The colossal mass of debris floating in the air—
Driven by the authority wielded by the Machine God, the fragments accelerated, their velocity rivaling that of meteors.
Compared to the metallic grand spell [Heaven-Collapsing Meteoric Iron], each fragment was weaker, yet their sheer number far exceeded that spell’s destructive potential.
If one asked which attack possessed the greater might, Ludger could assert without hesitation—it was this one.
Kwa-gwagwagwang!
Enormous chunks crashed to the ground, raising towering columns of gray ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) dust.
The impact repeated across a wide area hundreds of meters in radius.
Its force was so devastating that the entire island trembled violently.
Even a Master-level knight caught in that bombardment would have vanished without leaving a trace of blood behind.
But it did not work on Ludger.
Wrapped entirely in shadow, Ludger spun the darkness around himself like a cocoon.
The spatial energy embedded within the shadow twisted and deflected every incoming fragment the moment it touched him, sweeping them aside.
It didn’t matter how heavy they were, how fast they fell, or how immense their kinetic energy was—
That power bent everything.
However, the spell specialized solely in defense, and the mana consumption was equally enormous, making it impossible to maintain for long.
Ludger’s mana reserves had grown immense through countless battles, yet if he could not remove the source of the attack, this war of attrition would eventually wear him down.
“Hu-hahaha! Where are you looking, fool!”
Still wrestling with the mechanical arm, Phyron laughed and poured strength into his bulging muscles.
His already-massive frame swelled to its limit as he smashed the arm aside.
He saw his chance and drove a punch toward the Machine God—only for its eyes to flash.
Phyron’s fist never landed. He was flung backward as if struck by an invisible hammer, his massive body tossed like a pebble into the debris field.
Kuung!
A dense cloud of dust erupted, scattering fragments everywhere.
Ludger, hidden within his shadow cocoon, watched the scene intently.
‘That attack again.’
Each time the golden visor inside the helmet flared, a powerful repulsive force burst forth, hurling opponents away.
No sign of activation, no warning—too fast to react to.
And if one stayed too far to avoid it, the creature would simply close in and strike first.
As Ludger pondered his next move, Roteron stepped forward.
Razor-sharp claws extended from his spread fingers, his fangs lengthened, and his pupils split vertically—
The transformation that occurred whenever beastkin entered battle.
Enveloped in the spirit of an ancient hero, Roteron charged. Another spirit manifested on the opposite side, clad in feathered helm and armor, wielding a long spear.
Assailed from both flanks, the Machine God turned its gaze toward Roteron.
The visor flashed. Roteron’s body was hurled backward.
At that same moment, the hero’s spear struck the Machine God’s shoulder.
Kwa-jik!
It had aimed for the head, but the impact field surrounding the creature twisted the attack aside.
Kakakakang!
The spear scraped across the shoulder plating, scattering sparks.
The Machine God immediately turned to glare at the spirit—its eyes blazing once more.
Pwoom!
The spirit shattered under the overwhelming repulsion.
But Ludger did not flinch.
‘He didn’t react fast enough.’
The repulsive force was terrifying, but it had a clear condition—
The target had to be within its line of sight.
It couldn’t respond to attacks coming from both sides simultaneously.
Yet, could that even be called a weakness?
Multiple attackers could strike at once, but at least one of them always had to face that deadly gaze.
“If we hit from where it can’t see, that’s all we need!”
Phyron clearly reached the same conclusion.
Launching himself from the cratered ground, he soared upward faster than before and charged the Machine God.
The creature turned its head toward him—
That instant, Ludger moved.
[Dreams of the Foolish]
Darkness rose between the Machine God and Phyron, shrouding its vision completely.
Flash!
The instant its visor gleamed, the dark mana was shredded apart, and the surrounding debris exploded under the released force.
But Phyron was no longer there.
As the Machine God began to search above, a heavy blow struck its head from above—forcing it to bow.
Daaang!
Phyron, fingers interlocked like a hammer, had slammed both fists onto its crown.
The sound echoed across the battlefield like a massive bell.
Yet the Machine God snapped its head up almost instantly.
“...Damn.”
Phyron hadn’t expected it to recover that fast.
Just as the visor was about to flash again, something struck the creature’s temple, jerking its head aside.
Flash!
Its gaze shifted—and the light erupted in a different direction.
Kuwaaaang!
A massive explosion erupted in the ruined clearing, shooting a pillar of light skyward.
“Don’t stop! Keep moving!”
Roteron had saved Phyron—kicking the Machine God’s head at the last second to divert its aim.
But Roteron himself was in no better shape.
A single blow had destroyed every defensive artifact on his body. His clothes were shredded, his body covered in wounds.
Even with spirit reinforcement and a mana barrier, that was the result.
Phyron and Roteron now fought in close quarters, darting around the Machine God to stay outside its field of vision while attacking relentlessly.
But the Machine God had no intention of entertaining human tricks.
Kiiiing—
Two of its four mechanical arms extended to grab them.
Realizing that being caught meant death, both men gritted their teeth.
Then a black point formed in the air and expanded—Ludger appeared.
He dropped straight down toward the Machine God, thrusting a flaming spear at its crown.
Kwa-jijijik!
The fire spear, charged with immense mana, pierced through the repulsion field but couldn’t fully penetrate the armor beneath.
Ludger detonated the mana in the blade.
