Check out my new translation!
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Phaethon stepped out of the elevator and saw a scene that resembled a purgatory.
The Rebel Soldiers had prepared considerable firepower near the elevator entrance; judging from the wreckage and corpses, they had stationed more than thirty people, two heavy machine guns, and several rocket teams. They used furniture and damaged construction materials inside the building as cover, but now all those fortifications had been reduced to rubble. From the destructive pattern, Ignis had ignored all long-range fire and simply charged straight through. To him, their barricades were nothing more than sandcastles—just running past them was enough to crush everything into dust.
After the giant broke through their cover, he never paused for a single second. Soldiers were slammed through the air by overwhelming force, bones snapped, organs ruptured, dying instantly. Those unlucky enough to survive the impact were consumed by flame, reduced to charcoal. As for their machine guns, they lay twisted aside like children's toys, barrels curled into serpentine shapes, receivers dented by violent impact, the whole weapon caved in.
"This is truly…" Von Lycaon looked at the blood sprayed across the wall and the corpse slumped beneath it, visibly surprised.
That poor soul must have blocked the Salamander's path and been slapped into the wall like a mosquito. The sheer force had detonated his entire body—blood vessels and bones all snapped—leaving a mess comparable to being hit by a fully loaded cargo truck.
If the dead ones were considered fortunate, then those still alive were the truly unlucky ones. Ignis was not refraining from killing them; he merely confirmed their wounds were fatal and left them there, letting them wail their way into death. Those suffering from massive burns lay groaning, unable to move.
Their skin had melted, exposing scorched flesh beneath. Their eyeballs had burst from the heat, and their bodies were covered in dust and blood slurry.
The horrific carnage frightened Corin, who hid behind Rina. The head maid tightened her grip on Corin's hand, offering what little comfort she could.
Perhaps sensing someone approaching, a half-melted, smoke-emitting man reached a hand toward Ellen. He could no longer speak—he couldn't even make a proper sound. Air rasped through his throat like a broken bellows, hiss-huff hiss-huff, but soon even that stopped. The heat had burned through his lungs as well, and blood and bodily fluids drowned him.
"Boss…" Ellen's voice trembled, the shark girl was trying her best to maintain composure. Since following Von Lycaon, she had seen terrible things, but this… this was beyond horrifying.
"Grant them their final mercy." Von Lycaon sighed. The smell in the air and the endless screams made it obvious—the giant had fallen into a wrathful frenzy. The white-furred, immaculately dressed werewolf executed a snapping whip-kick, breaking the neck of a screaming, dying man, letting death lay a veil of quiet over him.
The members of Victoria Housekeeping also began merciful executions, ending the agony of those who still howled in pain.
"He…" Belle wanted to defend Ignis, but facing this devastation, she could not form the words.
"Proxy, we understand." Von Lycaon nodded, signaling that she need not continue. "Lord Ignis cherishes the companions of the Cunning Hares. Upon learning they were in danger, he must have been deeply anxious. In such urgency, it is natural that he acted with… excessive intensity. Yet this does not diminish that Lord Ignis is a kind and friendly gentleman. The harsher he treats his enemies, the more it reveals how fiercely he protects his friends."
"Boss, if we were in danger… would you come rescue us like this?" Ellen swung her scissors, granting one twitching remnant a peaceful end.
"Of course." Von Lycaon answered softly yet firmly.
Turning around the corner revealed an even more brutal battlefield. Among the rebels were Autonomous Tactical Guardian-type and Ranger-type mechs. But all these machines—designed to combat large Ethereal threats—lay twisted on the ground, motionless.
Rangers, which deploy and command drones, usually combine with the heavy long-range firepower of Guardian mechs for highly efficient ranged suppression. But their drones now lay smashed into warped metal lumps—likely knocked from the air after Ignis disrupted them with his flamethrower, then crushed by a single slap. As for the Ranger unit itself—equipped with high-energy heat weapons and anti-armor missiles—it had been torn into scattered wreckage. Half its chassis was gone, likely the work of Ignis's power fists.
