From its firmly grounded feet to the crown of its head—
the God of Machines was, true to its na, entirely encased in tal.
It had drawn in the surrounding steel, forging it into armor that seamlessly sheathed its entire body.
Yet the armor did not look like an assemblage of mismatched parts.
Instead, it was so smooth, so flawlessly fitted, that one wondered if such a thing could truly be made.
A perfectly streamlined fra, without a single crack or misalignnt.
Upon its face rested a rounded, sleek visor helt—
a design unlike anything Ludger had ever seen, sothing that looked straight out of a distant future.
Clink.
The steel cocoon that had encased its body unfurled to both sides.
Then, splitting once more, it divided into upper and lower halves, reshaping themselves into massive arms.
A chanical arm?
Each sharp-fingered limb looked like a flawlessly crafted mannequin—elegant, cold, and terrifyingly precise.
The God of Machines stood motionless, its true body on the ground, while four gigantic chanical arms hovered around it.
Its dark brown-and-gold fra glead under the light as it fixed its gaze upon Ludger.
The instant Ludger t the invisible stare behind that pitch-black visor, pain lanced through his head.
What the—...
Thud.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears. A tide of pain surged in his skull, swelling like the sea before receding again.
Ludger’s pupils trembled violently.
My triple-layer sealing formula... it just fluctuated. For a mont—but violently.
The divine voice that slumbered within him had reacted the instant he faced the God of Machines.
Which ant—
this creature was indeed forged from a Relic, and its na was not just blasphemy.
It truly bore the presence of a god.
Ziiing.
A glow ford above its head, taking shape into a ring.
A golden halo.
From around that halo, one of the four chanical arms stirred.
No warning, no charge-up—just a light, fluid motion.
Ludger’s instincts kicked in before thought ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) could follow; he sank into his own shadow.
The next instant, the space where he had stood was raked apart by a massive slash that tore the air itself.
KRA-KA-KA-KA-CRASH!
The reinforced door to the passage Ludger had entered split in two and was completely obliterated.
The result was far beyond what a single swing of an arm should have done.
Shhhh!
Shattered machinery hissed; steam burst out in clouds of white, filling the space in an instant.
Through the veil of steam, Ludger retaliated with a spell.
A greatsword made of highly compressed tal—
he had drawn in the surrounding fragnts, compressed them to their utmost density, and fired them forward.
Though the sword was no larger than a regular longsword, its weight was asured in tons.
It shot forth like a projectile, accelerated by magnetic force.
It should have been a devastating physical strike—
but it didn’t work.
Another chanical arm rose above the God of Machines’ head.
With a re flick of its fingers, the flying blade froze in midair.
All that montum, all that mass, ca to a dead stop—without the slightest hint of resistance.
A second flick of the fingers, and the sword spun once on its axis, reversing direction before being hurled back through the steam.
For a mont it seed Ludger had been hit—but instead, an even greater barrage of magic ca roaring in.
Fire poured from the sky.
One chanical arm raised its hand to block the flas, and from below, ice surged upward, binding the creature’s ankles.
Another arm pressed its palm to the floor, radiating a strange wave.
The ground glowed red-hot, lting all the ice in an instant.
BOOM!
From both sides, boulders the size of carriages shot through the clouds of steam.
The remaining two arms caught them easily, crushing them to gravel with brute strength.
In that fleeting mont—light erupted.
The flash was stronger, thicker, more focused than before.
All four arms were occupied defending against spells.
Ludger seized that opening, firing a single, killing beam directly at the creature’s heart—the Divine Furnace.
The God of Machines did not even flinch.
Ziiing!
The blazing laser struck its chest, forcing it back step by step.
An attack powerful enough to pierce through solid steel—
and yet, the God of Machines endured.
It braced itself, steadied, and began to walk forward—slowly, relentlessly.
One arm cocked back its fist and launched it like a missile through the steam.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
The explosion washed the area clean, the shockwave scattering the vapor in an instant.
The entrance to the Central Reactor was blown apart.
But there was no sign of Ludger—no trace of blood.
“My, my. Has the mortal fled in awe of divinity?”
Nikolai chuckled, watching the destruction with delight.
The God of Machines turned its head toward him.
Its emotionless visor reflected Nikolai’s image for a brief mont—
then it turned away, uninterested.
Retracting its outstretched arm, it began to rise, floating effortlessly.
The halo above its head brightened, expanding in both brilliance and size.
FLASH!
The mont its glow intensified, the God of Machines shot upward with terrifying speed—
—a true ascension.
The Central Reactor’s ceiling did not stop it.
Piercing through solid tal, the creature soared from the island’s core straight to its uppermost layer—
bursting into the open air above the third floor.
The path of its ascent left destruction in its wake.
KWAANG! BOOM!
Explosions rocked the structure; pipelines ruptured, geysers of steam erupted;
countless components burst apart under pressure, flying in all directions.
Half of Isla Machina’s third-level district fell into chaos in an instant.
Steam filled the underground waterways, manhole covers shot into the sky.
A steam-car passing through the streets was struck by one of them, torn in half, and exploded.
“KYAAAAAH!”
“Run!”
Civilians scread and fled in panic, while the city guard was too stunned to react.
Hovering in the sky, the God of Machines gazed down upon the chaos below—
serene, aloof, divine.
Then, from below, a massive figure leapt upward, throwing a punch at the god.
THUUD!
One of the chanical arms moved automatically, catching the blow.
...?
The God of Machines turned its blank visor toward its assailant—
Phiron.
The mont Phiron t that inorganic gaze, a shiver ran up his spine.
