I'm so sorry for how long it's been since the last update. 2020 has been a crazy year, as I'm sure you're all aware. As thanks for your patience, here is a longer chapter than I've been posting lately. Thank you so much for reading!
Another thing to note: As this part of the story bares pretty striking familiarity to the original game, don't be surprised if it starts to jump ahead a little and skip some of the smaller moments in the original story. I want to quickly move on to my original story ideas for this game. Thanks again!
Chapter Ten
A Burgeoning Hate
Formouth Garrison was packed to the brim with Magitek airships and massive Magitek Armor. Several airships lowered, their ramps dropping to allow the massive Magitek Armor to roll onto the concrete of the garrison. Imperial soldiers shouted, commanding others to line up their Magitek Armor or to get out of the way. As the Magitek Armor rolled off the ramps, they moved, walking across the base to one of several garages, where they would line up in position and deactivate, ready for any manner of maintenance or future commands. In one of these garages, Loqi Tummelt lifted the hood on his own Magitek Armor. His was different, larger than the others nearby, a light tan color, compared to the simple silver steel of the others.
The young brigadier general wiped the sweat from his brow, lamenting the heat of Leide, in contrast to the cold of his homeland of Niflheim. He winced as the sweat rolled into his eyes, cursing under his breath. This was no place to live, and he often thought that of his own homeland too. He leaned into the hood, a socket wrench in hand as he tightened a loose bolt to end a rattling he heard the last time he operated his armor, the MA-X Cuirass.
As he worked, Loqi wiped his arm across his forehead, loosening splayed strands of his dark blonde hair. He muttered something to himself no one else could hear, as his thoughts somehow managed to go back to his meeting with the chancellor. Every time he met with the strange man, he always ended up on edge, wondering how the emperor could put so much faith in that man when he revealed so little about himself. It had only been a few nights ago he had been in Gralea to have the luxury of encountering that man again, and he played the events out again in his mind.
Loqi had been sitting at a metal table in the breakroom of Zegnautus Keep, in the greatest company he could find: his own. He timed his breaks so that it was well after everyone else's, lest he be subjected to their senseless conversating.
He ate his rationed meal of eggs and toast, cooked in the kitchen nearby, off the metal plate, his fork scraping as he picked the yellow bulb of the egg. It burst as he poked it, the yellow liquid pouring out to the edges of the plate, only stopped from spilling over by the raised ends. As of late, appetite came increasingly less often. His mind was occupied with the events within Insomnia, the raging flames of the city searing his memories. He had never experienced combat on that scale. He had fought on the battlefield, of course, but Insomnia was less a battleground than a slaughter. Innocent lives lost, women and children screaming for help. Something about it felt... off in a way he hadn't imagined he would have been capable of feeling.
Yet he knew that given the opportunity, he would do it all again. This sinking feeling within was simply a weakness he would bury. He would do anything in the name of Niflheim, to spread its glorious light to all the corners of Eos. He was loyal to his homeland. His people. His emperor.
No. Loqi Tummelt was not a victim of his own inner weakness. He would be the greatest general in the empire and would not rest until his renown eclipsed even the legendary Cor the Immortal. Then, on that day, these weak thoughts would never reach him again.
As he picked at his food, lost in these thoughts, he faintly heard a clatter of footsteps.
"Ah, dear boy, here you are."
Loqi looked up from his food and met the eccentric blue eyes of the chancellor. Ardyn kept one hand securely atop his black hat, keeping his long red-violet hair from flowing loosely due to the air coming down from the vent on the ceiling.
Loqi let out a sigh.
"How can I help you, Chancellor Izunia?" he asked.
Ardyn's wicked smile snaked across his cheeks and he replied in his usual sugary voice. "Why, I have new orders for you and your fabulous new Magitek Armor. Orders from the emperor himself."
"What sort of orders?" Loqi asked.
"You are to go back to Lucis along with Ravus," Ardyn replied, his smile refusing to falter. "They say the prince and his retinue have been spotted in the area. You are to lead the brigade and hunt them down. Who knows? You might cull some good favor with the emperor in the end. Perhaps rise your way to higher places within the ranks of Niflheim. What a great honor that would be, Loqi Tummelt."
Loqi dropped the fork, which clattered onto the metal table. All thoughts of food disappeared, and the sinking in his chest was quickly filled with newfound resolve. This would be his chance to prove himself. His chance to overcome the weaknesses within and become a stronger soldier.
"When?" he asked.
"Immediately," Ardyn replied.
Loqi stood up, his metal chair squeaking back.
"Then I take my leave," he said.
"Take care not to muck it up, yes?" Ardyn said as Loqi passed by. The young man stopped walking but didn't turn to face the chancellor. The comment left Ardyn's lips, as ever, like sugary sweet suggestion. Yet it bore the cutting edge of an insult. "After all, if you focus too much on trying to correct your own inner problems, you might just slip up. We wouldn't want that now, would we? Imagine your reputation then!"
Loqi didn't reply, instead electing to tighten a fist and continue his leave.
"Keep focused, Loqi," Ardyn continued as Loqi stepped out of the room. "We have no room for weakness here."
Loqi leaned back from the hood of his Magitek Armor and dropped it shut. He let out a sigh, noticing he had tightened his grip on the wrench so much that his knuckles had turned white.
"Damn that chancellor," he muttered.
A soldier approached and saluted.
"Sir, Cor the Immortal has been spotted," the soldier said.
"Cor…" Loqi muttered. It was time to prove himself. "Inform my men. We strike at dawn."
"Do we really have to do this?" Prompto whined.
He was carrying a bundled-up camping chair, propped over one shoulder. Gladiolus was leaned over an anchor for a tent, pounding it into place on the hard stone of the camping spot. Ignis was nearby, working a portable stove. Noctis approached Prompto from behind, a chair bundled under an armpit.
"There's nothing better than camping under the stars," Gladiolus replied, the words leaving his tongue easily, as though it had been repeated quite often in the past hour. "It is peaceful and relaxing to be at one with nature."
"I dunno," Prompto replied, placing the chair down and loosening the straps that kept it folded up. "That rentable caravan looked pretty alright."
"Have you the funds necessary to afford it?" Ignis asked as he lit a blue gas flame. "Because we only have enough to buy the essentials."
"I consider comfortable sleeping an essential," Prompto quickly replied. "I mean, if my back hurts tomorrow, I'll be whining all day."
"Can't be much different than any other day then," Gladiolus growled. "Just set up the chairs and help me get the rest of the tent anchored, yeah? Stop being a baby."
"Stop being a baby," Prompto replied in a very childish voice. "Honestly, we can't all be muscle-bound meatheads capable of sleeping on hard stone."
Both Noctis and Prompto fixed the chairs, four placed around a firepit and ready to go. Prompto made to sit, but Gladiolus quickly barked at him to get to work. And so, the blonde photographer took to pounding down an anchor.
Noctis silently aided Ignis, grabbing several dishes from the trunk of the Regalia, which waited at the parking spot at the road nearby. He used the royal magic to summon everything they needed from the car, which should have been just a little silly, but a solemn expression tugged his lips slightly down. His mind was still caught on the vision, wondering what it was. The future? A warning? Something else?
"Thank you, Noct," Ignis said as the last plate was stacked on the metal wing of the stove.
"Mmmhmm," Noctis absently replied.
"Are you ready for the morning?" Ignis asked. "Noct? Noct? Are you listening?"
Noctis, who had been prodding a plate, quickly raised his head and looked Ingis in the eyes.
"Are you alright?" Ignis asked.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Noctis quickly replied, trying his best to smile. It didn't come off well.
"I asked if you are ready for the morning," Ignis said. "Assaulting an imperial outpost might be the first real test of your new royal arms."
"I'm ready to fight," Noctis said. He smiled again, this one appearing more genuine. "Might be more ready to eat, though."
"Momentarily," Ignis said. "That dualhorn Gladiolus so graciously hunted will make for some good steak."
"Sounds pretty good," Noctis replied.
"I've no doubt," Gladiolus said, returning to his feet with the hammering of the anchors done. "Ignis's cooking might be the best part of a nice long day."
Prompto let out a long sigh and plopped himself on a chair.
"So, what now?" he asked.
"Now, we relax," Gladiolus replied, taking the chair next to him.
"That's it, then? That's the glory of camping?" Prompto let out an exaggerated moan of despair. "Oh, what a life!"
Noctis took a chair on the other side of Prompto and slumped back.
"What's got you so quiet?" Gladiolus asked.
"Just… thinking," Noctis replied.
"What about?" Prompto asked.
"Might be a shorter answer if I told you what I wasn't thinking about," Noctis replied. "Got a lot on my mind, what with all the events of the past four days."
