"Is there some kind of solution?"

"If the Magic Tower intentionally overlooks this incident and remains silent, we have no choice but to force them to open their mouths."

"How?"

"If they pretend it's someone else's problem, then what if it becomes their problem? Even those with heavy bottoms will move."

"You don't mean..."

Verom could vaguely guess what Rudger was thinking.

Although the method was truly absurd and reckless, there didn't seem to be any other way.

"But how will you do it? You'd need to lead that monster to the Magic Tower."

"No need to lead it. Just buy me some time."

"Time?"

"I'll handle the rest."

Verom felt a strange trust in Rudger's confident words.

Normally, if someone claimed they could do something so recklessly, one should be suspicious, but with Rudger, it somehow seemed possible.

"...Alright. I'll try to buy time somehow."

"You don't need to do it alone."

Just then, Whiron, who had recovered, joined them.

Although serious wounds had not yet healed and blood was still flowing, the fact that he survived such an attack was remarkable.

Rudger took out a recovery potion from within the shadows and tossed it to Whiron.

Whiron caught it and muttered with a disgruntled face.

"I don't eat it unless there's protein."

"Just drink it anyway."

Whiron drank the potion.

There were recovery pills too, but potions were still the ones that provided high enough performance to heal major wounds.

"Ugh. Why is it so sweet?"

Whiron frowned.

"Isn't it better if it's sweet?"

Verom asked.

Potions are usually full of bitter taste, so wouldn't it be better if they were sweet?

In fact, the higher quality potions pay considerable attention to taste and aroma. The fact that it tasted sweet meant it was that much of an excellent potion.

"Of course not! It means it has sugar in it! It's bad for your health!"

"..."

Verom was dumbfounded. He thought there was some serious issue based on Whiron's anger, but it was just about sugar. He looked at Whiron with an incredulous gaze before turning to Rudger.

Rudger nodded slightly at Verom's look, which seemed to ask if this man he had saved was always like this.

It was a gesture suggesting that yes, he's that kind of person, so just go with it.

"I think I need to pay a brief visit to the New Magic Tower. Is that alright?"

In response to Rudger's question, Rotheron, who had escaped from the mechanical arm, approached using flight magic and answered.

"You've already made a hole in the Magic Tower's waist. What other impoliteness remains?"

"..."

"...Sigh. Alright. If we can't stop this situation, the Magic Tower will likely not remain safe either. Perhaps it's better to force them to get involved."

"Quite a few might die."

"But if we leave things as they are, we'll just be picked off one by one. There's no choice."

Though he said that, Rotheron’s voice was heavy with complicated emotions.

In the Magic Tower, there would be people who were hostile to him, but conversely, there were those who believed in and followed him.

The fact that he was dragging such people into the heart of this battlefield weighed on his mind but he was neither naive nor did he complain.

As long as that God of Machinery was alive, no one could be free from this fight.

"It's better to end this quickly before the damage increases."

"Yes. So please buy me time."

After saying this, Rudger was enveloped in shadows, shrank into a point, and disappeared.

This sight was now so familiar that the three people left behind just accepted it.

He wasn't the type to say such things and then run away, so he was surely preparing some big surprise that would shock everyone.

Until then, their role was to buy time against that God of Machinery.

But did they really have to do just that?

"Buying time doesn't sit well with my pride. Now that we've come this far, wouldn't it be better to take it down in one fell swoop?"

"I agree. If we can end it here, that would be the best option."

"Whatever else, if we don't fight with the resolve to kill, we might be the ones who end up dead."

Whiron, Verom, and Rotheron each threw in a word as if pledging their resolve, then prepared for battle.

After sweeping away all of the defense force's batteries, the God of Machinery once again stared in their direction.

They were powerful entities that threatened its existence.

Rudger, who was assessed as the most dangerous, had disappeared somewhere and was not visible, but Black Knight Verom had taken his place.

They were beings that shouldn't be left alone.

As the God of Machinery revealed its will, the double halos floating above its head shone brightly.

Four mechanical arms fell like meteors.

