Episode-1014
Chapter : 2027
"It’s time for the Soul-Sync," Lloyd announced.
The pilots stiffened. They knew what this meant.
The Aegis suits didn't use joysticks or buttons. That was too slow. To fight a Devil or a Fire Fly cyborg, you needed to move at the speed of thought. The suits used a direct neural interface—the Soul-Circuitry that Leviathan had designed.
But connecting a human brain to a magic engine wasn't like plugging in a lamp. It hurt. It required the pilot to open their mind and let the machine's operating system flood their consciousness. It required synchronization.
"This is the final step," Lloyd said, grabbing one of the cables. "Once we do this, the suit isn't just a vehicle. It learns your reflexes. It learns your fear. It becomes an extension of your body. If the suit takes damage, you will feel it. If the suit dies... the feedback might kill you."
He looked at them. "Last chance to walk away. No shame. You can go join the logistics team with the Queen."
Kaito caught his coin mid-air. He didn't flip it again. "I was a cheat and a loser in the city, boss. In that suit... I'm a god. I'm not going back."
Vala nodded. "I'm tired of running."
Ren just smiled, a feral, hungry smile. "Plug me in."
Lloyd nodded. "Alright. Get in the pods."
The pilots climbed into the cockpits of their respective mechs. The chest plates hissed shut, sealing them inside tons of armor.
Lloyd stood at the main console. He watched the biometric readings appear on the screen. Their heart rates were elevated. Their adrenaline was spiking.
"Initializing Soul-Sync," Lloyd said into the microphone. "Interface in 3... 2... 1."
He slammed the lever forward.
A low hum filled the room, rising quickly to a high-pitched whine. The eyes of the three Aegis suits flared to life—blue for Rook, green for Valkyrie, red for Ghost.
Inside the suits, the pilots screamed.
It wasn't a scream of pain, exactly. It was the scream of a mind being suddenly expanded. It was the shock of suddenly having metal skin and hydraulic muscles.
On the screen, the synchronization graphs spiked wildly, red lines jagged and chaotic.
"Hold it together," Lloyd whispered, watching the data. "Don't fight the machine. Let it in."
The lines began to smooth out. The screaming stopped, replaced by heavy, rhythmic breathing over the comms channel. The massive machines shifted. They flexed their fingers. They turned their heads. They weren't moving like robots anymore. They were moving with the fluid, natural grace of living things.
"Sync complete," the computer announced. "Rates at 98%."
"Rook," Lloyd said. "Status?"
"Online," Ren’s voice came back, filtered through the suit’s speakers. It sounded deep and heavy, like grinding stones. "Systems green. I can feel the reactor, boss. It feels like a heartbeat."
"Valkyrie?"
"Targeting systems active," Vala reported. Her machine drew a massive sword from its back with a smooth, blurring motion. "I can see everything. 360-degree vision. It’s... it’s beautiful."
"Ghost?"
"Stealth drive charging," Kaito said. His mech seemed to shimmer and fade slightly into the background. "I'm ready to disappear."
Lloyd stepped back. He looked up at his creation. Three titans of steel and magic, piloted by the three people society had thrown away. They were ready.
"Rest now," Lloyd ordered. "Stay in the link. Get used to the weight. In forty-eight hours, we drop into the Erza Plains. And when we land... we are going to shake the earth."
He turned off the console lights, leaving the hangar illuminated only by the glowing eyes of the machines.
Lloyd walked out of the manufactory. The sun was fully up now. The day had begun. The planning was done. The teams were set. The weapons were loaded.
He looked north, toward the horizon where the enemy was waiting.
"Come and get it," Lloyd whispered.
Date: Year 2513, Month of Sun, Day 15
Time: 06:00 AM
Location: High Altitude above the Erza Plains
The sun had just begun to peek over the edge of the world, painting the sky in streaks of bruised purple and burning orange. The air up here, thousands of feet above the ground, was thin and freezing. It didn't smell like the earth or the grass; it smelled of cold mist and the sharp, chemical scent of high-grade engine oil.
