Chapter 57: The Guardian

  The Guardian – known in professional circles as the PKA-2, and in less professional ones as simply a Killing Machine – was Ironwatch’s most feared and coveted automaton.

  Public life in Orlinth – and likely the Foundry as well – could be divided into two eras: before the creation of the Guardian, and after.

  Sure, the Aetherguard Mark III suits worn by the Obsidian Crows had changed the game too. But there weren’t that many of those. The Guardian, on the other hand, was the one to crush any remaining ounces of resistance the people had toward the oligarchs. It was also much easier to reproduce.

  And don’t even get me started on the fact that the Aetherguard Mark III took heavy visual inspiration from the Guardian’s model.

  Nobody dared to raise a riot with the Guardians around. At least not until Valdemar and Libra came along.

  The Iron Enforcers were brutal, but people understood they could be overrun with sheer numbers – that’s how it went during the last attempted revolution, roughly a century ago. But the Guardian? That was never an option. Too large, too strong, too sturdy. And unlike most automatons, they could wield mana crystals – similar to us and our COGs.

  Worse yet, they were constantly upgraded. Frame, loadout – everything. The latest version was already a whopping level 37. Meaning that it’s Overheat and Memory Slots functions were likely maxed out to avoid any type of strain while they could cycle and reuse crystals nonstop. Durability was probably maxed too, rendering most attacks meaningless. And that’s even without mentioning how one of its arms is a blade the length of an average teenager, and the other a deadly rifle.

  Now, one was looking for me.

  My twin light orbs vanished the moment my COG finished burning through the Lumen. I crouched lower, retreating behind the conveyor belt, dragging myself backward inch by inch toward the door.

  Darkness would have to be my ally – at least, I hoped. Night vision shouldn’t be a thing for these bastards – at least not as far as I knew. Silent escape was the smartest option.

  I couldn’t take it. Not now. Not with this loadout. I needed more crystals. More levels – especially to the Quality function – if I even wanted a shot at dealing real damage to this thing.

  Armor-Piercer was out of the question. I only had three bullets left, and to take down a Guardian with just one, I’d need to land a perfect shot straight into its core – which I seriously doubted I could. Moreso after I already missed a point-blank shot at the Crow.

  Suddenly – CLICK.

  The space behind me lit up. The Guardian activated its built-in Lumen flashlight, aiming it directly at me, catching me mid-way to the door.

  Fuck…

  Instinct kicked in. I dove to the side just as a bullet ripped through the floor where I’d been a second earlier.

  On the ground, I scrambled for cover.

  “Zee! take cover!” I called, worried he might try to retaliate and get himself shredded in the process.

  But I couldn’t see him anywhere.

  Then it hit me.

  Don’t tell me he cloaked and is searching for an angle…

  Whatever he was doing, I had to focus on staying alive. From the sound of its steps, the Guardian was closing in.

  Running was still the smartest option, but the distance to the door was too far. I’d be shot in the back before I got halfway.

  And sure – I had Checkpoint active. If I died, I’d respawn outside the door like nothing ever happened, able to leave without a single worry.

  But I couldn’t. Something in me just refused to accept death so easily – even if it wasn’t actual death. And really, how was knowingly running into gunfire not a form of suicide?

  Oh, fuck it. We’re fighting back. I already had a plan, and it’d be a waste not to try.

  First, we take away its gun.

  Hunkered behind a conveyor belt, I summoned an Aero and slotted it into the Channel Core. The needles bit into my arm, and the green mana followed.

  [Burn Rate lvl. 2: Aero is burning. Time left – 00:00:59]

  [Multi-Channel lvl. 2: Dual-Channel available – Cryora + Aero]

  The second I peeked out, the Guardian fired again.

  But I was ready.

  I activated Slow and easily dodged the incoming bullet. Then, I closed the distance before blasting a heavy gust of wind from my palm at its rifle.

  The world returned to normal just as the wind hit the Guardian’s armgun, making it lose some balance.

  “Zee! Go for the armgun!” I shouted, hoping he was there and hadn’t actually bailed on me after realizing I wasn’t his master.

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  He hadn’t.

  He decloaked mid-jump, right as his sharp, metallic fangs sank into the base of the Guardian’s rifle.

  The Guardian reacted fast, raising its other arm to impale Zee with its blade.

  But there was a reason I’d picked Aero.

  I aimed at its raised blade, releasing another concentrated gust, pushing it back slightly and throwing its balance further off.

  Meanwhile, Zee’s jaw tore deeper into its arm.

  What were those fangs even made of? I never checked. But for them to chew through metal like that, they had to be made from titanium, or something even tougher.

  I kept up the wind blasts at his armblade – no damage, but enough to keep the Guardian stun-locked.

  Until finally – SNAP.

  The entire armgun tore off in Zee’s jaws.

  Good. Step one complete. I had to get rid of the gun first – there was no way I could keep dodging bullets for long. I could only use Slow once, and without it, dodging gunfire constantly was physically impossible.

  But now came the real problem – the Guardian's power-up, if you will.

  The Guardian, now classifying me as a magic-using threat, activated its own mana crystals. From the gaping socket where its rifle used to be, it unleashed a surge of fire – like a flamethrower – in our direction.

  I threw myself backward, summoning more winds to redirect the rampant flames away from me and Zee.

  Then I used Freeze, using the stop to scan the battlefield.

  My gaze locked onto the Guardian’s heavy feet. If Zee could snap one of them off, it’d probably topple the whole thing – then maybe, maybe, I’d have a clean shot at the core.

  Speaking of…where was its core located?

  Surely they hadn’t placed it dead center in the chest like it was some service-type automaton such as a valet - that’d be too easy for Libra’s trained insurgents. And it wouldn’t be in the limbs…or the head either – too risky.

