Even though the Machine Ex Machina were the most 'war-averse' race, they had endured countless battles throughout the long war. In Schwarzer's database alone, there were 27,451 different armaments.
The only regret was that almost none of them were created by the Machine Ex Machina themselves. She had only found one armament that could be considered a true Archetype: Traffic Control, the very armament Schwi used to divert the Vanishing Dragon's attack.
The vast armory, combined with the Machine Ex Machina's computational power, truly represented an immense force, especially after activating 'Full Archetype Unleash'.
However, Schwarzer chose not to. Her fully unleashed form was too unwieldy. Unlike Schwi, who only sought to buy time, Schwarzer aimed to defeat her opponent.
With the system's blessing, her current energy reserves were abundant. Yet, the Flügel's defenses were astonishingly formidable; Jibril, in the original story, famously took a nuclear blast to the face without a scratch.
Therefore, among all the armaments, only one was truly effective and capable of inflicting significant damage: Vanishing Dragon's Roar.
"Are you distracted while fighting me?"
Schwarzer's processing speed was astounding, but half a second was still more than enough for Azriel.
She had appeared before Schwarzer without warning, having crossed hundreds of meters.
It wasn't the Flügel's unique teleportation, but pure physical speed—so fast it seemed like teleportation.
With intensely focused attention, the world slowed. Schwarzer saw an afterimage as a purple, bloodthirsty gleam shone in Azriel's eyes, trailing a band of light with her movements.
The dark-purple scythe, constructed from energy in her hand, emanated an ominous aura. Azriel's expression was exceptionally cold as she entered combat.
[Archetype Unleash]-[Forbidden Entry]
An energy shield enveloped her entire body. Schwarzer knew that even with her core data-enhanced physical strength, surpassing any other Machine Ex Machina, it was still insufficient against a Flügel.
However, her greatest advantages were information and computational power—these were her true strengths.
Azriel's scythe slashed down violently. The energy shield had no effect, unable to even slow it for an instant.
Schwarzer hadn't expected it to block. The shield's main purpose was to create a visual disparity and interfere with the opponent's targeting. The scythe grazed her body, taking a few metallic strands of hair with it.
The engines behind her engaged at full power, consuming vast amounts of spirits as she attempted to swiftly widen the distance.
Azriel, having missed her strike, immediately pursued. Unlike Jibril in the original story, she was colder, more brutal, and far more... powerful!
"I'm not in the mood for games. Die beneath my scythe." She spoke as calmly as if condemning Schwarzer to death, her scythe slightly raised and pointed at her opponent.
The distance between them rapidly closed—a pure disparity in raw power.
As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Schwarzer detonated the mechanical devices on her back just as Azriel caught up. The violent explosion halted her forward momentum, sending her rapidly falling downwards.
This small explosion harmed neither of them, but it caused Azriel to swing her blade through empty air once more.
"?" Two consecutive misses sent Azriel's blood pressure soaring. Failing to instantly defeat a single Machine Ex Machina was already a disgrace for her, the elder sister of the Flügel.
Schwarzer didn't look back. From their first exchange, she had confirmed her opponent's speed and calculated precisely when to change direction to evade.
'Given Azriel's personality, her rage meter must be full by now. Keep this up and she'll lose her temper.'
'The combat rhythm is in our hands. As long as we lure her step by step and find an opening, we can win!'
The system, acting as a "fountain commander" in her mind, guided her.
Schwarzer's head was already heating up. Her enhanced body, connected to the will of all Machine Ex Machina, provided a vast amount of data from the brief seconds of combat.
'[Analysis]Speed and power disparity are too great. Opponent's strength far exceeds the average Flügel level, initially judged to be three times that of the reference subject...'
'[Judgment]Original strategy needs modification. The probability of defeating the opponent without injury is faint.'
The brief two engagements sobered her previously inflated confidence, stemming from her recent enhancement. The Machine Ex Machina possessed very little data on the Flügel, as the two races had never directly fought.
Her only reference points were the few scattered scenes of Jibril's battles from the anime.
But Azriel's power was two to three times that of Jibril's—such a difference was beyond exaggerated... so exaggerated that she couldn't defeat her opponent without taking damage!
Yes, Schwarzer had initially intended to defeat her without injury. This wasn't blind confidence, but a genuine assessment of her capabilities, or rather, her capabilities as the Machine Ex Machina's fully connected command unit.
[Archetype Unleash]——[Unilateral Passage]
Her internal thoughts didn't hinder her actions. As she fell, she raised her hand to deploy an armament, and space tore open behind her.
At the same instant, an enraged Azriel appeared before her. Spatial transfer—Flügel could teleport to any location they could see, such as right in front of Schwarzer.
"Swoosh—"
Completely within her calculations, Schwarzer had activated Unilateral Passage in advance, an armament capable of spatial leaps. This less-than-half-second window was a chasm Azriel simply couldn't cross.
Even the Flügel, for all their buggy powers, didn't possess the abilities of The World or Star Platinum. They could only watch as Schwarzer jumped away a step ahead.
The scythe in her hand seemed like a mere fire poker, utterly useless—no, wait, it did cut a few strands of hair, a promotion from fire poker to barber's scissors.
Most infuriatingly, Schwarzer subtly shook her head at her, her characteristic Machine Ex Machina blank expression seeming incredibly sarcastic in Azriel's eyes.
Something snapped in Azriel's mind, and purple flames directly ignited in her eyes.
From a distance, Jibril, who had witnessed everything, slowly lost her smile. She knew Azriel was far stronger than herself, so what was happening now?
Jibril had already figured it out: Azriel seemed to narrowly miss each time, but in reality, everything was completely within her opponent's control; all her movements were being read.
But what was the point of this? To keep dodging forever? A Flügel wouldn't tire from this level of combat.
As if performing a synchronized dance, Schwarzer precisely dodged Azriel's attacks every single time.
Indeed, this was the case. Schwarzer wasn't simply dodging; she was eroding Azriel's patience, waiting for her to snap and unleash that one specific technique.
Having tried all conventional attacks to no avail, Azriel had realized that her opponent's reaction speed and computational power surpassed her own, allowing for perfect evasion.
What was the correct way to deal with such a troublesome, specialized opponent? Long years of combat experience quickly provided her with a solution.
Jibril sensed something was wrong, but couldn't pinpoint why. Everything was unfolding quite logically; against an enemy like Schwarzer, flipping the table was indeed the best option.
However, before she could grasp the crucial point, someone on the field lost their temper.
The angelic figure hovered in mid-air. In the distance, Jibril detected immense magical reactions. Spirits in the air died under pressure, turning into black ash, staining all the magical energy with an ominous hue.
"The games end here, you pathetic scrap metal that only knows how to hide! Go to hell!"
Against nimble insects, the best method was to simply blast them into oblivion with absolute power.
A massive magic circle converged in the sky. Azriel, with a face twisted in madness, grinned savagely and roared—"Heaven's Strike!"
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