Otome Game Villainess? Who Cares? I Want Giant Mecha. 8

Otome Game Villainess? Who Cares? I Want Giant Mecha. 8

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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What is a Chevalier without a worthy foe?

My past life concurred with my innermost thoughts. Though he called them Mecha, they were very much the same as what I knew. Giant, bipedal machines built to endure incredible punishment, as well as hand it out, which could be adapted and changed according to any situation. My past granted me visions of them in the far future, battling against immense ships in space and with weapons unlike anything I’d ever conceived, but he alluded to me that it was always better to fight on the ground, with skill in play, and with weapons but a secondary consideration in the pursuit of martial perfection within immense machines.

I agreed wholeheartedly with his statement, thus I had two lifetimes of excitement over the threat that the kingdom now faced.

In my Chevalier, I’ve faced giant monsters, rogue Chevaliers, and against my own order in spars. Each battle was gratifying. It was the sensation of overwhelming power facing within a Chevalier, while facing opponents, that enticed many to pilot them. However, for me, that wasn’t enough. It was never enough to win overwhelming victories. What I craved, from my past and current life, was a true battle against powerful foes.

And, finally, that time had come.

The undersea invaders came with their own Chevaliers. Amalgams of sea creatures, coral, and unknown magics that met our Chevaliers in battle on the streets of the capital. The Amalgams were fusions of numerous, magically-grafted undersea creatures capable of manifesting blades of water, stretching limbs to incredible lengths, and bounding leaps on dry land where they were no longer being constantly crushed by the ocean’s depths. They were fast, agile constructs… that found themselves outmatched by Chevaliers.

The magical protections, the armor, the skill, and the ability of the pilots of Chevaliers proved to be their undoing. Their armor and protection wasn’t enough to protect against weapons designed to overcome Chevalier defenses, they weren’t as fast the quickest prey that Chevaliers were meant to fight, and finally they weren’t skilled enough to use their strengths to their fullest while hiding their weaknesses, thus the Amalgams were crushed underfoot… time and time and time again.

There were many of them.

What the Amalgams lacked in everything else, they gloriously made up for in numbers, and from what the Chevaliers could tell… whatever was guiding and “piloting” them were learning and growing in skill with every new wave sent. My past life pointed out they were most likely being remotely piloted, and those pilots were safe beneath the waves, and that they were going to grow stronger with every battle.

A part of my raged at the thought of facing such cowards, but the thrill of battle rose up within me as my past life divested a single fact: in order to defeat them, I must become utterly unstoppable to the point where innumerable lives and numbers meant nothing.

I had many other goals in life before, but now I had another which waylaid them all.

To become a Chevalier of such might and power to where infinity meant nothing.

My heart soared at the thought.

That was what I wanted to be.

An insurmountable, final foe.

…

Constantine looked through the senses of the Chevalier. Its gaze was better than his own. Within Chevalier, he could see farther, more clearly, and keep sight of faster moving objects with ease. Not only that, but because of his position as head of a Chevalier Order, his Chevalier was outfitted to keep track of those under his command in the din of battle.

And, now, he looked upon a battle unlike any other.

Ever since the attack on the capital, the coastline of the kingdom has become beleaguered from multiple points. Having experienced the staunch defenses of the capital, the undersea invaders chose to look for other avenues of attack. Given their practical rule over the water, Constantine understood the creature’s logic and gave them credit, even if he called them his foes.

He would be a fool to think he faced mere beasts, especially after seeing their magic, formations, and strategies firsthand.

But, he put long-term strategies aside for the moment, and looked upon the battlefield he now commanded.

The coastal city he was sent to protect was a large fishing village, which largely had little strategic import. It was part of an agricultural region with pastures and windmills that took advantage of the winds that came from the ocean. Grains came from further inland, where soil was richer, but the cooler climate near the ocean was better for sheep and their woolly coats to grow year-round. The lands around it were largely flat, perfect grounds to battle with Chevalier upon, and so it was avoided by any significant force because the ease with which Chevaliers could fight upon it.

