Chapter 60: Guilty Matrix

The chaos was spreading all over the submarine. Kairo and the others stood amidst the chaos, thinking of a solution to get out of this. However, Draco's eyes were flickering with renewed anger, his breath slowly gathering around his teeth, ready for another salve of fire.

"This shot will be enough to get you all down. Do you really want to die for some officer? I want Kairo's head now, or you will all burn with them," Rellion warned. Standing at the top of Draco, his voice was like a divine command falling on everyone.

Rellion had not shown any of his abilities, but the simple fact that he stood atop Draco made his presence bigger than normal.

Fear and dread spread through the faces of the rushing prisoners, most of whom were Grade Two and Three. Only a few Grade Three criminals didn't show any sign of panic. As for the Grade Four criminals, most acted like if they had to die, then so be it—nothing to fret about.

On the side, Kairo could see a figure causing continuous ripples through the water. Without a doubt, he figured out it was Danzan retreating with the engineers. Although some tried to stop him or block his path, he was way too fast for anyone to react.

Draco let out another cry—signaling, impending doom. The sparkles of light ignited again, forming into dazzling flames. Then they began spiraling downward once more. The water filling the corridors began boiling under the heat, the hotbeds spreading a wave of red all over the place.

Before the flames could get near Kairo and the others, a golden halo swept past them, clashing head-on with the flame waves. Like two stars entering in collision, the flames were blocked at the edges of the golden halo.

Nyx's face became even paler, almost falling into the water. "I won't hold those flames for long," she said weakly.

Kairo's heart ached in front of the scene. Desperate to do something, he stood in front of her. When the flames swept past the pocket hourglass, the entire corridor began singing cries of agony. The flames weren't leaving any wounds on them, but it was burning them—it was like being in a furnace without actually getting burned.

Kairo was motionless, his face edged with worry. He wanted to help, he wanted to save everyone, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. The Sand Paladin was ideal for ground combat, but he couldn't fly. Thus, Kairo had no way to touch Draco, and even if he did, there was no guarantee that the lance could pierce through that rocky skin. Kairo thought of Wind Breaker but then shook his head. Wind Breaker allowed him to increase the rotation of objects, but not to fly.

One after another, the prisoners and officers alike cried in pain. Their bodies ignited despite the water already at the level of their waists.

"The Card Mage officer wants us dead. Just give him your head, and we'll be done with it," a prisoner said, holding his head in pain. His eyes were red, as if he was about to go mad. He was on the verge of collapsing.

"Aren't you an officer? Supposed to fight for justice? Where is the justice in this? Kairo, give him your head and save us all!" another cried, already drowning in water.

For the first time in a while, Kairo was paralyzed in front of action. He simply didn't know what to do. His head was heavy and spinning from all the fighting and chaos he had been through.

"What would you have done, Father?" Kairo asked amidst the chaos. The cries of the prisoners and the lightning became deaf, leaving Kairo in his own world.

Kairo's eyes flickered with pain, and he was suddenly somewhere else.

...

"It's a boy," the woman in white said. Her face was sweaty from all the effort she had expended, but despite the exhaustion, she was smiling at the lady in the bed.

"Can I take a look at him?" the lady asked.

"Of course you can. You're so lucky the gods allowed you to keep him after what you tried to do. Hopefully, he will never be aware of it."

"I hope too he never finds out." The woman's expression was fading into a sad smile. Unlike what one would expect from a new mother, she had tears flowing down her face.

...

"Kairo... Kairo, are you okay? Please, Kairo, answer me!" Nyx kept shouting around him. Kairo's eyes flashed back to reality, only to be sent back to the nightmarish battlefield. The faint moment of calmness granted by that vision had vanished.

"Was it my mother?" Kairo's head ached. He had barely any memory of her from when he was little. In the past, he had always found it very strange and had asked about her to his father. But the answer had always been the same—she left them, and that was it.

"I will be the only person you will ever need," Magus had repeated countless times.

The shock from the fire must have triggered memories I wasn't aware existed, Kairo thought. But why was this happening just now?

.....

On the other side of the battlefield, Danzna had brought the last engineer into the safety pod. Now only Kairo, Donsentos, and Nyx were still outside. The most essential people had been put into safety. Still, he didn't rush to close the chamber—he had one last thing to do.

