220: Madness: Project Mechanical Age!

There was no wind, yet Lin Feng's and Alicia's clothes fluttered as if in a breeze.

The ubiquitous starlight in the hall seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, forming slow-rotating, visible halos and ripples around Elric's body.

The energy particles of the Starfall Tower, permeating the air, silently converged towards him, like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

What was even more shocking was the floor.

The floor, paved with incredibly strong special alloys imbued with the Power of Stars, silently softened and deformed beneath Elric's feet!

It was like wax thrown into a high-temperature furnace, or like play-doh kneaded by an invisible giant hand.

The hard metal floor, where he stood, slowly sagged downwards, flowing to form a perfect, shallow pit with edges as smooth as a mirror!

There was no dust, no sound, only matter yielding and restructuring under absolute will!

Elric seemed to have become the embodiment of the physical laws of this space; where he stood, there the laws took effect.

The softened metal, the converging starlight, all silently declared.

He was the Power of Rule itself.

Alicia also felt a chill rise from her spine.

As Your Holiness the Saintess of Light, her perception of energy was extremely keen, but at this moment, she still couldn't detect any energy fluctuations belonging to a "professional" from Elric.

The feeling... it was like an ordinary person standing before you, yet the ground beneath his feet was shaping itself for him, and the surrounding air was weaving a throne for him.

This was more unsettling than any violent power, because it completely overturned Alicia's understanding of power.

Most shocked of all were the metal knights.

The Dark Gold Leader's crimson visual sensors flickered violently, his massive metal body trembled slightly, emitting an extremely subtle, 'clanking' sound like gears grinding under overload.

"This... impossible..."

He had cooperated with Elric for over a century, knowing well that this King of Alchemy's attainments in alchemy and mechanical modification were at their peak, forming the cornerstone of their continued existence.

But the power they recognized in him, the King of Alchemy, was his mastery of intricate alchemical arrays, his use of alchemy and machinery to create powerful energy weapons, and to forge indestructible alloy bodies.

Yet, the scene before them completely transcended their understanding of him.

The power he had just displayed was something even his own modified body, capable of epic-level strength, could not achieve!

Elric seemed oblivious to the Dark Gold Leader's shock; he adjusted his monocle, his eyes, as deep as the cosmos, calmly swept over everyone, finally settling on Alicia.

Alicia's expression instantly turned solemn.

Almost instinctively, the surging Holy Light power within her reacted, and a pure light shield instantly condensed before her.

However, Elric showed no intention of acting; his eyes, as deep as the cosmos, now clearly reflected Alicia's figure, especially the pendant on her chest that emitted a soft and sacred glow.

That was the true divine artifact, the "grace of the god of light," passed down for millennia by the Church of Light.

"Your Holiness the Saintess."

Elric's voice broke the dead silence, still carrying that unruffled calmness, yet with an undeniable implication.

"The power of faith has its limits; the potential of flesh and soul, before great alchemy, ultimately seems fragile."

"The distortion of the Holy See stems from a lack of power; to restore the glory of the Church of Light, you need a more fundamental, more powerful Power of Rule."

Alicia's heart sank, a strong sense of unease gripping her.

She instinctively clutched the pendant on her chest.

Elric's gaze locked onto the "grace of the god of light," no longer scrutinizing, but with an almost greedy desire to explore unknown truths.

"Therefore, I request you."

Elric's voice clearly echoed in the silent hall, each word like a heavy lead weight striking everyone's hearts.

By this point, he no longer wished to hide anything; his gaze was fixed intently on Alicia, and he spoke word by word.

"Lend me the 'grace of the god of light' so I may complete my great research."

"What?!"

Alicia gasped in surprise, almost believing she had misheard.

The grace of the god of light!

That was the core of the Church of Light's faith, the highest symbol of Holy Light in the human world!

It was a sacred object that absolutely could not be lost!

Lend it to an alchemist who had transformed himself into a non-human existence for "research"?

This was blasphemy!

Lin Feng's nerves instantly tightened as well, his internal power quietly circulating, watching Elric vigilantly.

"He's being too calculating!"

"Over a hundred years, transforming all the Templar Knights into Cyborgs or even full mechanical lifeforms, and now he wants to 'borrow' the divine artifact of the Church of Light."

"Tsk tsk, it's no wonder he's a figure who left his mark in Western history. Aside from everything else, just this 'bandit' nature has already earned Lin Feng's approval."

The Dark Gold Leader's visual sensors also lit up sharply, clearly shocked by this sudden request.

They had cooperated with Elric for a century, yet had never imagined he would propose such a request, touching the very core of the Church!

However, Elric ignored Alicia's shock and everyone's reactions.

He seemed to merely be expounding a scientific experiment plan with an incredibly clear logical chain.

"The purpose of the research is not to blaspheme faith, but to analyze the 'divine order' it contains."

Elric's voice carried a chilling fanaticism.

"The 'grace of the god of light,' as a true divine artifact, must inherently contain a portion of the Power of Rule that constitutes the concept of 'god'; it must be one of the ultimate manifestations of the Power of Rule."

He took a step forward, a step that seemed to land on a spatial node, causing the light in the entire hall to slightly distort.

"My 'God-Creation' project is at its most critical stage. If I can study a true divine artifact, I will undoubtedly be able to truly complete the 'Deus Ex Machina' experiment. By then..."

Elric's voice grew increasingly fervent, though still cold, it was filled with madness.

"I will bypass the shackles of faith and the fragility of flesh! With absolute rationality and order as the foundation!"

"Using alchemy to analyze divinity!"

"Using machinery to carry godhood!"

"Using the soul to drive divine authority!"

"Artificially creating a 'God'-level existence that is absolutely loyal to me, absolutely controllable, and absolutely powerful!"

"One, or... several!"

Elric's gaze swept over the mechanical knights before him.

"With this ultimate creation, I will purify the world, currently coveted by multiple planes, and reshape the fundamental laws of this world!"

"This is the most probable and most effective solution to counter unknown dangers, protect the existing order, and even restore everything humanity once had!"

"And the 'grace of the god of light' will be the most crucial cornerstone to usher in this 'Machine God Era'!"

"Please, hand it over to me!"

When his voice fell, the Hall of Stars was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Elric's astonishing "Mechanical God-Creation Theory" exploded like a cold bomb deep within everyone's souls, leaving behind endless shock, fear, and bewilderment at the "Blueprint of God" he described with cold rationality, a blueprint full of unknowns and taboos.