The Black Knights, the Shadow Garden, and the Knights of the Round (7K) (Continued)
Just as Lelouch and Mahiro were meeting, Cornelia outside the hotel also made her move.
It can be said that Lelouch's acceptance into the Japanese Liberation Front overwhelmed the existing situation.
Cornelia could no longer tolerate it.
They planned to use the power of the Knights of the Rounds and contact Lloyd of the Special Dispatch Division, intending to have Lancelot act as bait in a feint attack on the underground transport tunnel and to destroy the linear cannons.
This will allow us to storm the hotel, eliminate the terrorists, rescue Euphemia li Britannia, and capture ZERO alive!
"Received, thank you for your recommendation!"
After hanging up the call, Lloyd let out a strange, loud laugh, as if he had suddenly fallen ill.
"Hahaha... did you hear that! Lancelot can finally be deployed!"
Having the opportunity to obtain real-world data, Lloyd was overjoyed, practically dancing with delight.
Having waited a full day, he was already impatient, not to mention the presence of the Knights of the Rounds. He was terrified that such valuable data on practical combat experience would be stolen from him.
However, it's unclear whether it was a case of extreme joy turning into sorrow, or something else entirely.
The next second, a strong tremor suddenly came from the ground.
"What happened? What happened?!"
"Earthquake?!"
"No, no, look over there!"
All eyes were focused on the direction of Lake Kawaguchi, the epicenter of which was located in this artificial lake!
Violent ripples spread across the lake, gradually transforming into waves that crashed against the shore. Under their watchful eyes, the towering hotel standing atop the artificial lake began to slowly sink!
"Euphemia li Britannia!!!"
"Everyone!!! No!!!"
Upon seeing this, Cornelia's pupils constricted sharply, and she cried out in despair.
Suzaku Kururugi, piloting Lancelot, leaped directly from the underground passage, completely ignoring Lloyd's command of "Warrant Lieutenant Kururugi" from behind, and charged straight towards the collapsing building.
That was clearly a sign that the foundation's load-bearing columns had been damaged.
But no one knows exactly who did it.
The Britannia army hasn't even finished organizing a rescue operation yet!
Click!
Located in the best spot on the Lake Kawaguchi, Anya Alstreim, exuding a melancholic aura, sat in her personal mecha, opened the hatch, took out her phone, and took a picture of the massive, sinking hotel.
This is her habit.
Because she had no memories of her childhood, and because her memories were always confused, Anya Alstreim developed the habit of writing a diary and taking photos at a very young age.
However, this time, after she took the photos, she noticed something was wrong with them.
Amidst the dust, a white figure appeared before the half-collapsed, tilted building, standing there alone, its silhouette incredibly desolate.
Was the operator so overcome with grief that they stopped because there wasn't enough time to provide assistance?
No, it was as if something reached out from the darkness and pressed against Lancelot's body.
Boom!!!
Just then, a deafening roar, like an explosion, erupted from the hotel ruins, and Lancelot was sent flying as if struck by a battering ram.
It splashed a few times on the water's surface and then crashed directly onto the shore.
Normally, the Britannia army would have been shocked, but at this moment they had no time to be surprised.
Because a yacht was slowly emerging from the ruins of the hotel, carrying all the hostages kidnapped inside, including Euphemia and the students of the Ashford Academy.
"Britannia, there is no need to panic or grieve. All the hostages trapped in the hotel have been rescued. Now let them return to their families."
Lelouch, or rather, ZERO, is currently giving a speech at the bow of the ship, which is being broadcast to the world via video equipment.
"However, this rescue operation was not led by me, but by someone else!"
ZERO's voice clearly reached everyone's ears, and Cornelia swallowed back the words "shameless" that she had originally wanted to say.
Not ZERO?
Who else could it be?
"Now, let me introduce you to my other companion!"
Following the direction ZERO waved his hand, a figure appeared at the end of the main road bridge connecting the hotel.
Like a figure emerging from the darkness.
Only after the searchlight shone on them could they see the person's face clearly.
With silver hair and red eyes, and wearing a fitted black coat, he was clearly the other person besides ZERO from the last ORANGE incident!
My name is Shadow.
A deep, resonant voice quietly rose and clearly reached everyone's ears.
"We are the Shadow Garden."
Another voice took over, a voice so captivating it could make one swoon.
Beside that person appeared a figure—no, to be precise, nine figures. Judging from their figures, they were all women, but each of them wore a mask to conceal their faces.
"We know everything."
"We lurk in the shadows."
