The Butcher of Sargon (LoL x Arknight Fanfiction)

Bang!

After punching down a mechanical guard, Saria looked at Kal'tsit.

"How much further?"

"Almost there!"

Listening to the continuous explosions above, Kal'tsit's expression was grim. 

She regretted rejecting Theresa' offer of help. 

At the very least, she should have brought some of Tower of Babel's elite forces. Now, she could only rely on an eighteen-year-old to bear the weight of responsibilities far beyond his years.

The ancient civilization's revival was far beyond Kal'tsit's expectations. 

It wasn't just a simple reactivation of basic terminal intelligence; otherwise, the response wouldn't have been this swift. 

Yet, there was no turning back. 

No matter what, they had to hurry and seize the opportunity Garde gave them.

"Mon3tr!"

A giant shadowy creature manifested from Kal'tsit, blocking a spider-like guard clinging to the wall. Its sharp claws easily pierced the spider guard's body, leaving a nasty gash in the underground corridor's wall.

"We're going up!"

Kal'tsit commanded Mon3tr to break through the ceiling, and both she and Saria emerged outside the factory's core zone. 

From afar, they could hear the sound of tremors coming from the factory's processing area gates.

Several giant gantry cranes swung hooks weighing dozens of tons towards Garde. 

The factory was originally only meant for low-level manufacturing tasks. 

In Columbia, manufacturing a high-speed warship required support from hundreds of specialized fields and thousands of supporting factories. A single processing factory couldn't possibly house all the necessary equipment. 

Yet, this ancient empire's factory was like a fundamental assembly workshop; given enough time, it could build every piece of equipment from scratch based on blueprints.

That's why Kal'tsit had chosen to assault this ancient civilization's factory immediately. If they didn't, the factory might start producing some terrifyingly powerful weapons once it received word of their attack on the ancient ruins.

The outer areas of the factory were dilapidated, while the core section's facilities looked brand new. This was because the factory was built on the remains of an ancient ruin. 

It was hard to imagine that just a few years, or even months ago, this place was still in ruins. 

If they were any later, once the factory completed its outer defenses, infiltrating it would be nearly impossible.

However, when Kal'tsit and Saria reached the core of the factory, they ran into trouble. 

The factory's thick, solid walls blocked their path. 

Unlike the outer sections and processing zones, which had abandoned underground tunnels, the core section was patrolled 24/7 by mechanical guards. The only way in was through the front entrance.

"Saria, I'll have Mon3tr assist you. Don't resist," Kal'tsit said.

Mon3tr covered Saria like a suit of powered armor, and Kal'tsit placed her hand on the wall of the core zone.

"Beep, beep. Registered personnel detected. Permission level low, action level medium. Entry granted."

To Saria's astonishment, the factory's core zone door opened. 

It seemed like a one-person access point, but Saria distinctly heard the voice say that Kal'tsit was registered personnel.

"Kal'tsit, just how old are you?" Saria couldn't help but ask. 

Garde had told her that Kal'tsit was quite old, but now it seemed her age was even more unfathomable.

"I'm just a bit older than you," Kal'tsit replied, without offering much explanation. 

She quickly stepped through the passage, and Saria followed closely behind. 

Saria glanced back toward Garde's direction, and her eyes hardened once more.

Kal'tsit held many secrets, enough that any researcher would want to thoroughly investigate her from head to toe. But Saria knew this wasn't the time to indulge her curiosity. She could distinguish between personal and group interests. 

More importantly, this concerned Garde's safety.

Ten minutes had passed since they separated, and in that time, they had traveled two kilometers. It wasn't particularly slow, but considering Garde was risking his life to buy them time, it felt too slow.

"Mon3tr!" Kal'tsit's voice echoed from ahead. 

The creature separated from Saria, reforming at the front of the corridor. With a loud crash, Mon3tr's claws tore through a wall, and immediately, piercing alarms rang in Saria's ears.

"From now on, we must move faster!" Kal'tsit darted through the breach made by Mon3tr. A patrolling machine guard pointed its weapon at her, but its recognition system seemed to malfunction upon seeing Kal'tsit. It didn't fire immediately, and in the next moment, Mon3tr's claws pierced its brain.

