The ruins of the Glass City presented a strange double vision in the Emerald Sight.
Standing in the fading shadow of the spatial gate, Raine saw more than just the collapsed spires and twisted metal frames—he saw the dark-red energy residue drifting in the air, the "scars" left behind by the Seed of Corruption. Deeper still, the ley lines resembled torn blood vessels, from whose severed ends oozed a black-green, pus-like substance.
"Worse than I thought." Ravenna's mechanical right eye scanned the surroundings, streams of violet-gold and emerald energy patterns flowing beneath her skin. "Ley line contamination level: eighty-seven percent. The elemental balance has already been affected."
Gamma, dragging her freshly repaired right arm, carefully avoided the metal debris on the ground. Her alchemical prosthetic eye suddenly caught a signal: "Two kilometers northeast—life signs… a survivor camp!"
The three of them passed through warped streets, each step accompanied by the groan of metal warping. The once-glorious alchemy workshops were now nothing but charred skeletons. Through Raine's Emerald Sight, the details were even crueller—those agonized human faces embedded in the walls were craftsmen fused alive into the metal; the occasional flashes of violet on the ground were fragments of souls of the dead that had yet to dissipate.
"The Council's masterpiece." Ravenna kicked aside a skull etched with the gear emblem. "They turned the entire city into a sacrificial altar."
The survivor camp had been set up at the ruins of the old city square fountain. When the guards saw Gamma, they immediately let out cries of excitement. A dozen ragged children rushed out, surrounding Gamma in an eager throng.
"Gamma-sis!"
"You promised you'd bring Lady Ravenna back!"
"The iron monsters are still eating people…"
Amid the tearful, jumbled cries, a stooped old man hobbled forward, leaning on a staff. His left leg had been mechanized, and dark blood kept seeping from the joints.
"Old Nick?!" Ravenna rushed forward to support the swaying alchemist. "Your leg—"
"Temporary modification—otherwise I'd already be dead." Old Nick coughed, his clouded right eye suddenly widening. "Wait… you girl, what…" His trembling finger pointed to the emerald leaves at Ravenna's chest. "The aura of the Seed of Life?"
Raine was just about to explain when the ground shook violently. From the ruins on the east side of the square, three upgraded Abyss Annihilators burst forth—these six-meter-tall mechanical beasts were armed with twin-mounted Corruption Cannons, with spider-like auxiliary limbs sprouting from their backs, each tipped with a spinning chainsaw.
"Alert! Life signs exceed threshold!" The annihilators' mechanical-synth voices grated like rusted gears. "Initiate purification protocol!"
Old Nick shoved Ravenna away. "Take the children! We'll hold them off!" He ripped open his tunic, revealing complex alchemical sigils etched into his chest—a sign he was preparing to self-detonate.
Ravenna's mechanical right arm suddenly shot forward, stretching as violet-gold energy formed a shield before the old man. "It's our turn to protect you now."
Raine was already airborne. Frostsong's blade caught the sunlight, reflecting a weave of platinum and emerald. Four types of energy surged through the new circuit; when he swung down, the arc of the blade was no longer just a crescent slash, but a soaring emerald phoenix with outstretched wings!
"Four-Phase: Spirit Phoenix Slash!"
The phoenix let out a clear, ringing cry, leaving a crystalline trail in the air. The foremost annihilator had just begun raising its Corruption Cannon when the phoenix pierced its chest. No explosion, no rending of metal—this war machine was instantly crystallized as if under petrification magic, then shattered into glittering powder on the wind.
"Beautiful!" Ravenna whistled, her own attack far more brutal. Planting both hands on the ground, she poured violet-gold energy into the cracks like a flood. As the remaining two annihilators charged, the ground beneath them suddenly swelled upward—six massive hands, forged entirely from scrap metal, burst from below and seized them in an unbreakable grip!
"Alchemical Reconstruction: Grasp of Scrap Iron!"
The colossal metal hands began to overheat, glowing as the trapped Annihilators thrashed wildly in vain. A blinding flash erupted, followed by a deafening explosion that completely leveled the eastern side of the square.
Gamma and the children peeked out from behind cover, their faces filled with awe. Old Nick's staff lay forgotten on the ground, his jaw nearly unhinged. "Th-this… this is beyond the realm of alchemy…"
Raine landed back on the ground, his Emerald Sight suddenly detecting something amiss. "No… their core signals are still active!"