The enemy came forth to take the land and found themselves in a slaughter.

The lesser masses of creatures, the foot soldiers, were swept aside and the Amalgams that came to assist the beleaguered defenders were less trained than his counterparts fought at the final hours of the capital. Constantine filed away that fact, surmising that it was possible that they were fighting several different detachments of troops across all the coastlines, before turning his attention back to the battlefield laden with the bodies of the undersea invaders.

“They aren’t lacking in courage, I’ll give them that.” Constantine muttered to his attending guards, who nodded as one at his side. He and his retinue were the final line of defense, and a rapid reaction force, while the rank-and-file tended to the masses of foes. As the expansive beach began to be stained by blue blood, and as sand was buried by innumerable bodies, he looked at his warriors and saw none of them faltering. “How goes the defensive line’s preparation?”

“It was completed an hour ago. The local lord made haste and now the people are safe, while defensive emplacements have been set.”

“Hm, remind me to speak to this territory’s duke about that man’s bravery and aptitude.” Constantine nodded in recognition of the achievement. An invasion was rarely answered with such capability by a mere town’s official, but now he was assured the town at his back was empty and long-range support was imminent. “How goes the army’s march?”

“They’ll be here within the hour. They are armed for counter-Chevalier warfare.”

“Good.” Constantine nodded at that. Professional soldiery has been rarely a decent counter for a Chevalier alone, however, in support of friendly Chevaliers it was another story. When caught in a duel, when focused on protecting oneself from a peer, a Chevalier became incredibly weak against the common man. A regular individual’s ability to harm the piloted, magical golems increased immensely when the giant had many other problems that needed handling. “Tell them to reinforce the defensive line. It looks like we’re about to lose breath soon.”

Constantine turned his attention back to the battle on the beach.

Losing breath was simply loss of stamina, depletion of power, and ability to fight consistently in battle. Endurance was a vital skill for any Chevalier pilot and rare were those who could fight incessantly for hours at a time. Battle took a toll on the mind, body, and energy of even the hardiest of individuals—

“Commander, there are no more enemies here. I want more.”

Then, there were complete and utter outliers.

“Captain, that is the fourth time you have told me that… and this the fourth time you are correct.” Constantine spoke to his foremost Chevalier with grit teeth, as he felt his blood pressure rise. Ever since the beginning of this invasion, his First Captain and officer on the field has grown bolder, more hungry for blood, and looking for more conflict. “Move on to the nearest field like last time and relieve that position.”

“Understood.” Lenore of House Baude returned from the Academy unlike many other students. Many other households chose to accept a longer stay at the Academy, after households contested the call to arms sent by the King for even their children. The nobility gave much in exchange for the safety of their children from conflict, promising better arms and armor and more Chevaliers to the conflict. House Baude was one of the few that did not have to pay the price, because their house’s heiress wouldn’t even deign staying away from conflict as an option. “Moving forward.”

And, since then, she has grown stronger and more powerful in the battlefield to the point where there was hardly anything that could stand in her wake.

Constantine heard of her display during the Academy’s festival of talents. He recalled his own exhibition of the day and how it led to his rise in prestige and position over the years. It was the first step in his future, the foundation of all his successes, and Lenore of House Baude outstripped all others in multiple fields, not just the Chevalier, and was awarded a new prize by the king himself.

However, he could only imagine that all the other talents she had paled in comparison to her talent with the Chevalier.

He saw her now as she fought on the beach, against an endless foe, and felt nothing but awe.

Her Chevalier was built for speed and elegance in battle. Its armor was sloped and focused on the front, while its back was almost bare and ultimately for enchanted segments that could propel her forward. It was a machine designed for speed and lethality, that could respond to attacks faster than anything else, and relied almost entirely upon its pilot’s skill, power, and talent to continue battling. When it walked, it was slow and ungainly, but when it ran or used its numerous enchanted segments to propel it forward… it was like a pure white swan flying through battle.

