Chapter 21 - What the... Part 2

[Mistglan: It's really him?!]

Claire was no less wide-eyed than Liger...

[Dermea: 1st HST?]

He looked at Quel with a questioning gaze.

[Quel: It's no mistake; our system reads the power level directly from the capsule...]

Silence fell in the room again. There were two problems with that number.

First: They couldn't believe that the 'powerless' would achieve that number!

Second: Because 1st HST should not be able to beat two 10th HSTs, not to mention the speed at which he did so.

Thus, the first problem suggested that the level should be lower, while the second implied it should be higher...

Dermea leaned back in the armchair, his face reflecting only one thought: WTF?

[Claire: He is a genius engineer and alchemist. If he wanted, he really would be able to make M-Armor by himself. It makes sense...]

The Headmistress of Athena’s Institute was nodding. If you just ignore the main subject about his 'powerlessness,' then everything fit into the picture.

[Mistglan: Sense?! What makes sense?! It's nonsense!]

[Claire: At first, I thought we had found an unpolished gem, but I was mistaken. Mist, we found a gem mine, a ridiculously huge one at that.]

She looked totally convinced, staring straight at the liger. Everything fit: his attitude, his confidence, and now his abilities. She really had great insight, just as Marc said. Liger squinted. He quickly opened a portable terminal and started clicking...

[Claire: What are you doing, Mist?]

[Mistglan: Checking Vorst's Armor log...]

[Claire: Show it.]

Liger nodded. After a minute, information flew in, and an enormous amount of logs filled the holo-monitor in the special lounge...

Thousands of warning messages...

Monsters much stronger than one’s level...

Solo cave clearing...

WTF...

***

For the rest of the universe, time finally started flowing again. A huge uproar erupted. Thousands of citizens demanded to know who the Reptile-type really was, because no one believed that the 'powerless' was able to beat two official swordsmen. They believed that they were tricked, but on the other hand, they couldn't believe Athena would trick them! So everyone's face united in expressing: WTF is going on?!!!!!!!!!!!!

In mere seconds, millions of chat rooms were filled with billions of questions about the Reptile-type M-Armor that could beat both Vera and Renves.

[WTF? WTF? WTF?]

[WTF? But she must be cute.]

[WTF? Damn, she better be!]

Then, on the screen, information about the pilot of the Golden M-Armor appeared...

In the span of the next few days on the UPWC (Universe Photon Web Connection), the phrase WTF was repeated more times than it had been in the last five years.

***

On the station, commentators finally collected themselves from the shock.

[Commentator: Wow, that was a great surprise! Please share with us what you think about this development, Mr. Renvas.]

Renvas Muir, 'E' ranker, Red Bear.

[Renvas: I have to say, I'm shocked. I guess just as shocked as everyone. Renvas Vec underestimated his enemy because she was hidden as 'powerless.' I must say it's an ingenious strategy. With Mersa, the White Wolf Princess, the presence of one 'powerless' is not strange. Brilliant. Athena’s Institute has been hiding their trump card. But it's strange.]

[Commentator: What is?]

[Renvas: It was played this late into the game. Just look at the battlefield—Athena has fewer than 10 soldiers left, most of the elites are gone. If only this card had been played sooner...]

[Commentator: I see. I guess no matter how strong a person is, they are still limited against a group, right? W-wait... Mr. Renvas! The information about the Reptile-type appeared! It's piloted by powe... by Neo-Aris.]

[Renvas: Wow... I'm... I'm speechless.]

***

[Celina Nec: Battle formations! NOW!]

It was what the Mars cadets needed: orders. Right now, they were so shocked that they had lost most of their reasoning. Celina Nec knew that he had to take command after the other two, or they might really lose.

While Vorst looked at them passively, the white bot made a bit of noise and grew four arms. With that, it flew back and grasped the still-confused Mersa, moving her toward the last base that Athena still had.

At first, Mersa fought back a little, but Vorst's voice came from the white bot. "It's going to take a while. Wait for me." The gentle tone made her feel at ease; she could nearly feel his hand petting her head. The White Wolf immediately turned meek.

Seeing that maneuver, Celina Nec squinted. What did the enemy want to do? Why was she not hurrying back? Was she seriously going to fight them alone?

[Celina Nec: Stranger! If you are not going to retreat... Why don't you name yourself?]

The White Tiger quickly arrived at the same conclusion as most people in the universe. Meanwhile, Mars’ cadets still needed a bit more time to form ranks.

[Vorst: ...]

[Celina Nec: You hid yourself well so far, but now you won’t be able to surprise us anymore. I'd like to know the name of the opponent I'm fighting with.]

[Vorst: ... If you want my name, then introduce yourself first.]

Lily actually knew the guy, but Marc wasn’t informed because he didn’t care. As long as the opponent wasn’t interesting, he didn’t need to know his name. He just needed to cut him down. Celina Nec was surprised; normally, one would at least memorize the strongest fighters from another team, and he was in what they called the strongest trio.

[Celina Nec: Celina Nec, White Tiger, 10th High Step Tier.]

Vorst’s eyes squinted...

[Vorst: Celina? Are you related to Celina Za?]

[Celina Nec: Yes... She is my sister.]

[Vorst: I see... If you are Senpai's brother, then I'll name myself. Name's Vorst. Neo-Aris. 1st High Step Tier.]

Silence...

Mars’ cadets, who were busily positioning themselves, also froze.

[Celina Nec: Then you are the powe... the boy who is with the White Wolf Princess?]

[Vorst: That's me.]

[Celina Nec: ... And you will fight us alone?]

The white sphere finished dropping off Mersa and just came back.

[Vorst: Do you think I'm not capable of that?]

A green light in the M-Armor's eyes shone brightly.

[Celina Nec: Are you for real?]

The Golden Dragon raised his head as he looked at the sky.

[Vorst: The sky is wide, after all...]

Celina was totally confused...

Silence continued... Then Vorst suddenly charged forward.

[Celina Nec: Guns! Fire!]

Over 100 photon guns pointed at the Golden Armor, and with the command, machine guns fired. Though they were weak, a hundred of those could shave off quite an amount of the barrier.

Vorst only smiled as he pointed his white sword forward.

A shield in the shape of a hexagram appeared before him.

[Renvas: THAT! I can't believe a 1st HST is capable of using a hex shield!]

There was amazement in the voice of the Ranker. Vorst had already shocked them so much that now it seemed to stop working...

The hex shield 'broke' in the middle and folded to create a triangle-like protection. With that, Vorst was moving forward; thanks to that modification, bullets were hitting the shield at an angle, thus their weak force was weakened even further.

500m.

300m.

100m.

He reached them...

Then a black-and-white whirlwind of death appeared and consumed everyone.

***

10 minutes. 10 minutes of total carnage. But for all the viewers, it felt like an instant. If a person had been holding a cup of coffee before the slaughter began, after it, they were holding it in the same position. It was a bit colder, though.

***

In the end, only two people remained on the field, surrounded by hundreds of freshly broken M-Armors.

They were both facing each other... A white flash suddenly rushed at the Golden Dragon. Then a golden line intersected it, and Vorst appeared behind the White Tiger.

***

During those 10 minutes, Celina Nec clearly felt the difference between them. His opponent had definitely spared his life countless times... There was no chance to win... Therefore... He charged in recklessly! It was just a game after all... This time.

Celina Nec appeared in bird's-eye view...

And there, he thought he was strong for 10th HST...

What a monster...

He turned his head upwards and looked at the sky...

Yes, it was incredibly wide...