No. 03 silently watched the billowing steam roll ever closer to her.
She was still within the core of the Wave Mechanist. The core had now been divided into two regions. The outer region was the battlefield where water and fire clashed, filled with searing steam; the inner region was much like her "Watermark" space, a vast expanse of deep blue water saturated with the power of water, where even tangible veins of water faintly formed and vanished.
An hour had already passed since the standoff with the Flame Lawfield began.
Over that hour, the Wave Mechanist's head showed no further signs of melting. Vast amounts of water power resisted the Flame Lawfield's erosion, leading Feiluo outside to believe that No. 03's situation was indeed as stable as she had claimed.
Yet only No. 03 herself, within the core, knew that she was far from safe.
The steam region in the outer layer was steadily expanding, while the water region in the inner layer was shrinking by the moment.
There was no helping it. The Flame Lawfield was controlled by Feiluo, the Firewalker, and Feiluo himself remained outside on guard. Although the Wave Mechanist's core contained some power from water veins, those law veins originated from its refiner.
One was a fire vein that its owner could control directly; the other was a water vein controlled indirectly. Which was stronger was obvious at a glance.
Even though No. 03 still had ample reserves of water-elemental magic power, there remained too vast a gap between her strength and the core's vein power. She could only barely replenish the water veins' expenditure. Her greater role was that of an operator.
She could make up for expenditure, but not for wear and tear. As the Mechanist core continued operating, even the most precise