  I narrowed my eyes, examining the Guardian’s build from top to bottom.

  It didn’t take long. The most reinforced section was the abdomen – or what you’d call that region on a humanoid automaton.

  So. The plan.

  If Zee rushed it head-on, it wouldn’t matter where he aimed. If the Guardian saw him coming, he’ll just break him with one kick.

  He needed to approach him while cloaked – just like he did just seconds ago. Which meant…I would have to draw its attention.

  Perfect.

  I couldn’t yet move – that’d interrupt Freeze – but even without looking at my COG, I’d say I only had about thirty seconds left of Aero. And the next crystal would surely send my COG into Overheat – I used four crystals in such a short timeframe.

  Running around it is then.

  Bracing myself for a chase in the darkness, I quickly pivoted and bolted off.

  Time resumed.

  “Zee! Cloak and wait for my command!” I shouted.

  Behind me, the Guardian lit up with Kinetra’s unmistakable orange glow and lunged toward me.

  Expecting something like that, I pulled the brakes, crouching into a slide. Then, using the remains of the Aero, I redirected myself by firing a gust of wind against the surrounding factory machinery, barely evading the Guardian’s Kinetra-empowered stomp behind me.

  It switched to Cryora next, launching sharp icy shards at me. I vaulted over a conveyor belt and took cover.

  I summoned Ignis, ready to slot it into the Channel Core – only to get the message I was dreading.

  [OVERHEATED]

  [COG Channel Core overheated – Cooling Cycle initiated]

  [Estimated Downtime: 00:14:59]

  I don’t have fifteen minutes!

  An idea crossed my mind.

  If Overheated was a physical state – as it should be – then I should be able to reverse it.

  Focusing on my COG, I activated Timeline, trying to rewind it as far back as possible – before it reached Overheated.

  Nothing changed visually at first – makes sense, since the overheating was internal – but then the message was gone.

  Satisfied it worked, I slammed the Ignis into the Channel Core and felt the needles pierce my arm for who-knows-what-time today.

  [Burn Rate lvl. 2: Ignis is burning. Time left – 00:00:59]

  [Multi-Channel lvl. 2: Dual-Channel available – Cryora + Ignis]

  I took a deep breath, activated Dual-Channel, then rushed out from cover.

  [Multi-Channel lvl. 2: Dual-Channel ACTIVE – Cryora + Ignis. Time Left - 00:00:29]

  With Cryora, I conjured walls of ice to block the incoming shards. With Ignis, I hurled fireballs to keep the Guardian occupied defensively.

  But the Guardian could Dual-Channel too. It switched Cryora for Kinetra to dodge my attacks, then used Ignis to melt my frozen barriers and close the distance to me, its blade at the ready.

  I kept circling, making sure its attention stayed locked on me. When I knew I couldn’t stall any longer – time was running out – I gave the order.

  “Zee! Target its foot!”

  Just like before, Zee decloaked mid-air, his sharp metallic fangs locking on the Guardian’s “ankle”.

  The Guardian shifted focus toward him, trying to shake him off. I moved to assist – but my COG was Overheated again. The Dual-Channel must’ve pushed it over the edge.

  I wanted to retreat. But then I looked at Zee – struggling to keep hold – and I made up my mind.

  Instead of running for the exit, I rushed toward the Guardian, summoning the Armor-Piercer mid-sprint.

  Vaulting over my half-melted ice covers – almost slipping on the water from the melted ice on the floor – I slid forward, gun in hand.

  And once I was close enough – BANG.

  The Aetheris Bullet tore through the machine’s abdomen, punching clean through the other side.

  The Guardian kept struggling against Zee. For a second, I thought I’d missed the core.

  But then…it slowed down. A second later it froze completely, locked up mid-motion.

  Then, it toppled forward, about to crush me.

  I dove to the side, barely avoiding being crushed under its weight.

  Panting, lungs burning, I stared at the fallen Guardian in silence as the realization slowly sank in.

  “We did it!” I jumped to my feet – then toppled over. My head was spinning – too much mana in too little time was pumped into me. My body wasn't used to it.

  Zee padded up beside me, turned toward the downed Guardian, and simply sat like it was just a regular Wednesday for him.

  I knew he wasn’t a real dog. But I just couldn’t help myself – I placed a hand on his cold, metallic head, as if petting him.

  “Good job, Zee,” I said, grinning like a madman. “And there’s so much shit here we can scavenge! We just need to do it quick – “

  As if on cue, the Guardian’s Lumen flashlight turned off, furthermore confirming it was dead.

  And just like that, we were swallowed by complete darkness again.

  Great. And my COG was Overheated so I couldn’t use my last Lumen.

  Then, suddenly – light.

  The overhead Lumen lamps turned on, blinding me at first.

  Then came a slow clap.

  As my vision cleared, the first floor came into full view, sending a chill down my spine.

  Blackthorn’s first floor wasn’t just some makeshift factory. No. It was a production floor – for Guardians and Iron Enforcers. Every conveyor belt was loaded with its unique parts.

  My eyes immediately shot to the source of the clapping.

  A man approached. Short black hair. Deep scar on his right cheek.

  He wore an Ironwatch Enforcer uniform underneath a Mark II Aetherguard exosuit – an armored exoskeleton reinforcing his upper body and legs.

  But he wasn’t an Enforcer.

  I recognized him from the Memory Fragment. He was Valdemar’s man.

  Riven.

  Zee stood, alert, ready.

  Riven approached calmly, still clapping. “Bravo, Viktor.”

  I scanned behind him, looking for Valdemar as well, but it seemed he came alone.

  “I gotta hand it to V,” Riven said, stopping his applause. “It’s like he can see the future.” He gestured lazily toward me. “He told me you’d be here. And…well. There you are.”