I am a mindless machine.

—Although I still have a trump card up my sleeve, I absolutely cannot use it here. Otherwise, even if I survive this time, it will be meaningless.

However, there has been enough time.

Thinking this, Yunyou reconnected to the computational thought that she had separated from herself.

[So—now, normal communication should be possible, right, Rhys Ein—after receiving that data.]

【..........】

The call was connected, but the other end remained silent, offering no response. Faced with this, Yunyou smiled again.

This situation—is likely due to an excessive amount of internal conflict and complex emotions, coupled with logical errors that prevent a response—leading to the inability to reply. If it were a machine, it should at least reply with, "I do not understand what your machine is trying to express."

It was precisely because of this moment that she didn't wait until Shubi was pushed to her limit, but instead saved her beforehand. This was a necessary measure if she wanted to obtain the Star Cup.

She wasn't going to transfer all the data to the other party. With the capabilities of her machine, as long as she prepared in advance, she could divide it into folders like a computer database, and then select the parts that couldn't be given—she didn't want her entire race to come and compete with her for the sunset after world peace was achieved. Moreover, her memories of the previous world couldn't be exposed.

Although the hearts obtained this way will be vague and broken, once this opportunity is presented, the Machine Seed can then search for hearts on its own, instead of each one being a copy-and-paste of Yun You.

[Correction θ5w?02u345df2—"Guide" Yun You, what exactly do you want to do...?]

Finally, the other party responded. Like an innocent child witnessing the vastness of the world for the first time, his voice carried obvious doubt and suspicion... and a hint of expectation that he himself probably didn't even realize.

It was as if they were anticipating this event, which transcended the common sense of computational logic.

Yun You smiled faintly, her smile as warm as the sun.

It's nothing—I just wanted to play a simple game.

...

...

At the very heart of Abant Heim lies such a space.

The originally scattered and disorderly cubes are now arranged neatly, like well-trained butlers and maids respectfully facing their master; the golden light symbolizing absolute power is the main color of this space, and the concentration of spirits here is probably the highest outside of the Elf Corridor, and it is an overwhelming advantage that even the second-ranked to the twenty-second-ranked cannot match.

This is the Hall of the Jade Throne.

The man known as the God of War sat on the throne that radiated the most intense light.

Its enormous body was about twice the size of a Skywing species, with a black beard as strong as steel hanging down, and eighteen wings on its back wrapped around its body like a cloak.

Needless to say, it was a power so great that even a slight touch would cause one's soul to daze—he himself was the strongest being.

"How is the original individual—the extra edition—doing now?"

The man, who possessed the greatest strength, rested his chin on his hand in a gloomy and languid manner, as if he found everything in the world boring and unable to rouse him.

"Reporting to my lord—she fought against a special type of machine known as the Evil Spirit, and used all her strength to transfer it back to Abant Heim. She is currently engaged in battle with all the Skywing types."

Azriel retracted the halo above her head and respectfully lowered the wings on her back. Like the most devout believer, she reported in a tone that resembled prayer: "However, judging from the number of elves the opponent possesses, the battle is probably about to end." If she could join the battle, it would end even faster.

Azriel didn't feel much threat from the existence of the evil spirit, Yunyou; it was just a mutated machine-type creature, similar in nature to the mutated fantasy demon lord. The reason she issued the hunting ban was simply to avoid expending unnecessary energy dealing with a machine-type creature. However, now that it dared to set foot on her master's territory, things were different.

As for whether Yun You's current actions would cause changes in the upcoming great battle—she wasn't worried at all.

Even if all these servants die and only the master remains, the master will still be the one to win this great battle in the end.

The so-called strong are the masters, while the weak... are everyone else except the masters.

"—Oh? Is that so?—"

However, upon hearing Azriel's words, the man chuckled with delight, as if he had deduced something. This action caused Azriel to widen her clear, heterochromatic eyes; she hadn't seen such an expression on her master's face for over a thousand years.

