Episode-1011
Chapter : 2021
The silence of the Ferrum Estate’s main courtyard was shattered by the sudden arrival of twenty people and several tons of metal dropping out of thin air.
King Liam hit the gravel and rolled, coming up into a crouch with his pistol raised, his eyes scanning for threats before he even stopped moving. Queen Seraphina landed awkwardly, tearing her dress, but she kept her dignity, immediately checking on her mages. The Sultan of Zakaria just landed flat on his back and groaned.
Asmodeus landed on his feet, creating a crater in the perfectly manicured lawn. He gently set the chair with Satan’s Avatar down. The old man hadn't even spilled his tea, though the cup was long gone.
And then, the Aegis Mark III fell.
It hit the ground with a sound like a car crash. The heavy black mech skidded across the courtyard, digging a deep trench through the flowerbeds and smashing through a stone fountain before coming to a halt in a cloud of dust and steam.
The courtyard went quiet, save for the hissing of the overheated mech and the groans of the injured.
The estate guards, who had been patrolling the walls, froze. They stared at the sudden army that had appeared on their lawn. They saw devils, foreign kings, and a wrecked war machine. For a second, nobody moved.
Then, the doors to the main house flew open.
Rosa Siddik didn't walk out; she ran. She was wearing a simple house dress, but in her hand was a spear made of pure, jagged ice. Her eyes were wide, scanning the wreckage. She wasn't looking at the kings. She wasn't looking at the devils. She was looking at the smoking black heap of metal in the center of the fountain.
"Lloyd!" she screamed.
Behind her, Mina appeared in the doorway. She was clutching a bundle of blankets—their son, Sullivan—tight against her chest. Her face was pale, her eyes terrified. She saw the blood on the ground. She saw the smoke.
Arch Duke Roy Ferrum limped out behind them, leaning heavily on his cane. He looked at the scene—the shattered fountain, the exhausted royals, the demons standing on his grass. He didn't ask questions. He didn't panic. He just straightened his back.
"Secure the perimeter!" Roy roared at his frozen guards. "Get the healers! Now!"
The estate exploded into action. Servants rushed forward with stretchers. Guards formed a protective ring around the confused group.
But Lloyd didn't hear any of it. Inside the cockpit of the Aegis, it was dark. The power was completely dead. The air was hot and tasted of copper. He tried to move his arm, but the servos were locked. He was trapped in his own armor.
"System," Lloyd rasped. "Open the hatch."
Nothing happened. The manual release was jammed.
"Open the damn door," Lloyd growled.
He punched the inside of the faceplate. His fist, reinforced with his internal [Steel Blood] power, dented the metal. He punched it again. And again.
With a screech of tearing metal, the helmet popped open. The fresh air of the estate rushed in. It smelled of pine trees and home.
Lloyd pushed himself up. He climbed out of the broken machine, his muscles screaming in protest. He slid down the side of the armor and his boots hit the wet stone of the fountain. He stumbled, his legs almost giving out, but he caught himself on the edge of the basin.
He looked up.
He saw the chaos. He saw the fear in the eyes of his allies. He saw the devils looking uncomfortable in the sunlight.
And then he saw his family.
He saw Rosa, lowering her ice spear, her chest heaving with relief. He saw Mina, tears streaming down her face, holding their son so tight her knuckles were white. He saw his father, broken but standing tall.
Lloyd took a breath. It hurt. His ribs were bruised, maybe cracked. His mana reserves were empty. But he was alive.
He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
The retreat was over. Now, they had to deal with the reality of what just happened. They had lost the summit. They had lost the element of surprise. The enemy knew everything.
But they were still breathing.
Lloyd straightened his uniform. He ignored the pain. He ignored the exhaustion. He pushed the "Sofa King" deep down into the dark, and he locked the door. That man didn't exist anymore.
The man who stood in the courtyard wasn't a husband returning from a trip. He was a commander returning from the front lines.
Chapter : 2022
He stepped over the rubble of the fountain and walked toward his family.
