Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

As the miasma coiled and congealed inside the previous form of the machine god, it underwent a transformation that defied conventional understanding. The ethereal substance, once intangible and nebulous, begins to take on a disturbingly corporeal quality as if it were being sculpted by unseen hands into a grotesque imitation of living tissue.

Each tendril of the miasma twisted and contorted, merging and separating in a chaotic symphony of writhing motion. As if the very essence of flesh were being woven into its form.

The surface of the machine god's body begins to ripple and bulge as if something were pulsating beneath its skin. Strange protuberances emerge, resembling the suckers of a squid's tentacles, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. The once pristine surface is now marred by irregularities and deformities, giving it the appearance of a creature born of nightmare rather than of logic and reason.

The machine god now bore an unsettling resemblance to a living organism, albeit one of alien and malevolent intent. Its presence evokes a primal sense of revulsion, a visceral reaction to the unholy fusion of technology and biology that it represents. In this twisted form,

"Hahaaaa… that looks suits you better," Rain said after smirking. "It should have been pretty obvious that your core would be here, but I thought that you would be smarter than that… so you outsmarted me when I was trying to outsmart you, and I failed to outsmart your outsmarting."

In the next moment, the machine god suddenly shook completely, and then his body transformed once more and assumed a more humanoid shape… Now he had two legs and six arms a m, a muscular purple body, and a head in the shape of a triangle.

"You will regret forcing me to do this," Loks said.

"I am sure I will," Rain said and then put the ominous sword away.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Elisabetha asked.

"I will use a weapon when the enemy is too big or when the others are at risk, not when I am fighting in these circumstances." Rain declared.

Rain charged and then began to punch the machine god with all his might, but he blocked the attacks with ease using all of his six arms. The place began to shake and quake thanks to the power of the punches, but the machine god didn't move from his spot a bit.

Using one of his free arms, Loks attacked Rain with it like a whip… Rain blocked the attack with his left elbow, but he still felt his body shaking and burning as he was pushed away… some smoke began to leave the spot hidden, and the mark of the attack began to sting.

"I can feel the power of the dragon slayer pathworking, but even so… his defenses are too high," Rain thought.

Most likely, the machine god used its space manipulation to converge as much energy as possible into that body… since he was able to turn an entire planet into a single humanoid being, converging an unholy amount of energy until it would assume a physical form should be easy for him.

All of a sudden, the machine god disappeared, and then Rain felt a powerful impact on his back… his mind blanked for a moment as he spun in the air violently until his face was almost smashed against the metallic floor of the previous body of the machine god… the impact even made the metal sink dozens of meters.

While Rain was down, the machine god checked the hole that he created… it had already been repaired… so he couldn't escape unless he made the whole structure vulnerable by deactivating the spell that kept the whole thing with that form. That would be a massive waste of time… It was better to dispose of Rain first instead of showing that kind of opening.

In the next moment, Looks looked at Rain, but he was no longer on the floor… Without hesitation, he raised two of his arms to block an attack when Rain appeared behind him, but the attack from above never came… what came had been a roundhouse kick on his left side that pushed him away.

"Hah, got you," Rain said.

The damage had been small, but Rain still looked confident while he was bleeding from all the holes in his head. That didn't make any sense, but at that point in time, Rain's nonsensical nature was starting to make sense.

"Field experiments with an unpredictable target is the most optimal test to obtain data, but you are too troublesome to let you run wild. Even if you don't have any more assistance, it is better to eradicate you and just analyze your dead body."

"I think so too," Rain said and then showed his middle finger. "Good luck making sure that this will happen."

In the next moment, Loks made his arms move closer to his body and then it began to contort with power. Rain raised his guard since the enemy could teleport and attack him instantly, but he didn't teleport… Loks suddenly punched the air, but before his arms could stop, they all passed through dark portals… in that next moment, Rain was bombarded by six punches from all directions.

Both sides of his face were hit, his stomach and his back were also hit, and then his chin…

The last attack pushed him upward, and then he spun violently in the air… Loks didn't even move from his spot. He kept punching the air and then creating portals that made Rain instantly get hit no matter where he was…

The power of the machine god was so high that each punch made Rain blank out, and that happened for quite a while… Even eventually, Loks stopped and then let Rain fall… his body was covered in bruises, but he was still alive. Moreover, he was healing insanely fast… Loks couldn't help but watch all that in surprise and curiosity. That was one good test subject.