Chapter 1165: A Machine's Demise
Our long time enemy Nameless was defeated so easily.
The king of undead had managed to hold his own against Jean. Even we would have trouble against him. Yet he got erased by the divine poison as if he was just an ordinary skeleton.
Once again, the divine swords have displayed their extraordinary powers.
But despite our awe, the battle raged on. Even with everyone else from Raydoss gone, the mech was still moving.
As I thought, someone must be piloting it, huh?
From the mech, there echoed a high-pitched engine-like sound reminiscent of a giant beast’s cry.
Immediately after, its entire body emitted a brilliant white light. This wasn’t merely mana, but mana infused with divine energy.
I suspected the mech to be something related to Raydoss’s relics. Having the ability to manipulate divine energy just like Carmine Flame proved my suspicions. The shining white mech charged right into the black mist.
Even the divine poison that had swallowed Nameless without allowing any resistance was dispersed by the mech’s light. The mech’s divine energy was highly compressed, which must have given it the upper hand.
With an even louder exhaust sound, the mech advanced towards Maleficent. Perhaps this machine has the advantage if it can nullify his poison?
That doubt crossed my mind for a moment, but it was entirely groundless.
「A mere imitation thinks it can use divine energy! Allow me to correct your mistake!」
Maleficent erected a barrier, deflecting the mech’s fist. Simultaneously, Hell’s gate opened, and the space around the mech began to warp once again.
No, the warping was even greater than before. This wasn’t a mere distortion, space itself was twisting apart.
And the mech’s body dented and twisted too, with an ear-piercing metallic crunch. Not only could Hell manipulate space for teleportation, it could also do it for attacks!
The delay makes it difficult to use against fast opponents, but he could easily buy time by entrapping his opponents in barriers.
With its supposedly durable body torn apart, we got a peek into the mech’s interior. It wasn’t completely hollow, nor was it filled with metal like an Iron Golem.
The body was formed of countless pipes, cables, and tiny detailed components. This was clearly a modern machine, well, maybe more like a highly complex magic tool.
Maleficent’s victory was practically assured, but the mech continued moving. Cables extended from the upper and lower halves, pulling them toward each other.
Its attempt at regeneration made it almost seem biological. It must not be a complete machine.
That said, there’s no way Maleficent would allow it to regenerate.
「It’s over! DIE, YOU HEAP OF GARBAGE MADE BY RAYDOSS SCUM!」
Maleficent shouted, before releasing a black flash from Hell. Bathed in the light, the mech ceased its movements.
Immediately after, the mech’s silver body turned black, melted, and crumbled away. The same thing happened when Maleficent slew the undead dragon. This seems to be an attack concentrating divine poison on a single enemy, rather than scattering it over a wide area.
I can see why neither of them managed to survive it.
As the silver machine crumbled apart, I noticed someone inside its chest area. They were seated in an egg-shaped chair that fit their body, with their hands resting on a spherical device embedded with something similar to a magic stone.
So there’s the cockpit. Then I guess that guy is the pilot?
He wasn’t Hideman, nor the fiend-looking man from earlier.
The pilot was a slender middle-aged man in a civil servant-like attire, with his legs and left arm starting to turn black. He’s as good as dead. I managed to catch the man’s muttering.
「I came here to get my revenge against that black cat who thwarted my plans… but it seems this is where it ends for me.」
Black cat? Is he referring to Fran? I think he said something about “plans”, but who is he even?
「Accursed Kranzel! You win this battle! Uragh!」
W-What the heck? The man suddenly drove his hands into both of his eyes, gouging out his own eyeballs while screaming in agony. It seems that he had two artificial eyes implanted.
「My king! I shall return your treasures!」
Immediately after that, the pilot’s eyeballs disappeared from his hands. His body also turned black and crumbled away.
Somewhat reminiscent of Roaneth’s last stand. We ended up cannibalizing his relic back then, but I guess it may have teleported off if he succeeded.
The man chuckled contentedly in his last moments, before the mech’s cockpit underwent a massive explosion.
The explosion was powerful enough to create a mushroom cloud, but even that was meaningless to the wielder of Hell. With the blade’s ability to compress space, Maleficent effectively crushed all the shockwaves, flames, and heat.
He had accomplished a complete victory.
Despite that, Maleficent maintained Hell’s activation and showed no signs of letting his guard down.
(Are there still enemies?)
『I can’t sense any…』
We attempted to scan the area for other presences, but there were no signs of any enemies. Is there some enemy only Maleficent can sense?
「…You damn maggots stole the lands our forefathers carved out! The sheer audacity of thinking you can remain here!」
Hell suddenly grew huge, becoming the size of a castle gate.
The gate over 10 meters in width slowly opened, unleashing an enormous wave of mana from within.
In the form of a black ray of light.
What is trying to do with so much mana?
Huh? He’s aiming at an empty mountain?
However, it seems the mountain was not actually empty. A large structure had been hidden there, concealed by a barrier.
And Maleficent’s laser pierced through the barrier, exposing the facility.
『What the…?』