The Thirteen Knight

Chapter 12- Public Enemy

I woke up feeling like I had been crushed by a hydraulic press.

My alarm beeped at 06:00. I rolled out of bed, groaning as my joints popped. In the mirror, my torso was a map of angry red welts.

The demon muscle fibers had done their job too well; they hadn’t just covered me, they had constricted me.

I checked the Apostate Bracer on my right arm. It was dormant, looking like a harmless wrist guard, but I could feel the weight of it. It felt fed.

I dressed quickly, buttoning my uniform jacket to the chin to hide the bruises, and headed for the cafeteria. I needed food. The suit didn't just burn crystal energy; it burned my calories too.

The cafeteria was usually a chaotic mix of shouting and magic practice. Today, it was hushed.

I grabbed a tray loaded with eggs and bread and found a corner table. Around me, students were whispering.

"It had red eyes," a girl at the next table hissed. "My brother in the Zodiac Corps said the sensors didn't even pick it up. No mana signature."

"A Null demon?" her friend whispered back. "That's impossible."

I kept my head down, shoveling food into my mouth. I looked across the room and saw Kaelen. The bully wasn't laughing today. He looked pale, staring at his coffee.

Suddenly, the main screens on the walls flickered to life. The golden shield of the Zodiac High Council appeared, silencing the room instantly.

Commander Vane, the head of Academy Security, appeared on screen. Her scar stood out sharply against her pale skin.

"Attention," her voice cut through the air. "Last night at 02:45 hours, a hostile entity breached the campus. This was not a malfunction. We have confirmed the presence of a Class-A Rogue Element utilizing forbidden Apostate technology."

My blood ran cold. They knew.

"This entity uses a kinetic suit fueled by unstable demonic radiation," Vane continued. "Effective immediately, the Academy is under Level 3 Lockdown. The Zodiac Corps will be conducting mandatory dormitory sweeps."

She leaned into the camera. "If you harbor this monster, you are as guilty as it is."

The screen went black.

Panic started to bubble in my chest. Dormitory sweeps. If they searched my room, they wouldn't find the suit—I was wearing it—but they would find my tools, the Wasp dust, and my notebook.

"Scary, isn't it?"

I jumped. Sylvia was standing next to me, holding a cup of tea. She looked better, her arm out of the sling.

"Yeah," I said, forcing a calm voice. "Terrifying."

"They call it a monster," Sylvia said quietly. "But I heard it saved a first-year student. Monsters don't save people, Chase."

She looked at me with sharp green eyes. "I think there's a vigilante in the school. Someone using Apostate tech to fight back."

I gripped my tray. She was too smart. "Whoever it is, they're in trouble. Vane doesn't bluff."

"Be careful, Chase," she warned. "In a sweep, they always go hard on the Zeros."

I nodded and left the cafeteria fast. I couldn't go back to the dorm. I had to stash my gear in the one place they wouldn't look.

I headed for the Maintenance Sector.

Sub Reactor Bay 7 was cold and smelled of rust. I quickly hid my notebook inside a hollowed-out pipe and covered the remaining Wasp dust with a dirty tarp.

Then I sat at the workbench and rolled up my sleeve.

Hiss.

I retracted the fibers and pried the Type-4 Crystal out of the socket.

I cursed under my breath. The crystal was ruined.

The bright red gem was now a cloudy maroon, webbed with hairline fractures. It was destabilizing.

The suit demanded too much power. The demon fibers were drinking the energy faster than the crystal could release it safely. It was like running a jet engine on a car battery.

If this shattered while I was wearing it, the feedback would crush my arm into paste.

"Trouble with the manifold?"

I spun around, hiding the crystal behind my back.

Randar was standing in the doorway, wiping grease from his hands. The old Dwarf didn't look surprised.

"Randar," I breathed. "I was just..."

"Messing with dangerous things," he finished. He walked in, sniffing the air. "Smells like sulfur. And burnt ozone."

He pointed a calloused finger at the bracer on my arm. "That's Wasp chitin. And the wiring... that's a flux-loop. You're losing 40% of your output to heat."

My jaw dropped. "You know what this is?"

"I was building siege engines before you were born, boy," he chuckled. "I know a kinetic rig when I see one. You're the 'Unknown Entity,' aren't you?"

I tensed, ready to bolt.

"Relax," Randar said. "I ain't gonna rat you out. I hate Vane. She fined me a week's wages for 'improper uniform' last month."

He held out his hand. "Show me the core."

I hesitated, then handed him the cracked crystal.

"Junk," Randar spat. "You're trying to run Extreme Tech on coal dust. It's gonna crack in two days."

"It's all I have," I said. "I can't access the high-grade vaults."

Randar shook his head. He walked to a pile of scrap and dug out a small, lead-lined box. He tossed it to me.

"Regulator chip," he said. "Mythril-infused. Wire that between the crystal and the fibers. It'll smooth out the flow so you don't blow your arm off."

I opened the box. The chip inside glittered. Mythril was priceless.

"Why help me?" I asked.

Randar grinned, showing a gold tooth. "Because I saw the footage. You punched a Fire Mage in the face. Best thing I've seen in twenty years."

He turned to leave. "But listen, Chase. That chip is just a band-aid. That crystal is dying. If you want to keep playing hero, you need a real heart for that suit."

"Where?" I asked.

"The Wastelands," Randar said, his voice dropping. "The wild zones. Where the demons spawn fresh. You need a raw core."

He walked out. "Fix your rig. Then we'll talk."

I stood there, clutching the Mythril chip. I wasn't just a student hiding a secret anymore. I had an ally.

I picked up my soldering iron.

"Phase two," I whispered. "Stabilization."