After seeing off the God of Decay, Sein found his thoughts drifting back to a minor incident that had occurred earlier on the central battlefield.

At the time, an overlord-level psychic from the Rosen Dynasty Civilization had intercepted several of the Gallant Federation’s apocalyptical strikes with a psychic force beam, shielding Sein and the others.

Sein had assumed the gesture was meant to protect the numerous Rosen Dynasty legions in the warzone, as well as the God of Decay.

But on further reflection, that overlord-level psychic seemed to have glanced in his direction more than once.

Of course, the attention had not been on Sein himself. More precisely, it had been focused on the Faceless Mask covering his face.

This world-class secret treasure was of truly exceptional quality.

After all, the vast majority of Rank Six Magus World knights and mages wielded only low-grade world-class secret treasures. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

For a Rank Five mage like Sein to possess a mid-grade world-class secret treasure was undeniably eye-catching.

Fortunately, Sein was within the Magus Civilization’s territory. If the Faceless Mask’s true grade had been exposed in some distant, alien star domain, it would almost certainly have attracted the covetous gaze of overlord-level beings.

The Faceless Mask’s attributes were remarkably versatile. Beings who followed any power system or path of laws could make use of it.

This was very different from Sein’s other world-class secret treasure, the Magic Cube. Although its quality was nearly on par with the Faceless Mask and even showed signs of surpassing it, its unique properties made it suitable only for professions focused on robotics and mechanics.

To creatures from other cultivation civilizations, the Magic Cube was nothing more than a pretty rock.

Yet Sein sensed that the overlord-level psychic from the Rosen Dynasty Civilization had been drawn to the Faceless Mask not because of its grade, but for some other reason altogether.

Within the Magus Alliance, would the other party really dare to seize a treasure belonging to a native Magus World knight or mage?

It was precisely the overwhelming might of the Magus Civilization that instilled such pride and confidence in mages like Sein.

Even as a Rank Five mage, he dared to speculate freely about the true intentions of an overlord-level being, confident that the other would not dare lay hands on his treasure.

So what, then, was the real reason?

Unable to find an answer, Sein shook his head and pushed the thought aside.

His physical condition was still far from ideal, with all of his numerical values showing clear signs of weakness.

Even now, patches of yellow-green fluorescence continued to seep from his skin.

This was caused by a peculiar form of lumen elemental radiation, and its effects continued to eat away at Sein’s bodily cells even now.

This persistent luminescent damage was the lingering aftermath of the Gallant Federation’s Bosonic Force Field on his body.

The residual effects of the federation’s apocalyptical weapon were not easy to purge.

Even when Sein activated his elemental body or demonic form, the fluorescence still clung to his skin.

While it no longer posed a direct threat to his life and he had already avoided the worst of the damage, the constant, lingering harm was thoroughly unpleasant.

The only upside was that this persistent condition gave him a perfect excuse to significantly extend his requested recuperation period with the higher-ups at the main base.

At present, the one overseeing all aspects of the Magus Civilization’s main legion in this subspace was Grandmaster Feylis.

Asking for a longer recuperation period from his own grandmaster was anything but a challenge.

What pleased Sein even more was the news that Lorianne seemed likely to arrive at this subspace soon.

After being apart for so long, Sein found that he genuinely missed her.

However, with both sides’ overlord-tier forces now locked in a power struggle within this subspace and the battlefield situation clearly escalating, Lorianne’s arrival under such circumstances might not necessarily be a good thing.

Then again, Grandmaster Feylis was unlikely to send Lorianne to the frontlines since she was not skilled in combat.

Most likely, she would spend her time brewing potions or tending to the wounded law-wielding creatures of the Magus Civilization.

The thought of that lifted Sein’s spirits a little.

***

Upon returning to the laboratory, Sein examined his physical condition before eagerly starting the preparation of his new Rank Six Apocalypse World creature specimen.

Specimen preparation was a truly delightful and soul-enriching endeavor.

