Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 106 - Sieg Heil Imperium Tavern

Chapter 106 - Sieg Heil Imperium Tavern

I sent Fei a message: I wanted to join the Neo Terrestrial Reich. Her reply came quickly—brimming with joy. She welcomed my decision without hesitation and gave me a location where I could meet with Ismail Arondight in three days' time.

Those three days passed quietly, like the calm before an uncertain storm. And finally, after our last class, just as the sun dipped beneath the burning-orange horizon of Xyraxis, I found Fei waiting outside the gleaming gates of Orbital Tech. The metallic surface of the academy shimmered in the fading light, and a gentle breeze stirred the dust around her feet.

Fei's face lit up the moment she saw me, and she clapped her hands together with gleeful excitement.
"Zaft!" she called out, dashing toward me with the energy of a puppy reunited with its owner. "You actually came! I thought this was just one of your weird jokes again, but you're serious this time, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "I've weighed my options... and honestly, there's only one path that makes sense now."

Then, with a slight grin, I stepped aside. 

"Oh—and I brought someone. An old... admirer of yours."

"Old admirer?" Fei blinked, tilting her head in that signature way of hers—curious, like a child trying to solve a riddle.

But her expression changed in an instant. Her golden eyes widened in disbelief as a familiar silhouette stepped into view—a tall, slightly pale man with soft, wavy brown hair.

Neil.

"Hello, Fei," Neil greeted, raising a hand in a casual wave. But his smile lacked its usual warmth—empty, almost haunted.

"N-Neil..." Fei whispered, her voice trembling as she clasped her hands in front of her chest, as though she were praying. "A-Are you really coming back?"

"Yeah," Neil said simply. "I'm coming back. And I'm going to save you."

"Save... me?" she echoed, her confusion deepening, painting her face with unease.

I cleared my throat, cutting through the moment. "We should get going. I need to speak to Ismail Arondight—about the terms of my recruitment."

"Oh, right," Fei said with a quick nod, her expression tightening with purpose. She pumped her fists once, then whipped out her phone and tapped rapidly on the screen. "We're getting a personal transport for this meeting—security protocol."

Less than a minute later, the low growl of a motor echoed down the street, and a sleek, cyberpunk-red car slid to a halt before us. Its paint shimmered under the streetlamps, almost alive with pulse-like circuitry veining across the chassis. 

Behind the wheel sat a driver who could've stepped straight out of a dystopian noir: a lanky punk wearing tinted glasses despite the late hour, his left arm inked with coiling dragon tattoos, and his right arm entirely cybernetic—metal gleamed where flesh once was, pistons subtly hissing with every twitch of his fingers.

Without hesitation, Fei slipped into the front passenger seat, confidence in every movement. Neil and I followed, settling into the dimly lit backseat. The car's interior smelled faintly of machine oil and burnt circuits.

As the vehicle pulled away with a smooth hum, Neil's eyes drifted to the back of the driver's neck. I followed his gaze—and froze.

There, etched into the man's skin in stark black ink, was a five-sided swastika. Not a symbol I recognized from history books, but something worse: something current. I think Nazis has evolved for the past couple of centuries.