Watching Richard deliver his final declaration, Alchemy Crown said nothing, only gazing silently at Richard.
"Shaping... lost too."
His voice carried a faint mechanical tremor. Though cold, it also held a trace of desolation.
"We fought for so many years, yet even joining forces, we still failed to seize it. Fate... what a damned thing."
Richard said nothing, quietly waiting for Alchemy Crown's answer.
If Alchemy Crown's answer could not satisfy him, he would not mind sending Alchemy Crown to his death.
Clack, clack, clack...
A complex chorus of machinery entered Richard's ears from every direction. Those shattered metal fragments seemed to answer some summons, suddenly falling to the ground.
Molten crimson iron continuously surged from the wounds in the torn steel earth, and those horrifying, enormous gashes were filled by the molten metal in the blink of an eye.
Behind Richard, Mayfly Spirit wanted to make a move, but Richard raised a hand and stopped him.
"Let him recover," Richard said calmly. "I want to see what the pinnacle of Wizard Alchemy looks like."
Although Alchemy Crown's presence was terrifying at this moment, Richard felt not a shred of fear. Instead, anticipation rose within him.
Shaping Crown had shown him control over the microscopic world. As a Crown evenly matched with Shaping Crown, Alchemy Crown's strength and research could not possibly be inferior.
The molten iron filled the scars, and the fragments returned to the earth.
In mere moments, the entire Mechanical World had returned to its original state.
But this was only the beginning.
Richard saw Alchemy Crown's lower body slowly merge into the earth, his entire person completely fusing with the steel land.
"Is this how you defeated Shaping?" Alchemy Crown suddenly asked. "Watching him use the method he was most confident in, then crushing that confidence