"You've seen through me? Hahaha! No one has ever seen through my true form before. Are you absolutely certain you have?"
Alde let out an unrestrained laugh, raising his massive hammer high once more before swinging it down like the storm hammer of myth. As the weapon spun, it whipped up violent winds, while an intense blue light expanded like the sun, charging straight toward Roy.
The residual energy waves scattered in all directions. As the hammer scraped along the ground, it tore up concrete, foundations, and turf alike, leaving behind a trench several meters long and over a foot deep.
Roy stomped down, unleashing his prana beneath his feet to dodge the attack at top speed.
BOOOOOOM————!
The hammer passed through Roy's afterimage before slamming into the defensive barrier.
CRACK!!!
In an instant, the barrier groaned under the strain, shattering into chaotic energy currents before anyone could even react.
The audience erupted into an uproar, countless spectators screaming in fright.
Fortunately, as the inner barrier shattered, the outer one activated, blocking the residual force of the hammer. As the largest stage, the Sirius Dome had the most comprehensive protective measures—its barriers alone were double-layered.
"Everyone in the venue, please remain calm! The Operational Committee's defensive measures are extremely thorough. There is more than one barrier layer, and each has an automatic repair function. You will not be harmed!"
The announcer hurriedly reassured the crowd while wiping cold sweat from his brow.
"This is terrifying! And this is only the semifinals—they've already shattered one defensive barrier! What'll happen in the finals?! But it's strange… theoretically, no one should be able to break a barrier head-on like that. To achieve this level of destruction, one would need an Orga Lux..."
Though the words were spoken casually, commentator Fan Shizhen's eyes widened as a startling realization struck him.
"An Orga Lux…? That's it! That's the answer!"
"Huh? What? What's the answer?"
"I understand now! Before this, whether it was Alde or Rimcy, the light emitted by their flight and propulsion systems was always green—the color of ordinary mana crystals..."
Meanwhile, inside the soundproofed stage.
"Ordinary humanoids use mana crystals as their energy cores. Differences in output are usually just a matter of quantity, but the gap with you is unreasonable—the disparity is far too vast. And now, with blue light pouring from your body, I have a theory."
Roy glanced at the shattered barrier reforming around them, confirming his suspicions.
"While normal mana crystals only emit green light, seithr comes in various colors—red, purple, even multiple hues. And of course, blue seithr exists too!"
Roy's sharp gaze locked onto Alde, his expression finally turning serious.
"Your core isn't Manadyte—it's Urm Manadyte! In other words, you're actually a humanoid-type Orga Lux!"
Only an Orga Lux could directly shatter a defensive barrier. Others, including Roy, Wu Xiaofei, and Sylvia, were all incapable of such a feat. Fan Xinglou might have been able to break through head-on, but she couldn't be considered within normal parameters.
But if Alde was an Orga Lux itself, then everything made sense.
No, to be precise, he was an Orga Lux created by Ernesta with Urm Manadyte as its core. The reason his artificial intelligence had such a personality was likely because this temperament was most favored by the Urm Manadyte.
As a humanoid-type Orga Lux, his output was naturally immense. His special function as an Orga Lux was probably creating defensive barriers—it was only natural that Roy couldn't break through them.
"Keh, keh hahahaha!"
Alde first chuckled lowly, then his laughter grew louder, gradually becoming piercing.
"Truly speechless! To deduce my true nature in our first encounter—your observational skills are indeed sharp! I'm impressed! You're correct. My core does utilize an Orga Lux, which is why I surpass you in functionality!"
"And even if you've figured it out, what then? Do you still stand even the slightest chance against me in this state? No, none! No one can defeat me now! My master's radiance is peerless!"
Alde summoned his massive hammer back and hurled it with full force once more.
"Take this—my Wolnir Hammer!"
Roy swiftly dodged as the hammer grazed past him again. A violent blue flash erupted, shattering the defensive barrier once more.
Roy glanced behind him—the attack's power was staggering. Even with his prana defense, taking it head-on unscathed would be difficult.
"Where are you looking?!"
Alde blurred forward, appearing before Roy in an instant. The cannon on his arm deployed, aiming directly at Roy's head.
His speed had increased too...!
Alde, having fully unleashed his urm manadyte power, hadn't just gained more equipment—his fundamental performance had undergone a revolutionary transformation!
"But still not faster than me!"
Roy pivoted on his foot, evading Alde's cannon just as it fired, leaving the shot to explode harmlessly behind him.
In the next instant, Roy appeared behind Alde, driving a fist toward his back.
"Useless! My sensors aren't limited by human visual angles like yours!"
Without even turning his head, Alde generated a defensive barrier behind him, intercepting Roy's punch.
Roy was faster—marginally swifter than Alde at full power, likely because Alde's massive frame imposed limitations. But the humanoid form had advantages humans lacked: his sensors could detect attacks from all 360 degrees. Not even assaults from behind could escape his perception.
"But I've already broken this trick!"
"Not quite!"
Roy attempted the same maneuver again, aiming to bypass Alde's predictive database with unpredictable strikes.
But Alde let out a fierce shout, and with a series of crisp buzzing sounds, over a dozen defensive barriers appeared behind him one after another, forming a massive shield that protected him completely.
"Ahahahaha! I indeed cannot predict the irregular twisting attacks from your arm, but I don't need to predict them either! In this state, I can easily deploy more than ten defensive barriers—blocking a single fist of yours is more than enough, wahahaha!"
This was truly... like cheating.
Alde turned around, his massive hammer returning to his grasp. Wielding the hammer in one hand and extending a cannon barrel with the other, he charged at Roy with both weapons ready.
Roy had no choice but to temporarily evade the assault, darting and weaving across the stage to avoid Alde's relentless pursuit.
As he passed a certain spot, Roy hooked his foot and retrieved the discarded blade-type Orga Lux he had thrown earlier.
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