Chương 147: Chapter : 147

"You are still clinging to the naive, idealistic dreams of a little child," Hestia scolded her harshly.

"You think you can win this war with friendship and hand-holding. You treat your servants like they are your friends. I saw that lazy, messy slacker you keep on your team. The boy who complains about walking and hides during fights. A true leader would have thrown him in the dungeon and replaced him with a proper weapon. But you keep him around because you are soft."

"You do not understand him, and you do not understand my team," Iris replied, her voice remaining perfectly even. She didn't yell, and she didn't get angry. She simply offered her sister a soft, knowing laugh.

"My team might look messy to you, Hestia. But that 'lazy slacker' and the rest of my girls have saved my life more times than you will ever know. Compassion is not a weakness. It is the strongest foundation you can build a kingdom on."

"Compassion gets you killed," Hestia countered coldly. She looked over at Ira, who was standing quietly by the railing.

"Look at your water mage. She stands there like a broken toy. My servants follow my orders because they demand perfection from themselves. Why does she follow you? Out of pity?" Ira slowly turned her head. Her face was completely flat, totally devoid of any emotion or anger. She stared directly into Hestia's eyes.

"I do not follow Princess Iris out of pity," Ira stated in her usual deadpan, robotic voice.

"I follow her because she guarantees my freedom. And statistically speaking, alliances that are built on mutual survival and trust have a ninety-eight percent higher long-term success rate than those built entirely on fear and perfection." Celia, Hestia's shield-bearing servant, immediately stepped forward, glaring at Ira.

"Perfection leaves absolutely no room for betrayal. Your statistics are flawed."

"My statistics are never flawed," Ira replied blankly. Hestia rolled her eyes, completely done with the conversation.

"You are all living in a fairy tale. When this mission is over, I will take my points, and I will leave you to your silly little dreams, Iris. Do not expect me to come running to save you when the real villains of this Empire decide to crush you." Iris just smiled softly, totally confident in her own beliefs. She knew her sister was tough, but she also knew that nobody could survive the Succession War entirely alone.

"We will see, Hestia," Iris said gently.

"We will see." Before Hestia could deliver another harsh insult, a deafening, terrifying noise echoed through the underground facility. At the very end of the long metallic catwalk, a massive, heavy steel security door suddenly buckled inward. The thick metal hinges groaned and screamed under an immense amount of pressure. BOOM! The massive steel door was completely blown off its hinges. It flew through the air, crashing violently onto the catwalk and kicking up a huge cloud of gray smoke and electrical sparks.

The philosophical debate was instantly, violently interrupted, and the two Princesses quickly turned their attention to the dark doorway, preparing to face whatever nightmare had just broken into their path. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

The thick gray smoke slowly cleared away from the shattered doorway at the end of the catwalk. Heavy, unnatural footsteps echoed across the metal grating. Clank. Clank. Clank. Stepping out of the shadows was Ariff, the chief security officer of Augusto's highly illegal laboratory. But Ariff did not look like a normal human security guard. He was a truly terrifying, nightmarish sight. He was a heavily augmented cyborg.

His original human body had been horribly mutated by long-term exposure to toxic Solurius radiation, making his skin a sickly, glowing pale green. To survive the radiation, massive chunks of his body had been chopped off and replaced with advanced, highly illegal Imperial military weaponry. His entire left arm was a massive, rotating magical Gatling gun. His right shoulder was heavily armored with thick steel plates, and a twin-barreled rocket launcher was bolted directly into his back.

Red, glowing optical sensors replaced his eyes, locking instantly onto the two Royal Princesses standing on the catwalk. He didn't say a single word. He didn't offer a classic villain monologue, and he didn't tell them to surrender. He was nothing but a silent, mindless killing machine programmed to eliminate intruders. Ariff simply raised his massive left arm.

"Incoming!" Celia shouted, immediately stepping in front of Princess Hestia and raising her heavy, glowing white energy shield. The cyborg's Gatling gun spun up with a loud mechanical whine. A split second later, a relentless, deafening barrage of explosive magical artillery tore down the catwalk. Hundreds of bright red, highly explosive energy bullets rained down on them like a deadly thunderstorm.

The two Princesses, who had just been bitterly arguing about politics and ideals, were instantly forced to put all of their differences aside to survive.

"Ira! Cover the left!" Princess Iris commanded, drawing her silver rapier. Ira didn't even blink. Her face remained completely flat as she raised both of her hands. With a flawless, fluid motion, she summoned two massive, high-pressure water whips. She didn't just swing them; she spun them in a rapid, continuous circle in front of Iris. The thick water whips acted like a liquid propeller blade. When Ariff's explosive red bullets hit the spinning water, they instantly detonated in mid-air.

The clash of fire and water created massive, booming steam explosions. Thick, hot white steam quickly filled the catwalk, making it incredibly hard to see.

"He is using heavy artillery!" Celia grunted, holding her white shield firm as bullets slammed into it, pushing her boots backward against the metal grating.

"I cannot hold this position for long!" Through the thick steam, Ariff's red optical sensors beeped loudly. He realized his bullets were not breaking their defenses. The cyborg slowly lowered his left arm and shifted his posture, activating the twin-barreled launcher on his back. Two sleek, highly advanced heat-seeking lasers shot out of the launchers. They zigzagged through the air, completely bypassing Celia's shield and Ira's water whips, locking directly onto the body heat of the two Princesses.

"Lasers!" Ira noted in her robotic voice.

"Evasion is statistically impossible in this narrow corridor."

"Stand back," Princess Hestia ordered. She didn't look scared at all. She looked highly annoyed that this ugly machine was ruining her walk. Hestia stepped forward, her pristine white dress flowing beautifully despite the chaos. She simply raised her delicate right hand, pointing her palm directly at the incoming, deadly heat-seeking lasers.

"Thermal Equilibrium," Hestia stated gracefully. Her unique, absolute magic activated instantly. The terrifying, super-heated lasers hit her invisible magical field and completely lost their destructive power. The burning, lethal energy was forced to balance out to a perfectly harmless room temperature. The lasers washed over Hestia's hand like a gentle beam from a basic flashlight. It didn't even singe a single thread of her silk dress.

"What a crude, messy weapon," Hestia scoffed, elegantly lowering her hand. She looked over at Iris.

"See? This is what perfection looks like, sister."

"This is not a competition right now, Hestia!" Iris yelled back, pointing her rapier down the catwalk.

"He is advancing!"