Yunia's eyes and the others widened, their gaze fixed on Rein.
"Even though she is a machine, her mouth can move just like a human," Gabriel said.
"Is this Rein's true form?" Lucifer asked, his eyes trembling in awe.
Avorius lifted his left eyebrow, blood flowing from his right eye. "Hah? What are you, some kind of tin can?"
Rein's left hand yanked the whip sword, pulling Avorius's body forward. Her right hand clenched into a fist and struck Avorius's cheek.
Her punch was extremely heavy, pushing his skin inward. A violent gust of wind blasted out, hurling Avorius far away. His body crashed to the ground, bouncing before slamming into the side of the barrier.
Their eyes widened, jaws dropping.
"Rein can be this strong?" Lucifer said, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Yunia narrowed her eyes, her expression flat.
Rein's heels opened, revealing booster jets, flames bursting out. She shot forward as if surfing through the air, chasing Avorius.
Avorius quickly stood. He released his spiritual energy again, wrapping his entire body. He rushed toward Rein, swinging his fist.
Rein's punch and Avorius's punch collided. The wind roared violently, creating a shockwave. The ground beneath them shattered, breaking into fragments that were thrown into the air. A deep crater formed beneath them.
Rein and Avorius were pushed back several meters.
Gabriel raised his voice. "She can go head-to-head in a fist clash with a Divine?"
Yunia nodded. "An impressive armor, but..."
Rein's metal wrist cracked. Meanwhile, Avorius's wrist detached from his forearm. A crimson light glowed along his wrist, restoring it back to its original position.
"Hm, the difference is still obvious," Lucifer said.
[System: Right wrist has sustained damage, functionality reduced by 50 percent.]
Avorius's right hand pulled the whip sword back into his grip. He swung the whip sword and threw it toward Rein.
Rein raised her arm, the whip sword coiling tightly around her forearm. The blade dug into her arm, scraping metal.
Avorius pulled the whip sword, dragging Rein toward him. Spiritual energy wrapped around his left hand. His punch struck Rein's abdomen. A burst of red energy pierced through and exploded out her back. Avorius's arm also speared through her torso.
Sparks and sizzling metal burst from the hole in her abdomen.
Rein's neck snapped backward before she forced her forehead forward, slamming it into Avorius's forehead. Their bodies slammed into the ground, blood dripping from his wound.
"You're impressive. Even with a hole in your body, you're not bleeding. What a strange creature," he said with a grin.
Rein's right hand gripped Avorius's neck. The whip sword wrapped around Rein's body, tearing into her metal frame, scratching and gouging the armor.
Rein tightened her grip, her handprint darkening Avorius's neck. Avorius tightened the wrapping. Sparks sizzled loudly at the points where the whip sword dug into Rein's body.
[System: Warning, malfunction detected. Body functions sustaining damage.]
"The light on your chest, that's where your real body is, right? If I destroy that light, then you'll die," Avorius chuckled.
Rein's grip deepened, blood gushing harder from Avorius's neck. The whip sword tightened around Rein's body. Both of her shoulders were almost split open, sparks sizzling even louder.
[System: Warning. Evacuate the armor immediately.]
"Activate self-destruction system." Rein's voice was cold.
[System: Self-destruction activated. Thirty seconds. Countdown has begun.]
"I may not be able to defeat you. Creatures other than humans are impressive, but I refuse to lose. I will definitely surpass all of you gods."
[System: Twenty seconds until self-destruction.]
The whip sword dug even deeper. Rein's body vomited a mouthful of oil. Sparks crackled louder.
"It's pointless to choke me. I don't need to breathe to live, you know."
[System: Ten seconds until self-destruction.]
Enatur lay limp on the ground, powerless, only able to stare at Rein.
"Re... Rein... run... now..." Enatur said weakly, tears running down his cheeks.
His body trembled, sweat pouring from every pore.
"I... I don't want... to lose you... here..."
"Master... Master doesn't need to worry." Her head turned toward him. Rein's body began glowing.
The violet light from her chest grew brighter, pulsing in a rhythm that slowly turned into a farewell song.
[System: Self-destruction initiated. Three...]
Her lips curled, her voice soft and sincere. "The time we spent together was the best moment of my entire activation."
[System: Two... One...]
"REEEIIINNN!" Enatur screamed until the veins in his neck bulged. Tears poured down his face.
BOOM!
"REEEEIIIINNNNN...!!!"
The explosion rose high into the air, shockwaves sweeping the surroundings.
Enatur's eyes reddened, tears flowing endlessly. His shoulders drooped like broken wings, the corner of his lips curving downward slowly.
