…
"Hit!"
Vill-V gently patted the console, but her expression didn't seem particularly excited.
"Sorry, Hua..."
In that fleeting moment, no one had time to save Hua. They could only gamble with the SELENE. What had happened to Hua now?
But there was no time to dwell on that.
"Tch! If there's a next time, I must remember to install an air conditioner… Wait, why didn't I just combine the SELENE and the Fifth Divine Key? Or just make Kevin the core of the SELENE…"
The space inside the engine was already cramped, and due to the SELENE operating at full power, extremely high temperatures had quickly accumulated. Vill-V wiped the sweat from her forehead, muttering to herself while her hands continuously typed code. With a final press of the Enter key, the SELENE's engine began to rapidly cool down.
"Mei, how's Michael's Honkai energy reaction? Did it drop significantly?"
Around Michael, a large amount of dissipated thermal energy completely distorted the nearby light and shadow, leaving only an abstract blur of color visible. But that was enough. It at least proved the SELENE had perfectly hit the target and achieved the effect of converting Honkai energy.
However, Mei seemed to show no emotional fluctuation from beginning to end, making Vill-V look again at the heat-distorted light several times, fearing she had seen wrongly.
"Not good."
Mei finally spoke. She wasn't deliberately being profound, just waiting for the energy meter readings to stabilize.
"Uh… What does 'not good' mean? How much of Michael's energy was converted? Twenty percent? Or ten percent?"
"No… Merely two percent."
As her voice fell, the light and shadow distorted by heat rapidly straightened out, returning to normal. And Michael stood right there, unchanged.
Well… except for the person now standing before him.
"Kevin…"
Michael silently picked up the spear behind him, which hadn't been used once until now, thought for a moment, and then thrust it back into the lunar regolith.
Correspondingly, Kevin plunged the Cleaver of Shamash, flickering with flames, into the ground beside his feet. His lips pressed into a thin line, brows furrowed inwards, but his azure eyes held no light, no trace of what could be called human emotion.
Wind once again flowed across the airless lunar farside, making the flames on the greatsword and the hem of his coat flutter noisily.
"What, finally getting serious?" Michael snorted softly.
Kevin didn't answer directly. Rather than a Q&A, it felt more like two people talking past each other:
"I don't care what you intend to do, but I know what I should do—defeat you here, or be killed by you here."
Michael's brow furrowed and then relaxed. He bent his knee and suddenly kicked the Ninth Divine Key beside his foot backward like a ball.
Tens of kilometers away, Su, having just pulled the Sixth Divine Key from Kalpas's burnt-to-ash remains, sensed something. He instinctively leaned aside. The Ninth Divine Key grazed past his braid, landing not far beside him.
"Have to say, commendable courage." Michael nodded in approval, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "Just, too naive—"
Michael's pupils suddenly constricted violently. The next moment, his chest caved in without warning. His cheeks bulged outwards, blood spraying from his mouth.
It wasn't over. A bloodline suddenly appeared on his right arm, and then the entire arm silently dropped to the ground.
His knees buckled downwards, his whole body seeming to be flattened by a palm strike from above. Bones crunched together, sharp joints even piercing through the skin. His height noticeably decreased.
In an instant, no one could figure out what had happened. It seemed Michael had suddenly fallen into a near-death state.
"What… What's going on? A side effect of being hit by the SELENE?"
The change came too suddenly. Whether Michael anticipated it was one thing, but Kevin, Mei, and Vill-V clearly hadn't expected this situation.
"No, it shouldn't be the SELENE. The SELENE is purely an energy conversion engine. Even if effective, it would only convert Honkai energy to thermal energy, it shouldn't cause specific damage like this…"
"Could it be invisibility?"
But this bizarre scene did happen, as if a completely invisible person had landed three heavy blows on Michael without anyone noticing.
However, aside from the Authority of Wind, no one could think of any other method of "invisibility." But that method couldn't conceal leaking Honkai energy. Besides, the only one present who controlled the Authority of Wind was Michael himself.
So what was this?
"Wait, Mei, I have some conjectures."
Michael was trapped in place by the sudden injuries, unable to move. The expression on his face flickered rapidly, like flipping through photos frame by frame.
