"I hereby praise the birth of the Herrscher of Truth!"
Elias offered his blessing to Bronya, who had successfully completed her metamorphosis.
At the same time, he constructed countless fireworks that bloomed brilliantly across the sky.
Simultaneously, the three hundred thousand minds within the Herrscher Core of Reason offered their blessings as well. In this moment, they were no longer merely the upper limit of the Herrscher of Reason's authority, but a spirit inherited by a girl named Bronya Zaychik.
Surely, in the future, together with the title "Herrscher of Truth," they would become the strength and support with which Bronya carved open the path ahead.
Soon after, the consciousness of the two returned to reality.
"Th-This is?!"
Welt, who had remained nearby with Project Bunny 19C to guard them, was so shocked that his glasses nearly fell off.
To an outsider, Bronya merely seemed to have changed into a full-body set of armor. But as the former Herrscher of Reason, Welt could clearly feel that the girl before him had already surpassed the previous limits of the Herrscher of Reason.
"Ah..."
Bronya slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing that she was being carried in a princess carry by Elias, who stood right before her, the girl's delicate face flushed slightly. Then, reassured, she continued to nestle comfortably in the embrace of the white-haired boy.
"Lord Elias, Boss Bronya, you're finally done! Ohhh~ Little Bunny can feel Boss Bronya's new power too. Looks like I can finally retire."
Clang! Clang!
Project Bunny 19C happily clapped her mechanical hands.
In the past, nearly all of Bronya's combat methods had relied on this quantum robot for firepower output.
Of course, aside from battle, daily tasks such as power-leveling in games, stock market predictions, and program development had all depended on her as well.
Now, however, she could sense that Bronya had gained entirely new power and no longer needed to rely on her.
Immediately, this overworked quantum robot—who had been thoroughly exploited on a daily basis—began fantasizing about her wonderful retirement life.
However...
"Project Bunny 19C, upgrade!"
Having become the Herrscher of Truth, the first target of Bronya's evolved authority was Project Bunny herself.
Under the Authority of Truth, Project Bunny completed her final evolution... and transformed into a mechanical rabbit-head drone.
"Boss Bronya... what is the meaning of this?"
Feeling the explosive leap in her performance across all parameters, Project Bunny 19C experienced not joy, but an ominous premonition.
"Please continue to guide me in the future, Project Bunny. I've upgraded all your systems. With this, your performance has reached its limit. You'll be able to handle even more work from now on."
Project Bunny's mechanical ears immediately drooped. After only briefly imagining her bright future of leisure, this hard-fated quantum robot nearly crashed on the spot.
Bronya tilted her head, unconcerned.
In the future, she indeed would no longer need to rely entirely on Project Bunny for combat. But she still wished to fight alongside her.
However, from now on, Project Bunny would no longer need to handle offense, defense, intelligence gathering, and support all by herself. Although a quantum robot could endlessly reconstruct and reappear, Bronya still disliked seeing her blown apart again and again.
So for daily life, that was one matter. But in battle, Bronya only intended for Project Bunny 19C to act as a support wingman—simply firing lasers to assist her attacks would be enough.
"Congratulations, Bronya. I knew you could do it."
Looking at Bronya, who had finally evolved into her ultimate form, Elias adored her beyond measure. He immediately treated her to the full set—head pats, kisses, hugs, and lifting her high into the air.
At the same time, he thought that in the future, among the three protagonists, Bronya would likely take the lead. After all, the probability of Kiana and Raiden Mei evolving into their original ultimate forms—the Herrscher of Finality and the Herrscher of Origin—had already become exceedingly slim.
Barring any surprises, the Herrscher of Origin in the future would only be Elysia, and the new Herrscher of Finality would be Elias himself.
Moreover, a certain flat-chested immortal's current ranking at fifth place on the season's combat power leaderboard would likely have to step aside as well. After all, the Authority of Truth was truly unreasonable.
