Sovereign of the Ashes

The cannon’s beam had already begun to converge at the muzzle.

The muzzle itself was nothing remarkable in diameter, and the weapon’s overall length paled in comparison to the main cannons typically mounted on federal warships.

Yet the moment that deep yellow beam was fired, a sense of dread crept over Sein.

The dense yellow column of energy tore through the steel ruins in an instant.

The Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s subspace secret realm, which had remained quiet for tens of millions of years, had clearly become far livelier in recent times with the arrival of these opposing combat legions.

The beam punched cleanly through Sein’s shoulder, fully igniting his rage.

It was bad enough that this man had led his forces in a surprise attack—but to pull out a weapon like this as well?

Bond’s earlier fighting style had not resembled that of a powerhouse from a technological civilization at all. As a result, Sein had overlooked the simple fact that what Bond relied on most was technology.

A faint glow spread across Sein’s face as the Faceless Mask emerged.

Already in his Ashen Demon form, Sein now wore a featureless white mask over his face, making him look every bit a demonic fiend.

Bond, who still retained his handsome Federation human appearance, almost seemed like the righteous one by conventional standards.

Such was the absurdity of the Astral Realm.

However, good looks did not necessarily signify righteousness, nor did ugliness guarantee evil.

After all, the so-called righteousness and evil were defined by victors!

Countless terrifying elemental rays suddenly shot out from Sein’s masked face.

Since advancing to Rank Five, Sein had gradually unlocked the Faceless Mask’s power to its full potential.

The terrifying beams of energy even carved trenches thousands of meters deep through the heart of the Steel Ruins.

As the storm of elemental fluctuations slowly faded, Bond remained standing before Sein, right arm lifted as a thick, pitch-black fog shielded him from most of the damage.

“Huh? A world-class secret treasure?!” Sein mused, locking his gaze onto Bond’s wrist.

The black metal bangle around Bond’s wrist emitted law fluctuations strikingly similar to those Sein had sensed earlier from the bone staff.

Recalling the many traces of Black Merlot Civilization techniques Bond had used during the battle, Sein could not help but ask, “Could it be that your Gallant Federation has uncovered many Black Merlot Civilization ruins?”

Shrouded in thick black fog, the corner of Bond’s mouth twitched involuntarily when he heard Sein’s question.

No one here was a fool. Bond and the Gallant Federation’s recent actions made it easy for Sein to infer that the federation had uncovered many core secrets of the Black Merlot Civilization.

That also explained how the federation’s special fleets had been able to accurately pinpoint the coordinates of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s core ruins, and how Bond and his team had arrived so quickly.

All the remaining puzzles suddenly had answers!

Bond clearly had no intention of responding to Sein’s question.

Activating the jet thrusters in his legs, he surged forward and closed the distance, pressing in on Sein once more.

He had already realized that trying to fight Sein at range was sheer folly.

Although much of his nanotech equipment consisted of highly destructive weapons, trading blows at a distance with a Magus World spellcaster offered him no real advantage.

He had not brought a full arsenal with him, and Sein would never allow him the freedom to unleash every technological weapon at his disposal.

Close combat, however, was different. It allowed Bond to wield his technological weapons with greater versatility while also disrupting Sein’s ability to cast devastating spells.

Many powerful spells required incantations, while forbidden magic demanded even more complex preparations.

Bond’s performance, sharp judgment, and the combat prowess he had displayed in such a short span of time earned Sein’s quiet respect.

Though they stood on opposing sides, some things transcended allegiance.

At times, two powerful individuals could recognize and acknowledge each other’s strength.

The impression Bond left on Sein was nothing like that of the Rank Five Sand Crocodile from the Arid Expanse World he had preserved as a specimen!

From Bond’s perspective, however, the fight against Sein was anything but easy. Even with the support of a world-class secret treasure, the battle was grinding him down.

Sein had reached Rank Five earlier and possessed far richer combat experience.

On top of that, his Faceless Mask was itself of a slightly higher grade than the metal bangle on Bond’s wrist.

If the fight dragged on into a prolonged stalemate, it would inevitably tilt in Sein’s favor.

What infuriated Bond the most and what he had never anticipated was Fermera’s incompetence!

Although her combat effectiveness had been severely reduced, Fermera’s remaining strength should still have placed her somewhere between Rank Five and Rank Six. Calling her peak Rank Five would have been a fair assessment.

At that level, she should have been able to crush her current opponents easily. At the very least, she should have maintained the upper hand.

Instead, not only had Fermera failed to subdue the trio, but they even found opportunities to occasionally break away and support Gilbert and the others.

What the hell is wrong with Fermera?!

Bond was secretly fuming.

Fermera was not malfunctioning. In fact, she was distracted by two things: the Burning Flame Unit and HALL-E.

Having awakened to a certain level of intelligence, Fermera could clearly tell that the two of them could be considered her own kind.

Although the tens of thousands of angel-type robots that roamed the battlefield bore an uncanny resemblance to her, those emotionless, mindless machines that merely followed preprogrammed commands could not truly be considered her kin.

Orders from the central control hub prevented Fermera from disobeying directives from the Gallant Federation’s high command.

Even so, that did not stop her from observing her own kind up close in the midst of battle.

Newly awakened to intelligence, Fermera was curious about everything.

During her time at the Gallant Federation’s military base, she had quietly absorbed vast amounts of informational “nourishment”.

Her decision to prioritize restoring her appearance was rooted in the concepts of beauty and ugliness she had learned through that process.

Among the lower-ranking soldiers and officers of the Gallant Federation, many women held aesthetic ideals that left a deep impression on Fermera.

At the same time, Fermera was one of the few robots to consciously define her own gender.

As a female intelligent robot, her expressions and behavior naturally began to drift toward femininity.

Sein, fully absorbed in combat, had no time to notice Fermera’s subtle changes.

He assumed that Black Oblivion and his cousins were holding her at bay thanks to their formidable physiques and the secret treasures they wielded—especially since Black Oblivion was already swinging the bone staff he had yet to fully master.

Although the bone staff was also a world-class secret treasure, its current combat effectiveness fell short of even an ordinary divine artifact.

The only one who noticed Fermera’s deeper transformation was HALL-E, who lingered at the edges of the battlefield and rarely took part in the fighting.

The robot scratched at its metallic head with one of its mechanical hands.

During their last encounter, HALL-E had not regarded Fermera as kin.

So why did meeting her again now evoke in it the same sense of familiarity as Burning Flame?

HALL-E was genuinely perplexed.

PAL cautiously poked its head out from the metal crevices in HALL-E’s limbs, peering around.

When the electronic cockroach spotted an energy beam streaking toward HALL-E’s position, it immediately scurried back inside.

PAL’s sense of danger was easily the sharpest among all the beings present.