"The artillery positions advance five meters—fire! Fire!"
The commander doll pointed skyward with one hand and shouted at the top of its lungs.
"Fire!"
Four thousand Sparkle dolls marched forward in perfect unison, obediently advancing exactly five meters.
Their tiny hands spun like fans as they hurled all kinds of explosives—some even picked up nearby companions and threw them as well.
"You damn Sparkle Doll No. 2124—I'll be back!"
"Remember my name! I died for Lady Sparkle! My name is Wade Fuchs!"
The Sparkle doll screamed accusations midair.
Although the bombs came in all sorts of bizarre shapes and looked a bit grotesque,
their power was absolutely not to be underestimated.
If they all detonated at once, blowing up the entire Golden Hour wouldn't be impossible.
And at this critical moment—
Silver Wolf stepped forward decisively, a virtual keyboard materializing before her. "Sol, I've got you covered!"
Sparkle had just dared to mock her so brazenly—she really didn't know who she was messing with!
Silver Wolf's fingers danced rapidly across the empty air, crisp keystrokes sounding out as ether-editing commands were issued.
Virtualize reality! Delete data!
The bombs flying chaotically through the air dissolved into streams of data and vanished, wiped clean with a single command.
Designate group weakness!
She remembered Sol had used Imaginary attributes on her before, so the weakness was set to Imaginary.
In an instant, golden icons appeared above the heads of all four thousand Sparkle dolls—Imaginary attacks would deal 30% increased damage.
The virtual keyboard moved again—group healing!
Triple HP recovery for the group, with overheal converted into shields.
Green heart-shaped icons appeared above Sol and Silver Wolf; once injured, the effect would activate immediately.
Group additional damage.
After enemies took damage, an extra instance of Quantum damage would trigger, equal to 30% of the previous hit.
"Not bad, Silver Wolf—you've got skills."
Sol couldn't help but look at her with newfound respect.
Even though he didn't really need these buffs, her performance earned his approval.
This was leagues better than that abstract opening move where she tried to run and got dragged back by him.
She had thoroughly refreshed his impression of the so-called 'Haxxor Wolf.'
"Nothing special, really. I just didn't get a chance to show off before." Silver Wolf smiled modestly. "Go on—take my strength with you."
Heh. Once Sparkle gets caught, things should be safer for me.
When it's time to deal with her, don't go dealing with me, alright…
"I appreciate the thought."
Sol smiled faintly.
Then Imaginary Energy condensed into a massive paddle, and he smashed down on the Sparkle doll army like a game of whack-a-mole.
"Ahhh! That monster—this is outrageous!"
"That's cheating! Ref, are you seeing this?!"
Thousands of Sparkle dolls scattered everywhere, exploding into clouds of smoke one after another.
In the blink of an eye, half of them vanished from the streets.
The entire Sparkle doll army dissolved into utter chaos.
"Damn it!" The commander doll looked at the worsening situation and couldn't help but howl at the sky, raging unwillingly. "It was four thousand versus two just a moment ago! The advantage was clearly ours! How did this suddenly turn into my burial ground?!"
"Sparkle dolls, heed my command—strategic retreat! Strategic retreat!"
No matter how unwilling it was, all it could do was watch the Sparkle dolls dwindle away.
Furious beyond measure, it rolled wildly atop the trash can lid, kicking its feet uselessly in the air. "I'm done! I'm done! You two are cheating!"
At the same time, Sparkle—watching from the shadows—ground her teeth in frustration.
Sol Mercer was just too strong, his control over Imaginary Energy bordering on the sublime.
Her Sparkle dolls were capable of destroying planets, yet here they were utterly useless.
You're an Emanator of Erudition—why are you this strong in combat, damn it?!
Sparkle glanced at the barrier, solid as bedrock. After expending so much effort, she still couldn't crack it.
No choice. I have to make a move.
Sparkle left a doll behind to keep attacking the barrier and chose to confront Sol Mercer head-on.
She turned, donned the Fool's Mask, and activated [True Form Transfiguration]. Her 1.4-meter stature stretched infinitely upward, delicate skin transforming into metal.
