“I’m counting on you!”
Seridan disassembled the railgun on the spot using the Magnetic Cube.
Shaaak!
The scattered parts floated in the air, spinning around the powered armor like electrons orbiting an atomic nucleus under magnetic force.
When the armor raised one hand, the components converged into a single massive shield.
A shield large enough to cover the entire towering frame of the powered armor.
Alchemy combination — Scrap-metal Shield.
“Hyaaaah!”
Seridan yanked the lever forward, maximizing the armor’s output.
A soft blue glow surrounded the machine, and then fierce magical energy erupted from its back.
BWAAAAANG!
With the shield raised, the powered armor charged straight at the Automatons firing magic—like a heavily armed knight galloping across the battlefield.
The barrage of spells smashed uselessly against the scrap-metal shield, unable to do any harm.
Of course, each impact delivered physical shock through the shield, but Seridan’s armor wasn’t so fragile as to crumble from something like that.
The ivory Automatons had no choice but to switch tactics.
Clack!
From both their wrists extended twin blades.
Bluish aura shimmered along each edge.
It wasn’t quite as sharp as the aura wielded by true knights, but aura was still aura.
Even that solid shield would be sliced apart the instant those blades touched it.
The Automatons rushed in.
Some slammed into the charging armor’s shield and clung on instead of being thrown back, hacking wildly with aura-coated blades.
KANG! KANG! SHRRK!
Sparks burst out, chunks of the shield’s edges flying away.
Five Automatons slashed furiously, and the shield’s durability plummeted to its limit in seconds.
Seridan would have to discard the shield, pull the parts back magnetically, and forge a new weapon on the fly.
Instead, she boosted the output even further and stepped forward through the storm of attacks.
Her role was to clear a path.
Even if this machine broke down, she couldn’t stop.
It was a reckless choice—one she made only because she believed in Arfa.
CRASH!
The barely-holding shield finally shattered.
The Automatons swarmed over the powered armor like insects.
Seridan squeezed ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) her eyes shut and shouted,
“Ugh! I really didn’t want to use this!”
She slammed the emergency eject button.
The back of the powered armor burst open with a metallic clang, and her small body was catapulted out like a bullet.
Before the Automatons could react, the Magnetic Cube surged past its critical limit and detonated in a blazing explosion.
KWA-AA-ANG!
A massive blast born from sacrificing the entire machine as fuel.
Even after putting plenty of distance between herself and the armor, Seridan was caught in the blast wave and rolled across the ground several times.
Lying sprawled flat, she muttered,
“The path is open.”
“Thank you.”
Leaping past her like a gust of wind, Arfa dashed straight toward the black Automaton.
At that moment, a red light gleamed in the smooth visor of the black Automaton’s helmet.
It had finally activated.
When it extended its left hand, magnetic power gathered there, drawing in metal fragments from around the room and shaping them into a sword.
A perfect imitation of Lesley’s magnetic spellcraft.
Then crimson aura flared along the blade—similar to the Living Armor power of Knight Verom.
Seeing the successful activation, Victor couldn’t contain his delight and roared,
“Ohoho! Behold! My masterpiece! My beautiful creation! This ultimate Automaton, crafted by taking the traits of the Black Dawn Society’s former First Orders!”
Victor’s pride and joy—the black Automaton.
Also known as Black Order.
Black Order raised its empty right hand.
In its smooth black palm, a small flame flickered to life.
Fwoosh.
The flame swelled instantly—and from within it, a giant with a terrifying face emerged.
KUUUUWAAAAR!
The giant of fire roared, opening its massive jaws toward Arfa.
With its bellow came a torrent of blazing heat.
Before Arfa could even react, the flames engulfed him completely.
Even for an Automaton, there was no surviving that level of heat unscathed.
But Black Order wasn’t finished.
Its crimson-aura blade swung, unleashing crescent-shaped slashes one after another—aimed to finish Arfa for good.
Seridan and Bellaruna could only stare wide-eyed.
Because within the sea of red fire, a burst of blue light flared up.
A freezing chill split the fiery giant’s breath in two, shattering the incoming crescents mid-air.
And it didn’t stop there.
The blue flash cut forward, cleaving the giant of fire vertically from brow to belly.
Glittering blue fragments filled the air, cooling the scorched surroundings.
Seridan whispered in disbelief,
“Was that... magic?”
Even steel would have melted in those flames.
Yet Arfa stood firm within them, holding a sword—
A massive greatsword made of ice.
It was obviously conjured through magic.
Victor screamed, startled out of his mind,
“W-what?! What was that just now?!”
Though flailing in panic, his sharp intellect grasped it at once.
“An Automaton using magic? That’s impossible!”
Arfa had cast magic—by his own will.
The magic used by Victor’s Automatons wasn’t genuine casting.
Like scrolls or artifacts, it was merely a pre-engraved spell triggered by mana stones, not true spellcraft.
Thus their power was inferior to that of real mages.
But Arfa was different.
He controlled mana himself, constructed a formula, and manifested magic—like a human.
Whether Victor could comprehend it or not, Arfa gazed silently at the ice greatsword in his hand.
—Arfa.
—Yes, Teacher.
He remembered vividly the conversation with Ludger before the Holy War began.