"Yeah…" Prompto muttered. He fell silent after that.
"I see you gentlemen are well and ready for the sun to set," came the voice of Cor as the man climbed up to the stone camping spot. He bowed as he saw Noctis. "Highness. I've come to talk to you all about what to expect tomorrow, and the many tomorrows to hopefully follow after."
"Your council would do us well," Ignis replied, taking a break from his meal preparations to give the marshal his full attention.
"We will be breaking our teams into two," Cor said. "Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis will go together to the front of the gates of the small base. Monica here will show them the way."
Cor raised a hand and pointed behind him, where Monica came into view as she too climbed to the base of the camp. She gave a bow as well.
"It is good to see you well, highness," she said.
"Highness," Cor continued. "You'll be coming with me. We will close in on the outpost from both sides, crushing the enemy."
"Sounds like a plan," Gladiolus said. "Though as the Shield of the King, I think…"
Cor held up a hand. "Noctis will be safe with me. I, too, was the King's Shield. I will ensure nothing happens to him."
"Right," Gladiolus said. "I didn't mean to offend or anything."
"If all should go well, the outpost will be ours in no time," Cor continued. "With it gone, the gate to Duscae can be opened and you can continue your search for the Royal Arms, highness. When you enter Duscae, you should make for the city of Lestallum as soon as you can."
"Lestallum?" Ignis asked. "I've heard of that city. The second largest on Lucis."
"Indeed," Cor replied. He looked Gladiolus in the eyes. "A member of our Crownsguard, Dustin, is waiting there with Lady Iris."
"Iris is in Lestallum?" Gladiolus asked, rising from the chair. "She's okay? I've been messaging her for days without a response!"
"We've been incommunicado for some time now," Cor replied. "Many of us lost our phones during the attacks. I wasn't sure myself of everyone's condition until this morning, when Dustin managed to contact me. They reached Lestallum last night and are waiting for your arrival now."
"Then we move with haste once the outpost is dealt with," Ignis said. "I'll set to work on a good meal to ensure we are prepared. Will you join us?"
Monica lit up.
"I'm afraid we must take our leave to prepare ourselves," Cor said.
Monica frowned.
"What about the Astrals?" Noctis asked.
"For that, we must wait for Lunafreya," Cor replied. "She will send some kind of sign and when we receive it, we can work on finding the Astrals. Until then, there isn't much we can do unfortunately."
Noctis nodded. "Right. Lunafreya."
As he said her name, he saw her as she was in the vision, lying on her back, screaming out his name. He winced, the memory somehow bringing him pain. Who did that to her? Was it… himself? The shadow had been standing over her. His shadow.
"She moves alone," Cor said. "The empire hunts her even now, but so far she has managed to keep them at bay. She has a lot of strength, Lady Lunafreya."
"Yeah," Noctis muttered. "She does. She's… incredible."
"First thing in the morning," Cor said. "We will claim the outpost and get you on your way, Prince Noctis. We will see you then."
"Right," Noctis replied with a nod.
Cor and Monica bowed and took their leave.
Ignis set to work on their meal. Before long, the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the stars were visible. Gladiolus lit the campfire and Noctis and Prompto leaned forward taking in the comforting heat. Ignis came to each of them with a plate, handing them a steaming pile of dualhorn steak and golden chips.
"Enjoy," he said.
The four sat in their chairs and dug in. Noctis relished his first real meal in days, gaining newfound appreciation for Ignis's superb cooking skills. The food couldn't have been anything less than absolutely perfect. Each chunk of steak was thick and juicy, just red enough in the center to be at perfect cooking temperature. How could something like this come from such a simple portable stove?
"Damn," Gladiolus moaned after taking a large chomp.
It really was all that needed to be said.
When their meal was finished, Prompto gathered the plates and took them to a basket, placing them inside.
From some unknown distance, there came a large bellow. Prompto yelped, nearly dropping his final plate.
"What was that?" he cried out.
Gladiolus listened, perking up in his chair.
"Sounds like… a daemon," he said. "Kinda sounds like the one we encountered the other night."
"The Iron Giants, the hunters call them," Ignis explained. "Among the more… worrying of the daemons."
"Hey, Gladio," Prompto said. "What was that about camping being peaceful and relaxing? We can't be expected to sleep with things like that prowling about!"
"Don't worry, Prompto," Ignis replied, raising a hand to try and quell the young man's rising panic. "See how the stone here glows at night?"
