Chapter 18
Spectators
I COULDN'T FORGIVE ISEL, who'd attacked my planet just because he
wanted to fight. I felt truly murderous at his idiotic glee over battling
strong opponents.
You would attack Augur just for that? You make me sick! I decided
to kill him.
Once I'd made that call, I checked the Griffin's status. Its plating
was in shambles, it had lost its left arm, and it had been pierced in so many
places there were holes here and there. Several explosions had already
occurred within the craft, and at this point it was struggling just to keep
moving.
A red alert was still sounding inside the cockpit, warning me about
each component that was in danger. The self-repair function was active,
but it couldn't keep up. It was clear that if I kept fighting like this, I'd just
lose to Isel.
"This thing wasn't cheap, you know."
With the Griffin's maintenance costs, I could have paid for the
maintenance of an entire fleet of ships. The development and construction
costs had been astronomical as well, and I would never have had the thing
created if it didn't fulfill some manly dream of mine. In its present state,
repairing this massive, transforming ship built from rare metals would
probably take years.
The Avid's engine groaned, almost as if it were roaring in fury. At
the same time, several items popped up on my main screen requesting my
authorization. I raised an eyebrow at the contents of these requests.
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"Is this because of the Machine Heart? You want to take revenge for
the Griffin? Fine, do as you like, Avid."
The Avid was just as furious as I was. It was angry that Isel had
toyed with the Griffin and upset by his bragging about his own craft. It
seemed the Avid wanted to prove that as my trusted partner, it wasn't
inferior.
Once I gave the Avid my authorization, it purged the connections
keeping it in place inside the Griffin. My monitor switched from the
Griffin's view back to the Avid's. The Avid knocked away the arms that
had secured it and leaped out through the open hatch.
Outside, Isel was still merrily destroying the Griffin, but he turned
to face us when he realized we'd exited the ship.
"So you finally came out! Now, Count Liam, it's time for our duel!"
I couldn't stand how amused he was. Did he think he'd get away
with breaking my precious toy?
The Avid's reactor was generating excess energy; sparks crackled as
that energy escaped from its joints.
"Sorry, but you'll be going up against the Avid. Seems you've
pissed it off."
Isel was confused. "What're you talking about? Is that an assistant
pilot or something? I want to fight with you."
"Pilot" was probably a fitting word for it.
"Sure. But I'd say right now Avid's the main pilot, and I'm the
assistant."
"So you're running away?"
I laughed at his attempt to provoke me. "If you were really strong,
I'd have run away before the fight began. Think carefully about why I'm
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here fighting you. It's obviously because I know I can win."
Victory—like everything else—was promised to me because I had
the protection of the Guide. And I never failed to prepare for victory. I'd
continued piloting practice since coming to Planet Augur, and I never took
a day off my Way of the Flash training.
As I gripped the control sticks, a crack ran through the Avid's
plating. Red light spilled out from the crack, making it seem like the Avid
would burst into pieces at any moment.
"Three minutes. I'll give you three minutes, Avid."
I set a timer on the monitor, and the Avid groaned in response.
Isel pointed one of his humanoid weapon's weapons at the Avid.
The sphere in its hand fired hundreds of lasers with homing functionality.
The Avid couldn't avoid them, and they struck its armor. However, they
did no damage; the plating merely turned red where it was hit. Still, I was
impressed with the weapon's ability to pierce my defense field at all.
"That won't be enough to take you down, eh? Well, that's just what
makes you a worthy opponent!" Isel cried.
Maybe I should cut his head off with the Flash. As Isel charged
toward me, I decided to correct his misunderstanding. "Don't get cocky.
You really think you're a worthy opponent for me?"
A magic circle manifested before the Avid's hand, and a hilt
appeared inside it. The Avid gripped the hilt and pulled out a katana
designed for its personal use. Since it had chosen this katana over its laser
blade, the Avid was serious.
Isel took a stance before me, brandishing two of his weapons. In the
craft's right front hand was a khakkhara, and in its left an old-fashioned
sword—a gladius, maybe.
"I'll just have to make you acknowledge me as a worthy foe, then!
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I'll slice through you with this sword, which can nullify any field, and
smash you with this khakkhara that can control armies!"
As the sword Isel's craft held glowed, the defense field around the
Avid was neutralized. At the same time, wrecked enemy and allied mobile
knights that floated around us began to reactivate. I narrowed my eyes at
the sight of the dead craft rising again like zombies.
A sword that cut through defense fields, and a khakkhara that
controlled destroyed mobile knights. They were certainly both incredible
weapons...but they'd both be useless.
