Click click!

The sound of bones colliding echoed from Turing's cheek.

In just a moment, Turing felt her entire face go numb.

Blood splattered, brain matter exploded, Beezelbub's fist with a golden imprint sliced into Turing's brain like cutting tofu, hammering a punch that burst Turing's skull.

"You're too slow, girl."

Under Beezelbub's lightning-fast movements, everything around seemed to pause as if suspended in midair.

Under the terrifying fist shadows of Beezelbub approaching the speed of light, even relativity began to faintly affect Beezelbub—it was stretching her time dimension to a small degree.

Meanwhile, Turing stood dumbfounded until Beezelbub's fist struck her head, prompting her to raise her hands to defend.

But Beezelbub's next attack quickly followed.

She braced her core, straightened her posture, swiftly turned, kicking back with a spinning heel kick. With unparalleled ruthlessness, she raised her leg and swept it towards Turing's side, attempting to tear her in half.

However, the sensation of physical contact never arrived. To Beezelbub's astonishment, she saw a large mechanical contraption suddenly appear, blocking the spot on Turing's side.

It intercepted the fatal blow destined for Turing and took the full brunt of the kick, completely contorting in her place.

Though surprised, Beezelbub's movements did not pause.

With a forceful swing of her right leg, she sent Turing and the mechanical contraption in front of her flying with tremendous force, kicking them like meteorites towards the scorched earth below.

With a deafening crash, both fell to the ground, creating a massive meteorite crater.

At this moment, Turing, though having somewhat repaired her head with magic, was still feeling dizzy, making it difficult for her to sit up from the crater for a while.

[Merka... *sob*]

[I'm in so much pain...]

[I only wanted to live with you.]

[What did I do wrong...]

[Why must fate torment me like this?]

Despite several attempts, Turing couldn't manage to sit up from the crater.

She lay there, bleeding all over, with a touch of reluctant tears at the corners of her eyes.

Currently, while still possessing a fair amount of magic, Turing's body and spirit were reaching their limits, with the recovery abilities of her angelic form beginning to weaken.

With a blink, Turing's exhausted eyes saw Beezelbub's radiant presence resembling the static on an old TV screen.

Turing felt like she was on the brink of passing out, ready to sleep forever at just the closing of her eyes.

"Lie down, girl."

"As long as you lie down, I'll spare your life."

Beezelbub swooped down like a grand golden eagle from above. Folding her wings, she landed smoothly beside Turing, speaking softly to her.

Turing's lips twitched slightly, but no sound emerged.

Turing realized she had lost even the strength to make a sound.

[Beezelbub... Why are you so powerful?]

[Even Samael's magic couldn't kill her, I have no chance of winning!]

[But, if I surrender and beg for mercy from my mother... will she spare Merka?]

Her gaze gradually turned somber. In this moment of despair, there was a flicker of surrender in Turing's mind.

With a sideways glance, Turing quietly watched Beezelbub towering beside her, feeling as if she were unbeatable.

But the figure next to Turing seemed to have no intention of surrendering.

"Turing, get up."

"Let's try again."

The massive mechanical entity that had shielded Turing from the attack moments ago now awkwardly rose to its feet, extending a mechanical tentacle to grasp Turing's slender arm and help her stand.

"Are you... aside?"

Seeing this, Beezelbub's expression froze, her brow furrowing slightly as she whispered in surprise.

She was growing impatient, almost onto the brink of irritation. It never occurred to her that dealing with Turing would have such unexpected variables.

Hearing Beezelbub's astonished tone, Turing fixed her gaze on the peculiar mechanical being.

To her surprise, this creature bore a striking resemblance to the strange entity she had unleashed just moments before.

Unbeknownst to Turing, the mythical creature was the original form of Kagtua. aside had transformed into a mechanical form because that was the body it was most comfortable manipulating.

Controlling the mechanical shell, aside enveloped itself within the mechanical deity, using it as the core. It attached itself to the mechanical deity, thereby communicating with Turing.

"aside... is that you? How did you get here?"

