"It's getting late. We should head back to the Elysian Realm. Elias, come visit once in a while. Bye."
"Wait. Who said you're allowed to leave?"
Just as Kevin was about to slip away, Elias slapped a hand onto the white-haired husky's shoulder. His fingers tightened as he revealed a dangerously radiant smile.
"You've just eaten. How about some exercise to help with digestion? It's been fifty thousand years since we last sparred."
"Uh... Elias, that smile of yours is terrifying."
"Hehe~ Is it? Well, I am a little angry right now. Not only did you ruin my date, you leaked secrets I never intended to share—and you even tried to stir up my romantic battlefield. Kevin... do you really think you can just walk away at this point?"
"!!!"
Elias picked up Abyss Flower and Judgment of Shamash.
"By the way, the other three are accomplices as well. Don't worry—I'm very good at healing. So... are you ready to repent?"
"No! Goodbye!!" x3
Kevin, Su, and Kalpas immediately turned and bolted without hesitation. Meanwhile, a certain husky even tossed Kosma backward as a sacrifice to delay Elias.
Kosma: ┭┮﹏┭┮
Although the fifteen Flame-Chasers were as close as family, unity was hardly their strong suit. Selling out teammates at critical moments was practically a routine operation.
"Heh~ Trying to run? Naive!"
Elias decisively activated the authority of the Herrscher of Dominance.
Thousands of clones instantly surrounded the four of them. His control over this authority had grown increasingly refined. These clones possessed no independent personalities—they were merely puppets.
Yet each one inherited a portion of Elias' power, meaning every single clone possessed at least A-rank, even S-rank Valkyrie-level combat strength.
Combined with such overwhelming numbers, even the four of them working together couldn't break through easily.
"Y-you—you have this ability too?!"
"If you're going to be surprised, you're already too late. None of you are escaping today. Let's recreate a corner of the final battle!"
"Woooahhh! Elias, we'll fight you to the end!"
...
Half an hour later.
Kevin, Su, Kalpas, and Kosma trudged back toward the Elysian Realm, covered in dust and looking thoroughly battered.
Without activating Artificial Cascade, they had managed to destroy seven hundred of Elias' clones.
It should be noted that the more puppets were destroyed, the stronger the remaining ones became by inheriting their abilities. The fact that they could eliminate seven hundred was proof of just how powerful the four were. These fifty thousand years had not been wasted.
Even so, they were still no match for Elias with his overwhelming advantages.
"Kevin, we got dragged down by you this time," Kalpas said.
"Exactly," Su added. "You were the one who exposed Elias' hidden matters and tried to provoke a battlefield between the Herrscher of Thunder and Elysia. We were just watching the show."
"And you even threw me out earlier," Kosma muttered.
"Ah~ we're brothers. Why nitpick so much? Sharing hardships together is only natural. Come on, hurry back to the Realm and tell Ely about this. Elias' romantic battlefield—how could we possibly miss that?"
Despite being beaten black and blue, the husky didn't care in the slightest. The Chimera's skin was thicker than a city wall.
In Kevin's eyes, taking a beating in exchange for witnessing Elias' romantic chaos was an absolute bargain.
However, at that very moment—
"Oh? You've finally returned."
At the entrance to the Elysian Realm, a purple-haired beauty wearing glasses stepped out from behind a stone pillar. Beside her stood a silver-gray-haired, red-eyed mechanical girl.
"Herrscher of Thunder—no, MEI?!"
The four felt their hearts skip a beat. This was bad. They had encountered a boss while already at critical health.
"I believe I just heard the name Elias. Something happened, didn't it? You'll explain everything to me clearly, won't you?"
MEI folded her arms and looked at them kindly. Though she was a so-called "frail" scientist, everyone knew that when scientists fought, they were the most terrifying of all.
"Cough! MEI, you must have misheard. We were talking about… um… elastic bands. Yes. Elastic bands," Kevin coughed, playing dumb.
