"We're talking about dozens of worlds here. Using them as nothing more than target practice for the Star Destroyer would be such a waste."
Elias looked at the dozens of bubble worlds that had been pierced through and spoke casually. Come to think of it, perhaps it was Eden's influence, but he no longer seemed to possess something called "thrift."
Ah~ the spending power of a rich woman really does corrupt a person without them noticing. To that, Elias could only say—please, turn up the intensity. He had long since stopped wanting to work hard!
But perhaps it was also because he had spent so long as a savior in the Previous Era. Although Elias now wasted things out of habit, that was limited to objects with little value. When it came to rare things that held worth, he had always~~made full use of them.
Though in this infinite sea, bubble worlds were not exactly rare, the ones before him now happened to fit Elias' current needs in a certain sense.
"That expression... looks like you're planning something interesting again. In that case, I'll wait and see."
As the Herrscher of Finality spoke, she casually waved her hand.
Instantly, time began to reverse for the dozens of pierced bubble worlds. The holes that had torn through them visibly "healed" at astonishing speed, and within mere seconds, they were completely restored.
Seeing this display, everyone present could not help but suck in a sharp breath.
Bronya, who currently possessed the Herrscher Core of Death, felt the corner of her eye twitch slightly. In that moment, she deeply understood that all recovery-type abilities in this world were laughable in front of the authority of time wielded by the Herrscher of Finality.
Just look at this Goddess of Honkai.
Her authority could even rewind the "piercing wounds of worlds."
It was truly incredible that Elias had managed to win over such a god.
"Nice, nice~ Finality, having you around is the best."
Elias irreverently reached out and rubbed the Herrscher of Finality's exquisitely beautiful cheek, nodding in satisfaction at the restored bubble worlds.
"So, Elias, what exactly are you planning to do with these 'failed' worlds?"
"Nothing much. I just want to try that plan Snake mentioned a few days ago—reversing a large number of bubble worlds into my body and turning myself into a pseudo-humanoid Sea of Quanta."
"Hah? Wait! How did you find out about that, Elias?!"
Mobius' snake-like pupils widened in shock.
She did not remember ever mentioning this matter. In her view, the plan was still in the drafting phase. There was no need to speak of it before she had fully perfected it.
Yet Elias already knew.
Mobius' first reaction was that someone at home had leaked it. But after thinking about it, that seemed impossible.
Ever since Klein, Cangxuan, and Danzhu had been brought out of the bubble world of the Previous Era, they had been working overtime nonstop. They had not taken a single step out of the laboratory.
They did not even have a second of free time. Under Mobius' supervision, they were spinning in circles from exhaustion, practically squeezed dry. There was no way they had the time to tell Elias about this.
Mobius: "Could it have been MEI or Vill-V? Didn't we agree not to mention it before the plan was perfected—"
Elias: "What are you talking about? You were the one who told me yourself, Snake~ When you were drunk."
Mobius: "Hah?"
Her memories began to rewind.
A few days ago, during Raiden Mei's birthday, everyone had held a celebration banquet that evening. Eden had directly poured several bottles of alcohol into Mobius, causing the snake to go completely drunk.
At the time, Mobius had blurted out her entire plan. And she had become super cute while doing it—playing finger-guessing games, singing, even acting coquettish!
Subtle gazes from the group slowly shifted toward Mobius.
To be honest, when Mobius was sober, though she was brilliant, sinister in personality, and a major capitalist, there was always an air of perpetual loser energy clinging to her.
But drunk Mobius...
Perhaps because the contrast was so extreme, she was genuinely adorable and childish. She even stopped being stubborn and tsundere.
She was practically on par with Griseo when she was little!
Thus, drunk Mobius was the real formidable opponent.
Everyone: "This secret should probably never be told to Mobius. Otherwise, she might start getting herself drunk every day and rubbing up against Elias."
That day, Snake had been drinking, playing finger games, acting cute, and enthusiastically explaining her grand plan all at once!
Mobius: (...Suddenly I feel like Earth is no longer suitable for me. Maybe I should move to Mars.)
