Facing the God of Machinery, Rudger sensed that he was confronted with a challenge.
That thing was not sothing that could be defeated with ordinary magic or aura.
Its core was a relic, and its body contained an Iron Colour Mage.
Additionally, it was a hybrid that encompassed the world tree's cells, black magic, and magical knowledge.
They call sothing mixed with various elents a chira, but if those elents harmonize and achieve perfection as one, can we disparagingly call it a chira?
The God of Machinery was exactly like that.
'No matter how many 6th-tier grand spells I pour on it, I don't think I can defeat it.'
He had realized sothing after engaging in combat several tis.
First, the God of Machinery was not yet complete.
If he had to describe it, it was like a newborn baby bird that had just hatched from its egg.
It now had four chanical arms, which was like having fluffy feathers, but it was still insufficient.
'Yet it possesses such power.'
Even more terrifying was the fact that it grew stronger as ti passed.
As it gradually adapted to its state, and as knowledge and self-awareness accumulated, it would beco an irreversible catastrophe.
'I don't want to admit it, but it might truly beco an entity worthy of the na "god," just as Nikolai said.'
Sohow, he had to kill this God of Machinery by any ans necessary.
To do that, he first needed ti.
To eliminate the God of Machinery, Rudger also needed to make his own preparations but preparing magic while engaging in all-out combat with such a monster was essentially suicide.
It tended to be particularly sensitive to creatures that threatened its life.
'Before it notices, I'll end this quickly.'
That was why he had asked Verom, Rotheron, and Whiron to buy him ti.
Considering the ongoing effects of the battle even from a distance, they seed to be holding on sohow.
Rudger took out a pipe from within the shadows.
He lit the pipe, which was packed with toxic plants, with his fingertip.
-Sssip. Whoo.
The smoke he exhaled mixed with thick magical power, turning blue.
A magical mist ford around his body.
Rudger controlled this mist, shaping it into a single spell.
Not a modern spell, but an ancient magic activated solely by faith and miracles.
He had faced all his enemies with this magic until now, but this ti, Rudger felt it would be difficult.
'I must go further.'
An object created by a god, a relic.
The God of Machinery, based on this relic, could be considered a divine avatar or sothing equivalent.
They say to kill a monster, you must beco a monster yourself.
Rudger didn't agree with that, but he did concur that to defeat an equal being, you need power equivalent to it.
'To defeat it, I'll have to use this power after all.'
Rudger regretted having no other choice but didn't hesitate to act.
-Tstststs.
The air around Rudger grew heavy.
It was fortunate that no one was around, otherwise most would have fainted with foam at their mouths.
Above Rudger's head, a small black hole appeared.
"I'll handle this. Gabriel, you do what you need to do."
Seeing the suddenly appearing Buddha statue, Nikolai felt irritation rising.
"What the hell is that now?"
He had never heard of such power from John Doe.
He had thought that the cunning John Doe would certainly hide so of his power, but this was beyond expectations.
What was this massive golden entity flickering behind his back, and what was this enormous presence clearly felt even through the screen?
It created such a gap that his masterpiece, the God of Machinery, seed modest in comparison.
On another screen, all the subordinates he had sent were completely annihilated.
The subordinates he had sent to kill Rene beca prey for the wolf spirit beast, who had appeared from sowhere.
"...To think that the guardian deity of House Ulburg would appear here."
The one who ca with the wolf spirit beast was Freuden Ulburg, the next head of the Ulburg family.
He couldn't understand why one of the Empire's three great ducal families suddenly got involved in this incident.
The only connection was that both Freuden and Rene were from Theon Academy.
Whatever the case, Nikolai was displeased that his plans kept falling apart.
Had there been no onlookers, he might have scread and smashed the surrounding objects.
"This is quite unfortunate. All your plans seem to be failing one after another."
Gabriel curled his lips upward while looking at Nikolai's coldly frozen expression.
Nikolai's fist trembled as he looked at Gabriel.
About to get angry, Nikolai soon cald his anger and wore a faint smile.
"Perhaps this is also flowing according to the given order. No, rather, it's evidence that my actions are beginning to change the world."
"What nonsense is this again?"
"It ans that not everything in this world was created according to the Device Keeper's will. The ergence of soone threatening his position is a developnt he couldn't have predicted, so he's imposing all these trials. How can I not be pleased?"
"This madman."
Gabriel stared at the laughing Nikolai with a disgusted look.
Nikolai abruptly stopped laughing and looked down at Gabriel with a chillingly cold gaze.
"I was going to show you a magnificent sight, but sadly, it's all been rendered useless. Since it's pointless to invest more ti, just die now."
Nikolai stretched out his hand, aiming at Gabriel's forehead.
He was soone who manipulated from behind, but that didn't an he had risen to the position of First Order solely through politics.
Nikolai was also a mage of considerable skill, and this ability naturally supported his claim to the First Order position.
"Bla your inadequate fate until your death. That's the life of a rat like you."
Seeing the magical power gathering at his fingertips, Gabriel smiled aningfully and spoke.
"Haven't you heard that saying? Even a rat bites when cornered."
"What?"
"Like this."
Gabriel's figure suddenly disappeared from his seat.
Imdiately after, Nikolai was taken aback when sothing black obscured his vision.
He hurriedly tried to remove what had been put over his head, but it wouldn't co off as if soone was pulling it from behind.
Rather, it was being pulled strongly, pressing against his face.
Nikolai desperately reached back and fired a spell.
The hastily manifested spell wasn't threatening, but it was enough to shake off the person attached.
After pushing Gabriel away and urgently removing the cloth covering his face, Nikolai couldn't contain his anger.
"You rat! How dare you!"
