Knights & Magic

Chapter 31

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The sun had just risen and the air was just warming up when a Tzendrinble galloped along the Fremmevira highway, heading towards the base of the Silver Phoenix Knights— Olvecius fort. The body that emulated a horse ran with powerful strides, reaching its destination in no time.

A Tzendrinble entered the hangar occupied with rows of Kardatolle and other Tzendrinble with practiced movement. After waving at the craftsmen and knights scrambling around its feet, it moved to the side and adopted a resting position.

A boy and a girl leapt off the pilot seats, they were the twins Chid and Ady. They reside in their home in Laihiala Academy city, and used the Tzendrinble as their transport vehicle. That might be the personal machine a.s.signed to them, but seeing how no one seemed to mind them using the equipment of the knight order as their personal transport, the Silver Phoenix Knights was rather lax in discipline.

Chid and Ady peered into the workshop attached to the hangar, finding it filled with sounds of hammers and yells as usual. As the work kept going on, the twins found the boss and ran over.

“Boss— Morning! Is Eru at the same place?”

“Morning—”

“Oh, the boy is at the usual place, doing G.o.d knows what.”

The boss pointed to a corner of the workshop. When she heard that, Ady looked as if she expected that answer and sighed with her arms folded.

“Really, Eru keep staying here and refuse to go home. His mom said that she is lonely because she doesn"t see him much! Say something to him too, boss!”

“Sorry, but I don’t want to do that. Just bear with it until he is done with that.”

The boss answered frankly with his arms folded, but the content was cold. Ady shift her focus to what the boss was referring to.

It was a Silhouette Knight that was being developed. As it was being built from scratch, signs of careful processing and repeated testing could be seen everywhere, with a large group of craftsmen working on it. The entire Silver Phoenix Knights were mobilized for this single machine.

The structure of the machine was unique as well. Just by looking at the inner skeleton, the shape was different than normal, and thick metal pipes crawled all over the body. There was a large empty s.p.a.ce in the abdomen, seemingly reserved for some large component.

“Eh, that’s true, it’s the new model everybody is looking forward to. Eru isn’t someone who will stop because someone asked him to anyway.”

Chid muttered in resignation, only Ady was adamant on lecturing Eru directly as she ran towards the corner of the workshop.

The boss watched her go, and returned to his work, yelling at others.

“Hey, Bart boy! Come here! If you connect this pipe to that one, it will be smoother…”

“I know this is important boss, but you had already changed it ten times!”

Today, Olvecius fort was filled with screams of joy too.

In a corner of Olvecius fort’s workshop, there was a strange room. It was part.i.tioned with simple wooden boards and looked to be haphazard in its erection.

It was s.p.a.cious, with a shelf full of books flushed against the wall, filled with textbooks about Silhouette Knights, craftsmen and literature related to Silhouette Knights. In the center was a giant worktable. It was used to draw designs or make adjustments to components, with plenty of smudges and cuts on it.

Outside the room was the sign ‘Knight Commander Office (Temp)’.

Normally, the leader of a Knight Order won’t be a.s.signed to such a makeshift office. It might sound strange, but the sequence of event happened the other way. It was the Knight Commander who hogged a corner of the workshop to himself, and brought loads of doc.u.ments in, making a ‘nest’ for himself. In the end, everyone decided to make a room for him.

The Knight Commander Office (Temp) which had such a r.e.t.a.r.ded history was occupied with its owner Eru, who was hard at work as usual. What was different was the fact that there was another person inside with him.

“... That concludes the report this time. Also, I happened to heard something. In the west, the countries there seemed rather tense, one of the countries is probably going to start something big.”

Slender and tall with a balanced figure. She was a member of the Blue Hawk Knights— Nora. She read the periodic report loudly with a calm att.i.tude. The Knight Commander leaned against the worktable and listened quietly. When he heard the last part, he narrowed his eyes.

“Is this related to the thieves? I am confused, why didn’t they make any other move after that?”

“My apologies, these are just unconfirmed rumours. I thought that I should inform you.”

“I understand. Eh, no matter what, it means I still have time right? As for that rumour, if the tension gets any higher, please report to me.”

“By your command. Well then, allow me to take my leave.”

Nora bowed, turned and left the room. Eru watch her leave, and stared into s.p.a.ce thinking about something. But he returned to his work shortly after.

Ady came before the Knight Commander Office (Temp), but didn’t go in straight away. She stopped to take deep breaths and tidied her hair and attire. She let her hair grow out some years ago, and it was already covering her back. Her hair was wavy by nature, and tangled on her way here. She tried straightening her hair in frustration, but gave up after understanding it won’t help. Pulling herself together, she pumped herself her and was about to enter the office.

And she met Nora who was exiting the office face to face. Meeting an unexpected person in an unexpected place made Ady stiffened after taking a step forward. Nora studied her without expression for a moment and leaned close as if to hug her, whispering into her ears:

“It’s fine, don’t worry, I won’t make a move on Sir Ernesti.”

