Chapter 243 - The Culprit

"We're here."

The platform they stood on slowly descended onto the metal floor. Crimson looked around, wondering what this place was. He wasn't back on the island where all the other Candidates were, that was for sure. He knew because this island was unlike any other.

"Where are we?" Crimson asked, curious as to the island before him.

It floated above the ocean surface, much to the use of Mana. Crimson couldn't wrap his head around how it was possible, making a metal island of this size float above the water.

"My workshop. One of many," the Mech God answered as he walked off the platform and onto the central plaza of the island. "Watch your step and try not to touch anything."

The Mech God walked away from Crimson, leaving him alone with Rynold for the time being. Crimson, on the other hand, willfully followed the Mech God's instructions. He stayed at what appeared to be a lovely plaza; the center of which was a gorgeous fountain.

As metallic and mechanical as this place looked, there were some intricacies here and there that brought life into the land. Crimson sat on a nearby marble bench and took a look around.

'This place looks great.'

Crimson didn't understand how this place was brought to life, but he certainly appreciated it for what it was. Of course, the absence of any living creature in the area made the place seem cold. However, the number of trees and greenery compensated for that.

Although, apart from that, there really wasn't much of anything else around here. The scenery felt unnaturally lifeless. It didn't take very long for Crimson to realize that this place needed people. The absolute absence of life here felt unfitting and uncomfortable to him.

Spending a few more minutes sitting in silence, Crimson waited as the Mech God reappeared.

"Let's go," the Mech God said, in passing as he kept walking towards another direction. Along the way, he commanded the claw that held Rynold in place to come with him. Crimson, naturally, followed.

"Where are we going?" Crimson asked as the three of them went along a wide path.

"Where else?" the Mech God glimpsed at Rynold's current condition, "We're going to help him. Or, at least try to. Whatever it is we do, we're helping."

The Mech God led Crimson into a sizable building, probably even the biggest one on the entire island. The building itself didn't even have a door, just a massive hole as its entrance.

That said, the three of them walked inside. Crimson quickly took a gander, taking in the sights. He noticed almost immediately that the inside was even colder than the outside. There were no pleasant sights as the walls were entirely black. Crimson, obviously, didn't mind it now because of the nature of what this building was really for.

It didn't take very long for Crimson to establish the purpose of this building. The center of its interior revolved around this one Mana Crystal. And, a huge one at that. Otherwise, the equipment littered around the room was of the highest quality. Well, as far as Crimson could tell, that is.

Nevertheless, the Mech God walked forward and knew exactly where he was going. Pressing a button on a panel to the side, the room's layout changed on its own. It changed so quickly and quietly that Crimson thought he was being fooled.

However, he wasn't. The Mech God, on the other hand, didn't pay attention to Crimson's awe and focused instead on setting everything up.

By using telepathy, the equipment moved around to the Mech God's image. Without even speaking a word, the room's layout changed with a table now near the center of the room. Following which, the Mech God then pulled Rynold over and placed him over the table.

"Get over here. I need an extra set of hands," the Mech God called over Crimson, who was watching from the side. It took a full second to register in his brain what the Mech God said. Crimson then followed by reluctantly approaching the table.

"What, uh, what do I need to do?"

"Place your hands over him."

"I — what?"

"He won't bite. He's chained to the table, so it's perfectly safe. I'm going to need you to do exactly what I say. Okay? You're an Enchanter, right?"

The Mech God didn't even bother waiting for Crimson's response as he continued to go about his own way. He pulled a long mage staff from his inventory and raised it up high. The Mech God then proceeded to chant a complicated spell in under 30 seconds.

"Wha —?"

"Focus," the Mech God turned to Crimson as a magic array appeared below them, with Rynold at the epicenter, "You see this magic array, right? I'm going to need you to activate the nodes when I tell you to. Just inject your Mana. That simple."

"Can we pause here?!" Crimson called out, insisting on taking a brief moment to make sure he was prepared. "It's not that simple. I have no idea what all of this is!"

"It is that simple. You do see the magic array, correct? Then, it shouldn't be complicated for you, an Enchanter, to do what I expect you to do. Get your damn head out of the gutter and focus. Just match my timing. You literally do not have to do anything else. Clear?"

Crimson nodded, holding his own thoughts back as he noticed the Mech God's urgency. The latter, now satisfied, continued with the process.

Mage staff in hand, the Mech God horizontally placed the weapon over Rynold's body. He let go of it soon after, and the weapon floated on its own. The god then let out a sharp breath as he closed his eyes, concentrating his Mana.

Watching closely, Crimson saw as the Mech God suddenly gleamed with a gold light surrounding him. It felt profound. The aura the Mech God gave off could only be described as godlike in every shape and form — in every definition of the word 'god.'

