Turk’s voice rang out from the massive Mechsteel, swelling with pride. “I never planned on bringing it out at this stage. It’s your fault for trying to stick your nose in my affairs! But out of respect for your contributions to the kingdom, I shall grant you the honor of being the first to experience Inferno Cerberus’s power! Rejoice, knaves!”
“With all due respect, Your Highness, I must decline,” Watt replied.
“What a crying shame,” Carome said. “To think that someone who entered Legalisbelm would sink this low...”
Hearing Watt’s and Carome’s icy retorts, Inferno Cerberus’s towering frame took a step forward. Even a mere step was enough to smash the ground beneath its unimaginable weight, further destroying Guillé Prison in turn. Even if the cells had crumbled and the prisoners were fortunate enough to make their escape, they would’ve only met a fiery end caught in the flames enveloping Inferno Cerberus. Turk no longer had so much as a scrap of concern for his surroundings.
“It’s far too dangerous of a toy to give to a fool like him!” Carome said. “Royal Knights, defeat this vile miscreant who’s failed our kingdom! Charge!”
“Roger!”
Watt watched the Lord Gryphon Neos dart off before looking up at Carome’s Mechsteel.
“All right, I’m joinin’ in too!”
“You’re an important witness, so I’d like you to stay right there,” she replied. “And besides, we’ll need someone to keep Anna safe.”
Anna and Meddié were still sitting in Lord Gryphon’s cockpit. There was no way he could just throw them out and go off fighting. Begrudgingly, Watt forced himself to stay put.
At the same time, the Lord Gryphon Neos surrounded the gargantuan Inferno Cerberus, each member leaping forward to attack with their weapon of specialty in hand. Inferno Cerberus lifted its six arms into the air and pointed its fists at its foes.
“You Royal Knights are nothing before me!” Turk barked. “Now witness the power of a Diviner! Magi-skill: Hell Flame!”
A surge of magic energy bolted through Inferno Cerberus, launching out of each of its six palms as a torrent of flames. The fire scorched everything around it indiscriminately. Faced with a whirling tempest of flames, even the Lord Gryphon Neos found themselves changing course to steer themselves away.
“I’ve never seen a Mechsteel put out that much magic energy before! So this is what a Diviner can do, huh?”
“If our only problem is that we can’t get close to him, that’s hardly a threat!”
While the Royal Knights gauged the situation, the Diviner’s gigantic frame shook from behind the flames.
“Hee hee hee! I can’t have you underestimating what my Inferno Cerberus is capable of, now!” Turk said. “There’s more! Magi-skill: Blazing Dart!”
No sooner had the eyes in Inferno Cerberus’s three heads begun to give a suspicious shimmer than they unleashed blazing darts of fire. The flaming projectiles soared through the air at lightning speed, piercing the Lord Gryphon Neos one after another. An arrow tore through one of their legs, leaving its victim to lose balance and fall face down to the ground.
“No way! A Mechsteel’s only supposed to have one Magi-skill, isn’t it?!”
“That’s nothing more than a preconception of the masses!” Turk answered. “It’s all meaningless before a Diviner!”
That was the largest factor that set Diviners apart—the fact that they were equipped with multiple Magi-skills. It could even be said that Diviners had to be made so enormous and grotesque in order to accommodate such jaw-dropping power.
“Why, I should’ve done this right from the start!” Turk went on. “It’s just a matter of burning each and every fool that dares cross me to ashes!”
One of the Hell Flame attacks pressed in on the Lord Gryphon that had been left vulnerable after its leg was pierced. Just when it seemed as if the Mechsteel would be engulfed in flames, the wall of fire encroaching upon it split in two, sliced cleanly in half.
“Any injured knights are to stand down! I’ll join the fray myself.”
“Captain!”
After extinguishing the flames with only the force of her blade’s arc, Carome’s Mechsteel brandished its broadsword once more.
“And this is why things get nasty when you give a small fry power he doesn’t know how to handle!” Watt said with a sigh, before peering into Lord Gryphon’s cockpit.
“Figure it’s my turn now. It’s high time I taught that delusional bastard what a real Steelrider is!”
“Couldn’t you just crush him and be done with it, master?” Meddié asked.
“It ain’t that simple,” Watt answered. “No mistakin’ he’s in the wrong, but if he’s gonna be punished, it’s gotta be under the kingdom’s laws. Ain’t that right, Anna?”
“Indeed it is,” Anna said. “I ask only that you bring my great-uncle the judgment he is due.”
“You just leave it to me. This right here is what the Royal Knights are for!”
“Hee hee, Lady Carome said the same thing herself.”
“Well, we did use to work together.” Watt slid into the cockpit, trading places with the girls.
“We’ll keep the princess and her companion safe, Watt.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Papa Soleil,” he replied. “Take care of my girls, yeah?”
Leaving Anna and Meddié with Soleil, Watt swiftly set about running through his checks. There was no damage to speak of—he had free rein to show off just what he could do.
“Sorry to keep you waitin’, partner. It’s our time to shine! Capturing crooks like this has to take you back to the good ole days too, right?”
Lord Gryphon almost seemed happy somehow, letting off a burst of steam before lining up beside Carome’s Lord Gryphon Neo.
“Looks like you’re all havin’ plenty of fun,” Watt said. “Save some for me!”
“You don’t have to push yourself,” Carome chided. “You haven’t been in action for over a decade, right?”
“Much obliged for the concern, Caro. But I was the first one this bastard picked a fight with. Not fair of ya to snatch him away now!”
“It sounds like you won’t take no for an answer,” she replied. “Well, then I suppose I’ll help you—just like the good old days.”
The two strongest knights now stood side by side, just as they had all those years ago.