After leaving this soft whisper with Ady who stood frozen in place, Nora walked away cooly. Ady finally came to her senses after a long while, and entered the Commander Office (Temp) with a smile as brilliant as the sun.

After entering, the first thing she saw was a 2.5m giant armour painted blue. That was Eru’s personal Silhouette Gear, Motor Beat.

The funny thing was that the bulky motor beat was cramping itself on the work desk, performing precision movements. The machine had five fingers, but the ability of the bulky body to make such accurate movements showed its powerful potential.

As for Eru who was operating it, he wasn’t inside Motor Beat, but seated on a chair focusing on the fingertips of the machine. He held the end of silver nerves on his hands, which was connected to Motor Beat. Sending commands through the silver nerves, Eru was operating Motor Beat from the outside.

The reason he was performing such an interesting technique was because of the object Motor Beat was working on.

Mithril. In order to shape this special metal, it was necessary to work using magic just like the Elves. And of course, no matter how talented Eru was, he was just a human and couldn’t use the technique of the Elves. This however, referred to him not using tools.

The hands on the Silhouette Gear were made from crystal tissue, which was a type of catalyst crystal capable of performing magic. In order words, Eru was able to emulate the Elves by using Silhouette Gears. That was the reason why Eru was staring at the giant armour while working on the metal with requiring great precision.

Ady was already used to such a bizarre scene. She pounced on Eru and hugged him without hesitation.

“Fufufu, Eru! You are working hard today too! Aunt Tina wants to come home every now and then!”

“Offtt… Ady, I can’t see if you hug me from the front. I see, mum she… It’s almost done, I will go back after that.”

Ady pulled a chair to sit beside him, while Eru continued working as if nothing ever happened.

He had a serious expression. Even for Eru, dealing with ‘Life Song’ while working on the Mithril with Silhouette Gear wasn’t easy. He had to maintain a processing speed near his limit, concentrating intensely and intentionally slowing down in order to handle the load. This meant he couldn’t work too long on it, and could only progress little by little every day. This job might be frustrating and dull, but Eru enjoyed anything that was related to robots.

“This is an Ether Reactor right?”

Ady looked at the metal being shaped by the Silhouette Gear in amazement. The fact that Eru was fabricating an Ether Reactor by himself was a secret within the Silver Phoenix Knights. The only ones who knew were the twins, squad leaders and the boss. As for the other members, they only thought that the Commander was doing something weird again, although they were not wrong about that.

“Yes, this is mine, made by my own hands, a machine core that belongs to me.”

Eru did not stop his hands as he muttered dreamily. Using a battalion level demon beast heart to make an Ether Reactor— With this, it was possible to achieve Eru’s dream. Designs for the frame had already been drafted, the boss and the others were already working on it. Right now, they should be working in the workshop too.

“Hmm— Eru who is enjoying himself is so cute~”

As for Ady, she was hugging Eru as usual, she almost couldn’t stop herself from rubbing her cheeks against his. Eru won’t move during his work, and allowed Ady to do as she please. Since the day he started working on the Ether Reactor, this scene had become a routine. After enjoying the touch of Eru, she suddenly had a great idea.

“That’s right, Nah Eru, after you finish this, let’s go fight a battle. I will bring Tzen-chan and the chariot out!”

“Good idea. I will need to give it a test right after completing it, I will ask his majesty for the location of nest of troublesome demon beast.”

What an earth shattering invitation to a date. It was hard to imagine that this was the conversation between a young boy and girl, just that the subject themselves were getting excited with the idea and no one was around to retort. By the way, Chid was busy repairing Tzendorg right now.

The only one to who heard this dialogue was Motor Beat, but it just kept working on the Reactor in silence.

Another year has pa.s.sed, it is now the C.E. 281.

Half a year had pa.s.sed since sh.e.l.l beasts attacked the hidden ‘home’ of the Elves. Also, since this incident was highly cla.s.sified, it doesn’t have an official name attached to it like the other incidents. Only the few related personnel referred to it quietly as the sh.e.l.l beast catastrophe.

It was spring in Fremmevira Kingdom. Lush vegetation grew in the wild and the branches of the trees flourished energetically.

During such a comfortable season, Olvecius fort was covered in intense heat. Angry roar of instruction arose now and then as the craftsmen busied themselves even more than normal. Something was about to happen.

The heat came from a Silhouette Knight situated in the depths of the workshop.

Covered everywhere by canvas, it was impossible to see the machine. But from the swell of the canvas, it was clear that its shape was rather unique. It was given a lot of room to avoid being hit, even the repair platform had been modified for it. The effort that had been put into this machine was obvious.

“Alright, lower it slowly, slowly, adjust it the aim! Great, begin installation!”

The booming voice of the boss could almost shatter the gla.s.s in the workshop. A component that was lifted by the chains of a crane was being lowered slowly onto the machine. The back of the machine had a huge swell, making it look queer. When the component was placed inside the opening in the back, the craftsmen near the machine’s shoulders rushed in to begin their work, connecting metal pipes from it to the machine.

