Two days later.
"Starsea Empire Joint Fleet—depart."
At the Starsea Empire's base.
Starships lifted off one after another, forming escort formations in midair as they followed behind the flagship, heading toward the sky.
The sky-blotting fleet once again frightened the natives. Everyone understood that this battle would decide the fate of the world.
The humans in the settlements all subconsciously put down what they were doing and looked up at those towering warships.
Clonie closed her eyes and bowed her head in silent prayer.
As a human, she could do nothing in this war. Her survival until now had depended entirely on the Commander's mercy and protection.
Because of that, she sincerely hoped Setsuna could put an end to Disboard's fractured state of endless warfare.
No longer let humans be objects of arbitrary humiliation by other races.
"..."
After thinking it over, she did not even know whom she should pray to. The Old Deus of Disboard had either been abducted or wiped out.
She could only recite the names of some Starsea Empire local deities she had seen in the records.
"Lady Aqua, please bless the Commander with victory..."
"..."
"You could at least pray to Eris and I'd think you tried. Praying to her is just sabotaging the Commander, isn't it?"
Harbin beside her had a headache.
She ordered the Angeloids to deploy energy shields around the area.
The aftermath of the battle might reach this place. Preparations had to be made in advance.
Swish—
The space fleet advanced at full speed.
"Commander, is it really necessary for you to duel him one-on-one?"
On the bridge, Grey tilted her head and posed a question straight from the soul.
"I suggest conducting fire saturation bombardment against Artosh on an astronomical scale. That would be safer and more efficient."
"As for distance... let's tentatively set it at twenty light-years. According to the data, the God of War's arms shouldn't be that long."
"We can start with test strikes using Tachyon Lances, Photoids, and corrosive missiles to assess the physical durability of an Old Deus..."
"Since Void Zero Protection, E-Bombs, and Ex-Machina attacks were able to pierce Artosh's divine core, our weapons—several orders of magnitude stronger—should certainly be capable as well."
The shipgirls deeply agreed and were eager to try.
"Hey!?!?!"
Jibril realized that nanomachines had absolutely no sense of honor.
It felt like preparing carefully for a samurai duel—wearing the best clothes, bringing the sharpest blade—only to arrive and find that the opponent had called in an armored group army.
"In theory, that works. But I want to stretch a bit."
Setsuna yawned.
He was a loyal supporter of the doctrine of firepower superiority, but always sitting in the rear and shelling enemies with ship cannons during every campaign was somewhat dull.
During this time, he had also mastered many new powers.
Some came from Nyarlathotep—Outer God authority. Others came from the Herrscher of Finality power he had recently obtained from the Honkai world.
The God of War happened to be a worthy opponent.
"Commander, please be careful. Don't force yourself."
Nyarlathotep looked up at him.
"If you can't beat him, you can switch with me~."
"..."
Setsuna laughed helplessly.
"Can you have a little more confidence in me?"
He had no doubt that even though it was nominally a one-on-one duel, if anything went wrong, the Cthulhu girl, shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, and everyone else would swarm in immediately.
Before long.
At the far end of the starry sky, a tiny black dot appeared.
As the distance closed, the dot grew larger, revealing a bizarre and magnificent sight.
It was a sky city composed of countless polyhedrons stitched together—Avant Heim, the Flügel's main stronghold.
Artosh had already been waiting there for a long time.
Boom—
Vast divine might radiated outward from the sky city, causing even space itself to tremble.
Artosh rose from his throne and let out a hearty, exhilarated laugh.
"Mighty one from another world... I hope you can give me the battle I've long awaited."
Powerful battle intent surged from his body. After countless eras, the God of War had finally found an opponent worthy of going all out.
"Come."
Setsuna stood atop the bridge, speaking lightly.
Violent winds roared past his ears at high altitude, while not far away, the Flügel legion stood ready in full formation.
"Hm?"
Artosh glanced at the massive fleet behind Setsuna, a little puzzled.
"You're not planning to fight with these things, are you? Oh? You even have another Old Deus there? Unfortunately, she's not suited for combat."
Holou had been buried in research inside the starship day and night when she suddenly felt herself being stared at by something.
When she looked up again, she nearly jumped.
"Huh? How did I get here?"