Sure enough, from within the dissipating blast smoke, three metallic spheres shot forth, their surfaces veined with blood-like energy conduits. Midair, the cores twisted and unfolded, swiftly reassembling into humanoid forms—smaller in size now, but vastly faster and more agile.
"Adaptive evolution…" Ravenna's mechanical eye analyzed rapidly. "They're mimicking our energy frequency!"
The foremost core unit suddenly lunged forward, moving so fast it left afterimages in the air. Raine barely managed to bring his sword up in time, Frostsong's blade clashing with metal claws in a burst of blinding sparks. Worse still, the creature's strikes had adopted traits of the Four-Phase Slash—each impact attempting to disrupt the energy balance within his body.
"They're learning!" Raine flipped backward to create distance, the emerald leaves on his chest beginning to heat. "We have to destroy them in a single blow!"
Ravenna suddenly flashed to his side, violet-gold and emerald energy resonating between them.
No words were needed—Raine understood instantly. As the three core units pounced again, they moved as one: Ravenna's mechanical right arm disassembled and reconfigured into hundreds of violet-gold energy threads that wrapped tightly around the enemies; Raine raised Frostsong high, the emerald phoenix manifesting once more—but now, violet-gold patterns flowed across its wings.
"Finale: Twin Resonance!"
The emerald phoenix dove along the paths of the energy threads, each strand becoming a trail for its flight. The three core units were completely permeated by the mingled violet-gold and emerald energies, crystallizing from within before shattering. This time, nothing remained that could be reassembled.
The square fell into silence—then erupted with the triumphant cheers of survivors who had narrowly escaped death.
Old Nick staggered over and handed Raine a memory crystal. "You should take a look at this."
The projection from the crystal froze the blood in everyone's veins—above the Elven Forest, the Gear Moon had stopped spreading corruption, yet it had not returned to normal. Instead, it had begun to slowly "bleed." Dark-red liquid energy poured down like a waterfall, drenching the ruins of the Mother Tree at the forest's heart. More horrifying still, the liquid was coalescing into vague humanoid forms…
"Abyssal Manifestation." Ravenna's mechanical eye was calculating data furiously. "The Council is trying to project the 'Mother' directly into the material plane!"
Raine's Emerald Sight pierced through the image to the deeper truth. "No—this isn't a full descent… they're making an avatar!" He pointed to twelve flickering lights within the dark-red liquid. "Each Abyssal Bishop is contributing their core."
Old Nick's face turned ashen. "The ley lines of the Elven Forest…"
"The perfect incubator," Ravenna said, clenching her fist. "A mixture of life energy and corruption energy—ideal for breeding such a creature."
Gamma suddenly tugged at Ravenna's coat. "That baby… the last thing he said…"
Raine and Ravenna exchanged a glance, the same thought crossing their minds. In their Emerald Sight, they could see the message contained within each other's energy—the fusion of the Seed of Life and the Alchemist's Heart might be the key to countering this hybrid threat.
"We need to get to the Elven Forest immediately," Raine said, sheathing Frostsong. "But first…"
Ravenna was already crouched in front of the children, violet-gold and emerald energy swirling in her palm. "We need to find these little ones a safe place."
Old Nick shook his head. "There's no such thing as an absolutely safe place anymore. Take them with you. Perhaps…" His gaze lingered meaningfully on Gamma. "The markings you've left inside these children could make them an important fighting force."
The decision was cruel, but there was no alternative. Half an hour later, when the spatial gate opened once more, the group had grown to over twenty—along with Raine, Ravenna, and Gamma, there were now seventeen children of varying ages, as well as Old Nick, who had insisted on coming along.
"Hold on tight, the teleportation process might feel a bit—" Ravenna's warning was cut short as the gate unleashed a violent suction.
Passing through felt like being crammed inside a kaleidoscope. In Raine's Emerald Sight, countless fragmented images flashed past—a forest where gears intertwined with leaves, rivers flowing with metallic liquid, a sky holding three moons at once… When they finally slammed down onto solid ground, most of the children collapsed, retching.
The air of the Elven Forest carried a sickly sweet stench of decay. Towering ancient trees still stood tall, but their bark was coated in dark-red metallic moss, and gear-shaped fruit hung from their branches. Stranger still, the trees were "breathing"—their trunks swelling and contracting rhythmically, like the lungs of some massive creature.
