I am a mindless machine.

...

"Tsk...isn't this a bit too exaggerated? A monster with such power is still completely unknown in the great war?"

He retracted the claws that had been cut and wounded, then summoned another pair of intact claws. Gordon frowned as he spoke.

Having maintained control of the battle, Godorn did not press his advantage after his successful strike, but cautiously disappeared back into the night. He now treated Yun You as a Skywing. If he were to fight Yun You outside of Yelenochini, he would definitely flee... because he simply couldn't win.

He looked at the girl in the center of the battlefield, wielding her light blades as if in a dance. The elves, used as pure fuel, swirled around her like a thin mist, resembling a beautifully flowing galaxy; the whole scene was like a painting. After such a long battle, the girl was clearly nearing exhaustion, unable even to maintain basic flight. However, within a hundred kilometers of her—the area was filled with a horrifying pile of corpses and wrecked equipment.

The blood, now reddish-brown from the passage of time, was no longer fresh, but warmer liquid flowed into it every moment; the roar of the cannonballs never ceased, but now those cannonballs that the girl should have been able to defend against were completely untouchable, as if the girl had eyes in the back of her head and could dodge them in advance—this was a pseudo-intuition achieved through the vibration of the surrounding air during the constant repetition of battle.

Mountains of corpses and seas of blood—this idiom is no longer an exaggeration, but a realistic description, and perhaps even somewhat inadequate. The sheer shock of such a scene is truly difficult to describe in words.

—The girl's record has at least tripled, and this is just an estimate.

However, this time it really reached its limit.

Godorn sneered, the countless layers of enhanced camouflage even causing his claws to appear visually distorted. In a flash, he traversed countless distances, arriving near Yun You. He had already checked the illusion's detection device several times; the girl's appearance was definitely not a disguise.

The number of enemies surrounding the girl is slowly decreasing, from initially covering the entire map to now only encircling the area around her. However, this doesn't mean the energy maintaining the illusion is running out. This illusion is maintained by the stronghold of nearly ten thousand vampires, Yelenochini. Even winged creatures would be doomed if they appeared here. Therefore, this is the result of Godorn actively reducing the consumption of energy.

Although he had launched several attacks in the previous battles, he had still preserved his strength—but now, it was time to bring this pointless battle to an end.

The girl is just stubbornly refusing to fall because of her willpower. He could win even if he just went in with a basic attack!

"What a huge loss." Godorn couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He had originally thought he could easily subdue this machine-type creature and test the taste of its blood before decisively resorting to killing. But now that things had progressed to this point, even if the girl was on the verge of death, he wouldn't dare to lay his teeth on her, because even a girl posed this level of danger.

Therefore, the final conclusion is that Yelenochini consumed about four years' worth of free energy, but ultimately gained nothing.

Forget it, let's worry about these things later. If things go wrong at the last minute, we won't be laughing anymore.

With that in mind, Godorn seized the perfect moment and prepared to unleash the attack that would end the battle.

but--

"[Analysis] - Detailed data analysis of the Illusionary Great Barrier... Completed. Intervention operations will begin soon."

The girl's voice was already as weak as a dying person's; the prolonged battle had also affected her vocal cords, making them somewhat hoarse.

Even so, she remained calm throughout.

It was as if everything was under her control.

"What...!?" Godorn's pupils suddenly contracted. Even the attack he was about to unleash was left hanging in mid-air.

Chapter Thirty-Six: A World That Refuses the End

What did you just say?!

Gordon nearly roared out loud, even his eyes, which had been flowing with runes, flickered with a hint of wavering, and he could no longer maintain his composure. Even though he understood this might be a psychological tactic, the implications of those words were far too significant. If it were true, the consequences were unimaginable!

The girl just explained the Illusionary Great Barrier... and that is the fundamental spell that constitutes Yerenochini! It was created independently by the genius Dracula Nicholas, and no one has been able to surpass it until now. They can only barely keep it running without any problems, just like a worker operating a tool by reading the instruction manual.

Even with an instruction manual written by their ancestors, this job isn't open to just anyone; one must be at least one of the best among vampire nobles. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to understand what the manual says!

But—now the girl says that the analysis is complete?

What a joke!

But what happened next around the girl completely shattered his understanding.

...

...

