I had to hand it to them.
For a top-secret, state-of-the-art, military-grade research facility, the security here was… lacking.
Cameras that couldn't see through a half-decent cloaking device.
Guards more focused on their phones than their surroundings.
And worst of all? No lasers.
What kind of villainy is complete without a good old-fashioned laser grid?
Not that I was complaining.
After setting the surrounding buildings on fire — completely by accident, of course — I slipped into the main research facility.
It was chaos. Alarms blared, people rushed for the exits, and explosions echoed through the halls.
So. Many. Explosions.
Maybe I overdid it.
"Eh, who cares?"
Taking advantage of the commotion, I slinked through sterile white hallways. My mechanical boots made no sound against the polished floors.
Why was I here? Long story. I'll keep it short.
Some brilliant scientists created a chip that could record human consciousness. You implant it at the base of your neck, and it saves your memories. If you die, they extract the chip and upload your mind into a new body.
Insane, isn't it?!
They basically created immortality! Well, pseudo-immortality.
The problem was that only five chips existed in the whole world right now.
Four were already implanted in beta testers. The last one? It was somewhere in this facility.
I wasn't after the chip because I wanted immortality. No, I had bigger plans. I could put this chip to much better use.
I could use it to create a… regression tech!
Whistling a melody, I turned down a narrow corridor.
The air smelled like ozone and old circuitry. The constant hum of machinery pounded in my skull, making my head throb.
Somewhere beneath the hum, my heartbeat synced with the countdown on my wrist.
I had four minutes lefr to grab the chip and get out of here.
Plenty of time.
Okay, maybe not plenty.
First Light Academy must have been notified of the breach by now. A cohort of their best Cadets was probably on their way to me right now.
I had to be quick about this. But I also couldn't make any mistakes. Not that I ever made mistakes — I'm a genius.
Mistakes are for people who aren't me.
I found the vault after some searching. The memory chip was the size of a fingernail. And it was locked inside this vault.
Now, the vault itself was nothing special. It was made of an extremely strong and durable alloy, fixed in the wall, and not very huge.
But what I needed to open it was three keycodes and a retina scan.
Obviously, I didn't have any of that.
So, I brought out a small display device, connected it to the circuitry on the side of the vault, and tried to hack my way inside the mainframe of the system.
A minute passed.
…Then another.
…And a few more.
I sighed. "Screw it!"
I stepped back, threw away the device in my hand, and punched the vault door with all the force my exosuit could muster.
Thwaaam—!!
From head to toe, my body was encased in a high-tech exosuit forged from black scales of a Lesser Dragon.
The suit of armor was armed to the teeth with all kinds of weapons and AI systems.
It wasn't state-of-the-art, but with some personal modifications I made to it myself, it was enough to take on a military-grade power suit.
Enough to match the strength of a full-grown male troll.
More than enough to break into a stupid vault.
I didn't want to do it because forcefully breaking the door would alarm the dispatched Cadets of my precise location.
But hacking into it was taking too much time. This way was dangerous, but it was better than being a sitting duck. So I kept on punching.
And a few punches later, the metallic door caved in and its hinges gave out, revealing my prize.
It was unassuming, really.
Just a tiny red chip resting on a pedestal, lit by a spotlight as if it were some relic of the gods. In a way, it was.
I grinned, pocketing it in one of the many compartments in my suit, grinning excitedly like I had just bought— I mean, stolen— a new toy.
"Piece of cake," I muttered, ready to leave.
"Hello there, Knightmare."
I stopped dead in my tracks and sighed. "Oh, come on."
That voice.
Sharp. Velvety. Dripping with holier-than-thou smugness that would make even a saint punch a wall in irritation.
Aira Valenstride.
Top of the class. Hero-in-training. Model cadet. Defender of the helpless, blah blah blah.
And a massive thorn in my side.
I turned slowly, plastering the most vexed grin on my face that I could manage.
But of course, she wouldn't be able to see my face as it was hidden behind the glowing blue visor of my helmet.
Aira stood at the end of the hallway, blocking my exit.
Her pristine black and blue Cadet uniform gleamed under the fluorescent lights, and her skin was as pale as untouched snow.