"Mon3tr, cut off its weapon and give it to me!"

Mon3tr let out a shriek and tossed the gun, circuitry still attached, to Kal'tsit. 

She pulled out a simple connector from her pocket and, in less than five seconds, had turned the machine guard's weapon into her own.

"Saria, cover me!"

"Got it."

Saria, a heavy-armored specialist and head of Rhine Lab's Defense Departement, quickly slipped into her combat role.

"We'll take the elevator up. Saria, hold off the enemies outside!"

As they moved forward, Kal'tsit found an elevator leading to the upper levels of the core zone. 

Mon3tr tore apart the elevator doors, and Kal'tsit manually opened the control panel. She connected the wires to her neural interface device, hacking into the elevator's control system.

Seeing this, Saria couldn't help but exclaim, "Kal'tsit, are you insane? Even with the most advanced neural linking technology, no one can fight against a mechanical network without auxiliary devices."

"We're out of time!" Kal'tsit's reply made Saria realize that worrying about her wasn't going to help. 

Saria suddenly wondered—had she been relying too much on Garde? 

Though she worried about him, she hadn't felt the full weight of urgency. 

She'd seen Garde injured before, seen him covered in wounds to protect them. 

He wasn't invincible.

If she kept relying on him, how could she stand by his side? How could she claim a place next to him?

"Saria, wake up! This isn't your dream. No one here is obligated to protect you! You came here—"

A mechanical guard charged toward her. Saria set down her shield, calcium hardening over her knuckles as it spread across her entire body.

"—not to hold anyone back!"

Bang!

Her fist collided with the metal, but it was the supposedly sturdy alloy that bent and caved in. 

Her arms moved so fast that a sonic boom echoed as they struck, golden eyes gleaming. 

Her legs, honed through years of training, stood like wooden stakes rooted firmly into the ground.

Thud!

She blocked a mechanical guard's attack, grabbed it, and smashed her knee into its frame. Then, with a swift kick, she sent the machine crashing into a wall, where it slammed into the surface.

Boom!

Garde's body was tough, but Saria's body was strong too. And with her Arts, she could face these newly manufactured factory guards head-on. As long as she didn't encounter—

That thought had barely crossed Saria's mind when a loud crash echoed, and a shadow flew past her, slamming hard into the side of the elevator.

"Mon3tr?"

Both she and Mon3tr had been guarding different sides of the elevator. But now, Mon3tr has been knocked down!

The previous battle had already demonstrated just how strong Mon3tr was. Saria quickly glanced to the other side. A centaur knight over three meters tall, dragging a long battle axe, was walking toward them. Mon3tr had been sent flying by the knight's initial charge.

"Saria, move!"

Wiping the blood from her face, Kal'tsit shouted to Saria. They didn't have time to engage with an enemy they couldn't defeat in a short period.

"There's no time!"

The knight charged again. 

Having studied the mechanical knight that Garde had killed before, Saria knew just how tough this centaur knight's body was. If they let him collide with the elevator, it might be destroyed.

"Kal'tsit, you go first. I'll hold him off here!"

Saria's expression was resolute. 

Even though she knew she might lose against the centaur knight, the thought of retreat never crossed her mind. She didn't need to win—she just needed to stall him.

"Calcification!"

The backpack behind her came in handy. Saria, who was carrying a pack, couldn't extract calcium in an all-metal environment, but she had prepared it before entering the core area, carrying refined calcium with her. 

Now, as the knight charged, the narrow passage barely allowed room for two people side by side. 

The calcium, like white sand, spread in front of Saria, spinning and cutting, attaching itself to the walls to slow down the knight's charge.

But he was too fast.

The distance of less than fifty meters was covered in less than a second. The elevator behind her hadn't even risen yet, and she needed to protect Kal'tsit and help Garde. She had no choice but to stop the knight's charge!

Boom!

The mechanical knight over three meters tall crashed into Saria's shield. In an instant, she was knocked back over ten meters, leaving a scorched trail on the alloy floor.

No more retreating!

No more retreating!

The voice in her head urged her. She gripped her shield tightly, noticing cracks forming on it. 

The armor, created at great expense by Rhine Lab, had begun to crack after just one collision.

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking echoed through Saria's arm. 