—To be honest, I don’t want you getting involved in this battle.
—Huh? Why not? I’m a proud member of Owens too!
—Because you’re still a child.
—For an Automaton like me...
—Not anymore. You know that yourself.
Arfa had no answer.
Ludger was right. Since the Dreamland incident, Arfa had learned the truth about his own soul.
—Teacher, even so, I want to fight.
He looked down at his empty palm.
It looked like a human hand—but inside were only gears and springs, not warmth.
—I’ve become stronger. Not the way I wished, but still... I want to use this strength to help you.
—And you truly mean that?
—Yes.
Arfa’s pure eyes met Ludger’s.
After a long look, Ludger sighed and nodded.
—I can’t force your choices now. But understand this—the coming battle will be harsh, even for your sturdy body.
—I’m prepared for that.
—Then I’ll teach you how to become stronger.
—A way to get stronger? There’s such a thing?
—Yes. With the awareness you have now, it’s possible.
What Ludger said next had shocked him.
—From now on, you’ll learn how to use magic.
—Magic? But I’m an Automaton—I can’t use magic.
—Your body can’t. But your soul and mind can.
Ludger formed a faint blue sigil in his palm with mana.
—How do humans use magic? They draw in ambient mana and store it within their bodies. But that mana isn’t exclusive to humans.
Creatures saturated with mana become spirits.
Plants in mana-rich lands evolve into new forms.
Arfa knew this—he had seen it himself in the Kassar Basin.
—Steam Golems and other machines run on mana stones. The power within those stones moves them. So here’s a question: is the mana used by Golems any different from that used by humans?
—I... guess not. Both come from nature’s mana, after all.
—Exactly. Humans, beasts, plants, machines—all can use mana. The only difference is whether they do so by will or not.
Ludger’s blue eyes pierced into him.
—Arfa. Are you a machine... or a human?
That alone was enough for Arfa to understand.
—But I can’t store mana, and I don’t know how to form spells.
—Why do you think you don’t know?
—Because I’ve never learned.
—True. You haven’t learned—but you’ve seen it countless times, haven’t you?
—...
—You remember everything you see. So you know how many spells you witnessed that day in Kassar Basin.
Arfa looked down at his hand again.
The smooth palm, without a single callus, now held a greatsword once more.
Yes.
He remembered everything—
The spellcraft of the mages that day.
The art of drawing patterns in the air with mana.
The boy who once wanted to learn and imitate that beauty—
Had finally grasped what he’d longed for.
To help someone.
To protect his companions.
Arfa extended his left hand.
Flames gathered in his open palm, forming a staff of fire.
“Grandpa Rimray... I’ll borrow your strength for a bit.”
With a gentle smile, Arfa gripped the fiery staff and swung it wide.
For a moment, Seridan and Bellaruna saw the illusion of an old sage standing behind him.
FWOOOOOSH!
A tidal wave of flame surged forward, engulfing Black Order.
“D-don’t lose, Black Order!”
At Victor’s command, the black Automaton’s red eyes flared as it unleashed magic.
Ice-element spells stored within its artifacts and mana stones activated in rapid succession.
Though each was weaker than true magic, it could fire many at once.
From the First Circle to the Fourth—
A barrage of ice magic roared like machine-gun fire.
Blades of frost, howling blizzards, spears of ice, hail from the ceiling—
But none of it mattered before Arfa’s fiery staff.
Every ice spell shattered, and flames exploded across Black Order’s body.
Yet it endured.
As Victor’s ultimate creation, it had built-in resistance to fire.
But it couldn’t withstand the next blow.
CRRRR-KRRR-SH!
The ice greatsword slammed diagonally into Black Order’s shoulder.
Its hard frame stopped the blade near the collarbone, but the impact was immense.
Arfa released the sword and conjured a new weapon—
A violet lightning saber.
Then came a whip of water, a spear of stone, and blades of wind, striking in succession.
KRA-KRA-KANG!
Black Order’s body was torn apart, its limbs scattering across the lab.
“This can’t be! My—my perfect Automaton, destroyed?!”
Behind his goggles, Victor’s eyes gleamed madly as he glared at Arfa.
“Yes... now I see! You infused a soul into that Automaton! That’s why it could use magic! But how?! Transferring a human soul into steel should damage it—make it forget who it once was!”
Victor tore off his white lab coat.
“Well, it doesn’t matter! I’ve found a specimen so rare—I must capture you and dissect you piece by piece!”
“You really think you can catch me?”
“Ohohoho! You underestimate me too much.”
Beneath the discarded coat was the scrawny frame of a scientist.
But as Victor tensed his body, his muscles swelled grotesquely, his form expanding.
“Did you think I only modified machines to prepare for this?”
Astonishingly, Victor had experimented on himself as well.
“A true scientist must never spare even his own body!”
“I figured as much.”
The reply came not from Arfa, but from Bellaruna.
At that same moment—thunk!—Victor felt a sharp sting in his thigh.
“What the—?”
He looked down to see Bellaruna beside him, having plunged a syringe into his now-bulging leg.
Smiling up at him, she said lightly,
“I guessed that a mad scientist like you would’ve experimented on his own body.”