Her hands were crossed over her chest like she was modeling for a photoshoot, her striking red hair pulled back into a ponytail that would've looked ridiculous on anyone else.
But not on her.
No.
She had that kind of presence. She could wear a clown suit while saving the world and still look stunning while doing so.
"You know," I chuckled, leaning casually against the wall, "for someone of your standing, showing up to every little heist I pull is starting to feel like stalking."
She ignored the jab, not rising to the obvious bait.
Instead, she drew a sleek, silver pistol — one of those new laser models that could melt through even a Lesser Dragon's scale like it was butter — and aimed it at me.
"I'm not here for your banter, Knight." Her tone was cool but amused, soft but sharp. "Hand over the chip, and maybe I won't put a hole in your chest."
I clicked my tongue in mock disappointment. "Aww, I thought we were gonna have one of our famous back-and-forths. You're breaking my heart, Aira."
"Three seconds. One… two—"
She didn't get to three. I flicked my wrist, detonating the pulse grenade I'd planted on the wall earlier.
Yes, I was expecting her. As I said, I'm a genius.
BOOM—!
The explosion knocked her off her feet and the shockwave shorted out the lights.
For a moment, darkness swallowed the hallway, only for it to be replaced by an eerie red glow from the emergency systems.
I sprinted past her.
"Really, Knight? You're going to rely on cheap tricks now?" she shouted behind me, her voice was a snarl.
I didn't need to see her to know she was already scrambling to get back up. I didn't need to look to know she was furious.
"Cheap? That grenade cost me three months' worth of heists!" I called over my shoulder as I ran for the exit as fast as I could.
But when I heard the footsteps growing closer behind me I knew she was already closing the gap between us.
She was impossibly fast!
Damn stupid military training! Damn enhanced reflexes!
I gritted my teeth, skidding to a stop. I had to face her. If her allies came and blocked my front, I'd be trapped from both sides.
I needed to take her out right here, right now.
"Done running?" came her voice from across the hall soon before she appeared as well. There was a mocking smirk on her face.
Arghh! I hated her! The gods knew I hated her!
"You really should've ignored the rescue call today," I growled, my voice sounding mechanical through my suit's voice modulator. "You're not enough to stop me. You never were. I've beaten you more times than I could count. It's a wonder the First Light Council even lets you on missions anymore."
A plasma blade burst forth my right gauntlet, rippling with energy.
I took an offensive stance.
Her grin widened. "My, my, Knight, it seems you plan to actually go all out this time."
Then, to my absolute surprise, she holstered her pistol.
I blinked in utter confusion, watching as she nonchalantly took her own battle stance, raising her hands before her.
"Huh?" I exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?!"
Did she really think she could take me on with just her fists? Unarmed?!
Me?! Knightmare?!
But before I could go on to accuse her of vanity, something shifted.
A glow, soft at first, began to swirl around her hand, like molten liquid suspended in mid-air.
My eyes widened behind the visor and my heart lurched.
In a rush of brilliance, her hands ignited — no, her whole body was engulfed in long whips of fire, the flame itself curling around to take her in a fiery embrace.
I gulped.
Magic.
Actual, real magic.
The Valenstride family's Magic Sequence — she'd already inherited it?
But when?
I hadn't seen any of the usual fanfare.
When someone from one of the Eight Great Families inherits their house's Magic Sequence, there usually are grand announcements, press conferences, and flashy successor ceremonies where they crown their noble heir.
Maybe they had just named her successor and kept it under wraps?
Damn it. This was an unexpected variable, and I hated surprises.
I flinched back. It was an instinct. A moment of weakness. A moment of hesitation.
And it made her grin even more insufferable.
"Aww, what's this? Is the big bad villain boy scared?" she cooed, voice laced with a sing-song mockery.
I forced my composure back, even if my heart was hammering against my ribs.
"Bringing magic to a gunfight? That's cheating, Aria!" I shot back, making sure to sound as indignant as I felt.
She laughed. Of course, she laughed.
And damn it even her laugh was annoyingly melodic, like she took actual pleasure in every moment of this.
