As the negative emotions in his heart continually piled up, things that Ivan had previously ignored and deemed insignificant began to occupy his mind, frantically squeezing out space for crucial "combat data."
The result was that the golden greatsword in Ivan's hand suddenly grew dim, and the swarm-like light wings on his back developed cracks, nearly disintegrating.
When a Mechanical Staremissary sheds the shell called "rationality," and when a tool develops the will to "resist," the "Divine Incarnation Ritual"—which relies on faith for its maintenance—becomes an inherently precarious house of cards, threatening to collapse at any moment.
This was because the data space in Ivan's mind, now filled with distracting thoughts, could no longer seamlessly receive transmissions from the "Holy Spirit" thousands of miles away, nor could it allow the spirit to take complete control of his body.
And as Ivan's "self-persona" continued to awaken, the phantom of the "God of All Machines" hovering above his head began to fluctuate violently with his disordered emotions, becoming blurred and indistinct, its holy radiance flickering.
At the same time, his data connection with the Quantum Fortress, which had started out perfectly smooth, was now a choppy, intermittent stutter.
Tendo stood before the Rashomon Gate, watching all of this with calm eyes.
The effect of "Nihility" on the Mechanical Staremissary far exceeded Tendo's expectations.
The Quantum Cube behind him spun at high speed, continuously supplying power to the Inferno.
When another black slash landed on Ivan, tearing a hideous rift in his mecha shell and exposing the sparking electronic circuitry beneath, the nanite swarm inside Ivan finally emitted a despairing buzz and began to dissipate like a tide.
Simultaneously, the light wings behind him completely shattered during this process, dissolving into scattered light particles across the sky.
Ivan stumbled backward, the streams of light in his electronic eyes flickering wildly, clearly indicating a system failure.
Before long, the enormous phantom suspended above his head finally and slowly vanished.
As the power of the "Deity" completely receded, the sacred totems on the surface of Ivan's mecha shattered piece by piece, revealing the metal skeleton beneath, which was covered in cracks.
He dropped to one knee with a thump, a human-like "confusion" rarely seen in him now visible in his eyes.
Tendo looked at the kneeling Ivan, who had completely lost his combat ability, and slowly retracted his technique.
In the next second, the Inferno Space shattered like glass, and everyone returned to the familiar Quantum Space.
He walked up to Ivan and said softly, "Your god cannot save you, because the only one who can truly save you has always been... yourself."
Had this been before, Ivan would have neither taken Tendo's words to heart nor paid them much mind.
Because "rationality" told him that the meaning of his existence was to be a high-ranking priest of the Machine God Cult and the perfect tool for the Iron Dome family.
But with the return of "humanity," and the re-emergence of past memories, Ivan suddenly felt that the so-called "rationality" was meaningless.
Because he was a "person," not some cold "machine."
Thinking this, Ivan seemed to understand something.
He voluntarily shut down his internal "Power Core," severing all connection to the "Quantum Fortress."
This was his silent rebellion against the Iron Dome family, and he was using this method to tell everyone in the Iron Dome family that he, Ivan, also possessed the dignity of a "human being."
As the internal Power Core completely stalled and the database in his brain stopped updating, Ivan showed an unprecedented expression of relief.
He looked at Tendo in front of him and suddenly smiled.
"Thank you..."
With the final flicker and extinguishing of Ivan's electronic eyes, the battle between the Mechanical Divine Incarnation and the Inferno Judgment concluded with Tendo's victory.
Looking at Ivan's remaining mechanical shell, Tendo silently retrieved it into his Quantum Cube.
Then, he turned to Danica and said, "Alright, Danica, it's time to give this place a complete overhaul."
Watching the screen, where Tendo and Danica—ignoring Chen Kong—began to aggressively modify the Steam Furnace, the Dimensional viewers remained immersed in the shock of the preceding battle.
'Wait, it's over already?'
'Tendo's Inferno Rashomon is too powerful! It actually disintegrated that guy's Divine Incarnation state from the inside?'
*'So even a so-called god can't escape the judgment of the inner heart...' *
The Strongest 'Scout'
Meanwhile, at the train station in the City of Steam.
A figure with a cascade of purple hair slowly stepped off the first-class carriage.
Large sunglasses obscured half her face, and the butterfly hairpin clipped to her head gently swayed with her steps, glinting with scattered pearlescent light.
Passersby who caught a glimpse of her stopped in their tracks, their murmurs filled with uncertain astonishment.
The signature purple hair and butterfly hairpin bore a striking resemblance to the legendary "New Generation Diva, Jing Liuli."
But she was supposed to be holding a concert tour in the Seven Floating Cities and should not, by all accounts, be here.
The purple-haired woman seemed accustomed to the surrounding stares and paid them no mind.
She took out her personal terminal, tapped the screen, and dialed a number.
"Hello."
Hearing the clear, cool voice of Caroline on the other end of the terminal, Jing Liuli curved her lips, her voice laced with teasing. "Caroline~ I've arrived at the City of Steam!"
"By the way, shouldn't you send me some travel expenses? I canceled a wildly popular variety show invitation for you and lost a whole lot of money."
Hearing this, the other end of the terminal was silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "When you see Chen Xing, tell me about her situation. I'm a little worried about her."
"Tsk."
Jing Liuli rolled her eyes at the terminal, furiously ranting internally.
Worried about Chen Xing?
With that Calamity-level guardian who follows Chen Xing around, just like mine, there are barely enough places in the New Federation to count on one hand where she could get into trouble!
I think you're clearly after something else, trying to get me to probe Chen Xing and find out what she's really up to!
Complaints aside, Jing Liuli ultimately chose not to voice them.
After all, she was also quite curious about Chen Xing's recent situation.
She had specifically contacted Chen Xing not long ago to ask if something was wrong.
Chen Xing had brushed her off with a flimsy excuse, which only made Jing Liuli more curious.
That's why she readily agreed to Caroline's request, traveling thousands of miles to this remote City of Steam.
To surprise Chen Xing, Jing Liuli chose not to notify her of her arrival after ending the call with Caroline, and instead walked out of the station alone.
However, after seeing the scene outside, Jing Liuli's mouth dropped open, and her sunglasses slid down to the tip of her nose with a clatter, revealing her beautiful eyes filled with shock.
The streets of the City of Steam were currently ablaze with fire.
A large number of Steam Guards, who should have been maintaining order, were now wielding batons and engaging in a heated battle with the citizens of the Lower City District.
It perfectly exemplified the concept of "warmth in enforcement, force in batons, and attitude in arrests."
Witnessing all this, Jing Liuli rubbed her eyes in disbelief, wondering if she had overslept and gotten off at the wrong stop.
Otherwise, how could she explain this Steampunk-version street melee scene?
Since when did the New Federation's public order get this outrageous?!
But after a serious confirmation, Jing Liuli confirmed that she hadn't come to the wrong place.
This was indeed the City of Steam!
Thinking this, Jing Liuli's eyes darted around. She then pulled out her terminal and took a selfie with the chaotic scene in the background.
She then quickly typed a message on her terminal, sending it along with the picture to Caroline, who was far away in the Star Rail Corridor.
[CAROLINE! COME QUICK! THE CITY OF STEAM HAS EXPLODED! It's even more ridiculous than when you blew up the lab back then!]
After sending the message, Jing Liuli adjusted her large sunglasses, a flicker of excitement in her eyes.
It looked like this trip to the City of Steam was definitely worth it. The gossip here is explosive!
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