Prompto looked down, and so did Noctis. The stone had an intricate series of patterns running along the surface, pulsing with a faint light. They looked like tiny constellations.
"These spots are blessed," Ignis continued. "Daemons cannot come near them for the time being. When King Regis had set out on his own journey all those years ago, he utilized these same spots."
"Besides," Gladiolus cut in. "Even if they get near here, the hunters are nearby too, along with Cor and Monica. Don't worry so much, yeah?"
Prompto didn't seem entirely convinced, but he ended his complaining. The four took to the tent after a while, to rest and find what sleep they could.
The next day, the four arrived at their destination: The Norduscaen Blockade.
They parked the Regalia nearby and approached Monica, who stood waiting near a narrow path through a recess in a large gorge.
"Through here, you can reach the blockade," Monica explained. "Your Highness, you will be meeting Cor on the other side while your three companions distract them at the gate. Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Noctis replied.
"Good," Monica said. She bowed.
Noctis nodded and moved to the gorge. He looked through the small recess and prepared to suck in his gut as he squeezed his way into the rock. Noctis moved, shuffling slowly until he reached the other side, which was thankfully a larger opening. He saw Cor waiting for him.
"Once we're in, we launch our ambush, pushing out while support pushes in, crushing the enemy from both sides," Cor said.
"Sounds good," Noctis replied.
"Can you summon the Arms?"
Noctis held out a hand. The Blade of the Mystic appeared in a flash and he caught it at the hilt.
"I can summon this and the axe," Noctis explained, "however, if I try to summon all the arms again, like I did in Insomnia…"
"It doesn't work," Cor replied. "Not surprising. I imagine that in moments of heightened peril or emotion, you can access that power that lay dormant in your bloodline, but unless you go out and collect the arms, you won't be able to summon the Armiger reliably. Therefore, the finding of the Arms is vital, Your Highness."
"Yeah," Noctis replied. "I get it."
"Good," Cor said. "This will be a good chance to assess how much you've grown since collecting those two weapons."
"I didn't know I was going to be tested," Noctis sighed. "I should've studied more."
Cor laughed. "I think you'll be fine, highness."
Noctis smiled and the two moved. They approached the aging wall of the outpost and Cor opened a slightly rusted door. Much like the other outposts and bases scattered across Leide, Noctis believed this place was a remnant of the Great War that still scarred the land. It was amazing to see how much of an effect the battles had on the world, having been blind to so much of it inside the walls of Insomnia. All around the land, he saw the great machines of war rusted over, jutting out of the earth as the land slowly reclaimed it. Yet, even now, warfare raged on. A seemingly endless thing.
Cor and Noctis stepped through the door, entering the outpost proper into a small hallway. They winded a corner, which opened up to a large, roofless room occupied by several imperial soldiers. Cor unsheathed his long sword and Noctis called the Blade of the Mystic, feeling its immense weight. It wasn't that the weapon was particularly heavier than his own Engine Blade in any physical sense, but rather the weight was more internal. A sort of mental weight pressing on him as he held the weapon of his oldest ancestor.
He concentrated and three magical projections shot from the tip of the blade, flying at an unfortunate soldier. In a flash, Noctis followed after they struck and swung the blade, warping at the soldier. The attack ended the soldier instantly, and he crumpled to a heap. But as Noctis straightened out, he felt a large chunk of his strength suddenly disappear. He winced, falling to one knee, right beside the crumpled soldier.
"Highness!" Cor shouted, constantly keeping an eye on him even as he slammed a soldier aside with his katana.
"I'm fine!" Noctis cried, dodging aside with the aid of royal magic as a soldier fired in his direction.
Noctis let out a breath and released the weapon, calling his familiar Engine Blade. He felt the weight of the Royal Arm suddenly lift and he chided himself, wondering why it was the ancient weapon felt so far beyond him.
With his familiar weapon in hand, Noctis and Cor defeated the remaining soldiers with ease, their guns standing little chance against royal magic and the blade of the marshal. However, the victory didn't elate the prince as he instead stood in place when the battle ended, staring at his palm after calling his sword away.
"When you swung your ancestor's weapon," Cor began, "you felt it sap your strength, yes?"
Noctis sighed and nodded. "Yes. It felt almost... like it was killing me. How am I supposed to wield these weapons?"
"With time," Cor replied, resting a hand on Noctis's shoulder. "In time, and with more arms in your possession, you will find the weapons easier to handle. You aren't weak, Noctis. Just not quite powerful enough yet. You will get there."