"Verom. Not only did you fail your mission, but you've also joined hands with John Doe?"

Nikolai was irritated by the fact that the situation wasn't going as he wanted.

He should have eliminated Verom when the armor had malfunctioned.

They weren't on bad terms, so he had just ignored it, but he didn't expect to be backstabbed like this.

Moreover, Verom's appearance now was different from before.

Gone was the appearance reminiscent of a medieval knight; his current, more streamlined form looked less like a knight and more like a beast or hunter.

"You can't seem to shake the habits from your treasure hunter days. Far from being a Black Knight, you've become nothing but a grave robber."

But it didn't matter.

He didn't know how powerful the new form of armor was, but before a god, it wouldn't even amount to dust.

Would it make any difference if the number of corpses to be cleared increased by one?

Although the spectacle he had been expecting didn't unfold immediately, Nikolai decided to wait patiently.

Considering the funds and time invested so far to create the God of Machinery, he could wait as long as necessary.

"Besides, there's still one more piece of entertainment left."

Nikolai's eyes turned toward one of the two screens, showing the footage of Rene and Cravat.

"This isn't good."

Cravat was concentrating, but he was well aware that impure beings were approaching from outside.

This time, he had carefully chosen a place with no surveillance devices to hide, but somehow Nikolai was pursuing them relentlessly.

"...Could it be."

Cravat’s gaze turned toward a half-destroyed automaton placed in a corner of the room.

Seeing the automaton's film-like eyes directed at him, Cravat let out a small sigh.

"Damn. They say it's darkest under the lamp, and that's exactly what happened."

Even if he smashed it now, the slowly approaching figures wouldn't retreat.

Cravat sensed that he was cornered.

'I've already started the curse. If I stop here, the holy power that I've just begun to suppress will become stronger due to the rebound.'

If that happened, the power balance would collapse, and Rene's body would disintegrate.

Now he had to carefully control the dark magic with the power of the curse suppressing the holy power.

Currently, Cravat didn't have the energy left to respond even if an ordinary person attacked.

'Damn.'

If he abruptly stopped here, he could still survive but then Rene would die.

'I, the head of the Black Mage School, am risking my life to save a kid I've never even met?'

Feeling the gradually increasing presences, Cravat’s lips curled into a smirk.

'Yes. It's a worthwhile endeavor.'

He wouldn't just passively let them have their way.

That's why he had laid traps outside.

-Boom!

The sound of traps being activated reverberated as the intruders entered the range.

Explosions of black smoke erupted from various places.

This wasn't ordinary smoke.

It was an ancient curse school special trap, filled with the power of curses.

-Squeeeeak. Thud!

The automatons that had been walking slowly at the forefront were engulfed by the curse.

The black curse did not discriminate, even if the target was inanimate.

The mannequin-like automatons touched by the curse rapidly corroded in their internal joints and parts, creaked, and then collapsed one by one.

"Be careful! There are traps!"

"Casualties? Is anyone hurt or dead?"

"None here. Just most of the automatons we sent ahead are dead."

"Everyone focus. We're dealing with a master of the ancient curse school. If you underestimate these curses, you'll all end up dead."

After realizing there were traps, the enemies moved more cautiously.

"Trap identified. Disarming."

"Disarming is complete on this side."

"Don't let your guard down."

Once they recognized the presence of traps, they easily neutralized or blocked other traps that were activated later.

As a result, the distance gradually narrowed, and they approached within a stone's throw of the house where Cravat was staying.

Cravat was sweating as he continued to remove the holy power remaining in Rene's body.

'Ten minutes. No, if I had just five more minutes.'

The enemy was well-trained, so buying time with traps wasn't working well.

-Bang!

The sound of opening the door on the first floor was heard.

Immediately after, a trap prepared on the first floor was activated.

Hot flames scattered outside the door, but as if they had been waiting for it, the intruders threw grenades filled with icy energy.

The automatons that remained after neutralizing the trap entered.

"First floor cleared."

"Moving up to the second floor. Wait, he's on the third floor."

