As the battle with Mia continued, I racked my brain desperately for some way to save her. Someone incorporated into a Demonic Suit that had lost its core could no longer regain their humanity, but it stood to reason that they could do so if the suit core was still intact.
“It has to be possible,” I muttered.
I wasn’t experiencing pain at all just then. My internal organs had screamed in agony moments before, but I ceased to feel any of it as soon as that third strength-enhancer shot took effect. The drug really was ridiculously powerful, letting me fight again even though I was on the brink of death.
“I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done,” Mia hissed at me, her words dripping with venom. “Never!”
I laughed at her. “Ha! Don’t worry, I didn’t plan to seek your forgiveness to begin with. Don’t you understand that this whole war’s already over? All that’s left is to rip that stupid core out of you and destroy it. Then I’ll have no regrets!”
“You were supposed to be Sir Knight’s friend!”
“He came at me trying to kill me too, you know! Anyway, it’s done, so stop dragging this out,” I said. “Back off. If you don’t, Finn will have died for nothing. He put himself on the line to make sure you could go on living. You’re throwing his sacrifice away!” I was deliberately antagonizing her.
“How could I possibly stay quiet on the sidelines after watching you kill the man I love?! You didn’t have to do it!”
Each of her words was like a knife to the heart. I didn’t want to kill him either, you know! Life would’ve been so much easier if I could tell her that, but I couldn’t. “People in power have duties they have to carry out. There was no reason to let the empire’s hero live. I know he felt the same way,” I said.
“You heartless man!”
Finn would’ve kept fighting for Mia even after Arcadia sank. I’d have done the same in his shoes. How else could we face our fallen comrades? Inability to achieve victory was no excuse to give up the fight. I was bound by invisible ties: my reputation, people’s expectations, and more. Although I was just an ordinary man, this world was so far gone that someone as normal as me had no choice but to take up the fight.
“You don’t belong out here on the field! Quit resisting and give me that stupid core!” I shouted at Mia.
“Why would I ever listen to you?!”
As long as Arcadia’s core was alive, I couldn’t die in peace. The war was already over. As far as I was concerned, this was just a bonus stage.
I forced my limbs to move, drawing up the longsword in Arroganz’s hands and swinging it down at Mia. She deflected the blow and leaped backward.
“Master, I located the core,” Luxion said. “You will need to pinpoint it precisely. If you can, you should be able to separate it from her.”
“You think we can save Mia?”
“That is a possibility. However, if your aim is even slightly off, you will hit one of her vital organs instead.”
What a pain that Arcadia had positioned himself in such a spot. Although, on second thought, he might’ve done so to protect her. Still, it made removing Arcadia without killing Mia a tall order. Our target was just too small for an Armor.
“Arroganz can’t do it.”
Mia’s body was so small that Brave’s longsword would kill her instantly if it pierced her. None of the other weapons Arroganz could use would work any better.
My hands hovered over the controls, then gripped them harder. I accelerated toward Mia. She threw both arms forward, palms out. A crackling ball of red-black energy formed, fragmenting and multiplying after she unleashed it. I plunged toward her, avoiding as many of the attacks as I could, but their sheer volume made it impossible to evade them all. Several pierced straight through Arroganz’s plating. I raised Brave’s longsword, using its flat as a shield.
Arroganz was reaching its limit. Fire sprayed from its back, and electricity crackled along the overloaded machinery in the cockpit. I tossed the longsword to one side and seized Mia with both hands.
Luxion’s voice rang out. “Purging the hatch!”
The hatch immediately in front of me was blown away. Outside air rushed into the cockpit. Released from my seat, I lurched forward, grabbing the rifle I’d set beside me.
By the time I’d ducked outside, Mia had already freed herself somewhat, having sliced straight through the fingers of Arroganz’s left hand. She tossed them back at me. Then her eyes fell on me, shock registering on her face. Freezing for a split second, she furrowed her brow. The venomous hatred on her adorable face faltered and gave way to fear, if only for a moment. Mia gnashed her teeth, looking for all the world like a feral animal.
I couldn’t blame her. Not after the heartache I’d caused her.