Magical power surged around the enraged Nikolai.
While thinking of devouring Gabriel, Nikolai's mind raced quickly.
'How? He should have inhaled the paralytic gas.'
Gabriel's whisper from behind solved Nikolai's question.
"Curious how I was freed from the paralysis?"
Without asking or questioning, Nikolai turned around and scattered magical power.
-Crash!
Ice spikes embedded in the empty laboratory wall.
"I once suffered badly from poison. Feeling so helpless then, I received so manual therapy from Whiron beforehand."
"This bastard!"
Hearing the words "manual therapy," Nikolai thought Gabriel was mocking him.
Nikolai was about to fire a spell toward where Gabriel's voice ca from when he paused.
'Damn it!'
He was trapped in the sa space as a ti mage.
Nikolai imdiately changed his approach.
"Even if it's you, what if I fill this entire space with my magical power!"
He decided to exploit the weakness of a ti mage to wide-area attacks.
"Yeah, I know."
At that mont, Gabriel appeared right in front of Nikolai.
'Now, instead of running away when I'm about to cast a spell, he's approaching?'
Nikolai felt a mont of realization at this unexpected behavior.
Given Gabriel's personality, he thought he would retreat when intimidated.
He had planned to gradually take control of the space and corner him, but it went awry from the start.
"I didn't co here with a half-hearted mindset either."
-Click.
Nikolai turned his head at the foreign sensation on his arm.
Since when, he wasn't sure, but a strong wire was tied around his wrist, connecting him to a nearby table.
Like a severed vein, the flow of magical power was cut off, and the spell was canceled.
"You bastard!"
Nikolai lifted his foot and kicked Gabriel in the stomach.
It was a reflexive action taken because the "rat" was close to him.
Nikolai shouldn't have done that.
There was a slight delay when Gabriel released a ti spell and used the next one.
In that brief mont, which now couldn't be granted, Nikolai should have used a spell that would definitely kill his opponent instead of kicking.
Rather, the mont he pushed Gabriel away with his kick and the distance between them widened, Nikolai realized his mistake far too late.
As Gabriel disappeared, a thick wire wrapped around Nikolai's neck.
"Grghhk!"
Nikolai's eyes bulged at the pain of the wire tightly squeezing his neck.
Red veins appeared like cracks in the whites of his eyes.
When Nikolai tried to resist, Gabriel kicked the joint of his knee from behind.
Nikolai's legs gave way, and his body fell forward. Gabriel pulled the wire around Nikolai's neck even tighter.
'Just a little more!'
Just as Gabriel was about to confirm his victory, a wave of mana erupted from Nikolai's entire body.
Hit by the shockwave, Gabriel let go of the wire and was thrown back.
"Cough! Cough! You rat! I'll make sure you die painfully!"
Nikolai, who had finally cleared his windpipe, coughed out saliva and glared at Gabriel with murderous eyes.
The mont Gabriel saw this, he sprang to his feet.
His legs still trembled from the paralysis, and his bones ached from the recent impact, possibly fractured sowhere but having co this far, he couldn't stop either.
'Charge in!'
Gabriel urged himself internally.
Moving his unresponsive legs, he stuck close to Nikolai.
'Do what you can!'
Before Nikolai could cast a spell, Gabriel collided with him.
-Bang!
The two rolled on the floor together.
Gabriel clung to Nikolai like a bulldog.
'This is all I can do in a fight.'
Gabriel had lived a life far removed from fighting.
There was no way such a Gabriel could fight Nikolai on equal terms.
That's why Rudger's advice had been helpful.
-You're not suited for fighting to begin with.
Rudger had spoken harshly, almost cruelly.
-Your disposition, your lack of fighting experience, and your temperant is more like a coward's. Your abilities aren't suited for fighting either.
Gabriel couldn't refute those words.
His inability to fight was a fact he himself acknowledged.
-So use everything at your disposal. Don't hesitate to drag your opponent into the mud with you. At the very least, when facing a mage as inexperienced in fighting as you, you have a chance.
Nikolai struggled to break free from Gabriel.
Magic was impossible.
Not only were they close, but whenever he tried to use magical power, Gabriel kept interfering by throwing punches.
-Punch!
An ordinary, not even heavy punch hit his cheek.
For Nikolai, the wound to his pride hurt far more than the pain on his cheek.
'What is this? What the hell is this?'
This kind of fight was a first for him.
This wasn't a brawl between country children; grown mages were rolling on the floor fighting?
Without pride, style, honor, or dignity.
It was a desperate and ssy struggle, the kind you'd see at the bottom of the barrel, like a factory worker drunk in a tavern.
Ironically, this dirty fighting drove Nikolai into more confusion.
As if he had fallen to the sa level.
Nikolai felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
"You, you rat!"
Nikolai's palm was engulfed in flas as he pushed it against Gabriel's face.
-Sizzle.
With the sound of burning skin, Nikolai smiled with satisfaction.
How does it feel to have your skin burned alive?
But Gabriel didn't scream.
Surprisingly, it was Nikolai who scread.
"Aaaaarghhh!"
Gabriel had bitten his finger.
Even amidst the burning pain, Gabriel's bulging eyes glared at Nikolai.
"Let go! Let go of this!"
Nikolai, feeling this couldn't continue, forcibly used his magical power.
-Bang!
Forcibly connecting the disrupted flow, he fired an imperfect pure magic orb at Gabriel's solar plexus.
The blue magical orb sent Gabriel flying backward.
It was a significant impact, causing Gabriel to roll on the floor several tis before hitting a wall with a thud.
"Y-you damn..."
Nikolai tried to stand up staggering, but unknowingly coughed up blood.
"Bleurgh!"
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