"Query: what place is this?"
"This is the Commander's duel with the God of War. Move aside, you're blocking the view."
Gudako dragged over a small stool, invited Holou to sit down, and casually pulled out a pile of sunflower seeds, peanuts, and snacks, placing them on the table.
"Huh???"
"..."
"No, those are just spectators."
Setsuna gestured for the fleet to spread out.
"Heh—interesting."
In the next instant, the battle erupted.
Artosh raised his right hand, condensing divine power within it.
The dark clouds overhead formed a massive vortex. Countless strands of purple lightning surged within, unimaginable energy being compressed and refined.
When he first encountered the Starsea Empire, Artosh had intended to wipe them out with this attack. But after seeing humans, he lost interest.
Today, he believed the man before him was worthy of this strike.
"Heavenly Smite."
BOOM!!—
A crimson torrent of energy, carrying power enough to shatter planets, descended from the heavens.
Whether it was the Ex-Machina's False Epigraphy—Dragon Roar, or the Dwarves' various E-Bomb weapons, all paled in comparison before such absolute force.
Just the aftermath of Heavenly Smite stirred a violent energy storm across the planet.
The beings of Disboard looked up in terror, as if witnessing the apocalypse.
"Using that move right at the start? That ruthless? Is Master really okay?"
The Lion King looked worried.
"No, this is Artosh challenging Master. Master is the boss here."
Jeanne Alter showed no concern at all.
"Didn't you notice he's still fighting in human form? This is only Phase One, tsk tsk tsk..."
"Huh?"
Jibril and Holou couldn't understand a word.
Boom!—
Setsuna waved his hand, and the energy shield effortlessly blocked the attack.
A planet-shattering strike was nothing more than a snack for the Eternal Snowfall.
"Oh?"
Artosh was not surprised.
A golden war spear condensed in his hand, also a manifestation of concept.
The power of his divine core was fully unleashed as he engaged the enemy with everything he had.
Energy radiated outward from Artosh, forming a massive vortex.
As the "strongest," he needed no fancy techniques or tricks. The God of War's power alone was enough to crush everything through pure violence.
Whoosh—
A golden flash streaked across the heavens like a meteor, charging straight toward Setsuna.
Snap—
Setsuna reached forward and clenched his hand.
Space and light twisted violently. A singularity appeared a short distance before him.
Within one ten-thousandth of a second, it expanded into a miniature black hole. Nearby interstellar matter and asteroids were instantly torn into fundamental particles by gravity.
They formed a thin accretion disk, circling the black hole.
If it weren't for the great distance, even Disboard itself might have been torn apart.
"A—artificial black hole?! That's the Herrscher of Reason—no, the Herrscher of Earth's gravity control ability?!"
Gudako stared in a daze. As expected, when Herrscher Authority reached Setsuna's hands, it always produced outrageously exaggerated effects.
This was not a pseudo–black hole created by the Star of Eden, but a genuine celestial object—a spacetime singularity formed by gravity warped to the extreme.
Then, Setsuna hurled it forward.
Driven by gravity, the black hole slammed toward Artosh at near-light speed.
Along the way, planets and meteors within thousands of astronomical units were shredded completely. The light released as matter fell into the black hole briefly outshone the sun itself.
"What a move!"
Artosh encountered an astronomical-scale attack for the first time. He felt the surrounding space collapsing toward a single point.
Throwing black holes was an absurd ability. Even for the magic-specialized Elves—or the Old Deus of Disboard—it was far beyond any standard.
Once caught beyond the event horizon, not even light could escape. Spacetime itself would be twisted together.
The God of War could shatter planets, but he had never tested whether he could escape a black hole.
"Flow Acceleration—Heaven Shift!!!"
The Flügel legion atop Avant Heim immediately activated space magic.
At the instant Artosh was about to be dragged in, they gathered everyone's power and transferred him far away.
Boom—
The black hole streaked deeper into space and collided with a star. Devouring massive stellar matter, it swelled several times in size before vanishing into the distant cosmos.
"..."
While still astonished by that power, Artosh barely regained his senses.
The next wave of attacks was already upon him.
"I am the Finality. I am divinity."
"I draw thunder into bow and arrow, shattering all things."
"I command endless storms—near yet infinitely far."
"Immortal flames coil around me, starfire spreading across the heavens."
"..."
Swish—
In the once-silent void, solar storms suddenly erupted, carrying violent ionizing radiation and torrents of high-energy particles toward everyone.
Setsuna stood amid countless galaxies, lightning and flame swirling around him. The Honkai energy spilling from his body even condensed into a group of Honkai Beasts, prostrating themselves at his feet.
BOOM!!—
Thunder and inferno tore through the dark cosmos, intertwining as they struck toward Artosh.
Just the residual heat made the Flügel on the sky city feel scorching pressure.
"!!!"
"Wait—you're telling me this is still the Commander's first form?!"
Jibril was dumbfounded. She poked Grey.
"Yeah. Want to guess whether Artosh can even push him into Phase Two? He still hasn't used a ton of skills."
The nanomachine spoke casually.
"..."
"Isn't this boss way too hard to fight?! Hey?!"
...
"Ha..."
Artosh gazed into the distant starfield, at Setsuna surrounded by lightning and blazing flames, with hundreds—thousands—of Honkai Beasts condensed beneath his feet.
His expression grew strange. He felt as though their positions had subtly reversed.
In the past, he had always stood high above, accepting challenges from others—Dragonia, Flügel, and other reckless Old Deus...
He had thought Setsuna was merely one among countless challengers. Now it seemed that Setsuna was the boss.
The God of War glanced at the war spear formed in his hand—simple, plain, unadorned.
Meanwhile, his opponent was covered in colorful elemental effects and had even summoned hordes of monsters.
Judging by visual effects alone, he really did look like the one raiding a boss fight.
"Ah, Benbo'erba challenging the Great Sage Equal to Heaven—this is brutal."
Grey smacked her lips.
"What kind of analogy is that?!"
Jibril didn't quite understand, but felt it was impressive.
"As long as you get the idea."
"..."
"So it's a magic-centric combat style? Interesting, very interesting..."
Artosh was not intimidated. He laughed heartily.
Rarely encountering a true powerhouse made his blood boil.
Battle intent pushed his strength ever higher. Power swelled visibly, immeasurable energy flooding into his body, causing minor distortions in the surrounding space.
The God of War grew stronger the more he fought.
At the same time, his mind grew colder and calmer.
After just a couple of exchanges, Artosh had already judged that Setsuna was not an opponent who could be defeated through brute force alone.
Astronomical-scale attacks were far too extreme. Pure power clashes would not favor him.
"Relying on Spirit magic? Elves techniques? No..."
Artosh did not dwell on details for long and quickly adjusted his strategy.
"If he fights using magic, then the key lies with the caster himself."
Whoosh—
A golden meteor shot toward Setsuna once more.
This time, it was faster and stronger.
Ordinary eyes could no longer track Artosh's movement. Only Tohru and a few others noticed the space before him tearing apart.
"This is... time distortion?"
The dragon girl sensed something off.
ROAR!!!—
The Honkai Beasts were the first to pounce toward Artosh.
Bang, crack!—
Emperor-level and even Judgment-level Honkai Beasts were like paper before him.
Pierced by the war spear, shattered apart, they failed to slow the God of War even slightly, torn into fragments in an instant.
"Oh?"
"You've grown several times stronger than before."
Setsuna smiled. As expected, the concept of a God of War existed solely for battle.
"But it's meaningless."
Crackle—
The authorities of the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of Flames activated.
A colossal dragon woven of azure-violet lightning and crimson fire manifested behind him, roaring as it lunged forward.
The fire dragon burned hotter than a star itself. Even the distant Flügel spectators felt scorching heat wash over them.
The Herrscher Thunder's authority completely disrupted the surrounding magnetic field. Aside from Avant Heim's observation equipment, even perception itself fell into chaos.
Spirit power could not be invoked. The five senses became disordered.
Clang!—
Artosh hurled his war spear to meet the attack.
The spear flared brilliantly in midair, transforming into a golden lance several kilometers long.
BOOM!!—
The collision blossomed into a massive energy tide in the starry sky, pulverizing nearby meteors and asteroids into interstellar dust.
On Disboard, beings looked up to see another sun briefly appear in the heavens, its glare blinding beyond endurance.
"Again!!"
The God of War roared.
He twisted and dashed through space, rapidly condensing golden war spears and hurling them toward Setsuna one after another.
Boom!—
Each spear forged from divine power carried immeasurable force, streaking across the sky like meteors.
Planets struck by them were pierced clean through like candied fruit, then shattered apart as magma burst forth.
"Ah..."
Even the shipgirls were startled. Power of this magnitude wasn't much different from casually throwing out a Photoid.
Scáthach's expression turned strange.
Both of them fought with spears, yet her Noble Phantasms were clearly several orders of magnitude inferior.
If she were to step in, she probably wouldn't last even a single second.
There were differences even among gods.
"..."
Facing attacks capable of shattering stars, Setsuna calmly raised his hand.
Boom!—
With a heavy compressive sound, the surrounding space froze.
More than ten golden light spears were instantly locked in place before him, their divine power sealed, unable to advance even an inch.
"Spatial manipulation? Is this the Herrscher of the Void's ability? But her core should be—"
Gudako was dumbfounded.
"That was merely a projection split from the Cocoon of Finality. The Cocoon itself is the sole Herrscher Core."
Setsuna snapped his fingers.
Whoosh—
The light spears reversed direction and shot back toward Artosh.
BOOM!!—
He failed to dodge in time. His right arm was pierced through, his divine body rupturing as golden blood scattered into the cosmos.
"Lord Artosh?!"
The Flügel on the sky city cried out in alarm.
"Ah... hahahahaha—"
Artosh stared at the blood, momentarily dazed.
In countless eras of battle on Disboard, this was the first time he had ever been wounded.
Just now, had a full-force strike hit a vital point, his divine core would have been pierced.
For the first time, he felt the threat of death. A battle that could bring death to the God of War—this was what he had always longed for.
"Mighty one from another world... you are indeed the strongest person I have ever met."
Strength, speed, reaction, attack power...
For the first time, Artosh encountered an opponent who completely overwhelmed him in every aspect.
His techniques were bizarre and unfathomable. Every attack was effortlessly neutralized, while even a casual strike from him forced Artosh to go all out.
Just like everyone else who had once challenged the God of War—there was almost no chance of victory.
"Still want to fight?"
"Of course."
Artosh picked up the war spear with his left hand and spread his eighteen wings.
Drawing upon millions of years of combat experience, he searched for a way to defeat a superior foe.
After several exchanges, he confirmed that Setsuna excelled at rule manipulation and long-range combat.
His power also surpassed his own. Against attacks that treated celestial bodies like toys, head-on clashes were unrealistic.
Thus, to defeat this enemy, he had to change tactics.
Whoosh—
With his damaged body, he charged across the starry void once more.
Divine power erupted completely. Time and space twisted before his eyes. The universe fell into stasis.
The Dragonia possessed the ability to traverse multiple timelines, existing simultaneously in past, present, and future.
For an Old Deus of even higher rank, Artosh could likewise perceive and interfere with past, present, and future.
He ascended against the flow of time, manifesting in a higher-dimensional space.
"Hm?"
To others, only a fading afterimage remained in the starry sky.
Rip—
A rift tore open in the void before Setsuna. The War God emerged from within, spear in hand, launching a fatal strike.
There was no possibility of reaction. Everything in the universe was frozen, because this was an attack from the future.
How could one defend against an assault from another timeline? Ordinary beings couldn't even perceive him.
The result of killing the opponent came first, followed by the "cause" of the attack.
Once the timeline converged, victory would already be his. Setsuna would merely be a corpse beneath the spear.
BOOM!!—
The golden spear, carrying unprecedented power and authority, pierced forward, determined to kill its target on the spot.
Even the divine power spilling from the strike suffocated those watching from afar.
The Honkai Beasts beneath were crushed into dust. Space around them screamed as it shattered.
The next instant.
Snap—
Setsuna reached out and grasped the shaft.
With a backhanded strike, he pierced straight through Artosh's chest.
"Unfortunately, I possess the authority of the Herrscher of Finality and the blessing of an Outer God."
"Unless your rank far surpasses that of an Outer God, any temporal powers are meaningless to me."