The Avid swung its katana, slashing through the reactivated
humanoid weapons and mobile knights.
The sight shocked Isel. "You destroyed them all by striking once?"
"Done bragging about your weapons? Get serious already." That
should make him wary of me. "You've got more of those things, don't
you?"
Isel charged at me, all eight weapons readied. His humanoid
weapon, which was as large as the Avid, closed the distance in an instant.
For its giant size, it moved swiftly. It swung its sword down, but the Avid
avoided the blow by a hair and swung its katana.
Isel's khakkhara deflected the blow. "Are you predicting my moves?
But I've got..."
"Is his craft predicting the future?" I muttered. "Is it using some
kind of foresight?"
Isel's craft seemed to be anticipating the Avid's movements by
utilizing either some sort of sophisticated algorithm, or a magical
technique.
As the two craft clashed, continuing to predict one another's
movements, I needled Isel. "You think that's enough to call yourself a
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worthy enemy for me? You must've fought a lot of weaklings."
Predicting an enemy's movements was one of the basics of the Way
of the Flash. The Avid kicked aside the lance Isel thrust out, slicing
through another weapon with its katana. The portion that had been hacked
off immediately liquefied and returned to the craft, restoring the weapon to
its previous form.
"Regeneration, eh?"
"That's right. However much you slice it up, my baby will
regenerate. You won't even be able to scratch me with pitiful attacks like
that!"
Both the craft and its weapons would liquefy and regenerate if
portions were severed. The Avid could slice away at Isel's craft, and he'd
still have the advantage. Ancient weapons really were something.
The Avid slashed the stomach of Isel's craft, and I felt the attack
connect with the cockpit. Naturally, it went through Isel himself too... But
his craft repaired itself immediately, and seemingly even regenerated its
pilot.
"Ha ha! That one surprised me a little!"
He'd been bisected by a mobile knight's blade, but Isel had
immediately regenerated and revived. The thought disgusted me.
"Your craft's absorbed you." I didn't know whether that was
possible because it was an ancient weapon. Regardless, it was gross to
think of the machine subsuming its pilot.
Isel's mobile knight struck a pose like a statue of some sacred eight-
armed being. "No. I've absorbed it. This machine sucked in and killed
countless pilots in the past, but I succeeded in subjugating it! That's why
I'm still here!"
If this thing's pilot could regenerate too, even if he was cut or shot,
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it was trouble. No matter how he spun it, this just meant he'd actually
become part of the machine—little more than a component. I would've
had to pass on something like that, but he didn't seem to have a problem
with it.
As for the Avid, it just continued to slash at Isel's craft as this didn't
daunt it. It struck vertically, up to down, down to up—every way it
possibly could. Its power and speed were starting to overwhelm Isel's
craft.
"This is amazing! To think the Empire has humanoid weapons like
this!"
"We call them 'mobile knights' here."
I glanced at the timer. The Avid had just under two minutes left.
***
The Guide waved his arms in the air as he cheered for Isel and his
ancient weapons. "Go! That's it! Finish him!"
Beside the Guide, G'doire similarly waved his tentacles to cheer on
Isel. The two looked exactly like a pair of middle-aged men watching a
martial arts match.
"Iseeel! Use more power!"
G'doire lent strength to Isel, powering up his humanoid weapon.
The Avid had just begun to overwhelm it, but its power and speed
suddenly shot beyond the Avid's. The other craft's strength slowly pushed
the Avid back.
Isel became excited. "Today I feel stronger than I've ever been! So
this is what it means for your heart to soar before a powerful foe!"
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Though Isel was exhibiting more strength than ever before, it still
wasn't enough to take down the Avid.
The Guide was on the edge of his seat. "Just a bit more! You're this
close to taking Liam's life! I'm not going to give up nooooow! Please!
You're my only hope, Isel!"
The Guide sent Isel what little power he still could, which was
enough to transform Isel's craft. The craft's amplified energy made it a
size larger physically and strengthened it even further. The eight-armed
craft gave off a divine aura, the ancient weapons in its hands
demonstrating power that surpassed their natural limits.
The mobile knights that rushed to help Liam were knocked back,
and the attacks from House Banfield's ships dispersed before striking
Isel's craft. No one could interfere in the Avid's fight; all they could do
was watch.
Isel had surpassed humankind, setting foot into a higher realm of
existence.
G'doire was thrilled. "Yeeeees! My pawn is transcending his
humaaanity!" he cried, overjoyed to witness this moment.