"Fully metalized…" Gamma scanned the nearest tree with her alchemical prosthetic eye. "But the life signature remains intact."
Old Nick's staff glowed faintly, casting light on a twisted path ahead. "The ley lines have been remade into an energy transmission network. The entire forest is now a living incubation chamber."
Raine's Emerald Sight pierced the ground, revealing a horrific scene underground—the ley line network, once a lush emerald green, had transformed into a grotesque system of dark red and silver-white, replicating and expanding like a virus. At the forest's center, a massive vortex of energy was taking shape.
"We have to—"
Ravenna suddenly clamped a hand over Raine's mouth, her mechanical eye flashing urgent warnings. Everyone immediately held their breath. Just ahead, in the underbrush, two white-robed figures were patrolling—they were lesser avatars of the Abyssal Bishops. From beneath their robes extended mechanical tendrils, which they were using to "inoculate" the trees with some kind of dark-red crystal.
"Corruption spores." Ravenna sent the message through energy resonance. "They're accelerating the transformation."
Gamma made a throat-slitting gesture, but Raine shook his head. Tapping a finger to his temple, his Emerald Sight marked every enemy within a one-kilometer radius—at least thirty patrol units, and deeper in, even stronger energy signatures.
"Stealth mode." Ravenna's mechanical arm disassembled and reformed into a mist-like veil of violet-gold energy that enveloped the group. "Alchemical Camouflage can block standard scans, but against a Bishop's true body, it won't last more than three seconds."
The children linked hands, the faint light on each of their chests connecting into a single line, enhancing the invisibility effect. The team slipped through the metalized jungle like ghosts, evading one patrol squad after another.
The deeper they went, the stranger the surroundings became—metallic vines that actively hunted, "streams" running with acid, and even half-tree, half-machine creatures wandering about.
"They're trying to create hybrid lifeforms," Old Nick whispered, recording everything he saw, his voice trembling. "This violates every law of alchemy…"
Raine suddenly raised his hand, signaling a stop. Ahead, the trees were arranged in a natural circular amphitheater, at whose center stood the target of their mission—a massive altar surrounded by twelve crystal pillars, mirroring the layout of the Mother Tree's ruins. But this one was at least ten times larger, and each pillar was wrapped with a serpentine creature made of living metal.
Hovering above the altar, dark-red liquid had already taken on the shape of a seven-meter-tall humanoid. Its outline was female, but the head was a ceaselessly flowing mass of molten metal, and its chest bore an oversized skull emblem. Most disturbing of all was its "skin"—seemingly soft, but in truth made of countless microscopic gears, each one turning independently.
"Mother's avatar… completion at sixty-four percent…" Ravenna's mechanical eye gave the readout. "We got here just in time."
As they watched, the avatar suddenly convulsed violently, dark-red liquid seeping from its surface. Four white-robed Bishops stepped forward, casting some kind of glowing objects into the liquid—they were captured elves, their life energy being forcibly drained!
"Bastards!" Raine's dragon blood boiled instantly, the four energies inside him surging out of control. The emerald leaves on his chest unfurled automatically, barely keeping his balance in check.
Ravenna gripped his trembling shoulder. "A frontal assault is suicide. We need to—"
Her words were cut off by a sudden alarm. One of the Bishop's avatars turned toward their direction, mechanical tendrils lashing wildly. "Detected… abnormal energy fluctuation…"
"We've been spotted!" Gamma shoved the two nearest children aside. "Scatter!"
[Corruption Nova] pounded down on their hiding place like torrential rain. Ravenna's mechanical arm instantly unfolded into a shield, but the impact still blasted everyone into the air. In mid-flight, Old Nick traced an alchemical array to slow the children's fall, but crashed hard into a metalized tree root himself, the mechanical components of his left leg shattering completely.
"Old man's tougher than he looks." Ravenna lashed out violet-gold energy threads, binding three of the charging Bishop avatars, while Raine had already plunged into the enemy ranks, Frostsong carving emerald phoenix arcs through the air.
The battle ignited instantly into a white-hot frenzy. The children formed a battle formation, the glowing marks on their chests linking into an energy network that temporarily held off the attacks of lesser mechanical creatures. Gamma's alchemical dagger struck with surgical precision, piercing one enemy core after another—but there were simply too many.
At the altar's center, the Mother's avatar stopped convulsing. Slowly, it "looked" toward the battlefield, the molten-metal head splitting open to form a crack.
