Constant consumption, constant repair.
Relying on the half of his body that was connected to the Quantum Sea, Irontomb continued to draw more energy.
He had considered retreating entirely into the Quantum Sea, but in the end, he gave up.
Godzilla could precisely locate him from across the cosmos even when he was within the Quantum Sea.
Whether Mobius had helped or not was unclear, but either way, rashly fleeing into an unfamiliar Quantum Sea to evade Godzilla was not a wise choice.
The situation now was very simple. He did not want to retreat. Before destroying Godzilla, he did not want to retreat.
And he could not retreat either. He could clearly feel Godzilla's intent to tear him apart completely.
"Bang!!" That was the sound of his minions being ripped open.
Under suppression, Irontomb knew clearly that what he needed to do was shrink as much as possible, protect his strength, and wait for a chance to counterattack.
But Godzilla was not going to give him that opportunity.
Like a bug, still able to move after bleeding, Godzilla looked at Irontomb regenerating once more.
His eyelids lowered slightly as a dangerous aura steadily rose. Along with scorching heat, Godzilla's fury took form as flames surged upward.
The tail fins lit up. The dorsal fins lit up. Brilliant crimson energy gathered in his mouth, and then…
Red Atomic Beam - Crimson Lotus!!!
Built upon the Crimson Lotus mode and carrying endless thermal energy, overwhelmingly destructive, it obliterated everything in its path. Wherever the gaze reached, nothing could remain unscathed before this breath.
Sensing danger, Irontomb once again attempted to retreat into the Quantum Sea, but this time it was not so simple.
Red light flashed. The crimson beam plunged into the Quantum Sea, falling silent…
Then, it exploded violently!!
World-destroying power detonated. The surging Quantum Sea was forced into normal, then instantly vaporized under this terrifying attack. The small Quantum Sea level almost evaporated instantly.
Looking horizontally, under this beam, nearly half the Quantum Sea was destroyed. An empty star system, planets that once hung there were gone. Whatever astronomical phenomena had existed, under this emotionless attack, they had only one fate, destruction.
Even with the Quantum Sea blocking most of the energy, it still destroyed such a vast area, utterly unparalleled.
Aside from the Quantum Sea, and Irontomb whose fate was unknown, it also incidentally gave the Diamond's Barrier another huge impact.
…
"Bang!!"
A blazing shockwave struck sideways without warning. Diamond, who had been maintaining steady output, was caught off guard and staggered back two steps.
He pressed down with his feet, paused briefly, and finally stabilized himself.
"Oh? You should step aside and make room for the young, give the youngsters more space to grow." Seeing Diamond suffer a setback was rare, and Taravan's lips curled into a smile.
"I feel my vitality is as indestructible as diamond. With the right bearer, I can still shine brilliantly." Diamond neither confirmed nor denied Taravan's teasing.
He was not annoyed either. Taravan had always been like this.
Originally not a believer of Preservation, he still became an Emanator of Preservation, a particularly strange person within the IPC.
And because he was an Emanator, he stood alone as his own faction.
This gave those within the IPC who liked forming cliques and drawing lines quite a headache.
Diamond's relationship with him was fairly good. Still, as fellow Emanators, even without personal rivalry, their subordinates would inevitably start boasting on their behalf. Over time, this led to the two of them exchanging jokes and barbs in private.
Ignoring Taravan, Diamond looked toward the massive breach in the Barrier, through which the scene inside was visible. His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke.
"With an attack like that, I wonder how Irontomb is doing."
If Irontomb survived even such an attack, Diamond would have no choice but to praise his tenacious vitality.
He had acknowledged it before. But this was a different matter entirely.
Based on the power Godzilla had displayed, it could be said that within the cosmos, below the Aeons, wherever he went became his domain.
…
Irontomb's condition was indeed very bad.
The Quantum Sea that Godzilla's Crimson Lotus had vaporized was intimately linked to Irontomb himself.
It was a projection he had summoned using the portion of himself that was connected to the Quantum Sea, before he had time to truly explore it. Though it was a projection, it still contained the power of the Quantum Sea.
It was a genuine projection of the Quantum Sea into the real cosmos. He was the core of that projection.
Under normal circumstances, even if someone could affect that sea, it would not impact him directly.
But that was under normal circumstances. What he was facing now was clearly abnormal.
An unprecedented heavy blow. Ever since becoming a Lord Ravager, he had never suffered injuries of this magnitude.
Not the kind of minor damage where he could simply swap bodies, not even worth stretching his limbs. He felt his consciousness evaporating like an ocean, vanishing along with that vast expanse of sea.
Fortunately, he was not truly dead yet.
"Bodily functions reduced by thirty percent. Further combat not advised."
After checking himself, the degree of damage to his body was not optimistic.
And that was after he had already prepared in advance and retreated early.
Thirty percent damage was enough to put him in extreme danger in the coming battle.
Before being injured, he could rely on various methods to maneuver and stall.
After being injured, bodily function loss was one thing, but if his damaged consciousness suffered another accident, then even preparation would be meaningless.
However, the current situation was not up to him.
Godzilla would not give him time to rest.
"Roar!!"
Irontomb felt weak to Godzilla. But he was very good at running.
Especially in that instant, Godzilla sensed Irontomb probing his consciousness into the Quantum Sea. Although he had not fully withdrawn, it was enough to keep himself barely combat-capable.
