The ritual soon reached its end. Nini's chanting grew ever more impassioned, and Monica focused her mind, trying to separate out the portion of the Sea God's soul.
She had previously tried summoning the Machine Soul directly within this furnace, but the result had been strange.
The ritual had succeeded. Something seemed to have appeared inside the furnace, yet it would not respond to anyone.
Monica's authority, meanwhile, had yet to dissipate.
Thus, they had no choice but to prepare this ritual again, hoping to summon the Clamorer once more through the Machine Soul.
As Nini's chanting continued, the ritual was pushed to its climax. She suddenly opened her eyes and shouted the final line of the prayer.
"Light the sacred boiler, awaken the soul within the steel!"
A tremendous hum rang out, and fire flared within the furnace. But before anyone could cheer, it abruptly went out again.
The onlookers lowered the hands they had just raised, bewildered. Had it succeeded or not?
If it had failed, why had there been such a phenomenon? If it had succeeded, why had it not ignited?
After thinking for a moment, Theus turned to Monica and asked quietly, "Is that Sea God soul of yours still there?"
"I-I'm not sure. The ritual seems to have succeeded, but also seems not to have. More precisely, it's closer to... still being one step short."
"One step short?"
Theus rubbed his chin. How could it be one step short? Plenty of pollution had already been poured into the furnace, and there was fuel too. It should have been able to ignite directly, right?
Wait, pollution?
"Could it be because this furnace's Machine Soul was constructed from the Sea God's soul? Its level is too high, so it can only use the Sea God's flesh and