Within the Nation of Domination, an endless war seemed to be unfolding in this alien space.
Fragments of puppets rained down from the sky, piling into grotesque mountains of corpses, exuding a strange yet magnificent aesthetic of death.
The terrifying white beasts also fell one after another. Whether Emperor-class, Judgment-class, Vipralopa-class, or even Imaginary Constructs and Quantum Shadows, all were gradually wiped out in this endless high-intensity battle.
What a meaningless war.
There was no end in sight, no destination called victory—only death accumulating endlessly. And even that death was nothing but an illusion.
And yet...
Something still seemed to shine eternally.
"Flamescion Sword drawn! Shamash Assault!"
The white-haired boy wielded the Flamescion Sword and Might of An-Utu. Blazing flames surged skyward, as if they could split the night itself. The scorching fire brought warmth to this cold, twisted kingdom.
As the twin streaks of flame swept across the battlefield, the puppets were temporarily driven back. He seemed to be the sole eternal presence in this world. Even if the puppets could defeat every Honkai Beast, every Imaginary Construct, every Quantum Shadow, and even the Seeds of Ideas—
they still could not dim the radiance of Deliverance in the slightest.
However, at that very moment—
"Now! Touch him!"
"What?!"
Following the divine puppet's command, Elias suddenly felt something grab his ankle. Looking down, he saw a puppet's hand—but in the next instant, he kicked it apart.
"Tch! A hidden one, huh."
Elias clicked his tongue, a bad premonition rising within him.
That puppet had hidden itself among the remains of others, suppressing its presence completely. It waited until Elias drew close before striking—and had finally managed to touch him.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been impossible. Elias had been fighting in midair the entire time, never once landing on the ground.
But as the battle dragged on, the corpses of puppets had piled up into a "mountain" nearly a hundred meters tall.
Climbing quietly to the summit, it walked upon a path built from countless puppet remains. Step by step, it ascended into the sky and reached the white sun.
Though it lasted only an instant, the puppet paid the ultimate price, truly becoming part of that corpse mountain.
But...
"We touched him! We touched him! We touched him!!!"
"Finally—finally it worked!!"
"Now we can take it!!"
"The Savior's authority is ours!!"
The puppets danced in excitement. As long as they could touch Elias, their ability to "steal authority" could be activated.
The twelve gem-like symbols on his pure white six wings dimmed simultaneously. Elias narrowed his eyes—he could indeed feel his authority being stripped away.
At that moment, even the divine puppet let out a breath of relief.
From the start of the battle until now, they had lost a total of 198,713,930 puppets. Only then, through miraculous luck, had they obtained this chance to seize Elias' authority.
"You're really going all out, huh? Dying that many times just to create a chance to take my power?" Elias said coldly, glancing at his dimmed gems.
"And it was worth it. For the cost of merely 198,713,930 puppets, we have taken your authority. By human standards, this is extremely cost-effective. Though according to my calculations, the success rate of this plan did not exceed 30%."
The divine puppet spoke calmly. Its godlike eyes showed no trace of regret, as if everything were nothing more than numbers—puppets merely expendable resources.
"Our chances of victory have now increased. Once again, Honkai extends an invitation to you—human Elias. Join Honkai."
"Hah? Again? Does Honkai like me that much?"
"Yes. Honkai values you greatly. And this battle we are engaged in is meaningless. Even you have no possibility of victory... Even if your companions find the final puppet, they cannot stop its revival."
"What did you say?!"
To drive the Savior into dead end, Honkai decided to reveal the greatest secret of the Herrscher of Million.
"Even if all one million puppets are destroyed simultaneously, their resurrection will not cease. Because the true key to their revival is... human malice."
As the divine puppet spoke, it raised its hands. In the next instant, overwhelming negative emotions erupted from every puppet.
These puppets were carefully crafted by Honkai. Each one was a failure among humanity—a manifestation of the darkness within human hearts, the unspeakable ugliness that truly exists.
Thus, what truly animated them was not the strings wrapped around their bodies, but human malice.
One million sorrows.
One million despairs.
One million insanities.
And one million curses!
Destruction, fear, greed, anger, despair, conflict, killing intent, annihilation, sorrow, distortion, corruption, betrayal, revenge, arrogance, inferiority, domination...!!!
This was the Herrscher forged from the concentrated evil of humanity.
"To deal with Herrschers who have been moved by human goodwill—you—we require Herrschers born of human malice—them. Though these one million puppets are merely a drop in the ocean compared to the total malice of humanity."
