Day 72nd, Year of 3:

I am yet to gather the results of the efficiency of the Class 64's combat effectiveness – all of which I would share a table with Mister Norton the moment he returns from his other tasks. Tests involving the durability of the alloys and their resistance to conventional arms show positive results. Of course, there is more to test the worthiness of war machines with than the quality of face-hardened plating.

There are concerns regarding the design of the command seal's location as well as the constructs' core. Hollengrehn seemed to have patterned the machines too much after the human anatomy. Not that its secrets will be revealed too quickly and the enemy would be aware of its inner workings, but I would have to speak with him about it. I feel that the constructs' weaknesses would be too vulnerable should one take it down the way he would fight another man. This also opens the discussion if there is further need to employ more men to the cause – the few hundred metric tons of metal should be more than enough to build up a sizeable force of these machines. Also, the process of synthesizing the magically-enhanced alloys of old would greatly prolong the stockpile and make more efficient and resilient models while lowering production costs. Creating combat automatons to replenish the ranks is initially costly, but they lack the usual issues one has to deal with when it comes to keeping men in line.

It is time to reflect and gauge my readiness in facing the enemies before me. Whether I must make my move to render the opposition helpless or perhaps keep my profile low enough to prevent the Empire from sending an army against me. My options on staying unknown are spent the moment I chose to keep the Imperial commander my prisoner. I can only hope that my facility will hide me long enough to commence the stages of my plan with little trouble. One cannot rely on stealth too long, and I am doomed to be discovered later on. Moving forward, I will need the best defense to prevent anyone from stopping me from achieving what I must.

My opponents are none to be trifled with. I am in their domain, and little can be done if I am to survive another attack like the assault that led to the fall of my Schweiglands fortress. They are heroes, dedicated servants who helped in creating the empire I am going up against. Those they command are no small game either, and the utter decimation my hired men faced against their ranks gave me a glimpse of that power. Power is certainly a requirement should I have any hopes of trying to stall them long enough for my goals to be achieved. There are so many things I shall do, and my goal of attaining the True Peace will be realized at all costs.

Trevalyn picked up the top folder of a small stack of documents on his desk. The Separatists working at the western country of Frankland made a purchase of thirty thousand rifles – another twelve million Marks to be injected to Trevalyn's banks. Other details were reported inside the file; the ships used, the type of guns bought, and an order to be placed two years from now. Perhaps he could indulge them in the sale of other weapons; their leader could add mortars, cluster rocket launchers, or even a second-generation light tank to his arsenal. They would both benefit from a deal – the Separatists would have a better chance at toppling the monarchy, and more money for the Gray Fox. He closed the ledger, setting the folder aside to pick up another folder from the stack. The next document contained the same report, only that a shipment has reached Keltain's shores. He scanned the contents of the ledger; Trevalyn's mind was still on the notes he just made. The thought of learning how to be less dependent on Winston Norton when it comes to military matters broke into his mind.

His eyes were off the papers and were affixed to the door, expecting that a few knocks would pass through it in a matter of moments. Trevalyn was right nonetheless.

"The Commander to see you, Master." A gritty, crackling voice came from his desk's speaker.

"Let him in."

Two clicks followed by a weak hiss from above split the metal door in two. The unnatural green glow of Norton's eye scattered to a fraction of his face. His hands were behind his back – a pose that Trevalyn found rather unusual.

"I see that this is not the best time to bother you with this, but I must inform you that the task force unit has completed its objectives."

"Excellent, Mister Norton." Trevalyn closed the folder and set it aside. "How did the unit fare?"

"A major success." Winston's typical hiss almost escaped Trevalyn's ears. "The Dragon's Claw is effectively disbanded – a potential rival to our industry has been removed."

"You seem to be not proud of it. Did we suffer any losses?"

"My estimates were displaced by something unexpected. A team of your battle machines was destroyed in the operation."

