3rd POV
Rei grit her teeth as she tried to push herself up, but her limbs felt like they were sinking into quicksand. EIDOLON's systems were fully functional—yet her body wouldn't move.
Her eyes flicked up in growing horror.
Yap Haruto had silently closed the distance.
And now, he was standing just beside her, one hand resting lightly on the shoulder of her prized fifth-generation IS—not as a comrade, not even as a rival.
But as a warden looking down at something caged.
His voice dropped low, no longer for the crowd or the stage, but just for her.
"When you combine the resources of Arclight Industries... and the brains of Heliobsidivion..."
He gently tapped two fingers on the armor plating of EIDOLON, his expression calm but entirely devoid of warmth.
"...you get this monstrosity."
Rei's fists clenched, and she tried again to activate her thrusters, but nothing responded. No error message. No jamming signal. Just nothing. Her own IS wasn't responding to her.
And she could feel it.
An invisible pressure, like gravity had chosen her alone to focus on. It wasn't crushing—but it was unyielding.
"Both companies definitely had their brightest working on this too."
"What they didn't factor..."
Yap knelt slightly, tilting his head, eyes glinting with something darker than sarcasm—insightful malice.
"...was me."
He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. The air itself carried his words straight into her bones.
Rei opened her mouth to speak, to bite back, but her breath caught, and her words choked. It felt like Yap Haruto wasn't just standing over her, but that something else—bigger, ancient, hungry—was looming just behind his skin, whispering things the human brain wasn't meant to comprehend.
"He's only using a little, princess," a second voice echoed—not from him, but from everywhere, brushing the edge of her thoughts like a cold wind slipping down her spine.
"Want to see what happens when I really stretch?"
Rei's pupils dilated.
Even EIDOLON's AI pinged her with a warning:
"Psychological state abnormal. Neural pressure detected. Retreat recommended."
And just like that—the pressure vanished.
Rei slumped forward slightly, gasping, finally able to move. She caught herself just before hitting the ground fully, glaring up at Yap with a trembling fury—but also, for the first time...
...fear.
Yap stood, brushing the dust off his gloves casually.
"You can report this to daddy. To Arclight. To the UN if you want. But know this—"
He turned and began walking away, the shadows around his IS flickering like embers on dying coals.
"This world doesn't belong to companies. Or titles."
"It belongs to those strong enough to walk through fire without asking if it's fair."
As he passed Ichika and Chifuyu near the edge of the observation deck, he paused only briefly, muttering low.
"Keep an eye on her. She's going to make this personal."
YOU ARE READING
A Vengeful Retribution
Fanfiction(OC X Infinite Stratos) I guess you know where this is going. 2nd Male IS Pilot thing. Meet Yap. Growing up in South East Asia wasn't easy for a young boi like him. Compared to kids in other countries, he has seen what a kid doesn't; Bloodshed, assa...
