Chapter 12:
The Masked Knights
JULIUS’S EYES WIDENED as he took in the battle’s aftermath. Arroganz stood alone amid the carnage, completely unscathed. To Julius, there was something ominous and unsettling about it.
“Leon,” he said, “what did you do?”
The way Arroganz had fought was unlike anything he’d seen before. His stomach twisted in knots. He could only pray that he was wrong to feel so unsettled.
Arroganz turned, glancing back at him. “Nothing,” Leon said. “Anyway, I’m a little tired. Let me rest, okay?”
Its previous agility and speed forgotten, Arroganz struggled to stay upright or move at all. Or, more accurately, Leon had reached his limit and begun faltering, not his Armor. He was completely exhausted, wrung dry.
“You used those drugs Marie got you, didn’t you?” Greg asked bitterly.
“Drugs?!” Julius cried in disbelief. “Did you really?!”
There were lots of performance enhancers on the market, but Leon had gotten his hands on a special one with significant side effects. It was a potent elixir that increased the user’s physical and magical strength. And, the stronger an elixir was, the more strain it placed on the person consuming it. That was especially true of a fast-acting enhancer like this. Judging by how Arroganz had fought, this drug was extremely potent to boot. Marie had delivered it to him, and she’d regretted it deeply afterward.
Julius gripped Arroganz’s shoulders. “You used it, didn’t you?! Why would you push yourself like that?!”
“We don’t have time for this,” Leon interrupted, uninterested in listening. “Let’s get going. Move on. We’ve got to destroy that reactor, or this fighting will never end. Don’t forget, Finn hasn’t even shown his face yet.”
Julius wiped away the cold sweat beading on his brow with the back of his hand. “And you said he’s tougher than you?” Leon had told him that before, but Julius had a hard time believing that Finn could best Leon at the latter’s current strength level.
After a pause, Leon answered with bitterness in his voice. “I’ll take care of him.”
Julius wanted to shoot back that Leon shouldn’t push himself any more than he already had, but he knew he couldn’t stop him. Not with the unbending, grim determination he heard in Leon’s voice. I knew he’d made his mind up about going through with this, but I didn’t realize how intent he was. He lamented that misjudgment.
As they pressed forward, Julius gently pushed Arroganz along. Although he knew it was futile, he said, “You and Finn were really close, weren’t you? You don’t have to force yourself to fight him. You can let Greg and me handle it.”
He didn’t honestly think that the two of them could defeat Finn, but he wanted to avoid Leon having to fight him if possible.
Leon seemed to sense Julius’s intentions. He smiled wanly. “Not going to happen. Neither of us can back down, and we don’t intend to.”
“If you’re sure.”
Greg led the way forward. He glanced back at them. “Hey, Luxion, how much longer till we reach this reactor?”
After they’d breached Arcadia, it took a significant length of time to navigate the labyrinth of corridors inside. Far longer than they’d originally anticipated, which was probably what made Greg anxious. Julius suspected he was also worried about Leon, as well as Chris, Brad, and Jilk.
“It should be just ahead,” Luxion answered. “I detect a strong presence that can only be the reactor.”
The airborne demonic essence was becoming more concentrated, according to the meter on Julius’s monitor. That had to indicate that they were finally nearing their destination.
“As long as we trash this reactor thing, this enormous fortress will go down, right?” Greg clarified.
“Yes, without a doubt,” said Luxion.
“Seriously? That makes things pretty simple, then.” Greg was forcing himself to sound more cheerful than usual, trying to drive away the gloom that had settled over them. “Makes me wonder what the hell our ancestors were doin’. Why couldn’t they take this fortress down?”
“Had Arcadia been at full power, our group here would already have been annihilated. We wouldn’t even have stood a chance,” Luxion explained very matter-of-factly.
Greg gulped. “Oh. Uh, you don’t say.”
On the other hand, that information reassured Julius. “But since he isn’t at full power, that’s completely hypothetical, right? Greg, we should be grateful to our ancestors for giving us this opportunity.”