"Four constructs? Destroyed by such a paltry opponent?" Trevalyn's neutral stare was washed away; a stern face took its place. "Hollengrehn's alloys were proven immune to bullets. The face-hardening process was known to make it withstand even a close-ranged grenade attack"

"Yes, it still is so. It is just that your machines came across an equally unconventional enemy."

"What do you mean?"

"It would be best if you will see it for yourself."

Norton handed a small white sphere to Trevalyn. The crime lord flipped open a small dome on his desk. Two switches were exposed to his sight and Trevalyn flicked the one to the right. Lights on the inner end of his chamber dimmed to a gray shade. He retrieved a box-shaped device from under his desk, setting it near the edge of the table. A side of the small machine showed an aperture that Trevalyn positioned to face a wide, unobstructed section of the chamber wall. The white sphere was inserted into a small hole on top of the device. A whirr kicked the device to life, which was later seen as a faint light that clung onto the insides of the machine. It was followed by the aperture releasing a beam of light that concentrated into a large rectangle on the other side. The wall displayed a faint outline of a flaming landscape at first, which slowly cleared to show images of armed men that were shooting at the recorder.

"Get out! Quick."

"Kill the bastards!"

"Why aren't my shots going through!?"

It was one-sided; a slaughter where all the armed men that came across crumpled and were left to bleed when the constructs began their barrage. Each step forward presented a new target that the machines mowed down with little problem. Trevalyn could hear the screeches and ricochets of guns that looked for weaknesses in the armor to no avail. A green flash filled the screen for a few moments when the automatons walked past the leveled warehouses.

"So, the controllers set the constructs to self-pilot?"

"The task force came across a few elements from the Altrecht Town Guard." Winston watched the screen form an image of Altrecht's streets. "How exactly did your engineer set these machines when nobody's looking after them?"

"I'll have to ask Dr. Hollengrehn for specifics. It seems that the machines were set to do its last action on any person they would come across."

More deaths were brought to Altrecht by the war machines. Screams of fleeing townspeople and bursts of gunfire played a cacophony in Trevalyn's ears. Constable and Dragon's Claw member alike dropped to the ground after firing at the constructs.

"I am not seeing this 'unconventional enemy' you speak of."

"He will come at the later part Master."

"Now, how many of the units carried memory spheres?"

"One was assigned to every four constructs."

"Only one for each team?" Trevalyn looked away from the recorded carnage; his lips slightly pursed when his eyes met Winston's. "Why didn't you have all twelve fitted with them?"

"None of us foresaw that the machines will be destroyed."

Both resumed watching the operation. The constructs were now gathered inside a park, where three bodies lay lifeless after a failed attempt to destroy them. A shadow jumped out of a dark corner; three flashes came out of its hands.

"Do not tell me..."

"I'd better not spoil the suspense, Master." Norton kept his eyes on the screen. "This is the part where everything becomes interesting."

The figure dodged the constructs' return fire and rolled into a dark patch of trees. There was a pause in its advance until a small purple dot appeared in the background. It rushed at the standing automatons, evading their shots with an unnatural agility. Someone got to the back of one of the constructs; two to three pistol cracks echoed before the first construct was reduced to a flaming hulk.

The next scenes caused the constructs to take aim longer than they should – fat men hopelessly chasing a guile wolf. The construct with the memory sphere could not turn in time to see the fate of the second team member, which was already destroyed the moment its eyes could properly probe on the attacker. Whoever the figure was claimed the third kill when the unit took aim and misfired. More shots followed which strafed the ground and did nothing to stop the enemy from getting close to the machine. Trevalyn was about to get a good register on the attacker's face when the automaton raised its claw arm to clamp down on the figure. It slid out of sight; the recording ended with the construct trying to lift its claw arm from the ground. A cracked image followed by a yellow and orange flash overtook the machine.

"And to think that our Class 64s were bested by a pistol-wielder...?" Trevalyn cupped his chin. He was apparently having difficulty understanding how the heavily-built automatons were eliminated so quickly. "Unbelievable! Their armor was defeated... defeated by a pair of pistols."

"If I recall, the constructs were created using reinforced metals."