"No. Most of the credit belongs to you and the three hundred thousand minds. If you had not supported Bronya, Bronya would never have reached this realm."
Bronya smiled and shook her head.
At this moment, her heart was filled with joy. She had finally gained the power to help the person before her.
From this day forward, Bronya would stand firmly in the T0 tier.
As the Herrscher of Truth, there was nothing she could not do.
"This is a small token of Bronya's gratitude." Duck said as she cupped Elias' cheeks.
"Hmm?" Elias blinked in surprise.
"Elias, please accept this as well—this Authority of Truth."
Closing her eyes, Bronya directly kissed the white-haired boy before her, releasing to the greatest extent the Authority of the Herrscher of Truth she had just obtained.
Of course, this was not a transfer of authority.
It was resonance between their authorities.
After all, Elias also possessed the Authority of Reason, and he too was on the verge of reaching the realm of Truth.
When Elias had entered the Herrscher Core of Reason earlier, Bronya had sensed that the Gem of Truth within her resonated with him. In that instant, the two of them had indeed achieved a kind of synchronization.
If that was the case...
(Elias has already given so much for Bronya. This time, it's Bronya's turn to repay him. As long as this resonance continues... he will definitely reach Truth as well!)
(Hmm? Incredible—my Authority of Reason is rising at incredible speed? I see. So this was Bronya's plan. As expected of my duck!)
As everyone knew, when two Herrscher Cores of the same authority were brought together, the resonance they produced could elevate each other's might, increasing their original power nearly tenfold.
Although Bronya had now become Truth, her origin was still the Herrscher of Reason.
At this moment, the Authority of Reason within Elias sensed a similar but higher-tier Authority of Truth, and immediately responded with yearning resonance, hoping to reach the same realm.
Naturally, Bronya would not refuse.
Thus, Elias experienced for once what it felt like to be carried by his own girl. The Authority of Reason within him also began to undergo metamorphosis, ultimately reaching the level of Truth.
Bronya: "Let us once again praise the birth of the second Herrscher of Truth!!"
Elias: "...Thank you, Duck."
Six white wings unfurled behind Elias.
On the first wing to the right was embedded a sapphire symbolizing the Authority of Reason. At this moment, the gem radiated brilliant light, as though it sought to dye the entire world in its glow.
In the next second, the originally organic white six wings took on technological, mechanical elements, adding a sharp cyberpunk aesthetic and cutting-edge texture.
But this was not the end.
Elias and Bronya's lips parted. After exchanging a glance, the two spoke in unison.
"In the name of Truth, surpass the past!" x2
"completely-prepared!"
The Authority of Truth constructed new armaments for both of them.
First, Bronya.
A blue heavy mech brimming with power materialized and equipped itself onto Duck's petite body. Metallic limbs extended her arms and legs, fully arming her form.
Countless weapons were stored within this mech—super plasma cutting sabers, Moonlight Throne floating cannons, infinite tracking missiles, Truth overclocked mega cannons, and more.
Although Bronya's slender body appeared unprotected within the mech, in reality, an energy shield of the highest defensive level had already enveloped both Duck and the entire Truth mech invisibly.
Its defensive power was so overwhelming that even the full-force output of the Herrscher of Fire—the Herrscher with the greatest destructive capability among all Herrschers—could not inflict the slightest damage upon it.
"Finally, one of Bronya's dreams has come true!"
She excitedly piloted the Truth mech she had constructed, performing a series of high-difficulty maneuvers unimaginable for a mechanical creation. Then the super thrusters on its back ignited, instantly propelling the mech past the speed of sound, leaving behind a comet-like trail of blazing light.
"!!!"
(Cool~!)
Welt's eyes widened. His trembling hand pushed up his glasses as the soul of a mech enthusiast burned fiercely within him.
This Truth mech was, in fact, one of Bronya's long-held fantasies—dating back to their days at the House of the Hearth.
