Aiven put away the [Sea Soul], and the three Great Wizards soared into the sky, flying together into the brass gates that had opened with a thunderous sound.

A blinding flash of golden light vanished in an instant.

When their vision returned, they found themselves under a high and distant sky, standing on a solid metal ground.

Hiss—!

White steam rose around them slowly.

From deep beneath the ground, there was a faint rumbling of steam-powered devices, yet no filthy smoke was emitted.

"This is..."

Aiven gazed around, realizing that before him lay a vast plain composed of countless massive metal gears.

The total area exceeded 1,200 square kilometers, at least four times larger than the [Witchcraft Garden: Poseidya City], which had grown considerably since Aiven acquired the [Seed of Space-Time].

The entire area was circular, with a towering metal spire in the center that resembled the intricate core mechanism of a clock.

Under the translucent indigo sky, which was very similar to the Spirit Realm, the spire was divided into three segments.

Besides the towering hundred-meter base, the upper two segments hovered in the air, seemingly having completely lost gravity in the high skies of this [Witchcraft Garden].

Furthermore, the entire [Mechanical Realm] had no soil or vegetation, giving the strongest impression of absolute cleanliness! Absolute flatness! Absolute symmetry!

Though composed of countless gears, they were arranged seamlessly together, with no redundant parts, presenting an extreme industrial aesthetic of precision.

Slowly withdrawing his gaze.

At this moment, a humanoid construct puppet, with a round head embedded with a sapphire, was already waiting beside them.

"Beep! Identity confirmed.

Mr. Galliot, Lady Serra, Mr. Snite, hello! I am Construct Puppet No. 8 in [Mechanical Realm], here to serve you. Please follow me."

When the gears under their feet rotated to a specific position, the construct, self-designated as No. 8, was the first to step onto the next gigantic gear nearly a hundred meters in diameter.

The three of them did not hesitate, immediately taking steps to follow.

Only Aiven heard Serra suddenly muttering to herself:

"Why is the entry process so tedious this time? Even the teleportation channels have been completely shut down, has [Mechanical Realm]'s defense system been fully activated?"

Approaching the witch, whispering a few words, he came to understand.

Normally, friendly units of the same alliance entering [Mechanical Realm] would be granted teleportation privileges directly, entering the central Wizard Tower of the [Witchcraft Garden], never making guests walk.

Especially since today is the day of the council meeting, it is truly unusual.

After hearing Serra's explanation, Aiven couldn't help but ponder whether such anomalies might be related to the agenda of today's meeting.

Though initially intending to meet the famed Crowned Wizard.

Now he was resolved to play the part of a spectator, bringing only his eyes and ears, holding off on speaking or making a statement, just observing before deciding.

At the same time, because teleportation privileges couldn't be used,

many constructs seemingly with independent personalities and consciousness led the arriving "Holy Stone Council" members and their entourages, weaving through the vast metallic landscape.

Aiven discreetly activated his [Eye of Profound Wisdom], quietly observing these strangers.

This magic-like technique had no anomalies, no magic element fluctuations, so there was no concern about being discovered and causing unnecessary trouble.

Since originally he sold the [Ancient Scroll] replications to "Turin Grand Library," thereby gaining his councilmembership, this was Aiven's first attendance at a Holy Stone Council meeting.

Naturally, he had some curiosity about the coalition's internal members.

Data scrolled line by line.

Name: Unknown

Tier: Peak Official Wizard (Alchemy School's Magic Potion Branch)

Attributes: Constitution 2.4, Strength 2.1, Agility 2.6, Spiritual Power approx. 4.2.

Skills: Alchemy (Judged by residual magic element and scent, more adept at magic potion concoctions in the black witchcraft domain; the smell of fermented lizard tails is a bit pungent...)

Name: Quiller (someone has addressed him by this name)

Tier: Upper-Rank Wizard (Alchemy School's Alchemy Tools and Enchantment Engineering Branch)

Skills: Alchemy (Judged by residual magic element, more adept at research in fire element and firearm weapons domains; left arm is a prosthetic, possibly from some experimental accident...)

"..."

But Aiven also wasn't sure if it was an illusion caused by the [Eye of Profound Wisdom].

He noticed these members affiliated with the "Alchemy School" seemed subtly divided into two rival factions, with most appearing anxious.

"Something unusual might have arisen within the 'Alchemy School'."

Additionally,

Aiven also saw among them many witches, members of other small schools, and even non-locals from outside Celebes Island like himself.

Though his under standing of other paths wasn't deep, through the [Eye of Profound Wisdom], he could discern generalities and make initial judgments.

The casual spying on others' secrets gave Aiven a sense of secret delight.

Walking to a point six gears from the Central Tower, Aiven had experimentally observed over twenty wizards.