Logically, this was a good opportunity to attack, but Kevin didn't rush forward. He certainly desired victory; at this point, even a victory obtained through dishonorable means was still a victory. However, the timing was too coincidental, too peculiar. Without understanding the principle, Kevin preferred to treat it as Michael's ploy to lure him in, rather than take the risk.
He didn't fear death; rather, he sought it. But as humanity's last hope, he couldn't easily throw everything away.
And Michael's injuries were repairing at an unbelievable, yet visibly rapid speed—the caved-in chest quickly bulged back out, the gushing blood began flowing back, the right arm on the ground floated up and returned to its original place, his body started regaining height, the protruding bone spurs retracted.
Even if they attacked now, it seemed time was running out. It was better to analyze the principle behind this phenomenon, explore the possibility of replicating it.
Of course, this was also based on the fact that it wasn't hard to guess—
"Obviously, three injuries in total. The indentation on the chest feels consistent with the attack he used himself to create this basin earlier. The second injury, the right arm, I'm not sure what happened, but such fast, precise swordsmanship, only Sakura could achieve that. As for the third… besides Kosma after transforming, I can't imagine who else could do it."
"Hmm? Are you suggesting the first was the 'feedback' from Su's Karma Wheel applied to Michael, while the other two were injuries left by Sakura and Kosma?" Mei easily grasped Kevin's underlying meaning.
"Yes. But the problem is, why did these injuries, which should have appeared on Michael in the past…"
"I understand!" Mei lightly tapped the tabletop three times with her knuckles. This way, the principle behind Michael's dodging method wasn't hard to guess. If it was an attack the Imaginary Barrier couldn't block in time, or couldn't block at all, he likely used the Authority of Time to delay the injuries that should have been immediate.
But… why did they erupt now? Was it a simple coincidence, meaning the time he had delayed the injuries to had arrived? Or was it the effect of the SELENE's previous, almost "ineffective" attack?
Lacking concrete evidence, from a rigorous scientific analysis perspective, Mei couldn't offer any proof. But she leaned towards the latter possibility.
It wasn't selective belief, but a very simple logical problem—
Less than two hours had passed since the battle began; even the Second Divine Key still needed over ten minutes to recharge. For Finality, capable of cycling time back to before civilization's beginning, was it necessary to risk affecting subsequent combat by delaying injuries for such a short period?
Never mind two hours; why not five hours, or a day? For Finality, capable of cycling time for tens of thousands of years, were these differences not minuscule?
Unless Michael's brain wasn't working properly.
As for what changes the SELENE engine caused in Michael's body, leading to the premature appearance of injuries that should have manifested much later? Mei had a rough guess. Time is an unreasonable Authority, true, but precisely because of this, its existence in the rule-bound real world is extremely fragile—like a thin layer of ice on a river in early spring.
Although the SELENE only converted two percent of Michael's internal Honkai energy into thermal energy, this energy change occurred in an instant. Moreover, while the percentage seemed small, the actual energy converted was over a hundred times the total energy Michael expended in the previous hour-plus of combat.
So, looking at the actual quantity, the fluctuation caused by this energy conversion was undeniably significant.
It was like someone throwing a pebble onto that thin ice. The pebble, relative to the entire river, was insignificant, a drop in the ocean. But it was enough to shatter the ice surface, or at least create a large area of fine cracks.
Thus, the balance of the Time Authority in the real world was broken. Causality, originally postponed by the Time Authority, occurred prematurely instead.
Of course, this was all Mei's conjecture. Perhaps the underlying principle was completely different. But did it matter?
The SELENE had only one ability: converting Honkai energy into thermal energy. No other possibilities existed.
Certainly, there was an element of gambling involved, but humanity had reached such a point that there was no room left for hesitation.
Based on this hypothesis, the embryonic form of a new battle plan quickly took shape in Mei's mind.
However, Michael should also become wary, so they needed to go a step further than before—
"Vill-V, remove the power limiter on the SELENE. Fire on my command."
"Understood." Vill-V gave a rare, concise, and un-flamboyant response. She knew very well what removing the SELENE engine's power limiter meant for her.
