Chapter 83

Too late…

The surge of psychic flame was formidable, but what truly mattered was the malice of the subspace!

Like a dull blade slicing flesh, it slowly eroded and tormented Alvin’s will and spirit, as if dragging him into an endless sea of corpses and blood.

Fuck you!

Suddenly, Alvin broke free of the illusion, his eyes flooding with crimson.

In the instant the sea of corpses and blood shattered, he seemed to hear a bold, rugged laugh.

But now, he had no time to wonder who that voice belonged to.

As the surging psychic flame threatened to engulf him, Alvin’s psychic power surged violently; under the armor’s auxiliary mode, he forcibly shaped dozens of psychic barriers!

BOOM!!!

In the moment the two psychic forces collided, it was as if heaven and earth had shattered!

Amid a deafening roar, colossal energy erupted like a dam broken, trampling the foundry’s platform!

Intense light exploded violently, like a blazing sun.

The dozens of psychic defense shields, forged from willpower, shattered layer by layer within seconds under the explosion!

The searing heatwave, nearly solid, slammed Alvin clean away.

Before impact, Alvin twisted his body to avoid crushing the Inquisitor behind him, but the cost was bearing the full force of the blow—his internal organs felt as if they had shifted.

Fortunately, the armor’s metal had been infused with adamantium—though in small amounts, it absorbed most of the impact.

“Severe impact detected. User likely suffering internal injuries!”

“Administer analgesic immediately!”

The armor activated its medical mode, slowly injecting the analgesic.

“Are you okay?!” Winnie stared at Alvin, who had taken the impact for her, her heart heavy with guilt.

She was the Empire’s Inquisitor—so why had she become the one being protected?

No, this shouldn’t be happening!

She bit her lip, racking her brain for any way to help Alvin.

Even if she couldn’t gain an advantage, she must at least lighten his burden!

“I’m fine.”

Though injected with analgesic, several ribs were broken; Alvin still gasped through the pain.

Moreover, the armor’s auxiliary mode had limits—the longer the psychic boost lasted, the greater the strain and torment on him.

They exchanged glances, pausing the fierce battle for a moment.

At the foundry’s lower level, the Work-Master Scarabs had multiplied to an astonishing number, converging into a surging tide of emerald-black ocean.

A piercing hum filled the sky; the vast swarm of holy beetles had completely surrounded the two!

From all directions—no escape!

Alvin was forced to divert his focus, using psychic shields to hold the swarm at bay.

Likewise, the Blood God’s holy relic shield granted to Rasheed was being violently assaulted by the beetle swarm.

The Work-Master Scarabs made no distinction—they deemed both men, bearing subspace psychic energy, as “enemies,” dangerous entities to be eradicated.

“HAHAHA… You’re done! You’re dead!”

Rasheed, finally catching his breath, eyes gleaming with triumph, roared with laughter: “I have the Blood God’s holy relic—you rely only on psychic power! You won’t last long—you’ll either be devoured by subspace or swallowed by the swarm!”

“Isn’t that perfect?”

Unfortunately, the current situation was exactly as Alvin had anticipated.

He looked at Rasheed, tauntingly curling his finger: “Come on, coward. Let’s see who holds out longer!”

Rasheed’s face darkened like water, his venomous gaze sharp as knives.

True, the Blood God’s holy relic shield was immensely powerful—even those damned metal beetles couldn’t break it in a short time.

But he’d considered one more layer: if the relic was drained too severely, even if he killed this scum, he’d struggle to escape alive.

Quick victory!

Miraculously, both men thought the same—they both aimed for a swift end!

“Sunday, unleash all stored firepower!”

As usual, Alvin relied on overwhelming firepower to suppress.

He fired the explosive pistol in his left hand; the explosive rounds, propelled by thrusters,

sought to obliterate the damned relic shield—but Rasheed wouldn’t sit idle.

From Rasheed’s mouth issued blasphemous, twisted sounds, unlike any human language—the barrier of the material universe trembled, visibly tearing open a fissure!

Hellfire Blast!

From that tear, Rasheed frantically drew power from subspace.

He then forged a primal psychic force, laced with the agonized shrieks of souls from the Highest Heaven, launching a beam of annihilation toward Alvin!

“You think I can’t?!”

Alvin’s temper flared; his eyes turned crimson, brimming with murderous intent: “Doom Vortex!”

The fissure in the material universe’s barrier, already torn, expanded instantly by several times under the combined force of both psychics!

An endless torrent of subspace energy poured into the material universe.

Destructive energy surged from the rift, like a colossal black hole vortex, unleashing terrifying gravitational force!

Nearby matter was violently dragged toward it—even hardened steel was annihilated the instant it touched the vortex!

Two utterly different psychic forces entwined and clashed violently!

BOOM!!!

In the end, neither could overcome the other.

The residual waves from their psychic clash even swept up the surrounding beetles, grinding them like millstones!

Then, the terrifying energy erupted in blinding light; amid deafening thunder, both Alvin and Rasheed were blasted backward by the shockwave.

Mutual destruction!

But at that moment, under the relentless assault of the holy beetles, Alvin’s psychic shield began to show cracks.

Rasheed’s hope surged—he grinned grotesquely: “HAHAHA… You lose, scum!”

“Who the hell has time for your babbling?”

Seeing Rasheed’s crimson shield, Alvin spat back—but his nerves were fraying.

How the hell is this thing so tough?

Took two plasma cannon hits and still standing—could he be a Chosen of Khorne?!

If this drags on, his shield won’t break before Alvin’s own strength gives out!

Is there… no other choice?!

Alvin clenched his teeth, unwilling to abandon this once-in-a-lifetime chance.

He wasn’t without escape—if all else failed, he could cross into the Marvel universe—but if he missed this chance, killing Rasheed would never be so simple again.

“Focus your mind on him!”

At that moment, Winnie spoke from behind: “I’ll hold off the beetles for you.”

“You… sure?”

Alvin panted, deeply doubting Winnie’s capability.

If there had been any other option, he wouldn’t have cowered from the laser array strike earlier.

“Who do you think I am?”

Winnie sneered, her voice brimming with pride: “I am the Empire-appointed Inquisitor. Earlier, I simply had no time to deploy my trump card.”

Saying this, she removed the “Rose Knot” badge from her chest, speaking slowly and clearly:

“Personal Void Shield Device: once activated, generates a one-meter-diameter void shield, but limited to one minute of duration.”

“One minute…?”

Alvin drew a deep breath, his gaze hardening again: “Enough. I’ll crush his skull within one minute!”

“Good!”

Winnie didn’t hesitate—she trusted Alvin.

The Void Shield activated, enveloping both in a faint energy barrier.

Simultaneously, Alvin withdrew his defensive psychic force, focusing entirely on Rasheed.

Fire-attribute psychics wield devastating power, but their fatal flaw is inflexibility compared to psychic users.

You’re so confident? Then let’s see who dies first!

Psychic power surged like a tide; Alvin laughed wildly and recklessly.

He used his psychic force to pry loose a massive mining and forging machine, soaring into the air; despite the beetles’ frantic collisions, he gripped his fist like a madman and slammed it into the giant machine—psychic force acting like a rocket booster, infusing the colossal device with staggering kinetic energy!

RUMBLE!!!

The massive mining machine, over ten meters in diameter, plummeted from the sky like a meteor!