Ling Ke withdrew his gaze.
Speaking of Mobius…
Before crossing into this world, he had actually liked her quite a bit.
Back then, his fondness for her had even surpassed his feelings for the far more popular Elysia. He had simply never cared for that contradictory type of character who claimed to love everyone equally, yet somehow failed to show it when it mattered.
Of course, that was all in the past.
Now…
"Just another actor taking her mark."
That was Ling Ke's current mindset.
In the end, the only thing that truly interested him was a highly dramatic play.
Just like the one unfolding right now.
Fwoosh!
A scorching Flame Blade appeared in Kevin's hand.
Shamash: Greatsword Form.
He was clearly restraining himself. MEI and the Kevin of this era were both nearby, and either of them could easily be caught in the crossfire.
Otherwise, with Kevin's true strength, he would have opened with Shuhadaku of Uriel from the very start.
And seeing him like this…
"Kevin, are you still choosing to stand with Ling Ke?"
Raiden Mei tightened her grip around her odachi. Her eyes narrowed.
"Then there's nothing left to say."
"Let's take this outside."
Ignoring the dense gas filling the café, fumes thick enough to knock an ordinary person unconscious on the spot, Mei walked toward the entrance.
She stopped at the door.
"You can't go all out in here anyway."
"And I don't want to drag innocent people into this."
With that, she stepped out of the café.
The next moment…
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
A violent hail of gunfire erupted outside the shop.
Then it died just as quickly.
Obviously, with Mei's current strength, even if she was still nowhere near Acheron's level, ordinary thugs armed with live ammunition were not enough to pin her down.
As for Kevin…
Truth be told, under normal circumstances, he would never have fought Mei here.
Even if they had to come to blows, he would have dealt with her quietly in the shadows.
The reason was simple.
Their appearances were far too conspicuous.
If they made a scene in public, it would inevitably draw unwanted attention to MEI and the younger version of himself living in this era.
But now, what was done was done.
As for how things had reached this point…
Aside from Ling Ke, whom Kevin absolutely could not afford to provoke, it was all thanks to a certain someone taking liberties in the shadows.
If that snake were not still useful…
Somewhere, Gray Serpent suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"…"
Kevin hefted his greatsword and stepped forward.
"Whatever. Business first."
And so, not long after Raiden Mei left, the Flame-Chaser of Deliverance, the fifty thousand year old Returnee, vanished into the thick mist flooding the café.
A few moments later…
Rumble.
BOOM!
Deafening explosions shook the world outside.
Lightning and fire violently intertwined. The shockwaves shattered the air, tore open the concrete, and sent debris flying in every direction.
The block where the two clashed had instantly turned into an apocalyptic wasteland.
Using a chain of spatial Doors, Ling Ke slipped in and out of the Theater of Domination, then emerged smoothly on the rooftop of the building that housed the café.
He leaned into the roaring high altitude wind and looked toward the distant battlefield.
"And with this, the progress of this era finally accelerates."
Ling Ke's lips curled into a faint smirk as he revealed the truth.
Because on this very day…
Whether it was the world leaders of the current era,
The insiders within The Moths Who Chase the Flames,
Or even…
"How exquisite!"
"So this is the post evolution form… no, still incomplete…"
In a dimly lit room, Mobius hugged her own arms and murmured in broken, breathless fragments.
The twisted excitement on her face was impossible to hide.
The Previous Era.
In this timeline, Nagazora was covered in surveillance.
And right now, those cameras were going dark one after another.
Just from the shockwaves alone…
In less than a minute…
Kevin and Raiden Mei's battle had already torn through several city blocks.
And they were not even trying to cause collateral damage.
This was merely the result of them passing through during their frantic exchange of blows.
A single step shattered the earth.
A missed swing brought down a building.
Fortunately, the evacuation forces deployed by The Moths Who Chase the Flames around the perimeter had been prepared for a Herrscher level disaster.
Nagazora International Airport was under total lockdown.
All flights were grounded. The staff had been evacuated. Every last passenger had been forcibly cleared from the premises.
Raiden Mei and Kevin seemed to sense the change.
Without a word, they took their battle to the broad open expanse of the tarmac and runways.
But…
The Moths had miscalculated one crucial detail.
The harsh reality was that neither Kevin nor Raiden Mei was a standard target.
The power they wielded had long since surpassed that of an ordinary Herrscher.
Take Kevin, for example.
Tens of thousands of years ago, freshly transformed into a MANTIS and barely off the operating table, he had killed his era's Seventh Herrscher, the Herrscher of Flame, with his bare hands.
And that Herrscher had reduced the entire Australian continent to a sea of fire in a single week.
That was before Kevin underwent Project Chimera.
Before he became Brahma: Hundred Beasts.
Before he even held Shamash.
As for Raiden Mei…
Just as Ling Ke had warned, after straying into IX, her combat strength had already surpassed her former peak as the complete Herrscher of Thunder.
At least until she succumbed to total self annihilation.
Her battle with Kevin would not be decided anytime soon.
But when it finally was…
"Never mind the surrounding continental shelf taking damage. At the very least, this entire Far East island nation would probably be wiped off the map."
That was Ling Ke's estimation.
Right at that moment…
BOOM!
In the distant airport, soaring flames and rolling thunderclaps collided once again.
The shockwave from their clash shattered the hangars far off in the distance.
Soon after, several passenger planes began to melt before they even had the chance to explode.
And during this process…
Whoosh!
The sound of something tearing through the air rang out.
"Oho."
Ling Ke raised an eyebrow.
With a casual leap, he landed on the roof of another high rise beside him.
As for the spot where he had just been standing…
Crash!
It was completely smashed apart by the half melted wreckage of a passenger plane.
Just imagine.
If The Moths Who Chase the Flames had not evacuated the crowds in advance, and this place were still the bustling downtown area it had been only a few hours ago…
"When gods fight, mortals suffer."
Ling Ke could not help sighing.
"Not to mention, they are still far from the level of gods… wait."
Evacuated the crowds?
Come to think of it, in that shop just now…
Whoosh.
The collapsing building had already kicked up a massive cloud of dust.
Suddenly, a pink figure darted out of the rubble.
Despite her petite frame, at least a head shorter than Ling Ke, she had an unconscious person tucked under each arm.
The young Kevin.
And MEI.
Seeing this…
"Aw, that ruins all the fun."
Ling Ke shook his head.
He had deliberately avoided using Omniscience so he would not spoil the show for himself. He had been hoping for some insane plot twist.
Just imagine.
If Ancestor Kevin, who had transcended time itself, discovered that the MEI of this era had died a tragic death…
"He would probably hunt Raiden Mei to the ends of the earth."
"Or maybe… he would beg me for mercy?"
"Like Magneto, watching his wife and daughter die in an accident, raging at the heavens, raging at fate itself?"
Thinking of this…
"Fate… huh."
Ling Ke's gaze fell on the pink haired girl below, who was letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Judging from the original plot, you can see the strings too."
"You are even better at it than Aponia. And you have had this ability from the very beginning."
"You were only hiding it… or rather, you never felt the need to reveal it, right?"
"The first Herrscher."
"Elysia."