The emergence of an invisible fan, and the tactical movements of Suzaku Kururugi.
The unsettling premonition that the established scenario was warping into something unrecognizable acted, paradoxically, as a catalyst for my own audacity.
'I have no more time to wait.'
Before that bastard can deploy a fully refitted Lancelot, we must arm ourselves with fangs sharp enough to tear through that monster's throat.
I projected the classified military intelligence Jeremiah had provided—the status report for the 3rd Maintenance Depot—onto the main monitor.
The bluish glow of the digital map pierced the gloom of the briefing room. I reached up and pulled off my suffocating mask, placing it firmly on the table.
"Tonight is the night."
My voice, low and resolute without the modulator, made the eyes of the gathered officers glint like those of predators caught in the dark.
"The target is the 3rd Maintenance Depot on the outskirts of Saitama. It is currently the primary hub for the decommissioning of obsolete Glasgows and the deployment of new Sutherland units."
I pointed a crimson laser at a specific coordinate on the map.
"The security detail is minimal: two infantry platoons and a mere three Sutherlands for perimeter patrol. Since it is a maintenance facility rather than a frontline base, it is staffed primarily by non-combat technicians. We strike hard and fast, finishing the operation before they can even think of summoning reinforcements."
"Finally… are we finally getting a proper Knightmare unit?"
Kallen, seated beside me, spoke with eyes ablaze. Her voice was thick with anticipation.
Thus far, our meager forces consisted only of two Sutherlands and two Glasgows salvaged through various skirmishes.
It was a pitiful number, considering the talented pilots we had already begun training for our Knightmare corps.
"Indeed. And this is not a raid. It is a harvest."
I looked around at my comrades and let a confident, predatory smirk cross my lips.
"Move out. Let us seize the true power of the Black Knights."
[02:00 AM. Outskirts of the Saitama 3rd Maintenance Depot]
The sky had opened up, drenching the world in a torrential downpour that turned the midnight darkness into an impenetrable obsidian veil.
The rhythmic, deafening drumming of the rain was the perfect shroud, masking our clandestine footsteps as we encroached upon our prey.
"Alpha Team, commence infiltration."
As Yoshida's signal crackled through the in-ear monitors, the wire mesh of the rear gate was severed without a sound.
First Platoon, draped in black waterproof ponchos, seeped into the facility like wet shadows.
Their rifles were loaded not with lead, but with tranquilizer rounds.
Thwip… thud.
The sentries guarding the outposts collapsed before they could even draw breath, the sound of their fall swallowed by the storm.
[CCTV loop transmission confirmed. Security room neutralized.]
Minami's report followed shortly after.
Everything was unfolding with the mechanical precision of a clockwork trap—exactly as I had calculated.
"Bravo Team, power room secured."
"Good. 3, 2, 1. Cut it!"
Hundreds of searchlights that had turned the depot into high-noon brilliance vanished instantly.
The sudden vacuum of light threw the interior of the maintenance depot into a frenzy of chaos.
"What?! Is it a blackout?"
"Start the emergency generators! Guards!"
As the panicked Britannians scrambled and shouted, a roar louder than the thunder tore through the rain.
CRASH!!
The depot's heavy steel main gates crumpled like wet parchment and were blown inward.
Piercing through the cloud of dust and debris, a single Glasgow painted in a striking crimson leapt forward like a hunting leopard.
It was Kallen.
"Out of the way! Unless you have a death wish!"
Her Glasgow fired its massive Slash Harken.
The steel anchor wrapped around the leg of a patrolling Sutherland with surgical precision. With a savage jerk, the massive frame lost its center of gravity and slammed into the concrete with a bone-shaking thud.
It was a maneuver defined by overwhelming skill and terrifying momentum—monstrous in its execution.
"E-Enemy attack! We're under raid! Knightmares detected!"
"Commence firing! Hold them back!"
The alarms finally wailed, but the tides of battle had already surged past them.
The main force led by Ohgi and Sugiyama, lurking in the shadows, crashed into the facility like a breaking wave.
"Cease your resistance! We are the Black Knights!"
Flash!
Stun grenades erupted, and acrid smoke choked the hallways. The technicians threw down their tools and flattened themselves against the floor, clutching their heads. Stripped of their vision and gripped by terror, they had no will left to fight.
I monitored the unfolding conquest from the mobile command center, issuing directives with cold detachment.
"You have fifteen minutes. Seize the Sutherlands in the containers, the Glasgows undergoing maintenance, and strip the place of every spare battery and Energy Filler you can find."
"Roger that, Strategist! Hey, move it! Bring the trailers over here!"
Tamaki's voice crackled with sheer delight.
A convoy of massive transport trucks, bearing the insignia of the Black Knights, lined up inside the depot. Our soldiers secured the Knightmares and hauled crates of parts with practiced ease. They moved with the audacity of owners reclaiming stolen property.
Suddenly, Yoshida's urgent voice broke through the comms.
[Zero! Deep inside the hangar… we hit the jackpot! There are four more brand-new Sutherlands here, still in their factory wrapping!]
"What?"
An unexpected harvest. This inventory had been absent from Jeremiah's report.
In all likelihood, these were off-book assets—smuggled goods or embezzled materials belonging to corrupt aristocrats.
