Chapter 2027: Chapter 2027
As he shot skyward, Jenkins reached for his shoulder.
He tossed Chocolate aside, watching as Papa Oliver was caught and the white cat, Vanilla, canceled its projection and vanished from the air.
Propelled upward by the force from Papa Oliver, the power in the metallic eye began to gather once more, but it was too late to stop Jenkins.
"Ring the great bell thrice!
Sing in unison, praise..."
Jenkins understood its plan completely. Unable to increase its own power in such a short time, seeking strength from an external source was the best option. Once its name spread across the world, the resulting fear, hatred, and even pathological worship would all fuel this monster, a being that was itself the near-embodiment of the concept of "machinery." The most update n0vels are published on novel~fire~net
At the same time, announcing its true name as the harbinger of disaster would bring it closer to the essence of a Beast of Calamity. This was no ritual recorded in ancient texts; this was a proclamation, the world's simplest method of gaining power—to declare one's name.
This third sentence absolutely could not be completed. Otherwise, with its incomplete soul, this declaration would be enough to allow it to achieve a perverse apotheosis.
With Papa Oliver's help, Jenkins had already reached the vicinity of the metal head. He had no intention of slowing down, hurtling straight for the metallic eye. The eye, in turn, had finished accumulating its power. A mere second before the tip of Jenkins's sword could reach it, an immense force struck out again.
"Useless! Do you think you're the only one who can use telekinesis?"
Ever since he drank that potion, the purple light in his eyes had never faded. Even though the potion's effects were long gone, a faint violet haze still lingered in his gaze. Now, that light blazed to its absolute brightest. As Jenkins stared, his soul drove his mind, his mind influenced reality, and it all manifested as a telekinetic wave that surged forward.
The two psychic forces collided in the void, causing the very air to twist into a strange, warped miasma.
Jenkins's sword pierced the metal eye, and he crashed straight into the colossal head. The interior of the metal shell was a hollow cavern, and suspended within it was a brain like a giant jellyfish.
Tendrils extended in all directions, controlling the bizarre metal features. Upon his entry, they began to stretch toward him as well.
Finally accepting that he could not stop the third sentence from being spoken, Jenkins ignored the coiling tendrils of the brain. Instead, he waved his hand and summoned his bronze book, the power of the Mechanist coursing through him like never before.
In that instant, he seized control of the terrifying mechanical creation before him, even managing to influence the brain to some degree. Through this, his own mind made brief contact with the Difference Engine.
In the air, Jenkins saw a terrifying, grotesque behemoth. Deep underground, the Difference Engine saw another terrifying, grotesque behemoth.
And so, the two beings, both wielding the power of machines, their voices blended into one, broadcast to the entire world:
Difference Engine & Jenkins:
"Ring the great bell thrice!
Sing in unison, praise—the Lord of All Machines!"
The black clouds finally spread out from Nolan, covering the entire world. Aberrations in the fire, spirits in the mist, malevolent souls in the clouds—they seemed to exist and not exist all at once. The visible and the invisible, the audible and the inaudible, all came into this world through that declaration.
In a world built on steam and machinery, all metallic creations resonated faintly with the behemoth buried deep within the earth.
People heard the proclamation and let out long, dream-like murmurs, as if waking from a long slumber and seeing the world clearly for the very first time. The final doom had not yet arrived, but the cataclysm had truly begun.
The metal head in the sky once again erupted in a blinding radiance. The brass-colored luster flaked away, shifting to a bronze hue, only to quickly revert back to brass.
"I am... GREAT! WIS! DOM!"
The voice spread like an echo. Below, the demigods of the Church were poised to attack, but they were caught off guard as strange noises began to rise from the two surrounding city blocks.
Then, every piece of metal related to steam machinery was torn from the ground, flying into the sky like rain in reverse, as if being absorbed by the head.
Its power grew even stronger. The three declarations following the three chimes of the bell had fundamentally changed the Difference Engine's nature, which in turn made the metal head far more powerful.
Black mist spewed from its eyes, nose, and mouth. From the severed neck below the head, roaring flames shot towards the Sage's Cathedral.
But its movements suddenly halted. The metal objects that had flown into the sky rained back down, scattering with the raindrops. The metal head itself began to wobble, as if about to fall.
Everyone had seen the Believer of Lies enter the head. They had assumed he had been defeated, but now it seemed he was able to influence the metal cranium directly from within.
A voice then issued from inside the head, and the demigods nearby could hear Candle Mr.'s final words with perfect clarity:
"This head is an avatar created by the Difference Engine. The brain inside is directly linked to its main body. I've temporarily paralyzed it. Attack it all at once! I'll coordinate from the inside and self-destruct. We can definitely crush this head and damage the Difference Engine in the earth!"
Miss Bevanna cried out, but Jenkins cut her off.