"Are you sure you don't want to wash off the graffiti on you?" Nicole asked as she climbed down from the truck's cab, calling out to the Salamander who had just emerged.
Ignis lowered his head and glanced at his power armor. "Leave it for now. I'll clean it when I have time."
"I know this armor means a lot to you. If it's hard to clean, I can help," the leader of the Cunning Hares said, uncharacteristically lowering her tone.
"I'm not going to get angry at a bunch of kids," the Salamander replied, patting the graffiti left by the orphanage children on his armor. "Besides, it's pretty good. Look at it—It's us five on here. A bit abstract, but you can still tell who's who."
The biggest figure was Ignis himself, followed by the tall and skinny Billy Kid, white-haired Anby Demara, Nekomata with her cat ears and tail, and Nicole Demara with twin ponytails. The kids' drawing skills were rough, but everyone's defining traits were clearly captured.
"It's goodwill from those kids. Why would I be mad?" Ignis said, looking at the doodles on the auxiliary armor at his waist. He wasn't just unbothered—he was genuinely pleased.
"Exactly, exactly. They didn't mean anything bad," Billy's voice came from inside the Starlight Knight suit.
He had worn the thing all day, playing Starlight Knight at the orphanage. The kids had fully bought into it, cheering him on nonstop, and the robot had completely lost himself in the praise, performing with full enthusiasm all day long. Thankfully, he was a robot—if a human had been stuffed inside that airtight suit, running around with kids all day, they would've collapsed from exhaustion.
"Totally worth the money I spent on this suit," Billy said proudly as he reached behind his head to tug at the zipper. "Today, I am the real Starlight Knight."
Before he could show off for more than a few seconds, Nekomata hopped down from the truck and shoved him.
"Alright, alright, Starlight Knight." The sharp-nosed Cat Thiren covered her nose. "That suit reeks. Go clean it."
Billy himself, being a robot, didn't produce sweat—at worst, he might smell faintly of machine oil. But the suit was another matter. It was an expensive original used in tokusatsu filming. During action-heavy shoots, actors sweated heavily, and the material was anything but breathable, so the smell…
"That's exactly why it's expensive," Billy tugged at the suit, clearly proud. "It proves this is the real deal, not some cheap knockoff."
"Billy… the smell is really strong."
Even Anby spoke up this time. Faced with two longtime teammates, Billy finally cracked a little.
"I'm not washing it no matter what! This is the sweat of the Starlight Knight!"
His declaration honestly sounded like something straight out of an obsessive idol fan. Watching the three of them chase each other around the yard, Ignis couldn't help but feel amused. They were all adults, yet at moments like this, they were more childish than kids.
Honestly, not much different from the children they'd visited today—if anything, those kids had seemed more mature.
"If I wash it, how can I prove it's authentic?!"
After a brief chase, Anby and Nekomata cornered Billy in the yard. Working together, they managed to peel half of the suit off him.
Ignis shook his head, choosing not to get involved, and walked straight into his garage. Nicole didn't stop the chaos—she knew the two women were just playing around, and the suit really did stink. Only Billy, a diehard Starlight Knight fan, could tolerate it. More importantly, the suit's origins were questionable at best; she had long suspected the tokusatsu-obsessed robot might've been scammed.
At least tonight, Nicole had kept things well arranged—the adults could afford to act like kids for once.
Back in the workshop, Ignis had the automated rig assist him in removing his power armor. It wasn't about showing off by wearing it there. One reason was that the kids, having seen news reports, wanted to see what the "crime-fighting hero" looked like in battle gear. Another was that the repaired armor needed movement testing.
Doing physical labor while wearing it was perfect for that purpose. So, the Salamander had donned his second skin and gone along in the truck. Unlike Billy and the others playing with the kids, the giant had kept his head down, assembling bed frames nonstop.
The beds Ignis built were made from extremely sturdy materials—solid enough to double as cover, capable of withstanding heavy-caliber fire and even explosions. The design was simple, using bolts and nuts, with reinforced head and foot boards. Even wearing power armor, installation was manageable. The only problem was quantity—dozens, maybe over a hundred beds. Nicole had rented a large truck just for transport, and Ignis had spent hours crouched in the dormitory installing them.
Some of the kids had hoped the big man would tell stories about defeating terrifying monsters, but he never stopped working. They understood, though they were still disappointed. A few mischievous ones gathered around him, pretending to work like him, and secretly doodled on the auxiliary armor at his waist.
As a Space Marine, Ignis was fully aware of their "stealthy" antics. But he wasn't angry—if anything, he was happy. Being liked by children was no easy thing, especially children like these. He wasn't about to spoil their fun and simply let them draw to their hearts' content.
After all, graffiti from pure-hearted children had, according to certain historical anecdotes, been considered genuine blessings. Some might even call them sacred benedictions. When drawn with gratitude and goodwill, carrying such marks into battle could feel like bullets would avoid you.
Still, since they were drawn with permanent markers, he considered adding some protective coating—similar to the circular dragon emblem on his thigh armor designed by Emile Volt.
Speaking of which, he hadn't seen Emile in a while. The exterior wall murals—Billy and Anby—were already finished, with three still left. Ignis had some extra funds lately and hoped to provide Emile with more support.
His fingers traced over the chest and abdominal plates. The cracks had been repaired using the material salvaged from the broken power fist. In New Eridu, replacement materials were hard to find, so he had repurposed damaged, non-repairable components instead. Now, with both arms restored and the Iron Halo mounted on his back, the Mark X Gravis Power Armor looked imposing and refined.
