Inside the Stigmata Space, Yubo felt bored and frustrated. His connection with Xilin had been blocked by the Lawgiver's virtual barrier.
He didn't have enough strength to break through. If he had the power of Immortal Fu Hua, he could easily shatter it, but that was impossible for now.
All he could do was try to infiltrate it slowly, but progress was painfully slow. At this rate, it would take more than a year to break through.
"Xilin has become the Void Lawgiver, gaining terrifying power and authority, and she carries the shackles called God."
"Communing with God grants any answer. Even Archbishop Otto of Fate longs to communicate with it."
"Talking to myself won't help. I'll wait. Maybe during Xilin's battle, the virtual barrier will develop cracks or collapse, letting me manifest."
Siberian Snowfields, 5 Kilometers from Babylon Experimental Base
Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein of Anti-Entropy were waiting in the freezing tundra.
Tesla, in her red twin-tail combat form, and Einstein, in his blue messy-haired form, bickered to distract themselves from the cold.
Soon, Anti-Entropy leader Walter Yang arrived at the temporary camp with Patrick, bringing fresh intelligence.
The Second Lawgiver had awakened. Their ability: control over space.
"This is troublesome, Messy Hair. If we can't convince her, the damage she could inflict on humanity would be catastrophic."
"If it comes to that, I'll destroy her myself."
"Listen. Although the Second Lawgiver has awakened and harbors deep resentment toward humanity, she seems to retain her humanity. She teleported all the test-subject girls from the experimental base to St. Freya."
"That's good news. Perhaps Anti-Entropy can recruit a Second Lawgiver of its own."
"What are we waiting for? We need to retrieve her before Fate arrives."
"Don't rush, Dr. Tesla. Patrick hasn't finished speaking."
"The key now is to locate the Second Lawgiver's brother Xilin's brother."
"What does he look like? Tell me quickly. Ouch, Messy Hair, what are you doing?"
The Lobster Doctor lightly tapped Messy Hair Doctor on the head, sparking a playful argument.
"Don't interrupt while someone's speaking."
"He's a thirteen-year-old boy with white hair. Handsome, wears a hooded outfit to cover himself completely, with a pair of cat ears on his head no one knows if he has a tail. He can manipulate Corruption Energy crystals as weapons. I captured him before, but he vanished into thin air."
"Ha? How are we supposed to find him?"
"At this point, I'll send part of the Titan Squad to search nearby and locate him as soon as possible."
"Let's not waste time. I'll depart now."
"Be safe."
Inside the Babylon Experimental Tower, Xilin clutched the dead Bella tightly.
When Xilin gained the Lawgiver's power, she witnessed a group of beasts shaking their heads in disappointment at the corpse of the Second Test Subject.
"They can't even endure a fraction of Stigmata's power."
The Second Test Subject was Bella.
"Bella, you're my friend. I will avenge you. I will avenge you against those hypocritical adults."
"My brother and Bella have left me. Once I complete my revenge, Xilin will come for you."
"Teleporting all of them consumed too much power, yet she couldn't be kept behind."
"Now, God has decreed. Let's leave them a little trouble to buy us time."
Countless Corruption Beasts filled the Babylon Experimental Tower.
Xilin approached a massive cocoon, its exterior resembling the composition of Corruption Beasts.
"What guidance has God given me to come here?"
Xilin reached out, and her hand passed through it.
Beyond the void, she felt as if she had returned to that snowy night two years ago, hearing her mother's dying blessing.
[Ich☆liebe☆dic]
Her deepest wounds were torn open again, powerless as her mother died from illness.
"This is it. Tear open humanity's heart, and you can become a true Lawgiver, gaining true power," said God.
Walter Yang, Siegfried Kaslana, Shab Nicholas, and Salome Jokannen formed an alliance as they explored the Babylon Experimental Tower surrounded by Corruption Beasts.
"Where is Theresa? Weren't they supposed to arrive earlier than us?"
"Foolish Siegfried, didn't you receive Fate's message? Theresa was teleported by the Void Lawgiver's power to the Far East Branch. She's on her way now."
Thanks to their overwhelming power, the Corruption Beasts inside the tower were quickly cleared.
Drs. Tesla and Einstein, the scientific researchers, were able to enter to assist in the exploration.
"Come here. Look at this: First Laboratory. Records show it has only been activated three times, the latest being yesterday."
"What are we waiting for? Let's see what's inside."
"I'll go with Siegfried to where the Second Lawgiver last appeared, the holding area, to look for clues."
"Based on the remaining instruments, I found something incredible."
"What? How is this possible? How could this be completely stripped intact?"
Einstein held a hexagonal chip with a strange pattern.
"These bastards actually stripped the Original Stigmata. Do they know how precious this is?"
"Even more incredible they succeeded. Such Stigmata can be easily imprinted onto anyone resistant to Corruption Energy for immediate use."
"In other words, the flaws of artificial Stigmata aren't present here. This makes it nearly invincible."
"Unfortunately, it's slightly different from what you think. This Stigmata can only be imprinted once or twice, and it has already been used once. Keep it for now; it might be useful."
Meanwhile, Walter Yang found massive traces of Corruption Energy in the holding area. Judging by the remaining evidence, the Second Lawgiver had escaped the Babylon Experimental Base but hadn't traveled far.
Theresa, racing from the Far East Branch, finally arrived on site.
The six of them reunited in the holding area.
Einstein collected the residual Corruption Energy and explained another function of Judah to Theresa.
"Judah really has a tracking mode?"
"No problem. I'll inject the Second Lawgiver's Corruption Energy into Judah. Then you can use it to track her."
Though skeptical, Theresa complied to find the Second Lawgiver.
Judah transformed into a small cross, strapped to Theresa's arm, with a chain pointing in a specific direction.
"This is the Key of Restraint's tracking mode. It can detect targets within a 200 km radius."
"Otto never even told the Valkyries how to use the Key of God?"
"Watch out! Nearly 300 Corruption Beasts are surrounding us."
"No problem. Salome and I will deal with the Corruption Beasts. You two focus on finding the Second Lawgiver."