Everyone aware of the Dullahan Project's significance had long waited for this moment. This was the time where the successor of the Shield of Samar would finally take shape! After so many months of research, development and design work, the Design Department finally completed the first expert mech of a higher standard than the Larkinson Clan had ever handled before. For the mech designers who worked for almost an entire week with uninterrupted rest, this fabrication run had put each of them to the test. The work had been rough for Gloriana and Sara. The women had to rely on an expensive cocktail of stimulants and nutrient solutions to stave off sleep and maintain a high degree of concentration throughout the entire process. The two women were physically able to bear with the increasingly greater strain on their physiologies. Both Gloriana and Sara were originally designer babies whose bodies could temporarily relieve the need for sleep to an extent. That said, their performance dropped to a noticeable extent at the end of the run. If not for the fact that the assembly stage did not require them to work as intensely as before, the others would have forced them to take a break. They understood their limitations quite well. The work schedule already accounted for their growing exhaustion. They had gradually moved on to performing lighter and less demanding duties at the end. Compared to the two former designer babies whose augmentations primarily focused on enhancing their intellect and cognitive functions, Ves and Ketis fared much better throughout the fabrication run. As a woman augmented for combat rather than more intellectual pursuits, Ketis managed to maintain her peak condition for an extended period of time. Sharpie helped as well as the reality-distorting effects of extraordinary willpower had subtly removed her mortal limitations and enhanced every part of her body in numerous different ways. Compared to the three women, the two best performers at the end were Ves and Master Benedict Cortez. There was no need to say too much about the Master Mech Designer. A man of this stature could easily gain access to a higher tier of augmentations. Even without any artificial enhancements, Master Mech Designers transcended so much that they had reached the later stages in their transformation into energy-based lifeforms! That meant that their bodies no longer held the same meaning to them as ordinary people. What few people realized was that Ves had more in common with such mech designers than expected. Though his body received numerous dramatic upgrades before undergoing a profound sublimation, his mind and Spirituality evolved even more! Ves and his companion spirit had both grown to an impressive height compared to their relative youth. Compared to all of the pressure that Ves endured over the course of his travels, maintaining his full focus while slowly fabricating the most difficult high-ranking mech after the Mars was a breeze. Their current appearances reflected their endurance. Sara and Gloriana were struggling to keep their backs straight while standing. Ketis held her sheathed Bloodsinger in order to draw from its support. Ves and Master Benedict both remained energetic enough to look excited! After announcing the formal completion of the Dullahan Project, Ves watched with increasing anticipation as the solid clamps of the workshop's assembly system carefully aligned the mech head and slowly brought it down to the empty neck socket of the rest of the mech frame. The head slotted into place without any issue. Ves and the others had worked carefully to make sure that the fit should be well within acceptable tolerances. It would have been an affront to their skills and reputation for them to botch this crucial step! As the giant head of the expert space knight settled into place, a lot of different automated procedures took place both inside and outside of the mechanical frame. Bolts screwed into their places. Power lines and data cables connected to each other. Software started to integrate together. It took a few more minutes before the head truly integrated with the torso and the rest of the machine. The physical frame of the Dullahan Project finally attained its full physical form. Its current appearance matched precisely with the Superpublished mech design. The mech designers along with Venerable Jannzi all experienced different emotions after seeing the mech that they had worked on for so many months take shape in reality for the first time. Everyone fell silent for a minute. Then another minute passed. It wasn't until the third minute that an exhausted-looking Gloriana finally broke the silence. "...That's it? Is this the result that we have attained after investing so much time and effort?" Ves briefly interrupted his examination of the Dullahan Project to turn to his wife. "What's wrong, Gloriana?" "Everything is wrong!" The woman screeched as her anger and frustration momentarily overwhelmed her exhaustion! "You insisted that the Dullahan Project would be special and that we should put as much effort into completing it as possible, but what did we get from all of this? This expert mech has failed to reach its potential! It's not a masterwork mech at all! It isn't even close enough to make up for the difference!" Ves let out a sigh. "What did you expect, then? This is a quasi-first-class expert mech. It is filled with enough tech and rare components to challenge our mech design skills. Aside from Benedict, none of us are qualified to work on mechs of this caliber under normal circumstances. It is already a good result if the mech can move and fight according to our expectations." This was not enough for Gloriana! She hoped that they would be able to attain more due to all of the resources invested in this massive project! "It's all your fault, Ves! If you didn't insist on adding that stupid Empowered Blood Sharing System to the mech design, we would have been able to work on more familiar ground, thereby attaining a more stable result!" As Gloriana kept nagging, Ves rolled his eyes