Chapter 109: The Prince and the Betrayal
The heavy atmosphere of the bunker felt like a physical weight on Ren's chest. Inside his mind, a storm of guilt was raging. He looked at the back of Hana's head and then at Mina's silhouette through the cockpit monitors.
Forgive me, Mina... Hana, Ren thought, his hands gripping the flight sticks until his knuckles turned white. I never wanted to use this power on you. I never wanted to overwrite your memories. But your safety depends on you not knowing the monster I've become. My truth must remain hidden in the shadows of that red eye, or I will lose you both forever.
"Ren! What are you waiting for?" Mina's voice crackled through the comms, snapping him out of his trance. "The perimeter sensors are going crazy. They are breaching the upper hatches! We need to move now!"
Ren shook his head, clearing the fog. "You're right. We can't get trapped in this hole."
He moved with tactical efficiency. He jumped out of the pilot's seat, unbuckling Hana from her wheelchair. She looked dazed, the remnants of the red glow still lingering deep in her pupils. Ren lifted her gently, carrying her into the cockpit of the Purple Knightmare Frame. It was a tight fit, but he secured her behind the pilot's seat, cushioning her with emergency thermal blankets.
"Stay quiet, Hana. Big brother is going to get us out," he whispered.
"Okay, Ren," she murmured, her voice sounding hollow.
Ren slammed the hatch shut. "Mina, ignition! Vertical thrusters at eighty percent! We're breaking through the main hangar doors!"
The two Knightmare Frames roared to life. The Purple and Red giants ignited their Landspinners and thrusters, carving a path through the debris. They burst through the surface of the wooden house, wood and earth flying into the air as they soared into the moonlight before landing heavily on the open plains outside.
As the dust settled, Ren's tactical display flickered. A sharp, searing pain shot through his left eye. A digital warning flashed in his vision: [CRITICAL ERROR: SYSTEM OVERLOAD. MIND CONTROL COOLDOWN: 24 HOURS. CURRENT LIMIT EXCEEDED.]
Ren hissed, clutching his eye. Damn it! Not now! he cursed internally. The eye is drained. I can't influence anyone else today. I'm back to being just a man in a machine.
Suddenly, the horizon lit up. Thousands of high-intensity spotlights cut through the darkness, blinding the Knightmare sensors. Ren saw them—a sea of blue and white uniforms. The Royal Guard. Hundreds of Vaners stood in formation, their elemental spells primed and glowing.
"This is your last warning! Power down your machines and step out!" a voice boomed over a loudspeaker.
From the center of the army, a figure stepped forward. He wasn't dressed in the standard military fatigues of the Vaners. He wore a regal, high-collared white tunic adorned with gold epaulettes and the crest of the Royal Sun.
Ren's breath hitched. He zoomed in his optical sensors. "Enoki?"
It was the same boy from the Academy—the one everyone called 'GO' because of his quiet nature. But standing there, surrounded by the elite guard, he didn't look like a student. He looked like a ruler.
"Prince Enoki?" Ren whispered, the realization hitting him like a physical blow. "He wasn't just a student... he's the heir to the throne."
Enoki raised his hand. "All units, weapons down. Stand by for prisoner retrieval."
The army obeyed instantly. The glowing spells dimmed, and the soldiers lowered their rifles. Enoki walked forward, stopping just fifty yards from the towering Knightmare Frames.
"Ren Vority," Enoki's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority. "Step out of the machine. Bring the girl and the sister. If you do this now, I can guarantee a trial. If you stay in that frame, no one leaves this field alive."
Ren looked at the army. His tactical eye calculated the odds. One thousand soldiers. Fifty Knightmare Frames in the backline. Three elite Vaner squads. Even with his skills, he couldn't win this fight—not with Hana sitting right behind him in the cockpit. If a single stray shell hit the Purple Frame, Hana would be vaporized.
I can't fight them, Ren realized. And if I kill these soldiers, Hana will see me as a murderer. I can't use the eye to make them move. I have to trust him.
"He was my friend at the Academy," Ren muttered. "Maybe he's the only one who can actually help us."
Ren opened the private channel. "Mina, we have to stand down. It's Enoki. He's a Prince. If we surrender to him, we might have a chance to clear our names."
There was a long silence from the Red Frame. "Are you sure, Ren?" Mina's voice sounded strange—cold and distant.
"I'm sure. Trust me."
Ren opened the hatch. He stepped out onto the metal arm of the machine, holding Hana in his arms. He jumped down, landing softly on the grass. He walked a few paces forward and placed Hana on a small equipment crate nearby.
"Wait here, Hana. Everything will be fine," he said, before walking toward Enoki with his hands raised. "I'm here, Enoki. I'm unarmed."
Hana watched from the crate, her eyes wide. That's the boy from the Academy... GO, she thought. Why is he wearing those clothes? He was Ren's friend. Why is he surrounding us with an army?
Ren stopped ten feet from the Prince. "I'm stepping out because I trust the person I knew at the Academy. Prove to me that you aren't just another puppet of the Kara Group."
Enoki's face remained an unreadable mask. "This is not a request, Ren. It is an order from the Crown."
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps behind Ren made him turn. Mina had stepped out of the Red Knightmare Frame. But she wasn't walking toward Ren with relief. She was moving with a predatory speed.
Before Ren could react, he felt the cold, hard barrel of a pistol pressed against the back of his skull.
"Don't move, Ren," Mina's voice hissed. Her finger was already tightening on the trigger.
Ren froze. The betrayal was so sudden, so sharp, that for a moment, he forgot how to breathe. "Mina? What are you doing?"
Mina didn't look at him. She kept her eyes locked on Prince Enoki. "Prince Enoki! I have the prisoner! I was never on his side. He abducted me, used his Vane to cloud my mind, and forced me to help him. I've been waiting for the right moment to turn him in!"
Enoki's lips curled into a slow, satisfied smile. "Well done, Lady Kimo. Your loyalty to the throne will be remembered."
Hana screamed from the crate, "No! Mina, stop! Ren saved you! What are you doing?!"
Mina's expression was ice. "He's a monster, Hana. He killed Spero. He killed everyone in that bunker. He's a danger to this kingdom."
Ren stood there, the cold wind biting at his skin. He looked at Enoki—the friend who was now his captor—and felt the pressure of the gun held by the girl he had sacrificed his own soul to save.
Did the mind control fail? Ren wondered frantically. Or is she acting to save herself?
But as he looked into Mina's eyes, he saw no hesitation. He saw only the cold, hard resolve of a stranger.
"Take him," Enoki commanded.
Two guards rushed forward, kicking Ren's legs out from under him and pinning his arms behind his back with anti-Vane shackles. Ren didn't fight. He just stared at Enoki, his heart turning to stone.
The Prince leaned in close to Ren's ear. "You were a good soldier, Ren. But in this world, soldiers are just pieces on a board. And you just lost your Queen."
Hana watched in horror as her brother was dragged away toward a black transport van, while Mina stood by the Prince's side, the silver-haired girl looking like a stranger in the moonlight.
The siege was over. The capture was complete. But the real war had only just begun.