Round 34: The Night of Conclusion (Five)

The massive construct formed by the connection of the Seven Sins Tower had now completely detached from the ground, rising to a height of a thousand feet. Numerous brilliant light beams swept everywhere, completely obscuring the glow of the stars. Remnants of soil, rocks, and other elements not part of the construct continued to fall, destroying houses and killing residents. Just through these actions, the Seven Sins Tower caused severe damage to Vatan City. The vast majority of Vatan’s citizens had no idea what was happening; they panicked and ran around aimlessly, not knowing where to hide, eventually watching in despair at the terrifying giant in the sky—thinking the end of the world had arrived.
The water in the canals bringing water into the city from the Tanori River, the artificial lakes, and even the swimming pools all churned into vortices, flowing through underground cracks into the huge depressions left behind by the departure of the Seven Sins Tower. The Iron Ball Golems no longer pursued the Agus soldiers everywhere; instead, they would launch attacks at the nearest object, then change shape and spread their four rapidly vibrating wings to fly up, following the Seven Sins Tower as it gradually left Vatan City, like insects dancing around a light source.
“Move at full speed toward the Sleeping Forest. We must arrive by dawn.” After the Seven Sins Tower took off, Singer’s expression finally relaxed a bit.
“Yes, full speed!”
The Seven Sins Tower emitted a deafening roar—the sound produced by the magic power sustaining the tower complex, causing the air itself to resonate and vibrate.
The tower rotated, covering the night sky. Apart from a very few ancient floating cities mentioned in mythological texts, nothing could compare to it—Vatan’s majestic city walls now resembled the dirt fences of peasant pigsties, completely shaded by the tower’s shadow.
Suddenly, a sharp sound different from the rumbling noise came through, causing the accelerating Seven Sins Tower to malfunction. The thunderous roar disappeared with this discordant noise, and the tower continued to glide in the air due to inertia, but it was clearly no longer powered.
The mages in the control room were shocked.
Kiskain figured out what was going on in just a few seconds. The power core that drew energy from the “Divine Armaments” was in trouble!
He quickly investigated. Had the independent consciousness of that strange construct caused the problem? Although the method of drawing core energy from the “Divine Armaments” using Lumm’s magic had been thoroughly tested and proven largely reliable, operating it alongside that construct still carried significant variables. Even though he was nothing compared to the “Divine Armaments” and had little residual core energy left, as a sentient construct—almost akin to a living being—its conscious resistance would be much stronger than that of the completely dormant “Divine Armaments.” And judging by its behavior, it was by no means easy to control! If its resistance became too intense, it could disrupt energy extraction, or worse, our magic might cause it to attract the “Divine Armaments” again, forcing them to merge! So, a being with will…
Lumm, you really thought of everything. Using pure negative energy to freeze the core…

“Activate the emergency protocol!” For the first time, Kiskain issued the order without consulting Singer: “Activate the channel to the Negative Energy Realm immediately! Stop energy extraction now and shut down the core!”
“Are you insane?” Singer roared. “I told you already—it’s completely unnecessary! Stopping now will cause the entire Seven Sins Tower to collapse! What do you want to do? Destroy everything I’ve worked so hard for?”
Kiskain retorted without hesitation: “Can’t you feel it? I warned you! This isn’t about the Seven Sins Tower anymore—it’s possible we’ve already awakened the ‘Divine Armors’! Maybe it’s still possible to use Lum’s method now!”
“Shut up! That’s impossible! Stop talking nonsense! The core is just struggling to die—keep going! The situation is still under my control!”
“You—” Kiskain had no time to argue further. He placed his hands on the control panel and began preparing the spell to open the interdimensional channel.
An invisible magical fist struck Kiskain’s body, sending the old mage flying—smashing him hard against the metal walls of the control room.
“Keep going! What are you standing around for?” Singer snapped through gritted teeth, his face twisted in fury.
If it weren’t for the red glow in the giant’s eyes, which were much larger but still unmistakably familiar, Moriel could hardly believe it was Forty-Seven.
Like his arms, Forty-Seven’s entire body was covered by a metallic structure that was hard to distinguish as armor or bones, even his head—where it wasn’t covered, massive steel gears and components could be seen in motion; could those be considered muscles? Without wings, he appeared even more majestic. His broad shoulders and the protruding edges and spikes on his shoulder plates gave his upper body an inverted triangular shape. One could easily imagine the terrifying power contained within.
That bastard really turned himself into the super construct golem he always boasted about. Moriel had no choice but to retreat to the remaining pipelines, thinking angrily.
Forty-Seven kicked aside the giant cocoon and stepped out, like a flood breaking through a sand dam.
His heavy claws, emitting a blue-white flame, stepped onto the dim void outside the iron cocoon, producing a loud metallic clang. With that sound, the void shattered like thick fog blown away by a storm. They found themselves in a even more vast metal cave, filled with countless steel pipelines.
“I’ve always figured things out on my own,” Forty-Seven said, looking down at Moriel, who resembled a Barbie doll, with utter confidence.
Moriel sneered dismissively, while Forty-Seven soared into the air like Superman—tearing through the ceiling and rushing out.
“No!” An old mage reported urgently to Singer, “We’ve completely lost contact with the power core! No response to any controls! We can’t reconnect it to the Seven Sins Tower! We can only maintain its floating state now!”
“That’s impossible! My spells are flawless!” Singer snapped at his assistant, placing his hands on the control panel—when suddenly, a violent vibration occurred, and the control panel split from the base all the way to the top.
“What’s going on?” Singer asked, panicked and enraged.
“You should take a look at the Seven Sins Tower…”
Kiskain struggled to sit up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Singh ignored him, but the magical projection appeared at his gesture, showing the Seven Sins Tower from various angles. Another tremor occurred, and Singh found it—the middle of the Seven Sins Tower was problematic. That area had originally been the core structure of the entire underground complex, serving as the giant tower for the council hall and connected to the other six tall towers to form a whole. But now, there was clearly a cracked bulge there. As the image zoomed in, fragments flew everywhere, and 47 broke through the tower’s outer shell and rushed out. This shocked Singh greatly—had the “Divine Armor” truly awakened? But then he tried to dismiss the idea, as this steel giant clearly differed from the one he had seen countless times before. If the “Divine Armor” buried deep within the Seven Sins Tower was majestic, noble, and perfect like a divine steel statue, this one certainly didn’t come close. It waved its demonic claws menacingly, its eyes burning with abyssal red light.