The Guide cheered Isel on until his voice was hoarse, wanting
anything—whatever it was—to destroy Liam. "Please! Finish Liam
offfff!"
Their voices boosted Isel's power that much more, and the
humanoid weapon exhibited a strength it had never possessed. It was
overwhelming the Avid, reversing their positions at the beginning of their
clash.
"No one can defeat me the way I am now!"
Isel brought his sword down on the Avid, but just before he could
take Liam's life, the Avid's movements altered, and Isel's humanoid
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weapon was knocked away.
"Time's up," Liam said. "My turn, Avid."
***
In Liam's private room aboard the flagship Argos, Amagi watched
the fight. Three mass-produced maid robots stood around her analyzing the
battle data. Several holograms floated in the air around Amagi. As she
checked each one, her expression clouded.
"The Autocracy's humanoid weapon grew a size larger? No data
suggests ancient weapons possessed such functionality."
Before artificial intelligence had destroyed this universe's human
civilization, the humanoid craft they had produced had been more
advanced than those of today. Amagi possessed data on that era, but there
were no accounts of humanoid weapons growing in size as Isel's craft had.
If it had combined itself with another craft, as the Avid had done, then she
would have been able to understand. Isel's craft, however, seemed
unnatural in some way.
Amagi glanced at Shiomi, one of the maid robots gathering and
processing information, and asked her opinion. "Have you learned
anything from your data analysis?"
Shiomi looked as if she were simply standing there, but her mind
continued to process information even as she spoke. "Inconclusive."
Amagi knitted her brows and narrowed her eyes. "I will have to
prepare more units for data analysis. Why does Master keep encountering
these strange phenomena?"
Another maid, Arashima, continued to analyze data as she reacted to
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Amagi's comment. "It could be concluded that Master himself has
something to do with it," she said to herself. "Based on his own speech and
actions, he may believe there is a reason for these occurrences."
Amagi had considered that herself, because Liam sometimes said
things that didn't seem to make any sense. At first, she had thought it was
just a natural shortcoming in a living being's speech patterns. Artificial
intelligence accepted illogical speech and actions as a matter of course in
human beings, since living beings sometimes displayed behaviors that
couldn't be explained in strictly rational terms. When she reassessed past
data, though, she found patterns she couldn't ignore.
"There is a high likelihood that Master has something to do with
these inexplicable occurrences. Why..."
Before she could continue, the third robot—Shirane—reported,
"The Avid has switched from automatic controls to manual operation."
Amagi reached out to the hologram that displayed the Avid. "Why
does Master always take the difficult path?"
There was never any need for him to fight personally, and yet he
always went out on the battlefield himself. Amagi couldn't help but worry
over her reckless master.
***
As the fierce battle raged outside, Ethel—wearing her glasses over a
bandage that covered one of her eyes—was in the Argos's hangar
attempting to deploy. The mechanics there desperately tried to stop her.
"It's too reckless! Your craft hasn't even finished maintenance and
resupply, and you can't fight with that injury anyway!"
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A prosthetic limb had replaced her lost left arm. Ethel's mobile
knight had taken a heavy hit in battle and her subordinates had transported
her back to the Argos. She was deeply shamed by this.
"Lord Liam is fighting! It's a dereliction of duty for his Royal Guard
not to be at his side!"
"No one would call it dereliction of duty with those injuries!"
"I can't allow myself to hang back here! If my craft isn't ready, get
me a spare unit!"
The mechanics winced at the determination in Ethel's eyes.
That was when the rest of the Royal Guard's black Nemains flew
back into the hangar. Her subordinates' craft were all damaged and feeble-
looking—in a similar sorry state to her own mobile knight's.
Ethel's eyes widened at the sight. "What are you doing? Who's
guarding Lord Liam?!"
One pilot emerged from her cockpit and saluted, then conveyed
Ethel's orders. "Lord Liam's instructions were as follows: 'Get out of
here. You're in the way.'"
Upon hearing that she would only be getting in Liam's way, all the
strength left Ethel's body. She drifted in the hangar, tears spilling from her
eyes.
"Useless... Why am I so useless?"
The mechanics hung their heads and returned to their work, while
the rest of the Royal Guard looked just as sorrowful as Ethel.
"It's not your responsibility alone, Commander."
"Am I just the same as those two idiots? Will I not be able to repay
him either?" Ethel muttered to herself.
Since she couldn't get anything done under the two idiots who
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always caused Liam trouble, she'd chosen a different path. Yet she
couldn't even fulfill her duty as his guard. Ethel wept bitter tears at her
failings.
***
I told the Avid its time was up. "My turn, Avid."
