"Favorability +100? What does that mean?"
Jyahnar blinked her adorable eyes.
Although she was a super Honkai Beast who had lived for over fifty thousand years, her experiences had been painfully monotonous.
Moreover, due to severe injuries in the past that left her unable to move, she had only learned by observing the occasional people who drifted onto her island. Naturally, that led to many gaps and misunderstandings.
As a result, Jyahnar did not understand many modern terms.
"Favorability means how much I like you. If it's 100 points, then as long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll basically agree to anything you ask depending on the situation," Elias explained.
"Really?!"
Jyahnar's eyes widened in delight. Elias could feel the tentacles wrapped around him tighten slightly.
"Then if I max out your favorability, does that mean you'll agree to anything I ask?" the girl asked expectantly.
"Well, first of all, there's no upper limit to favorability. My feelings for someone important to me only grow more and more. There will never be a day they reach an end."
Elias shook his head.
As long as someone was accepted by him, increasing his favorability was actually very easy.
Just as an example... his first love, Raiden Mei, already had nearly ninety million points in his heart.
The others were around sixty to seventy million.
And a certain Miss Pink Elf who currently ranked first had already surpassed one hundred million. However, since Elysia had not logged in for quite some time, the gap was steadily shrinking.
If this continued, it probably wouldn't be long before the top spot would be taken over by a certain housewife.
"Second, if your favorability gets high enough, then yes—I would be willing to do anything for you. Even abandoning my identity as a human. Even joining the Honkai wouldn't be a problem."
Elias spoke with a serious expression. From a certain perspective, his love was hysterical and utterly without regard for consequences.
After all, he had once made an entire era restart twelve times for someone. He had traveled back and forth through time, crossed parallel worlds, and even charged at the Imaginary Tree.
That was what Elias, whose favorability toward Elysia had exceeded one hundred million, could do for the girl he deeply loved.
Even giving up his humanity and falling into godhood was not beyond him.
Fortunately, the ordinary people of the Previous Era did not know this. Otherwise, if they discovered that the savior they revered as their faith was actually a madman who could abandon everything for love...
No one could imagine the shock it would cause.
"So, Jyahnar... can you let me go?"
"But... I think this is fine as it is."
Jyahnar pondered for a moment, a conflicted expression appearing on her face before she continued.
"I don't need you to join the Honkai for me or give up being human. Although the Cocoon would probably be very happy if it knew, as long as I can stay here with you forever in this place where there is nothing, that's enough for me."
"Jyahnar, what you just said gave you +1000 favorability. Thank you for loving me so much."
Elias spoke, moved. If his hands were free, he would have given her a head pat and a hug.
This girl was heartbreakingly lovable.
It was as if her entire world contained only him. From beginning to end, she thought only of him. She was even willing to betray the Honkai and abandon the world for his sake.
As long as she could be with him, she wouldn't even mind living forever in this empty Imaginary Space filled with nothingness.
Elias' favorability increased dramatically.
"But Jyahnar, listen to me. Right now, there are still too many things you don't know. The world we live in is incredibly wonderful. So don't give it up so easily."
"Spending a time longer than eternity in this Imaginary Space where nothing exists... while that kind of love might be romantically tragic, it doesn't suit us."
"I want to live with you beneath warm and brilliant sunlight, experiencing new things every day. Trust me, Jyahnar. That's the kind of love that's truly interesting and truly happy."
Using the only part of his body he could move, Elias gently rubbed his head against the blue-haired girl before him.
He wanted to fall in love with Jyahnar.
But in a world where nothing existed, even the most beautiful love could never truly blossom.
"So please, Jyahnar. Let me go and come with me. I'll work hard to make myself love you."
"Elias..."
Jyahnar stared blankly at the white-haired boy. Something beneath her chest stirred, and she felt strangely unsettled.
The meaning of her birth was to become his lover.
As she had said before, from the very moment she was born, she had loved Elias deeply.
And that love had never asked for anything in return.
Even if Elias were to reject her, Jyahnar would still continue loving him one-sidedly, doing anything for him.
The Planet-class Honkai Beast girl had accepted this as something natural.
But what she did not know was...
The person she had fallen in love with was gentler than she imagined.
At this moment, her feelings had been returned. And Elias even wanted to give her more.
And so...
