Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 129. Finish Line II

"On your feet, Zetius! Now!" Her warning flared red, painting his face in a dark crimson hue. The glowing blade arched toward his torso. He boosted the throttle away just in time, the blade cleaving into the chequer plate floor.

Rolling a few times before springing to his feet, his Armatus stood firm against the unknown.

"Ohhh... you really saw that coming? Such an intriguing subject, befitting the name of the Darkless Knight," Haoxiang’s voice boomed as he pulled off his reflective cloak and threw it aside.

"That’s how they masked their energy signature. Must be a lead-composite cloak of sorts," Zetius thought, his legs trembling from the earlier clash against the lancer’s beam.

"How confident, coming for a one-on-one," Zetius rebutted, his smirk widening. His red eyes burned with passion.

"Yes, I’m alone. The lead cloak couldn't fully mask our signature, so coming alone granted me the stealth blow. No matter. A crippled Armatus is no match for me!" Haoxiang sneered and lunged forward, his curved blade piercing through the air toward Zetius’s torso.

He evaded to the side. Another blade swept from his right.

"How about this!" Zetius launched forward and rammed into Haoxiang’s torso. Tonnes of metal collided, sparks flaring out.

Both were knocked back. Zetius rolled to the side, reaching out for a sword nearby. Simultaneously, Haoxiang dashed forward, sweeping his blade vertically.

Zetius grunted, snatching the blade and bringing it up.

Clang!

The ionised blades clashed with the sound of a thunderclap.

Flowing like a master swordsman, Haoxiang swung another blade, severing Zetius’s arm clean off.

Cubie screamed in agony as Zetius gritted his teeth.

"Return to me, Cubie!" he ordered, snapping his hands out of the glove controllers. His eyes glared at Haoxiang’s smug face on the comm.

He raised two fingers, steady over the other hand.

"Empyrion~Fire!"

Cubie zipped to his side as a small orb of condensed energy gathered on his fingertips.

The fiery red beam pierced through Zetius’s hatch, exiting his Armatus and striking straight through Haoxiang’s golden armour and into his cockpit.

The metal melted away. The beam rammed through his heart. His eyes widened in shock. First, the burning sensation, then numbness.

Through the gaping holes between their Armatus units, Haoxiang saw the silver-haired man, their gazes locked for a brief moment. He studied those red eyes deeply.

Is it triumph? Is it contempt? No... it is empathy, Haoxiang concluded.

"Impossible!" Haoxiang gasped, blood pooling from his throat. His eyes darted to the massive hole in his chest.

Nothing but gurgling sounds escaped his throat before his eyes rolled back, and his golden mobile suit collapsed to the ground. Lifelessness.

***

After a while, Aurelia and Friederich rushed to the scene, finding Zetius kneeling on the floor. Next to him lay another man. He was in his mid-fifties, his eyes closed as he lay motionless.

The burnt flesh stung Aurelia’s nostrils as she approached. She lifted her wrist to cover her nose. Then she saw the cauterised wound on the old man’s chest, and his cause of death was clear.

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Zetius’s silver hair clung with crimson. Cubie landed quietly on his shoulder.

As much as the man had been vile, Zetius respected what Haoxiang had attempted, duty until death. All high-ranking knights had their own interpretation of glory. For Haoxiang, it was the glory of persistence. That part, Zetius resonated with. Not through words or ideals, no... actions spoke louder than anything.

More importantly, if not for his arcane, namely Empyrion, Zetius would have perished in that moment.

"May your path to the underworld be undisturbed," he muttered, placing Haoxiang’s hands in a clasping over his belly.

"I shall remember you to the day I die, Haoxiang," Zetius said in deep reverence.

He rose to his feet, facing Aurelia and Friederich, their faces brimming with confusion.

A smile adorned his face. "I’m sorry for stealing all the show," he quipped.

"Attention! Attention!" Sandria’s broadcast echoed through the hull. "We have safely reached the oceanic border of Solis Aeternum. Their flagship, Yamamoto, is now riding alongside us to escort us to safety." Her voice was like a divine revelation, despite her typically flat tone.

In the control rooms, people threw their hands into the air, applauding ecstatically.

In the hangar, the crew cautiously emerged from hiding. Soon, they were cheering and screaming with joy, their voices filling the battered halls.

"More importantly, the Jinlong has abandoned their pursuit! I repeat, the enemy flagship has failed their mission," Sandria added firmly.

The crowd roared with applause.

"Zetius, Princess Aurelia Sol Solara, and Prime Guardian Friederich Eir Regis — I would like to thank you all, as the Director and as a representative of the people aboard Zeigerlich. Please, everyone, another round of applause for our champions and another for yourselves!" Sandria continued, her words lifting the already euphoric mood.

Zetius raised an eyebrow, wondering why she had mentioned everyone's full title except his. But he didn’t mind. In truth, he almost thought Sandria would have made a brilliant politician. She truly knew how to captivate her people. No wonder they trusted her with their lives.

Through the breached hull where Zetius’s Armatus had rammed through, people stared in awe at the sleek, silvery battlecruiser, flying with matching speed. The majestic red sun emblazoned on its flank gleamed under the sun, her mesmerising shield shimmering like a mirage.

Abruptly, Aurelia pulled both Friederich and Zetius into a tight hug. A mix of awkwardness and warmth filled the moment. Cubie nestled herself in the middle, purring contentedly.

After a while, Friederich pulled away, feeling uncomfortable. "Princess, that is quite an unsightly thing to do for your title."

"Ohhh~ screw the title or formality! You both are my family," she declared, pulling him back into the hug. Friederich blushed, but quickly hid it behind his straight-laced expression.

The atmosphere lightened up already.

The trio shared a soft laugh, the nostalgia and serenity, once thought lost, now blooming again in their hearts. Ultimately, they had returned to the place they once called home.

Sandria loomed behind Zetius, hands clasped behind her back. After Friederich performed a healing spell of Iasis on Zetius’s wounds, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

Zetius spun around, feigning surprise. "Oh, Sandria. You finally left the bridge, huh?" he teased light-heartedly.

"Trying to act cool as always. Aura isn’t going to serve you," Sandria dismissed him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Her hug almost suffocated him. Her faint perfume smelled of light woods and citrus, clean and sharp.

Zetius didn’t fight it. If Sandria could compromise her coldness, he could too. He gently brushed his hand along her back.

"Thank you so much, Zetius Zel Celerius," she whispered, loosening her grip slightly.

"You remember my full name after all... thank you," he whispered back, just as softly.

Sandria stepped back, a rare softness lingering in her eyes. Around them, the noise of celebration still echoed faintly through the battered hangar, but for a moment, it felt distant, like the world had finally given them a breath of peace.

Zetius glanced at Aurelia and Friederich, Cubie still perched proudly on his shoulder. He let out a long exhale, a tired smile tugging at his lips.

"Let’s head back," he said, his voice low but steady. Suddenly, he paused. "Wait~where is Ziyue?" he blurted out. Aurelia and Friederich exchanged a look, then shook their heads.

With the battered Zeigerlich groaning beneath their feet, the trio moved forward, toward the light and the future they had fought to reach.

***

Above them, unnoticed, Ziyue leaned against the handrail in solitude, watching them leave the hangar. Her chin rested lightly atop the rail, her expression unreadable — almost as if longing for a warmth she dared not approach.

She traced a lazy circle along the railing with her finger.

"I hate complications... especially the kind I might lose," she murmured, her voice carrying a lilting melody, as she inspected her nails with feigned indifference.