Most Outers had only heard rumours of Gawain, The Platinum Knight of Carnage.
The only ones who had actually seen him in action were Beruel and Neron—and they were more than lucky to have gotten out alive.
To think the most sophisticated Automaton—the highest form a crafter could make a regular Golem into—was the one who now stood in front of them!
'Damnit…' Neron thought to himself as he gritted his teeth. 'I was wrong.'
His calculations had indicated that there would be more than enough time for them to escape. He had made all his assessments, and his predictions were usually accurate.
Yet… not only did backup arrive sooner than expected, but one of the most powerful entities in this world was the one leading the charge. It was too bizarre to have been expected.
'What's going on? Did Jared and his group change their strategy? There had to have been a shift that I'm unaware of.'
It was too late to figure out the reason their plan had failed, though. At this moment, only the thought of survival was occupying his mind.
'How should I handle this?'
Gawain, the Ultimate Automaton, was walking straight towards them.
His gait was slow, but that was simply on purpose. None of them could escape the encirclement set by the thousands of Golems that Gawain commanded, neither could they even dream of fighting through them to get away.
Not while this immensely powerful thing was present.
In the end, they were at the end of their rope— with nowhere to run or hide, and with limited power to fight.
In the end… there was only one way.
"I'll be using my trump card, everyone. I'll buy us enough time to retreat." Neron turned in the direction of his group, wearing a strained smile.
For a moment, his dazed teammates stared at him in shock. Their eyes widened, and a look of horror spread all over their faces… especially the female demon's.
"It's the only wa—"
"W-what are you saying, Neron? You think I'm going to allow that?" Karlia's voice interrupted him, and a frightened look of disapproval permeated her face.
"Karlia… I know, but…"
The choice wasn't easy for him too, however, after putting everyone's abilities into account—as well as the fact that they were all exhausted—he could only rely on this method.
Mana Overdrive.
With it, he would be able to insert the Artificial Mana he developed into his body. This would grant him temporary access to the power that the world denied him from birth.
However, the consequences of doing this were undoubtedly lethal.
'I'll die after ten minutes… and considering how much I'll have to exert myself to fight Gawain, I'll probably not even last that long.'
With his current knowledge of Magic, as well as his mastery of the Martial Arts that Edward taught him, he was at least confident in holding off his opponent until Ciel was ready.
'Nine minutes. I'll do my best to hold out till then!'
"Neron, no! If you're going to die fighting, I'm going to sacrifice myself too!" Karlia cried out, her eyes filled with tears.
After the death of everyone she had called friends and family, all she had known was hate and despair. Yet, with Neron, she had been able to love again.
He had brought light to her life.
"I… I can't imagine life without you!" Her body was shaking so much that she could barely stand upright. "I won't let you die alone!"
"No, Karlia. We can't afford to lose more than one member of the Outgroup. We're already short-staffed as it is." Neron responded calmly.
This was the most logical approach he could take.
Even though it broke his heart to see the woman he loved in such pain, he would rather see her in tears than see her lying in a pool of her own blood.
'I'll do anything to protect my family!' Neron gritted his teeth and prepared himself for the procedure.
Once it began, there was no going back.
"You don't have to sacrifice yourself, Neron."
"You're our leader. Losing you would be a big blow to the Outgroup."
"Let me do it instead!" After the other members of their team protested, Edward finally got the last word in. "I'm immortal, right? Let me do this."
Placing his hand on Neron's shoulder, the young Martial Artist smiled boldly. Although, a bead of sweat trickled down his face, and it was clear that he wasn't at all in top form.
Still, he did his best to put on a brave front for his friend.
"No." Neron replied, shrugging Edward's hand from his shoulder.
His tone was cold and his gaze was focused on the approaching Gawain. The hundreds of meters of distance between them had now been reduced to a few dozen.
"If you were an option, I would have chosen you. Unfortunately, you're not. This really is the only way."
Neron was hardly wrong about anything. That didn't make him perfect, but he was more insightful than anyone else on the team—of course, Ciel was an exception.
'It's not like I want to die willingly. I want to keep living. I want to see the end of this war, as well as the liberation of our people.'
However, the current circumstances had made things clear for their group.
The only reason he and Beruel had escaped from Gawain back then was because of his T.M.P., which had disabled the Automaton for just a minute so they could make their escape.
Gawain would have been upgraded after that, so that trick wouldn't work anymore, even if he could try it.
'As regrettable as it is… I will have to die here.' He controlled his emotions and tightly held onto the little white pill he would need to swallow.
"It has been a great honour fighting alongside you all. You're my family, and I love you." Neron's gaze went over every member of the team, before finally resting on his lover, Karlia.
"I will always love you."
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[A/N]
This is a bit sad.
I really liked Neron (Alter).