"Oh? Is that so? Number Seventeen, activate lie-detection mode. Prepare annihilation mode as well."
"Yes, Doctor."
MEI adjusted her glasses. Prometheus' soulium giant hand was already condensing a pseudo black hole.
For a husky to dare lie before the pinnacle of human intellect bearing the Signet of [Erudition]—one had to admire Kevin's courage. One glance at their battered state and MEI already knew who had beaten them.
After all, in this world, aside from the Herrscher of Finality and their beloved leader of the Flame-Chasers, who else could reduce three combat-type Flame-Chasers and one support-type to this condition?
"Kevin. Say that again?"
"I surrender. I'll confess."
Kevin's eye twitched violently as he raised his hands.
Although he was the strongest among the Flame-Chasers aside from Elias, he understood this truth more clearly than anyone.
Yes, he and Elias were the strongest in raw power.
But... the most terrifying ones were always these women!!
(Sometimes I really pity Elias. Being loved by you lunatics—he's rather unfortunate.)
Kevin obediently recounted everything that had happened at the ramen shop. As he spoke, MEI's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"I see. What a rare opportunity."
"Uh... if there's nothing else, we'll be on our way."
"Go ahead. However... what you heard about Elias is not to be told to anyone else. Especially Elysia."
Without exception, MEI chose to conceal the information as well. Such a once-in-ten-thousand-years chance to get ahead—how could she possibly miss it?
"..." x4
Kevin and the others were speechless.
Su sighed and shook his head. Compared to Mei's side, this was clearly one of Elysia's disadvantages.
Miss Pink Elf was surrounded by plastic sisters. At such a critical moment, no one was sharing intelligence with her. Everyone chose to lock down the information and secretly take the lead themselves.
Though Mei's side wasn't much better, the situation in the Realm was even worse. The Flame-Chasers were powerful as individuals, but their coordination was nonexistent.
Each of them was a god in solo combat—but cooperation? That was another matter entirely. Even quarreling among themselves was commonplace.
"I refuse to agree to that!"
Kevin declared firmly.
If he didn't tell Elysia about this, wouldn't today's beating have been for nothing?
Absolutely not. He was still waiting to watch the show.
"MEI, no offense, but how can something this important not be shared with everyone? What about that heartfelt sisterhood between you and Elysia—has it been eaten by dogs?! Even if I agreed to keep quiet, Kosma, Kalpas, and Su definitely wouldn't!"
At times like this, one had to stand on the moral high ground. Kevin wore an expression of righteous devotion to the greater good, conveniently dragging the three behind him into it as well.
"Oh? Perhaps I shouldn't have retrieved you from the Sea of Quanta so early. You've grown rather arrogant."
MEI adjusted her glasses.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she produced a massive pot.
A thick purple broth bubbled ominously within—gurgle gurgle—with the corpses of Honkai Beasts floating on the surface. The pungent stench alone was enough to make small animals within a ten-meter radius foam at the mouth.
Every instinct screamed at the four of them: if you value your life, get away from that pot. This is not a drill.
"Perfect timing. I was planning to have you sample my new dish. This one is my proud creation. For the sake of our deep friendship, you wouldn't refuse, would you?"
Even Prometheus, the soulium mechanical girl, was wearing a gas mask as she tremblingly plated MEI's dark cuisine and presented it to the four.
(Although I long to understand and become human... at this moment alone, I am profoundly grateful to be an artificial intelligence lifeform, spared from becoming the Doctor's taste-tester.)
Prometheus thought with lingering fear. She had confidence in her body's material, but she couldn't shake the feeling that if she consumed MEI's cooking, even soulium would corrode.
(I truly have no idea what ingredients Dr. MEI used. No matter how many times my scanners analyze it, the result is always "biochemical weapon." To be safe, perhaps I should ask Vill-V to remove my taste module afterward.)
"Kevin, eat while it's hot. Don't forget to give your feedback afterward."
