The Mech Touch

The deal had been struck.

Ves had compromised his own principles in order to gain the compliance of a D-mech.

For a moment, a part of him hated his own work. He personally wrought this terrible and demonic engine of destruction into existence. Without his input and decisions, the Prophet's Bane would have never gained enough leverage to torment his own maker!

However, a different side of Ves held a different attitude towards the orange-striped machine.

The pure mech designer and creator within himself felt inordinately proud at the fact he birthed a mech that transcended any boundaries that held virtually every other machine back!

Ves felt like a parent who just witnessed his own child surpass his father and rise to greatness in his own preferred way!

In totality, Ves felt bitter about the outcome of the negotiation, but that was all. He did not feel as upset as he should.

His pride and satisfaction at witnessing one of his greatest creations grow beyond his expectations did not permit him to feel shame!

As Ves tried to reconcile his turbulent feelings, his other self did not hold back his concern.

"I may not be a mech designer, but even I can recognize a trap. I think this demon is playing the long game. I do not see how he can obtain much power from such a paltry amount of human sacrifice. I think this entire bargain is meant to target you directly. He wants to corrupt you and erode your bottom line by making you complicit in its evil."

Blinky's expression remained impassive.

"I have not overlooked your angle. Your speculation may very well be correct. That changes nothing. I can bear the consequences. The mission comes first. I need the Riot Mark III at its best. Agreeing to this devil's bargain is not the most optimal solution, but it is certainly the most expedient one. That is enough in my book."

"Your standards have deteriorated."

"I'm just tired. Let us witness the coming show."

The transaction involved reciprocity.

If the Middle Demon wanted to play games, then he most definitely needed to demonstrate sincerity.

At this moment, the Riot Mark III stopped in place.

The powerful ace mech no longer chased after the devious deathborn lord, nor attempted to harm itself.

It simply coasted in space while maintaining a static posture.

It was as if the mech had pressed the pause button.

This lull dragged on for so many seconds that the deathborn lord had become puzzled.

The alien creature had not suspended its efforts to disturb Rosa Orfan's mind. It consistently performed spells that previously had a solid effect on the ace pilot's fragile mental balance.

Yet now, those very same techniques sank into the Riot Mark III like a stone sinking into a lake.

As time passed on, a gradual shift started to occur.

The Riot Mark III's many signs of instability… began to fade.

The mech's limbs no longer twitched in an uncontrollable and irregular fashion.

The physical mutations on her exterior such as her unnecessary spikes and overly sharp angles began to smooth out, making it seem as if the ace mech became subjected to a form of purification.

Yet the greatest sign that its condition was turning to the better was the substantial shift of its Saint Kingdom!

As the most direct and visible manifestation of an ace pilot's willpower and conviction, the Saint Kingdom often served as the most direct and visible sign of a hero's strength.

The domain field changed in ways that Ves had never witnessed from the Riot ever since he had upgraded it to its current version.

The roiling, turbulent waves that caused the Saint Kingdom to resemble an ocean in the middle of a raging thunderstorm smoothed out entirely.

The radius of the Saint Kingdom did not expand, but began to shrink.

It did not grow smaller on an even basis.

It instead started to condense into a very distinct shape.

As the domain field rose in concentration, its exterior boundaries gradually began to resemble a vaguely humanoid form!

The Prophet's Bane!

Just as Ves was currently manifesting himself outside of the Dark Apostle's true body by utilizing Blinky as a vessel, the Middle Demon performed a similar feat with the Saint Kingdom as its chosen medium!

As the Prophet's Bane increasingly extended its formidable presence in the material realm, the Riot Mark III's entire aura began to change.

Previously, it had always made a volatile impression. Compared to the other impeccably-designed ace mechs of the Larkinson Clan, the Riot Mark III could easily be mistaken for a botched work due to its ever-present activities!

Yet now, all of those irregular signs had disappeared, making it seem as if Saint Orfan had finally vanquished over her own inner demon!

At least, that would have been the case if not for the sight of her demon-shaped Saint Kingdom.

When the changes finally began to plateau, the Riot Mark III looked as if it had undergone a minor rebirth.

The powerful ace mech still retained its general appearance and proportions, but its aura and threat profile had undergone a drastic shift!

Observing from a distance, Ves intuitively felt that the Riot Mark III's overall energy level had increased by an order of magnitude at the very least!

"Resonance strength." Ves requested.

The Dark Apostle stated the number produced by the resonance meter built into the Superdimensional Giant Regalia.

