The Change In Life

On a road where silence reigns...

The footsteps of metallic horses are heard...

Racing at full speed...

"Go faster!" said a man in a fearful tone.

"This is as fast as we can go!" shouted the driver.

A person with a metallic body watched the speeding carriage.

"That box will be mine," he said with a robotic voice.

Suddenly, the carriage shook from something falling on top of it.

"It's on top of us!" exclaimed a man in a suit, hiding a box under his seat.

A giant bird broke through the roof of the carriage, grabbed the man, and threw him far away.

The driver heard the sound of a scream fading into the distance.

"Damn it!" he said nervously, pulling out a shotgun and aiming upwards. "Die, damn you!" he shouted.

The driver fired twice, destroying part of the carriage, and the sound of flapping wings was heard. Then, only the creaking of the carriage and the metallic hooves of the horses remained. Suddenly, a man in black armor appeared in front of him, flying.

"I think that's enough," he said in a robotic voice, pointing a cannon from his hand.

The driver hyperventilated, struggling to breathe.

"Die!" he said, aiming his shotgun at him.

The carriage exploded, sending debris flying in all directions at high speed. The metallic horses were hurled, crashing into trees. Out of everything, only the box remained intact, falling into a river.

"Hahaha, see, my brother, I told you it was a valuable cargo," he said as he took the box.

"You were right, brother. I'm sorry for doubting you," he replied, remorseful.

"It's fine, Jhin. I could have been wrong, but the box survived, so now we just need to open it and see what's inside. Let’s go to Inock," he said in his robotic voice, mounting the eagle with Jhin.

The eagle began to fly away, and then a closed door is seen. Professor Maxwell's voice is heard behind it, apparently angry. A loud sound, like a bang, is heard, followed by the sound of the professor's footsteps approaching the door.

"Hanks!" the professor shouted, opening the door.

"Did something go wrong, professor?" Hanks asked, arriving, puzzled, at the office.

"Call Mei. The plans for my reactor have been stolen," he said, very angry, while walking.

"Yes, sir," Hanks replied, hurrying to find the number.

"And to think I fought so hard to get them back," the professor thought.

Meanwhile, Louis was doing handstand push-ups on the roof. He wore a blue shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a blue necklace hung from his neck.

"Louis! Where are you?" he asked, entering the room and seeing the window open. "What the hell are you doing up there? Come down, we need to talk," he said, leaning out the window and seeing Louis on the roof.

"I'll be right there, professor! Just finishing up," Louis shouted while continuing his exercise.

After finishing the push-ups, Louis climbed down from the roof and grabbed clothes to change into while listening to the professor.

"Get ready. We need to find a paladin to help us track down the thieves of my plans," he said while watching Louis gather his clothes.

"A paladin? Interesting. May I take a shower?" he asked with seriousness and a hint of surprise.

"Of course, but don’t take too long," he said, noticing Louis' seriousness. "Are you always this serious?" he asked sarcastically.

Louis looked at him for a few seconds and replied, "Yes."

"Well, never mind... Just don't take too long!" the professor said, leaving the room.

"Professor, Paladin Mei is waiting for you at the BlackMyth café," Hanks said, approaching the professor, who was modifying his mechanical arm.

"Very well. I'll finish this, and I’ll be ready. Go get Louis and tell him to wait at the entrance," he said while concentrating on his arm. "Wait a minute! Did you say Mei?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, sir," Hanks replied.

"Strange... She usually sends others because she's always so busy," he said, returning to work on his arm.

Meanwhile, Louis was getting ready in his room.

"A paladin... I haven't met any other paladins besides those from my kingdom," Louis thought while putting on his coat. Suddenly, someone knocked on his door.

"Come in."

"Young Louis, Professor Maxwell wants you to wait for him at the entrance," Hanks said after opening the door.

"Very well, I’m on my way," Louis said, grabbing his katana after putting on his coat.

"I need to avoid using too much magic. I don't want to get expelled from the kingdom for being too dangerous," he thought while leaving his room and heading down the stairs to the entrance.

"Hanks, remember to activate the shield," he said as he descended the stairs.

"I’ll do it right away!" Hanks shouted from a distance.

"Perfect, you're here. It's time to go. We'll take a car to get there faster," the professor said, stepping out the door.

"What's a car?" Louis asked, showing some confusion.

The professor was a bit surprised that he didn’t know.

"They're these," he said, pointing to a car. "We need to go to the BlackMyth café," he instructed the driver.

"So, they're called cars, not carriages," Louis thought, crossing his arms.

"Sure, that’ll be 100 ystires," the driver mentioned.

"Get in, Louis," the professor said, opening the car door.

"Really?" Louis asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, let’s go," he insisted.

Louis and Professor Maxwell got into the car and began to head towards their destination.

"Incredible! How does this... car work?" Louis asked, intrigued.

