"So, this is the final battleground you've chosen?"
As if sensing something utterly bizarre, the boy, once again transformed into the Second Herrscher, stood on the wilderness of the Siberian plains, surveying his surroundings.
Before 'It' stood the scientists of Anti-Entropy and a white-haired man draped in a greatcoat.
"Have the people from Schicksal not come?"
The boy, who could clearly see the hammered-to-a-pulp Otto continuing to analyze the situation from his sky city, spoke with a lack of interest.
"I am Siegfried, head of the Kaslana family, which is affiliated with Schicksal."
The man, completely wrapped in the greatcoat, stared at the Herrscher of the Void who sat leisurely in mid-air, looking down on everyone present, and spoke slowly.
His voice was hoarse, as if he had endured some kind of torture, sounding almost like two files grating against each other.
"Honestly. I tell you that the Kaslana bloodline holds the potential to defeat a Herrscher, so you send him here all alone?"
As if sensing something utterly ridiculous, 'God's' golden eyes scanned the people present, and 'It' sneered.
"We will provide a certain degree of support for Mr. Siegfried."
Even while being mocked, Einstein did not get angry. Instead, she bowed, neither obsequious nor supercilious, to the being who probably never cared about the Will of Honkai's commands from the very beginning.
The arrogance of the Second Herrscher was truly beyond imagination.
Just moments ago, she had issued a battle invitation to 'It' in the name of Anti-Entropy.
And then, this Herrscher, whose strength was simply abnormal, came directly to the location she had specified.
Without the slightest hesitation.
This truly is the best possible development.
Einstein, who had once again set up the God-Slaying Armor—Silver Bullet in the distance, breathed a sigh of relief internally.
The Second Herrscher must die.
'It' was the most intelligent among all generations of Herrschers, even capable of creating an "ideal fluid" the very instant 'It' seized the core of the Herrscher of Reason.
And for a Herrscher whose Authority was the pinnacle of physics, knowledge often meant power.
The Second Herrscher was too smart, and too strong.
A monster against whom victory seemed almost impossible.
The only saving grace was probably that 'Its' personality was arrogant to the extreme, and incredibly self-centered.
'It' had actively given up the other four Authorities granted by God, and then informed their side that the Kaslana bloodline contained power that could surpass a Herrscher's.
Otherwise, humanity would have no chance of defeating 'It' at all.
Knowing full well that the enemy before her could definitely detect the Silver Bullet placed in the distance if 'It' conducted a serious search, Einstein took a deep breath and bowed to the arrogant 'God'.
"Next, it is time for the hunt."
"Therefore, as non-combat personnel, I will take my leave first."
"You people are really quite boring."
The Second Herrscher sighed, then stretched lazily, allowing Einstein to depart.
Then—
'Its' gaze fell upon the man in the greatcoat who had been left behind alone.
"Next, you alone will be my enemy. How does it feel?"
"I am not fighting alone."
The hoarse voice sounded from beneath the greatcoat.
The man named Siegfried tore off the greatcoat that disguised him.
What was revealed was an aberration with horns growing from its head, its hands already mutated into sharp claws.
After being injected with a large amount of gene-activating serum, the head of the Kaslana family had taken on the terrifying form of a beast, somewhere between human and Honkai Beast.
An unbelievably ferocious aura rose from his body, reminiscent of the man-eating beasts of mythology.
If not for the glimmer of humanity still present in his eyes, he would surely be mistaken for some kind of monster in human form.
Then—
"BOOM—!!!"
Scorching flames erupted from the greatsword of Judgment, swelling at a visible rate, dyeing half the sky a terrifying crimson.
Lot entered Zoar as the sun was rising. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.
This was the biblical description of God's destruction of the cities of sin.
And now, the flames that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah burned once more.
The molten-iron-like flames blazed brilliantly, the air warped, and a pillar of fire and smoke that filled the sky enveloped everything. Extreme heat spread out at an astonishing rate.
Without any hesitation, at the very first moment of battle, the man whose body had been bestialized unleashed the ferocity of the Key of Destruction upon the world.
This was the demonic sword named Judgment of Shamash. Its power, beyond common sense, was enough to burn everything covered by its domain of fire to ashes!!
"Go die! Second Herrscher!!"
Siegfried roared loudly, his eyes already turned blood-red, having lost most of his sanity.
Faced with such an attack, ninety-nine percent of the people in this world would fall into a panic.
The flames that destroyed the cities of sin were now directed at a single person.
But—
For the targeted enemy, this was clearly not a killing blow.
The power of the Herrscher of Reason surged within 'Its' body.
Simulation: Herrscher of Ice.
