“The Mechanical God? What is that? Is it from the new world?” Contrary to Yvette’s expectations, Abella’s response was bewildered, as if she truly had no knowledge of the existence of the Mechanical God.

“Do you know about the Mechanical Clan?” Yvette asked again.

“The Mechanical Clan? Oh, you mean those scrap heaps?” Abella appeared to comprehend now, uncertainly asking, “Uh… are you referring to the god of that bunch of dolls?”

Yvette nodded slightly.

“Well… I don’t really know much about it.” Abella thought hard for a moment. “The Purple Commander instructed me to avoid conflicts with those dolls… after all, they don’t have any nutrients, and winning wouldn’t be beneficial; it would be a loss! That’s all I know, and this is the first time I’ve heard about this ‘Mechanical God.’”

The first time hearing of it?

Yvette frowned slightly. According to her assumptions, aberrations should be quite familiar with the Mechanical Clan since they’ve lived in the same world for so long; how could they know so little?

Then she reconsidered: Abella had previously belonged to the King of the Ocean Depths, who ruled over the Source Ocean North. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Clan operated primarily on land, which would indeed reduce their interactions.

Moreover, Abella had only recently become a true lord; as a former fourth-stage entity, it was unrealistic for her to have high-level intelligence. After all they had discussed, Yvette had already nearly drained her of information… ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novｅlfire.net

Dugrabi voiced his confusion, “Isn’t your… whatever it is called ‘Mother Nest,’ capable of converting those alchemical beings into aberrations? I remember there being such aberrations!”

“That kind of semi-mechanical Godkin was directly transformed by the Goddess during the early Day of Endings… So, there should be a Mother Nest that can do it, but the Purple Commander’s Pale Mother Nest surely doesn’t have that ability,” Abella denied. “I once captured a magical combat automaton that wandered into Kux, but the Commander didn’t add it to our ranks.”

Yvette immediately recalled a mission report she had seen in the air-raid shelter’s archives. It had been authored by someone named “Cobert Ironblade,” who had a fighting partner called “Thunder Wolf.” It was likely that this was the automaton Abella had captured.

“What happened to that combat automaton?” Yvette inquired.

“It… I don’t know.” A hint of uncertainty entered Abella’s tone. “The Commander seemed to take an interest in it and took it away directly. I haven’t seen it since, so I don’t know what he did with it…”

Yvette fell into contemplation.

Taken away? Was this purely out of interest, or was there a special reason behind it?

Considering the competitive factions among aberrations, was it possible that the Pale Mother Nest lacked the capacity to nurture semi-mechanical aberrations, prompting the Purple Commander to consider this automaton as a trade asset with other aberration factions?

Of course, there were many other possibilities: perhaps the Purple Commander was interested in the automaton’s combat abilities and wanted to replace its original master to become the new pilot for Thunder Wolf; or perhaps he was a mechanical enthusiast, wishing to dismantle the automaton for research; or maybe he was concerned about angering the Mechanical Clan and secretly allowed Thunder Wolf to escape…

As her thoughts raced, Yvette felt the potential outcomes were too numerous to dissect further.

However, one thing was certain: the relationship between the Mechanical Clan and the aberrations was quite complex. This piqued her curiosity about the connection between the Mechanical God and the End World Witch.

Were they allies? Adversaries? One party exercising control over the other? Or were they completely neutral, with no interference?

When the Day of Endings arrived, would the Mechanical Clan also participate in the invasion and destruction of the new world?

…

Despite promising it would be the last question, Yvette had asked quite a lot. As Abella began to feel parched, she finally heard Yvette say, “Alright… you can leave now.”

“Leave?” Abella was taken aback, her first reaction not joy but confusion. “Me?”

“Yes, you’re free. Shouldn’t you be leaving?” Yvette replied.

Although their earlier conversation had exposed that Dugrabi was a black dragon from another world, that wasn’t a significant concern. After all, the End World was drawing near; who would care if a dragon came over from the other side? As long as her identity as a mutant commander remained intact, she would be fine.

Abella was still a bit dazed. She felt that, despite losing her powers, she was still of considerable value compared to other aberrations; labeling her as having vast potential wouldn’t be far off.

Why let her go? Was it a test?

Could it be that she deemed her unworthy?

“Can you take me in? I… I pledge my loyalty to you, Lady Loxivia!” Abella exclaimed.

“You want to pledge loyalty to me?” Yvette found this intriguing, but regrettably, she had no Mother Nest—how could she control a subordinate?

“Yes, Lady Loxivia! I believe my future will be much brighter under you than the Purple Commander!” Abella nodded vigorously, then added, with a slightly pitiful tone, “Besides, you’ve lifted the control of the Mother Nest from me, which means I’m officially your subordinate now… I can’t go back to Kux anymore…”

The control of the Mother Nest was established by injecting a small amount of the nest’s own aberrant factors into aberrations during their evolution, thereby functioning like an installed controller to achieve control over them.

When Yvette had consumed the aberrant factors from Abella, the controlling factors imposed by the Pale Mother Nest had naturally been absorbed as well.

At this point, Abella would directly vanish from the Pale Mother Nest’s perception, meaning that as long as she was still alive, she had effectively changed her allegiance. If she were to return to Kux, she would likely encounter other mutants who would see her as a target to devour before even meeting with the Purple Commander.

After a moment’s pause, she confidently added, “Although I’ve lost all my abilities, my stage remains unchanged. I just need a little time to replenish my nutrients, and I’m sure I’ll become a significant aide to you!”

She thought, having said this much, even if it were a test, Lady Loxivia should accept her now, right?

Having a potential ally with no shortcomings and a baseline equal to that of a lord was an opportunity she could not pass up.

Yvette calmly regarded her, seemingly deep in thought.

However, after a long while, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I have no Mother Nest; I can’t take you in.”

No Mother Nest?

Abella was stunned. How could that be? Even the Purple Commander, who was subservient to the King of the Ocean Depths, had his own Pale Mother Nest! How could a commander not possess their own nest? Was this a requirement for a ruler, or was she simply being deceived?

In an instant, she plunged into confusion, even suspecting that Lady Loxivia was just playing a trick on her, wanting to see her panic-stricken.

This suspicion wasn’t unfounded; after all, this lady had been a wolf in sheep’s clothing, harassing her for years, and surely had an evil streak at heart. Even if she genuinely wanted to recruit her, she likely intended to torment her so that she would feel enough pain and anxiety before casually offering assistance.

But just as she thought this, she saw the silver-haired girl leap lightly onto the back of the black dragon.

Without allowing Abella a moment to react, the black dragon flapped its wings, soaring into the sky and vanishing into the torrential downpour in an instant.