A colossal robot hundreds of meters tall materialized out of thin air, its red-and-gold body radiating overwhelming metallic power at a glance.
Six thruster wings on its back spewed energy, forming six golden-red energy wings—beautiful, yet granting it extreme mobility.
In its right hand, it wielded a massive gold-and-silver greatsword. The blade split down the middle, revealing a pitch-black cannon barrel, brimming with destructive force.
Cosmic Machine God · Apollo—online!
This was a special inorganic lifeform she had encountered while traveling the cosmos, its strength second only to Emanators, far surpassing ordinary Pathstriders.
Transformed through the abilities of a Masked Fool, its power could approach the original without limit.
Come on, Sol Mercer!
Burn everything—down to nothing!
The Machine God: Apollo advanced toward Sol Mercer and Silver Wolf, the dreamscape of memetic matter itself seeming barely able to withstand its presence.
Flames trailed wherever it passed, the ground cracking beneath its steps.
"What a huge thing!"
Silver Wolf stared at the approaching, ultra-cool mech and couldn't help but exclaim in awe.
It was even larger than the Engine of Creation on Jarilo-VI, and its sense of technology surpassed it by several levels.
She wanted one. She really wanted one!
A power this stylish—she, a Punklorde hacker, absolutely had to have it!
"This is just unfair—you're pulling out a mecha now."
Sol looked at the gigantic robot before him, genuinely taken aback.
Just moments ago, she'd been playing with dolls; now she'd turned into a towering Gundam rip-off. The transition was way too abrupt.
Honestly, turning into a giant Sparkle would've felt more reasonable.
"This is Cosmic Machine God · Apollo! The pinnacle creation of a galaxy-tier civilization!"
"Hahaha! Are you trembling before Lady Sparkle's power?!"
Sparkle burst into laughter, tinged with a hint of madness.
She was thrilled—today was far too interesting.
Few people could give her this kind of stimulation. Ah—this is Elation!
Truth be told, she didn't have much confidence in defeating Sol, but trash talk had to be on point.
In Sparkle's life—she's never beneath anyone!
She kept pressing, growing more provocative by the second. "If you're scared, just surrender nicely. Lady Sparkle might even spare your life~"
"All you need to do is lick Lady Sparkle's toes and obediently become her pet!"
She knew the harsher her words now, the worse it would be if she lost later.
But precisely because she knew that, she felt even more excited. Dancing on the edge of a blade—this feeling was intoxicating!
"Why would you reward him?"
Silver Wolf blurted out a quip instinctively.
"Hm?"
Sol glanced at her.
"Oh."
Silver Wolf stuck out her tongue and lowered her head.
Sol set the punishment aside for now, turned to the Gundam rip-off that Sparkle had become, and said with a smile, "Your abilities surprise me—and your courage surprises me too, Sparkle."
"Come hit me! After you're done, I'll let you lick my toes—as your reward!"
Sparkle's scalp tingled, yet she sank even deeper into the thrill.
"Then I'll satisfy your wish!"
Boundless energy surged from Sol Mercer's body.
He became like a sun within the dream, radiating endless brilliance.
Since the opposing machine god was named Apollo, it was only fitting to answer with the power of the sun.
Maybe it was a bit bullying—but right now, he wanted to bully someone.
Light converged into luminous strands, weaving together in midair.
A colossal dragon of light soared skyward, its horns like ancient jade carvings, emitting a faintly sacred glow.
Every scale upon its body was the pinnacle of artistry, like golden glass forged by divine craftsmanship.
Its claws were sharp and powerful, five toes fully formed.
A five-clawed golden dragon.
The golden dragon surged upward, then dove down, swallowing Sol whole as it radiated boundless light.
In the next instant, a three-hundred-meter-tall suit of colossal armor stood beside Silver Wolf.
Its body bore a gold-and-silver color scheme; heavy chest armor resembled a shield, while a Five Elements disk encircled a Yin-Yang Taiji diagram upon its golden waist belt.
Watching the over-the-top, godlike entrance animation, Sparkle couldn't help but swallow hard and choke out,
"You're cheating."
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa