Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

As Ying followed Nasita through the dimly lit passage, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly at an irregular frequency.

At the end of the passage was a vast space with a dome so high that it was almost impossible to see the top. The walls were inlaid with mechanical structures that glowed with a dark purple light, like the interior of a giant machine that was slowly running.

In the very center of the space, a massive mechanical construct covered in deep purple patterns stood there.

Its head was lowered, like a colossus that had not yet awakened, but the machine's chest was slowly rising and falling—not breathing, but the rhythm of some kind of continuously circulating energy.

Ying stood at the entrance, looking up at the mechanical construct that was taller than any other guardian she had ever seen, then turned to Paimon: "...That's a skirmisher?"

Paimon flew to her side and looked up at the slowly undulating machine: "The thing that the sages of the Church created with the heart of Thor... that must be it. They call it the 'God of the True Machine'."

The machine's head slowly rose. Two dark purple beams of light shone through the gaps beneath the facial armor, flowing slowly along the armor's patterns.

Immediately afterwards, a sound came from inside the machine. Even after being filtered through the thick armor, it still carried a sharp penetrating force, echoing repeatedly in the empty space before gradually dissipating.

"How dare a tiny insect look upon a god?"

When Ying heard those words, her body tensed up instinctively for a moment. She reached out and gripped the hilt of her sword, feeling Paimon shrink slightly behind her.

But the voice did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, it paused for a moment, like a blank segment waiting for a response, before resuming its process after completing a self-check.

"Such great power is all divine creation."

The enormous mechanical construct slowly raised its arm. Its movement was slow, but as it moved, the air density of the entire space seemed to change, like a curtain being slowly drawn back, redistributing the pressure field around it.

Just before the giant arm was about to fall, Ying rolled to the side, while Nasita raised her hand before the shockwave spread out. A layer of light green light unfolded in front of her, forming a barrier that blocked the spreading shockwave.

Nasita lowered her hand, her gaze falling on the mechanical construct that was readjusting its posture: "Scrap soldier. You have gained the power of the gods, but that does not mean you understand the meaning of the gods."

The voice of a skirmisher emanated from inside the machine, carrying an almost arrogant contempt and mockery: "Meaning? Buyer, you have neither the will nor the power."

Ying had already stood up again and circled around to the side and rear of the machine. Her sword drew an arc in the air, but before she could complete the slash, the machine's arm spun around at a speed beyond her expectations, and a shockwave sent her staggering back several steps.

Nasita's gaze remained fixed on the machine. Her expression didn't change much, but the fingers gripping her staff tightened slightly: "You've experienced many failures, but you've never truly understood why. You blame it on betrayal and the world's indifference, but you've never considered—whether you yourself are partly to blame."

The stragglers' voices sharpened upon hearing "defeat" and "blaming others," as if something not yet fully healed had been touched: "Beneath the Seven Leaves, only I shall endure!"

The mechanical arm rose again, this time moving much faster than before, creating a muffled whooshing sound in the air.

Ying rolled to dodge the sweeping attack, her shoulder scraping the ground. She used her sword to support herself as she rolled and stood up again, but did not attack immediately.

Nasita's voice came from behind her: "Traveler, please step back."

Without hesitation, Ying took a few steps back before the mechanical arm could fall again.

Nasita took a step forward, and the pale green light spread outward from her palm, forming a slowly shrinking barrier the moment it touched the mechanical creation, as if it were measuring the boundaries and outlines of the light in its own way.

"This is the 168th time you've tried to take my Heart of God."

Nasita's voice was neither loud nor soft, but the moment she uttered those words, she saw the mechanical creation pause for an extremely brief moment, like a signal receiver experiencing a jump delay while executing a program node, waiting for the calibration signal of the next cycle to be transmitted before re-entering the next round of instruction loop.

"...What did you say?"

The soldier's voice came from inside the machine. His tone was no longer as sharp and contemptuous as before; it was more as if he had been stuck in place by an uncertain piece of information.

Nasita's voice remained calm, as if recounting something that had happened many times before: "In the dream, we have completed one hundred and sixty-eight cycles. Each time you defeated me and stole my Heart of God. But I have recorded every attack pattern you used, every peak of your energy output, and every weakness you revealed."

Nasita paused for a moment, then said, "Now, everyone in Sumeru is helping me."

The pale green light grew brighter as she spoke those words, spreading along the edge of the slowly shrinking barrier, as if re-measuring the outline and boundaries of the mechanical creation in its own way.

Countless sounds and glimmers of light converged from the void—the knowledge at work was being transmitted along the edge of the barrier to Narcida's hands, and then surged toward the luminosity behind her at an even faster pace.

When the light touched her arm, Ying felt a sensation she had never experienced before—a sensation that did not belong to power, speed, or anything she was familiar with. It was more like she was simultaneously receiving information from countless different directions, each telling her the same conclusion—where to go.

Ying's movements became faster than before at that moment, and the arc of her sword became more precise.

After several consecutive attacks, the massive mechanical construct began to show obvious signs of imbalance—its energy output was becoming unstable, each adjustment of its posture required a longer time than the last, and the balance it maintained was being constantly weakened and shifted.

After the final energy surge, the mechanical construct completely lost its balance. Its arm veered off course during its last swing, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of rubble and dust. The massive mechanical body tilted and fell, the colossal construct crashing to the ground with a dull thud of metal colliding and energy dissipation that echoed through the empty space for a long time before gradually dissipating.

Nasita stepped forward. Her movements were slow, but each step was steady. She stopped in front of the machine that was slowly losing its energy glow and reached out her hand. Her fingertips pierced through the cracking armor and touched the faintly glowing object at the machine's core.

She held the Heart of God in her palm, its dark purple light maintaining a steady brightness. She put the Heart of God into her pocket, then looked down at the machine that was gradually coming to a stop.

A faint light, gradually dimming, still shone through the gaps in the armor, but it had become very weak, as if it were slowly fading away in its own way.

The machine's head lifted slightly one last time before completely losing power, and the light behind the shattering armor emitted a final glimmer before going completely dark.

Ying stood a few steps away, watching Nasita complete the movement. She could see inside the mechanical construct that was gradually losing its luster; the outline was slowly losing its support, as if being pulled back to the ground by gravity.

Ying stared in that direction, remaining silent for a moment: "Skirmisher? Is he still alive?"

Nasita remained standing before the enormous mechanical construct: "He is still alive. But the 'God of the Right Machine' has lost its ability to function."

Nasita turned to look at Ying, "The Heart of God has been retrieved. Sumeru will no longer be threatened by it."

Paimon flew to Luminous's side, looked at the huge machine, her gaze lingering on the slowly fading light before turning back to Luminous: "...What he said just now, it felt like he was really too high."

Ying also turned around: "He's not out of his mind. He's just too eager to prove himself."

Ying turned her head and glanced at Nasita. "So, what are you planning to do with him next?"

Narcida's gaze fell on the enormous mechanical construct, her pale green eyes quietly observing it: "He needs time. I will watch over him until he is ready to face himself."

After Nasita finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the entrance of the passage.