It resisted, however; the word "no" appeared in several places
onscreen. It probably wanted to tell me it could still fight.
I repeated myself in a stronger voice. "I said to switch to me. Don't
make me tell you again."
At my serious tone, the Avid finally relinquished control to me. The
words obscuring the monitor disappeared, and I saw Isel in front of me.
"Now it's time for me to face you."
The ancient craft before me gave off a divine light.
"Give it up," Isel replied. "It's too late for you to up your game
now. I've surpassed humanity and stepped into the realm beyond."
He was spewing all sorts of lines that would haunt him later. Then
again, he didn't have a future after this battle, so it didn't matter how much
he embarrassed himself. He could act as cool as he wanted while he still
had time to.
Of course, I'd still talk back to him. "Surpassed humanity? Are you
stupid? What do you think you're going to become, then?"
The moment Isel's craft sprang, seeming to disappear, I pulled the
Avid back and swung its katana. The blade impacted against Isel's lance,
sparks flying. The Avid's blade shattered, but a new one swiftly extended
from the grip; the weapon worked like a box cutter with multiple blades.
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The excitement—no, all emotion—had faded from Isel's voice. "I'll
surpass humanity and become a god of war. That is my wish," he said in a
monotone.
I gave that a good laugh. "A god of war? You?! At your level, you
think you're a war god?! Are even gods of war small on an intergalactic
scale?"
Isel's expression didn't change at my provocation, but he rained
attack after attack down on me. I avoided or deflected them all, then
spread the Avid's arms wide.
"You can't call yourself a god of war when you can't even surpass
me."
I knew my place. I may have been an evil lord, but I was always
grateful to the Guide for what I had, and I knew the incredible strength
Master Yasushi possessed. My own power didn't bring me close to the
title of "strongest." That was why I trained every day. I needed to become
as powerful as I could, even if only a little bit at a time, so that no one
could take anything from me. If Isel couldn't even beat me, he had no right
to call himself a god of war. No, it wasn't about his right to do it; I
wouldn't let him do it.
"I have already surpassed you, in my piloting skills and in my
craft's performance. There's no way for me to lose."
To counter this misunderstanding of his, I rested my katana on the
Avid's shoulder. Seeing me leave myself so open to attack, Isel hesitated
for a moment, then looked disappointed.
"Do you accept your loss, then? I hoped to see you resist until the
end."
Does this guy just not listen or something? These Autocracy people
really need to chill out. "That's your conclusion from what I said? The title
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'god of war' doesn't even suit you. I mean, you're nothing more than a
component in that fancy machine of yours."
Ancient craft were powerful, that was for sure, but not enough that I
wanted one for myself. I didn't want some crazy machine that was going
to make me into a part of it.
"I subjugated the G'doire. I haven't been absorbed."
"Say what you like. It's over for you."
An instant later, the eight arms of Isel's craft were sliced into pieces.
As they liquefied and began to reform, I took a preparatory stance, holding
the Avid's blade.
"I had fun, prince of the Autocracy. You came in handy for testing
the Avid's capabilities."
I'd never used the Flash with the Avid before. The strain of it would
normally be too much for a mobile knight to withstand; it would destroy
itself with the effort. As it was now, though, I'd determined the Avid
should be up for it.
"I believe you can handle this, Avid."
The Avid groaned. I felt like it was giving me permission to use my
full strength.
Isel rushed at me while his craft was still regenerating. "I won't let
you!"
In the split second before the humanoid weapon's attack could reach
me, I murmured, "Flash."
Isel's craft warped. That is, space warped, and the craft was caught
up in it. Contorting unnaturally, the craft couldn't maintain its shape and
burst into liquid. In that warped state, though, it couldn't regenerate. Each
time it tried, it burst into liquid again. Trying to return to its original shape
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only furthered its distortion.
"Gh—! Gah!"
The same went for the pilot, Isel. He burst apart repeatedly, trying to
reform and failing. The sight of him writhing in pain was just pitiful—a
sad man absorbed by a machine out of his desire to become strong.
"This is the fate of someone calling himself a warrior, eh?"
However, the Avid wasn't unscathed either. Its joints were groaning,
and though the Machine Heart was working to repair the damage I didn't
think it would make it in time.
"All this after one strike, huh? Well, should I just be happy I
managed a single strike at all?" I'd finally replicated the Flash using a
mobile knight, but even now, the Avid could only handle using it once.
After failing to regenerate any number of times, Isel couldn't even
remain in human form. He appeared in a small window on my monitor,
hacking up blood.
