Ayu finally pulled out her phone and quickly scrolled through the screen, searching for a contact. "I'm going to call someone to pick us up," the girl said, glancing at Rafka, who was still sitting weakly on the ground. "Just wait a moment."
"Good," Rafka muttered weakly. Then he suddenly turned toward Ayu with a suspicious look. "Wait. When you say 'someone,' you mean an ARMOR driver, right? Not an ambulance?"
Ayu thought for a few seconds. "Well, it was going to be a driver."
"What do you mean, 'was going to be'?" Rafka narrowed his eyes.
"After remembering that you threw up earlier, I'm starting to think an ambulance might be the safer option," Ayu said. "What kind of ambulance would you like? Traditional? Or modern?"
"Hey!" Rafka snapped. "Stop joking around!"
A few minutes later, they were already inside a black ARMOR vehicle.
The suited man who had driven Rafka home before, sat calmly in the driver's seat as though nothing in life could ever surprise him.
Meanwhile, Rafka leaned weakly against the back seat with a face that was still slightly pale and a stomach that still felt strange.
On top of that, his pride had just fallen several meters from the sky.
Ayu glanced at him from the side. "Looks like our plan to get there quickly failed."
"Shut up," Rafka replied without looking at her.
"I told you, all you had to do was go HAP! and you'd start flying," Ayu said.
Still refusing to look at her, Rafka answered flatly, "Shut up."
Ayu fell silent for a second before nodding slowly. "You're right. I forgot you're Agni the Chicken Knight, flying was probably too ambitious."
Rafka let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. He simply didn't have the energy left to argue.
Unfortunately, Ayu seemed to be enjoying the situation. She kept poking him, whispering random comments, and occasionally laughing at him just to annoy him.
The black ARMOR vehicle drove through the city streets as night gradually settled in.
Beyond the windows stretched the futuristic scenery of Suryantara City, the capital of the Republic of Neosayara, as far as the eye could see.
Skyscrapers towered like forests of steel and glass, covered in soft blue and white lines of light running along their sides.
Some of them even displayed giant holograms floating several meters above their rooftops, showing advertisements, news broadcasts, and real-time traffic information.
Multi-level vehicle lanes stretched between the buildings like rivers of light that never stopped flowing.
Their car moved smoothly without the noise of conventional engines, while floating vehicles occasionally passed through special aerial lanes dozens of meters above the ground.
Delivery drones flew in orderly patterns, their navigation lights blinking red and green against the bluish night sky.
On the sidewalks, small cleaning robots moved slowly while tidying the streets, and public information displays projected rotating three-dimensional city maps.
Like most modern metropolises, the city never truly slept. Even at night, millions of lights continued pulsing with life in every corner.
Rafka rested his head against the window while watching the scenery.
Normally, he enjoyed the city at night, but this time he was far too busy imagining Captain Rangga verbally destroying him.
The moment the car finally turned into the ARMOR headquarters grounds, his stomach immediately felt uncomfortable again.
He swallowed. "The death flags are getting stronger."
Their car eventually passed through the gates of ARMOR headquarters, which were heavily guarded by armed personnel and numerous automated security drones.
The headquarters lights shone brightly amid the city now wrapped in the chill of night.
As soon as the car stopped in front of the main entrance, Rafka took a deep breath.
His nausea had mostly faded, but unfortunately his nervousness had multiplied several times over.
Ayu stretched casually before saying, "Rafka, pray."
Rafka immediately turned toward her. "What? Why?"
"Papa mentioned earlier that he wanted roasted bird for dinner," Ayu said casually.
Rafka's entire body instantly stiffened. "Hey, don't scare me like that!"
"Relax." Ayu adjusted her hair slightly as the night breeze brushed past it. Her expressionless face showed no sign that she had just said something alarming. "Maybe he meant a different bird."
Rafka, who had been staring at the headquarters building, turned so quickly that he almost lost his balance. "MAYBE?!" he shouted, his eyes wide open.
"Yes." Ayu nodded lightly.
Rafka stared at her for several seconds in disbelief. "Why is there a 'maybe'?!" he protested while pointing at himself. "If there's another possibility, then there's also a possibility that I'm the bird he meant!"
Ayu seemed to think about it for a moment. "That makes sense."
She tilted her head slightly. "Then let me revise that."