One day, Elias had played a mech battle game with Bronya. The moment she opened the game, she was struck straight through the heart by the cool, high-tech designs of the mechs within.
From that day on, she became a complete mech fanatic.
That very night, Bronya had fantasized about her own mech. Unfortunately, her ideas had been far too advanced. Even the Authority of Reason had been incapable of bringing it into existence.
But now, as the Herrscher of Truth, she could turn that fantasy into reality.
Bronya: "Haa... Bronya is satisfied!"
Welt: "Ahem! Student Bronya, could we perhaps discuss letting me borrow your mech... for research purposes?"
Bronya: "...Sorry. Not lending."
Duck rejected Old Yang expressionlessly. She knew Welt was a good person, but... this was her exclusive unit!
(If it were Elias, Bronya might consider making a slight exception. But absolutely no one else! A person's exclusive mech cannot be piloted by others. That is also a rule—Truth!)
Thinking this, Bronya turned her gaze toward the white-haired boy, who had likewise constructed brand-new armaments.
What Elias had constructed was not a mech, but a full-body exoskeleton armor entirely different in style from Bronya's.
Bronya: "Cool!"
Welt: "Cool!"
It was a black-and-white, overwhelmingly high-tech suit of armor. Black nanomaterials formed ultra-dense pseudo-muscle fibers, covering every inch of Elias' body.
On this foundation, the helmet, chest plate, shoulder armor, abdominal armor, arm guards, and greaves were all technological plating of unknown material. Unlike Bronya's Truth mech, which clearly emphasized strength and long-range firepower—
Elias' exoskeleton armor was obviously a high-mobility, close-combat type.
"While piloting a mech is great, I still prefer this style. Not relying on buttons and control sticks, but wrapping myself in armor and fighting with my own body."
Elias constructed a mirror and nodded in satisfaction at his new armament. This black-and-white exoskeleton armor originated from his favorite sci-fi animation in his previous life.
Like Bronya's "Truth Mech," it had once been a fantasy impossible to realize with only the Authority of Reason. Now, too, it had been turned into reality through the Authority of Truth.
The armor's name: Nano Trooper—Baldur / God of Light.
"Emmm, still a bit plain."
Elias examined himself in the mirror, then glanced at Bronya's Truth mech, feeling it was still somewhat minimalist.
To better recreate his fantasy from his previous life, he had constructed the Baldur armor primarily for close combat. As such, its ranged weapons consisted only of particle tracking missiles within the shoulder armor, rapid-fire projectiles in the arm guards, and a beam cannon.
(Mm. Too few! Far too few!!)
Inside the helmet, Elias' brows furrowed tightly. The firepower deficiency anxiety etched into the DNA of every Shenzhou person flared up.
Thus, he immediately added more armaments.
Twenty Moonlight Throne floating cannons, ten soulium floating blades, a super plasma laser cannon, a super electromagnetic railgun, Truth rapid-fire rocket launchers, and more.
Of course, it was impossible to mount them all directly onto his body. Doing so would instantly erase the speed advantage of the Baldur exoskeleton armor.
Therefore, he granted all external armaments quantumization functions—they would only materialize when needed.
Gulp.
Welt swallowed hard.
His eyes locked onto Elias' Baldur.
Although he had always been a giant robot enthusiast, at this moment, he found that Elias and Bronya's Baldur exoskeleton armor and Truth mech also struck directly at his preferences!!
(Suddenly... I kind of regret handing over the Core...)
Although Welt knew that with his own potential, forcibly becoming the Herrscher of Truth might very well cost him his life, sometimes... a man still had to gamble!
In front of a mech, what was death?
A man remains a boy until he dies. At worst, he could just do sit-ups after falling!
But clearly, he no longer had the opportunity.
Welt: (...At the very least, let me record their designs! I still have a bit of residual authority of the Herrscher of Reason within me. Constructing two figurines shouldn't be a problem!)