It was a crude sword.
Julius had never received proper training in swordsmanship.
During his years in military training, recruits were trained to handle advanced weaponry such as railguns with mana-charged slugs, plasma rifles capable of melting reinforced alloys, and psionic carbines that fired condensed magic energy.
Moreover, they were also taught to pilot magi-tech vehicles such as heavy combat mechs fitted with adaptive shielding, aerial interceptors powered by antimana turbines, and armored carriers reinforced with kinetic barriers.
But Julius had chosen a different path.
His focus had always been on the integration of nanotechnology in warfare. In the battlefields of the future, a single exo-suited soldier could surpass entire mech platoons under the right conditions.
The Revenant Knights had already proven this. Clad in nanotech exosuits and wielding photon sabers or magi-tech ammunition, everywhere they went, chaos spread across the battlefield.
Julius, however, went a step further.
He fused nanotechnology with magic. Through the synthesis of mana and nanites, he had turned his body into a living weapon capable of adapting to any situation.
But of course, such usage of nanotechnology had not yet been developed at this point in time.
Julius could only make use of what was available.
A photon saber.
"You guys—?! What are you doing?!" Anton shouted, clutching his shoulder where his arm used to be. Blood seeped through his fingers as he winced in pain.
His men, who had rushed out of their vehicles, froze in confusion.
"T-The remote isn't working!" one of them yelled.
They quickly realized what had happened. Julius had already dismantled the explosives.
What they didn't know was how.
None of them had noticed the swarm of nanites that had been operating under the truck, hidden in plain sight and controlled by Julius.
In theory, such an operation should have been impossible. Even among trained specialists, no single person could command that many drones simultaneously.
The mental strain required for multitasking at that scale was far beyond human capacity. Even the most experienced bodyguards under Julius's command couldn't have dismantled every explosive in the truck at once.
That was why they couldn't comprehend how Julius had done it.
Because he hadn't.
It was SIBYL that had taken over full control of the drones. Julius's attention was entirely fixed on the men before him.
The next second, the men raised their plasma rifles, aiming directly at him.
Without even waiting for Anton's command, they fired.
———!
Streams of blue energy streaked. In that instant, Julius's bodyguards reacted, and several translucent barriers were deployed. The plasma rounds collided with the shields, exploding into bursts of light and heat.
The bodyguards formed a protective wall in front of their master as sparks scattered across the bridge, the barriers absorbing the impact.
Julius narrowed his eyes.
It was unfortunate that things had come to this. He knew who Anton was. An idealist, perhaps too open-minded for his own good, someone who genuinely believed in helping others while fighting for what he thought was right.
If Julius had known earlier that Friedemann Adler was connected to Code Vanguard, he might have approached the situation differently.
But it was far too late for that now. The damage had already been done. He had sold Adler out, and Anton, along with the rest of Code Vanguard, clearly regarded Adler as someone worth dying for.
Julius had no intention of releasing him. Aiding Adler's escape was an impossibility, even for someone like him. The concentration camps were under the absolute control of the Secret State Police, and they, in turn, kept constant surveillance on him.
Any irregular action would draw immediate suspicion.
Besides, letting these members of Code Vanguard go would only create problems later on. Julius was certain of it. If he spared them now, they would return one day, and when they did, it would be to kill him.
Julius had no intention of dying anytime soon.
"Put the shield down."
"But—"
Before his bodyguards could finish, Julius had already activated his nanotech exo-bodysuit.
The armor extended across his frame in layers of metal. When the full-face helmet covered his head, in a burst of speed, he lunged forward toward the Code Vanguard operatives.
"SIBYL."
At his command, SIBYL instantly began tracing the projected trajectories of incoming plasma fire, mapping every bullet's path in glowing arcs of data.
Julius wasn't as fast as Gabriel or the Revenant Knights, whose reaction times bordered on superhuman. He couldn't slice plasma bolts out of the air on instinct alone.
But with SIBYL guiding him, he didn't need to.
Every strike point he needed was displayed before his eyes in real time. All Julius had to do was follow the path.
———!
His red photon saber cut through the plasma rounds as they streaked toward him. They each dispersed into bursts of light until he closed the distance between himself and the enemy.
One of the Code Vanguard operatives threw a punch reinforced by mana. Julius dodged, seized the man's arm, and executed a judo throw that sent him crashing to the ground.
The next moment, the firefight had transformed into a close-quarters duel.
———!
Sparks erupted as blades met blades. Julius and his bodyguards clashed with the Code Vanguard members in streaks of light. Their photon sabers collided again and again.
Julius's group was outnumbered.
But they were not outmatched.
While the Code Vanguard fighters relied on outdated or improvised magi-tech weaponry, Julius's side had cutting-edge armaments.
One of his guards unleashed a volley from a neon transmission blaster, releasing bundles of energy volts. Another activated a graviton pulse rifle, creating a localized gravity surge that sent several enemies crashing into the ground.
The bridge became a storm of light and sound.
Julius moved through it all. The rollerblades integrated into his exo-suit's boots propelled him forward at incredible speed. Sparks trailed beneath his feet as he streaked past collapsing debris and blinding flashes of plasma fire.
He cut down one opponent after another. Through his retina, SIBYL's voice fed real-time trajectories and tactical data directly into his visor.
[Alert!]
The enemy tried to surround him, but Julius moved like a crimson streak of light.
To the Code Vanguard members, it was as if they were fighting a ghost.
"Just hold out, Anton! Reinforcements are coming. They'll take you somewhere to get treated—"
The man never finished his words.
Anton, trembling and terrified, clutched the bleeding stump where his arm once was. Through the smoke and chaos, he looked up, and what he saw made his blood run cold.
Vooosh———
Julius stood at the center of the devastation. The ground around him was scorched with blue plasma flames dancing behind him, outlining his form.
And it was then that Anton realized. If reinforcements arrived, they wouldn't be rescuing anyone.
"...."
They would be walking straight into annihilation.