Rafka's face immediately brightened with hope. "Now that's more like it."
Ayu folded her arms. "On second thought, it's probably you."
A brief silence followed.
Rafka stared at Ayu without blinking, then he slowly turned toward the headquarters building towering before them. "Alright," he muttered in resignation. "I accept my fate."
"Good." Ayu smirked slightly. "I heard there was a delicious bird barbecue dish in the past."
"Garuda is a fire bird!" Rafka immediately snapped back. "Fi-re bi-rd!" he emphasized.
"Don't worry," Ayu said. "Exotic food is usually the most popular."
The atmosphere inside the headquarters was much quieter than the last time Rafka had visited.
The massive corridors felt silent. Only a few staff members were still working in their offices, accompanied by the faint sound of keyboards clicking behind glass walls.
Their footsteps echoed softly through the corridor, tap, tap, tap.
The closer they got to the main conference room, the faster Rafka's heart beat.
"I can still make it out of this aliv—" Rafka whispered to himself.
"Maybe," Ayu interrupted.
Rafka glanced at her. "I wasn't even finished talking."
"I know," Ayu replied casually.
They arrived in front of the door.
Ayu opened it.
And the moment it swung open, Captain Rangga and several ARMOR executives were already waiting inside.
All of them wore serious expressions.
Rafka immediately straightened his posture on reflex. His heart sank. This is it, he thought. This is the end of my life.
The Captain walked toward them. "Finally, you're here," he said. The man's imposing build felt even more intimidating up close.
Rafka swallowed. Goodbye, world. Goodbye, ARMOR magazine collection. Goodbye, Agni.
"Good job, Rafka!"
THUMP!
The Captain suddenly slapped him on the shoulder and laughed. "You passed your little test!"
"Huh?" Rafka stared at the Captain with such a blank expression that it looked like the wind could pass straight through his head.
Captain Rangga grinned proudly. "I knew it. I thought this would be too easy for you!" he declared enthusiastically while crossing his arms.
"Huh?" Rafka repeated. One eyebrow was now raised higher than the other while his mouth hung slightly open.
He looked left, then right, then back at the Captain with the expression of someone who had somehow missed five entire chapters of the story.
"Huh?" he repeated again.
He said it three times because that was literally the only word left in his vocabulary at the moment.
Even stranger, everyone in the room suddenly started applauding, including Ayu.
Rafka looked to the left, applause. He looked to the right, still applause. He looked at Ayu, applause there too.
"Did I accidentally win an award or something?" he muttered.
The conference room door suddenly creaked open, the sound was absurdly dramatic.
Someone walked in, it was Kenny.
Rafka immediately dropped into a fighting stance. "Not you again!" he snapped instinctively. "What now?! Round two?!"
Kenny chuckled. "No, no." He casually walked closer. "I already lost to you, Rafka."
"Let's call it peace, alright?" He raised both hands in a peaceful gesture. "Sorry for attacking you."
But Rafka still took a step backward.
"Don't trust him," Rafka whispered to Ayu while edging slightly closer to her. His gaze remained fixed on Kenny as though the guy might suddenly pull out mantis blades from nowhere.
Rafka quickly turned toward Ayu. "Why?"
Ayu maintained her usual expressionless face. "Bad people often say that before attacking again," she said calmly. "He's the generic antagonist type."
"Makes sense." Rafka immediately nodded seriously.
Kenny, who had overheard the conversation, could only blink a few times. "Hey, hold on!"
"And you," Ayu interrupted as she turned toward Kenny. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't let your guard down. Good people can become bad people once they've been hurt enough."
Kenny fell silent for a moment before laughing in disbelief. "Whose side are you actually on?" he asked.
"The side that's watching." Ayu crossed her arms casually.
"That's not a side!" Rafka shouted while pointing at Ayu with a frustrated expression. "You can't stand in the middle and throw conspiracy theories at both sides at the same time!"
Captain Rangga finally stepped between them. "Alright, alright." He placed a hand on Rafka's shoulder. "I'm the one who told him to fight you."
Rafka's eyes widened. "Huh?!"
"To test your ability to control Agni in an emergency situation." The Captain smirked. "And the result ... you passed."
"Huh?" Rafka said again, his mouth hanging open. "HUH?!"