Just about to follow the construct onto another gear, he suddenly saw three female wizards in dresses enter the [Mechanical Realm] together.

Glanced instinctively, two were nothing special, merely members from the island's small schools.

But upon seeing the third female wizard with Great Wizard strength, Aiven's gaze immediately narrowed.

Because he sensed an extremely strong temporal and spatial distancing aura from her, as if she were separated by a layer from this world.

And the one who gave Aiven this feeling wasn't anyone else, it was Milan walking beside him!

She was likely one of the contenders mentioned by Graham, the Chief of the "Clock Tower School," who had obtained the School's Magic Book inheritance.

And she was clearly much stronger than the guy around her.

"Milan, look at that..."

Aiven grabbed Milan and was about to let him confirm. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Suddenly.

Boom——!!!

With a thunderous explosion, the entire [Mechanical Realm] shook hard.

"What's going on?!"

"Is the [Mechanical Realm] malfunctioning?"

Other School Wizards traversing through the [Mechanical Realm] stopped and exclaimed, but the tremor wasn't enough to harm a bunch of Extraordinary.

The "Alchemy School" members, however, reacted swiftly and sped toward the Central Tower without a second thought.

All the sapphire-faced mechanical body puppets turned red simultaneous and spoke in unison:

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Please follow the guidance to take shelter nearby!"

Aiven and Milan were still surprised that someone would attack a "Crowned Wizard's" base.

Serra had already dragged both of them behind the mechanical body, jumping onto a nearby gear marked with a "safe symbol," completely distancing them from the gear's connecting parts.

Meanwhile.

Boom——!!!

Another earth-shaking boom occurred.

The azure sky above the [Mechanical Realm] suddenly scattered, revealing the true scene behind it.

The structure of all [Witchcraft Gardens] was similar, where after being detached from the Spirit Realm and filled with enough material, part of them is finally connected to the real world, while another part continues to connect with the Spirit Realm.

At this time.

The sky of the real world remained unchanged, but in the bizarre Spirit Realm, an indescribable, gigantic entity from the interlayer of the Spirit Realm and [Witchcraft Garden] kept attacking.

Boom! Boom!...

"Even with the protection of [Witchcraft Garden], please do not look up. The attackers are the evil gods 'Thousand-Faced Moon,' 'Night Lion,' 'Skull Hunter' Kohol!"

The mechanical body puppet's reminder came to the ear, but relying on Aiven's [Eye of Profound Wisdom], he managed a glimpse of the entity's entirety.

"Evil God Kohol?!"

This gigantic entity resembled an endless ocean made of gray slime, lacking biological differentiation like a primordial protozoan.

Countless dark spots floated in the ocean, which upon slight examination turned out to be countless heads!

Millions of human heads and even more non-human heads shifted and submerged in the gray ocean.

And these heads were still alive.

Their eyes were filled with indescribable pain, their lips spoke of boundless sorrow, tears streamed down their bloodstained cheeks.

Even the terrifying non-human heads: bird-shaped, lizard-like, element monsters made of living stones and metals, mushroom people, etc., all genuinely conveyed the substantively condensed suffering.

It was a living hell filled with hatred, pain, chaos, filth... and other negative forces.

However.

According to Wizard records, "Thousand-Faced Moon" Kohol's [Mythical Form] is actually a massive spherical object, meaning that what everyone sees now is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Against this terrifyingly strong enemy, the "Alchemy School" clearly had prepared.

An ancient voice suddenly echoed throughout the [Witchcraft Garden], calm and composed:

"Battle personnel prepare, close the internal and external teleportation gates, [Mechanical Realm] activate 'Plane Fortress Mode'!"

Then.

Click... click...

The gears turned, releasing white mist, and the deeply hidden underground power devices roared.

The entire 1200-square-kilometer gigantic domain began to rapidly transform, with some places rising and others falling.

In this process, endlessly chilling colossal turret arrays rose to the battle platform.

Whiz——!

Under the Central Tower Spirit's control, they quickly aimed the hedgehog-like menacing gun snouts at the sky, synchronously loading enchanted ammunition.

The gear where Aiven and the others had temporarily hidden didn't move, leaving them in a small safety zone but also providing them an opportunity to witness the breathtaking spectacle of a million turrets roaring in unison up close.

The glorious anthem of the multi-turret divine sect seemed to resound in Aiven's ears.

"Holy! Multi-rivet steam gang, turret supreme!

Millions of stars, millions of turrets!

Multi-rivet steam gang, turret superior!

Millions of turrets, millions of glory!"

"Fire!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!....

The ground trembled, and the entire sky of the [Mechanical Realm] was easily lit by the flash of the cannon fire.