"As long as human malice exists, the Herrscher of Million is an undying Herrscher. For one of the fundamental truths of this world is that human malice will never disappear. Never."
"Therefore, the Herrscher of Million is invincible."
Honkai laid its cards on the table without hesitation. There was no longer any need to conceal the truth. Even if Elias now understood the nature of this Herrscher, he had no way to defeat it.
Though each puppet did indeed have a human host, that was merely the starting point—the necessary step for their creation.
While those hosts provided negative emotions, it was obvious that the emotions of a mere one million humans could never sustain infinite resurrection.
What made this possible... was the malice of all humanity.
"I see. What an outrageous Herrscher. In some ways, it's even more terrifying than Finality. Looks like Honkai is truly serious this time. Sigh... Hua, maybe you really shouldn't have raised that flag."
Elias shook his head with a wry smile. Thinking about how the stoic immortal had said she would confess to him after defeating this Herrscher, he couldn't help but feel she had set an absurdly dangerous flag.
But wasn't this a bit too much?
Just to stop Fu Hua from confessing to him, the heavens had gone and created this ultimate, unbeatable, undying Herrscher of Million.
Was that really necessary?
"...Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why aren't you in despair? I have taken your authority. I have revealed the truth of the Herrscher of Million. You should understand that you have no chance of victory. Why don't you give up?"
The divine puppet stared at Elias in confusion. It could not find even the slightest trace of gloom or despair in the boy's heterochromatic eyes, as if he truly possessed a way to overcome all of humanity's malice.
But that was impossible.
No matter how many miracles Elias had created, he could never erase malice from human emotions.
And yet, seeing his calm expression—as though he had known from the very beginning that this Herrscher fed on human evil—Honkai found itself unable to reach a conclusion.
"Why won't I give up? Heh... take a guess~"
Elias stuck out his tongue. Who would be dumb enough to reveal their trump card?
(Though I only prepared that extra measure just in case... I didn't expect I'd actually get the chance to use it. That was close—being cautious really was the right call.)
"Still, things are getting more and more exhausting lately. Not long ago I was facing the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta, and now I have to stand against all of humanity's malice. Being a Savior really isn't easy. Sigh..."
"But then again—that's what makes life interesting!"
The corners of Elias' lips lifted high. Seeing his undiminished fighting spirit, the divine puppet felt a surge of disbelief.
"Impossible. Give up. Human malice is a power that even Honkai—I—acknowledge as capable of surpassing the divine. It contains infinite possibilities. Just like goodwill, it is eternal and indestructible. In your terms..."
"This endless malice is also proof of what it means to be human. Even you, as the Savior, can never overcome it."
"And... it seems you still haven't noticed. The flow of time in this Nation of Domination is different from the real world."
The moment those words fell, Elias' eyes widened.
"Hah? What did you just say?!"
"You have defeated 198,713,930 puppets over the course of three days. But in the real world, only thirty-five minutes and fifty seconds have passed."
The divine puppet precisely stated the external time.
"You've got to be kidding me—Honkai, you bastard! I—%!!"
Elias finally broke, rare fury flashing across his face.
He had never expected something like a difference in time flow.
That meant if the girls really came to find him in ten days, more than two years would have passed for him here.
"Final warning. Human Elias, join Honkai. Honkai is willing to grant you everything you desire."
The divine puppet extended its hand toward him. Possessed by Honkai, its entire body had turned white-gold, resembling a fragile angel inviting the Savior to ascend to heaven.
"Heh... no thanks. You think you can give me everything I want? Do you even know what I want? Stop talking nonsense."
Elias rolled his eyes and gave it a very unfriendly international gesture.
"Of course. Honkai understands you better than anyone in this world. I have always been observing you, human Elias. What you desire is very simple—that is, love."
"..."
"You want more companions. You want to be loved by more people. You want to have more things you cherish. That is your desire."
As the divine puppet spoke, it gestured toward the Herrscher of Million.
"And now, if you join Honkai, you will instantly gain one million companions. They will be loyal to you, care for you, and regard you as their everything."
"Cut the crap! That's not what I want—fake puppets like these? Companions? Don't make me laugh!"
Elias looked at the Herrscher of Million with undisguised disgust. The greatsword of Might of An-Utu in his hand pointed at the divine puppet, as if he would sever its head in the next moment.
"They're nothing more than toys of Honkai, created from the ugliest parts of humanity. And what binds them together isn't ideals, isn't understanding, and certainly isn't love."
