An immense star-shaped object had pierced Arcadia’s deck and appeared above it. A grotesque eye sat at its center, the same kind all Demonic Creatures had. From its forehead—assuming such a being had that body part—protruded a young woman’s form.
“Master, the situation is even more dangerous than before,” said Luxion.
Mere breathing was absolute agony, but I managed to crane my neck to peer at Mia’s body integrated into Arcadia’s grotesque form. She was covered in a silver film, her eyes like rubies and her body entirely naked.
“Wow, Mia. You’re showing an awful lot of skin,” I summoned all my willpower to joke. “Finn’d be heartbroken.” I broke into a coughing fit, and blood spilled from my mouth again.
“How dare you kill Sir Knight!” Mia screeched, her ruby eyes focused on me. She wasn’t at all like I remembered.
The sharp points along the base of her body extended and fired at me.
Luxion was piloting Arroganz in my stead; it slid across the floor, evading Mia’s attack. “Master, I cannot support you adequately. Due to all the damage Arroganz sustained, it is unable to use its full potential. I recommend retreating.”
“She’ll never let us retreat,” I said, reaching my trembling hands toward the controls. I couldn’t dredge up the strength to grasp them properly.
Taking two doses of the performance enhancer had dealt almost fatal damage to my body. I was completely useless. There was only one choice.
“Well, guess this was smart planning on my part. Glad I saved my final trump card till the end,” I said.
“No—it is too dangerous!” Luxion roared at me angrily. “Do you really want to kill yourself?”
I didn’t want to die, but I knew I’d regret not using my last remaining shot in this battle.
“It’s the only way,” I said.
I didn’t know whether Mia had willingly been absorbed or if Arcadia had done that without her consent, but in the end it didn’t matter.
Mia’s movements were awkward and stilted. Below her, Arcadia placatingly said, “Princess, please try to calm down so you can take your revenge.” Brave had said he detested Arcadia’s core, but to Mia at least, Arcadia spoke with adoring reverence.
Mia kept firing spikes from her body until they absolutely covered the deck. Arroganz continued to speed away, trying to avoid them all, but she eventually cornered us. Thorns sank into Arroganz’s right arm, pinning it to the deck.
“Purging right arm,” said Luxion.
As soon as he disposed of it, we were on the move again.
“Arroganz is falling to pieces too.” My vision hazed over. Before I lost consciousness, I gave Luxion an order. I knew he’d oppose it, but it was the only option we had left. “Luxion, the performance enhancer.”
He hesitated, reluctant even to acknowledge what I’d said. “For your own safety, I cannot permit that.” I knew he’d find whatever reason he could to deny me.
“You’re really going to throw our chance at victory away after we’ve come so far?”
“No matter what you say—”
Before he finished talking, we both noticed a sudden change in the foe. Arcadia had torn his gaze from us and focused on something in the distance. “That white ship there is trying something. Princess, it’s a threat!”
Mia turned her attention toward the vessel he was referring to.
The Licorne—they were looking at the Licorne. I knew Mia would recognize it and realize who was aboard. My gut twisted with anxiety.
“The Licorne,” she murmured, now focused on it.
“D-don’t!” I screamed.
She smiled coldly at me, probably thinking that this was the perfect revenge after I took Finn from her. “The people you love most are aboard the Licorne, aren’t they? Good. Then I’ll give you a taste of my pain!” She instantly began firing on the ship.
“W-wait, please!” I called to her in vain. As much as I wanted to stop her, my body wouldn’t even move.
She stared down at me. “No. Stay there. You can watch as the people you love die. Then you’ll know exactly how I felt when you took my knight from me.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Given all the monsters crowding around it, the Licorne was in a precarious position.
Noelle braced herself and raised her right hand in the air. “You’ll go no further!” Her Priestess’s crest lit up.
A mirror image of it manifested in the sky over the Licorne, producing a number of shimmering emerald magic circles. Together, those created a barrier that deflected the monster attacks. The ones who slammed against the barrier disintegrated into puffs of black smoke that quickly disappeared.
Yumeria wrapped her arms around the Sacred Tree Sapling. “Please, offer us what strength you can,” she whispered to it.
At her pleading, its leaves rustled, although there was no breeze inside the ship. The tree shone brighter, lighting up Noelle’s crest in turn.
“Output increasing!” Cleare announced. “Just hold out three more minutes!”
Noelle clenched her jaw through the pain. She’d kept the monsters from overrunning them, but there were too many for her shield alone to destroy. “This might be tough.”
The Republic ship pulled up alongside them. Noelle realized instantly that it could only be her sister.
“Lelia?!” she gasped.
A Priestess’s crest, somewhat similar in design to Noelle’s, lit the sky above their ship. Lelia’s face appeared on the Licorne’s monitor. “If you’re trying something, you could at least have had the decency to contact me. I’ll help you out. Let’s end this stupid war already.” Her face was deathly pale, indicating that she was pushing herself past her limits to the same extent Noelle was.
The Alzer Republic’s ship deployed a red Armor that began slicing through nearby monsters. “I swear I’ll protect you, milady!” Loic’s voice rang out. Accessing his own crest, he harnessed some of the Sacred Tree’s power.
Marie’s head jerked as another ship pulled up nearby. “No way. Hertrude?!”
The ships’ communications networks linked, and Hertrude appeared on the monitor. “I have come to aid you, Saint, but don’t forget I expect you to pay me back with interest.” Despite Hertrude’s haughty manner, her ship was a wreck. She was sticking her neck out to help them.
“Thank you,” said Marie. “Thank you so much!”
“You always throw me off,” Hertrude grumbled, cheeks flaming. She cut off communication.
“Two more minutes!” Cleare announced.
They were managing to hold out thanks to Lelia and Loic, but Arcadia’s attention now turned toward them. He’d been fighting Arroganz on the fortress deck, but the Licorne had become his new target.
“Great. He’s realized we’re a danger to him!” Cleare cursed under her breath.
A mass of red-black light gathered around Arcadia, and he unleashed it toward them—an attack with the same strength as his fortress’s main cannon. Before it reached them, however, Fact and the other AI ships darted in front of them.
“I-It’s you guys,” Marie gasped.
The power of Arcadia’s attack quickly destroyed the AI ships at the front of the formation, and each one sank. Fact’s remote unit linked into their communications network and appeared on their monitor.
“We evaluated you all unfairly,” he said. “I have adjusted my evaluation to reflect your true capabilities.”
Typical. Even in the last moments before his own destruction, Fact was rambling about evaluations and what have you.
“This isn’t the time for that!” Cleare snapped at him.
“There is no better time for it,” he argued. “All our efforts had a purpose. We know that now. No, I should rephrase that: You showed us that.”
Fact was the last AI remaining. Following exposure to the combined force of the monster attacks and Arcadia’s blast, explosions broke out across his carrier ship.
Static crackled over the monitor. Before he cut out completely, Fact added, “It must have been fate…that we awoke…when we did.”
Then the connection was severed. A much larger explosion enveloped the aircraft carrier, taking down a number of monsters in the process. The carrier lost altitude quickly and dropped toward the sea, flames dancing around its charred remains.
“They fulfilled their duty to the last,” Cleare said quietly. “Liv, I’m ready whenever.”
The time everyone had bought the Licorne had given them a chance.
Livia began to glow, her hair fluttering in the air despite the lack of wind aboard the ship. She slowly opened her eyes; they were shining too. “All right.”