The moment Yun You sensed the killing intent, she uttered the words she had prepared for the final battle.

The explanation of the Fantasy Barrier has already been completed. However, it still takes time to implement it.

The girl's clothes had already been automatically disintegrated the moment she was armed, revealing her delicate, snow-white skin. Her slender body was completely naked, and due to the overload and speed, it had turned a faint blush, making her a truly beautiful sight.

However, the protruding mechanical parts that were cut off or burned all over her body ruined this alluring beauty.

"【Dian Kai】——......."

The girl murmured rapidly as she raised her trembling arm and spread her fingers.

A dazzling blue-white light gathered and swirled, like birds drawn to the girl's hand, soaring freely between her fingers. With graceful lines, some curved, some straight, they intertwined and danced—forming a complex pattern. It was a sign that some kind of magic was being created.

Unlike the previous situation where compression was pushed to its limit and consumed solely for destruction, this time the spirits were carefully drawing intricate and complex patterns, and if there was even the slightest mistake, everything would be destroyed.

So Yunyou could only gamble, betting that Godorn would personally deliver the final blow to reduce the illusion's energy consumption. Because only at the moment of his attack could the relentless barrage of artillery fire clear a path—and then she gambled again! She gambled that Godorn would be stunned into silence when he uttered those words, thus giving her time to cast her magic.

Regardless of whether Godorn was stunned or not, the girl had to stop her defensive movements the instant she spoke and make one last attempt. Even the slightest hesitation would mean running out of time.

This battle is far too extreme—so to win, you first need the courage to fight to the death.

"this--!?"

Fear finally crept onto Godorn's face, for he was all too familiar with the pattern. Since becoming chieftain, he had devoted himself day and night to studying the design drawn by his ancestors, striving to grasp its deeper meaning and understand their wisdom, so as to lead his people to new heights in this great war.

He immediately planned to manipulate the surrounding army to attack him as well, just to interrupt the girl's spellcasting.

But it was too late.

"—【Pseudo-classic·Deceptive Play】."

As the girl closed her thin lips, the magic was completed—the whole process took only 0.75 seconds.

Then, the pitch-black sky, like a cracked eggshell, faintly revealed a hazy glimmer of dawn.

「!?」

The moment Godorn came into contact with the warm yellow light, his eyes widened in terror and he jumped back. Although he had never truly seen sunlight in his life amidst the great war, his vampire instincts made him instinctively take defensive action. Instantly, countless twisting spells were wrapped around him.

"You actually... you really stole a portion of the right to use it... you monster." Godorn's face was full of bitterness. Although he could still use a portion of the illusionary world to ensure that he would not be exposed to the simulated sunlight, he was completely unable to control it when he was ten steps away from the girl.

She created another world within this one. Though it seemed so ethereal and insignificant compared to the entire illusion, it was enough for self-preservation.

"[Irony] Every race knows about the Machine Race's mimicry ability and tries to avoid provoking them. How dare you let a Machine Race member stay in this core technique for so long? Where did you get the audacity?"

After ensuring her immediate safety, Yun You tried to recover her strength as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, she continued to subtly stab Godorn in the heart, hoping to enrage him and cause him to lose his temper.

"Of course I know that common sense, but it's also common knowledge that the Mechs need to be in groups to unleash their full power... You're being unreasonable, monster."

...That's really unreasonable.

Even Yun You herself acknowledged this; she hadn't expected her mecha's performance to be so superior. At the same time, she understood why Godorn dared to boldly let her in.

—Of course, it's because this world (the spell) itself is a completely irrational product.

Even after analyzing it with all her might for so long, she could only figure out one percent of how this world was used.

Yelenochini—using illusion magic between each vampire species as a medium, actually carried out such a feat that he deceived the entire world. The difficulty of changing the object of deception from an individual to the world is unimaginable.

Upon witnessing the core spell of this illusion, even Yun You, who knew nothing about illusion magic, felt somewhat mesmerized. It was a concept that simultaneously blended simplicity and complexity, existing in an almost contradictory form. It was a supreme work of art.

—Sink Nielbaren of the Forest Elf Clan.

—Ronnie Dorobnier of the goblin race.

The two mentioned above are geniuses who control the overall situation in the current great war—while Dracula Nicholas was a genius who controlled the overall situation in his era.

