The three of them appeared in front of the statue, without the machines which Niki had already taken down. Yuxi and Lex looked around the tower and the tform.


    Niki took out the key and ced it in the statue, and the eyes of the Souls Mechanic lit up. The sculpture began to move and aimed its gun toward the sky.??


    "I took care of the machines for you two, so I''ll leave the rest for you guys," Niki said as the statue pulled the trigger, shooting toward the sky.


    The two looked at Niki with a frown before looking at the shot in the sky. It was like a shooting star that exploded in the sky before falling toward the tform.


    Each part of the shot struck a tform, making it start to move. The tforms began to line up between their tform and the tower. Then, the star in the sky descended toward the building and struck its highest points.


    "What is going on?" Lex frowned as the gears began to shift in the tower and the gate parted open.


    "The Souls Mechanic is inviting us in," Niki said with a grin. "Lex, prepare yourself. I''m clueless here. You are the mechanic."


    "Do you mean..."


    "Use your eye," Niki said with a sigh. "Just don''t look at me."


    Lex looked at him and nodded. The three walked atop the bridge until they reached the entrance of the tower. The moment Niki set foot inside, the ground lit up with his step as the origin and lines darted everywhere.


    The circr hall had a pir in the middle of it. Lex turned toward Niki, who nodded before she walked toward the pir. She took off her eyepatch, and the me appeared around her eye.


    The Celestial Eye analyzed all. Lines, numbers, and diagrams appeared on the pir when the Gunmaster touched it. They moved around the pir rapidly, with various circles appearing beneath them.


    A wall of light appeared around the pir, isting Lex inside. She could no longer hear or talk to them until she calctes the inputs given to her.


    ''What are these?''


    Yuxi pulled on Niki''s sleeve and gestured. Niki flicked his arm away and nced at her with a frown.


    "You should have seen some of them in Rohan Academy," Niki said, but the archer shook her head. "They are equations, questions, and calctions."


    ''Why here?''


    "It''s a test for Lex from the Souls Mechanic." Niki turned toward the Gunmaster. "She might end up being possessed, though."


    Yuxi''s eyes widened as she tried to rush forward and prevent Lex. Niki, however, grabbed her arm and flung her back. Shended on her rear as she looked at Niki with confusion.


    "Don''t interfere with her fate." Niki red at her. "She can do this. If she fails, I''ll simply kill her."


    "Ahh," Yuxi''s face turned into a terrified expression. She tried to stand up, but Niki already had his gun in hand. He aimed it at her.


    "The only reason that I told you about this was to test you," Niki said with a grin. "What are you going to do now, mute archer?" Yuxi looked at him with fear and then looked at the muzzle.


    ''Why do you act this way?'' She raised her trembling hand and gestured. ''She''s a good person.''


    "You think you have the duty of saving everyone as if they need saving. You are the truly arrogant person for thinking others can''t fend for themselves. Lex will win using her efforts. If you truly care about her instead of your petty self-esteem, sit back and watch."


    Niki lowered his gun and slid it back into the holster. He stood to the side and waited. This time, the archer didn''t try to run forward and simply watched from behind.


    Lex''s hand darted from one ce to the other, solving calctions and questions instantly. She flicked her finger, writing a string of numbers before the diagram disappeared.


    Niki could never pull such a thing off. He wasn''t the brightest in school and calctions, even with his advanced intelligence state. The reason was simple: he hated studying, despite knowing how important it was.


    The diagram and numbers began growing fewer. Sweat rolled down Lex''s face as her limits were tested one time after the other. However, she never folded. The calctions that needed several hours to finish were done with the flick of a finger.


    Theplexity increased by arge margin that even Niki couldn''t keep up. At the start, he could make out what the question is. Now, it was beyond him.


    The me on Lex''s eyes increased in intensity until it exploded. A celestial presence descended as a partial golden mask covered Lex''s eye. She was waving her hand so quickly that it left afterimages.


    "She can materialize the Celestial Eye?" Niki''s eyes constricted as he unconsciously gripped his gun. The divine presence made him feel nauseous and threatened, even though it was less disgusting than holy powers.


    The pir began cracking as Lex continued to solve the calctions at breathtaking speed. Light shone from within the cracks before exploding as Lex drew the final line.


    The Gunmaster retreated as the pir began breaking. With a deafening sound, the pir split into many pieces that fell apart under the eyes of the free.


    The white barrier around Lex disappeared as well, and it gathered into what appeared from within the pir. A fist-size crystal floated on top of a small stand. The spiritual energy that was countless times stronger than the one in the parts resided within the crystal.


    "A soul?" Lex was surprised as her celestial eye looked at the crystal. The partial mask began cracking until it disintegrated into pieces.


    She lowered her eyepatch and turned to Niki with confusion. Her ck hair stuck to her tanned skin because of the sweat it poured out. Niki turned from her toward the crystal in the middle.


    "Careful!" Niki darted forward as ethereal energy exploded from within the crystal. It formed a figure that rushed toward the unaware Lex.