“You’re not makin’ me feel any better about this,” Greg shot back.
“That is an accurate assessment,” said Luxion, sharing Julius’s sentiments. “Old humanity’s military was responsible for bringing him to his knees. The only reason we have any chance of winning is because they fought so desperately.”
As awkward as he felt about both his companions driving the same point home, Greg forced himself to remain optimistic. “Well, that just means we gotta put an end to him. That way, our ancestors can have no regrets.”
Julius sensed something approaching rapidly from behind. He yanked his hands away from Arroganz, lifting his shield and bracing himself to meet their pursuers. “Looks like they caught up with us.”
“Is Finn with them?” Leon managed to ask, voice still strained with pain.
Luxion analyzed the incoming data. “I do not sense Brave’s presence among them,” he reported. “The signals lead me to suspect our foes are a group of Demonic Knights.”
Julius was grateful to hear Finn wasn’t there, but that didn’t make these enemies any less dangerous.
“Hey, hold up. Does this mean the enemy broke past Jilk and Brad?!” demanded Greg.
“Not necessarily,” said Luxion. “They may have found a different route by which to enter and pursue us. Based on the data at hand, I cannot definitively say whether Jilk and Brad have yet been beaten.”
In the short few moments during which they had that conversation, the enemy arrived: a number of Demonic Knights accompanied by men in regular Armors. As they spotted Julius and the others, they began firing.
Shield raised, Julius stepped in front of Arroganz to cover Leon. He studied the enemy. That’s a lot of knights, and they have even more Armors with them. They don’t look like they belong to the defense forces, so they must’ve come from the army outside. He glanced briefly at Arroganz, whose movements were still jerky and unnatural.
“Luxion, can Leon fight?” he asked.
“I already injected him with the neutralizer. He should recover soon enough. However, I do not believe he is capable of battle at present.”
“But you’re saying he will recover, right?”
“Correct.”
Julius took a deep breath as he made up his mind. “Then I’ll stay here and deal with these guys.” He drew his sword and took a battle stance. The two cannons connected to his rear container hummed as they aimed at the enemy. Those weapons, which fired energy rounds that exploded on impact, had also been specially designed by Luxion. “Go,” he ordered. “I’ll do you the favor of staying behind.”
“But you’re a prince,” Leon argued, shocked that Julius volunteered himself so readily.
“You’re worth a lot more than I am at this point,” Julius said with a self-deprecating half smile. “Now go. I can at least buy you some time.”
“There’s no way you can take on so many all by your—”
“Then I’ll stay too!” Greg interrupted. “If you’re worried about Julius staying behind on his own, I’ll join him.”
Leon hesitated, obviously wanting to argue, but Julius gave Arroganz a shove. “I said go! You don’t have time to waste here, do you?”
Arroganz turned away from the two, and Leon said nothing more as he took off, leaving them behind.
“That’s more like it. We’re trusting you to finish this, Leon,” Julius called after him.
As he watched Arroganz leave, a Demonic Knight flew toward them. The pilot had noticed Arroganz and panicked, not wanting to let it proceed any farther.
“Sorry, but you’re not getting past us!” Julius blocked the enemy with his shield.
“Grr! For the Scumbag Knight’s useless tagalong, you’ve got some nerve.”
Julius managed to deflect the enemy’s charge. His enhanced Armor was plenty powerful enough to go toe to toe with the Demonic Knights. “If you honestly think I’m a ‘useless tagalong,’ you’ll be in for a world of hurt,” he warned.
The other enemies in the background were armed with guns that they aimed and fired at Julius, but his shield protected him from their bullets, and his cannons returned fire in kind.
Another Demonic Knight tried to dart past them, but Greg skewered them on his lance. “Julius, you’d better pace yourself, or you’re gonna wear out too quickly!”
“I can take care of myself,” Julius huffed at him. “Anyway, pay attention. Here they come!”
Thus, as they tried to thwart the enemy’s attempts to pursue Leon, their battle began.