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After neutralizing Dunn's forces, the group secured the Mechanical Energy Hub key. The victory was short-lived; the restricted zone's alarms reached a fever pitch, screaming their intrusion to every guard within three sectors.
Speed was now their only ally. They sprinted to the control center, manipulated the massive bridge into position, and made a break for the northern snow plains. But at the edge of the restricted zone, the one man Kenta was hoping to avoid stood blocking the path like a monolith.
Gepard Landau looked older in the pale, snowy light, his expression etched with a grim, duty-bound sorrow.
"Sister... I didn't want the reports to be true."
"Gepard, wait! Just let me—" Serval started.
"When the scouts reported a group of technical staff led by a Landau, I prayed it was a misunderstanding," Gepard said, his voice dropping into a pained whisper. "Serval, leave the invaders. Come stand behind me while you still can."
"I can't, little brother. I gave them my word."
Gepard's eyes hardened. The pleading was gone. "Enough! If you won't listen to reason, then the Silvermane Guards will perform their duty. Capture them!"
The battle erupted in a flurry of steel and ice. Kenta moved like a shadow, coating his scabbard in a thin layer of crimson flame. He parried a halberd thrust, knocked a guard aside with a blunt strike, and spun around just in time to catch Gepard's massive shield, Aegis, with the reinforced tip of his sheath.
"Gepard, we've been friends for a decade! Do you really think I'd lead your sister into a death trap without a reason?"
"Shut up, Kenta!" Gepard roared, slamming his shield forward with enough force to crack stone. "I trusted you! I thought you were a man of honor! But first, you lead Lynx into dangerous rifts, then you're found in a... compromising position with Serval, and now you've led her into open rebellion against the Preservation!"
Kenta barely managed to parry the follow-up strike. Hiss... so this is the strength of the Garrison Commander. I'm using half my power and I'm still being pushed back.
"I told you, my relationship with your sisters is purely professional and fraternal! You stubborn mule!" Kenta yelled, hurling a concentrated burst of fire.
Gepard blocked the flame, his face twisted in the rage of perceived betrayal. "And you still won't admit it? I was already mentally preparing for the day I'd have to call you brother-in-law! And this is how you repay that trust? By betraying Belobog's Order?"
Kenta nearly bit his tongue. He stumbled, a shield bash narrowly missing his ribs. "Damn it, Gepard! If we don't fix the Stellaron, there won't be a wedding day because we'll all be popsicles!"
The area went silent for a split second. Kenta realized his mistake instantly. He had spoken in the heat of the moment, and the phrasing was... catastrophic.
"!!!"
"Wait, Kenta!" Serval yelled, dodging a halberd. "You just said something that your 'future wife' definitely needs to hear more about!"
"My mouth is a curse..." Kenta muttered. He looked at Gepard, who was now vibrating with even more righteous fury. "Look, we're out of time. I didn't want to use this, but you leave me no choice."
Kenta's eyes narrowed, the dark red glow of his pupils bleeding into black. He drew the broken blade. It was barely a stub of steel, but the moment it was exposed to the air, a wisp of Black Flame licked the edges, distorting the very atmosphere with its heat.
"Black Flame Teleportation!"
In a flash of void-like fire, Kenta vanished. Before Gepard could even raise his shield, Kenta reappeared in his personal space. The broken blade stabbed forward.
Ting!
The blade didn't break; it pierced the Aegis as if it were parchment. Kenta twisted his wrist, ripped the shield from Gepard's grasp, and grabbed the Commander by his collar, hurling him against the reinforced stone wall.
Bong!
Gepard slumped to the ground, spitting a trace of blood. The fight was over. The surrounding Silvermane Guards had been neutralized by the Trailblazers.
"That's enough, Gepard," Serval said, her voice soft but firm. "You're the only one left."
Gepard struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. "Even so... I will not... yield..."
"Please, just give up," Stelle grumbled, leaning on her bat.
Kenta rubbed his forehead. He knew Gepard's one true weakness: his fierce, almost obsessive devotion to the Landau family. If logic wouldn't work, he would have to use a tactical lie of nuclear proportions. He gave Serval a sharp, meaningful look: Play along.
Serval, a veteran of Kenta's chaotic plans, gave a subtle nod.
"Gepard, look at me," Kenta said, his voice dropping into a somber, heavy register. "There's something you need to know. Serval knows it too."
"A few weeks ago," Kenta began, "while you were at the front, I took Serval to the clinic. To see Natasha."
Serval nodded. "Mm."
"The doctor gave us the results," Kenta said, looking Gepard dead in the eye. "She's pregnant."
"Mm! Wait, what?!" Serval's internal monologue screamed, but she caught herself. We're going that far?! She forced a look of tragic confirmation. "Yes... it's true."
Gepard froze. The shock in his eyes was so intense it looked like his brain had short-circuited.
"So," Kenta said, pressing the advantage. "You're going to be an uncle, Gepard. Do you really think I'd let my child be born into a world consumed by the Eternal Freeze? We aren't betraying Belobog; we're fighting for its future. For your nephew's future."
Gepard stared at Serval, his hand trembling. The logic of a soldier was being obliterated by the heart of a brother. Kenta watched the scales tip in his favor. Gepard, you wouldn't want your nephew to grow up without a father, would you?
Nearby, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle stood in a state of absolute, frozen shock.
...Did he just say what I think he said? March 7th thought, her jaw practically hitting the snow.
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