CHAPTER 146 - PINKY PROMISE KNIGHT
There was no time to waste, so the doctors brought their equipment into the medical tent to save the bloodied princess. She was injected with a medical nanomachine injection as a first aid, and those nanomachines started the repairing process of Irida’s body.
Arth was sitting beside Irida the whole time. He’s still sobbing, but it’s silent. His reddish eyes won’t take away from his Kaiser.
“Please Irida… Please don’t die.” Arth muttered.
On the other hand, Rayne and I are being treated surgically. The burns on my arm to my shoulder were not fatal, but they hurt like hell because my nerves were fried during the electrocution. Rayne is still unconscious, and she’s dependent on the nebulizer. I don’t know if she’s in a more dangerous situation than I am.
I can hear the explosions in the coliseum. Helicopters and winged Gladiators also landed in the area. I want to know what was happening on the battlefield. I tried to raise my body, but Ryan stopped me.
“We will go, Elzane. Focus on recovering.” He said.
I think I can’t speak yet, so I just made a small nod at him. Ryan looked at Himeno as a sign of confirmation, and then the Kaiser-Gladiatrix Duo exited the medical tent and rushed back to the battlefield.
“Z-Zane…”
I heard a familiar soft voice. When I looked to my right, I saw Rayne now fully awake. She removed the nebulizer from her mouth and raised her body.
“W-What happened?”
“I… I don’t know.” I muttered. I’m kind of surprised that my voice is now coming out of my throat. I must have recovered my energy due to the passage of time and treatment. I wanted to reach out to her and hug her tight, but the wires on my burnt arm were constricting my movement.
“Mister Chaldeas, don’t move yet.” The nurse scolded me. “Miss Treenity is stable now, but the same cannot be said in your situation. The burns may only be second-degree, but you should be treated to prevent infection.”
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“O-Okay.” I nodded, so I laid back down.
There was noise coming from the coliseum, but it was drowned by the beeping ECG on Irida’s side. Rayne looked at the poor bloodied princess with a frown. s
“We failed.” Rayne put her hand on her chest.
“No, I failed,” Arth argued back. “It was my job to protect Irida. My power got over my head and thought that I could protect her alone. I valued my pride above Irida’s safety. I should have accepted your offer.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s the Masked Kaiser’s.” Rayne said. “You should not blame yourself for somebody’s wrongdoing.”
“...”
Arth became silent and he bowed down. He knew that licking each other’s wounds right now wouldn’t help Irida’s condition. He gripped his knees as a punishment to himself and to show his anger against the psychotic Raynevere Treenity. And he also hated himself for being so helpless at this point.
The broken paladin started to shed tears, but then-
“Arth…”
It was Irida’s voice. Her soft hand caressed her knight’s wet cheeks and wiped away his tears.
“Irida!” Arth enveloped Irida’s hand with his warm fingers.
“You should not blame yourself, my love. It was my fault for being so selfish. I was the one who decided to defend our pride and refuse the corporation’s offer. I brought this to myself. I… deserve this. That is why I am now speaking with you using this borrowed time.”
“Don’t speak like that, Irida! You do not deserve this! Do you remember the time we went to the Cyberflower Farm last week? I promise that I will protect you with all my might! It was a pinky promise, remember?”
“You protected me well enough, Arth.” Irida cried. “We defeated the Cyberdemons together. We held out for years. You even defeated President Raynevere Treenity and became the Gladiator Champion. I could never ask for a better guardian than you. You are truly a knight in shining armor.”
“No, Irida! Please, don’t speak like that!” Arth wept as he bowed unto Irida’s chest.
Irida gently caressed her knight’s hair three more times, and then she smiled. Then she turned to Rayne, and then to me.
At this moment, I was already standing up. The medicine and antibiotics were applied to my burnt wounds, and I have regained all the functions in my body thanks to the nanomachine healing by the doctors.
“Elzane Chaldeas,” Irida said as she raised her hand with a Kaiser Gauntlet. “Take this.”
“W-Why?” I mumbled.
“This Kaiser Gauntlet may be an old model, but it can amplify the Gladiatrix System’s strengthening effects. I also unlocked the Hypermode in the system. With President Raynevere Treenity, the perfect Gladiatrix, you can defeat the Cyber Dark Lord.”
Rayne’s eyes went wide upon hearing Irida’s words. There was hesitation in her eyes, saying I should not use it. However, Irida insisted.
“Once the Cyber Dark Lord activates his Transformation Card, it will be all over. But be warned, Hypermode is a double-edged sword. If you use it… you will… you will…”
All life from Irida’s brown eyes disappeared before she could even finish her sentence.