The man's smile was fierce, like that of a proud lion that had finally spotted its prey.

"It seems a thief wants to take over this war (game) that's already heading towards its end."

"However, it doesn't matter..." The man named Altshu gazed into the distance, as if he could see through the layers of blocks to the white-haired girl hiding in the darkness, and the radiant soul within her.

"The strongest without a challenger—that's completely meaningless!"

The sound that resounded throughout the entire space seemed to be trying to verify the man's bold words.

A terrifying flash of light, as if it would burn the sky, the earth, and everything in the world to ashes, appeared from behind Abant Heim.

Chapter Sixty-Three: An Ominous Premonition

When that immense power shot from behind Abant Heim onto the united army on the ground, the terrifying sheer number of elves sent a shiver through the entire world.

It is located in a cave on a distant continent.

"Varied--!?"

"........This is!?"

Aside from Riku, both Yuhi and Shubi instantly showed expressions of astonishment. Especially Yuhi, whose unease reached its peak the moment she realized what had happened. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed deeply involuntarily, and her petite body abruptly stood up from the stone chair, anxiously gazing outside the cave at the blood-red sky.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the two girls react so unusually at the same time, Riku, though unable to sense the restless spirits in the atmosphere as a human, realized the seriousness of the situation. He quickly asked, "Have you discovered something?"

"I don't know... but... according to calculations... there's a terrifying energy burst at the decisive battle location...!" A wavering expression appeared on Shubi's face. This was because Riku's original prediction had been shattered, and the plan had deviated from its course. The eyes of the calculation device shifted, and it made a preliminary deduction: "Judging from the quantity and location of these spirits... it's highly likely to be a Sky Strike from the Skywing race..."

The source of the power eruption was in the sky, which was Abant Heim. If it were just a few Skywings playing around, there shouldn't have been such a massive amount of energy generated, enough to resonate throughout the entire world. This quantity must be the full-force attack of at least five hundred Skywings.

"What—!? No, it shouldn't be this fast—are all the Skywing races idiots?!"

Riku's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and even his tone involuntarily became irritable.

The current situation is a stalemate between the Allied and Skywing factions. Both sides possess lethal weapons far exceeding their defensive capabilities. Until a countermeasure is developed, whoever strikes first will inevitably engage in a devastating clash of overwhelming force—yes, to use a metaphor, it would be a nuclear war (total annihilation of both sides). In such a scenario, there will be no victor.

Therefore, anyone with a modicum of common sense wouldn't choose to intervene. The battle will remain deadlocked, likely lasting at least a year, giving them time to slowly develop a strategy...

That's how it should have been.

But now, someone has started a war?

That means all the actions the ghosts have taken over the past year have been rendered useless. The dream of world peace has also been extinguished.

Such a good opportunity won't come again.

As Sunset had previously stated, the current traffic controls are ineffective. Therefore, the continent would be destroyed under the combined force of that massive clash—both sides would be wiped out. This would mean the most crucial element for completing the plan, the power that pierces the Elven Corridor, would vanish.

Even if they did, the human body couldn't possibly survive until then.

"Damn it, if war breaks out now, what will all our efforts over the past year have amounted to...!" He slammed his fist, now completely corroded by black ash, against the stone wall in fury. Blood slowly dripped from his fingertips, spreading across the cold stone ground. Riku closed his eyes in pain, his voice trembling, "Hey... why can't we win...? Is it just because we're weak that we can't even have a single victory...?"

"...Riku..."

Shubi reached out to comfort Riku, but hesitated for a moment before withdrawing her hand. Faced with this desperate situation, she didn't know what to say.

"—No. It's not a Skywing species."

However, a young yet firm voice refuted Hughie's earlier speculation.

"But...that location...only that possibility...should be right..." Shubi instinctively tried to refute, after all, it was a possibility calculated by her calculation system, and its accuracy shouldn't be too flawed. But when she turned her head towards the setting sun, she couldn't say anything.

