As bright yellow radiance appeared in the center of the Communication Device, the layers of mechanical barriers beside Saine lit up one after another.
That aura did not spread outward.
Yet the device maintaining the connection still emitted a low hum, and its previously steady energy consumption rose noticeably.
Saine raised a hand, signaling Wall-E to activate the auxiliary devices around the perimeter as well.
He had already witnessed the Source-Devouring Progenitor in battle. Now that they were speaking through a cross-time-space connection, this minor disturbance was hardly enough to alarm him.
A moment later, a figure gradually came into focus.
The World-Realm Emperor Monarch stood farther back, without greeting Saine first as he usually did. The one who truly wanted to meet the Mechanical God Emperor this time had already stepped before the Communication Mark.
"Mechanical God Emperor," the Source-Devouring Progenitor said.
Saine nodded in greeting, then held down a record he had yet to put away beside his hand.
"It seems you've been busy lately," the Source-Devouring Progenitor said, noticing his movement.
"There's always more to do," Saine replied with a smile.
This was not mere courtesy.
He had specifically suspended an ongoing experiment for this conversation. As for the unprocessed materials inside the Magic Cube, he had no idea when he would finally get around to using them all.
Still, compared to everything on his desk, Saine was clearly more interested in the being before him.
A Lord of Dimension who had truly crossed into Level 13 while retaining a lucid will!
Observing him across a battlefield and speaking with him directly were, after all, two entirely different things.
The Source-Devouring Progenitor did not begin by mentioning the materials already delivered to Gear Time-Space.
Instead, he asked, "How has the Lord of Evil Swamp been lately?"
"What