Gaia's idea seemed a little absurd at first glance. The Mechanical Cathedral had no connection whatsoever to Rhine or Castel.
How could their prayers resonate with a Machine Soul?
But on closer thought, this was actually the most likely possibility. After all, Chloe had completely replicated the Mechanical Cathedral's ritual. The only variable here was that Machine Soul.
Besides... the cost of trying was not high. Hadn't Theus successfully purified the Evil God Steam Engine just now? At worst, they could just purify it again.
They already had a steam engine ready. Recently, Castel had begun preparing for war, and Nini had been working day and night to frantically expand steam engine production. She could even use Turn Stone to Mud in her sleep now...
Gaia often came to this testing ground as well. She knew there was a newly assembled Type II Engine in the warehouse, so they could try again on the spot.
"Then let's try again. I'll have to trouble you three to perform that ritual once more."
Chloe and Monica nodded together. "No problem."
"W-wait!" Gaia's eyes widened. "I have to participate too?"
"Of course. We need to control the variables. The ritual succeeded when the three of you performed it together just now, and you're already familiar with the process... I'm counting on you!" Theus patted Gaia on the shoulder.
Gaia's expression fell. She actually had to perform the ritual in front of all these people...
The thought of swaying to the rhythm while oiling a machine, all while being watched, made her feel utterly miserable.
"This is way too embarrassing!"
"A little sacrifice for science..."
Soon, several banshees carried a new steam engine out of the warehouse, along with a canister of pollution. So far, it seemed that a steam engine with a Machine