Faced with the bone-chilling edge of the sword, the blue-haired girl merely tilted her head.

“I am Pandora, the machine spirit aboard the Magitek Machine God ‘Astaroth.’ May I ask if you are my ‘pilot’?”

Pilot? The word usually meant an aircraft pilot, though later it came to refer to us mech pilots too. At her question, I paused in the middle of my lunge.

“And if I say yes?”

“Command confirmed.” Ancient runes flashed in the girl’s eyes. “Pilot: Elsa von Lancelot. Login complete. From today onward, you are my ‘pilot.’ I look forward to working with you.”

With that, her figure flickered and vanished.

Wait, that’s it?

“Pandora!” I shouted. “Get out here!”

Blue light flickered, and the girl appeared in front of me again.

“What are your orders, my liege?”

“Self-destruct.”

There was a moment of silence. She shook her head.

“The Magitek Machine God Astaroth is not equipped with a self-destruct device. Please operate it manually.”

Damn it, she was definitely messing with me.

Just as I was about to lose my temper, a loud crash came from outside the door. Black deathly energy seeped through the narrow gap, flowing beneath the moonlight. A chill crept up my spine. That was the presence of the undead! Don’t ask me how I knew. I just knew! With another deafening crash, sharp mechanical fingers jammed into the gap and slowly forced the rusted doors open. At last, the rivets flew from the hinges and the doors crashed to the floor. A golden mech strode into the hall, its main camera glowing crimson.

Holy crap. A giant mechanical revenant.

Was this a BOSS fight?

“Enemy unit ‘Mechanical Kai’ detected. Activating combat mode.” Pandora looked at me. “I recommend boarding this unit immediately.”

“Hmph. I’d rather die than pilot a mech!”

With that, I sprinted for the nearest window and hurled myself through the remnants of its stained glass—only to bounce off the defensive barrier covering it and roll right back to where I started.

You can’t even cheese the terrain in a BOSS fight? What a garbage game!

“By order of His Majesty, no one is to enter the audience hall. Any trespasser will be killed without mercy!”

The golden mech let out a deafening roar. Black deathly energy coiled around its battered armor, and blue flames burned at its joints. The giant mechanical revenant strode toward me, gripping a buzzing chainsword. So designers in this world equipped mechs with these meat grinders too. Was this a case of great minds thinking alike?

The buzzing chainsword came crashing down at me. I sprang to my feet with a kip-up and activated Sprint, barely dodging the blow. But the chainsword shredded the king’s skeleton, scattering broken bones across the floor with a clatter.

“Your Majesty! This humble servant didn’t do it! That wasn’t what I meant! I’ll avenge you at once!”

Wait, aren’t you the one who just ground the king’s bones to dust?

Before I could keep ranting, the sweeping chainsword smashed a pillar in the hall. Its rapidly spinning teeth were about to grind me into mincemeat. At the last moment, I activated Mist Form, instantly turning into a cloud of gray-white smoke. The chainsword cut through the smoke and slammed into the wall, leaving a deep gash.

Mist Form wore off automatically after five seconds. I used the fallen pillar as a foothold and leaped onto the golden mech’s back. Then I activated another innate skill: Blood Armament. The blood swirling through the air formed a vicious blade in my hand, its red fuller hollowed out. I aimed for the gap between the mech’s head and body and drove it in hard. But the next instant, a translucent energy membrane deflected my weapon, snapping the blood-red blade in two.

This mech had a personal energy shield? That was cutting-edge tech even the Human United Army and the rebel AIs hadn’t figured out. And a world of swords and magic had one? That made no sense!

The undead mech suddenly moved, twisting its body so fast that the resulting torque flung me away. As I hit the ground, I activated Sprint again and barely dodged the chainsword coming down at me. The ground behind me shattered from the tremendous impact. A chunk of rubble struck my back and sent me flying. As I landed, I used the breakfall technique I’d learned in training, shielding my head and face with my arms. I rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

“By order of His Majesty, kill every enemy on sight! Show no mercy!”

The undead mech strode toward me through the dust, its battered golden armor gleaming in the moonlight. Ignoring the pain in my back, I scrambled to my feet. Mist Form’s cooldown had just ended, so I turned into gray-white smoke again, dodged the chainsword’s sweep, and re-formed behind a pillar.

Phew, that was close! My adrenaline was pumping at full throttle. Was it really a good idea to make a critically injured patient lying in a medical pod play such an intense VR game?

“My liege.” Pandora appeared in the moonlight. “Please summon the Magitek Machine God ‘Astaroth.’”

I glanced at the undead mech searching for me and swallowed. I’d piloted mechs in the war for fifteen years. I’d watched countless comrades disappear in the flames of battle alongside their machines. I really didn’t want to pilot one again! Maybe some people thought sitting behind thick armor was like having an insurance policy. But by the later stages of the war, energy weapons had become widespread. Once your armor was pierced, the pilot often didn’t leave enough behind to bury.

“My liege.” Pandora’s voice interrupted my thoughts again. “Please board this unit and engage the enemy.”

Heavy footsteps sounded behind me. The buzzing chainsword cut through a stone pillar, and the undead mech’s glowing red main camera emerged from the swirling dust. It fixed on my position and raised its chainsword high.

There was no time left to hesitate.

“Summon.” I raised my ring, my blood-red eyes burning with the will to fight. “Astaroth!”

A mechanical hand covered in silver armor caught the buzzing chainsword and crushed it with a snap. I stared in shock as the giant mech rose from a glowing magic circle. This thing had to be ten meters tall! Twice the size of the Argos I’d piloted! While I was still wondering how to get inside, a beam of light shot from the mech’s head. Whoa, I couldn’t see! A moment later, my vision finally cleared—and I found myself looking down at my opponent through the mech’s eyes.

“Your Majesty, why would you—”

“Shut up!”

The Magitek Machine God Astaroth responded to my will. It extended its right hand, blue arcs of electricity winding around its fingertips. The arcs pulled the sword hilt from the rack on its back, and it snapped into the mech’s hand. As the front of the hilt unfolded to either side, a blue blade appeared, surrounded by countless floating ancient runes. Oh my god, it was an energy sword! I remembered that before the attack on Cyber City, they’d only built a prototype. It hadn’t even been fully deployed yet.

“Demon-Slaying Sword equipped.” Pandora’s ghostly image appeared to my right. “Ready to attack at any time.”

So the world of swords and magic was this advanced?