The empty testing ground had a floor of specially treated alloy grating, which gleamed a cold gray-white beneath simulated daylight lamps.
At its center stood a steel creation, as still as a silent guardian deity, yet like a savage beast poised to strike.
It was a suit of Power Armour roughly three meters tall.
Its entire body was silver-white. Rather than being mirror-smooth, its surface bore fine marks left by precision machining and forging, a restrained metallic sheen flowing across them under the lights.
Engraved in the very center of its breastplate was a striking red equal-armed cross Insignia, its edges seemingly burning with invisible flames. It was identical to the emblem on the Holy Word Army knights' cloaks, declaring its lineage and allegiance.
Most terrifying was its thick right arm. The entire outer side of its forearm had been replaced by a compact Triple-Barrel Rotary Cannon, its menacing black 20 mm barrels radiating a predatory chill.
The Power Armour's head was not streamlined. Instead, it was a retro, barrel-shaped, fully enclosed Helmet with a rugged design reminiscent of the Holy Word Army knights' visored helms.
There were no Observation Windows on the Helmet's face, only a slit-like, glowing red cross-shaped visor stretching across it. Its steady internal light cast a cold, focused "gaze," completely concealing the pilot's face and lending it an even greater air of mystery and authority.
Along the armour's corners, seams, and main plates, intricate sacred patterns and passages of scripture had been engraved and traced in gold paint. Against the silver-white background, they looked ancient and lethal.
"Holy shit..." Standing in the ranks, Johnny tilted his head back to look at the steel giant and could not help murmuring in amazement.
A mixture of shock, awe, and irrepressible curiosity surged through him.
Almost instinctively, he