Everyone felt what Enatur felt. Shadow fell to his knees, curling his body against the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Oh, so you were the AI Enatur mentioned a few days ago."
"Yes. My name is Rein. Master gave me that name. Please take care of me."
"Ah, my name is Shadow, Enatur's partner. Please take care of me too, Rein."
Rein's armor head landed right in front of Enatur, his tears flowing even harder. His body shook violently, enduring the agony of the Soul Core curse. Enatur stood and knelt, picking up Rein's helmet, hugging it tightly.
"Rein, why didn't you just use this armor to move for yourself?"
"Was I allowed to, Master?"
"My God, Rein... you do obey me, but that doesn't mean I enslave you. You're free to do whatever you want."
"That is what living means. You are my partner, just like Shadow."
"That's right, Rein. You're already part of our team."
"If that is Master's wish, I will obey."
A weak sob trembled in his voice. "And I... I promised to build a real body for you... didn't I, Rein?"
"Didn't we promise to explore another worlds together?"
"Then... then why did you die here?" His scream tore through the silence, raw and brutal.
A hand emerged from the cracked ground. The energy released blasted debris into the air.
His body was emitting smoke, breath ragged, burns covering him from head to toe.
"What the hell was that woman? She really scared me for a moment," Avorius said.
Shadow flinched, his eyes shaking. "He's still moving?"
"For a god who has reached the Divine Realm, an explosion like that is nothing," Lucifer said quietly.
"S-so Rein's sacrifice..."
"Nothing is ever meaningless in this world, Shadow. Rein's sacrifice means everything to Enatur," Gabriel replied.
Shadow wiped his tears. "That's true, Miss Gabriel... Rein has..."
Enatur's gaze went blank, seeing Avorius only moderately injured. His knees fell, not because of weakness, but because of the gravity of pain that crushed him.
"Honestly, in my entire life, no one has ever managed to fight me this far. This is the first time," Avorius said.
Enatur controlled his breathing. His lips pressed tightly together, movements turning calm, controlled as he lifted his knees. His head was still lowered.
Avorius leaned back slightly, crossing his arms. "My condolences for the death of that strange creature... hahaha!" He slowly licked his lower lip.
Silence. No one spoke. All eyes pointed at Enatur who had remained still since earlier, head bowed, expression empty.
Cracks formed beneath his feet. The ground trembled faintly, the vibrations growing stronger and stronger until the earth shook violently, accompanied by a surge of energy bursting from Enatur's body. His clothes burned away.
His body hunched forward, head lowered, arms limp like they were hanging.
Yunia lifted her head.
"Something is wrong with Enatur. His aura feels completely different from usual."
A pitch-black aura enveloped his body, foreign yet terrifying. The dark aura fluctuated, waves of darkness spreading across the area.
The black patch on his abdomen spread across his entire body, to his neck, to his arms, to his face, and down to his legs. Glowing crimson patterns shone like bulging veins all over his body.
His red hair turned black, with the tips glowing bright red like neon. Enatur lifted his head, eyes previously closed slowly opening, revealing glowing red eyes. Dark Enatur.
Yunia's eyes widened, her hand covering her mouth. "Don't tell me that Soul Core is..."
Dark Enatur vanished. In the next instant, he appeared directly before Avorius, throwing a punch. Avorius's eyes widened, unable to dodge.
"So fast!" Gabriel shouted.
Dark Enatur's punch landed in his abdomen, a blast of dark energy punching through and exiting his back. Avorius coughed blood violently. His hand was pierced as well.
"AAARRGGHH!" Dark Enatur's roar shook the battlefield, sending chunks of broken earth into the air.
Avorius clutched the hole in his stomach, blood gushing out. His voice weak, breathing ragged, sweat pouring from his body.
Enatur gathered a massive amount of energy in his left hand. Red, transparent white, light blue, and black auras merged into his clenched fist. The wind blew wildly, chaotic in the air.
Avorius refused to lose. He charged his spiritual energy into his right hand, then swung a massive red palm-shaped energy.
Dark Enatur sprinted toward Avorius. "Icy Crimson Fist Darkness!" He formed an ice fist wrapped in crimson aura and a dark aura.
"Vermillion Great Palm!" Avorius formed a gigantic palm.
The two powers approached closer, then collided. Avorius's giant palm clashed with Enatur's ice fist. Spiraling shockwaves formed tornadoes. The night sky turned crimson, mixed with dark aura.
The temperature dropped sharply from the burst of ice energy erupting from Enatur. Ice particles spread to Avorius's barrier. Eventually the barrier shattered into ice fragments.
Yunia created a protective space. The collision's shockwave expanded outward, making the desert sand whirl into violent vortexes.
"Enatur?!"