"The… key… has arrived…"
With that voice, the entire Elven Forest came alive. Tree roots burst from the ground, twisting into spears that lunged at Raine's group; the hanging gear-fruits exploded, releasing clouds of corrosive gas; worst of all, the very ground—its metalized soil—began to writhe, trying to swallow everyone whole.
"Fall back to the crystal pillars!" Raine shouted, severing the lunging roots. [Four-Phase Barrier] barely held to protect the children behind him. "They'll avoid damaging important structures!"
They forced their way toward the altar, every step bringing new wounds. By the time they reached the shelter of the crystal pillars, their ranks had thinned by three—two children had been snatched away by metal vines, and Old Nick, covering Gamma, had taken a Corruption Beam to the chest. Now he clung to life only by the dregs of alchemical potions.
"It's… it's fine…" Old Nick coughed up blood, pressing his final alchemical notes into Gamma's hands. "Keep… going…"
Ravenna knelt beside him, channeling violet-gold and emerald energy into his body, but the wounds were far too severe.
"Save your strength, girl…" Old Nick forced a smile. "Make sure you… see it… the dawn… of the new age…"
His pupils dilated, but his lips still held a smile. Gamma silently closed the old man's eyes and tucked the notebook securely against her chest.
Raine's Emerald Sight suddenly caught an abnormal surge of energy. "Watch out! The avatar is—"
The warning came too late. The Mother's avatar's arms suddenly stretched, and a tidal wave of dark-red liquid crashed toward them! Ravenna deployed her widest-range [Alchemical Barrier], with Raine's [Four-Phase Bulwark] layered on top—but the impact still flung everyone into the air. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of the crystal pillars, and the metal serpents bound to them let out agonized hisses.
"It's absorbing the ley line energy!" Ravenna wiped the blood from her lips. "Completion just jumped to seventy-nine percent!"
Raine glanced at the surviving children—the light on their chests had dimmed drastically. In that moment of despair, his Emerald Sight caught the internal structure of the crystal pillars—they weren't solid at all. Each one held a trapped elven soul inside!
"So that's it…" Realization struck him. "The Council's using elven souls as stabilizers!"
Ravenna understood instantly. "If we destroy the crystal pillars, we can disrupt the avatar's formation!"
But before they could act, the avatar's chest fired twelve dark-red beams, each striking a pillar dead-on. The cracks sealed instantly, and the imprisoned elven souls screamed in agony—they were being forcibly converted into pure energy!
"It's accelerating the process!" Gamma's alchemical eye blared with alarms. "Ninety percent! We won't make it—"
Raine and Ravenna suddenly looked up at the same time, a wordless understanding passing between them. They shared a brief smile, then charged toward the nearest pillar.
"Cover us!" Raine shouted to Gamma, Frostsong blazing with an unprecedented platinum-white flame.
Ravenna's mechanical arm disassembled entirely into hundreds of violet-gold threads that plunged into the ground. "Children, lend me your strength!"
Gamma immediately rallied the remaining children, who joined hands to form a circle. The light from their chests linked into a dazzling river of stars, flowing entirely into Ravenna. The amplified violet-gold energy erupted like a volcano, etching a massive alchemical array into the earth.
[Alchemical Reconstruction: Ley Line Overload]!
The entire Elven Forest trembled violently, every ley line igniting in a blinding glare. The Mother's avatar let out a scream of pure agony as the dark-red liquid of its body became unstable—Ravenna had forcibly reversed the ley lines' energy flow!
"Now!" She coughed up a mouthful of violet-gold blood.
Raine had already leapt skyward, the four energies within him perfectly harmonized by the emerald leaves on his chest. Frostsong was no longer just a weapon—it became a pure energy conduit. The blade began to fracture under the sheer power coursing through it, but it would be enough—
[Finale: Elven Elegy]!
A torrent of emerald energy swept across the altar, shattering all twelve crystal pillars at once. The elven souls inside gained a fleeting freedom. Instead of fleeing, they transformed into streams of silver-blue light, wrapping themselves around the Mother's avatar. The pure elven energy violently reacted with the dark-red liquid, triggering a chain of explosions.
The avatar thrashed wildly, trying to reassemble itself, but it was too late. Ravenna's alchemical array had entered its final stage—all the ley line energy was being drawn to a single point, forming an emerald sun.
"Farewell, monster."
Blinding white light consumed everything.