A few minutes later

I sat high up on a piece of machinery which itself was standing talk over a conveyer belt. I was in the very back of a large room filled with dozens of moving conveyer belts containing robot parts which were being built and melded together, before the now built robots were dropped into holes on the left and right sides of the room.

The robots had skeleton-like features, but were black and grey instead of white. They also had a different face chiseled onto almost all of them.

On the other side of the room, a few feet above me, was an office, with a large, multi-paned glass window allowing whoever’s office that was to oversee the construction.

After several minutes of waiting, I heard the faint sound of an automatic door sliding open. Not long after, I saw someone walk up to the window… Rowan?

No. Whoever that was, they had far more of a commanding presence and absolutely no slouch.

Huh. I guess Rowan has a twin brother.

Rowan’s twin smiled when his head turned to me, then turned around and walked away, just before maroon lights darkened the room while a blaring alarm alerted every single robot in the room.

“Ugh.”

Every single conveyer belt or construction line machine in the room shut down, and, one by one, the robots standing guard turned to me, and transforming their arms into various types of weapons, but most common was swords and hand cannons.

A robot flew forward, so, unsheathing both my swords, I leapt to that robot, and after half of the nanotechnology on my suit’s back transferred to my foot, I kicked the robot’s head clean off, causing the robot’s body to crash into the wall behind me.

This time, a group of about a dozen robots started running forward. I activated my gauntlets’ energy shields, and slammed them into the ground, creating a massive wall of energy shielding me from my enemies.

As they clawed, shot, and sliced into the shield, but with no effect, I walked to the robot that crash into the wall, activated one of my swords, and cut off a piece of it’s metal, before a metallic prong shot out of my suit’s chest and grabbed the chunk of metal.

Once it was back inside, I pulled my arms back, causing the shield wall to shrink back into normal shields, before they returned to their owner.

The robots continued charging, but I stood still. I waited for the first robots to arrive, then tried slicing their heads off, only for my swords to scrape their necks.

The robots retaliated, two robots with a mace arm and sword arm, respectively, swung behind them. I somersaulted away, and during that short somersault, I decided I wouldn’t use the swords’ full powers, because of the mental strain.

A robot with a spear charged behind me, hoping to impale my back. I knocked the spear to the side with one sword, sheathed the other, and roundhouse kicked the robot away, before aiming my left gauntlet at them, and shooting out a small blunt, technologically electrified(blue electricity), dart-like projectile.

The dart hit the robot, and the electricity overloaded it’s power, then the electricity chained to all the robots that made it to the other side of where the shield wall was.

For a second, I got some breathing room, so, shrugging, I activated my sword, red electricity covering the blade, and I flung it forward. It pierced through the necks and chests of every single robot in the room, somehow changing direction after each previous target was killed.

I wasn’t sure if the sword could fly, or if it gravitated towards specified materials, like metal or, in the case of using it to return to my hand once the robots were all destroyed, my soul.

“Metal analyzed,” my AI informed me, “These robots are made of the same metal the Swords of Creation are made of.”

“Univantium…”

Suddenly, the alarms stopped, but the lights remained. Then, I heard a voice on a loudspeaker, like a deeper and less timid version of Rowan’s voice, say “Well done Steve! Get on up here! I think you’ve earned the right to fight me.”

Huh… straight to the point, I guess, I thought.

Suddenly, a triangular metal door slid into the floor on the left wall. Cautiously, I made sure both my swords were out, then I followed a path of opening doors to an elevator.

Looking up at the elevator, I commanded “AI, scan the elevator for any traps or faults.”

…

“No traps or faults detected. It’s clear, of hostiles as well, sir.”

“Nice job.”

I stepped into the elevator, and it brought me up to a hallway, which I slowly walked down, until I reached two glass doors leading to the office.

In front of it were two human guards, standing directly in my way through the doors.

They took one look at me, seeing the buckets of oil covering my suit, and pulled out two rifles.

“Really? You didn’t hear the Alexander through the intercom? Actually… did he even tell you I was coming?”

The guards remained still.

I sighed, nodding my head in annoyance and fake shame.

“Oh, nooo. Whatever will I do?” I rested my hands on my forehead and chest, trying to be as dramatic and “defeated” as possible.

“Alright. Put some handcuffs on him,” the guard on the left told the other.