Noticing Louis' interest, the professor began explaining how it worked, until they arrived at the café.

"And that’s how a car works. Amazing, isn’t it? A relic from the ancients. Good thing we didn’t lose the plans," the professor said confidently and cheerfully.

"I didn’t understand anything," Louis thought. "That’s amazing, professor. Thank you for your explanation," he said, trying to hide the fact that he hadn’t understood a thing.

"Well, here we are. Here’s your money," the professor said, handing the driver the fare and getting out of the car.

The professor entered the café, followed by Louis. In one corner, there was a woman with short, wavy purple hair and purple eyes. She wore a shiny pink leather jacket with metallic accents over a black high-collared shirt adorned with an elegant brooch She also had black pants with gray stripes and wore pink boots.. She had blue earrings that contrasted with her outfit, and she was holding a cup of coffee.

"Purple hair... Amazing!" Louis thought.

"Jonathan! How are you? I’m glad to see you. Hmm, I see you’ve brought company," she said in a sweet and gentle tone. "Wow His eyes are very pretty" she thought.

"Hello, Mei... don’t call me Jonathan, please. Louis, introduce yourself," the professor said, with a tired sigh.

"Yes, my name is Louis A. Keeper. A pleasure to meet you, Paladin Mei," he said respectfully, bowing his head.

"A pleasure to meet you, Louis, but don’t call me Paladin, just Mei," she said with a soft smile, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Very well, Miss Mei," he replied, understanding her request.

"Miss? I like that," she thought, smiling.

"So, do you have them?" the professor asked, a bit impatiently.

"Yes, I have them, but first, let me finish my coffee and... my cake!" she said joyfully as the waiter brought her a cake.

"Mei... I’m going to lose my plans, they’re very important; it’s for my machine!" the professor exclaimed angrily while watching Louis gaze at the café’s counter.

"Okay, I’ll eat quickly. And the boy?" she said, understanding the situation.

"He’s coming with us. He’s a paladin from the Alahead kingdom, from the northern lands," he responded, calming down a bit.

"Really? A paladin? How did you manage to get a paladin to stay with you? And why didn’t you tell me?" she asked, observing Louis and feeling a bit annoyed.

"Excuse me, how does this thing work?" Louis asked curiously.

"Sir, you can’t touch the coffee machine!" said the woman at the counter.

"Oops... I’m sorry... And this box that spins things, how does it work?" he asked, feeling guilty after the jar fell to the floor, but his curiosity got the better of him again.

"Go to your table, sir," the woman said, annoyed.

"Are you sure he’s a paladin?" Mei asked, seeing Louis' mess.

"Yes... It seems that in his kingdom they don’t have technology like this, so he’s very curious, although he’s usually very serious," the professor said, disappointed by Louis' mess.

"I’m sorry, professor... I’ll pay for what I broke," he said, feeling guilty.

"It’s fine, I’ll pay, but don’t touch anything," the professor said, reminding him of someone.

"Well, here’s the list," she said, displaying a holographic device that showed the thieves. "Apparently, these three are highly wanted, especially the one with the robotic armor," she said, showing the thieves' information on the device.

"How do they have such incredible things in this kingdom?!" he shouted excitedly when he saw the device. "Huh? Sorry, go on," he said, embarrassed by his outburst.

"Don’t worry, be yourself, it’s better that way," she said cheerfully, patting Louis on the head.

"Hey, don’t encourage him," he sighed. "So, do you know where they are?" he asked as the waiter placed the bill on the table.

"Xitlari already found them with her cameras, so all that’s left is for you to pay the bill," she said, smiling as she finished her cake.

"What? How many cakes did you eat?" he asked, surprised and annoyed by the total amount on the bill.

"Just one, the rest I donated to the orphanage. Come on, don’t be like that. Your thieves are at the end of the east street, in a bar," she said, taking the device and getting up from the table.

Suddenly, another device sounded.

"Xitlari says they’re negotiating your box," she said, teasing him with a smile after talking through the communicator.

"Well, the worst part is that my project benefits you, and you’re charging me," he said while paying the bill.

"Come on, we’ll take my car," she said as she walked towards the exit.

Mei got into her car and waited for Louis and Professor Maxwell to get in as well.

"Whoa! This one’s even more amazing than the one we used to get here," Louis said, surprised by its interior.

"It is. Alright, let’s go," she said, starting the car.

Mei began to drive at full speed to get there as quickly as possible.

"Mei, slow down!" the professor exclaimed, scared, as he held onto his seat.

"Amazing!" Louis exclaimed, excited, sticking his head out the window. "Is this what you were talking about, Master Rei?" he whispered as he looked at the many cars and people everywhere. His eyes sparkled at the colorful and beautiful city.

After a few minutes, a ride only enjoyed by Louis and Mei, they arrived at their destination.

"Alright, we’re here," she said, turning off the car and getting out.