Noctis nodded, but he wasn't sure if it was out of obligation rather than belief. They moved on to the next area, and there, Noctis encountered a new enemy. It moved erratically, two swords in hand. From above, on several catwalks, imperial snipers took their position, aiming at Noctis and Cor.
"Take out the snipers," Cor commanded. "I'll handle the Magitek Trooper."
Noctis wordlessly acknowledged the command and warped to one of the snipers, cutting him down with ease. There were five left and he took them out systematically, appearing before each in a flash of blue, faster than they could react. From his time spent fighting through Insomnia, to the time spent crossing Leide the past few days, Noctis had fought enough of the regular infantry that he barely broke a sweat. With a stroke of his Engine Blade, he cut them down to size until only the Magitek Trooper was left.
He saw Cor engaged with the dark robot; his katana was knocked back by the trooper's twin swords, and Cor growled. The trooper was unsettling, bearing a metallic face and body that kept its expression neutral. A cloud of black energy occasionally released from between the many slits on its metal body, similar to what Noctis saw surrounding the daemons.
With its back to him, Noctis decided he had a chance to warp and attack, and so he hurled his sword. However, at the moment he should have connected, the Magitek Trooper quickly spun the blades around his body, his upper half rotating a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees while his legs stayed rooted in place. The spin was enough to stop Noctis's sword and send him crashing to the rocky ground.
"What the hell?" he cried as he rolled to his feet.
"MTs are far superior to their regular human counterparts," Cor growled, blocking a swift slash.
He sliced with his katana, so quickly that Noctis barely saw it move, only witnessing the aftermath as the MTs arm flew free from its body. Down to just one arm, Cor more easily evaded its attack and took off that arm too, ending the enemy by removing its head.
"Damn," Noctis muttered.
The metallic soldier fell to the ground, a thick plume of smoke rising from its corpse. The armor crumbled inward, revealing, to Noctis's surprise, nothing within. Before long, it disappeared completely into dust. Cor, panting, approached Noctis, appraising him for any damage.
"First time fighting one of those?" Cor asked.
"Yeah," Noctis replied. "That was wild. Are they... hollow?"
"Yes, they are," Cor replied. "The Magitek Troopers are empty, powered only by daemonic energy. There've been rumors for some time that the empire has been experimenting with daemonic power to some end and this is a part of the results. As for the MTs, they are nothing but soulless machines of destruction. Feel nothing for them for they feel nothing for you. They are just an abominable creation of an empire run rampant with power and greed. Feel free to kill them all with extreme prejudice."
"No problem," Noctis growled. "I don't feel remorse for anyone in the empire. Not after what they did to us."
"Good," Cor replied. "We'll take back what is ours soon enough. The Crystal. Our homeland. Everything they took from us."
The two looked around. No other imperial soldiers were around and they didn't spot anymore MTs.
"I think we cleared out the base," Cor said. "All that's left is to open the gate."
Noctis and Cor continued through the base, coming out the other end to the road. There, they saw a massive metal gate closing off access between Leide and the Duscae region. Cor pulled a lever near the gate and it rumbled, parting in the middle and opening aside. On the other side, they saw Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis. Behind them, the imperial infantry was lying scattered.
"Looks like we're good to go," Gladiolus said.
"Marshal, it's good to see you again," Ignis said.
"Alright on your end?" Noctis asked.
"Right as rain," Gladiolus replied. "The Niffs couldn't keep their eyes off us."
"Thanks to you, we were spared their attention," Cor said. "With this gate open, you'll be able to continue on your journey."
"Wanna grab the car, Ignis?" Gladiolus asked.
Before Ignis could respond, they heard a rumbling. Noctis looked up, seeing an imperial airship closing in on them. A voice boomed from a set of speakers on the ship.
"Stay right where you are," the voice of Loqi boomed through the speakers. "Well, well, if it isn't Cor the Immortal. So, you survived the Citadel attack. But you won't survive what I have in store for you. It's past time your legend came to an end."
The ship opened up and a massive mechanical monstrosity dropped from the ship, falling several feet to the ground, where it landed on large metallic legs. The Magitek Armor stood at full height, standing over thirty feet high. A gun from beneath its rectangular cockpit began to spin slowly, readying to fire. Its long arms, each equipped with formidable weapons, raised to its sides, charging with electrical energy. Attached to its back, a missile launcher opened its hatch.
