Chapter 7323: No Quitting Half-Way Rosa Orfan did not know what she was anymore. Life after getting partially merged with the Riot Mark III was weird to say the least. As she gradually regained her wits after her life-changing contact with her so-called D-mech, she eventually realized that she may have underestimated the danger posed by her new machine. The Riot Mark III was so much more than an ace mech and a Carmine mech. While Ves had made an attempt to explain what she was in for, his words failed to convey the immense magnitude of what he had brought to life. Now that she had become fused with the machine, she understood that the Riot Mark III was actually a demon in the shape of a humanoid mech. The Prophet’s Bane had turned it into a shell. It had also merged with her soul, whatever that meant. While she lacked the knowledge and expertise to understand the mechanics behind the soul fusion, she most certainly experienced the consequences of this drastic action. One of her initial observations was that the fusion was far from perfect. Rather than blending together into a single entity, Rosa and the Prophet’s Bane remained discrete for the most part. They were like a couple that had forcibly been married together. They had no intention of sharing anything between each other. It was just that circumstances had conspired to put them in a permanent union. Neither Rosa nor the demonic entity were happy with this arrangement. The Prophet’s Bane could not hide its greedy and hateful intentions towards Rosa. It had come close to taking over her soul. If not for the fact that she managed to trigger her apotheosis and strengthened her willpower, the Larkinsons would have attended her funeral by this time! At this moment, her extraordinary willpower suppressed the demon. Though it forced her to remain vigilant and split her attention, she did not dare to slack off and become complacent. The demon’s unambiguous hostility had never faded. In fact, it was the opposite. Getting blocked at the last moment had frustrated it beyond belief. The continued suppression only caused his anger to grow over time. What concerned the ace pilot even more was that she could feel the demon growing stronger! Ves had warned her about this. The Riot Mark III was a living mech, so the demon that had taken it over was naturally capable of growth. This was normally a fact to be celebrated, but because the Riot got converted into an adversarial mech, it had turned into a double-edged sword! Given these circumstances, Saint Rosa Orfan clearly understood her own situation. She needed to progress faster than the demon. While it seemed as if she currently gained absolute control over herself and her mech, that was just a temporary state. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 With the demon growing stronger with every passing day, Saint Orfan knew she needed to work hard to stay ahead of this foreign invader. She knew it was not enough to maintain a small lead. The lower the power disparity between the two, the more the demon could bleed through her willpower barrier. If she suffered a mishap that caused her to lose her wits, the demon might even be able to launch an attack and take over her body and soul in one fell swoop! After understanding the reality of her new life, Rosa Orfan did not feel about this outcome. A lesser soldier might have broken down from losing her body or having a demon lurking in wait to take over her life. She was not a typical soldier. She was an ace pilot, a half-god whose willpower had reached a higher transcendental state. Just like how the legendary Evolution Witch managed to advance fast enough to completely overtake the congenital defects of her original human body, Saint Orfan believed with all of her heart that she could conquer her own doom! She felt incredibly brave not because she had no other choice, but because she truly had no way out of this predicament! Ves, the doctors and other experts had fussed over her partially fused body and found it impossible to separate her from her living mech. The original Blood Pact that she forged with the Riot Mark III had mutated into an unbreakable shackle that forced Rosa Orfan to commit to her original gambit. She needed to evolve or die. Naturally, an ace pilot such as herself was not resigned to die. Her fighting spirit grew stronger after learning that she could not stop half-way like her colleagues. Other ace pilots such as Saint Tusa, Saint Stark and Saint Commander Casella may be just as committed to becoming a god pilot, but they could always drop out of the race if they ever changed their mind. Even if it was a shameful act, the option to retire still existed in their minds. There were many possible reasons why they would want to take advantage of it in the future. Perhaps they might suffer injuries so substantial that they could no longer engage in combat anymore. This was the most common reason for expert pilots and ace pilots to retire. Even if human medical science had advanced to a very high level, not every injury could be remedied. Another reason why champions might choose to retire was because battle no longer excited them anymore. It was not unusual for high-ranking mech pilots to stagnate as their perspectives changed and became more fixated on other goals such as raising a family. All of these reasons and more constantly tempted powerful pilots into taking it easy. Even if they did not decide to retire outright, just a change of mentality was enough to render them stagnant. Saint Rosa Orfan could not afford to let this happen to herself. She could neither suffer a blow so heavy that she wanted to quit, nor fall into a state of complacency that would cause her progression to stall. She only had a single