"Maybe they have wills of their own—but they're just gathered together for a single purpose, venting the same extreme emotions. Creatures like that aren't companions. And I'm not interested in playing house with a bunch of fake puppets!"
"Honestly, how stupid. I can't believe I'm even talking about this with a bunch of puppets—with a so-called god. And Honkai, you actually think trash like this can make me give up everything? You're really asking to die!"
Elias locked his gaze onto the divine puppet. A golden spear of light condensed in his hand, as if it could pierce even the stars.
Even if there had been a small mishap, nothing about what he intended to do had changed.
Fight. Keep fighting. Keep fighting!
"Your authority has already been taken. Next—"
"Idiot! Did you forget who I am?!"
In an instant, a streak of white light flashed across the battlefield. In less than a second, tens of thousands of puppets were violently torn apart by Elias wielding twin spears.
"What?!"
"I am humanity's Chimera! Civilization's Noah's Ark! Even without authority, so what? With my own strength alone, I can still slaughter you all!"
Relying purely on physical ability, he reached supersonic speed. The powers of countless Honkai Beasts were unleashed without pause as Elias shifted from mage mode—Herrscher—to warrior mode—Chimera.
Even without Herrscher authority, he was still the strongest in the world. Even without Honkai's blessing, he remained a dual Pseudo God of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta!
Previously, to avoid having his authority stolen, Elias had to constantly evade, preventing the puppets from touching him.
But now—he had no more restraints!
Spears of light were hurled one after another, pinning the Herrscher of Million to the ground. Elias' body itself became the most terrifying weapon—his fists, legs, and six wings smashing, kicking, and tearing the puppets apart.
"Quick—use the strongest authority against him!"
"O God, what are we supposed to do now?!"
"Even without authority, this guy is too terrifying!"
"Y-you—don't come any closer!"
The puppets trembled in fear.
Even as the Herrscher of Million unleashed its authorities simultaneously, Elias did not dodge or evade. He charged straight through them head-on.
The defense of his body, combined with the star armor forged from over a thousand bubble worlds, was sturdier than any shield in existence.
Gradually, Elias closed his eyes, unleashing his power recklessly upon everything around him. The hundreds of thousands of abilities possessed by a Planet-class Chimera erupted without restraint.
No matter how many defensive authorities the puppets used, no matter where they hid within this alien space, it was all useless. If this level of destructive force were unleashed in the real world, the entire planet would be reduced to ruin in an instant.
"..."
The divine puppet stared at Elias in stunned silence.
At this moment, the Savior had turned himself into the embodiment of destruction. And yet, what Honkai could not understand was...
Why, even so, this person still shone with such brilliance.
The Chimera's genes roared within him. The pleasure of destruction was intoxicating. A battle song rose from Elias' lips.
"The time has come to pack away all the joys,
"You don't wanna hear my apology,
"Get it off my chest,
"I would do my best,
"I know what you fear,
"Similarities we possess,
"Never will I pass the test,
"The scene is fading,
"Can my soul be put to rest?,
"Death is gonna come for me,
"Be the change I couldn't be,
"Can you find a life that's like fairytales?,
"Far from this tragedy,
"Sad you had to wait for me,
"Feels like an eternity,
"Please forgive me for my sins,
"Angels wings lifting and setting me free,
"The question of my love,
"Slipping right through the cracks and crumbling to dust."
!!"
(Song: DARK ARIA ＜LV2＞)
At this moment, Elias had become an apostle of destruction. Under his relentless bombardment, the Nation of Domination had already collapsed and shattered. Yet the puppets, feeding on human malice, continued to revive endlessly.
Thus, the cycle of destruction and rebirth played out once more.
But this time, Elias did not feel despair. He had already grown accustomed to fighting the Herrscher of Million.
And yet... he felt a trace of loneliness.
(Ah... in the end, it's just me again...)
Those radiant heterochromatic eyes dimmed slightly. He had entered the battlefield with an army at his back, with countless comrades beside him. And yet now, he was still fighting alone.
No one could keep up with him.
No one could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
So he could only face everything alone.
But just as Elias thought so, a faint sorrow stirring in his heart—
"This is the divine punishment of Finality!!"
With the sound of space being torn apart, countless beams of light burst forth from enormous wings of Honkai energy, destroying the newly revived puppets at a rate nearly equal to Elias.
"!!!"
Elias turned around in shock.
A figure of breathtaking, almost divine beauty had arrived. Like a moth drawn to light, he instinctively reached out toward her.
In that moment, Elias' loneliness vanished.
Because a goddess had descended to his side.