But… no one had a choice.
Moreover, in the center of the basin, Michael had already fully recovered. No one would guess that just three seconds prior, he had been in a near-death, wretched state.
"Hahh…" Kevin let out a long breath.
It was a very strange feeling. He clearly couldn't control time, yet felt its flow slow to an extreme crawl at this moment.
Closing his eyes, feeling his heartbeat, he could imagine more and more black blood surging towards his heart, until it completely enveloped and corroded that fiercely beating organ—
Everything proceeded with unprecedented smoothness. Perhaps this was also the first time since the very beginning that he fought without any distractions.
What was he fighting for? To protect Mei? To save some people? Or to save a civilization?
No, none of that needed consideration. Now, at this moment, he knew only one thing, knew only what he should do—
Fight! Either return victorious, or die defeated!
"Kevin, I need you to deliver a blow that Michael cannot block with his Imaginary Barrier. Please!"
In a daze, Mei's voice floated over. Kevin didn't respond; Mei didn't need a verbal response either.
The flames on the Cleaver of Shamash instantly died out. Frost-blue cold energy surged ceaselessly from Kevin's body, almost freezing the Divine Key itself.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes, raised his head. Amidst his dim features, only a pair of eyes glowed with an eerie blue light.
He took a step forward. The bangs on his forehead swayed slightly. In what seemed like just a frame's duration, a black cross-shaped star appeared between his bangs. Twin horns erupted from his head. Pitch-black claws, arm spikes, black wings sprouting from his torn left shoulder, and a long tail completely declared his departure from the definition of "human."
But the changes weren't limited to himself. As the cold aura around him intensified, the Seventh Divine Key, known for "Destruction," gradually dimmed, almost freezing solid. But just then, as if sensing its wielder's intent, its temperature soared. A series of red crystals precipitated onto the originally smooth greatsword.
"Might of An-Utu… No, still not enough!"
Black blood surged from Kevin's wrist, flowing rapidly down the hilt into the Seventh Herrscher Core.
The black blood, like threads, enveloped the long-dead core. Then, it connected completely with Kevin's heart. It beat in unison with Kevin's heart.
Might of An-Utu changed again, this time barely retaining the shape of a greatsword. The blade head bent outwards on both sides, forming twin prongs similar to the spear in Michael's hand. Pitch-black corrosion spread across the blade body.
And so, the Seventh Divine Key truly came alive again, albeit in a different way.
The once irretrievable blazing fire now coexisted with scorching heat and chilling cold, bizarre and dangerous.
"This is… the final battle!"
As his voice fell, Kevin's figure charged directly in front of Michael. Wherever the blazing sword tip passed, no layer of Imaginary Barrier could withstand it for even 0.1 seconds.
"Hm?" Michael's brow furrowed, then quickly relaxed.
Because Kevin's seemingly unstoppable blow ultimately stopped before the very last layer of the Imaginary Barrier.
The hard expansion bulged inwards like a plastic film, looking as if it would be pierced by the blazing greatsword any second. But after Michael reached out with both hands to reinforce it, the barrier finally stabilized.
"Kevin, is this all you've got?"
"Hmph!" Kevin leaned forward, maintaining the exertion posture, obscuring his face.
But when he looked up, Michael saw a cold sneer on his lips.
Ggrrind—Ggrrind—Ggrrind—
Harsh chewing sounds arose. Michael turned his head incredulously towards his rear flank. There, a shrunken monster, only the size of an infant, lacking even a lower body, was simultaneously chewing on the Imaginary Barrier and one of his own legs clutched in its hand.
"Kosma!"
Crack—
The final Imaginary Barrier let out a crisp sound, then shattered under the unbearable load.
Michael twisted his body away at the last possible second. Then his arm suddenly transformed into threads imbued with spatial power, delivering the final blow to Kosma.
Kevin, moving too fast, couldn't perform any extra maneuvers and shot past, thousands of meters away in the blink of an eye. He materialized a massive ice wall along his trajectory, leaped up, kicked off it horizontally. The immense impact instantly shattered the entire ice wall, but it had already fulfilled its purpose, giving Kevin the chance for a returning blow.
"Michael!!!"
