After the War of Radiance came to an end, the dynasty known as Jiuxia arrived at the port of Rendona with their fleets. It was the first time the people of the Western world laid eyes upon a nation from the East.
"Do you know where Jiuxia is?"
Taking out a key shaped like a twisted iron branch, Shrike pushed it into the keyhole and wrenched it hard, metal grinding against metal.
"Somewhere in the East… I guess," Blue Jade said after a moment's thought. Jiuxia was most often crowned with a single title—the Empire of the East, the only empire.
"More specifically?"
Shrike strained as he turned the key again. It was heavier than he had expected.
"I can't think of anything more. I never went to school—you know that."
There was a faint regret in Blue Jade's voice. In Old Dunling, survival had consumed all her strength. There had been no room left for anything else.
"Honestly, even if you had gone to university, you might still not know," Shrike said. "Only a handful of our navigators have ever reached it. We know far too little about the East."
He continued, voice steady despite the effort.
"It lies in the farthest East, beyond an entire ocean between us. The sea is so vast that no captain sails it with confidence—most believe they would never arrive at all. The only ones who've had any real contact with Jiuxia are the Viking realms."
"The Vikings?"
In Blue Jade's mind, Jiuxia was a land of abundance and prosperity. She couldn't imagine how it had anything to do with that impoverished northern world.
"Yes. In truth, Jiuxia and the Viking realms sit on the same continent. But the winding, towering Caucasus Mountains stand between them like a colossal wall, sealing the two worlds apart. Among the Vikings there were legends—tales that beyond the mountains lay a paradise. Yet few ever crossed those storm-lashed peaks, and those who did… never returned."
Because of the force he was using, Shrike's breathing grew uneven. Halfway through, he let out a quiet laugh.
"Interesting, isn't it? A warm world lies just beyond the mountains, yet most people will never discover it in their entire lives. Just like us—only a thin veil separates us from the truth of the demons, and still we may die without ever understanding it."
A crisp click sounded deep within the lock. Shrike released his grip. As if a mechanism had been triggered, a chorus of metal rang out, followed by the rapid turning of intricate machinery. One by one, the sealed restraints unlocked.
He drew in a deep breath. Shrike knew what lay beyond—and that knowledge itself carried weight.
"Blue Jade… did you know? Jiuxia's arrival all those years ago was no coincidence. It was planned."
For reasons even he didn't fully understand, Shrike continued speaking about matters tied to the mission. Blue Jade noticed something off about him, but instead of stopping him, she listened closely.
"By the final days of the War of Radiance, we already knew of Jiuxia's existence—and had made contact. It was a nation… no, the largest nation in the world. Compared to it, we're like Old Dunling set against the entirety of Inglvig."
"At the time, the Demon Hunters' Order still existed. The Gospel Church threatened us with demon calamities, exploiting our lack of knowledge. To compensate for what we didn't know, we struck a deal with Jiuxia."
Shrike turned to Blue Jade, a confident smile on his face.
"We traded steam technology for their knowledge of demons and their methods of warfare. In truth, we gained the better end of the bargain. Industrialization is irreversible—steam technology would spread across the world sooner or later. Jiuxia acquiring it was only a matter of time."
"And so, with Jiuxia's technical support, the Cleansing Directorate was truly born."
Shrike pressed both hands against the cold metal and began to push, slowly, with tremendous force—as though he were trying to shove the world itself aside.
The door groaned, a sound that made the skin crawl, like some beast grinding its teeth.
Beyond the opened door lay profound darkness. Cold weapons seemed to stare back at the two of them as if alive. Inside this sealed carriage, the final distance between human and monster no longer existed.
"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all this," Shrike said quietly. "It's because I don't know if I can hold on. If I can't… then you'll have to take my place.
A sword-bearer must understand the sword he wields."
Harsh white light snapped on, flooding the darkness. Icy vapor spilled around Shrike's boots. Under that pallid glow stood containers like iron coffins.
Only then did Blue Jade truly grasp the danger of this weapon. Even without seeing it fully, she felt an overwhelming sense of dread. To maintain its stability, the interior housed its own miniature generator and cooling system.
"What… is that?" she asked, her voice tinged with fear.
Shrike didn't rush inside. He stood at the threshold, hesitating. Hearing her question, he answered slowly.
"This thing's prototype comes from Jiuxia. They call it You Futu. After modification and redesign using the Perpetual Pump, we call it the Old-Era Godframe."
The Old-Era Godframe.
A chill rose from the depths of Blue Jade's soul. Even wrapped in a heavy cloak, she shuddered.
She had heard of the Old-Era Godframe, though she had never seen one. Rumor said it was the Perpetual Pump's secret weapon—powerful enough to end demons themselves.
It was immensely powerful. And just as dangerous. Galahad, for instance—since that night, she had never heard from him again.
"Unlike the first-generation Godframes used by the Knight-Commanders, this is a degraded second-generation model," Shrike explained. "It doesn't possess the same raw power, but the erosion it inflicts on the user is also significantly reduced."
"It was forged just yesterday, in the furnaces of the Berhans Armory. I should be its first user. Who knows what might go wrong."
He tried to sound lighthearted as he spoke, then stepped through the doorway. The moment he was fully inside, Blue Jade grabbed him.
"So this was the plan from the beginning? You putting on the Godframe and going off to die?"
Now she truly understood. All that nonsense earlier—those words—had really been a farewell. Writing a will back at the station hadn't been a joke either. This man genuinely believed he would die here.
"Strictly speaking," Shrike replied, "it's the backup plan."
"The optimal outcome was for us to hold the enemy while Lancelot finished the job. But clearly, everything's gone as wrong as it possibly can. Without this thing, we wouldn't even make it out of the carriage. I don't intend to die here without firing a single shot."
He strode forward, brushing his hand across the cold iron coffin. Shrike hated this weapon, but as Arthur had once said, it was the only way to fight demons. Like a fire-bearer in the night—when the flames are spent, he throws himself into the blaze, becoming the final fuel.
"Take this. If I lose control, this is what you'll use to kill me. Aim for the head. Once the brain is dead, the Old-Era Godframe can't control me anymore. It'll go quiet."
He pointed toward the far corner of the iron coffin. There lay a weapon shaped like a spear. Shrike had to admire the thoughtfulness of the Berhans Armory—they delivered the demon, and thoughtfully included the means to kill it.
"What is that?"
Blue Jade was struggling to keep up. She had thought his earlier words were just posturing, or some attempt at bravado. Now she saw he was serious—serious enough to have planned everything, down to funeral music and burial grounds.
"The Forging Spear. An experimental weapon from the Institute of Mechanics. Think of it as a zero-range, oversized thermite charge. The sharpened tip pierces the armor, the internal barbs tear it open, and then the heat and molten metal from the thermite reaction flood in through the channels."
He tapped his own head, joking lightly.
"Just a few seconds, and my brain will be forged into a solid ingot."
It wasn't a funny joke at all.