The Mech Touch

Chapter 6463  A Willful Sword

A sword pierced its way out of the cargo sphere transported into the Red Ocean.

Many people who previously cheered an experiment that would go down in history abruptly fell silent as they beheld the unexpected spectacle.

It did not take a genius to figure out that this was not supposed to happen.

The cargo sphere containing exceedingly rare and expensive super-class materials, data storage devices, sensitive technological equipment and ancient relics that may be of use in the new frontier were all well-stored and sealed.

That did not necessarily mean that they could be tossed around and subjected to the elevated levels of radiation that the Red Oblivion Gate still generated after it had started to cool down.

The sword briefly paused as it managed to pierce its way through the thick alloys that stood in its way, as if it was contemplating how to best extricate itself from its current home.

The weapon then proceeded to accelerate in an instant and blast its way out of the cargo sphere, uncaring for all of the damage it inflicted on its exterior!

After the strange sword finally managed to spring free into open space, it began to slow down and point its tip upwards as if it wanted to take a good look at his new environment.

The sword began to glow in white. Power began to emanate from its ornate white and silver construction.

As it did so, an energy vortex began to form.

It started out small, but ramped up quickly.

Soon enough, the energy vortex had grown so large that it rivaled the one generated by the Oblivion Gate!

The sword was sucking in E-energy as if it was a bedraggled man who had been crawling in the desert for several days before coming across an oasis.

The extraordinary relic glowed brighter and brighter as it did so. The lightshow steadily grew more complex as a rainbow corona started to mix in with all of the white.

The entire display vaguely reminded a lot of people of the Shrine of Light built in the center of the Astral Octagon.

It was like the weapon was unsheathed after an eternity of resting in storage.

The biggest difference between the two was age.

Whereas the Shrine of Light was brand-new and built to modern standards, the autonomous sword was clearly a relic from a time older than most people!

It was like the weapon was unsheathed after an eternity of resting in storage.

The eagerness in which the blade sucked up E energy radiation was obvious to people like Ves.

Compared to the barren environment like the Milky Way, the Red Ocean was obviously a lot more conducive to its systems!

"What is that sword?!"

"Is that one of the old cultivator relics that Her Divinity was speaking about?"

"Wait! I recognize that weapon! That is the Heavensword! It is the national relic of one of the second-rate states of the Majestic Teal Star Sector!"

"The sword… it's transforming!"

The more energy the weapon absorbed, the more it began to look more refined.

It was subtle and nearly undetectable, but Ves was still able to observe a lot of details thanks to the incredibly high-definition projection generated by the Tarrasque.

Ves and his fellow mech designers became more and more awed as they recognized what was happening.

"The Heavensword… is slowly shedding all of the metaphorical rust and tarnish that it had accumulated over so many years." Jovy guessed.

"It is an artifact of an exceedingly high level." Ves shared his own speculation. "It was built in a time when the Milky Way was still able to generate E energy. Whatever calamity took place that caused it to grow barren, the consequences were clearly devastating to all of the energy-hungry artifacts that were built at the time. Even grand works such as this priceless and exquisite weapon can degrade after losing the energy source that has kept it fully powered. From what I know about the Heavensword, it only managed to hang on all of this time because it contains a pocket space that contains a self-sufficient E energy circulation system."

That was his theory, at least. It explained how the Heavensword was able to survive in a low-energy environment and maintain its most essential operations.

The energy vortex surrounding the Heavensword slowly began to shrink until it became invisible again.

The weapon looked as if it could absorb a lot more E energy, but at least it had managed to sate its immediate appetite. There was plenty of time for it to passively absorb more exotic radiation.

The sword spun around and gently began to fly towards the Evolution Witch.

It was very clear that the god pilot did nothing to control what was obviously a grand work, a masterful creation that exceeded a masterwork by such an astonishing degree that only Star Designers were able to build similar crafts.

This priceless sword approached the Evolution Witch in a surprisingly human manner, making it clear that it was controlled by a more lively intelligence than a rigid AI.

The glowing Heavensword stopped before the god pilot and dipped a few times before turning around to offer its hilt in a respectful manner.

It looked as if the two were communicating on another level

Lucie Miyazaki gazed at the Heavensword with a touch of intrigue for a few seconds before she reached out and grip the one-handed weapon.

The god pilot exuded a sense of power as she tried to grasp and control the awesome power of the Heavensword.

While the weapon did not resist the grip, it obviously did not allow itself to surrender to god pilot either.

A silent struggle ensued as the Evolution Witch failed to tame or harmonize with the weapon.

This was a remarkable display. The Human Biodisaster may be one of the younger god pilots of the Red Ocean, but her willpower was still powerful without a doubt!

Yet her potent willpower only encountered resistance as it tried and failed to impose itself onto the grand work.

The Heavensword was too powerful for the Evolution Witch to control by force.

The struggle lasted for a minute or so before the god pilot decisively ceased her attempt.

