"Eishen, I think my life has taken a truly incredible turn in these past few days because I met you, and I also met Zirus and then Maven... personally, I think my life is more than fulfilled. I eat my fill, I am free, I have fun, and I have time for myself. I know I have a better life than some, and I'm not complaining, quite the opposite—I plan to enjoy it for a long time... but this man and the way he thinks, I cannot accept it. And even if I have nothing of a queen, you still consider me one, so I must not disappoint you."
Saying this, Liora looks at Oracio in the distance, who growls in pain. The gems inside him take on a red color accompanied by the same-colored smoke. He holds his head, trying to resist the mental pain striking him, then, like a madman who has overused mana, he lets out a furious scream toward Eishen and Liora, forcing them to shield themselves from the burst of energy he releases. Liora exhales softly, lowers her arms, and calmly resumes what she was saying.
"I want to keep him alive and recruit him... he suffers to the point where he trusts no one but himself and... I know I have everything and that it's selfish, but he doesn't seem bad. I want to eat, have fun with many people, and help as many people as possible! So Eishen, you who trust me the most and who are officially the one preventing me from making stupid decisions, what do you think?"
Eishen looks at her, then observes Oracio, a man who has been trying to capture Liora from the beginning... For Eishen, keeping him with them is absolutely not the best solution. Logically, a selfish man like this will not change so easily, and even with a good reason it will be complicated. But seeing Liora's expression, logic no longer matters... he should not allow such huge variables, but when it comes to Liora, he believes she can achieve anything. Yes, he believes it—and that is what matters most.
"Thank you for asking what I think, and I can't refuse you anything when you make that face... I promise not to damage him too much, young queen."
Eishen presses his finger, which immediately begins to blink, sending a signal all the way to their home. Inside, his armor flashes at the same intensity before suddenly flying out through the window, which opens thanks to Zirus' modifications. The armor crosses the city and then the tunnels before reaching Eishen's body. It equips itself easily, followed by smoke caused by heat, and finally he is ready to fight seriously.
"Eishen unit type 001 and first knight ready to be deployed! Mission order... retrieve Oracio and make him a knight of our queen."
Eishen moves with speed far beyond the greatest warriors of the empire, so fast that even berserk Oracio cannot see the punch that hits him directly in the face, sending him backward. But even then, Eishen is faster, already behind him to launch him into the air with a kick that nearly breaks his back. Calmly, Eishen transforms his armored hand into a cannon that fires a condensed magical energy sphere, burning Oracio's chest and the upper part of his clothes. And just seeing this, Liora is surprised... the magic coming from Eishen is controlled without any waste or leakage, and she understands why the empire terrifies other nations... with five androids capable of fighting like this, it is normal to be feared.
Meanwhile, in the empire, the Emperor stands in front of a large vat, a project that had been paused but has been restarted due to recent events. The Emperor speaks first:
"Duke Voréal, how is the Lilith project going?"
Arjdin Voréal is seated, looking at the vat.
"As you originally wanted, Lilith was supposed to be a cannon with great magical power named Terra-Anhila, but with your requested modifications and the teamwork of all the dukes... Duke Winde's biotechnology, Duke Surge's magical weapons, Duke Zins' forged magical gems, and my frozen soldiers... she will be the ultimate weapon of the empire... Zero has brute strength, Deo Dos extreme speed, Tracy an ultimate arsenal, Quazar the greatest firepower, and Eishen is balanced in everything... Lilith will be like Eishen but far superior... a superpowered little sister."
The Emperor claps softly and approaches the vat.
"If only the materials needed to build robots like Zero were not extremely rare in the north... we would only need to take the dragon lands and our empire would be eternal!"
Suddenly, Arjdin's son, young Elliot Voréal, enters the room.
"Father, Your Majesty, according to the analysis... Eishen's virus... it is already in Zero and the others, even in my Deo Dos... without it, they cannot improve, and the virus is spreading quickly among the others because of Eishen's rebellion... I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
The Emperor thinks for a moment, then replies:
"No, do not apologize. This may not be bad news after all. We should broaden our horizons and let chance help us... Duke Voréal, I would like you not to change anything about this virus—in fact, improve it and add it to Lilith... she will become what I envision."
Arjdin stands up, wanting to object, but seeing the Emperor, he decides it is impossible and sighs.
"A little sister, huh? Lilith... don't become like your brother... the only soldier with balanced power."
Meanwhile, after releasing his energy blast, Eishen jumps into the air and grabs Oracio by the neck, but Oracio, still in berserk mode, grabs his hand and during their fall punches Eishen's helmet hard, creating a small crack. He breaks his own hand doing so, but at this point he is just an uncontrollable machine. Eishen tries to free himself, but Oracio holds him down until Liora pulls Eishen away with a magical lasso.
"I'm here too, Oracio!"
With golden magical flames in her hands, she strikes his face, but despite the reinforcement and the mid-air impact, he does not fly far. He recovers, then punches Liora in the stomach, stunning her for a moment. He was about to continue with a second strike, but Maven arrives and kicks him away. Maven catches Liora with her hands, her wings fully deployed, ready for combat.
"Don't forget me, I'm part of the family too... so what do we do with this savage, young queen?"
Maven places Liora down, who then explains her goal. The three of them rush Oracio with strong teamwork. Maven strikes him, then Eishen moves behind him at high speed and hits his back, giving Liora enough time to jump and strike his face. When Oracio, still berserk, becomes exhausted and steps back, a huge fireball appears in front of him and hits him like a wall.
"It's time to lose, Oracio."
Maven says this while continuing to press the fireball against him. Oracio can only retreat, but behind him is still Eishen, who tells him:
"You lost the moment you abandoned your mind for power."
Then he strikes him repeatedly, sending him crashing into the fireball until it explodes... finally, he falls to his knees, physically exhausted. His gems no longer shine as brightly. He looks up and sees Liora smiling at him.
"Welcome to the family hehe."
Before knocking him out with a punch charged with magical energy, leaving the great Oracio to fall in defeat.
Fin du chapitre.