For the first time, she found herself in a desperate situation.

Any technique, any method, was fragile in the face of absolute power.

Even her calcium couldn't cut through the knight's armor.

At that moment, Saria finally realized how strong the enemies Garde had faced really were, and how naive her initial thoughts had been. 

Without Garde's protection, they would never have made it this far. 

And now, they were just one step away from their goal.

How could she fall now?

Boom!

A laser beam suddenly shot down from above, causing the charging knight to stumble. 

Seizing the opportunity, Saria broke free from the knight's assault. She looked up and saw Mon3tr with light still gathering in its mouth. It dawned on her that if Mon3tr hadn't intervened at that critical moment, she would have been severely injured, if not dead.

Yet the danger wasn't over. Her arms trembled after enduring the knight's charge, and the cost was the fractures in both her radius bones. 

She couldn't even clench her fists properly anymore.

But, there was no time to hesitate.

If becoming an Infected could give her the strength to defeat this enemy, if it could help him, then she would accept it willingly.

Ever since that dream ended, Saria had carried a piece of Originium with her. 

She had hesitated, she had doubted. 

She knew what becoming an Infected entailed—losing her reputation, her status in Columbia, perhaps even leaving Rhine Lab, where she had poured her heart and soul. 

But she also understood that to protect others, she needed great power.

She was not someone to be protected.

She was the protector!

She was Saria!

The Originium pierced her palm, and intense pain surged through her brain. Saria's expression remained unchanged. She pulled out a prepared syringe and injected herself, placing a suppressant pill in her mouth. 

She wasn't recklessly seeking death—she was using Oripathy to enhance her Originium Arts. At the same time, she injected various stimulants and Originium enhancement drugs, substances that couldn't even be found on the black market but were easy consumables for Saria to prepare.

Pure stimulants provided only a small boost in power. Saria wasn't even sure how many times her strength would need to increase to defeat the enemy before her. So she had prepared for the worst from the start.

Still, after becoming an Infected, would Garde reject her?

Would her life be shortened? No one knew how many years she had left to live after becoming infected.

Would Garde stay by her side in those first few years?

Hmph, never mind.

Cough, cough.

Saria coughed up blood. She could feel her connection to Originium becoming clearer. If using a staff was like driving a car, where everything depended on the driver's skill, then now, Originium Arts felt like an extension of her own hands.

She clenched her fist!

"Beep beep, warning. Recorded personnel is breaching restricted areas. Please initiate containment and isolation."

"Beep beep, warning. Recorded personnel is breaching restricted areas. Please initiate containment and isolation."

The terminal's voice echoed in the centaur knight's mind, but he ignored Saria, who was kneeling to the side, and continued toward the elevator.

"Stop!"

Saria's voice rang out behind the knight, but he paid no attention.

"I said—"

The calcium scattered around her clenched into a fist. In the moment the knight realized the threat and turned, the fist slammed into him.

"—STOP!"

Saria's solemn voice echoed through the core corridor, and the immense force smashed the knight into the alloy wall. The deafening sound reverberated in the corridor.

Boom!

Web-like cracks spread across the wall from the impact. The centaur knight, body crushed against the wall, slowly turned his head to look at Saria.

Bang!

The massive battle axe swung through the air, shattering the calcium defenses that Saria had formed. Yet in the next second, the calcium reformed, becoming sharp blades and spears that tried to pierce through the centaur knight's body. The corridor echoed with the sound of something like a drill grinding into metal.

Sparks flashed from the knight's armor as Saria spat out blood. 

Despite using all her power, her Originium Arts still couldn't break through the knight's defense. The centaur knight, undeterred by her attack, continued its advance.

Realizing that her assault wasn't enough to defeat the knight, Saria quickly changed her strategy. 

She only needed to hold out long enough for Kal'tsit to destroy the factory's system terminal. 

Every bit of calcium in her body began to concentrate, reinforcing her entire body—from her already fractured bones to her outer defenses. 

Blood seeped from her pores as the strain from using calcium to reinforce her inner body structure took its toll.

It was a desperate gamble. Saria had always used calcium to strengthen her external defense, but reinforcing her internal bones like this was a first. 

