A Vengeful Retribution

Chapter 25: Old Acquaintances?

3rd POV

In the quiet corners of Yap Haruto's mind, where memory and instinct blended into murky grey, Yalter sat perched on a throne of fractured reflections—scraps of Yap's thoughts, scars of his past, fragments of fights that never truly ended.

The air there didn't move. But power—power pulsed in every inch.

Floating around Yalter were holographic projections, each bearing the sleek, wicked outlines of various Arclight Industries IS prototypes—each one cutting-edge, uniquely brutal, terrifying in its own right. Silver, crimson, violet cores... jagged lines, beam arrays, carbon-edged melee units, kinetic conversion wings.

Yalter spun them lazily in the void with a single finger, a low chuckle echoing like a distortion through static.

"Let's see now..."
His voice curled like smoke.
"The Aeon Fang? Too pretty. Too pristine. It doesn't scream vengeance... yet it's tempting. The Marduk Talon? Ah... that's got bite. High speed, low armor. She's fast when she's mad—how fitting."

He grinned, teeth sharp, eyes glowing.

"But this one... ahh. The Velzar Ultima. Of course. Big reactor, signature disruptor field, that anti-IS lockout code they've been working on... Now that sounds like something our dear heiress would obsess over. Like putting on armor made from her own delusions of superiority."

Yalter stood now, stalking between the floating blueprints as though circling prey.

"Not like it matters. Let her bring her masterpiece. Her fury. Her hatred."
"She could ride a damn god into battle and I'd still make her kneel."

He spun around sharply, eyes staring outward—through the haze and into Yap's consciousness, as if pressing his presence forward.

"You hear me, puppet?" Yalter whispered with manic glee.
"You're mine. And mine alone. When she shows up... you'll show her what it means to fight a man who's made a deal with the devil."

Yap, in reality, blinked, his hand tightening instinctively around his tea cup.

"...You're really fired up about this, huh?" he thought back.

"Oh no, no. I'm just getting started."
"Because when we fight... it's not just her reputation or your pride on the line."

Yalter's grin twisted into something far more sinister.

"It'll be the moment the world realizes that no matter how many weapons it builds..."
"...some monsters can't be contained by metal and code."

And deep in Yap Haruto's soul, the temperature dropped.

Few weeks later, the gentle hum of the IS Academy's outer lighting cast long shadows across the polished walkways, the evening wind brushing through Yap Haruto's dark hair as he strolled alone through the open courtyard. His hands were in his pockets, steps unhurried — a man pretending to be at peace while his thoughts danced restlessly.

That is, until a familiar voice—cold, venom-laced—broke the illusion.

"Long time no see. Since what, the second Mondo Grosso?"

Yap's brows raised slightly as he turned to the source.

There she stood, like a jagged piece of his past pulled into the present. Madoka Orimura. Her eyes gleamed in the night, predatory and sharp, and yet... weary beneath it all. She wore her signature Phantom Task bodysuit like a second skin, arms crossed, posture loose but ready.