I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

The ruined corridor from the battle for the bridge.

Irenia reached out and pulled a shard of Power Armor from deep within the wall.

She glanced up at the ceiling, then scanned her surroundings, her eyes finally settling on the corner at the far end of the corridor.

”A vicious battle took place here. Someone nearly died.”

As she spoke, Irenia stopped and turned to face the man following her. She opened her hand, and the shard of Power Armor clattered to the floor.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again.

”I thought you were dead.”

Reinhardt’s heavy footsteps thudded like a war machine. He came to a cold halt beside her. ”Imperial Knights die on the front lines every day,” he responded. ”I am just one of them.

Death is never far from me.”

Hearing his reply, Irenia gave a resigned smile. Her feet lifted from the floor, and she began to float so she could keep pace with Reinhardt.

They were like old friends, reunited after many years, strolling and chatting along a garden path on a sunny afternoon.

A pity.

This narrow corridor had no afternoon sun or green meadows—only the smoke of battle and chaotic ruins.

”You agreed so readily. You must want to know the whereabouts of that Wizard’s Divine Artifact.”

As she walked beside Reinhardt, Irenia extended her right hand. A twisting vortex, like a miniature black hole, coalesced in her palm. Then, an artifact appeared, its form shifting constantly like a ferrofluid.

The Wizard’s Divine Artifact radiated a uniquely terrifying aura, a sense that all things would eventually turn to dust in the torrent of time, as if millions of years were flowing past them.

In the span of a single breath, a magnificent illusion of worlds rising and falling, of stars turning in their courses, flashed through Reinhardt’s Knight Perception and was gone.

Then Irenia closed her fist, and the Wizard’s Divine Artifact vanished from her hand.

Her demeanor shifted from lighthearted to solemn. ”The Chaos Mother Box was once one of the Supreme King’s many treasures,” she said, her tone heavy, ”but it is severely damaged.

I can’t tell you what terrible power it holds.

But I will tell you what you want to know: why Enok and the Mechanical Order are so desperate to obtain it.

Any matter in the Real Cosmos—even a common stone you could find anywhere—will become an Extraordinary Creation with a random Special Ability if it is corrupted by the Chaos Mother Box.”

The already cramped corridor felt even more oppressive and chaotic under the flashing crimson of the emergency lights; most of the regular lighting had been destroyed.

After hearing Irenia’s explanation, Reinhardt turned to look at her. ”You’re saying they want to use this Wizard’s Divine Artifact to mass-produce Extraordinary Armaments.”

”Exactly.”

Irenia’s voice was grave. ”The only good news is that they don’t know how to use it, so their production of these armaments is slow.

But the bad news is that using the Chaos Mother Box to create Extraordinary Armaments comes at a price.

Every time an Extraordinary Creation is born, a corresponding Demon is also spawned. The more powerful the creation, the stronger the Demon.

You should be thankful that fool Enok hasn’t managed to create anything too outlandish. Otherwise, the Ash Soil Star Zone would have certainly been annihilated in the resulting cataclysm.”

Just then, a dazzling ray of starlight pierced through a small window.

The slanted beam passed over Reinhardt’s tall frame and broad shoulders, illuminating Irenia.

Reinhardt stopped. ”Aren’t you afraid I’ll force you to hand over the Divine Artifact?”

Irenia instinctively looked up, wanting to see the world outside. But the small window was like the world through a Mortal’s eyes: narrow, and forever trapped.

”You’re an interesting man, Reinhardt.”

Irenia’s deep, emerald-green eyes met Reinhardt’s, her gaze calm, as if she could see past the illusions of the material world to the truth that lies beyond fate.

”I have seen countless greedy eyes. Their thirst for power, their craving for status and authority... it’s like sharks smelling blood in the water...”

Irenia’s voice trailed off as she continued to gaze into Reinhardt’s eyes.

She raised her hand and gently touched Reinhardt’s scarred, resolute face. Finally, she gave a slight smile as her floating body slowly descended to the floor.

She turned and began to walk slowly away.

Reinhardt’s brow furrowed slightly, and he strode to catch up.

The light from the windows above cast down beams like pillars. As she walked through them, Irenia’s thoughts seemed to drift back to the night her father sent her away from their family’s castle.

The memory of the bone-chilling wind on the northern snowfields was still so vivid.

”I grew up in a carefree home. I don’t know who my birth parents are, but my adoptive father never asked anything of me. He simply did his best to be a father to me.

When I said I wanted to explore the ice plains, he dispatched the Clan Knights to personally escort me thousands of miles to the Northern Icefield.

When I wanted to study art and history, he hired the best tutors.

When I was a little older, I expressed a desire to enter politics and one day lead the family. He sent me to Frostfire Fortress to connect with the Imperial Knights stationed there, hoping I would find promising followers for our clan and cultivate my own loyal retainers.

Back then, I had no idea how far away the Imperial City my father often spoke of really was. I didn’t understand what politics or the Imperial Knights truly meant.

And you, Reinhardt... you were the follower I had the highest hopes for. I naively believed that if I just extended an olive branch, you would rush to my side because of the way the Knight Order was suppressing you.”