"Before you struck your deal with the demon, the resonance meter measured around 150 to 250 laveres. The line in the graph fluctuated wildly depending on who was in control of the machine. It is different now. The line has shot straight upward and has stabilized at around 430 laveres. Not only has the number doubled, but the line has also become completely flat. The resonance meter can't detect any sign of wavering or instability."

The information confirmed Ves' speculations.

"This is the true power of a D-mech." He spoke with genuine emotion in his voice. "Normal ace mechs are measured by the synergy produced between man and machine. The Riot on the other hand involves a more complicated relationship between three powerful participants. Before, the Riot only fought at a fraction of its potential because two of them actively fought against each other. Now that they have not only set aside their internal war, but actively begun to cooperate with each other, it is no surprise that my work has become so strong all of a sudden."

The increase in resonance strength far surpassed his earlier expectations.

A jump from 250 laveres to 430 laveres may seem like the Riot Mark III had almost doubled in strength, but the reality was far different, as confirmed by his own subjective observations.

This was because the lavere scale was not linear!

In reality, Saint Rosa Orfan had suddenly approached the strength of a senior ace pilot!

Even if she did not yet officially meet the definition of one, Ves believed with all of his heart that she had already reached that level of strength even if he disregarded the advantages brought by her remarkable superdimensional mech!

This was because Saint Rosa Orfan was not fighting by herself, but alongside a powerful Middle Demon who possessed his own separate combat system!

Now, the pair of unlikely allies were about to unleash their combined strength for the first time ever.

The deathborn lord served as an adequate test dummy, though the mysterious alien entity did not understand his new role at this time.

Of course, he was not stupid. He witnessed the drastic changes right in front of him and saw how all of his mental attacks failed to produce any meaningful results.

The alien withdrew from his offensive posture and began to show genuine caution for the first time. He actively created more distance between himself and his prey in order to give him more buffer time.

Not that it helped all that much.

As soon as Saint Rosa Orfan adapted to the new status quo, she focused her full attention on the alien adversary.

"I… AM NO LONGER YOUR VICTIM. WE… SHALL CRUSH YOU LIKE AN ANT."

The Riot Mark III blitzed forward.

Her powerful flight system already provided the mech with a formidable amount of thrust power, but now that Saint Orfan's effective resonance strength had multiplied, its performance had undergone a qualitative leap!

That was not all!

The Prophet's Bane assisted as well. The demon-shaped Saint Kingdom directly acted on the flying machine. Mysterious techniques that depended on unknown principles shrouded the exterior with a dark red mist. The mech frame started to shake under their influence, but its forward acceleration immediately multiplied by a third!

The ace spearman mech blazed forward at such an unexpected pace that the deathborn lord was completely caught off-guard!

The alien powerhouse did not foolishly try to target the ace pilot's mind again, but instead generated a composite energy barrier in front of his stolen body.

A relatively underpowered spatial barrier formed around the reanimated true body. Its deteriorated flesh and phasewater organs struggled to produce and maintain this defense, but it was enough to serve as a basis for a second form of defense.

The deathborn lord channeled the power within himself and threaded it throughout the spatial barrier as if he was weaving a cloth.

A surprisingly complex and intricate pattern formed that immediately reminded Ves of a spell array!

Although the deathborn lord did not output a huge amount of energy, his utilization of the existing quantity was quite exquisite!

He was clearly a master who learned how to wield energy like a precise instrument!

The strange defensive measure only had a short time to take effect, but the defensive measure already appeared a lot more solid than before!

Space warped even further while strange energies augmented the local fabric of reality with new and exotic properties.

Yet in front of the current Riot Mark III, even this form of defense proved useless!

The wicked and fully resonance-empowered tier 3 Destroyer spear punched through this augmented barrier while encountering resistance that lasted so briefly that it might as well not exist!

The only effective result produced by this defensive barrier was that it triggered a blast of destructive energies from the Destroyer spear that briefly obscured half of the deathborn lord!

By the time the 'dust' had cleared, a triumphant ace mech floated before an impaled opponent!

An imposing demon loomed over his defenseless prey! His claws had already reached inside the deathborn lord's ethereal form, pinning the true enemy in place while at the same time beginning to siphon its energy!

The deathborn lord failed to block or evade the Riot Mark III's unprecedented powerful attack!

The difference in outcomes was massive!

Everyone had previously witnessed Saint Orfan struggle against a tricky and resourceful alien opponent.

Yet that same alien adversity had suddenly turned into a fish on a chopping block in front of the same ace pilot!

"I understand now… why you insisted on making a deal with that demon." The Dark Apostle said with amazement in his voice. "I do not think anyone will take your D-mechs lightly anymore after this battle."

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