“Are the air intake valves done!? Good, start basic engine rev! Hey, connect that Silver nerve, hurry up! Mana output is about to go live!!”

The machine component had the shape of a giant egg— that was the Ether Reactor Eru worked so hard on. It rose up high on the back of the machine, its size was larger than normal Reactors.

Just like Toybox, this machine had multiple Ether Reactors, one in its abdomen, the other on its back. After reviewing causes of past failures, the machine was built from scratch with the installation of two Ether Reactors in mind. It had a weird appearance, but was successful in overcoming the conflicts in structural designs they faced previously.

Shortly after, the sharp noise of the air intake valve screeched in the workshop, far louder than normal Silhouette Knights. That was how amazing a machine installed with an extra large Ether Reactor was— it raised the power output, alongside the screams of the air intake, it became a deafening choir. All the craftsmen covered their ears in pain.

Suddenly, the noise that was pressuring their eardrums stopped, and was replaced by the clear soothing sound from the machine’s loudhailer:

“Beginning confirmation of the mana supply from main reactor ‘Heart of the King’. Lowering output to minimum, entering dormant state. Switching main Reactor to ‘Crown of the Queen’. Standing up with normal power output.”

That voice belonged to Eru, he was seated inside the c.o.c.kpit of the machine.

Two Ether Reactors were installed, one large Reactor made from the heart belonging to the battalion level demon beast behemoth, the other midsized reactor made from the heart of the company level demon beast sh.e.l.l beast queen. Both were made with all the care and effort of Eru, one of a kind masterpiece in this world.

After receiving the overwhelming mana supply from the Reactor made from the heart of demon beast, the machine awakened. The crystal tissues all over its body started contracting, making music like a wind instrument orchestra.

The first to move was the arms, the four that was connected to the back of the machine where the large Reactor was. Aside from the normal set of limbs, this machine had four additional arms, a monstrosity with a total of six arms. Releasing the chains that were supporting the machine, the astonishingly long arms extended out. Looking carefully, it had five slim fingers as sharp as blades.

Next, the canvas covering the machine slipped off, revealing its true form.

Not only were the arms different, the appearance of the machine itself was also extraordinary. Installing multiple layers of heavy armour was common on other machines, but there was many more on this machine. On top if there were many designs and components that was never seen before, accentuating its uniqueness.

All the members of the Silver Phoenix Knights stared with bated breath, watching the machine standing up. Among them was Ady who was studying the entire body along with the rest, she suddenly focused on one particular spot. On the head of this strange Silhouette Knight was—

“The face of a man?”

The machine mimicked the face of a human, wearing a mask with growling teeth and intimidating expression.

Normally, the head of the Silhouette Knight was an accessory used to gain vision, a component used to place and protect the eye crystal. Hence, defence was its priority, so it was covered in face armour. Even if there was aesthetic designs, it would only be done to the face armour. The machine was wearing a human mask that didn’t appeared to have the function of armour, and had a helmet on top. The uncanny human face left a frightening impression on Ady.

Eru smiled in the c.o.c.kpit, or rather, he was laughing, laughing nonstop. His laughter was unending, there wasn’t anything funny, he simply felt overwhelming joy. He had been seeking this for sixteen years, a machine made by him, belonging only to him was right here.

Luckily, he turned off the loudhailer in time, or else his laughter would have been heard outside. He had been like this since just now, rubbing his check and using his hands to touch the places around the c.o.c.kpit, or staring at the holo monitor happily.

The machine might look strange from the outside, but it was even more bizarre from the inside. Eru’s pilot seat was in the middle, with control stick on both sides. Besides the stick was a mysterious device with orderly b.u.t.tons on it, like a piano. Of course, Eru had no intention of playing music in the Silhouette Knight. This device was known as a keyboard, an input device that enters commands into computers, just like its counterpart from earth.

Apart from the four additional arms, a bunch of special device was fixed all over the machine. To control them, normal control accessories wasn’t enough, so Eru implemented something he was familiar with from his past life. Not just that, there were multiple mini Magius Engine inside the c.o.c.kpit, serving as support to collate the huge amount of equipments. With the keyboard and the pilot’s direct control, Eru could finally move this machine that was a coalition of many strange equipment, becoming a flawed machine that couldn’t be controlled by anyone but Eru.

“Happy birthday, my robot, my partner, my—”

The queer appearance of the machine wasn’t without reason. It exist just for Eru anyway. Be it its function or appearance, it was a reflection of how his pa.s.sion.

That was why Eru carved his ‘origin’ into this machine. In other words, the spirit that came from another world, the dreams it couldn’t fulfilled was accomplished in such a manner, there was no other answer than this.

This machine was known as Silhouette Knight in this world. However, from how it looks, it should definitely be called an ‘armoured samurai’.

“— Ikaruga!”

With a face of an Oni and six arms, the fierce G.o.d had descended onto this world.

Surpa.s.sing logic and consequences, the representation of power and carnage was shown this very moment.

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