Within the Imaginary Space.
Two white figures collided like meteors. The naked eye could not track their movements. In less than a second, this entire space had already been destroyed countless times over by their clash.
The sound of their weapons colliding fell as densely as raindrops striking the ground. In this storm-like exchange, every single blow contained enough terrifying power to split the sea and tear apart the sky.
Boom—!!!
Another collision sent Elias flying back over a thousand meters, the corner of his eye twitching. At this moment, his [Reverse God] body was covered in wounds of all sizes.
But he paid them no mind.
With the authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth, he healed only the fatal injuries that would affect his mobility.
Even though, with his shattered pseudo-divine authority, his Honkai energy recovery efficiency was now a hundred times greater than before, facing the Herrscher of Finality meant he could not afford to waste power anywhere unnecessary.
"Tch! What a pain!"
Elias irritably glared at the completely unscathed Herrscher of Finality.
There was not a single wound on the Goddess of Honkai's divine body. Not even a strand of hair had been cut. Protected by the power of Finality, her health bar was completely locked.
Elias had already surpassed the Herrscher of Finality in many aspects. In fact, without the protection of the power of Finality, this Goddess of Honkai would not even match Elias' physical strength as a Project Chimera MANTIS.
In terms of combat technique and tactical strategy, Elias still outclassed her by several hundred streets, just as he had fifty thousand years ago.
But if you cannot deal damage, none of that matters.
If this were a game, the Herrscher of Finality would be the kind of final boss marked [Unchallengeable] because the story had not progressed far enough. And with her nearly infinite mana pool, she treated map-wide attacks as if they were basic attacks.
No matter how tough Elias' [Reverse God] body was, visible injuries had already begun to accumulate.
"Truly exhilarating. Battling you is the ultimate pleasure, especially... crushing you one-sidedly."
"Crushing my ass! If not for the power of Finality, I'd have already knocked you flat!"
Elias viciously raised an internationally friendly hand gesture.
But after repeatedly clashing, he had already absorbed nearly enough of the power of Finality. Immediately, he decided to give this Goddess of Honkai a little surprise.
"This strike will ignite the sea of stars!!"
Using his own Herrscher Core to drive a Divine Key, the Judgment of Shamash transformed under the influence of the power of Finality into the Finality of An-Utu greatsword. Towering flames engulfed the entire Imaginary Space.
Elias stood like a sovereign of fire. He poured the vast majority of his strength into that single slash and swung it at the Herrscher of Finality with full force.
"If you've got the guts, try taking this head-on!"
"Try it and die? I'm not taking it."
"What the hell! Don't dodge!"
Elias stared in astonishment at the Herrscher of Finality.
Faced with a strike that genuinely posed enormous danger to her, she actually chose to evade.
For anyone else, that would have been the obvious choice. But for the Herrscher of Finality—who, protected by the power of Finality, had never dodged, never blocked, and never defended against any attack—dodging was an action she had long since forgotten.
At least that had been true fifty thousand years ago.
Now, however, this Goddess of Honkai had reinstalled the dodge button she had once removed.
In that instant, she dodged in a manner that was both desperate and fully committed, successfully avoiding Elias' slash imbued with the power of Finality and preventing herself from being severely wounded in a single blow.
"Damn it, I whiffed my ultimate!"
Watching the carefully charged strike go to waste, Elias' expression darkened. At the same time, he instinctively sensed something off.
This Finality was different.
"Hmph. Don't think I'm still the same as I was fifty thousand years ago. You are not the only one who has grown, Elias."
The Herrscher of Finality glanced at the collapsing Imaginary Space and reinforced it with a wave of her hand. For someone who did not wish to be discovered by the [Cocoon of Finality], this battlefield was necessary.
At the same time, Elias realized the reason.
(Hm? Compared to fifty thousand years ago, this Finality feels more human. Less like a god. Don't tell me she was influenced by the authority of Origin too?)
It was not that the Herrscher of Finality could not dodge.
It was that her divine boredom and arrogance made her believe there was never any need.
That arrogance steeped in godhood had caused her to stumble repeatedly in past cycles, allowing Elias to seize opportunities.
But the current Finality was no longer the same.
The humanity she had gained through Origin had brought real change.