Although Divine Lucie Miyazaki clearly could have employed a lot more force if she wished, she declined to dishonor herself in this manner.

The Heavensword clearly possessed a mind of its own. Whatever it saw in the Evolution Witch, the extraordinary artifact clearly disapproved of its would-be wielder.

Considering that it allowed itself to be wielded by much weaker individuals such as the swordmasters of the Heavensword Association as well as Ketis Larkinson in the past, it was not an intolerant weapon.

It was merely a picky and demanding artifact. This was clearly a weapon that possessed the might and the intelligence to pick its own wielder.

"It longs to be wielded by a true swordsman or swordswoman." Ves pointed out the obvious. "Back in the Milky Way, it continued to stick with the Heavensword Association because it is the only state that is filled with people who respect traditional swordsmanship. The Evolution Witch may be far stronger than any of the Heavensword Saints, but she is no sword wielder."

It was not in her nature to dedicate herself to the blade like some other high-level mech pilots.

Her history and biography painted a picture of a desperate woman who was always trying to stay one step ahead of her incurable affiliations.

Speed was of the essence.

She did not enjoy the luxury of time.

She clearly judged that training too hard in the use of a single weapon type was an unproductive use of her time.

She could spend all of those precious hours into mastering more fundamental piloting skills or increasing her familiarity with other useful weapon systems.

While Ves had no doubt that a god pilot like the Evolution Witch could wield a sword with greater effectiveness than Venerable Dise, there would still be a fundamental difference in heart and intention.

True sword wielders regarded their weapons as more than tools. They treated their sword styles as if they were artforms, and they regarded every battle as a ritual dance.

Seeing that the Evolution Witch clearly could not bring herself to appreciate the heart and soul of swordsmanship, the Heavensword wrenched itself out of her grasp.

The god pilot did not try to keep it in her possession.

The Heavensword began to orient itself in this new and exciting dwarf galaxy. Once it had chosen a precise direction, it quickly began to accelerate, distancing itself from the bemused-looking god pilot and the Red Oblivion Gate.

The bladed artifact continued to accelerate. Its speed increased at a decent rate, but it would still take a long time before it reached any distant destination.

That was until it actually began to form a warp bubble around itself!

Ves widened his eyes. He recalled that the Heavensword, or at least an incarnation of it, had once showed up in Davute and allowed itself to be wielded by Ketis for a time.

He distinctly remembered that near the end of the strange alien kidnapping attempt, the Heavensword had probably swallowed the dormant and captive phase whale in the center of the alien prison complex whole!

Ves had no idea how the Heavensword could even do this when it had mysteriously projected itself into the Red Ocean.

Perhaps the only reason why this scenario was plausible was that it happened before the Great Severing.

Only hundreds of thousands of light-years separated the Red Ocean from the Milky Way.

In any case, the Heavensword obviously managed to master at least a part of the power of a phase whale!

The warp bubble quickly grew stronger, causing the fabric of space around the weapon to distort even more.

This enabled the Heavensword to accelerate much faster. It quickly flew so far away that the projection screen was no longer able to display the bright streak of light anymore!

Many red humans remained confused and bewildered by this entire sequence.

It was clear that none of it was a planned event.

Despite this little surprise, the Evolution Witch maintained her composure.

She did not look bothered at all that a small 'accident' had occurred.

"The experiment is a success." She confirmed as she seamlessly moved on from what had happened. "Both Oblivion Gates shall undergo extensive upgrades and repairs. If no significant setbacks occur, we will commence the second experiment roughly half a year later. I cannot promise you a precise date, partially to prevent our enemies from trying to sabotage the next event. I will not necessarily open the Red Oblivion Gate in Yernstall either. This concludes my announcement. The Oblivion Gate Consortium will soon contact numerous parties to jointly plan and coordinate our next material swap with our partners in the Milky Way. We must do everything in our power to build the most powerful machines of tomorrow."

The Evolution Witch disappeared, and so did the Red Oblivion Gate.

It was clear that she had no trouble with stowing away the priceless gate construct in her own pocket space or whatever.

The Dimensional Architect that silently provided technical support in this dwarf galaxy wordlessly teleported away.

The show was over.

Red humans began to share their thoughts and speculations with each other again.

Vector Loban rose from his couch. "It is time, Ves."

Ves nodded. Now that the Evolution Witch had concluded her big show, he finally got to meet her in person again.

He had been waiting for this audience for a long time.

Even as the Transhumanist liaison led Ves away, he began to shift much of his focus to the Milky Way.

The Evolution Witch was not the only individual he could squeeze for answers.

His mother should also be able to answer his questions!

Right now, Veronica was not exactly pleased with the Oblivion Empress.

The Lady of the Night had purposefully avoided Veronica in the past half year.

The Cyborg Cat initially did not think much of it, but in hindsight it was clear that Cynthia Larkinson deliberately tried to keep her own child in the dark!

This was unacceptable!