choice, and that was to go full throttle and progress at a brisk pace no matter the cost! All of this made her feel as if she had turned into a funeral pyre that had just been lit. So long as the flames lasted, she still had a chance to fight for her life and change her fate. Yet the longer the flames burned, the closer she came to her inevitable demise. She needed to be proactive and tackle challenges head-on as opposed to playing it safe. Her margin of error was so slim that most mech pilots would have gotten crushed under all of the weight. Not Rosa. Though she never considered herself to be a particularly outstanding or brilliant champion, she still believed she had what it took to succeed where the overwhelming majority of saints ultimately failed. For one, she arguably had the best junior ace mech in the Red Ocean at her disposal. The support of a powerful mech was absolutely essential. She could not think of any first-class junior ace mech that was more powerful or loaded with exemplary features as her own superdimensional masterwork. Another reason why she felt confident in her success was her tenacity. No matter what, to be able to become a saint when she was on the verge of getting completely consumed by a demon had to be proof that her ability to withstand setbacks was excellent. She was not invincible, but so long as she remained alive, she could always pick herself up again. Her willpower surged whenever she thought about that, so that meant she had to be on the right track. Another source of her confidence was the spear in the arms of her mech. Though she had wielded the tier 3 Destroyer spear for only a short amount of time, she already felt as if she embraced her destiny. Sure, the stories about the threat posed by the powerful weapon were not exaggerated. Saint Orfan knew that if she did not constantly exert her willpower over the weapon, it would quickly lash out and spread destructive energies all over her machine. Considering that the Riot Mark III had not only turned into her Carmine mech but also her new ’body’, the female ace pilot absolutely could not afford to lose control over the weapon! However, Saint Orfan did not feel intimidated by the Destroyer spear. She already faced a similar situation with the Prophet’s Bane. Compared to a demon that could not be eradicated due to how much it had fused with her own soul, Saint Orfan felt even less pressure towards a destructive weapon that could be let go at any time. Yet Saint Orfan could not stomach the idea of letting others take the precious Destroyer weapon away. This was her dream weapon. Now that it finally fell into her hands, she owed it to herself to master this weapon in full! Besides, ever since the Riot Mark III had incorporated Terran Destroyer Amplification Material as its key resonating material, the ace mech had become permanently tied to Destroyer weapons as a source of strength. Saint Orfan could feel a greater connection when holding the tier 3 Destroyer spear. The resonating materials helped in many different ways. It not only enabled her to gain a closer connection to a weapon that ordinarily resisted her presence a lot more, but also allowed her to simulate Destroyer particles! This unprecedented closeness had permanently changed her perspective on the tier 3 Destroyer weapon. In her opinion, the Terran polearm was no longer a dangerous weapon, but an amplification of her destructive power! The Riot Mark III was already formidable by itself, but the tier 3 Destroyer spear completely multiplied its combat power. It was like adding wings to a tiger! The boost to her combat power was so significant that her confidence swelled. After entering the battlefield, Saint Orfan already set her mind on her personal goal. "The strongest weapon should be used to fell the strongest foe." Saint Orfan set her sights on the so-called Voribug Organic Battle Moon from the moment she heard about its emergence. Although the difference in scale between her Riot Mark III and the Incubator was ridiculous, she did not think it was impossible for her to smash the latter. The planet was big, but most of it was made out of relatively soft organic materials! The ace pilot was also exceedingly confident that her tier 3 Destroyer spear could neutralize the ridiculous regeneration capabilities of powerful voribugs. This was why she felt confident in declaring that the VOBM must die by her hand! Saint Orfan did not want to start her first proper battle with a failure. She had effectively cornered herself even harder by making such a bold declaration. As an ace pilot, she could defy her promises, and while her earlier words might be absolute, it was still a serious statement of intent. If she failed to realize her words, then her progression would definitely suffer as a consequence! "I cannot afford to take half-measures and be soft on myself. I need to grasp opportunities as much as I can. If that means cornering myself in my very first battle, then so be it. If I do not have the courage to challenge enemies above my own level, then I should give up right away!" Saint Orfan grew determined to become the brightest and most powerful combatant of this battle! She did not want anyone to outshine her, nor did she think that it was even possible. Of course, she was not stupid enough to charge straight at the Incubator. She first wanted to warm up and become more accustomed to the power at her disposal. This was why she chose to turn away from the VOMB and start her fight from the flanks where the intensity was lower. "Let me test my might against these easier bugs first!" Of course, from her perspective, Level 7 Goliaths were far from enough to threaten her newfound strength! They should serve as useful practice targets by her logic!