Within the Nation of Domination of the Herrscher of Dominance.
"Th-this is?!"
As time resumed its flow, everyone stared in shock at the puppets before them.
The Herrschers of Dominance who had been locked in fierce combat with them just moments ago were now all pierced through by Subspace Lances.
Enemies that had been lively and active just a second ago met their end within the gap of time that had yet to arrive.
Mei's eyes widened as she immediately recognized the technique.
Using the authority of the Herrscher of the Void, Subspace Lances were directly teleported into the enemy's body—in other words, "death" itself was delivered straight into the enemy's heart.
Impossible to evade, impossible to defend against, impossible to outrun.
An ultimate killing move that did not permit even the slightest struggle.
Because the conditions required to use it were so harsh, even though Mei had barely mastered this move through long periods of training, it demanded extremely high levels of concentration and control over spatial authority.
Using it on a single target was still possible, but she knew that no matter how long she trained, she could never achieve something as outrageous as Elias—casting this lethal technique simultaneously on hundreds of thousands of targets.
"What a terrifying combination."
"With these two working together, who could possibly win?"
"Heh, don't ask about something that will never happen."
Everyone looked up toward the sky at the Herrscher of Finality and Deliverance Elias. The strongest god and the strongest savior had joined forces, instantly slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Herrschers.
This power, absolute beyond measure—even knowing they were allies, it still inspired awe within their hearts.
At this moment, the halo-crowned Herrscher of Finality and the six-winged Deliverance Elias looked like two angels descending from the heavens to punish these sinful puppets.
Clack~ clack~ clack~
"Hm? Not dead? Oh, right... they're puppets."
Hearing the creaking of joints once more, Elias paused for a moment before quickly realizing that this was normal.
After all, the Herrscher of Dominance was not made of flesh and blood, but of puppets. Puppets had no hearts, and no vital points.
Thus, even if their bodies were pierced by Subspace Lances, they would not die—because they were never truly alive to begin with.
They were merely Honkai puppets that replicated human thought, driven by Honkai energy and negative emotions.
"Molten flames—detonate!"
"Thunder—strike with full force!"
Elias raised his right hand toward the Herrschers of Dominance pierced by Subspace Lances, then clenched it into a fist.
The red and violet gemstones on his wings, symbolizing the authorities of the Herrscher of Fire and the Herrscher of Thunder, began to glow.
In the next instant, using the Subspace Lances as coordinates, flames and lightning descended upon every puppet's body.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
Herrscher authorities far stronger than those used by the Herrscher of Dominance themselves unleashed scorching flames comparable to the surface of the sun—over five thousand degrees Celsius—and lightning reaching millions of volts, instantly annihilating the puppets until not even ashes remained.
A certain onlooker swallowed hard, feeling a chill run through their entire body, thinking to themselves how brutal and merciless this assault was—leaving the enemy not even the slightest chance of survival.
"Ah~ looks like Little White stole most of the kills again."
"It seems there are no Herrschers of Dominance left alive."
"Heh, that was even easier than expected."
"Mm, so... does that mean it's over?"
"...No. Not yet."
Seeing that all visible Herrschers had been wiped out, everyone relaxed. Just as they thought the Herrscher of Dominance had been dealt with and the world was peaceful once again—
Elias shook his head.
There was not the slightest trace of victory on his face. Instead, his brows were tightly furrowed, his expression grim.
"Is there a problem, Elias?"
"..."
Elias did not answer Eden's question. Instead, he closed his eyes and carefully recalled something, then clenched his fist tightly.
"Not all of them are dead. I've only destroyed 999,999 puppets. There's no mistake—one is still missing!"
"What? Wait! I remember you said before that if this Herrscher isn't completely eliminated in one go, then it will..."
Clack~ clack~ clack~ clack~
An unpleasant sound of joints colliding echoed.
Everyone immediately turned around.
One puppet after another began emerging once again within the Nation of Domination.
In less than ten seconds, they were all fully revived.
"Ta-da~ we're back from hell again!"
"So? How do you feel now~"
"We told you—we're immortal!"
"Now, let's begin round two~"
"The endless puppet show begins now~"
The revived Herrschers of Dominance were no different from before, still wielding all Herrscher authorities.
And as long as they remained within this Nation of Domination, they could endlessly draw negative emotions from their original bodies in the real world and convert them into Honkai energy—meaning they would never run out of power.
It could be said that this was an extremely troublesome Herrscher. If it were the original main cast, they would have had no chance of victory.
In the next instant, they charged toward Elias and the others once again.
However...
"Time—stop!"
"Void Unleashed!"
Under the authority of the Herrscher of Finality, this space once again turned gray-white. Before the Herrschers of Dominance could even take a step, they were once again forcibly frozen in place by time.
Behind Elias, countless portals appeared, and energy from the Imaginary Space transformed into countless golden beams, completely engulfing the immobilized Herrschers of Dominance.
The utterly unreasonable combination technique of Elias and the Herrscher of Finality rendered the immense number of Herrscher authorities the Herrscher of Dominance had painstakingly gathered completely useless.
Within the gap of time, the puppets once again met their deaths.
When time resumed, before the others could even react, they discovered that the puppets—who had only just revived a few seconds ago—had already been completely annihilated for the second time.
However...
"No... it's still only 999,999. There's still one missing!"
Elias frowned deeply. In the next moment, the emerald gemstone on his wings lit up, and a green hurricane swept across the entire Nation of Domination, sending countless buildings flying into the sky.