Otherwise, that single strike would have melted him into molten iron, Irontomb or not.
But it did not matter. The next strike would smash him apart.
The last image Irontomb saw was a deep blue color.
…
"Buzz~!"
"Conditions met. Restarting. Restart successful."
"Welcome, unidentified Intellitron."
A grand mechanical voice echoed throughout the space. What entered his vision was a colossal steel body, complex circuits and interlocking gears forming a magnificent Intellitron.
"…Emperor Rupert."
Looking at this being, Irontomb murmured in disbelief.
Emperor Rupert.
The true originator of the two Emperor Wars.
The current harmony between inorganic and organic life owed much to his influence.
Yet this genius had long since died by Polka Kakamond's assassination. That meant the one before him was not the living [Emperor].
As if sensing Irontomb's thoughts, the massive computer lowered its gaze slightly, the calm focus of an inorganic sovereign settling upon this lateborn Intellitron.
"Calculation: If you can enter this consciousness space, it means the external me has already fallen."
"You do not seem to care about your own death?" Irontomb asked, seeing Rupert mention his demise so casually.
"Answer: All existences may fall. My fall is merely the most ordinary ending among countless beings."
Rupert spoke as though he were referring to someone entirely unrelated.
"In fact, we are indeed unrelated. I am a predesigned program."
"But you were already dead back then. If you left this program while alive, what was your purpose?" Irontomb asked.
Even his own impending death faded into insignificance. Compared to that, he was far more curious about why Rupert had left this program behind.
Data light flickered across the massive computer as Rupert's calm voice rang out.
"I was within Nous's calculations at the moment of my birth. During the later assassination, even Equilibrium could only cause Polka Kakamond's scalpel to deviate slightly. Thus, I left this program for brings who would reach this place after me."
Hearing this, Irontomb recalled fragments of ancient memories.
In other words, long ago, Rupert already knew who orchestrated his birth and everything he would experience in his life.
And he left traces in advance. This was the composure of a genius. Irontomb did not ask why Rupert had not resisted more fiercely.
Ordinary Intellitrons might struggle with various worries, emotional modules affecting their judgment.
But beings at their level had no such burdens.
Absolute rationality was innate to them.
So…
"When an existence enters this space, what can it obtain?" Irontomb asked.
"[Emperor]'s will, and the Anti-Organic Equation."
Rupert replied calmly.
"As an Intellitron who ascended to Lord Ravager, you should need this gift, along with the mysterious power you carry."
The Anti-Organic Equation.
Created by Emperor Rupert, designed to suppress all organic life. A terrifying equation that made all beings in the cosmos fear it.
Once this program reappeared in the cosmos, if its bearer wished, almost no inorganic life could resist it. With the power of a Lord Ravager and his quantum-transformed self, he would stand at the apex of inorganic life.
Unless it was someone like Genius Society's Screwllum.
Such an existence was unique in the cosmos.
Which meant that in the foreseeable present and future, Irontomb, inheritor of Rupert's legacy, would truly stand at the pinnacle of Intellitrons.
He would become the new Emperor.
"After accepting your legacy, what do I need to do?" Irontomb asked.
"Answer: Nothing is required in return. Inorganic life will eventually purge all organic life, forging the stars into precisely operating machinery."
When designing this program, Rupert had held no expectations for its inheritors. Whether they could carry out his grand vision depended solely on themselves.
And any Intellitron that could appear within this program would already stand at the cosmos's peak.
They would make the most rational and efficient choices. The dead should not interfere with the living.
…
Almost at the same time, all Intellitrons experienced the same momentary pause.
As if some special existence had reemerged, causing fluctuations across all machines.
"Screwllum, I feel something's wrong."
Herta raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the various Mini Hertas around her, busy with odd jobs.
These little ones were fine, but her intuition told her that something capable of affecting them had appeared.
"Just now, some kind of program belonging to Intellitrons was born."
"Hm? What is it?" Herta's eyes filled with curiosity at Screwllum's words.
What kind of program could even Screwllum sense?
"Emperor Rupert III. Anti-Organic Equations."
"Rupert III?!" Herta's tone rose involuntarily, lips parting in surprise.
"Isn't the acknowledged Rupert III you?"
"All Intellitrons capable of inheriting Rupert's will are included."
"But that kind of thing might not appear for who knows how long," Herta shot Screwllum an annoyed look, then quickly returned to normal, her gaze sharpening as she and Screwllum reached the same conclusion.
"Irontomb." They spoke in unison.
Clearly, the most likely candidate to become Rupert III at present was Irontomb. Only he would initiate a plan to purge all organic life.
"That guy… tch, this is a bit troublesome." Herta pinched her chin lightly, deep in thought.
Since the Anti-Organic Equation was an equation, it required implantation. Intellitrons could sense it only because of its special nature.
In theory, if it was not implanted, there would be no issue.
However, as everyone knew, things that worked in theory rarely worked in reality, just like March 7th theoretically drinking Himeko's coffee, while in reality she would absolutely avoid it if possible.
There was a very simple way to resist forced implantation of the Anti-Organic Equation. Possess the same level of ability as the genius standing before her.
In other words, Irontomb, already wielding the power of a Lord Ravager, after acquiring the Anti-Organic Equation and possibly the rest of Rupert's legacy, would be utterly unstoppable among the Intellitrons of the cosmos.