For the first time, this Planet-class Honkai Beast girl felt greed.
(I want to experience the kind of love he described. Not just loving him alone... I also want to be loved by Elias.)
The tentacles binding Elias slowly loosened.
"Thank you, Jyahnar."
"You're welcome~ Didn't I say? I'll fulfill all your wishes. So... later, can you fulfill one wish of mine too?"
"...Alright. I promise."
Elias froze for a moment, but he did not hesitate for long before agreeing.
Though this unknown wish might carry risks, he chose to trust the Honkai Beast girl who loved him so deeply.
"You two—am I invisible?"
"Ah." x2
At that moment, the lightbulb—Miss Herrscher of Finality—had already taken out her world-destroying divine spear again and was glaring at Elias and Jyahnar with obvious displeasure.
As a being similarly lacking in common sense, the Herrscher of Finality did not know how to describe her current emotions.
She simply felt her chest tighten, a vague irritation rising, along with... a hint of anger.
The pseudo-Herrscher she had personally elevated was actually flirting openly with her rival right in front of her?!
"Neither of you is leaving today. I said so!"
"Jyahnar, buy me some time."
Elias switched from romance mode back into combat mode.
The restrictive authorities the Herrscher of Finality had placed on him earlier were simply too numerous. Combined with the exhaustion from the intense battle, even someone like Elias needed a brief moment to recover.
"Mm! For you, Elias, I can do anything."
Without a trace of fear, Jyahnar stepped in front of him, facing the Herrscher of Finality—who had been her ally just moments ago.
She was likely the first Honkai Beast companion in history to betray a Herrscher purely by her own will.
"Hmph. You?"
The Herrscher of Finality scoffed, swinging her world-ending divine spear as countless beams of Honkai energy erupted outward.
Jyahnar immediately controlled the massive manta-like Honkai Beast—her true body—to shield both herself and Elias, blocking the casually unleashed attack that was powerful enough to wipe out an entire continent.
Only the colossal body of a Planet-class Honkai Beast could withstand such an assault head-on. Even so, Jyahnar struggled, as large patches of her crimson body were scorched black.
"I may not be able to defeat you... but if it's just buying some time, I think I can manage," Jyahnar said.
"No. You can't."
The Herrscher of Finality once again demonstrated what absolute power meant.
Facing the tens-of-thousands-of-meters-long tentacles thrusting toward her like arrows, she swept her spear horizontally.
In an instant, both the tentacles and the surrounding space were torn apart. Countless authorities then rained down upon the manta-like Honkai Beast—flames, ice, wind blades, violet lightning, even pseudo-black holes.
Each of these attacks, casually unleashed, far surpassed the terrifying power of a Divine Key at Zeroth Power. Even Elias broke into a cold sweat watching—by conservative estimates, if those attacks struck the outside world, half the Earth would already be gone.
"Guh—!"
Jyahnar gritted her teeth, concentrating all her Honkai energy into reinforcing her main body's defenses.
"Give up. Don't forget—you only have sixty percent of your Honkai energy right now. And the pseudo-Core inside you was created by me personally. While it grants you power, it also binds you to me," the Herrscher of Finality stated calmly.
If Jyahnar were at full strength, she could indeed engage in a prolonged battle with her. Even the Herrscher of Finality could not easily kill a Planet-class Honkai Beast.
But now, Jyahnar had yet to recover.
Her injuries from fifty thousand years ago had not fully healed, her Honkai energy had not been fully restored, and the pseudo-Core within her conflicted with her existence.
Under these conditions, she was at a complete disadvantage.
(As expected... fighting someone other than Elias is just boring.)
The Herrscher of Finality felt nothing stirring within her.
Even though Jyahnar was qualified to stand before her as an "enemy," the battle brought her no excitement at all.
Just as she was about to finish things quickly and restrain Elias again before he recovered—
"ROOOOOAAAAAAR—!" x9
"What?"
"I'm not fighting alone, Finality."
Accompanied by nine earth-shaking dragon roars, the Heaven Devourer Honkai Beast—now freed from its restraints—joined the battlefield, immediately taking on half of the incoming attacks alongside Jyahnar's main body.
"Two Planet-class..."
The Herrscher of Finality frowned slightly.
Facing two world-ending colossal beasts, she felt no emotional disturbance—but she did find it somewhat troublesome.