Turing had heard about the Black Shadow from Merka but had never truly seen it before.

"I used a large number of Maria's remaining machines to build a robot to bring me here... but that's not important."

"Turing, I'm here to help you defeat Beezelbub."

"This is our last chance."

"After this, we won't have such an easy opportunity to approach Oedipus again, let alone Beezelbub."

Looking at the aside now in pieces from Beezelbub's ruthless attack, Turing's expression was mixed with uncertainty.

"But... I have already failed. Even my strongest magic couldn't kill her, I am..."

Turing's face fell, her eyes slightly lowered, and with a tinge of sadness, she said.

aside reached out a tentacle, lifting Turing up from the ground.

"That's why I am still here, right?"

"Give me your hand, and I will help you become stronger."

Seeing Turing hesitantly extending her hand, aside's tone quickened slightly, imbued with a hint of affection.

"Every citizen of Acadia is my child. I will never give up on you..."

aside seemed as if wanting to convey more to Turing, but those lingering words were abruptly cut off by Beezelbub's unexpected attack.

"Do you think I don't exist?!"

Just as Turing's hand was about to touch aside, Beezelbub swiftly flew back, sprouting several thick tentacles from her back that collided, scattering aside into flying iron shards everywhere.

However, these flying iron pieces immediately transformed into countless butterflies dancing in the mist, fluttering towards Turing.

In the mechanical-scented wind stirred by the butterfly wings, Turing's hair gently lifted.

Amidst the chaotic battlefield, Turing seemed to hear a faint call from some fantastical realm.

"Turing, may you have a happy and fulfilling life."

"But you must also accept your duty as a weapon."

"You must remember everything, accept everything, and come to terms with both pain and joy."

"From the beginning, I knew you were an outstanding individual, diligent and hardworking, a child of fate and machines."

"But before all that, I knew you were a kind and lovely child."

"I believe your gentle and sweet nature, floating like a soft cloud in the sky, will be upheld by all things in the world, celebrating your path to ascendancy."

"Remember now, remember..."

"That feeling of bending a spoon out of thin air during dinner with everyone."

In a meditative detachment, Turing's mind felt as if hit by a bullet, her body becoming exceptionally clear and transparent.

She had never experienced such a liberating sensation before.

A sea of blood flooded from all directions as if emanating from the depths of hell. Turing accidentally choked on some blood, plunging into the depths of despair.

Her swaying hair followed the flowing tide, like a floating duckweed, growing.

Gradually, the torrent engulfed Turing up to her waist, enveloping her slender and supple limbs, lifting her high above.

Involuntarily arching her waist, she quickly sank into the blood-red shattered dreams.

Suffused with the crimson mists symbolizing Fanzhan, Turing was enveloped by a serene, soft, and sweet atmosphere akin to blossoming mushroom clouds from epic battles—calm, tender, and fragrant.

Turing inexplicably felt familiar with the concepts of death, war, and violence, once foreign and heavy to her.

They seemed like long-lost friends she met in a coffee shop, ready to be rekindled at her beckoning, awakening a friendship constructed from dusty memories of hardships and triumphs.

In the crimson silence, Turing suddenly opened her eyes.

She remembered many things, including Theresa's matters, Samael's matters, Mammon's matters, Diana's matters…

Of course, buried deep within her being, she recalled the intrinsic warrior spirit exclusive to angels.

Turing returned to reality.

She fixed her gaze on Beezelbub not far away, tilting her head slightly, while raising her hand towards Beezelbub and rotating her arm 180 degrees.

"Truth... twists everything."

Recalling the memory of twisting a spoon into a screw, Turing gritted her teeth and spoke each word with determination.

In an instant, to Beezelbub's horror-stricken gaze, thousands of dark indigo iron cords tore through space from behind Turing and lashed out.

Moving swiftly, everything they touched warped into spiraling objects of various sizes.

Startled, Beezelbub attempted to dodge.

But she failed to notice the chained restraint sneaking up behind her.

With a sharp hiss, Beezelbub couldn't evade in time, her entire right arm twisted into pieces by the iron cords.