“Coming out in person won’t do you any good!” she said. Her right hand shot forward, mana coalescing in her palm.
Luxion darted in front of me and deployed a shield. Fire swallowed my vision, black flames engulfing the barrier.
“Master,” Luxion called back at me, “I can’t keep this up! We have only fifty seconds until I run out of energy to shield you!”
“That’s plenty of time.” I raised the rifle. Through the scope, I could identify exactly where my target was, thanks to Luxion. He could see past the black flames and locate her—and Arcadia. My finger pulled on the trigger.
The bullet pierced the shield, blasting right through the wall of black fire and leaving a gaping hole in its wake. When it slammed against Mia, it hurled its target backward, ripping the black armor from her body. The silver coating on her skin began to crack, peel, and crumble away.
“Nice rifle, huh? It’s a rare, specially made one Luxion altered himself,” I said.
Once the flames faded, I extended the rifle’s bayonet and approached Mia. She was sprawled on her back. A black mass on the ground beside her pulled itself toward me.
“How dare you do this to the princess,” hissed Arcadia. “I’ll at least drag you down with me if it’s the last thing I do!”
Luxion hovered above my right shoulder, wobbling. “My remote unit’s battery is nearing its limit. I expended all my energy on that shield, Master. Please dispose of this refuse quickly.”
“You got it.” I lifted the rifle and squeezed the trigger without any hesitation.
“Gyaaah!” Arcadia squealed when the bullet pierced him. Black liquid gushed from his open wound as he writhed. His reaction was as good an indication as any that my weapon was effective against him. I added a couple more holes, but the darn thing wouldn’t kick the bucket like he was supposed to.
“He’s a tough one,” I mumbled, pausing to change the magazine.
The creature’s enormous eye turned toward me, bloodshot and filled with the bitterest hatred I’d ever seen. “You!” he shrieked. “I’ll at least take you!” Sharp spikes formed on the surface of his body before he jumped toward me.
Crap, I thought.
Luxion swung in front of me, trying to protect me. The spikes were cone-shaped, sixty centimeters long, but he successfully deflected most of them. “I won’t let you kill my master!” He defended me desperately, even as the spikes left numerous marks across his body.
Arcadia grinned devilishly. “Too bad, you lump of scrap metal. Look behind you.”
Luxion swiveled to face me. His gaze dropped to the right side of my chest, where one of the sharp, black cones protruded. It had punctured so deeply that it cut the strap to my backpack, which fell to the ground. My fingers couldn’t get a grip on my rifle, which slid from my hand. Strangely, the injury didn’t hurt at all. Yet my body still registered the blow, even if my nerves didn’t; blood rose up my throat and gushed from my mouth.
“Master?” Luxion looked like he was trembling, but it was more likely my vision swimming. I’d run my body ragged and drained all my strength.
“Now I shall destroy everything!” Arcadia declared gleefully. “At the bare minimum, I will wipe your country off the map! No one’s left to stop me!”
The fortress below him and Mia rumbled, summoning the last of its power to unleash its main cannon once more. A red-black energy ball forming at the tip of the fortress’s cannon absorbed the demonic essence pouring from Arcadia’s core. If no one stopped it, the cannon would fire in moments.
“Don’t kid yourself!” I managed to shout, reaching for the dagger at my waist. My hand trembled violently.
Arcadia roared with laughter. “What are you planning to do with that?” He probably thought it was an exercise in futility.
“Something, obviously, or I wouldn’t have pulled it out.” I took aim and thumbed the button on it, causing the blade to shoot out and bury itself in Arcadia’s eye. The magic imbued within it triggered an explosion within Arcadia’s body. “Guess you could call it a utility knife. Or dagger. It’s a special magical item. Pretty effective, huh?” Blood poured past my lips as I spoke. Not that my words mattered; Arcadia was past listening to me.
“Gyaaaaaaaah!” he screamed.
More black liquid issued from his eye, and a burned smell filled the air. But it was too late. His orders had already reached the fortress, which continued powering up for its final attack.
I sank to my knees.
“Gah ha ha ha!” Arcadia cackled through his bleeding. “You couldn’t finish me off completely!”
“D-dammit…” Of course I’d fail right at the end.