With so many months passing, the Moon Squadron's forces had all but solidified their positions in Evotech. The plans created by those at the top were running smoothly.
Of course, Wrath's presence was still an unknown variable, but Wrath had no interest in Evotech at all. These inventions, no matter how heaven-defying some of them may be, held no benefit for him. The only thing he cared about was the "seed."
Therefore, he didn't interfere even while understanding that Evotech was being corrupted from the inside and turned into something else. Even this was a war between humans that was instigated by the Nox's intervention. Regardless of what he did, his goals were being achieved.
But it wasn't simply the Moon Squadron and Long Chen within Evotech. There were also Asgard and Shadow Garden's forces as well.
Namely, Aishia and Lynn. Currently, these two women stood together in a personal lab, half-heartedly conducting experiments on Nodal Technology.
This kind of research was likely the most valuable to the common populace of the unnamed world. Nodal Technology was the reason why weapons like the Twin Moons existed, though those specific weapons developed entirely on their own.
The unnamed world's Mana Utilization System was inherently flawed in that it didn't allow people who practiced it to freely manipulate the mana in their bodies to produce external phenomena. Something like Damien's spatial distortion could be done, but anything more difficult than that was impossible.
If they attempted to guide their mana externally for too long, it'd easily fizzle out and disperse. Even the old witch who tortured Damien had a large portion of her body replaced with mechanical parts to circumvent this weakness.
This was because the Nodal System was specifically tailored to be used with weaponry. The internal system was only half the completed product.
For the people to show the true extent of their power, they needed weapons of high enough caliber to accommodate them. This was a major flaw that could easily lead to one's death on a chaotic battlefield.
But naturally, humans would adapt. Since the Nodal System was already too deeply entrenched into the unnamed world's society to completely rewrite it, another solution was presented. That was, the introduction of armor suits that complemented the Nodal System.
These mechanical suits ranged anywhere from personal body armor that sleekly clung to the skin, to massive machines that blotted out the sky. The possibilities were limitless.
And these limitless possibilities were what the two women were exploring at the moment.
But they didn't seem too happy even while knowing that.
"If you design the Mana Connection Points like that, it'll disrupt the flow between the Superior Node in the nape and the Sub-Nodes in the wrists. I didn't think a seasoned researcher like you would make such a fatal mistake." Lynn mocked as she looked over at Aishia's progress.
Aishia scoffed in response. "And I didn't expect someone as quiet and headstrong as you to be so annoyingly involved in my business when I never asked for your opinion."
The two women glared at each other fiercely. The enmity between them had been formed long before the Cloud Plane's mission began. This was an enmity that spanned over many years.
At first, it was just minor conflicts of interest, but as time went on, things became more serious. Especially when Aishia began reporting directly to the Board of Executives, her arrogance shot through the roof.
Lynn could only sit back and stomach her anger. Although the Core Extraction Project gave her immense status in Evotech, she hadn't actually accomplished much in this regard, leading her position to be precarious.
But it wasn't her fault. The duty assigned to her was quite literally the most daunting task to ask of someone like her. How could she be expected to produce results like candy?
The reason she was able to maintain her position was that every breakthrough she had in the project was a major one. Over time, Evotech slowly gained enough confidence in her work to give her the time she needed.
Of course, this was only because they were completely in the dark about her side endeavors. If her control over Avalon was ever revealed, who knew how Evotech would react?
Nevertheless, Lynn continued working on the mechanical armor in front of her. After Damien's disappearance, Evotech had stuck her with Aishia. It was her own fault that she ended up in this situation, so she had no choice but to bear it.
As for the disappearance itself, it strangely didn't cause a stir in Evotech at all. It was as if the researcher Damien Grey never existed in the first place.
This level of thorough erasure had to be the work of someone extremely powerful. Just the fact that this person took the time to personally erase any trace of Damien's presence made Lynn infinitely wary. She wouldn't tolerate any unknown variables.
'Unless that man possesses some treasure of untold proportions, I can't imagine why anyone with such status would care about him. It's either that or he's a spy, but it can't be the latter since he doesn't even originate from this world.'
She clicked her tongue in annoyance. As expected, involving a variable like Damien was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. While his erratic actions would accelerate her plans dramatically while also making it far easier to achieve her goal, his presence alone would bring along trouble.
This was the curse of immense talent and fortune. It could be said that Damien was extremely lucky in his journey so far, not encountering anyone with enough greed or knowledge to pursue him seriously.
But this could also be attributed to the fact that he was born in Sector 3.
The Human Domain was heavily impacted in the previous war and often looked down upon by the other Sectors, leading to a situation where geniuses were valued far more highly. Those with the potential to reach the peak of 4th class or even the Demigod realm were usually given an easier time than others, especially if they showed off their capabilities.
As for what would happen when he left Sector 3…only time would tell.
Lynn shook her head. Why was she thinking so far into the future when the problems in Niflheim hadn't even been solved yet? Being able to see so much was just as much of a curse as it was a blessing.
'By now, he should've already seen the World Core Fusion Reactor. It's impossible for a Celestial to resist the temptation of that device, so bringing him over to my side shouldn't be a problem. Only…'
She had no desire to bring Damien under her. A subordinate she couldn't control didn't interest her at all.
But she wasn't the kind of person to rely on something as flimsy as "allies" either.
A business relationship where they used each other for their own purposes, this was her favorite kind of interaction. There was no useless sophistry or morality, only pure benefits.
In Lynn's mind, this was the purest type of relationship. Trust was ethereal, but benefits were tangible.
Bzzt!
Lynn pushed a small tool similar to a soldering iron into the center of the mechanical armor suit and began welding. Sparks flew and lights flashed as the armor neared completion.
To her, this armor was a representation of her hard work.
She was already closing in on the final steps of her plans for this world, and when she was done, she'd finally be able to branch out into the wider universe.
But before she added wings to the armor suit, she needed to make sure all the foundational mechanics worked properly first.
Slow and steady won the race.
All she needed to do now was lead her little outlier on the correct path and patiently wait for her years of planning and scheming to bear fruit.