An extreme cold rose from the Second Herrscher's hands.
As if the Ice Age had returned, everything in the surroundings was encased in ice that would not form naturally even in a thousand years. A cold current, as if containing all the chill of an Antarctic iceberg, transformed into a raging dragon.
Then—
The frigid current, capable of freezing everything in a city to ice and snow in an instant, smashed violently into the flames surging up from below.
"BOOOM————!!!"
A violent vortex of fire and a freezing storm of extreme cold exploded simultaneously on the ground, turning into a shockwave of alternating heat and cold. Carrying a surging airflow of red and blue, it expanded madly in all directions.
Thus, the rampaging flames and ice alternately incinerated the surrounding streets and buildings, then froze them solid.
In an instant, the forests on both sides were shattered in the intertwining environment of hot and cold, disappearing from the world without any ability to resist.
The surrounding land was directly destroyed in the aftershocks of the battle, turning to dust.
"Is this all you've got?"
The Second Herrscher, undoubtedly a nightmare-level trial for civilization, spoke with an indifferent voice, shaking 'Its' head as if in regret.
"Of course not!!"
A man's furious roar echoed from high in the sky.
Then—
As if to destroy everything before it, the crimson greatsword smashed down from above.
Instantly, the heavy sword carrying a magnificent blaze of fire, like a giant meteor of light falling from the sky, scraped against the air. Its very outline began to glow with red flames as it furiously plummeted towards the Herrscher of the Void.
It was Siegfried. While the flames and ice were raging madly, he had leaped into the sky!
"Bang bang bang bang————!"
Wherever the sun-like radiance passed, the air in the sky completely exploded.
Even the clouds below were instantly shaken apart. Like a true sun falling from the heavens, it descended upon the Herrscher with unparalleled might.
Looking up, the Second Herrscher watched the scene that resembled a falling sun. 'Its' entire robe billowed in the fierce wind, yet 'Its' eyes held no emotion.
'It' stretched out a hand, and a magnificent longbow, seemingly not of this world, manifested.
It was the ultimate trump card from Karna's mythology, the bow used by Indra to defeat the Asura King, the very same Triumphant Bow, Vijaya, that Parashurama used to cleanse the world twenty-one times!
The Second Herrscher drew the longbow.
Just as described in the myths, this bow required no arrows. Once drawn, endless lightning would naturally form into shafts.
"Looks a little interesting."
The moment 'It' spoke, the drawn bowstring displayed its divine might.
"BOOM————!"
With a sound like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting, a dense volley of arrows shot towards the half-man, half-beast existence.
Countless arrows shot forth at the same time.
The power of each arrow was like a meteor, yet they were as dense as a torrential downpour. If they landed, they would surely turn everything within a thousand-meter radius into a living hell.
The crimson meteor exploded in the sky, turning into a sky full of light particles that scattered in all directions.
Lightning and fire ground against each other, and terrifying heat dissipated everywhere.
Then—
The arrogant 'God' drew the longbow once again.
This time, the target was the man still falling from the sky.
A bone-chilling killing intent, like an invisible and intangible beast, extended its barbed tongue to lick his skin.
Danger!
Run!!
This was the warning from the super-transformation genes of the Honkai Beast.
If I get hit, I will definitely die!
Faced with such a terrifying attack, the best course of action would be to retreat and regroup with forces to attack together.
But—
If I retreat, then who will stall for time, waiting for Welt to awaken?
Faced with the rain of arrows that could easily shatter an entire island, the bestialized warrior let out a beast-like roar.
He could not lose!
At the very least, before Welt contacted him, he absolutely could not lose!
Molten-gold high-temperature flames shot up from the sword's blade, releasing a brilliance comparable to the blazing sun.
The two forces collided. The rain of lightning arrows only paused for a brief moment before tearing apart the curtain of flames, like scissors cutting through cloth, or a dinner knife slicing through butter.
The flames did not stop the terrifying lightning.
But it was enough.
The bestialized warrior continued to roar, guided by instinct, weaving through the meteor-like rain of attacks at a speed beyond reason.
He had to stop 'God'.
Watching the bestialized warrior block his attack, the golden-eyed Second Herrscher smiled and slightly curled 'Its' hand as if making a fist.
Reason Simulation: Herrscher of Rock.
The gravity of the entire space seemed to suddenly increase by many times, pressing down on the earth with a terrifying tremor, causing it to crack and shatter.
Honkai energy far more terrifying than before gathered in the sky, emitting a black and red glow.
Then—
Following its master's command, a ray of gravitational force, like a true meteor, smashed heavily towards the man enveloped in flames.
PS: Wrote a 3000-word battle scene after a long time.