"13 Next, here is the footage of your battle with the mecha from that day." David Clark pressed the play button.

"This is also why I know they call you the king of solo combat..." he whispered. He continued watching the flickering screen...

Chapter Eight: Just an "Emotion"

Facing 13 charging at him, Angel smiled.

"So you actually look pretty handsome! But now I'm going to smash your face..." With a swift punch—judging by the force that just shattered the concrete floor, if it hit 13, it would probably be all over.

But a miracle happened: Angel's full-force punch actually passed right through 13's head.

"Visual afterimage!" The girl inside the mecha broke out in a cold sweat. "Left side!"

The mecha's punch swept horizontally to the left. 13 blocked with both hands, but the powerful impact still sent 13 flying, sliding five meters across the ground.

"Impossible, 'Sky Eye' just confirmed he was in front! How did he suddenly appear on the left? Do we have the speed data yet?" The mecha's pilot hadn't recovered yet, when a set of data appeared before the girl's eyes. She was bewildered...

At this moment, 13 also stood up from the ground, still clenching the combat knife in his mouth. Holding the Type 12 diagonally in both hands, he charged at the mecha.

The mecha, driven by inertia, punched forward again, but once more only hit an afterimage. This time, Angel didn't even get a chance to throw another punch—13 suddenly appeared in midair behind the mecha, landing a spinning kick squarely on the back of its head. For the first time, Angel was knocked to the ground. Everyone was stunned.

"Impossible! The computer must be malfunctioning—how could his instantaneous speed just now reach 50 meters per second?" The mecha lay motionless on the ground. For the first time, the girl truly felt despair. She looked into 13's eyes—there was no anger, no sorrow, only her own reflection in those cold pupils.

"What are you, exactly?" The mecha roared, leaping up from the ground, drawing a 30-centimeter combat knife and charging at 13. With the help of powerful thrusters, she spun rapidly, slicing through the air itself. She thought it was over, but it wasn't. 13 stood unmoving, simply raising his left leg high to block Angel's strike with his armor.

She didn't stop, increasing power and drawing a 180-degree arc. 13 was pushed along in this strange airborne "straight line" posture for 180 degrees. She instinctively turned her head to look at 13, but instantly regretted it. On her display was only a cold face and a hand aiming a pistol directly at her.

"Bang..." A gunshot rang out. The mecha dropped the combat knife, clutching its head in agony. The metallic-processed voice sounded like a demon's wail, sending chills down everyone's spine.

"Warning! Warning! 'Sky Eye' system has suffered a direct close-range attack, display screen is cracked! If attacked again, the mecha will lose all visual capability and automatically enter sleep mode!"

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" The girl ignored the machine's warning, because once "Sky Eye" is activated, it connects directly to the pilot's visual nerves, becoming like a true pair of human eyes. This greatly enhances battlefield observation and analysis, but the downside is that if "Sky Eye" is attacked, the pilot feels as if their own eyes are under assault.

13 discarded the gun, reversed his left hand behind his back, and slowly walked toward the mecha.

"Big brother? Is that soldier in black one of ours?" A soldier, trembling, looked at the Veteran beside him and asked.

"He should be, right? He's been attacking the M country's mecha from the start." Veteran replied.

"One of ours? Then why am I still so scared?" The soldier kept looking in 13's direction.

"Because in the face of their power, we're all so insignificant..." Veteran sighed softly.

A left hook forced the mecha to stand up straight. Then a side kick, a straight punch, a sweeping blow... Every attack slowed down, so much so that even the ordinary soldiers nearby could see 13's punches. Yet every punch forced the over-one-ton mecha to retreat. The immense power in between shook everyone's hearts. Finally, the mecha was knocked to the ground by a high kick.

"Kill me..." The girl coughed up blood inside the mecha, her eyes filled with blood from the excruciating pain. "Kill me..."

"Is that your wish?" 13 stood before her, speaking coldly.

"Kill me..." She tried to stand, but 13 gave her no chance. Standing tall, he raised the combat knife high, spun in place, channeling all his weight into his hand. Like a lone leaf blown down by the wind, the knife fell toward the mecha, aiming straight for the only spot on her face not protected by "Titan" armor—her eye.

Is it all over?

No, not yet. 13's knife stopped. He forcibly braced his elbow against the mecha to halt the blade.

She opened her tightly shut eyes, and for the first time, saw 13 clearly through the shattered display. She realized that the person who had just fought like a machine now had tears in his eyes.

"He doesn't want to kill you anymore. I don't know why, but I can't kill you now. The child has 'grown up.' He can slowly control his emotions now, so I will disappear as well." 13 got up from her, putting the knife away behind his back.