Chapter 451 398: A Loyalist's Awakening?

In Sorin's memory, the Prin of the past was nothing like this. 'Could it be the injury from five years ago, when they suppressed the Cult rebellion?'

'Blood plague corruption...'

The color drained from Sorin's face as the terrible thought formed in his mind.

In the war against the great enemies of the Void Realm, the corruption of the Four Gods was everywhere. Once infected with the blood plague, even the most valiant warrior would gradually lose themselves in the throes of combat and slaughter, unless they possessed superhuman mental fortitude.

They would become cruel and bloodthirsty, eventually losing their sanity and falling completely into the Dark Abyss.

This was both a blessing of power from Avernus and a terrible curse that led to the Abyss.

'Dammit...'

Sorin had once been a Knight Captain of the Istvan Family. Now, he was a Cultivator of the Mechanicus Titan Order and an Elite Harvester Captain. He would never forget his family's glorious oath. They were the Empire's most elite scions, its bravest warriors, and the greatest heroes of Istvan World.

Even though Prin was his twin brother, he made his choice in that moment.

"Praise the God of All Machines. In my capacity as Harvester Captain, I hereby freeze the pilot privileges of Prin Istvan."

"[Machine Spirit] Commander identity confirmed. Privileges frozen."

Hearing his brother freeze his piloting rights, the completely crazed Prin's eyes looked as if they would pop from their sockets. He stared daggers at the man who was once his brother, struggling violently and letting out an animalistic roar.

"Coward! You yellow-belly! You've desecrated the family's honor! I'll kill you, you traitor! Let me go—!"

If not for the hundreds of metallic wires connected to his spinal cord holding him back, Prin might have already lunged forward and beaten him to the ground with his bare hands.

He could stain his hands with blood in this civil war for Claudius's great cause.

But he could not accept fighting alongside a fallen traitor.

Now piloting the Harvester Titan alone, immense pressure surged through the metallic wires into Sorin's body. It felt as if thousands of rivers of molten lava were flowing through him.

And now, he had no way out.

He could, of course, kneel, voluntarily shut down the Annihilation Shield, explain the situation to Reinhardt, the Lord of Vengeful, and beg for forgiveness to save his own skin.

But as a Cultivator of the Titan Order and a descendant of the Istvan Knight Family, he had his own pride and honor.

For the sake of his family's continuation on the Istvan Forging World, for the reputation of the three brothers, and for the mechanical majesty of the Harvester Titan, he absolutely could not let the news of his brother's blood plague infection get out.

If the Mechanical Order learned of this, not only would his family face utter ruin, but even the Harvester Titan—that divine machine—would have its sacred majesty tarnished.

That left only one path before him: sacrifice.

Even if the Great Sage were to find anomalies in the Titan's piloting logs, he would have already paid for this blasphemy with his life. His family would then have a chance to be spared.

After making this decision, Sorin knew what he had to do next.

All he had to do was deliberately create an opening, shut down the Annihilation Shield, and allow the Lord of Vengeful to kill them, all while preserving the Harvester Titan.

It wasn't just about the blasphemy. If the machine's frame was severely damaged in this battle, his family would still not escape the subsequent reckoning.

Knowing Casio the Great Sage, he was certain that if his brother's disobedience and unauthorized delay led to damage to the Titan, Casio would find a way to extort compensation for every last screw from his family.

At this moment, adrenaline surged through Sorin. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

No one is without fear of death.

But to save his family, this was his only choice.

He glanced at his former brother, then decisively controlled the flexible mechanical arms. The giant Power Sword howled as it slashed violently toward Reinhardt!

Then, he deliberately extended the delay between shutting down and restarting the Annihilation Shield.

And against Reinhardt, revealing such an opening was no different from asking for death.

Although the Harvester Titan's Annihilation Shield had extremely powerful defenses, the Mechanical God's body itself was still made of a lightweight special alloy.

Even Urus's Knight's Broadsword could pierce the cockpit's shell. What chance did it have against a direct hit from Reinhardt's War Axe?

BANG—!

After a massive bang, a huge gash was torn open in the cockpit door in front of Sorin!

As he watched in horror, a large hand reached into the cockpit and grabbed the edge of the gash. With another loud CRUNCH, the entire cockpit door, along with the section of the frame it was connected to, was violently ripped away.

Although Sorin was a Harvester Captain, he was ultimately a Mortal. In the dim light, his naked eye could only make out a blurry, indistinct black figure.

「In the chaos.」

He faintly heard Prin's scream, but only for an instant.

Feeling the warm liquid splash onto his face, he knew it was blood.

As the frame took heavy damage, the dark red light of the alarm began to flash inside the cockpit. He whipped his head around to look beside him.

And what he saw was an impossibly tall and imposing figure. In one hand, it held Prin by the neck. In the other, it held Prin's head, torn raggedly from his body.

The severed arteries sprayed blood like hoses.

A cold, thick hand grabbed him by the neck like a helpless chick and violently dragged him out of the cockpit. No longer able to bear the terror of facing death, he struggled desperately, his screams shrill and piercing.

For all his resolution inside the cockpit, when truly faced with death, Sorin Istvan was far from the unyielding, unflinching man he had imagined himself to be.

"No! I'm begging you, I'm begging you to spare me! It was Casio the Great Sage who ordered us to do this! I was just—"

Before he could finish, a hand brutally clamped over his mouth, leaving him able to make only terrified, muffled whimpers.

Reinhardt kept his hand clamped over Sorin's mouth, dragging him all the way back to the training mech.

This was not an act of mercy. He needed information from this traitor about the Wizard's Divine Artifact.

As the lift platform slowly rose with the roar of machinery, Nelom was the last to jump into the cabin. He stood at the edge, looking down at the magnificent ruins in the subterranean cavern.

The stationary Harvester Titan grew more and more distant.

Finally, darkness enveloped everything as the rising hatch door completely blocked his view.

Nelom turned and glanced at Sorin, who was covered from head to toe in blood and viscera, and still in a state of shock. He frowned in disgust. "What are you bringing him aboard for?"

Reinhardt stood before Sorin, looking down at him, and said in a cold voice, "I'll ask you this: what was the Wizard's Divine Artifact that the traitor Casio transported away?"