After Jasta’s departure, the laboratory descended into a dead silence. Mykra’s voice vibrated from my own shadow, saturated with dread. “‘Ironfang’ Garza... is a certified lunatic. If he decides to kill us as a sacrificial offering the moment the collar disengages... what then? We have zero defensive countermeasures.”
“You’re right.”
I stared at the meager materials on my workbench, my brow furrowed. “In my ideal blueprint, the perfect solution is a Smart Bypass System. It would spoof the collar’s diagnostics while embedding a ‘Remote Kill-Switch.’ If Garza tried to bite, I’d press a button and re-paralyze him.”
I picked up a pair of tweezers, attempting to align two microscopic rune fragments. Without a high-precision soldering station, the pieces slipped and scattered.
“However...”
I dropped the tweezers, letting out a helpless, bitter laugh. “The objective conditions don't exist. No microscope, no micro-welder, and insufficient time to code the logic. Assembling a remote-controlled smart chip from scratch in two hours? That’s mythology.”
Mykra paused. “Then... abort?”
I took a deep breath. “No. I’ve calculated a secondary path.”
“Mykra, since we can’t build a smart lock, we build a Counterfeit.”
“Counterfeit?”
“Correct. A pure Dummy Load.” I pointed to a small, luminescent crystal on the table. “I jam this into the collar’s diagnostic port. Its sole function is to emit light and feed a false ‘System Normal’ signal back to the main controller. Then, on the physical layer, I sever the primary neural probe connecting the collar to Garza’s nervous system.”
Mykra’s shadow rippled violently, clearly terrified by the implications. “Sever? That means...”
“It means the collar becomes a glowing piece of jewelry.” I stared into Mykra’s unseen eyes, enunciating every word. “Once I cut that line, Garza gains 100% autonomy. If he decides to kill me, I have zero seconds of reaction time.”
“This... this is suicide,” Mykra stammered.
“This is gambling.”
I stood up. “No pain, no gain.” I looked out at the oppressive floating city, the gambler’s madness flickering in my eyes. “We have no chips left, Mykra. We have to bet that the Wolf’s dignity is heavier than his bloodlust. We bet that he wants to be a vengeful King, not a rabid dog.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Midnight. 00:00.
To ensure the perfection of tomorrow’s "Ascension Ceremony," Selena had ordered a final full-system rehearsal.
Jasta appeared at my door on time, accompanied by the massive shadow that was Wolf King Garza. Jasta glanced at me, his eyes asking: Is it done?
I shook my head slightly, then nodded. The message was clear: No remote. I’m rolling the dice.
Jasta froze for a microsecond, then a flicker of admiration—or perhaps awe for the insane—crossed his eyes. Seeing the Captain of the Guard nearby, Jasta immediately moved to intercept.
“Ah, Captain...” Jasta launched into a tedious monologue regarding the "breathability of silk wefts," successfully drawing the attention of every guard in the corridor.
Under the cover of this ambient noise, I stepped up to Garza.
“Head down,” I ordered quietly.
Garza lowered his head mechanically. The stench of thick, coppery blood washed over me. I turned my back to the guards, my body blocking their line of sight. My heart hammered against my ribs like a war drum. I knew the next two seconds would determine whether I walked away or was shredded into component parts.
Beep.
The hourly calibration signal. "That two-second window is not random," Jasta had whispered earlier. "It coincides perfectly with the Sky-Isle's routine Grid Calibration." The collar’s defense logic entered its fatal vacuum.
Now!
My tweezers stabbed into the maintenance port under the collar’s casing with surgical precision.
Click.
The "Dummy Capacitor"—good for nothing but glowing—was jammed into place. Simultaneously, with a flick of my wrist, I severed the internal neural probe wire.
The purple light on the collar remained steady, powered by my dummy plug. But functionally, it was now just a piece of scrap metal.
Garza shuddered violently.
His clouded, dead single eye snapped open. The pupil constricted rapidly until it was a pinprick. He was awake. Completely, utterly, unboundedly awake. The terrifying aura of the "Ironfang King," compressed like a supercell storm, began to coalesce within his frame.
His eye rolled, locking onto me.
What a gaze. Without the collar’s suppression, the killing intent was so pure, so naked, it felt like physical pressure. I stood empty-handed. In front of him, I was a lamb waiting for the butcher.
If he wanted, he could snap my neck and rampage through the corridor right now. Cold sweat soaked my back instantly.
Time solidified.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Garza didn't move. He simply stared at me, nostrils flaring as if savoring the scent of my fear. Then, his gaze shifted past me, toward the distant palace.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he straightened his spine, uncoiling from his broken hunch.
Crack.
The sound of vertebrae realigning. He lowered his head again, resuming the dull, slumped posture of a slave. But in the moment he bowed, the corner of his mouth... split into a microscopic grin, revealing a flash of white fang.
He didn't kill me.
My legs felt like jelly. I forced myself to turn and walk toward Jasta, my voice hollow. “Let’s go... to the rehearsal.”
“...Boss.” Mykra’s voice trembled in my mind, heavy with the exhaustion of a survivor. “For a second there... I felt like I was already dead.”
“Me too.”
I wiped the sweat from my palms, staring at the massive back of the wolf walking ahead of me.
The leash was cut. The beast was loose.
Next Chapter Intro: The rehearsal begins. Alex stands in the control room, his hands on the compromised pressure valves. Below, Zayla’s team begins their vertical ascent up the waste pipes. And in the shadows, Garza waits for the signal to tear the sky apart.
Question of the Day: Why did Garza spare Alex?
(Click to choose)
?? A) Pragmatism.
Result: Tactical Alliance. He knows he can't pilot the ship or disable the barriers alone. He needs the Engineer.
?? B) Respect.
Result: Warrior's Code. Alex dared to put his neck in the jaws of the beast without flinching. Garza respects the audacity.
?? C) Greater Hate.
Result: Focused Rage. Alex is irrelevant. Garza's entire existence is now focused on one target: Selena. Anything that helps him kill her gets to live... for now.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please Follow and Rate to support the industrial revolution!