The Ice Bird spread its wings and let out a clear cry. It flew from Qi Wu's palm, moving so fast it left afterimages as it hurtled straight toward Layton.
The cannon on Layton's left arm fired repeatedly, sending one silver-white beam after another blasting toward the Ice Bird. But the bird darted through the gaps between the beams like a fish weaving between reefs.
In an instant, the Ice Bird struck Layton's chest.
Boom!
The Ice Bird's body burst apart into countless shards of ice, engulfing Layton in an icy mist.
The mist was so cold that even the moisture in the air froze. A thick layer of frost formed over Layton's metal body. The gears in his joints froze solid, his left-arm cannon was sealed in ice, and icicles covered the blade on his right arm.
Layton fell from the air and slammed into the plaza, gouging out a huge crater.
He struggled to stand, but the frost kept spreading-from his chest to his limbs, then from his limbs across his entire body. Gray-white mist tried to repair the frost-damaged circuits, but in the extreme cold, its repairs could not begin to keep pace with the spreading frost.
Qi Wu walked to the edge of the crater and looked down at Layton.
"Why side with the Demons?" His voice was calm, without accusation or mockery, only genuine puzzlement.
"You were already at the very top of the Skyhawk Empire. Power, status, money-you had everything. What did betraying humanity gain you?"
Layton lay at the bottom of the crater, frost covering most of his face and leaving only his gray-white eyes exposed. He looked at Qi Wu. Half machine and half Demon, he suddenly spoke in a strangely human tone, with an indescribable fervor.
"Gain?" His voice emerged from