The Mech Touch

Time was running out.

With every passing second, another human mech or warship might collapse.

The battle could not drag on for too long. The combined fleet ultimately lacked the numbers and depth to persist too long in this hostile star system. They had all underestimated the quantity and the methods of their alien opposition.

As the only tier 2 galactic citizen in the combined fleet, Ves had no way to avoid responsibility for this unfolding debacle.

Even if he did not make every key decision in person, he still assented to the invasion of the Hypeh-Tekas System despite the lack of intelligence.

The battle started due to his initiative, so he felt the obligation to end it with his own hands.

As the Dark Apostle flew closer to the Riot Mark III, he slowed down his flight for fear of getting caught in the ongoing clash.

The Riot Mark III fought like a drunken lout. Its Saint Kingdom wobbled like a chaotic bubble. The Tier 3 Destroyer spear in its hands jabbed in every direction but rarely came close to hitting the enemy.

What a shameful display!

The complete lack of discipline and control turned the Riot Mark III into the polar opposite of the First Sword Mark III.

Ves couldn't find a greater contrast between the two superdimensional ace mechs. What made this contrast even worse was that the source of this divergence had nothing to do with their technology or their battle damage.

It had everything to do with their controllers.

Even now, Rosa Orfan visibly struggled to keep the Riot Mark III on target. She constantly wrestled for control and occasionally managed to gain dominance long enough to make a few hasty attack runs on the deathborn lord.

Unfortunately, the constant mental attacks by the latter caused her to relinquish control to the Prophet's Bane, who had no interest at all in fighting the extra-galactic alien!

Instead, the Middle Demon sought to strengthen its current hold on the machine by damaging some of its components, especially the cockpit!

Ves actually felt relieved that this was not so easy to do. The Riot Mark III was a genuine superdimensional ace mech. He and his wife had adapted so much tech and high-grade materials into her design for the express purpose of enduring punishing attacks. The implementation of archetech and other advanced technological paradigms increased its fault tolerance to the highest level that Ves had ever worked with up to this point!

He could think of no machine that he had touched in person that was tougher and more enduring than the current iteration of the Riot. This included other remarkable products such as the Bastion, the First Sword Mark III and even the incredibly imposing Dominion of Man!

Perhaps the famous dreadnought may be a much greater engine of destruction in absolute terms, but when it came to the ability to resist damage per cubic meter, the Riot Mark III absolutely excelled in this parameter!

Ves believed that he wouldn't be able to produce a mech that could beat the Riot Mark III in terms of toughness and tenacity than when he finally delivered the promised superdimensional ace mech for Saint Jannzi Larkinson.

Even so, that did not mean he felt pleased at seeing the Riot Mark III randomly bashing its own head with its fist or the shaft of its spear.

The worst instances consisted of the few times when the Riot Mark III reversed its grip on its spear and attempted to plunge the tip of its Destroyer spear straight into its chest!

Ves couldn't thank himself enough that he had yet to apply superdimensional technology to this old but dangerous weapon.

As proven by his experimental Murder Knife Mark III, his newly-developed Super-Destroyer System could absolutely shred superdimensional armor plating as if they were made out of dense but relatively ordinary metal!

So far, the Riot Mark III's thick and multi-layered chest plating bore half-a-dozen shallow puncture marks.

The armor-grade superdimensional alloys resisted the high-tier Destroyer weapon fairly well, especially when the ace mech was unable to muster too much physical power to harm its own mech frame.

Even so, the repeated kinetic blows along with the ancillary outbursts produced by the Destroyer particles steadily weakened the integrity of the upper armor layer. As long as the Riot Mark III persisted in this self-destructive act, the Middle Demon would definitely be able to stab its spear through the cockpit sooner or later!

Ves could not allow this to come to pass.

The Prophet's Bane likely did not dare to kill Rosa Orfan's vestigial human body entirely for fear of losing its hold onto the ace pilot's soul.

However, he did not need to kill his prey entirely to devour her soul.

Perhaps inflicting light to moderate injuries to her old human body was enough to weaken her defenses to the point where the demon could overwhelm her faltering resistance!