Even if a Planet-class Honkai Beast stood still and let you attack it, it was still incredibly difficult to kill.
Their "health bars" were simply too thick.
So thick that they could probably stretch from Earth to the Moon.
Even the Herrscher of Finality would need a considerable amount of time to deal with them.
And at that very moment, a white figure that made her heart skip a beat re-entered the battlefield, wielding a flaming greatsword.
"Elias? How are you already recovered?!"
"Don't underestimate my recovery speed."
Elias had restored his combat capability at astonishing speed.
Behind him, the Imaginary halo continuously released vast amounts of Honkai energy. Combined with the two bubble worlds within his body supplying power simultaneously, his endurance in battle was practically limitless.
Without that, he would never have had the confidence to make a decision like stalling the Herrscher of Finality for three years.
"Jyahnar, this belongs to you."
Elias took out a massive orb from his storage space and tossed it toward the manta-like Honkai Beast.
It was her heart—the one he had taken from her fifty thousand years ago.
"...Actually, you didn't have to return it," Jyahnar said, her expression complicated.
Although losing her Core had prevented her from recovering her Honkai energy for fifty thousand years, it had also allowed her to always sense Elias' location.
"Don't say silly things. Oh, and I'll throw in a bonus gift. Catch!"
Elias took out a sapphire-blue gem and handed it to her.
"This is—!"
Jyahnar's eyes widened in shock before she broke into a joyful smile.
She reached into her body, pulled out the pseudo-Herrscher Core, and tossed it aside without even glancing at it.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The Herrscher of Finality frowned, clearly displeased.
Discarding the Core she had granted was nothing short of blasphemy.
"I don't need the Core you gave me anymore, Finality. Elias made me a new one."
Jyahnar waved the blue gem in her hand as if showing it off.
The immense Honkai energy radiating from it made it clear—it was also a pseudo-Core.
Elias possessed the ability to create pseudo-Cores as well. Back then, he had created four at once and given them all to Benares.
And now, if he wished, he could even create an entire army of pseudo-Herrschers.
Jyahnar fused the new Core into her body, regaining the title of pseudo-Herrscher—the Herrscher of the Sea—while also breaking free from the Herrscher of Finality's control.
"Let me top up your Honkai energy while I'm at it."
"Mm, thank you, Elias... hm?"
Tilting her head back to receive the energy, Jyahnar froze.
She felt a soft sensation on her lips.
Looking at the white-haired boy so close before her, she was a beat too slow to realize—she had been kissed.
She didn't understand what a kiss meant.
Feeling the steady flow of Honkai energy being transferred into her, she understood that Elias was replenishing her energy, but...
(This feeling is so strange... and so nice~)
As she thought this, she glanced back at the Herrscher of Finality, who was being held at bay by the two Planet-class Honkai Beasts.
The meaning in her azure eyes was unmistakable.
(Finality, look—Elias' way of replenishing energy is much better than yours.)
"..."
The Herrscher of Finality's eye twitched.
The attacks she unleashed toward the Heaven Devourer and the manta-like Honkai Beast intensified—especially toward the latter.
(When Jyahnar tilted her head earlier... she must have wanted me to replenish her energy with a kiss, right?)
Elias thought subconsciously.
But he had misunderstood.
The reason Jyahnar had tilted her head earlier was because the Herrscher of Finality's method of replenishing her energy had been to grab her by the throat and forcibly inject it.
So when Elias said he would replenish her energy as well, she instinctively tilted her head toward him.
It just happened to look like she was asking for a kiss.
Half a minute later.
Elias: (Jyahnar, your Honkai energy is fully restored. You can let me go now, right?)
Jyahnar: (Just a little longer. My main body can still hold on for a while. I don't want this to end yet.)
Experiencing her first kiss, the Planet-class Honkai Beast girl felt as if she had opened the door to a whole new world.
Something inside her was being filled.
And then...
Her fighting spirit surged.
Because Jyahnar suddenly remembered—earlier, the Herrscher of Finality had forcibly kissed Elias for over five hours straight.
"With two Planet-class Honkai Beasts, plus this pseudo-Herrscher body stronger than an ordinary Herrscher, and Elias' power..."
"Do you think we might be able to take down Finality today~?"
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