"So," Prompto started, looking at Cor. "How 'bout you show us how it's done?"
"No wimping out," Cor replied, brandishing his katana. "Let's move."
With a loud hiss, four missiles launched from the missile launcher, trailing through the air at the party. They each dove out of the way and the missiles collided against the walls of the base. Another set readied to fire.
"The missile launcher!" Ignis shouted. "We need to disable it somehow."
"I've got it," Noctis replied, using his royal magic to evade a volley of gun fire.
He gripped the Engine Blade and tossed it at the missile launcher. In a flash, he warped up to it and swung the sword. The missile launcher separated, falling to the street below. Noctis threw his sword again, warping to the ground.
"Very nice," Cor said as he closed in on a leg.
More dropships appeared, Magitek Troopers emerging, leaping to the battlefield. They brandished massive axes, seething with daemonic energy. Noctis warped at them, swinging his blade down upon the metallic chest of one of the troopers. The MT crashed to the ground. Another closed in, swinging its axe wildly. The prince dodged, rolling past it, ending up behind his foe. He heard Gladiolus close in and Noctis swung his sword at the MTs back, ending his attack with a backflip, flipping over and behind Gladiolus, who followed Noctis's attack with a massive spinning horizontal swing of his blade. It tore the empty armor apart.
"Solid!" Noctis shouted as he landed on his feet.
Gladiolus gave a thumbs up.
A shot cracked through the air and collided with the metal face of an MT, denting it. The soulless soldier stumbled backward, flailing its axe wildly as Noctis attempted to step toward it. The prince gritted his teeth, using the royal magic to avoid the wild attack and phase out of its way in a blue flash.
Ignis closed in, calling a spear and using the long weapon to keep a reasonable distance as he drove the blade at the MT, giving Noctis enough time to grow the distance between himself and the hollow soldier. Another shot from Prompto, and the face of the soldier was blasted off, revealing the hollow shell within. As it staggered back, Gladiolus rushed toward it and swung, a tall vertical slice that crashed down on the hollow soldier. It cleaved it apart and the soldier hissed into mist.
They worked together, the four of them making quick work of the MTs as they used their teamwork to weave in and out, disabling the mechanical soldiers. All the while, Loqi kept his attention glued on Cor. Cor moved with inhuman speed, dodging the flamethrower of the Magitek Armor, and a stomp as Loqi desperately tried to squash his foe.
Noctis watched as Cor took a swing at the leg of the massive machine, severing it at a weak point. With only one leg to stand on, the Magitek Armor fell forward. A spinning gatling gun turret fired wildly, the shots narrowly missing Cor, Ignis, and Prompto. Noctis threw his sword at the turret and he appeared in a flash, the force of the attack enough to disable the turret. As Noctis dropped to the road, Cor helped him to his feet.
The Magitek Armor was disabled.
Noctis let out a breath and turned to Cor. "Damn, marshal. You are insanely strong."
Cor sheathed his katana.
"You helped quite a lot, Noctis," Cor said. "This thing won't be getting back up."
The hatch of the Magitek Armor opened and Loqi fell out. He stumbled to his feet, a gun in hand he aimed at Cor. As he pulled the trigger, Cor quickly unsheathed his katana and stopped the shot. Loqi growled. He fired another shot and Cor blocked it as well.
"How!?" Loqi shouted. "I will not bow! I will bring glory to the empire!"
Suddenly, the Magitek Armor behind him erupted in a massive explosion, sending Loqi off of his feet. The young man fell against the ground, hard. He was instantly knocked out. Noctis growled and pulled his Engine Blade, making to rush at Loqi. Cor held up a hand.
"No, Highness," he said. "He is finished. There is no honor in killing him like this."
"Honor?" Noctis growled. "These bastards didn't have any honor when they attacked us out of nowhere! We can't show them mercy!"
"Enough!" Cor barked. "We've won. Get the Regalia and go on your way. The battle is over."
Noctis held the sword. He looked down at the unconscious young man, a smoldering hate spreading in his chest. As he dragged his eyes back to Cor, he was the marshal shake his head again. Noctis released a breath and called the Engine Blade away. All the while, his three friends were silent.
"Let's go," Noctis muttered. "To Lestallum."
To himself, he thought he would never spare another of them again. No. The empire would burn, and everyone in it. His hate would never end, and no one would stand in his way. Be they friend. Be they enemy. He would avenge his father.