The most obvious change was that although her combat technique remained crude, at least she now possessed some technique.
She was no longer simply hurling overwhelming power and spamming skills like she had fifty thousand years ago.
Elias felt his heart sink.
The difficulty had already been nightmarish. Now it had become even worse.
"Are you finished attacking? Then it's my turn. You have no objections, I presume," the Herrscher of Finality said.
"I object very much! And stop talking like Himeko!" Elias gritted his teeth and could only brace for defense.
Another earth-shattering clash erupted.
Finally, at a certain instant, through sheer coincidence and fortune, the Herrscher of Finality seized a fleeting flaw in Elias' movement. The world-ending divine spear unleashed a beam of Honkai energy that pierced straight through the white-haired boy's chest.
But Elias, having long since shut off his sense of pain, continued counterattacking without hesitation.
Though death descended upon him for a fleeting moment, in the next second he revived through the power of Shesha.
"Elias, why not surrender? In your current state, you are not my opponent. So—submit to me."
"Heh... in your dreams."
"Still persisting in meaningless struggle?"
"Not necessarily."
Elias took a deep breath and revealed a feral grin.
He admitted that he had no way to defeat the current Finality. If it dragged on, there was over a ninety percent chance he would be the one who fell.
It had been a long time since he had faced such a disadvantage.
But no matter what, Elias could not allow this goddess to step into the outside world.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Current Era did not yet possess the power to defeat the Herrscher of Finality.
Even though, compared to the original storyline, the Current Era's combat strength had increased dozens of times, and they now had the support of more than a thousand Herrschers from the Previous Era—
Before Finality, it was meaningless.
This being herself was the embodiment of absolute violence.
Once she unleashed her authority, any resistance would become utterly meaningless. Therefore, if Elias—the only one possessing resistance to time—could not defeat her or at least hold her here, then the survival of the Current Era would truly rest upon a single thought of this Goddess of Honkai.
But...
(There is still a chance of victory. It's just... sigh~ this time it might end up worse than ever before.)
Elias let out a deep sigh, then adjusted his mindset.
What he needed to do remained the same.
Fight.
Tatakai! Jibun o tatakai!
As long as he could hold this Goddess of Honkai here for three years—if he could fight her for three whole years—then Elias would be the one who won.
(Without my interference, fate will proceed along its original trajectory. It's 2014 right now. According to the original script of the game, Kiana becomes the Herrscher of Finality in 2017. So I just need to hold out for three years... The fact that I'm thinking this way means I haven't gone insane yet, right?)
Elias could not help but reveal a bitter smile.
Fifty thousand years ago, merely holding the Herrscher of Finality back for ten days had been as difficult as ascending the heavens.
And now, alone, without supplies, he intended to hold back an even stronger Finality for three entire years.
The very thought made Elias question his own sanity.
But...
This was the only method he could think of.
Only the power of Finality could break the power of Finality. Once Kiana ascended to godhood, she would not lose to the Herrscher of Finality before him.
According to his original plan, the one who would become the Herrscher of Finality in the Current Era was supposed to be himself.
But now, Elias had no other choice.
He had to hold Finality here and allow fate to proceed along its predetermined course.
"Oh? So that's what you're thinking."
"What?!"
"As bold as ever. To imagine holding me back for three years—merely conceiving such a thought, perhaps I should commend your courage."
The Herrscher of Finality looked at Elias with satisfaction.
Using the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience, she had read the boy's thoughts.
If it were possible, she truly would not mind fighting Elias for three years.
Because battling him was, for her, an incomparable pleasure.
This Goddess of Honkai was more than willing to slaughter one another with the white-haired boy before her until the end of time.
"Tch... this just got troublesome..."
Elias frowned deeply.
As the origin of all authorities, the Herrscher of Finality was the only existence in the world capable of suppressing him in terms of Herrscher powers.
Just a moment of carelessness had allowed her authority to probe his heart.
He immediately used the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience to layer mental defenses upon himself.
Having your thoughts read in battle was extremely dangerous.
He had no intention of being predicted.
But what relieved him was this:
Finality had not overheard his other card.
Though I don't know if it will succeed—it's nothing but a vague hope—but... I still have one more [Miracle].