"Tch!" Michael's lip curled. He grabbed the spear beside him and charged towards Kevin without dodging.
Splurch—
No fancy explosions. The flaming sword head pierced through Michael's heart. The red spear tip also stabbed into Kevin's heart. The two twisted their weapons inside each other, simultaneously letting out meaningless roars of agony from the intense pain.
"Haaaaaaaah!!!"
Suddenly, Kevin stopped twisting the hilt, instead pouring all the Honkai energy within his body into the Divine Key—
"Shamash—Unsheathed!"
BOOM!
"Cough cough cough cough!"
Kevin's legs gave way. Even supported by the Divine Key, he knelt painfully on the ground. The black blood quickly scabbed over under the pull of Honkai energy, but healing the injury wasn't so easy.
"Did I get him? Mei… Did I get him?"
The previous blow had kicked up a massive amount of dust, completely obscuring vision, impossible to disperse immediately. But Kevin was certain the space before him was empty; he couldn't find any trace of Michael. Logically, he should be happy. Not seeing Michael meant his previous attack… succeeded, right?
But he couldn't feel happy…
If he had truly killed Michael, that wasn't something worth celebrating at all.
But he felt more strongly that he hadn't succeeded—because in the psychic communication network, he heard no cheers from Mei or the others.
Instead, there were only increasingly rapid, increasingly deep breaths.
"What happened?"
About ten breaths passed after he asked the question before he heard Mei speak, her voice filled with deep powerlessness:
"Kevin… He's right in front of you."
"In front?" Kevin looked again at the space before him. It was completely empty.
Suddenly, he noticed the light and shadow around him dimming. Before he could process it, a strong wind swept past, instantly clearing the dust without a trace. Even Kevin was nearly blown away.
And when he finally realized something and snapped his head up, what he saw was…
A familiar white figure.
A colossal white figure.
A white halo condensed into a divine crown above its head. Further above, intricate circles of black and red light rapidly replaced the entire visible universe.
Golden light erupted from its shoulders, tinged with a hint of blood, finally solidifying behind it into three pairs of unfurled wings of light.
Then, the blood-red, cross-shaped star pupils locked onto Kevin, and also seemed to lock onto the entire planet.
If Earth was like an apple before it, needing one hand to grasp, then the Moon before it now was no bigger than an egg.
"Gulp…" Kevin swallowed hard. He knew all efforts were likely futile now.
"Kevin… Retreat… We no longer have any possibility of victory."
Facing Finality directly, Kevin knew this clearly.
But…
"No!" he refused flatly. "You all leave first with the Second Divine Key! I'll cover the rear, otherwise no one can leave!"
"Kevin! I…"
"Say no more. Otherwise, none of us can leave."
"No, Kevin. The Second Divine Key's recharge still needs five minutes."
"...Then it seems… the only choice is an all-out gamble. Mei, is that plan of yours still viable?"
Mei didn't answer. It was certainly viable, but what specific effect it could achieve now, she had no certainty anymore.
"But, Kevin, you just used Judgment of Shamash! You have no chance left! And your body, your injuries…"
No, there's still…!
Kevin gripped the greatsword with both hands. His skin, previously covered in black blood, surprisingly gained another layer of greyish-white shell, looking just like a Honkai Beast!
But as he stood up, both the greyish-white shell and the black blood frantically surged into the Seventh Divine Key.
Even the impurities on the greatsword's shell flowed back towards the core as energy, until the core was filled, then filled again, almost bursting apart.
On the screen before Mei, the Seventh Divine Key's power output skyrocketed. When Kevin reverted back to the appearance of that ordinary boy, when the Divine Key also shed all impurities, returning to the form of Might of An-Utu, the power output settled at four hundred percent.
"Mara Wades into the Abyss, Salvation… Draw Sword!"
He pulled Might of An-Utu from the ground, holding it vertically before him.
All strength was drained from his body. His vision went black. His consciousness grew hazy, almost forgetting why he stood here.
In a trance, he saw Mei standing before him, turning back, offering him a smile.
And so, he too unconsciously revealed a blissful smile.
"Mei… This strike, not for anything else… Just…"
"For the one I love…"