"Next time, I’ll take a separate car. How do they even let you drive like that?" he asked, annoyed.

"Are you a grumpy old man now? Come on, we need to get in before they sell your plans," Mei said, adopting a more serious attitude and pulling out a golden scimitar from her trunk, which looked more like a small, cozy room. "Clara, wake up, we’ve got work to do," Mei said to her scimitar.

A golden flying orb emerged from the scimitar, landing on Mei's shoulder, and the scimitar turned pink.

"Miss Mei has a fairy! It’s amazing, it’s not easy to befriend one," Louis said, surprised to see Clara.

"Her name is Clara. Louis, Clara. Clara, Louis," she said kindly. "Well, it’s time. Get ready," she said as she approached the bar.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Pal... private detective Mei. Everyone can leave, except the three at the bar and the idiot next to you," she said with authority after forcefully opening the bar’s door.

People began to leave the bar...

"Hey, pay up first, you scoundrels! You made me lose a lot of money, now you’re going to pay for everyone’s tabs," the bar owner said angrily, approaching Mei.

"Here, I’ll buy the whole bar," Mei said, handing the owner a silver bill.

"Huh? Impossible... A silver bill from a paladin..." the owner said, shocked. "Is it true? You’re the paladin Mei Teews. I’ve never seen you in person, I’m so sorry, I’m leaving now," he continued, now happy, shouting: "I won’t have to work anymore!"

"A paladin? Hahaha, I didn’t expect this," Kein said in his robotic voice, standing up from his seat.

"Don’t be intimidated, Kein, she’s not a paladin anymore," he said confidently. "Huh? Maxwell!" he shouted, surprised.

"Jamiel, you damn scum! I knew you were jealous of me after I won that award," the professor shouted angrily.

"Die! You bribed the judges!" Jamiel responded furiously.

"Shut up, old men! So this is worth even more than what you were going to give us," Kein said angrily, smashing the table with a punch from his robotic arm.

"Ah... Well... Maybe a little more," Jamiel said, frightened and surprised by Kein’s action.

"Brothers... first, let’s take care of the so-called paladin or ex-paladin," he said mockingly as his brothers stood up from their seats.

"I’ll make you eat your words after I rip off that mask."

Mei drew her scimitar and launched a direct attack at Kein.

But Jhin countered her attack with a repulsion spell, sending her flying. Then, the eagle grabbed her and began to carry her through the air, dropping her harshly to the ground.

Inock approached to attack the professor, but Louis intercepted the attack and kicked him in the chest, sending him crashing through the bar’s wall.

Kein surprised Louis and began to fly with his suit, lifting him up to drop him.

"Let me go!" Louis shouted, heating up his arms.

"(Sudden increase in temperature) What?" Kein said, surprised by the increase in temperature in his armor.

Kein released Louis, and he began to fall.

"Damn, I need to grab onto something," he thought.

Louis drove his katana into the wall of a house and then pulled it out to land safely on the ground.

"Brat, I think you’d better go back home!" Kein shouted before slamming into where Louis was.

Louis tried to dodge, but the impact caught him and threw him far away. Due to the impact, many people were alarmed and began to flee the area.

"Louis, are you alright?" Professor Maxwell asked, coming out of the bar.

"Yes, I’m fine..." he replied, getting up from the ground.

"Don’t get distracted, old man!" Jhin said behind the professor.

Suddenly, the eagle landed on Jhin, preventing the attack on the professor. The professor distanced himself from Jhin and began to charge his arm with energy.

Kein rushed toward Louis, pulling out a sword from his arm.

"Rubel? What happened to you, friend?" Jhin asked, surprised, shaking the eagle off him.

"You wretch, you’ll pay for this," Inock said furiously, seeing the eagle.

Mei entered the bar at high speed and began attacking Inock with her scimitar. She had the upper hand, but Jhin tried to attack her from behind. However, Clara blocked the attack. Mei stepped back, and Clara combined with the scimitar, turning it golden.

Jhin and Inock tried to corner Mei, but she managed to defeat them both. "Golden slash!" Mei launched an attack, and both were pushed back after their swords collided with hers, causing an explosion.

"What’s wrong? Even with both of you and those swords, you can’t beat me?" Mei said as she looked at them on the ground.

"What? How does she know about the swords?" Jhin asked.

"I don’t know, but we need to finish her off. We can do it, brother," Inock said, getting up.

Meanwhile, Louis and Kein continued fighting, exchanging blows with their swords.

"Hey, kid, why don’t you give up? I’ll give you a share of the plans. Honestly, I’d hate to kill you," Kein said as their swords clashed.

"Shut up!" Louis shouted, heating his katana until it was red-hot and slicing through Kein’s sword.

"Incredible... He heated his katana so quickly. He must have practiced a lot with his magic," Kein thought.