Elias tightened his grip on his twin blades, placing half his hopes on one of his traits.
It was another possible way to break this deadlock.
But it was completely unpredictable.
[Miracle]: Turn the impossible into possible.
It was one of the three traits Elias had obtained when he first traveled back to the Previous Era.
Because he had never used it all the way until clearing the Previous Era scenario, this [Miracle] trait had been granted to him by the system as a clearance reward.
Even the system had been full of admiration.
In the Previous Era, its host had created countless feats worthy of being called miracles—but all of them had been accomplished by his own strength, not through system cheats.
And now, Elias had transformed [Miracle] into his own skill.
To be honest, he had never expected that an unused trait could be converted into a reward and brought back to the original timeline.
(Turning the impossible into possible... With this power, I might truly be able to defeat Finality. Even if I have absolutely no idea how to do it. The description is way too vague.)
A power that could trigger miracles sounded incredibly romantic—exactly the kind of thing that struck at Elias' inner romanticist.
But if possible, he would have preferred something with a clearer objective in the middle of battle.
"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time. Worst case, I just endure for three years. If I try hard enough, maybe I can pull it off."
Elias stood ready against Finality, switching his tactical objective to delaying for time.
"Regrettably, you cannot."
The Herrscher of Finality narrowed her eyes, staring at the white-haired boy like a hunter eyeing her finest prey.
"I truly do want to keep fighting you. But it's about time this ends. Though battling you is delightful, my objective is to complete my revenge and wash away my past humiliation."
"Heh~ Big words. Sure, I can't hurt you with your health lock cheat on—but with your half-baked combat skills, defeating me is just a daydream."
"...I'll train more later. Sooner or later, I'll surpass you. But as I said, Elias—you have already lost. Before absolute power, so-called miracles are insignificant."
As she spoke, the Herrscher of Finality swept her divine spear through the void.
A gigantic spatial gate opened instantly.
Cold sweat poured down Elias' back.
Instinctively, he felt an ominous premonition.
In the next second, that premonition came true.
"AAAAAAAHHHH——!!!"
An immense volume of seawater surged out from the spatial gate.
Then, accompanied by a roar powerful enough to shatter eardrums, a crimson manta ray the size of an entire continent burst through the waves.
"A Planet-class Honkai Beast?! Urgh!"
Caught off guard, Elias was struck head-on.
The strength of this Planet-class Honkai Beast surpassed even his current [Reverse God] state.
"Cough—!"
He felt as if he had been hit by a small asteroid, sent flying tens of thousands of meters.
The fact that he did not cough blood—only felt dizzy—was proof that the single-target durability of [Reverse God] was already on par with Planet-class beings.
But it was not over.
Taking advantage of Elias' momentary daze, countless tentacles lashed out.
First, they snatched the Judgment of Shamash and the Holy Blade Durandal from his hands.
Then they wrapped tightly around his body, releasing weakening toxins.
"Got you~ Elias."
"Jya... hnar..."
Elias stared in shock at the blue-haired girl sitting atop the head of the Planet-class manta ray Honkai Beast.
Instinctively, he summoned the Heaven Devourer Honkai Beast, attempting to have it bite through the tentacles.
"Nope~ Elias needs to behave."
"ROOOAAARRR——!" ×9
"You too."
The Heaven Devourer had barely emerged from Elias' body before it too was bound by countless tentacles.
Its nine dragon heads were forced together, struggling in vain to break free.
Although both were Planet-class Honkai Beasts, Heaven Devourer had only recently reached this realm.
Moreover, it had evolved by devouring the opponent's genes.
It was unable to mount effective resistance.
This is bad. This is really bad!
Cold sweat streamed down Elias' face.
The sudden ambush had caught him completely off guard.
If it were only Jyahnar, he would not have been helpless.
But Finality had already delivered the follow-up strike.
All authorities with restraining properties descended upon him.
Now, Elias truly could not move.
"Now, I can finally exact my revenge upon you."
"Ghk—!"
Elias' face turned pale as he looked at Finality standing right before him.
Yet just as he thought the overturned situation would end with the world-ending spear piercing through him—
The Herrscher of Finality withdrew her spear.
She reached out, lifted his chin.
And then...
Pressed her lips against his.