Dazzling Enough to Inspire Envy

"Double Rook Checkmate, an inescapable killing blow!"

Hearing this, Blood Nest's head buzzed!

"That can't be right..."

He clearly had an "energy core" inside him too, so why did this move make him feel certain he would die?

An illusion. It had to be an illusion!

"Even if I'm smashed to pieces, even if I'm reduced to ashes, I can restore myself on the spot. I can't possibly die here!"

He clenched his fists and repeated the words over and over, as if bolstering his confidence.

"Come on!"

He spread his arms as if to embrace heaven and earth, displaying the breadth of his spirit.

Boom!

Two trains crossed paths as they hurtled toward him. Before them, he was as insignificant as a speck of dust.

The instant they made contact, his expression changed drastically!

"That little thing tricked me!"

Extreme stats? No, the mechanic behind these two trains was pure and simple!

An instant kill!

It countered revival, countered rebirth, countered every flashy trick!

With a bang, he exploded, leaving no trace of flesh or blood behind, only a brilliant ruby.

"What happened?"

Fleurdelys held her greatsword high, frozen in place as she looked at Abu in confusion.

"I don't know either!"

Even Abu couldn't explain it. That move had been triggered by a bout of random fiddling.

It had been like a flash of inspiration, an almost instinctive feeling. Even now, Abu couldn't reproduce it.

The twin spaces were connected!

With a loud crash, the gate ahead opened.

As though summoned, the ruby immediately fled.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Fleurdelys reacted swiftly, slashing at it with her greatsword without mercy.

She had a hunch that if she couldn't keep hold of something like this, she should destroy it outright.

Clang!

The impact rang out like metal striking stone, and red lightning spread from the gem.

Not only did it fail to shatter, but it even began refining the greatsword in return, corroding it.

"Dismiss!"

Fleurdelys released her incarnation and returned to Cartethyia's form.

"Watch me, cannon blockade!"

Abu stepped up, and a massive cannon suddenly appeared behind Abu, cutting off the ruby's escape.

The ruby showed no restraint and slammed into it so hard that it nearly toppled the cannon.

"Hehe... getting in is easy, but getting out won't be!"

Abu said smugly.

"Watch me move the horse to protect the cannon, advance the rook to protect the cannon, and link the two cannons into an impregnable defense!"

In an instant, every piece took root, forming a great sealing formation that forcibly pinned the gem down!

Cartethyia stepped forward and grasped it in her hand. At that moment, it was perfectly still.

"Thanks to you, Abu!"

"Mmm, I'm so glad I could help you. I'm a little tired, so I need to... rest!"

Abu held a head in evident exhaustion, then turned into a streak of light and flew away.

"Wait for me."

Cartethyia followed close behind and saw Rover waiting beyond the door. Abu had already returned to the Echo.

"Righteous one, you were still a step ahead of me!"

"I just got lucky."

"It seems I'll have to keep working hard if I truly want to surpass you."

The two walked side by side until they reached the deepest part of the base.

There stood a massive door engraved with strange runes. The design resembled a tree, with a peculiar, captivating, almost rational beauty.

"Righteous one, can you make sense of what's on it?"

Rover pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head.

"It feels a little familiar, but I can't remember it no matter how hard I try. It must be my imagination."

"How do we get in?"

Faced with the door, even Cartethyia was much more cautious and didn't simply break through by force.

"We have to keep moving forward eventually. Of course we smash it open. Let me do it!"

Just then, the door opened on its own with a loud clang.

A chill, sinister air rushed out at them.

Even Rover couldn't help tightening his grip on his sword.

This place was dangerous!

"Welcome to the final destination..."

A middle-aged man's voice came first. As the door swung fully open, the two finally saw the man himself.

He was utterly unremarkable, with thinning hair and a pair of crude glasses. His white lab coat hung loosely on him, two of its buttons missing. He looked every bit a slovenly, dejected scientist.

He stared straight at them, his pale yellow eyes unfocused. His whole body looked limp and lacking in strength.

But Rover and Cartethyia both became more alert. Beneath this man's ordinary appearance lay an incomprehensible madness.

"Are you Xiutake?"

Rover asked.

"That you would deign to ask my humble name—I could die without regrets!"

"Cut the nonsense and tell us everything you know!"

Cartethyia flourished her sword, making it ring. The knight had another opponent!

"Don't be so impatient. Since you've come all this way, please allow me to show you something wonderful."

Xiutake took his time. He tapped the ground lightly, and an intricate formation immediately appeared.

"Get back!"

The two reacted at once, each grabbing the other as they withdrew beyond the formation's range.

"Don't be nervous. This formation has no destructive power. On the contrary, it's the most wonderful thing in the world. With it, you can make any wish come true. Listen carefully: I said any wish!"

"Nonsense!"

"There's no such thing!" Cartethyia said coldly.

"That's because you're too ignorant. If I wish, I can create life anytime, anywhere, even bring the dead back to life!"

A ripple passed through Xiutake's clouded eyes, and he grew even more manic.

"What do you take life for? It's not your plaything. You're violating a taboo!"

Rover's voice was tinged with anger as well.

"Taboo... hahaha... foolish people do indeed call this formation that, but the great Edward III gave it its true name: truth. This is the Truth Array!"

"Thirty-five liters of water, twenty kilograms of carbon, four liters of ammonia, one and a half kilograms of lime, eight hundred grams of phosphorus, two hundred and fifty grams of salt, one hundred grams of saltpeter, eighty grams of sulfur, seven and a half grams of fluorine, five grams of iron, three grams of silicon, plus trace amounts of fifteen other elements. Do you know what that is?"

"Those are all the substances that make up a human being. Now, I'm going to create a human!"

Xiutake had reached the height of his madness. He turned his palm over, and a ruby the size of a fist appeared.

"Human Transmutation!"

Without hesitation, he clutched the ruby and then slammed both palms down on the formation.

"Crackle!!"

The eerie sound of electricity coursed through the formation. Rover watched without blinking and saw the substances Xiutake had named emerge directly from the ruby.

That thing really was a universal substance. Stimulated through a specific method, it could produce all things.

Xiutake was right. If handled properly, it really could create life and even bring the dead back.

But one essential component was still missing, and that was...

Suddenly, dark shapes writhed within the formation. Looking closely, they turned out to be more than a dozen distorted human figures!

"Ugh... ah!!"

Some stood crookedly, some shuffled along hunched over, and some crawled trembling on the ground. Drool ran from their mouths, and their eyes darted wildly. They looked like zombies, with no sign of intelligence in any of them.

"What is this?!"

At the sight, even Cartethyia felt a chill run down her spine.

"Humans!"

"More precisely, artificial humans," Rover said gravely. "They have bodies just like humans, including muscles, bones, internal organs, and even brains, but they're missing the most crucial things: minds and souls!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the artificial humans, like beasts that had caught the scent of blood, displayed a pure desire to kill and lunged at the two of them without regard for anything else.

"Great savior, surely you wouldn't kill these poor people, would you?"

Xiutake stood where he was and laughed mockingly.

He was sure he had the measure of the two before him, betting that they wouldn't attack humans.

"Righteous one... I..."

Cartethyia was backing away, the sword in her hand trembling.

Among the artificial humans were elderly people, women, and children. All were naked, letting out whimpering cries.

In that moment, she was lost...

Clink!

With a soft sound, Rover pinched the edge of her blade, steadying its faint tremor.

"I'll do it!"

Cartethyia came to her senses instantly. As she looked at his back standing in front of her, the heart created by the Threnodian was pounding fiercely.

I'm still not mature enough...

Though she possessed unparalleled power, at that moment she still came to understand what it meant to be a towering figure and shoulder responsibility.

He was dazzling enough to inspire envy!

"Hahaha, stop bluffing. I know you inside and out. You're the savior, so how could you raise a blade against miserable humans? Be good and put down your weapon, and accept being slaughtered..."

Before he finished speaking, Rover raised his palm and aimed it straight at him.

"Hadō #88, Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon!"