In moments, she turned into a blood-soaked figure, forcing the calcium within to harden her bones even further. 

The risk was immense, but there was no other choice.

The knight's enormous axe came crashing down, and Saria raised her shield to meet it.

Bang!

The tremendous force still threatened to overwhelm her, but at least now her bones could withstand the impact. 

Tilting her shield, she deflected the knight's blow.

She sighed in frustration. 

Becoming an Infected, she thought, would at least close the gap between her and Garde . But instead, it only highlighted just how vast the difference between them still was. 

But there was no room for envy. Garde was her partner, her man. Why would she be jealous of her own boyfriend's strength?

One minute passed. Then two. The stimulants began to wear off, and the side effects of her infection started to take hold. Saria was now facing the harsh reality of being an Infected. 

Though Oripathy enhances one's Originium Arts, it also weakens the body. 

Even a Vouivre like her wasn't immune to this. 

The spreading Originium particles within her were rapidly draining her energy.

Bang!

She parried another attack from the knight but collapsed to the ground, her body trembling as she covered her mouth.

Cough, cough.

Dark red blood seeped through her fingers. She was nearing her limit.

But the knight had no empathy. It didn't care whether she was male or female, standing or kneeling. All that mattered was following its orders. The centaur's forelegs raised, and the knight lifted its axe once more, ready to strike Saria down.

But then Saria's eyes lit up.

"Finally found it!"

Despite her constant struggle, she hadn't been idle. She had been looking for the centaur knight's weakness. 

Having studied the body of another centaur knight before, Saria knew exactly where its core was.

Boom!

As the axe descended, Saria forced herself to stand. Instead of retreating, she surged forward with all her remaining strength.

Bang!

For several minutes, she had been using small amounts of calcium to attack the centaur knight's chest plate. 

Now, as her fist slammed into that same spot, the supposedly impenetrable armor shattered. Blood poured from her mouth, but Saria's arm reached inside the knight's chest, grabbing hold of its core.

She had found it—the bones of the Nightzmora.

However, what Saria didn't realize was that even as a power source for the mechanical knight, the Nightzmora's bones still retained a strange vitality. 

While Garde could withstand its mental assault due to his powerful spirit, Saria wasn't as fortunate. Having pushed herself to the brink, her mind couldn't take any more. The Nightzmora's mental shock overwhelmed her, becoming the final straw that broke her resolve.

The scene froze in that moment. With her fist lodged in the centaur knight's chest, the battle should have ended in her victory.

But Saria's consciousness faded, and she fell into the Nightzmora's dreamscape.

Yet, within that darkness, she fought.

She resisted.

She was no longer the little girl who would cry when her favorite toy was taken from her. She wasn't alone, bearing all the burdens by herself anymore.

She had someone she loved.

How could she fall here?

Saria opened her eyes just as the knight's axe came crashing down on her once more. She clenched her fist, pulling out the Nightzmora's bones from the knight's body.

She had no idea how many bones inside her had been broken. Even with the calcium fortification, the knight's strike had taken away all her remaining strength.

But it didn't matter. Without its core, the centaur knight's eyes dimmed, and its once-powerful steps slowed to a halt.

Saria slumped in a corner, a triumphant smile on her face.

She had won.

But now the mechanical guards were closing in, programmed to kill any intruders. Saria no longer had any strength to resist.

However, just as the guards approached, they suddenly stopped. They heard a voice.

"How dare you—"

With an earth-shattering crash, the outer wall of the core zone was blown apart. A bloodied crocodilian figure smashed through several layers of alloyed walls, landing in the center of the core. He took in the sight of the destroyed centaur knight, then his gaze fell on Saria, bleeding and broken, but smiling at him.

"Proud of yourself?"

"I won," she grinned.

"In this condition, you call this a win?"

Garde wanted to scold her, to punish her for pushing herself so far, but seeing the extent of her injuries, he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

So instead, he directed his rage elsewhere.

"That damn lynx told me all I needed to do was hold the line for thirty minutes while she blew the factory's terminal sky-high. How long has it been now?"

Saria wasn't the only one in need of a good scolding. That lynx had a lot to answer for as well.

Garde gritted his teeth, tasting the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

"None of you... can stop making me worry, can you?"

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