The crowd gathered around the Steam Engine fell silent in an instant. The roar of metal was especially piercing within the warehouse. Chloe's eyes widened as she looked at Theus, her gaze filled with confusion and shock.
"Not Silly? But..." Her voice trembled with disbelief. The three of them had clearly succeeded in communicating with the Machine Soul. If the thing roaring now was not the Machine Soul they knew, then what had responded to them just now?!
Could Theus have made a mistake?
Chloe thought this instinctively, hoping for a definitive answer while dreading a truth that might overturn everything she knew.
Several Banshees snapped out of it. One rushed before Theus while another yanked him away. They watched the Steam Engine warily, but the roaring giant machine did not seem to have changed at all.
Theus felt his heart pounding violently. The instant he touched the Machine Soul, he had sensed something unfamiliar. This Machine Soul seemed to have been screaming something all along—the exact opposite of the silent Silly.
The exact opposite?
Theus seemed to grasp a thread of the truth. He suddenly turned, grabbed Monica by the wrist, and spoke rapidly. "How did you communicate with the Machine Soul? What did you say? How did it respond? Tell me in detail!"
Monica was a little frightened. She took a step back and said softly, "I-I only told it to keep the Pollution under control, to use it as fuel, not let it escape, and to work properly... I think that was all."
"Did it respond to you?"
Monica bit her lip. "I think so... It seemed to be saying something the whole time, but it was blurry. I couldn't make it out."
"It was talking the whole time? Even before you came?"
"Yes. The moment I