The Guardian mechs, humanoid units slightly taller than the Salamander, died even more miserably. They looked dismembered, torn apart purely by brute force. The ground showed messy tire tracks: the Guardian mechs had retreated while firing, leaving melted trails from their high-energy heat weapons across walls and floors. But clearly, Ignis's projected shielding deflected their fire. Deep indentations showed where he charged forward, toppled them one by one, ripped off their weapons, and destroyed their central logic cores.
The infantry accompanying the mechs fared even worse—almost none remained whole. They were either crushed by falling mech parts, skulls burst, or roasted into charcoal by flame. At least this time, the Salamander left no survivors—most likely he eliminated them incidentally while using fire to disrupt mech targeting systems.
"This is truly…" Rina looked over everything, equally astounded.
"Die, xenos!" Ignis's war cry thundered as metal twisted and snapped. When the group caught up, they saw the giant slam a Typhon Slugger Autonomous Tactical Mech—taller even than him—to the ground. Lightning crackled across his power fists as he drove a punch straight into the multi-layer ether-alloy-reinforced logic core, erasing it completely.
Ignis's armor was covered in dust, the red visor on his helmet burning like fire. The soldiers who had planned to support the Typhon finally understood what had plowed through their defenses like a reaping storm. They realized what kind of terrifying enemy their comrades had faced beforehand.
After venting much of his fury, the Salamander regained a sliver of rational thought. He advanced upon the surviving soldiers at an unhurried pace. Those who ran too slowly were slapped flat. Von Lycaon understood—the giant was doing it intentionally. When attacked, any army—even rebels—tries to regroup. Ignis was using them to lead him straight to their commander.
This predator-like chase lasted only a few minutes until only one terrified man remained, stumbling desperately. He could hardly form a coherent word, shouting incoherently as he fled toward where he remembered his captain should be. Behind him, the giant's thunderous footsteps urged him onward.
They rounded a corner to find a slope formed by collapsed floors spanning multiple stories. Their main force was gathered there.
"Captain! It's me! Don't shoot!" He finally managed to speak.
The rebel captain spotted the giant behind him instantly. He had already received reports: the iron-clad monster that ignored all weapon fire had broken through every defensive line he had prepared. Bullets, explosives, mechs—none had slowed it. When he accepted this job, he never expected a reaper to appear like this. Had he known, he would have demanded far more money.
The slope before him spanned three floors; they had already scouted the area—there was no second route to reach the rooftop of Ballet Twins: Tower B. He glanced at Rain, whose mouth was sealed with tape, and decided it was time to retreat.
His squad had lost more than half its manpower, and nearly all heavy equipment was gone. Fortunately, the mission itself was already completed; otherwise, this operation would be a total defeat.
"Detonate the charges. We're pulling out." The captain ordered.
In a blast of flame and thunder, the slope was destroyed. The massive shockwave shattered over ten floors of structure. Ignis glared at the rebels above, seething with hatred, and grabbed the terrified straggler—twisting off his head to display it as a warning.
But the rebels were unmoved—either unfazed or simply ruthless. The captain looked at the vast chasm left by the explosion, steeled himself, grabbed Rain by the collar, and shoved her toward the edge of the broken floor.
The young hacker struggled violently, but in her current condition she could do little more than twist helplessly.
"Wait, Captain. Didn't the employer say we need to determine exactly how much she leaked and bring her back…?" a nearby soldier reminded him at once.
The captain turned his head and cast a sideways glance at the soldier. "Did you see that monster down there? We won't escape if we drag this burden with us! We're just getting paid to do a job. The employer's primary objective is complete. There's no reason to throw our lives away now."
Only a handful of soldiers remained around him—this was already more mercy than most captains would show. Rain reached out and gripped the captain's hand tightly; she knew exactly what he was planning to do—he was going to throw her down.
"When the time comes, we'll just say she didn't survive the ether corrosion." With that, the captain released his grip. "Sorry, blame yourself for knowing too much…"
The pink-haired hacker fell into the darkness of the collapsing building structure, thinking everything was over. Had she known, she wouldn't have accepted Nicole's commission at all.
Von Lycaon's leg armor vented a huge burst of gas as he prepared to accelerate forward and catch the falling hacker. In his view, Ignis—given his immense weight—could never jump across and catch her.