“Don’t doubt it…” Kiskein seemed to sense Singh’s confusion. “It is indeed the Divine Armor. But I’m afraid the worst has already happened—the construct has devoured the ‘Divine Armor’… It doesn’t look very happy right now.”

Singh sneered coldly. “It? Devoured the ‘Divine Armor’? Then let’s see it try!”

As if given an order, the iron ball golems, either circling the Seven Sins Tower or already clinging to it, all turned their gaze toward 47—then charged at him all at once.

The attacks launched by the iron ball golems had little effect on 47. Even the corrosive acid he used to fear so much now had little impact, and their tentacle strikes were meaningless. His body, forged from the fusion of the “Divine Armor” and various metal essences, was indestructible. 47’s terrifying strength allowed him to destroy the iron ball golems as easily as they had killed the Agus soldiers. However, seemingly still getting used to his new body, aside from punches and kicks, he hadn’t used any special attacks yet. He fought like a primitive beast, tearing off the golems’ tentacles and crushing their iron ball bodies as if they were made of paper.

The old mages in the control room were at a loss as they watched 47 grab one of the iron ball golems’ tentacles and swing it around like a giant meteor hammer, causing destruction and shock that felt as if it were happening to them.

Kiskein no longer needed to focus on controlling the Seven Sins Tower and its mechanical constructs. After everything was irreversible, he relaxed and leaned back to watch the chaos—while also eating some candy.

Singh’s expression darkened. Now he believed Kiskain was right. But how could he listen to him? Could all these years of effort, from youthful enthusiasm to lifelong dedication, end in regret with nothing to show for it? Research and exploration—what’s the point if they can’t be turned into tangible results? Just like the Seven Sins Tower today—what’s the meaning of the pursuit of knowledge? A burning flame isn’t aware of its own heat, yet it can destroy houses and forests; a howling wind isn’t aware of its movement, yet it can stir up massive waves. If it weren’t for these tangible forces, who could recognize them? Then…

“There’s no need to use these inferior products anymore.” Singh glanced down at the irregular cracks on the control panel, where tiny sparks were flickering. “The Seven Sins Tower has more powerful and destructive weapons… Activate the Dragon Golem.”

“The Dragon Golem?” The first assistant froze for a moment. “But… the energy transfer spell isn’t complete yet, and the Seven Sins Tower isn’t fully activated. If we try to activate the Dragon Golem, I’m afraid…”

“Activate the Dragon Golem!” Singh repeated, as if he hadn’t heard what the mage had said at all.

An iron ball golem was pressed down forty-seven times—its round lower body sinking deep into the tower. It wildly swung its antennae at 47, spewing flames from its buried mouth, which burst out through the cracked surface of the iron tower. 47 applied more force, his fingers digging into the shell and reaching inside the golem. After a flurry of chaotic sparks and convulsions, the golem came to a complete stop.

47 stood up straight, holding a mess of steel parts in his hands. No enemies left?

Who else? Standing amid the chaos, he looked around arrogantly, figuring out which iron tower to destroy first to cause the greatest damage.

Suddenly, 47 turned his ghostly skull-like face in a certain direction. Both of his wrist joints rotated a full circle as he clenched his fists, producing a clanging sound of metal hitting metal.

A creature, no less massive than 47 with a height of forty feet, emerged from the shadows of the tower.

It appeared silently, as if suddenly molded from the Seven Sins Tower itself. But once it began to move—especially when intense heat and smoke billowed from it, and its heavy footsteps made the tower tremble—its overwhelming presence became apparent.