"Tch... couldn't find it. As expected—it's hiding."
"Useless. You won't be able to find the last one of me~"
"After all, it's not even at home right now."
"Ahhh, damn it! We died again!"
"That hurt! You damn murderer—let us kill you a couple of times too, or it wouldn't be fair!"
"You lot are seriously annoying."
Elias casually swung out a few Shamash Assault strikes, wiping out another group of Herrschers of Dominance before no longer paying them any attention.
The women moved once more to engage in battle, continuing to destroy the puppets one by one.
Meanwhile, Elias expanded the range of his perception even further. This time, the azure winds did not merely sweep across the Nation of Domination—they probed the entirety of this alien space.
"Tch... still nothing?"
Elias clicked his tongue. As the Herrscher of Wind, he could summon a thousand winds to serve as his eyes and ears. In places without a network, this ability was even more effective for gathering information than the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption.
Yet even so, he still could not locate the final puppet.
That left only one answer.
"The last puppet isn't on the battlefield. They've hidden it somewhere safe—most likely somewhere in the real world. So... no matter how many times we kill them here, it's pointless."
If the final puppet was not found, the Herrschers of Dominance would continue to revive no matter how many times they were destroyed.
"Huh? Those despicable bastards!"
"Damn it—how are we supposed to fight like this?!"
"Elias, what should we do now?"
"..."
Everyone realized that things would only get worse if this continued.
In terms of individual strength, the Herrschers of Dominance were completely suppressed by them. Even though they had gathered numerous Herrscher authorities and strengthened themselves to the limit,
They were still no match for the Flame-Chasers and Kiana's group. However... if this dragged on endlessly, even MANTISes would grow exhausted.
If fatigue set in, casualties on their side would be inevitable.
"There's no other way. We have to return to the real world and find the last puppet first," Elias said.
"Eh? But what about these things..."
"I know. We can't just leave them alone either."
While searching for the final puppet, someone also had to stay behind to hold off the Herrschers of Dominance. Given their vile nature, there was no way these puppets would obediently remain here.
After all, while Elias and the others could defeat them, if these Herrschers of Dominance spread into the real world and began wreaking havoc, Earth wouldn't be able to withstand their destruction.
In fact, there was currently no organization in the world—not even St. Freya Academy, Schicksal, World Serpent, and Anti-Entropy combined—that could deal with one million Herrschers at once.
The reason they could handle them now was only because all of them were gathered in one place.
If the Herrschers of Dominance scattered across the world to cause chaos, then even Elias himself would have no way to deal with them.
"Spatial lockdown!"
Elias activated his spatial authority, sealing the entire alien space itself. Unless he personally opened a portal, it would be difficult for anyone else to leave this space.
However, considering that the Herrschers of Dominance also possessed the authority of the Herrscher of the Void, if no one held them back, they would likely break the seal themselves soon enough.
So...
"I'll stay here and keep wiping them out. The rest of you return to the real world and find the final puppet!"
"Elias, you're going to face danger alone again?!"
"Heh, don't joke around. What danger could these trash mobs possibly pose? Killing them is as easy as eating and drinking for me. They're just puppets—no matter how many there are, they can't hurt me."
Elias spoke with absolute confidence.
That confidence, born from overwhelming strength, left the women unable to refute him. Deep down, they also believed that even alone, Elias could hold off the Herrschers of Dominance.
Even so, they found it hard to accept.
Why had they worked so hard to grow stronger? Wasn't it to fight alongside him and protect the world together?
Yet that wish almost never came true, as if bearing everything alone was simply Elias' fate.
"Alright~ don't worry about it. This time, everything depends on you all. Only by finding the final puppet can the Herrschers of Dominance be completely eliminated. I can't do it alone."
Elias' wings folded inward, embracing everyone.
"And honestly, I don't have a good solution this time either. Finding that last puppet in the real world is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Compared to that, holding back these 999,999 puppets might actually be easier."
"Hah?! You're seriously looking down on us—"
Before one of the puppets could finish speaking—
"Noisy. Who gave you permission to speak?"
A Subspace Lance was instantly teleported into its body, piercing it from head to toe.
"Anyway, I'll leave the troublesome part to all of you this time. Let me handle the easy part for once."
The pure white six wings withdrew. In his left hand, Elias formed the Judgment of Shamash, and in his right, the Abyss Flower, his gaze burning with fighting intent as he stared at the overwhelming swarm of puppets ahead.
Seeing his back, everyone made their decision.
"...We understand, Elias."
"Don't keep us waiting too long, little lab rat. I'll go catch that last damn puppet right away."
"Be careful. We'll be back soon!"
The women clenched their fists, suppressing the urge to stay and fight alongside Elias. They knew what they needed to do now to ease the burden on the white-haired youth.
And although he spoke lightly of it, facing one million Herrschers alone—especially ones that could revive infinitely—was undoubtedly a grueling ordeal.
Precisely because of that, they had to race against time to find the final puppet and completely eliminate the Herrschers of Dominance.
"Mm~ I believe in all of you. But if possible, try to finish within ten days. If I don't see you by then, I might actually die of loneliness, haha~"
Elias joked. Then, the twelve gemstones on his wings lit up simultaneously.
He planned to go all out and thoroughly slaughter the Herrschers of Dominance a thousand times first.
After all... they were rare and excellent punching bags!