________________________________________
The Ferrum Estate had seen many things in its history. It had seen weddings, funerals, and parades. But it had never seen a gathering like this.
The courtyard was a tableau of impossible alliances. On one side stood the Human Alliance: King Liam, checking the magazine of his pistol; Queen Seraphina, dusting off her white robes; and the Sultan of Zakaria, who was currently being helped up by a servant.
On the other side stood the Satan Faction. Asmodeus was towering over a rosebush, looking annoyed. Monalisa was sitting on the grass, looking bored. Leviathan—Eun-ha—was standing apart from them, her eyes fixed on Lloyd with a laser-like intensity. And in the middle of it all sat the old man in the chair, the Avatar of Satan, looking like a grandfather enjoying a chaotic family picnic.
But the center of gravity was Lloyd.
He walked across the gravel. His black uniform was torn. There were scorch marks on his sleeves and blood on his collar. He didn't look like a noble. He looked like a man who had just crawled out of a grave.
Rosa met him halfway. She didn't hug him. She didn't cry. She scanned him with the eyes of a warrior, checking for critical wounds.
"You're bleeding," Rosa said. Her voice was steady, but there was a tremor underneath it. "Your shoulder."
"I'm fine," Lloyd said. His voice was rough. "It's not deep."
"You look like hell," Rosa countered. "What happened? Where is Lucifer?"
"He's still on the island," Lloyd said. "We left him there. His leash broke."
Mina rushed forward then. She didn't have Rosa’s restraint. She grabbed Lloyd’s arm, her free hand clutching the baby.
"Lloyd!" she cried. "We felt the shockwave. The mana in the air... it felt like the sky was falling. Are you okay? Is it over?"
Lloyd looked at her. He looked at the bundle in her arms. He reached out a dirty, trembling hand and pulled the blanket back slightly. His son, Sullivan, was sleeping. The baby didn't know about devils or corporations or orbital strikes. He was just sleeping, safe and warm.
Seeing that peaceful face felt like a punch to the gut. It was a reminder of exactly what was at stake. If Lloyd failed, if they lost this war, there would be no future for this child. There would be no world left for him to grow up in.
The sight of his son didn't soften Lloyd. It hardened him. It burned away the last shreds of hesitation.
"No," Lloyd said quietly. "It's not over."
He pulled his hand back. He looked at Mina, then at Rosa.
"Take the boy inside," Lloyd ordered. "Take him to the bunker. Lock the doors."
"Lloyd?" Mina asked, confused by the coldness in his tone.
"Do it," Lloyd said. "Now."
Mina hesitated, then saw the look in his eyes. She nodded, turning and running back into the house with the baby.
Lloyd turned back to the group in the courtyard.
Arch Duke Roy limped forward. He looked at the gathered kings and monsters. He didn't bow. He just looked at his son.
"Report," Roy said.
"The summit was a trap," Lloyd said. He spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "The Fire Fly Corporation has fully integrated with the Lucifer Faction. They have Dropships. They have Mana-Scramblers. They have Reality Anchors that allow Devil Kings to walk on the surface without penalty."
A murmur of fear went through the household staff.
"Lucifer is operational," Lloyd continued. "Beelzebub and Mammon are with him. They aren't hiding in the Abyss anymore. They have a beachhead on the surface."
"And the treaty?" Roy asked.
"Signed," King Liam interrupted, stepping forward. He holstered his pistol. "We are allies, Roy. Humans and Devils. We're all on the same sinking ship now."
Leviathan walked over. She stood next to Lloyd. The sight of the beautiful, dark-haired woman standing so close to the heir caused a ripple of whispers among the servants, but Lloyd didn't care.
"We bought some time," Leviathan said. Her voice was cool and analytical. "When we broke the anchor, we disrupted their power grid. Lucifer will need time to recalibrate. His systems are offline. He can't manifest his full power for... maybe seventy-two hours."
"Three days," Lloyd translated.
He looked around the courtyard. He saw the fear in the eyes of the servants. He saw the exhaustion in the posture of the kings. He saw the doubt.