and tuned out her words. He didn't take her complaints seriously. After being married to her for roughly a decade, he already figured out that it was in his wife's nature to find a scapegoat to bear all of the blame regardless of whether her suspicions were justified or not. Ves just happened to be her most convenient punching bag. Instead of wasting his time on validating her bad faith arguments, Ves turned to the person who truly mattered at this junction. "Jannzi." He called out. "What do you think about your new expert mech? Does it match your expectations?" The expert pilot who had dreamt of this moment for many months did not look pleased. Instead, she looked disappointed. As impressive as the Dullahan Project may be on a technical front, to Jannzi it lacked the most crucial essence that she demanded from the Larkinson mech designers! "It's not Sammie or anything like her." She succinctly voiced the reason for her dissatisfaction. "You promised me that you would find a way to realize a reborn Shield of Samar. Now that you have completed your work, I don't see a trace of her at all. This shiny golden transphasic expert mech might look impressive on the surface, but I don't feel it has any life to speak of. It is an empty shell." Her words were not inaccurate. The Dullahan Project that stood before them did not possess the liveliness of a living mech. It resembled the Mars a lot more when it was dormant. While that did not necessarily mean that the Dullahan Project was weak or inferior to true living mechs, it was definitely not what the customer had ordered! 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 Seeing Jannzi grow upset caused the other mech designers to feel inadequate. Had they made too many mistakes? Should they have waited and studied the Superpublished design a bit more in order to fully understand all of the improvements to their original work? Had they overlooked an important detail during the fabrication process? Gloriana, Ketis and Sara all thought they had failed. Strangely enough, only Ves and Master Benedict maintained their composure after all of this time. The older man turned and directed a pointed stare at Ves. "Okay, that is enough. Stop fooling around. I know you do not consider the Dullahan Project to be truly complete at this stage. After all, its organic components have yet to be attuned." Ves started to smirk. "I suppose I can't hide it from you, clever bastard. You're right! The Dullahan Project is not complete! We still have to take two more steps before it can truly take on its final and most complete form." Gloriana and the other women looked surprised. "Well? What do we need to do?" His wife impatiently asked. "You don't need to do anything, dear. You have done your part." Ves told her before turning around to face his cousin. "Jannzi. Remember what the Dullahan Project is all about. The Carmine System that I have added to your expert mech is nothing but a giant bundle of artificially cultivated flesh at the moment. It is no different from a cloned organ in this regard. If we truly want to activate it in order to kickstart your new expert mech, then you must prove your dedication with action. Form the Blood Pact and bind your life to the machine." Venerable Jannzi could sense the seriousness in his tone. She did not think he was joking about this matter. "What do I need to do, Ves?" "Change into your piloting suit and prepare to interface with your expert mech." He instructed. "We need to get this done as soon as possible. The longer the Dullahan Project remains in a state of limbo, the greater the chance that an unpredictable event might occur." "Wait, what? Are you doing this now?! We just stayed up for an entire week! We are not ready to commence our first testing session!" Gloriana vehemently protested. "It's your choice, Jannzi. I have given you my recommendation. Do not forget what I told you about the Blood Pact. I admit that there may be risks involved as I have never tested the Carmine System in reality, but all I ask of you is to trust my work. Have I ever let you down when it comes to catering your needs as a mech pilot?" Venerable Jannzi took a few seconds to stare into Ves' eyes. She eventually became satisfied with what she saw. "I have never questioned your brilliance in mech design. I have trusted your work in the past, and I shall do so again. Give me a moment." Now that she agreed with this crucial step, Ves pointed her to a changing room that he prepared beforehand. She emerged a few minutes later while wearing a bright yellow armored piloting suit. Different from the ones usually assigned to the expert pilots of the Larkinson Clan, this particular suit received heavy modifications. Ves not only embedded it with additional health and treatment-related modules, but also featured several ports that provided direct access to Jannzi's blood vessels. The expert pilot took a deep breath before she began to ascend into the air. She slowly approached the cockpit that Ves opened by remote. Once she entered into place, she sat in the piloting seat and gazed at the dormant control panels. Meanwhile, most of the mech designers had all retreated to a shielded control room. No one knew what might ensue once Jannzi activated a brand-new expert mech that contained a lot of experimental tech and had never gone through a final inspection. Not even Ves could fully predict what might happen at this point! Still, Ves had a lot of faith in his work. He was the only mech designer who stayed in the vicinity of the completed expert mech. Once Master Benedict and the others activated the sensor systems and formed remote connections to the Dullahan Project's largely dormant systems, Ves gave the fateful command. "It's time, Jannzi. Please get ready to activate your expert mech. What will happen next may induce a lot of distress, but it is important for you to remain calm and seated in your chair. Under no circumstances should you ever pull out while the Blood Pact is still in the process of being formed. Do you understand?" "I understand." "Then proceed."