High above the clouds, a massive Zakarian airship drifted silently. It was a beast of a vessel, built for long-distance cargo, but today it carried a payload far heavier than grain or silk. The hull creaked and groaned against the high-altitude winds, a constant reminder of the fragile bubble of safety it provided.
Chapter : 2028
Inside the dark, vibrating cargo bay of the airship, the mood was not peaceful. It was tight, like a wire stretched until it was ready to snap.
Ten massive shapes stood locked into deployment racks along the walls. They were the Aegis Mark II suits—twelve-foot-tall humanoids made of matte-grey steel. They didn't glow with magical runes like the golems of the past. They didn't hum with the song of spirits. They stood silent, heavy, and smelling of grease and hydraulics. They were machines built for a new kind of war.
Inside the cockpits of these machines sat the "Titan Squad."
They weren't knights. They weren't noble mages from high academies. They were the people the world had thrown away.
Ren, callsign "Rook," sat inside the heaviest suit. He was a man who had spent years in a wheelchair, looking at the world from the waist down. Now, he was encased in twelve tons of armor. He flexed his metal fingers, watching the servos respond instantly on his internal display. He checked his ammunition counters for the tenth time. His suit was loaded with solid slugs of Star-Metal, not spells.
"All systems green," Ren whispered, his voice deep and steady over the comms. "Engine temperature optimal. Hydraulics at 100%."
Next to him was Vala, callsign "Valkyrie." She was a street rat, a survivor who had fought for scraps in the alleys of the capital. She had been kicked out of a squire program for being too weak physically. Now, she piloted a machine that could punch through a castle wall. Her suit was leaner, equipped with high-speed thrusters and vibro-blades. She bounced her leg nervously, the massive metal foot of her suit clanking rhythmically against the floor of the airship.
"Let’s go," Vala hissed into her microphone. "I’m tired of waiting. The engine is vibrating my teeth out."
Further down the line was Kaito, callsign "Ghost." He was the gambler, the man who played odds. He was calm, almost detached. His suit was equipped with long-range sensors and a rifle that looked more like a cannon. He was watching the altitude meter ticking down.
"Patience, Valkyrie," Kaito said, his voice cool. "Gravity will do the work soon enough."
Standing on the catwalk above them, looking down at his creation, was Lloyd Ferrum. He wore his black Commander’s uniform, his face set in a hard, emotionless mask. He wasn't piloting his own Mark III suit today. Today, he was the conductor. He pressed the button on his comms unit, speaking to the entire squad.
"Listen up," Lloyd said. His voice cut through the static, clear and authoritative. "We have practiced this. We have run the simulations. But this isn't a game anymore. The enemy down there isn't a hologram. They are real, they are ugly, and they want to eat your souls."
Lloyd walked along the catwalk, looking at each machine.
"Remember what I told you," Lloyd continued. "You are not mages. Do not try to cast spells. Do not try to be heroes. You are pilots. You trust the steel. You trust the math. The enemy down there relies on magic. They think power comes from chanting words and waving sticks. We are going to teach them a lesson."
He stopped at the main console near the bay doors.
"We are going to teach them about physics," Lloyd said. "Mass times acceleration equals a very bad day for anyone standing underneath you."
Below the airship, the Erza Plains stretched out like a flat, dusty table. From this height, the ground looked like a patchwork quilt of brown and green. But moving across that quilt was a stain. A massive, spreading ink-blot of darkness.
It was Bael’s army.
Fifty thousand strong. It was a number that was hard to comprehend. From the air, they looked like a colony of ants, but Lloyd knew what they were. They were Curse Knights—reanimated armor driven by hate. They were demonic war-beasts—creatures of muscle and bone twisted by Abyssal magic. And leading them was Bael, the Merchant Prince of Hell, riding on a black armored drake.
They were marching toward the capital. If they weren't stopped here, on these flat plains, they would wash over the cities of the North like a tidal wave.
"Target sighted," Lloyd said. "Drop zone approaching in thirty seconds."
Inside the suits, the pilots stiffened. This was it. The training wheels were off.
"Rook, you are the anvil," Lloyd ordered. "You hit the center. Break their formation. Make them look at you."
"Copy that, Commander," Ren replied. "I'll be the biggest rock in the pond."