It was a dragon.

The giant dragon stepped forward slowly, exhaling scorching smoke filled with sparks. Muscular patterns moved across its obsidian-like body, while the steel pipes and spikes exposed on its surface twisted and deformed with its movements. The scattered scales, larger than shields, scraped against each other, emitting intense heat. The dragon moved slowly, lifting its iron-bound neck, its spiked triangular head fixed on the giant before it with its burning eyes.

This was the second dragon Forty-Seven had seen—or rather, a simulated creation of one of the strongest creatures in the world. Though it looked ugly and crude, lacking the noble and majestic aura of the brass dragon Abazig, it could still live up to those descriptions if that nagging old bastard would shut up. But setting aside such aesthetic factors, the mechanical dragon before him was undoubtedly the most powerful construct he had encountered so far—as strong as a real dragon—indeed, just like him, it possessed the power of a core flame.

“Stinking lizard, it seems you still have some of my stuff on you.” Forty-Seven stepped forward, and the dragon trembled its dull-colored giant iron wings, emitting a hissing sound like steam escaping pipes. Its gaping maw was filled with razor-sharp teeth.

Forty-Seven also showed his sharp teeth before punching the dragon golem’s head. There had been a few steps between him and the mechanical iron dragon, but his punch reached it—more than that, he even threw his entire body at it.

The dragon golem’s thick neck snapped suddenly, leaving a visible, huge dent on its head. Shards flew everywhere, and several of its fangs were knocked out. It screeched and flapped its wings at Forty-Seven, creating a fierce gust of wind, but this was nothing to Forty-Seven. He grabbed the base of the dragon golem’s wings, tore apart several pipelines, and foul, scalding steam immediately burst out. The dragon golem lost its balance. It bent its head, but before it could spit or bite, its mouth was firmly held shut and it was pushed down. Forty-Seven flipped it over, stepped on it, ignoring its frantic clawing. He crossed his fists above his head, the toothed structures on his arms rotating and adjusting, then slammed them down on the dragon golem’s raised head.

It was a blow that shook the entire Seven Sins Tower. The floating towers trembled slightly from this fierce strike. Cracks spread out like spiderwebs from the point of impact, and a large area of the tower’s structure, shattered by the shockwave, resembled freshly turned farmland in the Tanori Plain.

The mages were stunned, turning to Singh for help. The dragon golem had been dealt such severe damage in just one encounter!

Singh’s face darkened. “Activate more.”

The dragon golem’s head, and even its entire upper body, were driven into the tower. Yet it still thrashed its tail, trying to break free from its opponent’s grip—surprisingly resilient after such a heavy blow. Forty-Seven watched the dragon golem’s unextinguished eyes among the debris, ready to strike again.

A vicious wind blew from behind. Without hesitation, Forty-Seven turned and swung his fist backward, which landed right in the dragon’s gaping maw. Another summoned dragon golem attacked him from behind. Although it didn’t bite his head, it still succeeded in grabbing his arm, yanking and twisting it, causing him to lose his balance and stagger backward under the dragon golem’s pull.

But 47 didn’t fall to the ground in a clumsy manner. His arm rotated smoothly despite the dragon golem’s tight grip, as if those massive steel arms were nothing but floating logs in water. At the same time, 47 took advantage of the momentum to change his posture, grabbed the dragon golem’s neck with his other hand, bent forward with force, and threw it away. It slid a long distance before crashing into an iron tower with a loud bang.

47 didn’t pursue further. He moved his bitten arm and assumed a fighting stance.

The constructed dragon immediately got back on its feet and approached menacingly. At the same time, as the first dragon struggled out of the debris, the largest dragon, almost entirely made of steel, also appeared.

The three dragons surrounded 47 in a fan shape. Instead of attacking right away, they sprayed each other with fierce flames—creating a sea of fire atop the Seven Sins Tower. The intense flames adhered to the dragon golems and burned them, but instead of harming them, they made their bodies shine like waxed floors. The dragon whose head 47 had almost smashed apart gradually recovered in the flames; its rusted, tattered head swelled back into shape, its fangs and spikes reappeared, restoring it to its monstrous appearance.

“Interesting,” said 47, clapping his fists together. “Come on, you stinky lizards!”

All three dragon golems launched their attacks simultaneously. The burning steam spread like clouds, and the rolling waves of fire even set the Seven Sins Tower ablaze, turning it into a sun before dawn. Not only did they try to harm their enemy, but the constructed iron dragons’ ability to repair and recover in flames was also fully utilized in such an environment. Then, like three flame monsters pulling the chariot of the sun god, they roared and charged at him.

47 repelled one after another. The three dragon golems attacked him in waves, determined to knock him down and tear him apart. Especially that one, which was larger than the others, forced 47 to stay focused with every assault—it whipped up flame storms, rose with the scorching air currents, and attacked, gradually pushing 47 toward the edge of the Seven Sins Tower.