"(A sigh. It's a pity that the genius never found the correct way to win this war, and was ultimately wiped out by a coalition of multiple races because of his overwhelming popularity...)"

Silently pondering this, Yun You offered a suggestion to the one standing there: "[Trade] Godorn Nicholas... I'm sure you're aware of the current situation; neither of us can do anything to the other. But as long as I exist here, you'll have to keep wasting energy to maintain this world—I'm sure you don't want to waste your precious energy here, do you?"

"[Proposal] So, just let me go, and then we'll go our separate ways—"

"Heh, what kind of joke are you talking about?"

Godorn, who had been silent all along, interrupted Yun You, his face grim, a ruthless glint flashing in his crimson eyes. As if he had made up his mind, he half-raised his hand, and as if by magic, produced the same wine glass that had been in the castle.

"Although it seems you've only grasped a little, grasping is grasping." With a gentle sway, the red hue shimmered with a soft glow under the refraction. He elegantly took a sip, looking at Yun You with a half-smile. The vampire leader, who had lived for over a hundred years, displayed unparalleled majesty and charisma at this moment: "Do you think you have any chance of leaving here when your own race's secret technique has been learned by the enemy?"

"........."

The girl fell silent. Of course she knew this, but what could she do? Analyzing the essence of this world was her only possible way to escape this predicament. She would never reveal it to anyone, because apart from returning to her linked body, even if she wanted to teach others, they would never understand this skill.

But will Godorn believe it?

impossible.

The girl had initially hoped that Godorn would consider his status as leader and back down, but now it seemed he was even more resolute than she had imagined. Although Godorn didn't have full leadership due to the Noble Council's restriction on any single power, he had always considered vampires more important than his own life. He was the Night King who led his entire race forward in this great war, guiding them not to become complacent because of their ancestral legacy, but to constantly strive for improvement! Yun You's words just now were a trampling on his resolve!

Yun You, who possessed a small degree of control over this world, clearly sensed a terrifying behemoth gathering in the sky. However, she was unable to intervene; the difference in their levels of authority was simply too vast. The girl knew what that behemoth was—it was an aggregation of spiritual energy accumulated over approximately ten years.

As mentioned before, Yerenocini is a city formed by countless interconnected strongholds. Each stronghold stores energy, and since it is possible to sever the connection between a stronghold, it is also possible to gather the energy of other strongholds into a single stronghold to gain immense power.

For example—directly and forcefully commanding the other person's spirit to die. Not through suggestion, but through a gift. A power like that of death itself.

However, casting magic of this level is an unbearable burden on the caster's brain, essentially resulting in death the instant it is cast. Moreover, the caster will experience excruciating headaches during the casting process, and even the slightest distraction will cause the energy to explode and produce a backlash.

Godorn kept his eyes closed, leisurely sipping the blood in his hand, showing no sign of complacency as a nobleman in the final moments of his life.

"............."

Yun You was speechless; this was an inescapable dead end. Any calculations seemed pale and powerless in the face of such a desperate situation.

At this point, she simply stopped blocking the pain receptors in her body, feeling the intense pain coursing through her. It hurt terribly, it really hurt. But it allowed her to truly feel alive.

Opening his lifeless, crimson eyes, he looked up at the sky. The warm yellow dawn he had created now seemed utterly hypocritical and cold—hope created for him by someone who had lost all hope? What else could this be but a counterfeit?

The girl lowered her eyes in despair, and smiled bitterly to herself—despair...this might be the last emotion she felt.

...

...

"?"

"?"

A very long time passed, a time that felt like an eternity. The two who were awaiting death were unable to reach their end. Confused, they opened their eyes and looked at each other.

—And then they finally realized that the whole world had changed completely without them even noticing.

The mountains of corpses and seas of blood that once flowed everywhere, the gruesome scenes of disembowelment, and the ceaseless roar of war—all of these have now vanished without a trace.

Instead, there was a vibrant and peaceful scene, like something out of a fairy tale. Birds, beasts, flowers, lakes, clouds—the sky had transformed from night into a vast, azure expanse, yet the concept of sunlight was absent. It was a beautiful landscape that even vampires could freely enjoy.

For a moment, the dreamlike and dazzling world made the two combatants forget their ability to speak.

That's absolutely amazing.