Kein tried to punch Louis with his metallic fists, which destroyed the ground as Louis dodged. "What’s the matter, fight!" Louis tried to cut his chest with his katana, but Kein grabbed his arm and punched him in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing through a house wall.

"Such a waste of time," Kein said, heading toward the bar.

The professor shot him with his mechanical arm, and Kein began receiving a discharge that left him unable to move.

"Old man... This won’t work!" Kein said furiously, ignoring the discharge and grabbing the professor’s mechanical arm, ripping it off.

"Damn..." the professor said, falling to the ground.

"You shouldn’t have gotten involved in this, old man," Kein said, throwing the professor’s arm to the floor. Then, a huge explosion with many golden slashes blew off the entire roof of the bar. "What the hell? Brothers! Are you okay?" he shouted worriedly, running toward the bar.

A hand touched Kein’s shoulder and then destroyed his armor.

"(Sudden heating)," Kein's right arm was disassembled from his body.

"You... How are you conscious?" he said, backing away and aiming with his left arm.

Louis began approaching Kein, who was retreating while shooting with his arm. Louis dodged the attacks with agility, until Mei's scimitar, flying at full speed, struck Kein's head, distracting him. Seizing the opportunity, Louis delivered a direct punch to Kein’s chest, his hand wrapped in lava. Kein’s armor completely deactivated, and he was thrown backwards, falling to the ground.

"It’s over," said Louis, watching Kein on the ground while his red eye glowed faintly.

"It’s not over until you kill me!" Kein shouted furiously, pointing a gun.

The gun was cut by the scimitar, and Professor Maxwell aimed at Kein with his mechanical arm, holding him with his left hand. Mei made the scimitar hover right in front of Kein's face.

"Damn you all..." he said, being interrupted as he was struck in the head with the hilt of the scimitar.

"Miss Mei... How can you do that?" Louis asked, surprised to see how Mei controlled the scimitar with her hands.

"Thanks to my connection with Clara, I can do this... Are you alright, Jonathan?" Mei asked, seeing Professor Maxwell's mechanical arm ripped off.

"I’m fine... And stop calling me Jonathan!" the professor said, annoyed.

"Alright, alright, Louis, take the box," Mei said, handing him the box.

After a while, a group of knights arrived, and Mei was talking to them.

"Professor, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you," Louis said, as he watched the professor sitting in Mei’s car, reattaching his arm.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine, it’s just metal... And you? Are you alright, Louis? You took a pretty hard hit," Professor Maxwell asked as he repaired his arm.

"Yes, I’m fine, but..."

"But?"

"No, nothing, Professor," Louis said, feeling guilty.

"Listen, in a fight, anything can happen. Didn’t they teach you that?" the professor said, understanding how Louis felt.

"Yes, but... I’m a paladin, I could have done better," Louis said, with disappointment.

"You’re too hard on yourself. Even Mei couldn’t stop this from happening to me, and she has more years of experience than you. We’re all fine, and that’s what matters," the professor said, putting his hand on Louis' shoulder.

"And remember, don’t tell the count anything!" Mei shouted, approaching the car while glancing at the knights. "Do you want a ride?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"No, you drive like a maniac," the professor replied instantly.

"I do!" Louis said, excited.

"I’ll go slow, don’t worry. Before, I was driving like that because it was an emergency. So, are your plans there?" Mei asked sincerely.

"Yes, they’re there... And what about Jamiel?"

"I tied him to a chair when I saw him trying to escape with the box," Mei said in her sweet, soft voice.

"You’re always the same," the professor mentioned, noticing the way she said it.

"Well, I’ll drop you off at home. I have to go to the PT agency," she said, getting into the car.

"Agency?" Louis thought.

Mei drove Professor Maxwell and Louis back home.

"Thank you for everything, Mei," the professor said.

"Thank you for everything, Mei," the professor said.

"Thank you, Miss Mei," Louis said, bowing his head.

"Hanks! Open the door and deactivate the shield," the professor shouted in front of the entrance.

"Shield? I don’t see anything," Louis said, looking around for the shield.

"It’s invisible..." the professor mentioned.

"Professor, how did it go?" Hanks asked, opening the door for them to enter.

"All good, thank God," the professor replied, entering the house.

"God..." Louis whispered, recalling something.

"Well, I’m going to the lab to fully repair my arm," he said as he went upstairs.

"Did they damage it?" Hanks asked.

"A little, but it’s almost fixed. Louis, go rest. Tomorrow, we’ve got lots of orders to deliver, and I’d also like to take you to see the whole kingdom so you don’t get lost, alright?" the professor said before entering the lab.

"Yes, Professor," Louis replied, heading to his room.

Louis entered his room, took off his coat, placed his katana beside his bed, and lay down, staring at the ceiling. He then watched the sunset through the window and finally closed his eyes to sleep.

End of the chapter.