No wonder Magus World mages, from the lowest ranks to the highest, maintained absurdly vast specimen collections.

Lower-ranking mages, such as magic initiates, could only experiment on materials like frog hind legs. Sein, by contrast, was now handling body parts from a Rank Six creature!

The morbid satisfaction and collector’s thrill brought on by preparing the remains of a Rank Six Apocalypse World creature greatly eased the lingering pain caused by the Bosonic Force Field’s aftereffects.

Magic research required a balanced rhythm, and over time, Sein had developed his own experimental routines and habits.

After completing the palm specimen from the Rank Six Apocalypse World creature, Sein released a quiet sigh of satisfaction.

Rather than immediately moving on to other limb specimens, he stretched his body, summoned Yuri to bring him a glass of magic fruit juice, and then turned his attention to Fermera inside the laboratory.

Fermera was also severely injured. Her condition was even worse than Sein’s.

In addition to being struck by the Gravitational Collapse Beam, she had absorbed part of the Bosonic Force Field’s attack while shielding him.

The Gravitational Collapse Beam had caused spatial contraction across several areas of Fermera’s body. The most severe damage was concentrated in four places: her right shoulder, chest, waist, and left thigh.

Combined with the effects of the Bosonic Force Field, Fermera’s skin now exhibited the same strange radiative fluorescence as Sein’s.

However, the hue covering her body was bluish, likely due to differences in their bodily particle composition.

Her left arm was still missing.

Sein had yet to find any rare metallic materials suitable for repairing Fermera’s left arm.

Moreover, the Energy Amethyst had shown no immediate restorative effect on her heavily damaged body.

For now, all they could do was wait for the Magic Cube’s metamorphosis to conclude and rely on its power to accelerate her recovery.

As for the rare metals needed to repair Fermera’s left arm and wings, Sein had identified two possible sources. He would have to either purchase them from Steel City in Magus World or contact the Norman Federation, a member of the Magus Alliance.

At present, the connection between this subspace and the Magus Civilization’s rear lines was relatively stable. Acquiring these rare materials and delivering them to the frontlines would not be particularly difficult.

At the moment, Fermera looked undeniably pitiful.

Yet for some reason, the sight only made Sein feel even more excited.

“The Gravitational Collapse Beam compressed the specialized alloy particles within your body, finally allowing me to observe the underlying principles at work through my high-powered elemental microscope. The Bosonic Force Field that struck us both also gave me the chance to analyze the secrets behind certain lumen elemental principles,” Sein said.

“So, lumen elemental energy can actually fuse with radiation-type laws, huh?” he murmured to himself.

He looked at the angel robot and exclaimed in near-manic excitement, “This is incredible, Fermera! Let us unravel these mysteries of truth together!”

Fermera lay motionless on the experimental table, wearing her usual expression of indifference and aloofness.

No matter what Sein did, she cooperated without the slightest resistance.

Yuri, who had just brought over a glass of magic fruit juice, could not help curling her lips slightly at the sight.

Fortunately, Sein had not sent Yuri away. In mechanical or body-tempering experiments like this, he usually let her stay nearby as his assistant.

“Bring me Experimental Clamp Number Two,” he instructed, having already removed the alloy plate from Fermera’s chest.

Fermera, who had been calm and composed just moments earlier, now showed a faint flicker of emotion in her eyes and expression.

It was unclear whether this was due to the intrusive nature of Sein’s experiment or the presence of Yuri, an “outsider”.

Yuri noticed her subtle change in expression, but dutifully handed over the requested equipment.

As she glanced down at Fermera, the engineer who had served Sein for years let a small, mischievous smile form at the corners of her mouth.

“Master, should I call the Burning Flame over to assist us as well?” she asked.

“Some of the heavier metal equipment and specialized structures might require her support,” Yuri added.

Sein considered her suggestion for two seconds before nodding. “Sure.”

Yuri’s smile widened at his response.

Meanwhile, the unease on Fermera’s face became even more pronounced.