A beautiful bird that left destruction in its wake.

Lenore used her Chevalier to its fullest extent like no other could. She knew every point from which she could propel her Chevalier forward and used each one at the right moment, with a thought, to perfectly move her massive golem through battle for the sake of evasion, pursuit, and even battle. Her immense reserves of power allowed her to sustain it for long periods of time, to the point Constantine was sure that she could make her massive creation take flight, but even then she conserved energy, meticulously dodged attacks that would eat at her power reserves, and killed with meticulous efficiency.

In their first battle against the new foe, she had used overwhelming force, using large breaker blades and maces for her Chevalier to utterly destroy the enemy. Then, in the second battle, she had used normal weapons. And, finally, in the third battle she went forward with the basic weapons at her back and killed with her Chevalier’s limbs alone. Lenore Baude had taken the measure of her foes, found their weaknesses, and now fought them knowing exactly how much force they each required until they died.

So, in her path, none of the new enemies could stand to challenge her.

As her Chevalier’s sword swung and cut through the face and the heart of an Amalgam with perfect precision, the leg of her Chevalier swung forward and caved in spine of another. That leg then had all its thrusters activate, spinning the entire machine upward into the air, as though it did not weigh more than entire castle towers, before Lenore activated its magics once again to drop like a missile at the next group of foes, killing one, shocking others, and then lashing out with pinpoint accuracy with thrown blades the length and weight of fully loaded wagons.

Nothing could stand in her path, nothing could even stagger her step, and soon enough there was nothing that would stop her from becoming a Chevalier Commander of her own.

A position she would utterly loathe, and would waste her talents by forcing her in the backline, so Constantine knew that he needed to increase his merits as well.

“Call the other regulars back. It’s our turn.” Constantine called out and received affirmations from his retinue of twelve. Veterans one and all, who each spent years rising the ranks, and growing strong. They were third sons of nobility, some even peasantry, but they all earned their Chevaliers and positions through years of combat. He knew each of them could hold the line… but that was before he threw himself and his men into learning, adapting, and growing stronger as well. “Let’s put our ourselves to good use and make sure the young ones don’t have anything to complain about.”

A chuckle reverberated through his chain of command, as they walked forward to join the battle.

His Chevalier was lighter now, less armored, and with the same magics used by Baude. He was a warrior at heart and so were his companions, and they could not deny the ability and strength of their new prodigy. And, like any good warrior who has lasted so long, none of them hesitated to take what they could so that they could survive the next battle. Battles of honor were for noble knights on foot, not for slayers of monsters and traitors.

“Time to earn your ranks, boys.” Constantine spoke and found himself faced by an Amalgam which outright leapt from the ocean and past the beach. It had an eel’s face, its armor was almost nonexistent, and it had numerous tentacle-like limbs menacing with spikes. It was the last evolution reported by his colleagues who fought in the capital. Desperate creations that sought to crush and damage Chevaliers in great numbers, while eschewing defense completely. “Or are you going to let the heiress overshadow ya!?”

With a roar, as his retinue cried out a denial and charged into the fray, Constantine sped forward, ducking and dodging beneath the extended, piercing limbs, and smashed into the enemy his Chevalier’s size. He felt “his” armored shoulder come into contact with hide, then bone, then flesh, and then bone and hide once again as the immense creature simple broke apart at his charge.

Mass and speed alone sufficed as a weapon for the Chevalier Commander… but it wouldn’t do to look messy, so he drew his personal weapon from his back and with a grunt called upon it to come alight.

The blazing sword of his Chevalier warmed his “hand” and turned the corpses it came near to ash as he walked forward into another battle.

“Not bad for an old man.” Constantine muttered privately, before turning to look upon his First Captain. Lenore, in the time it took him to kill one, killed another three. “But I can be better.”

With a grunt, the Chevalier Commander moved forward with an ember of competition burning in his heart.

It wouldn’t do for him to be outdone by his subordinate after all.