Cravat could hear their murmurs from below.

Cravat stood as if nailed to the spot, his eyes rolling.

Had he ever felt such a sense of crisis before?

Selfishness kept raising its head in Cravat’s mind.

-Are you really risking your life to save a mere child? What have you been surviving for all this time? Living should be the priority, right?

That temptation was so sweet that it continuously ate away at Cravat’s concentration.

Voices from below.

Footsteps slowly climbing the stairs.

Even the sound of his pounding heart in the suffocating seconds and minutes.

The last thing reflected in Cravat’s eyes was Rene's suffering face.

A child in pain due to the holy power struggling inside her body.

Could anyone even imagine the pain of having every cell torn apart, beyond just the internal organs?

Nevertheless, that girl didn't die.

She was struggling hard to survive.

'I can't stop.'

Cravat poured the power of curses more strongly toward the rampaging holy power.

The pure white holy power met the black curse and they wrestled back and forth.

If he had lacked preparation, he might have been devoured by the holy power instead.

Cravat gritted his teeth.

As the footsteps passed the second floor and finally approached the stairs leading to the third floor.

Awoooooo---!!!

The howl of a wolf was heard from somewhere.

At that moment, Cravat felt as if everything in the world had stopped.

Wondering if this was what Gabriel experienced every time he used magic, he heard someone screaming outside.

"Arghhhh!"

"W-what is this! Crazy! Aaaaah!"

People who had been waiting outside were attacked by something.

Those who had entered the house contacted via communicator in panic.

"What's happening! What's going on outside! Answer!"

"It's a wolf! A wolf has appeared!"

"What? What nonsense! There are no wild beasts like wolves living on this island!"

"It's a real wolf! And it's enormously huge...Aaaaah!"

The communication cut off with a scream.

What wolf suddenly appeared, and why were trained individuals armed with magical equipment falling without even putting up a fight?

The internal infiltration team soon found out why.

-Crash!

The glass window on the second floor shattered.

And what came through that broken window was a giant wolf.

"Crazy! It really is a wolf!"

But something was strange.

Judging by its size alone, it was big enough to fill the corridor of this building, yet when it entered, it only broke the narrow window, not the wall.

Unless its body was liquid, this was physically impossible.

The automaton at the forefront detected the enemy and moved automatically.

The gun in its hand spat fire.

-Ratatata!

With its huge size filling the corridor, there was nowhere to aim that wouldn't hit something.

Just when it seemed like the wolf would be riddled with bullets, its body became hazy and a wind swept through the entire corridor.

-Slice!

The automaton that pulled the trigger was cut into dozens of pieces as if sliced.

The other automatons lined up behind it suffered the same fate.

"Crazy!"

Those who witnessed the scene immediately activated protective artifacts.

A fierce wind collided with the translucent shield that filled the corridor.

The wolf, which had transformed into wind, returned to its original form and growled in front of the shield.

Upon closer look, it wasn't an ordinary wolf.

With fur that mixed gray, white, and sky blue, and pure white energy swirling around its shoulders.

"Spirit Beast?"

Why was a Spirit Beast on Isla Machina?

Whatever the case, something was clearly going wrong with the situation.

"What are you all doing! Sweep them all away!"

Those waiting behind threw magic grenades.

Apparently, this Spirit Beast could transform into wind, but if that was the case, they just needed heat that would burn even oxygen.

The moment the shield was deactivated, the grenades exploded and the corridor was engulfed in flames.

The wolf tried to escape through the window by turning into wind, but it was too late.

-Yelp!

Those who saw the wolf being engulfed in flames instantly let out cheers.

"Haha! How does that taste, you dog bastard!"

"So what if it's a Spirit Beast! It's just an animal after all!"

Those who poked their heads out the window to mock the creature that had escaped while burning were shocked by the scene below, their faces turning pale.

-Grrrr.

-Grrrr.

Outside was full of claw marks as if something sharp had slashed through, and there were dozens of wolves gathered around.

"I-it's not just one?"