“Heh.”
A grin spread across his face.
“What a terrifying monster we’ve got here.”
The chanical arm clenched its fist, and the air itself vibrated with a low hum.
Facing that overwhelming power, Phiron clenched his own massive fist and struck back.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
A clash of raw power in midair.
And the victor—was the machine.
Phiron’s enormous body plumted like a teor, smashing into the ground.
The solid earth tore apart beneath him like claws raking through dirt.
He crashed through several houses before finally skidding to a stop.
“Guhh... Damn, that’s hard. Didn’t think I’d lose a contest of strength.”
He started to rise—but pain flared in his right arm.
Looking down, he saw that the fist he’d used to block had shattered.
Bones cracked, blood running freely down his arm.
Phiron bared his teeth in a fierce grin.
“Ahh, that ripping pain in my muscles... been a long ti.”
A shadow gathered beside him—then Ludger rose from the ground.
“—Gah! You startled .”
“Is your arm all right?”
“Oh, this? Eh, so spit and I’ll be fine.”
And indeed, he licked his hand and rubbed it over the wound.
Amazingly, the injury began to heal right before Ludger’s eyes.
“You’re accelerating your tabolism to the extre—stimulating regenerative cells for rapid recovery.”
It was absurd—but Ludger had learned not to question it.
There were bigger problems right now.
“More importantly, Professor—what the hell is that thing out there?”
“Nikolai’s creation. He calls it the God of Machines.”
“What a pompous na. Though its punches are nothing to scoff at.”
Just then, the mansion around them began to shake violently.
Not only the mansion—everything around them trembled.
Both n realized what it ant.
The God of Machines was doing sothing.
Before they could even guess what, the building beneath their feet suddenly began to rise.
“You’ve got to be kidding —”
Phiron’s voice cracked with astonishnt.
Not just their house—
every building in the area was floating into the air.
Most structures on Isla Machina contained tal.
Especially from the third floor and upward—the middle-class sector—
iron was embedded throughout their fraworks.
The God of Machines was manipulating all the surrounding tal at once, bending it to its will.
“Uwaaaah!”
“R-run!”
Not only houses—anything with tal began to float.
Cars, broken pipes, towers, antennas—
everything rose into the air and began to orbit around the God of Machines.
The sheer scale of power was beyond belief.
“If this continues, the entire island will collapse,” Ludger said.
“Professor, with the two of us, we can at least buy so ti, right?”
“Make that three.”
A new voice cut in.
Both n turned toward it.
Standing on the window fra, mask removed, was Lotheron.
“Huh? And who might you be?”
“It’s . Lotheron.”
“What?!”
Phiron jumped. He was seeing Lotheron’s face for the first ti—
and his shock was imdiate.
“Well, I’ll be damned! You were wearing that mask to hide cat ears?”
“They’re tiger ears, actually.”
“Eh, sa difference. Both felines.”
“...Shouldn’t you be more surprised that I’m a Beastkin at all?”
“Beastkin, huh? Makes sense. I just thought you were covering your face because you were ugly.”
Lotheron blinked. Phiron’s lack of surprise sohow made the situation even stranger.
“Well, whatever. The real problem is that thing out there. What is that monster?”
When he’d fled the New Magic Tower, he’d sensed an enormous surge of power nearby.
Rushing toward it, he’d found the airborne chanical deity, drawing up every scrap of tal in its vicinity.
Using his keen Beastkin sense of sll, he had tracked Ludger and Phiron here—
but he still had no idea what was happening.
Ludger explained briefly.
“The God of Machines... an arrogantly fitting na. But I can’t deny its grandeur.”
Just its presence made the surrounding tal vibrate and respond.
If it unleashed its full strength, the outco would be unimaginable.
They had to stop it.
All three reached the sa conclusion.
Wherever Nikolai had gone could wait—
the God of Machines ca first.
Otherwise, Isla Machina would be annihilated.
The mont they resolved themselves—
a colossal force smashed through the house they stood in.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
One of the God of Machines’ enormous arms had been launched toward them.
Everything the fist touched—steel, concrete, anything—was pulverized.
Their house turned to dust in an instant.
But the three had already escaped outside.
“Let’s see round two then!”
Phiron roared with laughter and charged.
His entire body flared with blue mana, blazing like fire.
His form blurred, transforming into a massive arrow of energy that shot toward the God of Machines.
The deity raised one of its arms to block.
“Damn! Still not enough!”
While Phiron wrestled against the arm’s strength, another one swung toward him.
The edge of its hand sliced horizontally like a blade aid for his waist—
an attack too fast for Phiron to counter.
But it was stopped—by the spectral figure of an armored warrior, as large as Phiron himself, who blocked the strike with a massive shield.
Two more arms tried to move—
but above the god’s head, yet another gigantic spirit appeared, gripping them tightly.
Lotheron’s magic.
It was brief—but enough.
Seizing that opening, Ludger dashed forward.
Ranged magic won’t work. The difference in output’s too great.
Then it had to end up close.
His arms extended, shadows taking the shape of beasts’ claws as he swung for the creature’s head.
He would tear it off in one blow—
—but then, the God of Machines turned its head toward him.
Flash!
A glint flared behind its visor, and Ludger was hurled backward by a trendous force.
What was that?
Regaining his footing, Ludger frowned.
There had been no warning, no spell formula—
and yet the impact had hit like a hamr.
He had no ti to ponder it.
The God of Machines moved—
for the first ti, raising its own hand.
All around, floating tallic wreckage turned in the air—
and then, like a teor shower, ca crashing down toward Ludger.
Reviews
All reviews (0)