Anwei spoke in a low voice, but every word was forceful.
Unrestrained fervor blazed in her eyes, twisting her beautiful face. Every muscle was taut with madness and deep pain.
As Copper Believers who worshiped machinery, Songchai Sacrifice and the others were among the most accomplished of their faith. They could see the strength of her will at that moment, as if she were forcing it out from under the suppression of Mother of Machinery's consciousness.
Every word she spoke made her body tremble in a chaotic, rigid way, like a malfunctioning machine.
They could even faintly hear the clattering of parts and the grinding of misaligned joints coming from her. To them, it seemed that her mind had been occupied by an outside consciousness, while her body obeyed another command that could not be defied.
A flash of insight crossed their minds, and they finally understood. Their expressions turned utterly incredulous.
"Mechanical Legion virus..."
"Did you use the virus on yourself before the ceremony began?"
"..."
"..."
Only a mechanical virus could completely erode the body and drive its limbs with powerful commands, turning them against the brain. That was the only thing that could let her keep doing things that defied reason after Mother of Machinery had invaded her will.
And Professor Philal had already activated the Mechanical Fragment. Yet she had still managed to cause a disturbance at that moment. That proved something else...
She had activated the mechanical virus and injected it into her own body before any of this began.
Before inviting her to become the ceremonial saint, the Copper Believers would have examined her. They would have rejected anything abnormal on her, any mysterious residue, and even any extraneous will in her mind.
But she had used the Mechanical Legion virus given to her