And he was right: the mass of the Mark X Gravis Power Armor severely limited Ignis's maneuverability. To him, performing a jump was nearly impossible. But nothing said he couldn't fall along with Rain.
Ignis didn't hesitate—he took several running steps and forced himself into a jump. Thanks to the Son of Vulkan's extraordinary physique, he managed it; for any other Adeptus Astartes, such a leap would have been nearly impossible.
During the fall, Ignis caught Rain, and the girl clung tightly to his gauntlet. Rain felt it was pointless anyway—they were hundreds of meters above the ground. Falling from this height meant certain death. She curled into Ignis's arms, the howling wind in her ears becoming the last sound of her short life. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. The fall was rapid—she could feel the giant smashing through floor after floor. All she could do was pray… pray for a miracle.
Compared to Rain's terror, Ignis was far calmer. He muttered "The Emperor protects" in his heart, and golden psychic radiance manifested, coating his power armor. He tried to imagine—visualizing wings sprouting from him. Psychic power was miraculous, but even it could not conjure actual wings capable of flight. Yet Ignis felt his fall truly slowing. So, he imagined more clearly, focusing on the power bestowed by The Emperor.
And then he stopped—almost completely. The Emperor's blessing halted his descent, allowing him to land safely on the ground. Looking up, he saw the concerned members of Victoria Housekeeping. Once they confirmed Ignis was unharmed, they immediately rushed down the stairs toward him.
The sudden stop left Rain too frightened to move. She wondered if she had already hit bottom. Cold sweat drenched her body as she waited for pain… but none came. After a long moment, she dared to open her eyes. The giant had already set her gently on the ground.
She bewilderedly tore the tape from her mouth, touched her cheeks, and pinched herself.
"I… I'm not dead?" she muttered in disbelief. Looking up at the gaping hole above, she realized they had fallen nearly fifty meters.
"Fortunately," Ignis exhaled. "Don't worry. You're safe now. Nicole sent me to rescue you."
At the mention of Nicole, Rain finally looked Ignis over. "You're that giant? Right! Nicole!"
Rain practically roared, "Hurry! Get to the rooftop! There's no time! The Court's airship is about to—"
At that moment, a heavy thud came from above, and Von Lycaon descended layer by layer while carrying Eous.
"They detonated the explosives. The path to the upper levels is completely gone," Belle reported.
"What unpleasant guests," Von Lycaon sighed.
Ignis wished he had a Hammerfall Bunker with a full suite of Jump Packs—then he could become a jump-capable Vanguard. But of course, such equipment wasn't available here. Their only option was relying on the Proxy.
"I've found a new route," Phaethon announced, living up to the reputation of a legendary Proxy. "In the lobby on the ground floor of Tower B, there's a fissure that leads straight to the rooftop."
"It takes seven minutes to reach it, and we'll have to pass through an area with extremely high ether activity. High-risk Ethereals may block the path."
"Please don't worry, Proxy. Ethereals still cannot stop Victoria Housekeeping or Lord Ignis." Von Lycaon glanced at Ignis, then turned to Rain. "Miss Rain, I know you're exhausted, but the matter of the airship must rely on your skills."
"If it's only removing the airship's control lock, once we reach the rooftop, I can immediately dismantle the interference devices!" Rain took a deep breath. "But I heard the rebels say that to ensure nothing went wrong, all passengers on the airship were sedated. Can anyone even pilot it out of the Hollow now?"
"Billy probably can't fly an airship." Just imagining Billy as the only conscious person on board made Ignis internally uneasy.
"Lord Ignis, Miss Rain resolving the control issue is already a great help. Leave the rest to Victoria Housekeeping." Von Lycaon's gaze shifted from the assembled maids back to Ignis. "According to the intel we obtained earlier, the airship will pass just above Ballet Twins Tower. Since it's missing a pilot, I shall fill in."
"All right. We move," Ignis ordered once the group was assembled. "Move quickly."
"Don't grab me and jump! I don't want to experience that again!" Rain panicked when she saw the giant reach toward her, thinking he intended to jump down with her again.
But this time, Ignis descended together with the group. As for Rain, she sat perched on the Salamander's arm the entire way.
She had no choice—neither she nor Eous were fast enough. When time was tight, this was the only option.