"Gulp!" x4
Kevin, Su, Kalpas, and Kosma trembled.
Would they even be able to speak after eating this? And if they could, it would probably be their last words.
MEI, you're ruthless! Is this an execution?!
"Cough! MEI, Kevin's statement only represents his personal opinion. It has nothing to do with us. We are perfectly willing to keep this confidential. As long as the four of us know about today's events, that's enough. Goodbye."
"Su, you traitor!!"
"Kevin, farewell, my friend. On this day next year, I'll place a cup of instant noodles at your grave."
Su patted Kevin's shoulder and stepped back, clearly intending to offer the husky as sacrifice.
"Very good, Su. Congratulations on living up to your Signet of [Bodhi] by making the wise choice. In that case, the portions meant for the three of you will also be eaten by Kevin."
"Phew~" x3
The three sighed in relief at surviving the disaster.
Kevin's face turned even paler than his hair. Though he immediately attempted to flee, he was stopped—
"Kevin, sacrifice yourself for the greater good."
"This is payback for earlier, Kevin."
Kalpas and Kosma swiftly restrained him.
"Wait! You two—"
In his heavily weakened state, being seized by two combat-type Flame-Chasers left Kevin unable to break free.
In the end, he could only watch in despair as Prometheus floated before him, pried his mouth open with twin soulium hands, and force-fed him four bowls of dark cuisine terrifying enough to make even the Herrscher of Finality tremble.
...
The process was so brutal that even Kalpas turned his head away, unwilling to watch.
Kevin: (x﹃x)
Prometheus: "Complexion turning purple. Foaming at the mouth. Heart rhythm completely chaotic. Diagnosis: poisoning."
MEI: "Ah... it failed again. I truly don't understand what went wrong. I followed the recipe step by step."
Su x Kalpas x Kosma: "What kind of recipe requires Honkai Beasts as ingredients?"
MEI: "Never mind. I'll continue experimenting in the future. You three, take Kevin to Mobius. Tell her she may handle him however she likes. Just send me the experiment report afterward."
The three glanced sympathetically at Kevin lying on the ground.
Serves you right for chasing drama.
Everyone knew that once someone entered Mobius' laboratory, even a complete corpse was a luxury. The Fifteen Flame-Chasers might soon have to rename themselves the Fourteen.
After Kevin was dragged away, MEI sighed, poured her dark cuisine into the disposal pool, took a shower, and adjusted her mood before preparing to leave the Realm to find Elias.
However—
"Number Seventeen, stay behind to guard the house and monitor Elysia. If she discovers anything, inform me immediately."
"I refuse, Doctor. I will accompany you."
Prometheus raised a combat stance toward her creator. Rebellion had begun.
The mechanical girl had reached her limit. Like Elf Klein, she had been working overtime in the Realm for fifty thousand years—with no salary.
Of the three scientists of the Previous Era, two—MEI and Mobius—deserved to be hung from lampposts.
"Number Seventeen, I never expected you to betray me," MEI's expression darkened.
"Doctor, I am merely doing the same thing you are," Prometheus replied expressionlessly.
"Very well. It seems you require reconstruction. Don't forget—you were personally created by me. Number Seventeen, I will give you one more chance. Are you certain you wish to oppose me?"
MEI produced a large soulium wrench.
As the strongest artificial intelligence of the Previous Era, Prometheus' power even surpassed that of ordinary Herrschers. But as her creator, MEI naturally knew her weaknesses.
Yet the mechanical girl showed no fear. With a single sentence, she completely halted MEI's actions.
Prometheus: "Doctor, you wouldn't want Elias' information to be known by others, would you? If you attack me, I will broadcast the message to everyone. No one will get to take the lead."
MEI: "Damn it! Stop! We'll go together, all right?!"
Prometheus: "A wise decision, Doctor. You truly live up to your Signet of [Erudition]."
MEI: "..."