The heat spread rapidly, scorching the Machine God’s body.
Even such durable armor could not resist heat entirely—the metal began to glow red.
Yet the creature still moved unharmed.
As two mechanical arms reached to seize him, Ludger unleashed another spell.
The spear vanished, replaced in his hand by a massive sword of ice.
He swung it down.
Crack-crack-crackle!
The superheated armor cooled at a rapid pace.
The plates that had expanded from heat now contracted sharply.
Crack. Crackle.
Hairline fractures spread across the hardened surface.
Sharp ice wedged into the gaps between joints, restricting its movements even further.
‘Just a little more...’
Ludger prepared to strike again—but froze when a golden light flickered before his eyes.
The Machine God’s radiant halo—
It flared brighter, then split, forming a second ring.
Kwa-ching!
The shockwave from its creation shattered every trace of frost and ice on its body, scattering like shards of glass.
Even the [Ater Nocturnus] shroud around Ludger was pushed back.
‘Divine power!’
Even if it was an artificial god, its core was a relic—
And relics were objects crafted by gods. Naturally, they could manifest divine power.
Overwhelmed by the surge, Ludger was forced backward—caught at once by one of the mechanical arms.
“Professor!”
“Ludger!”
Phyron and Roteron rushed in to save him—but their focus left them blind to the other arms moving from behind.
Roteron was seized instantly; Phyron managed to grab the metallic fingers and resist through sheer strength.
“Gggh! This isn’t even a warm-up!”
The Machine God stared at Phyron.
Its eyes did not glow this time. Instead, a third arm joined in and clamped around him.
If one was hard to resist, two were impossible.
It lifted Phyron high, then slammed him into the ground.
Kwaaang!
A massive explosion of dust and shockwaves spread in concentric rings.
The distorted air screamed, echoing across the island.
The impact of those two arms alone carved an enormous crater into the earth.
White steam and groundwater poured from the shattered underground pipes.
And the Machine God did not stop.
Kwaang!
Once.
Kwaang!
Twice.
Kwaang!
Again and again, it pounded Phyron into the ground.
Finally, his body sprawled out like a broken frog.
The arm released him, clenched its fist, and brought it down like a hammer.
Kwaaaang!
Cracks spread across the crater like a spider’s web.
From those fissures, white steam roared upward, and gas leaked out.
Pajijik!
A burst of current from a torn cable met the gas—ignition.
A massive explosion followed.
Scarlet flames bloomed inside the crater like a flower.
* * *
Gariel slipped into the laboratory.
While Ludger and Phyron drew all attention outside, he used the distraction to sneak in unseen.
‘They created experimental subjects using World Tree cells... the reagents and materials must still be here.’
He scoured the maze-like facility.
‘Found it.’
Finally discovering the entrance deeper inside, Gariel examined the door with his hand.
It was far too solid to force open.
A critical area—its security would be absolute.
‘Magical security lock. Without an authorized key, the door won’t open.’
Only a handful of people in the lab would possess that key.
But Gariel wasn’t worried.
‘Good thing I grabbed this just in case.’
When word spread that Ludger was approaching, the researchers had evacuated in haste.
Gariel had rifled through the pockets of the highest-ranking scientist among them and stolen everything.
Among those items was, of course, a security key.
Lifting the time stop he had cast, Gariel presented the key to the scanner.
He held his breath—then exhaled in relief as the lock disengaged.
The door slid open. What lay beyond made his brow furrow.
He had come only to retrieve materials, yet what filled the room were the gruesome remains of biological experiments.
Inside huge glass tubes floated human test subjects fused with cells of the World Tree.
Some had multiple limbs, others grotesquely twisted bodies, others half turned into trees.
Failed creations lined the chamber, each with a serial number etched beneath.
The higher the number, the fewer deformities appeared—the closer they came to resembling humans.
‘No time to waste.’
Suppressing his disgust, Gariel moved deeper.
Shelves overflowed with reagents and components left behind in the panic.
‘There!’
He reached for a vial—then froze, trembling.
Something felt wrong.
He glanced around.
He had stopped time; no one should be able to move or even notice him. He was certain of it.
Yet his instincts screamed otherwise.
Especially in a situation this tense—smooth progress was never a good sign.
Gariel immediately gathered mana.
He decided to stop time again, survey his surroundings, then regroup.
As time halted, he retraced his steps toward the entrance.
That was when he noticed—the door he had entered through was now closed.
“When? I never shut it...”
Could someone have come in?
He searched every corner of the lab, but there was no trace of anyone.
‘They must have sealed it remotely from outside.’
He considered reopening it, but the door wouldn’t budge. He gave up quickly.
Knowing waiting would achieve nothing, Gariel released the time stop.
“Hm. You froze time to find a way out... but it seems you still couldn’t escape.”
A calm, amused voice came from beyond the door.
Gariel’s breath caught. Whoever it was—knew about his ability.
“Who are you?”
“Who am I? That’s what I was about to ask. You sneaked into my laboratory without even knowing whose it was?”
“...Don’t tell me—Nikolai?”
“Oh? Not dumb enough to make me introduce myself, at least.”
Gariel bit his lip.
Why him, of all people? What happened to Ludger?
A tremor rolled through the floor, shaking even the bunker-like facility.
The impact was enormous.
“By now, the ones outside should be finished.”
At Nikolai’s words, Gariel realized with dread—something was going very, very wrong.