"All retreat to your cells if you don't want to all die here. That's your only way out now," Danzna said. Next to him, an officer was using a card to relay his voice all over the battlefield. It was like he had been waiting for this exact moment to say this—waiting for everyone's will to fall.

His voice was like the last whisper of hope that they needed. Some of the prisoners had stayed on the first and second levels to hide in their cells the moment the submarine started sinking. These ones were mostly the grade four criminals who understood this conflict wasn't theirs. Only the grade two and three criminals were naive enough to believe they could get into the safe pod with the officers—and thus got manipulated by Rellion.

But now most of them had changed their minds. Throwing away the need for vengeance on the Card Mage officer, they all began running to their levels. Swimming with renewed energy, some dove through the water like fish, others used their borrowed cards to carve a way out of the water. It was like a water race. Although the water was already above their waists, they were prisoners and were desperate to live—thus, some hot water wasn't going to stop them.

Rellion frowned, observing the chaotic scene, because without all of these prisoners to create pressure on the officers, his plan was falling apart. Furthermore, given how unpredictable and erratic their movement had become, it was impossible for Draco to target them while targeting Kairo and the others.

"I can't come to pick you up. I'm out of energy," Danzna said in a low voice. From the corner of his mouth, blood was slowly flowing. He had reached his threshold of aura boosters. Like most boosters, they had a certain limit, which, when exceeded, would cause the reverse effect and could make the mage's aura unstable. Taking any more would lead to more harm than good.

....

On the other chaotic side...

"Will you all shut up, you bunch of mushrooms? We inquisitors don't beg for mercy. We chain and enslave criminals like you all," Donsentos said, basking in the flames of Draco. Unlike the others screaming and crying, he was smiling, as if for him the pain was nothing.

"The Guilty Matrix—that's what we need. Seal him up and then perform a one-kill shot on the forehead of Draco. That's his weak spot," Felix said, barely able to breathe by now. Of the grade four criminals, he was the only one who had not run away.

"That's it—the Matrix to seal Draco, and then I could use the Dead Paladin to finish him off," Kairo agreed. He remembered Nyx talking about this ability of Donsentos: the Guilty Matrix. It was perfect for subduction. But it was hard to affirm it would work on Draco. At the level where they stood, there was no choice for them. But Kairo had an issue with the plan.

"Draco and Rellion are not going to just stand there and allow us to take him down. Nyx wouldn't be able to hold the Pocket Hourglass for another salv of fire. We'll be fried before we get any closer," Kairo said.

"Trust me. I got this borrowed card—called The Honourable. It allows me to force my enemy in line of sight to lock onto my position, making his movement predictable. Draco will never touch me with his fire," Felix said. "It's our only chance."

Kairo hesitated. If Felix was right, then everything was set. The execution was the only thing left. But Felix was a grade four criminal. Who knew what he had behind the head? Why wasn't he running away or staying out of the conflict like the others?

Kairo felt something was fishy in here. But he could not think for long. Draco's breath had created hotbeds all over the place—getting close to these places would turn them into ashes in mere seconds. Thus, he balled his feet and gave in.

"Donsentos, we count on you."

"It's my ability, of course I know what it can do. What do you think I've been doing all this time?" Donsetos had a defiant smile, like that of someone about to play his trump card.

Actually, the Guilty Matrix was exactly like the Judgment Sword, or even the Last Stand of Mirelle.

These were the types of cards that required preparation and channeling before one could summon forth their power.

With a smirk on his face, Donsetos ejected a card from his launcher, catching it mid-air between his fingers. Around him, the circuitry of the void roared to life, drawing a clean, web-like pattern around them.

"What the hell?" Kairo asked in wariness, retreating with Nyx and Felix. Around Donsetos, the water began boiling—more precisely, it was blown to the side, turning into white smoke that camouflaged his body. His fingers were like those of an artist, wielding electrified lines in midair.

"Do you like tight spaces, Draco?" he asked with a smile.

Kairo and the others lifted their heads toward Draco and Rellion. In the void, the electrified lines began converging one after another, forming a dense net of sparkling white lightning that engulfed the massive form of Draco.

Rellion's expression shifted in an instant, forced to dive down to escape being caught in the net.

"Shut this flying mosquito down, Kairo. I'm stuck here—I can't move with a prey of this size," Donsetos said.