In those few seconds when his mind wandered, the Machine Spirit, which had been accumulating endless rage, moved.
The clouds suddenly collapsed inward, and all the blue and white Thunder converged towards the center, compressing and condensing wildly.
The sounds of wind, thunder, and the tremors of the earth intertwined, like a beast letting out its final growl.
In a mere second, an exaggeratedly thick pillar of Lightning condensed deep within the clouds.
It was thicker and more dazzling than the main beam of the Gemstone.
That was the rage that the Machine Spirit had been holding back for hours, all the resentment from being gnawed by the plague for days, and the most ferocious counterattack of a thousand-year-old steel soul.
There was no warning whatsoever.
A deafening thunderclap crashed down!
"No!!!"
Phelps let out a final, desperate scream.
He didn't even have the strength to dodge, and could only watch helplessly as the azure beam of light pierced through his remaining soul.
The ultimate power of Thunder tore apart the last trace of the plague, crushing his consciousness along with the very essence of the Rust Plague into the finest dust.
Not even a lingering echo remained.
The moment the beam of light hit the ground, the entire steel wasteland was suddenly illuminated.
The last remaining plague spores deep within the earth were completely evaporated by the Thunder, and the damp, musty smell in the air was swept away, replaced by the cold aura of steel and Thunder.
The crisis is over.
But Lynn's gaze did not relax.
He could sense that the Machine Spirit's emotions were off.
The plague that had plagued the beast for several days, coupled with the fierce battle just now, had completely shattered its mind.
It only knows how to instinctively eliminate all foreign objects, and only knows that anything that intrudes into its world of consciousness is an enemy.
The Thunder that had just subsided in the clouds began to rumble again.
This time, the lightning bolt was aimed at two targets.
One is Dominic's consciousness on the ground, shrouded in a phantom and still in a dazed state.
The other one is Lynn's phantom in mid-air.
"Sizzle~ Boom!"
Dozens of Lightning, each as thick as a water bucket, struck simultaneously, showing no mercy whatsoever.
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
He casually waved his hand, and a layer of pale purple light membrane unfolded out of thin air.
The Lightning struck the light membrane like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating only a few ripples before disappearing without a trace.
He looked down at the restless Thunder in the clouds, and at the slightly trembling ground beneath his feet, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, I just saved you, and now you want to kill your master?"
His response was an even more violent lightning strike.
The energy of the entire Machine Spirit World was boiling, and blue and white lightning danced wildly in the clouds, eventually converging into a Lightning dragon tens of meters long.
It roared and writhed, carrying the oppressive force of the entire world, as it lunged fiercely at Lynn.
This is the core of the Machine Spirit, its purest embodiment of will.
Lynn neither dodged nor avoided the attack.
He stretched out his right hand, fingers slightly spread, and grabbed straight at the roaring, charging Lightning dragon.
Purple light exploded in his palm, like an invisible giant hand that precisely grasped the dragon's vital point.
"Behave yourself!"
The moment the sound faded, the purple phantom's light suddenly surged!
Like a purple sun rising in the center of the Machine Spirit World, the purple light spread outwards from Lynn, covering the sky and covering all directions.
Clouds, earth, Thunder, wasteland... everything in sight was tinged with a faint purple hue.
The raging Lightning dragon twisted and struggled wildly in his hand, Thunder crackling and exploding, but it could not break free from the purple palm.
The more it struggled, the more intense the purple sheen on its body became, and its roar slowly changed from fury to a low growl, and then from a growl to a whimper.
[Executing consciousness Domination, target: Gemstone's Machine Spirit ]
[ Domination progress: 12%, 37%, 69%...]
A cold system notification sounded in Lynn's mind, and the progress bar steadily increased.
The Machine Spirit's resistance appeared futile and fragile in the face of Power of Domination.
It could sense an irresistible will seeping into its very essence, like the strictest shackles, gradually binding away all its arrogance and rage.
It wanted to resist, to tear the intruder apart, but deep within its soul, a sense of awe instinctively arose.
That is submission to the strong, an instinct to admire the strong etched into the will of the Machine Spirit.
A few minutes later, the purple light suddenly receded.
All the purple light membranes receded into Lynn's phantom like the receding tide, the clouds turned back to dark gray, and the earth returned to its cold, hard silver-gray.
The Lightning dragon, which had been writhing like a mad snake just moments before, now obediently coiled up beside Lynn.
The dragon's head drooped, and the lightning was docile, like a beast whose fur had been stroked. Even the arcs of electricity jumped cautiously, as if afraid of angering the person in front of it.
[ Domination Completed]
[Target: Gemstone's Machine Spirit ]
[Affection Level: 30 ( The Machine Spirit only admires the strong)]
Lynn glanced at the system panel and couldn't help but mutter a complaint in his mind.
So, beating him into submission increases his favorability? He's a masochist, after all.
He looked down at Dominic's consciousness on the ground, who was still in a daze, and then glanced at the docile Lightning dragon beside him.
Finally, he spoke, his voice not loud, but it carried throughout the entire Machine Spirit world:
"From now on, listen to Dominic and the others properly, and don't get angry so easily."
As soon as the words were spoken, the purple phantom began to turn transparent.
The mental link has reached its limit; he should withdraw.
As the phantom gradually dissipated, the Lightning dragon coiled beside it raised its head, as if bidding farewell, or perhaps commemorating the will that had crushed it.
The steel wasteland returned to silence, save for the gentle rumble of Thunder in the clouds, like a steady heartbeat.
In reality, inside the Machine God.
Dominic suddenly opened his eyes.
His heavy breathing caused his chest to heave violently, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and the back of his military uniform was already soaked with sweat.
He instinctively gripped the armrest, feeling the cold, hard metal against his right fingertips.
It is no longer the ethereal energy of the conscious world, but a real temperature belonging to the real space.
And beneath him, the Machine Spirit Throne was undergoing astonishing changes.
The dark green mold spots faded rapidly, and the pitted rust marks were gradually smoothed out, revealing the shiny, pure steel base color once again.
The once dim and murky runes regained their golden light, and streaks of blue and white electricity danced merrily along the surface of the throne, brighter and purer than before the battle.
The throne, now suspended in mid-air, was nearly half a meter higher than before.
The surrounding energy circuits lit up with a clear blue light again, and all the alarms stopped abruptly at the same time.
Sorine slowly withdrew her finger from Dominic's forehead, the faint silver-red light at her fingertip gradually fading away.
She took a half step back, her eyes, hidden under the hood, narrowed as she looked at the newly renovated Machine Spirit Throne, a faint hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.
She could sense that the Machine Spirit's will had stabilized.
Not only has it stabilized, but it seems to be even stronger and more... docile than before?
Outside the temple's heavy bronze doors, the priests whispered in shock, and Bishop Venka exclaimed in disbelief.