demonic essence. Without it, his functions would shut down. There would be no more floating fortress, and no more demonic essence polluting the air. The whole reason I concocted this plan to breach Arcadia was because it would give us the best chance of accomplishing our goal.
“Anything from the drones, Luxion?” I asked.
“They are currently blocking enemy reinforcements and scouting out a possible route to the reactor. The high concentration of airborne demonic essence makes it impossible to rely on radar to find it. Please allow me more time to locate it.”
The drones we’d brought along had dispersed down other hallways to help look for our target, but quite a few enemies were positioned down here, which complicated our search.
“Well, this fortress is the source of all the demonic essence,” I said lightly. “Guess the reactor won’t be so easy to find, huh?”
When we boarded Arcadia, Luxion had laid down a number of communication relays, ensuring that we could receive drone data. That gave Luxion a way to communicate with the drones too. Still, that hadn’t yet been enough to help us pin down our target.
Luxion’s lens flashed red.
“What is it?” I asked.
“A drone squadron has been destroyed. According to the last data packets they sent, their opponents were Demonic Knights.”
“Demonic Knights, you say…?” They were tougher than the defense forces, so they were likely guarding the route to the power reactor. “Lead us to where the drones last made contact.”
“This way.”
I sped up even more, following the route Luxion showed me. Julius and the others matched my pace.
“Finn and his Demonic Suit are on par with Arroganz, right? Are the others just as strong?” Julius asked.
“That’s a terrifying thought,” said Jilk. “Our Armors have enhanced capabilities, but who knows how far those will take us in battle against such fierce opponents.”
“If they’re as strong as Arroganz, then we have nothing to fear,” Brad said with all the confidence in the world. “Beating Arroganz was our goal all this time—the very thing we’ve been training to accomplish.”
“Yep, you’ve got a point,” agreed Greg, sounding particularly pleased with Brad’s opinion on the matter. “This is our shot at proving that we ain’t busted our butts these past three years for nothin’!”
Strictly speaking, “three years” couldn’t be right. It had to have been less time than that. More importantly, I was surprised they’d put so much effort into training to outdo me. They were either tenacious or ridiculously obsessed. Either way, I was impressed they hadn’t given up on beating me after all this time.
While I was lost in thought, something—or rather someone—cut a jagged hole through the wall in front of us. The debris slammed into the drones leading the way.
“I found you,” said a Demonic Knight in a singsong voice, blocking our way forward. “You’ve got some guts, coming all the way here to our fortress.” Wind whipped around his Suit. There was something dangerous about his presence. Judging by his voice, he was still pretty young, but he was awfully condescending.
“Not Finn,” I said, heaving a sigh of relief. I took a stance with my weapon readied, prepared to fend him off.
“I didn’t expect you’d come here yourself, Archduke. You really are a loose cannon, just like Sir Finn said!” The Demonic Knight’s voice brimmed with unbridled excitement, almost like it belonged to a child. It unsettled me.
Two lower-ranking Demonic Knights slipped in behind him through the hole he’d left in the wall.
“Three of you, huh? Guess we can take you out together,” I said, ready to brute-force my way through once again.
Chris’s blue Armor stepped in front of me. He had a grim, determined air. “Leon, I hate to ask this, but I’d like you to leave this opponent to me.”
I shook my head. “What’re you talking about? It’d be better for us all to take them on at once.”
Chris braced himself, ready for battle. “See the crest on that suit’s armor? He’s the empire’s Sword Saint.”
Chris’s words caught the interest of the enemy in question, who wielded two sabers. “Oh? You know of me?”
“I’m best suited to face him,” Chris reasoned. “You and the others should keep going. There’s no time to waste.”
So you want us to go ahead without you. That was foreshadowing if I ever heard it—that is, Chris was foreshadowing his own death. I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Are you stupid or something?! We should gang up on them, knock them down, and keep going as a team!”
“That’ll only waste time,” Chris argued. “It’s more efficient to let me handle this alone.” His tone allowed no further discussion of the matter. He wasn’t about to change his mind.
Much to my annoyance, even Luxion said, “Master, we should do as he says and make haste.”
“You stupid buffoon!” I cursed Chris under my breath, although I resigned myself to doing as he asked.
Chris grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not planning on dying here. I promise I’ll catch up with you.”
“I’m counting on that, Swordmaster.”
“Good. I’m true to my word.”
With that, we continued on without Chris.