Elias: "Ahem! It really is a creative idea. Since we happen to have dozens of bubble worlds right now, I'll give it a try."
Elias licked his lips eagerly, looking at the dozens of bubble worlds as if they were dozens of sugar candies.
"Wait, Elias! This plan hasn't been fully perfected yet! Attempting it now is too risky. It would be better to—"
"Come on~ Snake. Research requires a bit of adventurous spirit. No matter how many simulations you run in a lab, the data won't be as accurate as one real experiment."
"But!"
"And these bubble worlds are perfect. They're all uninhabited, and they're already in a state of collapse countdown. It wouldn't be strange if they dissolved into the Sea of Quanta at any moment."
Elias narrowed his golden eyes and raised both hands.
"So even if something goes wrong later, these nearly disintegrating bubble worlds won't be able to cause me much impact. The risk is actually very low."
"..."
Mobius wanted to argue further, but when she saw the firm golden light in Elias' eyes, she gave up.
The others also sighed helplessly and shook their heads.
No one understood better than they did—once the white-haired boy in front of them made up his mind, no one could stop him.
"Then~ the experiment begins."
Clang!
A golden holy sword was drawn from Elias' chest. It was the Holy Blade Durandal, a superweapon capable of manipulating microscopic particles and even slicing apart an entire continent.
By relying on this holy sword's ability, it was possible to reverse a bubble world into a human body. Originally, reversing even a single bubble world was already something no ordinary person—well, ordinary people did not even possess the potential to contain a world within their bodies.
Even Durandal herself had stated that her body could not withstand reversing a second bubble world into it.
But...
Elias' Holy Blade Durandal was a specially customized version. And he himself was a miracle incarnate. The grand feat of containing multiple bubble worlds within his own body—he had already accomplished it fifty thousand years ago.
"This time it's only a few dozen bubble worlds. Not much difference. Let's do it!"
As he spoke, Elias activated the holy sword's power and began reversing the worlds.
The girls beside him stared nervously at the scene. The Herrscher of Finality was already prepared to reverse time at any moment. Mobius clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.
"Guh—! This is... pretty intense!" Elias gritted his teeth.
Reversing worlds into his own body was no simple or easy task. Durandal watched anxiously.
As someone who had once achieved it herself—though it had been when she was only twelve—she would never forget the day she bore the fate of an entire world upon her shoulders.
Elias' current act was not about carrying a world's destiny, but about turning these worlds into nourishment—devouring them like food, absorbing them, transforming them into his own authority.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH——!!!"
The overwhelming impact and swelling sensation, still unfamiliar to him, forced a roar from Elias' throat.
One collapsing world after another entered the white-haired boy's body. Without witnessing it firsthand, who could imagine that a single human body could contain so many worlds?
The difference in scale between Elias and the bubble worlds was like fireflies against the bright moon. Yet before this white-haired boy, those worlds truly resembled little sugar candies.
If he had only one thought at this moment...
These worlds—these candies—tasted absolutely terrible!
"Vill-V, the data!"
"Energy reactions inside Elias are rising rapidly! All bubble worlds have been fully contained. His condition can't be described as stable—extremely unstable! But... he's controlling it!"
"Good, good!! First phase successful, hahaha! He's still so good at creating miracles. Next we just need to observe for a while and then continue—"
"No. Not enough! This isn't enough!"
Elias frowned deeply. Having just reversed dozens of bubble worlds into himself, he clearly felt the improvement. Precisely because of that, he realized he had been too conservative.
"I can still... hold more!"
"Elias, what are you doing?!"
The dozens of bubble worlds within him had not yet been digested.
Yet even so, the immense power had already granted him a massive boost. The Honkai energy within his body instantly broke through the 5,000,000 HW threshold.
But this was ultimately only a change in quantity.
To achieve a qualitative transformation—it was not enough!
He needed more bubble worlds!
"Get over here!!"
Elias activated his authority over space, dragging even more bubble worlds before him, and continued the reversal.