Judging by the several medals he was wearing, he used to be in the army. He also had several burns, cuts, and scars on his face and sleeveless arms.

The second guard, a far younger one, about my age, put his gun away and pulled two handcuffs off his belt. I waited till he was as close as possible, then I spun around and kicked him in the gut, crashing him into the desk.

Before the other guard could react, I grabbed his gun, broke it in half with ease, and when he retaliated by pulling out a handgun from his holster, a knife slid out of the underside of my left gauntlet, which I grabbed and shoved through the soldier’s eye.

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“Agh,” the soldier inside the broken desk exclaimed.

Hearing this, I unhooked a grenade from my belt, and threw it into his mouth. His eyes widened in shock, and then burst out of his face. Then the blood, brain, and parts of his skull still remaining splattered the entire room.

After a moment, I stood my back up straight, and several streams of cleaning liquids began flowing down my suit, followed by water, which both helped wash the blood off.

“The hell is *gurgle* wrong with you?!”

I turned around, making sure my gauntlet was adjusted, and saw the older soldier, reaching his hand out and laying on his stomach, the blood pouring out of his destroyed eyeball onto the floor, except for some which got into his mouth.

“Don’t you have any *gurgle* honor?! Kill us like *gurgle* men!”

I bent down, making a sort of sitting position, and said to the dying man “You work for Alexander. Or Rowan. Either way, by proxy, you work for Robert.”

The man started laughing, before choking a bit on his blood.

“If you had any sort of trouble with us, how do you think it’ll go when you fight Robert?! Or Carnage?!”

I stood up again, looked at the office, then back at the soldier.

“I just completely proved how much better I am at you by not even using a tiny bit of professional skill. And no, I didn’t even struggle. How do I think it’ll go with Robert? Well, that’s what he should be asking with me. Cause once I get my hands on him… it’ll only be a matter of time.”

The soldier gurgled again, and I sighed. Then, I pulled his neck up, and I sliced his throat with my knife, granting him a quick death.

I shook the blood off, and put the knife back in the gauntlet, before unsheathing both my swords, holding them to both my sides.

I transformed them into hammers, and slammed them together, creating an energy explosion which burst the door down.

As the dust settled, and I waited for confirmation that Alexander was still there I transformed the hammers back into swords, and Pemo exclaimed Holy Modsil! You could’ve just kicked the door down!

It’s more of an entrance. More intimidating.

Finally, the dust settled enough that I could lay my eyes on Alexander, who was simply staring out the window. He was… wearing? No… his skin had been half replaced with a black technological suit similar in design to my suit, but thicker around the arms, chest, and legs.

“TURN THE FUCK AROUND!” I yelled at the top of my voice, but I felt no pain or discomfort, thanks to the anger and adrenaline.

…

“You ever heard of Alexander the Great? Who am I kidding, of course you have. You’re Steve fucking Berkan.”

“I SAID TURN AROUND!”

I raised my swords halfway up my chest, activating their powers without barely even realizing it.

Finally, Alexander turned around, despite how frustratingly slow it was, then he look at me, and frowned slightly.

“Lemme guess why you’re here. You looking for Rowan?”

“I… what? How’d you come to that conclusion?”

I lowered my swords slightly.

“Because even someone as far from the situation as me can tell how you really feel about him. And, considering I’m his brother… I also know…”

“Don’t.”

“He…”

“Don’t fucking say it.”

…

“Loves you just as much.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I screamed, kicking Alexander into the window, yet only cracking it. It must’ve been heavily reinforced.

I ran forward, tossing my swords away, and tackled Alexander against the window before he could recover. I then punched him once across his metallic jaw, hearing nothing but the sound of bones breaking.

Alexander smiled, transformed his left arm into a hand cannon, and shot an energy blast through my hip, almost completely disintegrating everything the blast touched, with bits of bone pointing out and unharmed intestines hanging out slightly.

Too high on adrenaline to feel a thing, I stuck my right hand out, causing a sword to fly into my grip, which I swung up and down onto Alexander.

Before I could hit him, though, Alexander slammed his elbow into mine, breaking it. He then grabbed my neck and shoulder, and slammed my face into the glass, spreading the cracks.