"Incredible... I've lost. Can we talk, at the end?"
"If you want."
I looked around me to find the Autocracy's fleet had ceased
attacking as soon as they'd lost their supreme commander, obediently
waiting for my demands. Not a single ship still resisted. They were
shockingly gracious losers.
"Space truly is...vast. I had no idea...there was someone out there...
as strong as you."
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"Of course there is. My master's even stronger."
At the news that someone even stronger than me existed, Isel's
expression was half happy, half sad.
"That's great... I'd have loved...to see him just once... Khah!"
When I saw the way he hacked up blood, I was certain that wish
would never be granted. It seemed, now that Isel's craft had been
destroyed, he'd lose his life along with it.
"Wh-why didn't you...fight seriously from the beginning? You didn't
need that behemoth. You're stronger this way."
When he claimed the Avid alone would've been enough, and I
hadn't needed to combine it with the Griffin, I gave him an exasperated
look. "This is a war. I just determined that the Griffin would be better for
thinning your numbers."
The Griffin demonstrated its true worth against a larger groups of
foes. The Avid was definitely strong, but the Griffin had been optimal for
the situation I was in.
"War... That's right... I guess it is... I forgot... That fight was so
fun... When was the last time...I had so much fun...? I want to...fight...
again..."
Isel expired, and the craft liquefied completely, dispersing into
space.
He'd wanted to fight until the very end, huh? Just what did this guy
think life was about? I didn't want a life that was nothing but war. I was
going to enjoy my days here trampling other people as an evil lord. Still,
meeting his end on the battlefield was probably just how Isel had wanted
to go.
"What a troublesome bunch," I muttered. Then again, Isel stayed
true to himself up until his last moments, and as an evil lord I could
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commend him for that. The Avid could barely move, but it haltingly raised
its sword into the air all the same. "Liam Sera Banfield has defeated the
enemy's supreme commander, Isel Balandin!"
When I formally announced my victory, I heard House Banfield
rejoicing over my comms. I was curious about what the Autocracy's
response would be, though.
"The Autocracy commends your performance in battle. Lord Liam
Sera Banfield, Sir Claus Sera Mont, be well until we fight once more."
Although they still held the advantage in numbers, the Autocracy's
fleet began to retreat. I wanted to pursue them, but my own fleet was too
exhausted for me to push them.
At some point, the Royal Guard's Nemains had come to surround
the Avid.
"Are you all right, Lord Liam?!"
"I'm more worried about the Avid than myself. Also, Isel's craft's
been liquefied, but collect that liquid and send it to the Seventh Weapons
Factory for analysis, would you?"
"Y-yes, sir!"
I'd annihilated the thing, but if I gave the remnants to Nias, she
might be able to get something useful out of it. If I told her the liquid was
the wreckage of an ancient craft, she'd probably tackle the investigation
with glee.
***
After witnessing Isel's defeat, G'doire was in a daze. For his part,
the Guide had depleted all his power as well, returning to the form of a hat
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alone.
He trembled with fury. "Warping space? That's completely unfair!
How did he even do that? Somebody explain it to me!"
In the end, the battle had been ended with a completely
mindboggling move that had distorted space. The Guide just couldn't take
it.
Isel had undoubtedly been one of the strongest humans in existence
—a talented pilot whose humanoid weapon had superior specs to the Avid
—and yet Liam managed to defeat him.
"How the hell can I beat Liam?!" the Guide sobbed.
G'doire grabbed the hat, which was the Guide's entire body at the
moment, and squeezed it in one tentacle.
"O-ouchie!"
"Hey! What is he?!" G'doire's head was bright red and giving off
steam. He must've been furious.
"Wh-what do you...mean?"
"How did you make him like that?!" G'doire must've thought the
Guide was responsible for Liam's prowess.
The Guide frantically tried to correct his misunderstanding. "I-I
want to know how things ended up this way too!"
G'doire tossed the Guide aside and the hat crumpled. "H-how could
you?!" His tentacles thrashed in rage. "I'll kill him! I'll kill him
personally! He'll pay for killing my precious Isel! He will!"
G'doire was serious about going after Liam's life, and the Guide
smirked at the sight. Well, he would have smirked if he wasn't currently a
hat, but he was smirking on the inside.
Heh heh heh. It was a failure this time around, but at least G'doire
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is serious now. Liam won't be long for this universe.
Liam wasn't grateful to G'doire—he wasn't even aware of his
existence. G'doire had no reason to fear Liam's gratitude the way the
Guide did. He was sure to be a formidable enemy for Liam.
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