Of course, he was still far from the strength of a Space Marine Chapter Master.
He lit the furnace, and the garage temperature rose sharply. Ignis had no intention of resting—his shoulder assembly was only halfway done, and he needed to finish it. The enemy lurked in the shadows; an ambush could come at any time. Weapon readiness could not be delayed.
For ease of future maintenance, Ignis designed the shield with a modular structure—composed of two layers. The inner layer was a tougher alloy, meant to absorb impacts; even if it was badly deformed, it could be reshaped by hammering. The outer layer was a surface-hardened high-strength alloy for directly blocking enemy attacks. The two layers were bolted together with numerous rivets. The more fragile outer layer could be removed and replaced quickly.
The inner structure was already complete. The hardened outer plate had been shaped and drilled before leaving earlier; and only the heat treatment remained. To handle the massive surface area of this custom alloy plate, Ignis had modified both the furnace and quenching trough.
Activating Fire-Sight, the Salamander carefully observed the temperature changes of the metal plate in the Ether furnace. Once the surface reached the required temperature, he clamped it with tongs and plunged the glowing metal into the quenching bath.
Hiss—
Blue smoke rose instantly from the machine oil, accompanied by a sharp, acrid smell as the alloy cooled rapidly. When Ignis removed it and lightly tapped it with a smithing hammer, it had reached the desired hardness.
The rest was straightforward—assemble the two plates, then add decorations to the outer layer: winged skulls, the Imperial Aquila, brass reliefs. Together, the plates were a full five centimeters thick—more than enough against most enemies. He had even obtained some experimental parameters for Defense Force electrified barrier technology from Markus; if needed, it could be integrated.
It couldn't compare to a proper force field, but as an emergency solution, it was effective enough. And New Eridu's enemies, at least those revealed so far, were within his ability to handle.
If something truly exceeded him, he would have to find other solutions—calling in veteran heavy armor support, or praying to The Emperor and going down in a final blaze.
His gaze drifted to a metal chest in the corner, covered in holy symbols. The Khorne chainaxe was sealed inside. Ignis remained wary of daemon weapons—after all, this one had tried to claim his body. Even if the daemon claimed otherwise now, Ignis had no intention of trusting it. Unless absolutely necessary, he would rather never use it.
The purity seals on the chest were his own handiwork. He had carved the wax seals himself and transcribed the litanies from memory. Without rituals from Adeptus Mechanicus priests or chaplains, it was hard to judge how effective they really were—likely more psychological comfort than practical protection.
He had warned Nicole and the others not to touch the chest. After Anby explained that the weapon could control people, the Cunning Hares had grown even more cautious around it.
Once the shield was fully assembled, Ignis hefted it and tested the weight. It was heavy—without power armor, even his movements were slowed slightly. Five centimeters of alloy, even with some lightweight high-strength materials, still meant massive bulk.
If not for the recent strengthening from Khorne's blessing, wielding this shield would've been extremely difficult. With the power armor's servo-muscle assistance, however, the weight was acceptable. He could mount the shield on his left forearm, wield a modified Hand Flamer for support, and carry a short Thunder Hammer in his right—an imitation of a Bladeguard Veteran.
In extreme situations, he could even dual-wield the thunder hammer and chainaxe, emulating the World Eaters' Red Butchers Shock Assault Terminator Squad—sport a pure berserker playstyle.
The only issue was ranged firepower. With this loadout, he couldn't carry the reforged autocannon and its ammunition.
The best solution was to give the autocannon to Billy. His targeting systems could fully support it. Dual revolvers simply lacked punch—against Ethereals, they required precise weak-point shots. A forty-millimeter autocannon firing dragon's breath canister shells would be far more effective, wiping out groups quickly while satisfying Billy's desire to look cool.
The next challenge was convincing the robot to accept it. If necessary, Ignis could promise to handle ammo and maintenance himself. He doubted a chuunibyou robot could resist such a caliber.
As the Salamander envisioned the future—himself charging forward with shield raised, Billy providing fire support with the autocannon, Nicole commanding from the center, Nekomata and Anby guarding the flanks as the Cunning Hares advanced through a Hollow like a steel battle line—his phone vibrated.
Ignis lowered the shield and pulled out his phone.
"Come out and go on a date with me tomorrow."
It was Jane Doe. The Salamander's head instantly started to ache.
"Consider it compensation for the black market trip."
Can I refuse…
"You're not allowed to refuse."
Damn it. She predicted that.
The battle-hardened Salamander stared at the screen with a troubled expression, wondering how he could possibly turn her down.
"Don't make that face. Come have a drink," Nicole said as she walked in, holding a glass of juice.
"Boss… how do I refuse her?" Ignis showed Nicole the phone screen.
"Why refuse? Do you hate her?" Nicole looked genuinely confused.
"I don't hate her. It's just… she always has me completely figured out. It's stressful," the Salamander sighed.
"Then what's the problem? Miss Jane is a very attractive woman. She's asking you out, and you're acting like it's a tragedy," Nicole said, stuffing the juice into his hand and lightly kicking his shin.
"Get along with her properly. That's an order."
With that, the leader of the Cunning Hares left the room, her back looking oddly irritated. Ignis couldn't figure out why she had suddenly gotten upset again.
===BREAK===
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