Chapter 40: Freedom First Test Flight (3)

~~~~~~Later~~~~~~

The soothing sound of a song echoed through Marcus's workshop, a rare and welcome departure from the usual hum of machinery and clinking of tools. Serafall entered, her day at the council packed with the usual nonsense, and paused at the unfamiliar melody.

"Is that… a song?" she asked curiously, stepping further into the workshop.

Marcus glanced up from his work, partially suited in a sleek, dark-gray armor. The legs and arms of the suit gleamed under the workshop lights, a testament to the craftsmanship. "Meteor," he replied without missing a beat, "the theme song from Gundam Freedom."

Serafall's eyes widened slightly as she approached the chest piece of the armor displayed on a specially designed mannequin. It radiated a near-tangible aura of technological sophistication. She traced her fingers near its surface without touching, marveling at how an anime design had transitioned into reality—and with so many practical upgrades for functionality.

"Every time I see one of your projects, it's like stepping into a new world," Serafall mused aloud. "You've made something from a drawing into this… a functioning piece of art."

Marcus smirked faintly but didn't reply, focused instead on securing another piece of the armor to his body. Meanwhile, Serafall's imagination began to wander. Could he—would he—create a real magical girl suit? She could already emulate some effects with her Devil powers, but she longed for the real deal. Perhaps… if she could get him to suggest a magical girl cosplay…

But for now, patience.

"So, what are the specs on this beauty?" Serafall asked, circling the display like an inquisitive child in front of a new toy.

Marcus crossed his arms, watching her with mild amusement. "This is just the prototype," he explained. "It's not designed for combat. It's a foundational model. Every other scale mail will be built off this design."

"Not combat-oriented?" Serafall raised a skeptical eyebrow, taking in the sleek, streamlined armor. "It looks like it could punch through an Ultimate-Class Devil."

"Specs-wise, it probably could," Marcus admitted with a shrug. "It's powered by perpetual energy. The armor's structural integrity scales with the energy coursing through it. The wings allow speeds up to Mach 5, limited only by the G-force cushioning built into the suit."

Serafall blinked. "And that's not combat-oriented?"

"No," Marcus replied, his tone patient. "There are no weapons systems integrated into the design. It's purely a proof of concept."

"Yet it could still fight me, especially with M.T.M. powering it," she countered, folding her arms. "And if you made it sturdier, it might stand against a Super Devil. Infinite energy isn't something you can brush off."

"True," Marcus admitted, "but the M.T.M. core wasn't designed as a weapon. It's an energy source meant to power the real systems. Once the suit is refined, I'll shift focus to its proper weaponry."

Serafall hesitated. "Proper weaponry?" she asked, a mix of curiosity and trepidation in her voice.

Marcus grinned. "The suit is based on Freedom, isn't it? It needs its rifles."

Serafall could only nod slowly. In her mind, she pictured the anime creators discovering that their work had inspired real-world weapons, potentially capable of slaying gods. It was equal parts thrilling and terrifying.

~~~~~~Marcus~~~~~~

Eight months of grueling work, countless adjustments, and painstaking attention to detail had finally culminated in this moment. The armor was complete—at least, the first version. Prototypes were always the hardest. From here, improvements would come rapidly as data from the field poured in.

Aurora, my AI assistant, was invaluable throughout this process. She shaved months—if not years—off the timeline with her calculations and simulations, refining designs and streamlining assembly. Together, we'd brought the Gundam Freedom-inspired armor to life.

The final test was about to begin. Unsurprisingly, every Devil lady under my roof had gathered to watch. Whether out of curiosity or sheer boredom, I didn't care. What mattered was the chance to fly with power I had created myself.

"So this is it?" Venelana asked, her tone neutral as she circled the armor. Her eyes darted over every detail, inspecting it from every angle. "Your answer to the scale mail?"

"It is," I confirmed, pulling on a pair of skin-tight gloves. The accompanying suit beneath the armor absorbed additional G-forces and monitored vital signs. "While it's not suitable for space or deep-sea exploration yet, it could handle the Arctic."

Venelana gave me a baffled look. She clearly decided against commenting on my apparent ambition to explore extreme environments. "I suppose we have… different perspectives on priorities."

Serafall rolled her eyes. "You've been his first summon for months, and you still don't understand his perspective?" Turning to me, she added, "Master, we'll monitor your progress from here. If anything happens, we'll teleport to you. Not that it's likely, unless a Super Devil or a meteorite shows up."

I nodded. Serafall always loved preparing for worst-case scenarios—it was her way of earning extra brownie points.

Stepping onto the platform, I felt the familiar thrill of anticipation. Two sleek boots rose from the ground, locking my feet into place. From there, mechanical arms descended, carefully attaching each piece of the armor.

Yes, I'd blatantly copied the iconic Iron Man assembly. It just made sense. Future models would employ nanotechnology for greater efficiency, but for now, this method was both practical and undeniably cool.

As the final piece—the helmet—clicked into place, my vision went dark. A second later, the HUD came to life, illuminating my field of view with data, diagnostics, and status indicators.

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