Unwilling to lose, I mentally ordered every bit of nanotechnology in my suit from the shoulders and above to go to my left elbow, which I used to hit Alexander back, greatly denying his shoulder.

Alexander grunted, and I spun around and slammed my foot into the only part of his face still made of skin.

Alexander flew backwards, and before he hit the wall just next to the destroyed door, I shot several electric darts into his gut, which not only electrified his entire body, but also combined to form a net which kept him from escaping the electricity, at least for now.

“Adrenaline levels are starting to drop. Administering pain drugs,” my AI said.

For only a second, I felt my hip, elbow, and face roar with pain. Grabbing my broken elbow with my free arm, I closed my eyes, and set it back into position.

As I did this, my two swords sparked with red electricity, before floating up and shooting into Alexander’s gut and eye… at least that’s where I saw them go. I couldn’t look up enough to see them hit their target.

I grunted as I felt the nano bots in my body hold my broken elbow together, before they shot lasers to temporarily weld the bones together to the point where I could mostly use my arm still.

Once my arm was back, I grabbed my head, and pulled it back, hearing a snap. Then I felt the nano bots rush to my neck, welding it with my spine.

Steve, get out of there! You nearly died!

No… I have to do this. If I can’t even beat his son… how will I ever manage to kill Robert?

Finally looking up, I managed to catch a small glimpse of Alexander’s surprisingly more black metal legs elbow me across the chin, breaking my neck backwards this time, even worse than before, making it hang disgustingly down my back, my spine threatening to break through my throat.

I know I should’ve been dead, but… well, at the time, I couldn’t see(obviously), but there seemed to be white electricity, a single spark, enough to instantly repair my neck and set it back to normal.

Expecting Alexander to throw another hit as I was healing, I swung my swords in an x direction, apparently blocking a sword of my opponents.

“Damn. No wonder these soldiers call you the Soldier of Terror. Even though you’re a reincarnation of Pemo, you’re still human. How are you surviving?”

I threw Alexander to the side, uncrossed my swords, and stepped to the side.

“Let me guess. Your father’s partner told you about all that?”

Alexander laughed, louder and louder, until the laugh turned maniacal.

“You seriously suck when it comes to excepting the truth! That was the most obvious giveaway ever!”

“I… what?”

Alexander, both of his arms now long, slick swords, he sliced the glass of my helmet.

“Don’t you get it?! I am Knightmare! Robert is Knightmare too! We’re all Knightmare!”

No…

“Sure, we share different personalities… but that’s just what happens when you subtract souls you’ve consumed and turn them into your own personal slaves.”

“Wow. I knew being a reincarnation of Pemo would make you stupid, but even fucking ******?!”

“I… what?”

Whatever that last name was, It felt like I’d completely lost consciousness when he said it. Like… someone didn’t want me to hear it.

Alexander, or… the Alexander part of Knightmare, groaned, and complained “Really?! Wow. Talk about being a coward. At least I’d let him know the truth.”

“No. You’re trying to mess with me… I won’t listen to a word you say!”

I spun my swords, and stepped back.

“Then how about actions? Those should convince you.”

Alexander turned his swords back into hands, and I ran forward. Alexander, in an instant, was at my side, allowing him to kick me in the undamaged side of my hip into the window.

Before I could recover, Alexander wound his fist back, and rammed it into my gut, smashing the both of us out the window.

The next few seconds were a blur. I remember us falling to the ground, and I was unable to move… next thing I knew, Alexander was in front of me. I tried kicking him, but he grabbed my leg and snapped it so my foot faced my face.

He then got closer, up to my face, so I tried head butting him, but he grabbed my neck before I could, and he head butted me back into the ground, breaking my nose.

“One… down,” Alexander said pridefully, turning his right arm into a sword, slowly raising it up into the air.

“I’ll relish in gaining your power.”

Then, Alexander slammed the sword into my heart, and then sliced it down my chest, tearing through the intestines, nerves, pancreas, and anything else even slightly in the middle of my body.

With one last breath, I gave a heavy sigh of failure, regret… and frustration. My birthmark completely disappeared, just before… I saw a blast of electricity hit Alexander from behind.

I heard footsteps, and then… I saw a familiar face. One with… green eyes.

I often hate cliffhangers where the actual reveal isn’t, well, revealed, until the next part, but I’ll make an exception here.