"W-wait, Elias! The computational output of Holy Blade Durandal has already reached its limit. It can't handle—"
Cold sweat streamed down MEI's face. As the sword's designer, she knew its limits well. Even the customized version in Elias' hands could not withstand such usage.
If this continued, the holy sword would soon overload and collapse. At that point, the half-reversed bubble worlds would likely explode.
"If one isn't enough, then I'll just use more!"
Elias invoked the authority of Truth. In an instant, ten Holy Blade Durandals were constructed simultaneously, continuing the reversal process.
Sixty. Seventy. Eighty. Ninety... One hundred!
A full one hundred bubble worlds entered Elias' body. The overwhelming energy exceeded the upper limit of Vill-V's detection device. With a loud bang!, it exploded outright.
The Flame-Chasers present collectively sucked in a sharp breath.
In the past, Vill-V's measuring device had only exploded under one circumstance—when analyzing the Herrscher of Finality.
To be honest, Elias' method of directly reversing bubble worlds into himself was far more efficient than that parasite lurking deep within the Sea of Quanta—Sa—and far more peaceful as well.
"Burp~"
Elias held his stomach and let out a satisfied belch.
At that moment, his Dea Anchora underwent a tremendous transformation. It gleamed with golden radiance, like gold bathed in sunlight.
Golden armor covered every inch of his body, seamless like the Baldur exoskeleton armor.
Yet its design resembled ultra-heavy plate armor, brimming with raw power.
"It... it feels so solid," Durandal whispered, eyes wide.
Elias' Dea Anchora armor had become incomparably thick and sturdy, yet not bulky. Compared to it, Durandal felt her own Dea Anchora armor was as fragile as paper.
Which was only natural.
Her Dea Anchora had been formed from the power of a single bubble world.
Elias had just absorbed two extra zeros beyond hers.
And in fact, he had not only absorbed uninhabited bubble worlds—there were over a dozen that contained people and civilizations!
"Elias, how can you reverse inhabited bubble worlds into your body as well? That's simply—"
"Oh? What's the downside? Staying inside my body is far safer for them than remaining in the Sea of Quanta."
"What?"
"After all, they won't face the risk of dissolution anymore~"
Elias rubbed his stomach and removed the golden helm condensed from starlight. A noble aura now emanated from him—indescribable, as if he himself were the center of the world.
His words left Durandal momentarily stunned.
Right. There was no downside at all.
Any bubble world existing within the Sea of Quanta inevitably faced gradual erosion and eventual disintegration. But once inside Elias' body, that risk vanished.
As long as Elias did not die, the bubble worlds within him could exist forever.
And although he was imitating the Sea of Quanta—absorbing worlds entirely to directly obtain vast power—he did not necessarily have to do so.
He could treat the inhabited bubble worlds the same way he treated the Previous Era bubble world: simply allow them to exist within him, occasionally drawing a bit of energy to replenish himself.
It was more than enough for him to use the nearly collapsing, uninhabited worlds as nourishment.
"It may sound a little arrogant, but for every inhabited bubble world in the Sea of Quanta, my body is a utopia that frees them from their doomed fate."
If those bubble worlds possessed consciousness, they would probably beg Elias to reverse them in.
Bubble Worlds: "There's such a good deal? Lord Elias, please take me in!!"
Of course, if Elias were to die, those bubble worlds would perish alongside him.
But he had already made a decision.
If one day he truly died—not through time travel, but genuinely died—then at the final moment before death, he would release all the bubble worlds back into the Sea of Quanta.
That way, nothing would be affected.
After all, unlike the hardship required to gain power, letting go of it required only a single instant.
"Little white mouse, this is practically stealing food from the Sea of Quanta~ Quite bold of you."
"Heh. So what? Is the Sea of Quanta going to retaliate against me or something? Uh—wait."
Suddenly Elias' expression changed.
A powerful sense of crisis surged at him from all directions.
He had the distinct feeling that the Sea of Quanta...
...might very well be coming to trouble him for real.