The Mech God opened his eyes a few seconds after. His eyes, now completely white, looked down at Rynold's unconscious body. The Mech God then raised his hand in the space between the mage staff and Rynold. From there, he casually snapped his fingers.

Boom!

A shockwave of energy burst forth from the Mech God's snap. It had nearly sent Crimson a step back. Fortunately, Crimson instinctively held on. He firmly planted his feet on the ground as the Mech God's snap sent a single shockwave outward.

After the shockwave finished reverberating, the magic array below their feet compressed to a small size. It then rested firmly over Rynold's chest, floating and pulsating ever so often. Crimson could sense the immense concentration of Mana onto this one magic array. It felt heavy, dense, and pure to the point of the absolute degree.

The Mech God then put his hand to his side, concentrating on maintaining the magic array's form. He stared at the magic array, unblinking, as he soon spoke a single word.

"Now."

His voice was heavy and purposeful, making Crimson snap out of his daze. He then put up bot his hands over the magic array and let out a deep, sharp breath. He was nervous. Anybody in the same situation would feel the same, no doubt. But he felt prepared all the same as he injected his Mana into the array.

And, contrary to his expectations, Crimson didn't have to do much after that.

The magic array before him took care of the rest. Crimson stood and watched as the array went into Rynold's Mana Core. It slowly sunk into his chest. At this moment, Crimson looked back and realized that the procedure was indeed simple. Nonetheless, that didn't seem to be the end of it just yet.

Both Crimson and the Mech God watched for Rynold's recovery. If all went well, Rynold would have woken up at any moment now. So, they waited for that moment.

One second, then two. After a couple more seconds, the anxiety took over Crimson as he felt nervous that their efforts might not have done anything. But, the Mech God still watched, attentive to any sudden changes.

"Tsk."

Without a word, the Mech God immediately went into action and put his arms up. Crimson, meanwhile, had no idea what went on. However, neither of them was able to do anything as it was too late.

Like a concussive explosion, the Mech God and Crimson were thrown back. Crimson hit the wall while the Mech God managed to defend himself just in time. The god got pushed back several feet away from where he was standing, much to his displeasure.

The Mech God looked up at Rynold and caught a glimpse as to what happened to Crimson. Both of the mortals were in a bad shape. His expression visibly darkened as he watched a ghost-like figure appear from Rynold's body.

"You? It's YOU who's doing all this?!"

Brows furrowed, the Mech God didn't expect to see a familiar figure. He was perplexed — pained even, to see this figure coming from Rynold's body. It was the cause of all this trouble.

"Ah, I bet you didn't expect any of this, huh? Well, let's face it, you aren't really the best when it comes to detecting magic. Even after all this time you still haven't improved your abilities in the arcane, eh? What a disappointment."

"You don't get to say that! Not especially since you left your godhood! Left me!"

"It's been millennia, get over yourself," the entity dismissed, "It is nice to see that nothing about you has changed, though. Even after your rise to stardom, I see you still like playing with the mortals. Although, it is depressing you're still in the same dark rooms. Tsk. Tsk."

"Enough. Release him from your grasp. Now. I don't think you know who you're dealing with here. I'd suggest that you let him go before things go wrong."

"My, my. Is that a threat? You have no chance of defeating me. I've beaten you once, I can do it again."

"And you think I don't know that?" the Mech God answered with a sly smile forming on his lips, "It's not me who's going to be something here. It's him."

"Really? I have this mortal wrapped around my finger. Even with his high affinity with the arcane, there's no chance in his life where he would break my hold."

"That may be so," the Mech God stood up straight and didn't even bother to take a stance against his opponent, "But, you're not just going against him. I'm sure you can tell what this mortal can do. He has a place with the gods that even you can't deny."

He let his guard down, intentionally so. The Mech God knew that there was an undeniable fact here, and he banked on the entity's sense of reason to let Rynold go. It was a risk, the Mech God fully acknowledged that, but it was better than a fight breaking out.

However, that hope was immediately taken away when the entity chose to follow its prior decision. Its ghost-like form floated over Rynold as if possessing his consciousness.

"I guess not," the Mech God shook his head, disappointedly. Despite that, though, he was still smiling. The confidence he felt was unwavering as he looked at Rynold's unconscious body slowly wake up.

"Impossible!"

"Is it now? It's true that my magic has yet to reach your level. That's on me, really. But you shouldn't underestimate that mortal's will. And, the magic array that the other one helped me embed into his Mana Core. All I really needed to do was to stall. For, you know, that."

Rynold immediately sat up as soon as he awakened. He then pulled at the ghost's thread connecting it to his Mana Core. With his Light-infused Mana Gauntlet, Rynold severed the connection between them.