The battlefield was ablaze with conflict. The Desert Mercenaries held the upper hand, pushing their advantage hard—until the Fatui under the Doctor entered the war, shifting the tides and balancing what would have otherwise been a one-sided slaughter.
Aether crouched slightly before leaping into the sky.
With a soft flash, radiant wings of light spread from his back as he soared toward Jingshan Palace.
In moments, Aether arrived at the palace, landing just in time to intercept Azar as he emerged from the underground factory.
Azar didn't look the least bit panicked. No—he was ecstatic.
The God-Creation Plan had reached its climax. The new god was ready to descend. He came out just to admire the fruits of his labor.
Aether narrowed his eyes. "Hey, the rat in the sewer finally came out?"
Azar's face twisted with disdain as he immediately recognized the tone. "A subordinate of that worthless god, are you?"
He waved his hand, and several guards lunged at Aether.
But in a single arc of his blade, Aether's sword light consumed them all.
Azar flinched, stunned. "To think that the Little Grass God's lackey has this much power..."
His lips curled into a smile. "You're strong. That much is clear. But why waste your strength on her? That failed, useless god."
Azar's voice grew feverish. "I led the God-Creation Plan! I will usher in the true god of this world! And you—you could stand at my side."
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
Aether turned.
A massive mecha, over thirty meters tall, erupted from beneath the earth, firing indiscriminately upon its surroundings.
Azar's eyes glittered with fervor. "Look! This is the power of a true god! Surrender to me, and your future will be limitless!"
Aether just stared at him like he was a fool.
That thing outside? Kevin and Liuying could take it down without breaking a sweat. Honestly, he could probably solo it.
As for Azar... early-stage Demon God or not, where did this man get the confidence?
Then again, perhaps it made sense. Sumeru hadn't seen a miracle in over 500 years.
Just then, Aether noticed two flashes of flame in the distance and sensed the inevitable fall of the towering machine.
He vanished in an instant.
Behind Azar.
With one swift strike, he knocked him unconscious, tied him up with rope, and left him in Senor's custody.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, chaos reigned. The massive mecha obliterated everything in its path.
Inside, the Scaramouche roared with laughter.
"Hahahaha! This is godhood! This is power! Baalzebul! I am a god!"
The voice echoed far and wide. Even those stationed in the rear—Kevin, Nahida, and the others—heard his madness.
Nahida's expression darkened. "Baalzebul...? The one piloting that thing... knows Ying?"
Yuri nodded solemnly. "Yes. He's one of her old creations. A puppet. But he was deceived, and now all he wants is revenge."
Nahida looked to Kevin. "Kevin, please."
He grinned and hoisted the Judgment of Shamash onto his shoulder.
"Finally my turn. That big hunk of junk? Looks fun."
Nahida added gently, "Please hold back a little. He knows Ying."
Kevin nodded. "Got it. Leave it to me."
With a fiery shout, he launched himself forward. "Judgment of Shamash! Unsheathed!"
Kevin closed the distance quickly, landing at the mech's feet, sword gleaming with compressed firelight.
Scaramouche spotted him and froze.
A chill of dread crept down his spine.
Why? Why do I feel afraid? I'm a god now...
No! he shook off the fear. It's just an illusion. I haven't adapted yet.
He hurled a massive punch.
Kevin raised the Judgment of Shamash—and with a single cleaving strike, the mecha's colossal fist melted on impact.
Scaramouche panicked, trying to dodge, but it was far too late.
Kevin's blade sliced through half the mech's body, which shuddered violently before collapsing to the ground.
Inside the cockpit, Scaramouche trembled. "I... I died... in a single blow?!"
Kevin calmly peeled back the cab's outer shell with his blade.
"There you are. Come on. I heard you know Ying. I'll take you to her."
The puppet's eyes widened in terror. He scrambled to flee.
Kevin casually grabbed his right leg.
Pop.
He blinked.
He had... pulled it off?
Kevin looked at the leg in his hand, then at the now one-legged Scaramouche.
"Seriously...? Are the materials for your body that bad? I barely tugged."
By now, Nahida, Liuying, and the others had caught up.
All eyes fell on the severed leg in Kevin's hand.
March 7th let out a nervous laugh, sweat beading at her temple.
"Uhh, Kevin? I did say to hold back a bit."
Kevin raised both hands, innocent. "I did hold back. Any less and he would've smacked me. How was I supposed to know his legs were made of paper mache?"
Nahida chuckled gently. "It's fine. He's just a puppet—I'll have someone patch him up. Thank you, Kevin."
He waved it off. "No problem. So, everything's wrapped up now?"
Nahida nodded. "Yes. Aether captured Azar, Senor is watching him, and all remaining Fatui and mercenaries have been neutralized."
"Sweet," Kevin replied. "If that's the case, we'll head back."
Nahida blinked. "Already? I was hoping you'd stay a little longer. I wanted to treat you all to dinner."
Kevin shook his head. "Thanks, Nahida, but the Stellar Jade shop's drawing the third prize soon. Gotta go see if I win."
March 7th's eyes lit up. "Right! The lottery draw! Yuri, open the portal—let's go!"
Yuri blinked, clearly having forgotten, and quickly opened a portal.
After bidding Nahida farewell, they returned to the shop.
It was packed.
Luofu's group. Liyue's group. Mondstadt's crew. Inazuma's contingent. Belobog's team.
All waiting, excitedly, for the next lottery draw.
Kevin spotted Kiana approaching.
"Hey~ Isn't this Kiana? What have you been up to these days? Haven't seen you at the shop in a while."
Kiana put her hands on her hips and grinned.
"Hehe~ I've been having a blast lately! I'm now the number one Valkyrie of Destiny! Hahahaha!"