'The heavens themselves are aiding me.'
Beneath the mask, the corners of my mouth curled upward.
"Take everything. Do not leave so much as a single bolt behind."
[Copy that!]
The operation was concluded in exactly fifteen minutes.
By the time Britannian reinforcements arrived, they were greeted only by hollow hangars and red graffiti scrawled across the walls, mocking their failure.
'We shall make good use of these. —The Black Knights.'
[The Following Day. Black Knights Secret Hideout]
Inside the vast subterranean cavern beneath Shinjuku, now converted into a hangar, the iron giants we had harvested during the night stood in magnificent formation.
Six Sutherlands, four Glasgows, and a mountain of spare parts and weaponry.
Under the artificial lights, the glistening armor plates made the soldiers swallow hard in awe.
"Wow… what a sight."
Tamaki stood with his mouth agape, mesmerized, as he stroked the leg of a Sutherland.
"With this… we might actually be able to go toe-to-toe with the Britannian Army."
Even Ohgi muttered in a voice choked with emotion.
A resistance that had fought with Molotov cocktails and rusted rifles only months ago had been forged into a legitimate armored division, equipped with the Empire's latest weapons of war.
I ascended the podium and looked down upon my followers.
Our numbers had swollen to two hundred, and all of them were looking up at me—at Zero—with fervent, fanatical eyes.
"Behold, comrades of the Black Knights!"
As I threw my arms wide, flaring my cloak, a deafening roar of cheers erupted as if on cue.
"Today, we have not merely stolen machines! We have taken the very instruments of violence the Empire used to crush us and transformed them into the swords that will defend our justice!"
"WAAAAAAAH!!"
"ZERO! ZERO! ZERO!"
"We are no longer fugitives! We are no longer the weak who weep in the shadows! With these giants of steel, we shall strike at the very heart of Britannia!"
"Long live the Black Knights!!"
The roar vibrated through the hangar, threatening to bring the ceiling down.
Tamaki was dancing with his arm around a comrade, while Kallen stood with her arms crossed, watching me with a satisfied, knowing smile.
Amidst that festive fever, I smiled silently behind my mask.
'With this level of power… it's a fair game.'
Are you watching, my invisible fan?
You may have hidden Suzaku and prepared the Lancelot, but I have not been standing still.
I clenched my fist tightly.
'Now, the real game begins.'
The Black Knights were no longer a mere terrorist cell; they were becoming an army in both name and reality.
One week later, an urgent meeting was convened at the Black Knights' headquarters.
The moment I laid eyes on the documents placed before me, I realized that the inevitable had finally arrived.
Minami was staring at the briefing materials with a grim expression.
The photographs depicted an object the military referred to as 'poison gas.'
'The capsule.'
But I knew better. It wasn't poison gas inside that container.
It was the containment device holding the immortal witch, C.C.
"This is the data our intelligence team uncovered. It's a report that a Britannian military unit is moving toward Shinjuku under the strictest secrecy," Minami explained gravely.
Inoue, standing beside him, added her own findings.
"The analysis team concurs. Given the shape of the container and the 'high-risk' handling protocols, there is a ninety-percent probability it is a chemical weapon intended for mass slaughter."
"Those Britannian bastards… experimenting with such a horrific poison on our soil!"
Ohgi slammed his fist onto the table, his face flushed with righteous fury.
I, however, stared at the data, lost in a different train of thought.
How did this classified information—a secret so guarded by Clovis that even the Black Knights' intelligence network shouldn't have been able to touch it—end up in our hands so easily?
There was only one answer.
'The Transmigrator.'
Just how deep did his reach go? He had clearly leaked this data to the Black Knights intentionally.
'So, you want the story to proceed, don't you?'
He wants Lelouch and C.C. to meet. This confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
He desired it. He wanted the original narrative to stay on track. He had spirited Suzaku away to prevent him from siding with Lelouch too early, and now, before the Black Knights could become too powerful and independent, he had fed us the intel on C.C. to force the scripted encounter.
Suddenly, a chilling hypothesis crossed my mind.
What if my opponent wasn't just a powerful individual, but someone who possessed a Geass?
Or worse, what if someone already in power possessed the Power of Kings?
'What in the hell am I actually fighting?'
A sigh escaped me. The 'fan' had won this round.
I had to admit that I had fallen into an inescapable trap he had set. But I couldn't reject it. I needed the Geass.
I needed it to face what was coming, and to prepare for this mysterious puppeteer.
"Strategist! Lelouch!"
Ohgi's call snapped me back to reality.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and composed myself.
"Ah, my apologies. I was just analyzing the contingencies."
I continued in a voice layered with artificial gravity.
"If this information is accurate, we must mobilize. We cannot allow Britannia to conduct mass-murder experiments on the Japanese people."
"Right! We have to stop them immediately!"
The officers agreed in unison.
I stared intently at the image of the capsule containing C.C.
It was power. It was a curse. It was the genesis of destiny.
'Fine then, "Fan." I'll play your game. But we shall see who is laughing when the curtain falls.'
I clenched my fist until my knuckles whitened.
"We will finalize the operation plan in three days, once all recon data is gathered."