"I supervised the metal reinforcing process. It went out perfectly!"

"Then it is possible that the attacker carried a special gun to defeat our machines."

"Either that or unknown bullets that could pierce steel," Trevalyn added. "No matter, is this... creature still at large?"

"I do have a second recording." Winston produced a second memory sphere from his pocket. "This is from the First Team that responded to the destroyed machines."

Trevalyn pressed a button at the top of the projector. The little ball rolled out of an opening just at the back of the machine. He took the first recording from the catch basket and inserted the second sphere into the machine. It depicted the same carnage, only that the constructs worked on another part of Altrecht until they got to the place where the Third Team was annihilated. The four-cornered someone, but the upper body was denied to their eyes by a shadow cast by one of the houses. Someone jumped out of nowhere to push the figure right before the automatons opened fire.

"...OOK! ...O!"

Trevalyn could only guess that the second person was wearing either a dress or a robe. Much of the view from the construct was blurred; its eyes may have been fogged by the smog that it passed through minutes ago. More broken words came from the second person.

"...couldn't... don't... don't... ay..."

The automatons did not fire, being unable to react to the actions the person was doing. Whoever pushed the figure out of the constructs' barrage took the hits. It slid down to the ground; a dark patch of what may have been blood was etched on the wall.

Something struck a chord in Trevalyn's mind as he went on watching.

"Wait. There was a purple speck that was seen from the one that destroyed Team Three."

"Correct guess, Master." Winston did not bother letting the crime lord proceed to his next sentence. "Our construct-killer won't be around for quite a while, should it survive the hits it took. Do not peel your eyes off yet – you are bound to see something more interesting."

"Do not forget who's the subordinate here Mister Norton."

Winston bowed and resumed watching the recording. The figure was hugging its savior; its back was facing the automatons that kept their guns trained aimed. He was right after all, as Trevalyn watched a field of luminance engulf the two bodies. Gunshots echoed in the recording; the bullets only managed to produce sparks the moment they struck the wall. Nothing was left of them when the light dissipated.

"Just what... was that?"

Winston stared at the stymied crime lord. Incredible. It was a magician, no doubt. For years Trevalyn thought that only Gerhard Guildenstern was capable of such feats, and now this mysterious figure pulled a trick his eyes found difficult to believe.

"What do you think of this... Mister Norton?"

"Mystical or no, they wouldn't be much of a threat to us. The best we can do is to find those two and force them to serve us."

"I could not believe that the Dragon's Claw held such members under their ranks." Trevalyn took the second orb out of the projector and pocketed them. "I'll take these with me. I'd need to see those events on my own at another time."

"Still wanting to convince yourself, but as the Master wishes."

"Perhaps Guildenstern or Sauvant came across either of them." The crime lord flipped the desk's switch; the room lights were at full glow in moments. "Impressive. If we could replicate how the construct-destroyer eliminated the battle machines with such ease, then I can help Dr. Hollengrehn in figuring out a proper way to counter it."

"We may try, but I highly doubt that we can produce a gun that may have magical properties in such a short time. I feel that such power in a small weapon involves either a complex mechanism or a magical amplifier."

"Now that you have thought of it, your speculation is a high probability" Trevalyn picked up a third folder from his document pile. Sounds of flapping paper fanned out of the ledger and climbed into the chamber. "It would take a handheld cannon or a rocket lance to defeat the Class 64's armor plating. Besides, magically-enhanced weapons are being researched at Luminberg. I've heard that they're arriving at something close to copy the very process the smiths of old used."

"Regardless, neither of them can make a move at their state. The Dragon's Claw is destroyed – and those who escaped death are rounded up by the Empire as we speak." The hiss was louder now; a smile was subtly forming on Winston's face. "Shall I call on Guildenstern or Sauvant?"

"Let them rest for now. They would be fit to answer questions afterward." Trevalyn opened the ledger and resumed scanning its contents. "You may leave."

"Of course." The Commander gave a slight nod before he turned around and walked towards the door.