Episode-956
Chapter : 1911
"Okay," Lloyd said, his voice gaining speed. "So the tech exists. The physics are sound. It’s a field generator. If Fire Fly can build one... and if this design is 'garbage' like Ben says... then we can do better."
He looked at Eun-ha, his eyes blazing with intensity.
"We can build one for you."
Eun-ha went still. "Evan..."
"No, listen," Lloyd interrupted, pacing again. "I have the materials. I have Star-Frost Ore—it blocks mana leakage perfectly. I have Lilith Stones for the processing. I have the Golem Heart technology for the power source. And now, thanks to you, I have the Soul-Circuitry code to link it to your body."
He stopped and looked at her, a crazy, brilliant grin spreading across his face.
"I can reverse-engineer this. I can build a Reality Anchor that doesn't leak. A clean version. A better version."
He grabbed her hands.
"I can build you a suit, Eun-ha. Or an amulet. Whatever it takes. I can build a device that generates the field without the 'trash' components Ben is talking about. We can jailbreak the physics."
Eun-ha looked at him. She saw the determination in his eyes. She saw the husband who had once built a walking machine out of scrap metal in a basement. She knew he could do it. She knew he had the genius to out-build the Firefly Corporation.
But she didn't smile.
Instead, her expression grew dark. She looked at the hologram, specifically at a small, innocuous-looking red node near the center of the device.
"You could build it," Eun-ha admitted softly. "The schematics are right here. I stole them from Mammon’s database years ago. I know exactly how to assemble it."
"Then why haven't you?" Lloyd asked, confused. "If you have the plans, and you have the resources here... why are you still trapped?"
Eun-ha pulled her hands away. She walked back up the stairs to her throne, sitting down with a heaviness that seemed to shake the room. She looked down at Lloyd, her violet eyes filled with a warning.
"Because, Evan," she whispered, "Firefly doesn't give away gifts. They don't hand out god-like power for free."
She waved her hand at the hologram, highlighting the red node.
"There is a price for wearing that device. A price that Lucifer and Bael were willing to pay, but I am not."
Lloyd looked at the red node. "What is it? A flaw? A battery limit?"
"No," Ben said from the shadows, his voice grim. He recognized the component. He knew exactly what it was. "It’s not a flaw, Lord Lloyd. It’s a feature."
Eun-ha nodded.
"Before we talk about building anything," she said, "you need to know what that red light really does. You need to know who really holds the leash."
Lloyd stared at the schematic. The hope that had risen in his chest suddenly felt cold. He realized that the "solution" was actually a trap.
"Tell me," Lloyd said.
Eun-ha took a deep breath.
"It’s about control, Evan. And if I tell you this... there is no going back. We will be declaring war on the Corporation itself."
"We're already at war," Lloyd said. "Tell me."
Eun-ha leaned forward, her eyes gleaming in the dark.
"Then listen closely."
________________________________________
The hologram floating above the black obsidian table was a mess of glowing green lines and complex magical circuits. It looked impressive, like the inside of a futuristic watch, but Lloyd wasn't looking at the pretty lights anymore. He was staring at one specific, tiny spot deep inside the machine’s design.
It was a small, blinking red dot buried near the power core. To a normal person, it looked like just another part of the engine. But Lloyd was an engineer. He knew that in a system this complex, the smallest parts were usually the ones that caused the biggest explosions.
The vast crystal room was dead silent. The only sound was the low hum of Ben Ironwood’s new mechanical arms adjusting their servos.
"Ben," Lloyd said, his voice low and serious. "Tell me you see that."
Ben was leaning against a crystal pillar nearby, looking like he would rather be literally anywhere else. His massive metal arms were crossed over his chest, and his face was twisted into a sneer of supreme boredom. He didn't move from his spot. He just glanced at the hologram with half-lidded eyes.
Chapter : 1912
"I see it," Ben grumbled. His voice was deep, rough, and dripping with attitude. "I saw it the second the Professor turned the map on. You are slow today, Lord Lloyd. It is standard Firefly architecture. Efficient, mean, and completely lacking in creativity."
Ben pushed himself off the pillar. Thud. Thud. His heavy metal legs echoed on the stone floor as he walked over to the table. He didn't ask for permission to approach; he walked like he owned the building. He stopped next to Lloyd and pointed a metal finger right at the red dot.
"That is not a battery regulator," Ben stated, looking at Lloyd like Lloyd was a student who had failed a simple test. "That is a receiver. It is listening for a signal."
Lloyd looked up at his wife, Eun-ha. She was standing on the steps of her throne, her dark dress settling around her like ink. She looked regal, but her eyes were tired. She wasn't looking at the map. She was looking at him, waiting for the realization to hit.
"It receives a signal," Lloyd repeated, his brain working fast. "From where?"
"From the Firefly Corporation," Eun-ha answered quietly. She walked down the steps, her movement graceful but heavy. "From their headquarters. From their ships. From anywhere in the galaxy."
She stopped next to the table. She reached into the hologram with her sharp black claw and flicked her finger. The image of the red dot expanded. It opened up to show a complex web of circuits that looked like a spiderweb made of angry red light.
"You have to understand how they do business, Evan," she said, using his name from Earth. "Firefly doesn't give people freedom. They lease it. They don't want allies. They want assets."
She pointed to the red web.
"Lucifer, Mammon, Beelzebub," she listed the names of the other Devil Princes. "You wondered why they are so loyal to the invaders? Why Sovereign-level monsters would bow to a corporation? It isn't just because they get power."
Her eyes flashed with a cold, purple light.
"They are dogs," she said bitterly. "And that red light? That is the leash."
Lloyd felt a cold chill run down his back. "It’s a remote control."
"Worse," Ben corrected. He tapped the table hard with his metal finger. Clink. "It is a Kill Switch. It is a bomb. If the Firefly bosses decide that Lucifer is acting too independent, or if he says 'no' to an order... click."
Ben snapped his fingers. The sound was loud and sharp in the quiet room.
"The device doesn't just turn off," Ben explained. He sounded like he was talking about the weather, not murder. "It reverses the pressure flow. It creates a vacuum inside their chest cavity. It would crush their Spirit Core in less than a nanosecond. It wouldn't just kill them; it would erase them. No body to bury. No soul to reincarnate. Just... delete."
The room felt heavy. Lloyd stared at the drawing. He thought about Lucifer—the arrogant Devil King who had attacked his home and killed Jasmin. He imagined Lucifer walking around the human world, bragging about how strong he was, completely clueless that some guy sitting in a comfortable chair on another planet could delete him by pressing a single button.
It was pathetic. And it was terrifying.
"So that’s why you’re still here," Lloyd whispered. He looked at Eun-ha. "You have the blueprints. You have the materials. You could have built this machine years ago. You could have left."
"I could have," Eun-ha admitted. She looked at her hands, at the black claws that made her look like a monster. "I wanted to come home, Evan. You have no idea how much I wanted to walk through that portal. For sixty years, I sat in this dark room and dreamed about seeing the sun again. I dreamed about coffee. I dreamed about rain."
She looked up, her chin high. She looked proud. She looked like the Queen she was.
"But I am the Sovereign of Envy," she said strongly. "I do not submit. I do not wear a collar. I would rather rot in this dark hole for a thousand years than let a corporation hold the keys to my life."
Lloyd looked at her. He didn't feel sorry for her. He felt proud. This was the woman he loved. She was smart, she was scary, and she refused to be a slave.
"Good," Lloyd said firmly. "Because I wouldn't let you wear that piece of trash anyway."