In the past few days, Kiana had been actively fighting on the front lines, pacifying the Honkai Impact 3rd. Her exploits quickly spread through the Valkyrie ranks.
Then came a visit from Yulandel.
Yulandel told Kiana the truth: she was clone K423, an experimental subject created from the genes of Yulandel and the Herrscher core of the Second Herrscher, Silin.
The revelation hit Kiana hard.
That night, she quietly ran to Yuri's shop and cried.
Yuri, a light sleeper, woke up to her sobs. He came out to check and, seeing Kiana in tears, poured her a glass of water. They talked for a long time.
By the end of their conversation, Kiana had recovered her usual energetic spirit.
Yuri gently comforted her.
"Whether you're a clone or not, you're still an individual. Your experiences, your memories—those belong to you and you alone. You're Kiana. You know Mei, you know me, you know Kevin... but she doesn't. That Yulandel doesn't. That makes you you, stupid Kiana~"
"I'm not stupid! Yuri's the stupid one! I'm the embodiment of wisdom! The incarnation of Athena!"
Back to the present.
Kevin nodded in understanding.
"That explains it. Haven't seen you for a while. Got anything coming up soon?"
Kiana shook her head.
"Nothing major. My aunt said things have settled down, so I get to rest for a bit. Where are you guys going tomorrow? Take me with you!"
Asmodeus chimed in.
"I'm taking them online tomorrow. Wanna join? It's fun."
Kiana lit up.
"Great! Let's go online tomorrow!"
Seeing this, Kevin and March 7th exchanged a look and decided to tag along. They had nothing better to do, and a bit of digital mischief sounded fun.
Meanwhile, Yuri had just arrived—dragged along by Herta.
That's right.
Herta had come to visit, bringing Ruan Mei and Screwllum along with her to the train. Following her suggestion, each of them bought a lottery ticket, hoping for a little good luck.
"Yuri, let me introduce you to two people. This is Ruan Mei, and this is Screwllum. We're from the same club."
Ruan Mei studied Yuri with curiosity. So this is the owner of the magical shop?
Screwllum gave a polite bow.
"Hello, Mr. Yuri. I'm Screwllum. A pleasure to meet you. I hear about you often from Ms. Herta."
Yuri smiled back.
"Nice to meet you, Screwllum. Welcome."
Their conversation nudged Ruan Mei out of her thoughts.
"Hello, I'm Ruan Mei. I heard from Herta that you can buy anything you want in this shop?"
Yuri gave a playful smile.
"That's right, Ms. Ruan Mei. As long as you have Stellar Jade, you can buy just about anything you can imagine."
Ruan Mei's eyes lit up.
"So you sell Star Gods here too?"
That question made both Herta and Screwllum freeze.
You want to buy a Star God? That's... a bit much, even for her. But it was classic Ruan Mei.
Yuri chuckled and gestured.
"Let's go take a look. That screen over there shows all the product images and descriptions."
The four of them made their way to the bar.
Venti and Feixiao were already there, tipsy and chatting.
"Yuri! Come have a drink with us!" Venti called out, waving a bottle of Feitian Moutai.
Yuri laughed and waved him off.
"You two go ahead. I've got guests."
Venti and Feixiao shrugged and moved to a side booth to keep drinking.
Yuri powered up the touchscreen and typed in "Star God."
In seconds, several listings appeared. Yuri glanced at his guests.
"We have some Star God merchandise for sale too."
Herta widened her eyes.
No way. You actually sell Star Gods?
She quickly pulled Yuri aside and perched on a high stool, scanning the screen.
[Product: Godhead of the Destiny Star God
Description: Grants you immediate transformation into the Destiny Star God of a sci-fi adventure universe.
Price: 1 Gold Stellar Coin]
[Product: Godhead of the Creation Star God
Description: Grants you immediate transformation into the Creation Star God of a sci-fi adventure universe.
Price: 1.5 Gold Stellar Coins]
Herta considered herself quite experienced in the ways of the cosmos. There wasn't much that shocked her anymore.
She hadn't expected this.
Ruan Mei and Screwllum leaned in and were just as stunned.
Meanwhile, Yuri was silently communicating with the system.
"System, what the heck is a Gold Stellar Coin?"
[Notification: 100,000,000 Stellar Jade = 1 Gold Stellar Coin]
Yuri nearly choked.
100 million?!
Given the current pace of business, he wasn't sure he'd live to see even one Gold Stellar Coin.
Herta pointed to the price field.
"Where do we even get these Gold Stellar Coins?"
Yuri shrugged.
"You need 100 million Stellar Jade to make one."
That snuffed out Herta's ambition instantly.
Yeah, no thanks.
The trio moved on to browse other products.
Ruan Mei picked out a miniature World Tree sapling—capable of growing a personal dimension of 1,000 cubic meters.
Just enough to use up all the Stellar Jade she had brought with her.
Screwllum bought a batch of scout drones modeled after Idiot No. 1, planning to train and enhance them. He saw great potential in their design.
Before long, it was time for the lottery draw.
Everyone gathered inside the lottery shop.
Under the eager eyes of the crowd, Yuri reached into the draw box, pulled out a ball, and opened it.
He took a quick glance at the number and raised his voice.
"Number 99! Who's got number 99?"
Everyone looked around.
Finally, Kevin noticed someone raising a hand silently from a corner.
It was Kevin's old friend—Zhongli.
Yuri couldn't help but chuckle. The image of Zhongli solemnly summoning creatures with dramatic chants popped into his head.
He burst out laughing.
I can't help it! That scene lives rent-free in my brain!
Zhongli approached the counter, and Yuri handed him a sleek device.
"Congratulations, Zhongli. You won the grand prize! The Emperor Armor Transformer!"
Zhongli turned it over in his hands and asked calmly:
"How does one use this device?"