Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 102. Echoes of Iron: Jack vs Rhok

A silver Armatus and a red one stood locked in a standoff, neither willing to yield.

“…So that cannon is still functioning somehow… huh?” Jack muttered, eyeing Pael’s weapon. The cannons were twisted and deformed, barely recognisable.

In the distance, Jack subtly signalled his P.N.I. bot to position itself safely behind him.

Pael rose to his feet, disconnecting the damaged backpack and dropping the cannons onto the ground.

“Now you’ve got it, Jack. Just you and me!” Pael scoffed, charging forward.

Jack met the challenge head-on, sword at the ready—

Then, slicing through the sky, the Dark Armatus appeared, drawing both their attention.

Jack gasped. “Rhok?! You’re alive?!”

There were no signs of damage on Rhok’s Armatus.

Relieved, Jack motioned his P.N.I. for a quick arm replacement. The mechanical bot whirred, swiftly installing a new limb.

But then, his blood turned cold.

Rhok landed next to the enemy.

“W~What does this mean?” Jack asked, his face numb. He couldn't believe his eyes.

[Private Channel Request]

Jack swallowed hard before reluctantly accepting. Dread built in his chest.

“…Sorry, Jack. I realise I need to change this world,” Rhok said hoarsely.

“What does this mean? Impossible! The oath should—” Jack frowned deeply, disbelief etched on his face.

“I died,” Rhok said coldly. “Just for a moment.”

He remembered Suingi’s hand pumping his chest minutes after his heart had stopped. The contract had been fulfilled. Now, Rhok was a free man — free will, unbound.

“But even so… why?”

“Jack, this war must end from the inside. That’s the only way it’s ever been done. And… I’m done being a pawn in this game.”

His words hung in the air, heavy with finality.

“H~How? We’re so close! If Princess Aurelia—”

“Don’t you get it?!” Rhok snapped, voice raised. “The princess will never succeed. The Celestius mages will never unite. You know it too. The strong will never bow to the weak!”

Rhok’s helmet retracted. Determination blazed in his eyes… but Jack saw it. A flicker of doubt. So faint only he could notice.

“She isn’t the reckoning. She’s a tool. And a mere tool will never be able to command Celestius. You’re a fool to think she could… when even Empress Aurora Vere Borealis couldn’t.”

“But you don’t know that!” Jack argued.

“I’m the only one who does…” Rhok’s voice softened.

Disappointment hit Jack like a tide. “After everything… When you stopped the dam, you taught me Armatus wasn’t just a weapon. Why change now?”

Silence.

Then, a video transmission flickered onto Jack’s screen — grainy at first, before sharpening.

Golden arc boots.

Half-sunken in scorched dirt.

He squinted.

Something was wrong.

No… not just boots.

His heart plummeted.

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They were her legs.

Severed clean. Left in a pool of thick, drying blood.

His breath caught.

The world slowed.

“NO—NO—NO—NO! NOOOOO! LUPUS!!”

The scream tore from him, raw and feral, like his soul had been ripped in half.

His body convulsed.

His heart shattered.

Pain wracked through him like fire, clawing at his muscles, tearing through his bones until everything felt scorched and hollow.

And then—

Silence. Stillness. Something inside him died.

His hands stopped trembling.

His breath levelled.

The grief didn’t vanish. It solidified.

His eyes rose to Rhok — not wide with terror, but narrowed with deadly intent. They burned, not with panic, but precision.

Hate. Distilled.

“Where is she?” Jack growled. His voice was low and guttural, like a blade dragged against stone.

There was no panic now. No mercy. No fear.

The man who fought to survive was gone.

What remained was colder.

Sharper.

Unforgiving.

He wasn’t here to escape anymore. He was here to end this.

Rhok said nothing. He stepped forward, sword in hand. Pael moved to support him, but Rhok held out his arm.

He knew.

This wasn’t the same Jack.

This was something far worse.

Jack calmly switched his comms.

“Steve, get her across the border. Rhok’s been compromised. Lupus is in grave danger.”

His tone was level. But his blood was boiling.

“Jack, this is Aurelia. Let’s regroup—!”

“No, Princess. Go without me. I will NOT leave my family behind,” he said, his resolve unshakable.

He cut the channel before she could respond.

“Rhok. Tell me where she is.” Jack commanded through clenched teeth, his gaze locked on the dark Armatus — inside sat the man he once called brother.

“I don’t know,” Rhok replied. His helmet slid down, shielding his face. His Armatus shifted into base stance.

A wild, feral scream echoed through the forest.

“YAAAAAAA!”

Jack’s body moved before his thoughts caught up, his Armatus surging forward.

Rhok dashed, sword drawn. He slashed toward Jack’s blade tip — his weakest point.

Jack parried. As the blades connected, he spun, capturing the momentum and bringing his sword down.

With elite skill, Rhok sidestepped and enhanced his agility with his thrusters.

“Amazing!” Rhok’s eyes widened in admiration.

Spotting an opening on Jack’s left, Rhok lunged.

“Got it!” Jack pivoted off his heel, fading from the strike. Rhok’s blade missed. He tried to retreat — but Jack had already spun into a full swing.

Siiinnnnng!

The shriek of steel echoed as Jack’s blade deflected Rhok’s.

Staggered, Rhok scrambled for a defensive posture.

A punch slammed into his Armatus’s head, rocking him backward.

Jack followed up with a brutal boosted knee, slamming into his chestplate and sending Rhok rolling across the ground. His offense was aggressive, yet calculated.

“Incredible…” Rhok muttered, sweat beading inside his helmet. He ignited his thrusters and took to the sky.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Jack roared, baring his teeth as he gave chase.

Abruptly, Rhok turned mid-air and swung his blade at his pursuer.

“I’ve seen through you!” Jack said, his fingers twitching with inhuman precision. The silver Armatus veered away from the incoming strike.

“YAAAAA!” Jack shouted, lunging forward and sweeping his sword. Rhok raised his weapon in a rigid guard, elbow tucked close.

Jack’s blade arched—

“Rhok! Behind you—!” Pael’s voice crackled with alarm.

From the shadows, the small P.N.I. bot slammed into Rhok’s back.

Instinctively, Rhok parried Jack’s incoming strike, but his mind was distracted.

Spotting the exposed gap below, Jack plunged his ionised blade through.

The rapid strikes severed Rhok’s legs.

“Ugh! Bloody hell!” Rhok growled, lunging into a final offensive.

“Fall!” Jack roared, unrelenting.

With surgical precision, his blade tore through Rhok’s Armatus, exposing the cockpit—

But no one was inside.

It was a remote shell.

The Dark Armatus exploded, lighting up the sky.

“Coward! Where are you, Rhok?!” Jack bellowed, his voice unanswered.

Hovering mid-air, Jack slowly turned toward Pael. His visor glowed like a vengeful spirit, fuelled by rage.

Pael’s face turned pale. He’d seen ruthless fighters before — but this was something else. A display of precision. Of wrath. Of devastation.

He stumbled back, trembling.

Raising his axe in a defensive stance, he braced for the worst.

But Jack didn’t strike. He did the unthinkable.

In an instant, the silver Armatus turned and bolted north at full speed—toward Lupus’s last known location.

Relieved, Pael exhaled shakily.

“What… a monster…” he muttered, clutching his chest.

For the first time in his life, he’d felt true fear.