It was a screen more than two feet high—like a projection cut from a telescope. A screen more than two meters high appeared in front of the black-haired girl. Her face turned very pale, cold sweat dripped from her forehead, and complex patterns appeared in her purplish-red eyes.

—That was a scene projected from tens of thousands of miles away, forcibly projected after countless layers of light were refracted.

Although the image was somewhat blurry, it was clear that the creatures attacking from the sky were not the Winged Ones with geometric halos above their heads and wings on their backs, but rather countless figures whose joints were replaced by metal.

—That's a machine-type.

"Hey, hey, hey, are you alright!?" Although he was very concerned about why the machine-type would do such a thing, Riku first shouted this to Yuhi in a very panicked manner.

After confirming the projected image, the petite girl collapsed to the ground like a doll that had lost its support. Her already fair skin turned a sickly pale, and her breathing became incredibly weak. She looked as if she were about to die.

That's to be expected. The Hyperspace Illusion Magic the girl used to bring Shubi back had already exhausted most of the elves' energy, and she had just used up all her strength to instantly cast a long-range Image Projection spell. Vampires who have never drunk blood cannot store much energy in their bodies, let alone use it in such a reckless way.

If blood isn't replenished quickly, the person will die in a few seconds.

Struggling, she pointed to a blood replenishment bag (made by Yunyou) that had fallen from its physical concealment due to the loss of illusion magic, and said in a voice barely audible, "Um... please help me... get that..."

"Okay, okay, I understand! Don't say anything, just hold on." Riku quickly understood the girl's meaning and hurriedly brought the opening of the blood bag to her slightly open mouth, adjusting her posture so that the blood could be smoothly drunk by her. What a joke! If Xiyang really dies here, putting everything else aside, when Yunyou returns, she might be so angry that she wipes out all of humanity.

"......Thanks..."

After replenishing his blood, Xiyang finally recovered from his near-death state, sat up, and hid the remaining blood bags on the ground again.

She stood up unsteadily and ran outside as fast as she could. But her unsteady gait made one worry that she might fall again.

"Excuse me, but I have to go out for a bit...!"

She spoke these words to Riku and Shubi in a weak voice, still not fully recovered.

"Wait, if that's a Machine Race, could this be part of Yunyou's plan?" Riku said calmly. "And if the plan has gone wrong, wouldn't it be very dangerous for you to go there in your current state?"

"You might die."

"..." Xi Yang paused, stopping in her tracks. She had to admit that what Riku said made a lot of sense. After all, she had been following Yun You for the past two years, and no matter what unexpected things the other party did, they were always under her control in the end.

So, could this advance action also be part of the plan? If she goes to the battlefield on her own initiative, wouldn't she be hindering Yunyou?

After hesitating for a moment, the girl took another step out of the cave.

Even if this was indeed part of Yun You's plan, she would still go. She wasn't the same person she used to be; she now possessed the power to protect herself!

Moreover, if this really is a case of the plan going wrong...

In the setting sun's mind, Yun You's every move over the past few days surfaced like a memory. Whether it was her utterly illogical behavior or her astonishingly rapid progress...

And, those soft, slender little hands that held hers.

"We need to hurry...!"

As the sun set, she bit her tongue, forcing herself to ignore the waves of exhaustion from her recent overexertion. She quickened her pace again, roughly yanking open the cap of the spare blood bag she held, and began gulping it down with the force of someone trying to choke. Her eyes once more contorted with complex patterns than before.

For the first time in her life, she prayed to some unknown deity, hoping that things wouldn't turn out the worst.

If that's really the case...

The girl shook her head vigorously, refusing to think any further. She gazed at the blood-red sky, a chaotic expanse devoid of anything. Unfurling her distance-traveling spell, she stepped into the empty sky.

Lord Yu... wait for me.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Decision (Part 1)