"Why is everyone trying to confuse me today?!" Rafka groaned while ruffling his own hair.
Ayu let out a small sigh. "Papa asked me to help arrange that fake fight earlier."
"So?" Rafka asked immediately. He leaned forward slightly, waiting for the rest of the explanation.
Ayu nodded once. "So, basically, Kenny wasn't really attacking you because he was jealous of Agni."
Rafka immediately pointed at Ayu. "Then what was that entire story you told me earlier for?!"
Ayu shrugged lightly. "I just felt like making up a story."
The girl wore a confident, expressionless face. "So? I'd make a good writer, wouldn't I? Maybe it's time to kick Alsy out of the writer position."
Kenny immediately laughed. "We haven't even finished half of Volume One yet."
"So?" Ayu glanced at Kenny from the corner of her eye. One eyebrow rose slightly as she waited for his response.
Kenny chuckled and shook his head. "If you become the writer, I'm afraid our genre will change."
"You like being controlled by a weird writer who's apparently the reincarnation of a dictator, don't you?" Ayu asked while crossing her arms.
Than the girl placed her hands on her hips, still wearing a look of complete confidence. "I'd make our comedy way funnier, too."
Kenny raised an eyebrow. "You? The one who always looks like a talking mannequin? You're talking about humor?"
Ayu immediately shot him a sharp glare. "Hah?" She raised her right fist threateningly. "You wanna get acquainted with my fist or something?" she growled.
Kenny immediately took a panicked step back, then quickly turned toward Rafka. "You agree that Ayu should never become our writer, right?" he asked.
Rafka immediately frowned, one eyebrow raised high. "Huh?" He looked genuinely confused. "No. I'm not getting involved in your meta jokes."
"See?" Kenny said. "Our main character refuses."
"He's not refusing," Ayu argued. "Rafka never refuses me. He's loyal to me."
Rafka raised both hands. "Stop dragging me into your ridiculous argument."
Finally, Rafka fell silent and thought for a moment. "Oh ... so that's how it is ... that actually makes sense." He nodded slowly. "He doesn't have a bad reputation at school either." He finally sighed. "Sorry for accusing you."
"Not at all." Kenny smiled casually. Then he glanced at Agni's ring. "But that armor really is awesome."
He chuckled softly, and for a split second, there was a cold smile on his face. "It honestly makes me want it."
"We're not doing this again," Rafka replied instinctively.
Kenny laughed quietly. "I'm just saying it's awesome."
Ayu then explained that Kenny was also a new member of ARMOR, just like Rafka, and that both of them had entered through a direct appointment.
Kenny had been the national karate champion the previous year, which was why ARMOR recruited him and gave him the Mantis-model armor named Astuce. After that, Captain Rangga successfully recruited him into the Fourth Division.
"Let's introduce ourselves properly," Kenny said as he extended his hand. "My name is Kenny Erlangga. Knight Astuce."
Rafka finally smiled broadly as all the tension that had built up inside him slowly disappeared.
He grabbed Kenny's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Rafka. Rafka Absyari, Knight Agni!" His grin widened. "Nice to meet you!"
Kenny nodded with a broad smile. "Nice to meet you too."
Rafka smiled back, then quickly added, "And please don't pretend to attack me ever again." He sounded genuinely traumatized.
Kenny tried not to laugh. "No promises."
The smile instantly vanished from Rafka's face. "KENNY!" he shouted while pointing at the man with a look of complete disbelief.
"Oh! Rafka!" Ayu suddenly called out. "Try saying Kenny's name again, but with more emotion. Like a burst of anger, sadness, and frustration."
"Like ...," The girl cleared her throat. "KENNYYYYYY!!!" she shouted.
Silence.
"What are you even doing?" Rafka asked flatly.
"I'm reenacting a scene from one of my favorite anime," Ayu replied, her eyes sparkling. "It's called a parody."
Rafka then turned toward Kenny. "Do you understand what she's talking about?" he asked while pointing at Ayu.
"No." Kenny shook his head uncertainly with an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I don't watch anime."
"If we ever get an anime adaptation, I hope you end up with the same voice actor as him." Ayu looked at Rafka, her eyes still sparkling.
Captain Rangga looked at them one by one before chuckling softly. "Looks like this unit is about to get a whole lot livelier with these kids around."