"Swords of judgment fall upon all who sin."
Their voices were clear and resonant, as if making a declaration.
Only...
Shadow?
Shadow Garden?!
Cornelia frowned.
For some reason, the person in the lead and the woman serving him all felt familiar to her.
"Teacher..."
Euphemia li Britannia was shoved into the small boat carrying the hostages and brought ashore, looking anxiously at the figure at the end of the bridge.
"Indeed, you who possess power, fear us! You who lack power, crave us! This world will be punished by the Black Knights and the Shadow Garden!"
After Shadow Garden concluded its announcement to the world, ZERO, taking advantage of the hostage situation that shocked the entire Area 11, with the help of a media person, released his own declaration and decided to step onto this grand stage!
This marks the first time the Black Knights have made their first public appearance!
Only...
That's so childish and immature.
Thankfully, he learned a trick from Cid and simply used his name; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to pull off such a cringeworthy self-introduction in front of so many people.
There's a sense of despair, a desire to destroy the world.
But surely Cid wouldn't cross the world to chase after him and demand royalties, would he?
It's highly unlikely.
Just as Mahiro pondering this, a loud rumbling sound suddenly came from the other end of the bridge as ZERO finished his speech.
"Ha! I don't care about your Shadow Garden or the Black Knights, since you're terrorists, let me have some fun!!!"
"Stop, Lord Bulat!"
However, Luciano Bradley completely disregarded Cornelia's orders and immediately piloted his mech across the bridge from the Britannia army.
It moved with Mahiro in just a few seconds, and Knightmare's massive metal hand slammed down.
Rumble...
The force was so great that even the bridge trembled slightly.
The nine girls serving Shadow dodged the attack, leaving him alone trapped under the palm, only his head peeking out to meet Knightmare's gaze.
"Haha, look! All your men have abandoned you and run away!"
As he spoke, Luciano Bradley tightened his grip as if he wanted to crush him, but he carefully controlled the force, as if he were squeezing an insect, as if he could kill him at any moment.
"..."
Mahiro didn't speak, but simply gazed at the other person silently.
"How foolish."
Alpha, now airborne, surveyed the scene below and said coldly.
"Lord Alpha, why won't you let us help Lord Mahiro?"
Beta was the one who asked the question. She couldn't accept watching Mahiro- sama being pinned down by such a filthy thing!
To this, Alpha simply sighed and said:
"Don't you understand, Beta? It's because he wants to play with that toy..."
That being said, in the current situation, it's impossible to tell who's playing whom.
Luciano Bradley slowly raised the other arm of the mech, and the claws embedded in it unfolded and began to rotate like drills.
It was also covered with a layer of crystal-green material that resembled an energy shield.
Luciano Bradley carefully controlled the drill, gradually bringing the tip closer to Shadow's brow.
"Haha, struggling like an insect? It doesn't matter, let me tell you what your most precious thing is: life!"
As a vampire of the empire, Luciano Bradley is proficient in all kinds of torture methods, and his specialty is to make people die in grief and screams.
So what he wanted to do now was to make this terrorist leader, known as Shadow, let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Gradually crush him.
From his limbs, then his torso, and finally his head, crushed and his brains squeezed out.
Let his men witness firsthand how gruesomely they die!
However, the next second...
The falling drill bit tip suddenly burst into intense sparks, and a barrier appeared, stopping the high-speed drill bit from falling.
"Oh? No wonder you're so confident, you have a little toy with you... But how long can that last? An hour? Ten minutes? Or ten seconds?"
With a look of delight on his face, Luciano Bradley increased the force of his arm and pressed the drill down hard once more.
The sparks that flew from the collision became increasingly intense, like the strongest spear colliding with the strongest shield!
"Hahaha, struggle on, struggle on! Watch as I slowly break through your shield, crushing your bones and internal organs!!!"
"Hmph... So this is what the Knights of the Rounds like? They're nothing special."
Just then, Mahiro, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
"Reshaping the energy shield into a weapon is a good idea, I've certainly learned something... but that's about it."
"What?!"
Luciano Bradley heard his words clearly, and his originally pleased face twisted in disbelief at those words.
"Still bluffing? Useless, useless. I'll destroy your most important and precious things bit by bit!"
Sharp, piercing, morbid, and manic laughter echoed continuously.
The sound stung his eardrums, causing Mahiro to frown slightly in displeasure.
"It's as noisy as flies, let's Decomposition."
As he finished speaking, a faint red light flickered in his pupils.
--"The Nihility"--