But then a switch flipped and her eyes narrowed. In the next breath, without any warning, she thrust her palm forward.
The flames around her twisted, roared, and lunged at me in a rolling inferno like shot directly from an unimaginably powerful flamethrower.
Like a powerful dragon's breath.
"Tsk," I clicked my tongue and raised my gauntlet overhead.
The stark blue of my plasma blade was an aesthetic contrast against the red glow of the incoming fiery river.
I took a deep breath to study my weak heart and slashed through the approaching torrent of flames in one sweeping motion.
The flames parted like waves before the ruthless precision of my strike.
No, I wasn't some master martial artist, but there was a battle simulator AI integrated in my exosuit.
So, I managed to parry her attack.
But the heat was suffocating, almost unbearable.
Even through the dragon-scale armor, I could feel it.
This suit was supposed to be resistant to elemental damage, yet her flames were still suffocating me.
Move, my mind screamed.
And I did. But so did she.
Using the moment I was occupied deflecting the flames, Aria burst from the fire, a shadow within the blaze, her figure shrouded by the glowing embers.
I barely registered her presence before her foot swung toward me.
Instinct kicked in. I sidestepped, but not fast enough.
Her boot grazed my torso, and the impact rattled through my suit like a sledgehammer, sending me stumbling back.
I wasn't quick enough to react as she grabbed my right gauntlet.
Her fingers closed like a vice around my vambrace, and then, with a wicked smile, her flames flared to life again.
The heat surged through her grip, red-hot and relentless.
My systems screamed warnings at me, but I didn't need them to know what was happening.
The gauntlet began to glow, searing under her immolating touch. The smell of heated metal filled the air.
With a snarl, I unclamped the entire vambrace, ripping my hand free before the heat could roast me alive.
I leaped back, the gauntlet falling to the floor with a heavy clang, still smoldering from her attack.
Before I could even catch my breath, however, Aria had already made her next move.
She conjured a fiery javelin in her hand, its form crackling with barely tamed energy, and hurled it at me with terrifying speed.
I barely managed to throw myself to the side.
BOOOM—!!
The javelin struck the wall behind me, and it didn't just hit—it exploded, the impact akin to a truckload of dynamite going off, sending debris and shrapnel flying.
The blast rocked the hallway, the shockwave slamming into me like a battering ram.
Damn it.
I rolled to my feet, panting, eyes narrowing at the fiery figure across from me.
That's when it hit me.
She wasn't just a thorn in my side anymore.
She was a problem.
Fortunately, dealing with problems was my speciality!
"Haa! Hahaha! Aaahahahaha!" A manic laugh tore out of me, wild and sharp, filling the air with the sound of my unraveling sanity.
Aria froze in hesitation, no doubt thinking I had lost my mind. "Did… did I hit your head or something?"
"Oh, you're hilarious!" I choked out between gasps of laughter. "But gods, you're dumb."
Her frown darkened into a full-blown scowl, eyes blazing with a mix of anger and confusion.
She opened her mouth, probably to spit some fiery comeback of her own, but I was already at the wall — or lack of it — behind me.
She followed my gesture, her eyes narrowing in slow realization.
The wall behind me wasn't just cracked or damaged. It was gone.
This entire facility was like a fortress. Its walls were strong enough to withstand the full might of a siege engine.
Even I couldn't break into or out of the building using my exosuit.
Yet her fiery javelin had obliterated the entire section, leaving the hallway open to the night sky and the sprawling compound outside.
"See you later!" I grinned, and before she could even process what I meant, I activated flight mode.
The propulsion systems on the back of my suit flared, jet thrusters roaring with power as I out of there.
She bolted after me, but I was already launching skyward like a plane taking flight.
I didn't need to look back to know she was stunned.
"Flying away when the fight gets tough?!" she screamed, her voice cutting through the wind like an arrow of frustration. "That's *cheating*!"
A grin split my face. I didn't even bother turning around. "Oh, now you care about cheating?"
The wind howled as I soared higher, the jet propulsion lifting me into the night sky. And just like that, I pulled the biggest achievement of my villainy career.
— Un nuevo capítulo llegará pronto — Escribe una reseña