"Stop!" Ves conveyed to the Riot Mark III through a data transmission as well as a spiritual broadcast. "Riot, listen to your maker!"

Naturally, the rogue ace mech completely disregarded his words. It did not even show any acknowledgement of receiving his message.

"Rosa, can you hear me? Please tell me you can register my words!"

"..."

The Riot Mark III did not transmit anything back, causing Ves to drop his mood even further.

Blinky turned to his other self.

"Don't look at me, Ves. I have already come as close as I dare. I truly do not want to get any closer."

"The Riot Mark III is not fully in control of either partner. The probability of getting attacked is low, especially when there is no benefit in doing so for the Prophet's Bane. The only risk that we have to face is getting attacked by the deathborn lord. We should be able to endure its physical attacks for the most part. Our Superdimensional Giant Regalia is still intact on its other side. The true danger is the mental attacks. I am reasonably confident that we can endure them. If we can distract the deathborn lord into targeting us, we will buy more time for Rosa Orfan to regain control and launch effective counterattacks."

The Dark Apostle grimaced underneath his damaged helmet. "No. I won't allow it. I don't think the Saint Commander and others will be happy to see you risk both of our lives in such a stupid manner. Let's go with your original plan. I liked it a lot better when you planned to bargain with the demon."

That plan… was not an ideal option.

Its success rate was probably not low, but the price may be intolerable.

Ves wanted to avoid it as much as he wanted to avoid calling for help from the Red Two.

Did he have a choice, though?

Ves urged his other self to move closer, but the boisterous giant continued to shake his head!

"Aren't giants like you supposed to be fearless? Why have you turned into a scaredy cat all of a sudden!"

"Pff! I am being smart for once! Haven't you complained to me countless times that I often let my emotions get the better of me? Why do you not applaud me now that I am actually being rational for once?! Do not judge me as if I am an ordinary giant. You are completely right in that this 'deathborn lord' or whatever excels in defeating those whole mental defenses are not strong. In other words, it specializes in targeting my greatest weakness."

"That only applies to ordinary giants! What makes you different is that you have me! I am your mental shield!"

"I DO NOT TRUST YOU!" The Dark Apostle admitted!

"...What?"

"You cannot lie to yourself, Ves." The giant leader slightly calmed down. "We share the same true body. I know what is on your mind. You only enjoy the illusion of privacy because I do not understand technological knowledge that you have mastered. That does not mean I am unable to read your simpler thoughts. You think of me as an intruder. You do not celebrate my birth. You hate it that your own flesh and blood has spawned a separate personality under the instigation of the 'heavenly authority' of the Red Ocean. If you ever have a chance to get rid of me without suffering severe consequences in return, I have no doubt that you will pounce on it. Do not lie to me, Ves. All of this is true, correct?"

"..."

The Dark Apostle scoffed. "I thought so. Let me expose another secret. You are secretly hoping that the deathborn lord's mental attacks will hammer me into pieces while conveniently letting you off easily. The situation might not unfold this way if the two of us are more intertwined than we thought, but if it does… then you will effectively be able to 'kill' me by making use of a borrowed knife. In your mind, the deathborn lord is not necessarily your enemy. You are just like the Prophet's Bane in this regard."

"..."

The Ascended Giant's painfully accurate accusations hit Ves so hard that he had become momentarily speechless.

This was hardly the first time he received accusations, but this time was different!

Usually, Ves was able to make use of his glib Devil Tongue to blabber his way into innocence.

That definitely wouldn't work this time because the Dark Apostle knew him far too well!

The two shared the same true body and could read each other's thoughts at any time! Ves could not keep a secret from his other self.

Therefore, Ves absolutely could not deny that he had entertained multiple schemes to get rid of the unwanted resident of his own true body. He did not feel particularly guilty about this either. He could not deny his loathing for the Dark Apostle. Anyone in his position would feel the same.

Even so, it was one thing to think about murdering your other personality, it was another thing for the latter to confront him directly about his intentions!

The Dark Apostle had directly torn away the delusion that they could protect their own selfish and nefarious thoughts from each other!

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