"You really scared me this time, you know that?"
After scolding the two culprits, Elias finally pulled the trembling Pardo into his arms, exhaling a deep sigh of relief. His heart was still pounding—he hadn't fully recovered from that shock.
That one line, 'Boss Elias… I… don't want to die', had hit far too hard. For a split second, he truly thought his beloved cat-girl had been killed—again.
"Don't ever do that again, understand?"
"…Mm."
Seeing the warmth return to Elias' expression, everyone around him also sighed in relief. The demon king had once again turned into an angel; the crisis was over.
In Elias' arms, Pardo's heart raced wildly.
She sneaked a glance at the women around her, then—biting her lip—gathered her courage and wrapped her arms around him in return. This was the first time Pardofelis had hugged Elias so seriously, outside her artificial cascade form.
"I'm sorry, Boss Elias… I'll never do that again. Thank you… for getting so angry over someone like me."
Her tail swayed as she spoke.
Honestly, an angry Elias was absolutely terrifying. In that instant, Pardo was certain—there was nothing in this world more frightening than the white-haired boy whose eyes had lost their light.
But—
When she remembered how Elias had panicked and hugged her tightly, how he had used the Abyss Flower's Zeroth Power without hesitation just to save her—her heart felt warm beyond words.
She had never seen him that desperate before, nor had anyone ever cared for her that deeply. She had done nothing to deserve it—and yet, he still cared so much…
The cat-girl buried her face against his chest, tears glimmering faintly in her mismatched eyes.
She felt so spoiled.
That same ultimate ability in Elias' hands—one that could save tens of millions, even billions—he had used it on her, without hesitation.
"It's fine… As long as you're okay, Pardo."
Elias gently patted her head, and the cat-girl shivered again.
(Ahhh… no, no, Boss Elias, you can't be this nice to me. If this keeps up, I—I might not be content with just being your cat anymore…)
Self-preservation was the instinct of any cat.
Whenever she saw Elysia and the others waging their "Holy Grail Wars" with Elias as the prize, she always swore never to get involved.
After all, nothing in this world was more dangerous—or more terrifying—than a war between women!
And Pardo's desires were simple.
She just wanted to be Elias' pet cat—to curl up on his lap in the sunlight, be petted, and nap without worries. That was happiness enough for her.
But now…
She found herself growing greedy.
Just like the others, she wanted… more.
(Sister Mobius and the others are watching. I'm probably digging my own grave right now. But Elias is so warm… and he smells so good… Forget it! People say cats have nine lives—guess I'll just sacrifice a few!)
Having steeled herself, Pardo hugged Elias even tighter. Of course, being a timid cat, her "resolve" only went that far.
"..."
Elias blinked in surprise, feeling the increasing pressure of her embrace, then smiled faintly.
He affectionately ran his hand down her back, then leaned in and gently bit one of her furry cat ears—like he was about to devour the adorable creature in his arms.
But then, Pardo let out a small cough.
Elias immediately remembered—she still had the flu.
(No wonder Mobius and the others were shocked. Even as a fusion warrior, she somehow managed to catch the flu… My cat really is the weakest of all fusion warriors. She's achieved something even I couldn't do.)
He then activated the Herrscher of Rebirth's powers, and in the next second, the virus was completely eradicated. The cat-girl instantly returned to full health.
"Hehe~ thank you, Boss Elias~"
"It's nothing. Don't mention it. Pardo, you…"
Suddenly, Elias froze. He stared blankly at the cat-girl in front of him as a realization struck.
In the original timeline, Pardo had caught the flu right before the Eleventh Herrscher's descent. Because of that, she hadn't joined the battle against the Herrscher of Binding—and had survived the ensuing tragedy.
That illness had practically been divine protection.
"..."
"B-Boss Elias? Why are you staring at me like that…?"
"Pardo, I believe in your luck."
"Eh? Oh—uh, thanks? That's kind of random, though."
Before Pardo or anyone else could react, Elias had already picked up the Abyss Flower. Stepping out onto the wide balcony of the five-star hotel, he began to chant.
"I am the Black from the abyss, I am the White descending from the heavens. Born before Creation, existing beyond Oblivion, I shall grant the fountain of life freely to those who thirst."
"With my blood, I shall save the world—Holy Blood Liberation: Lilium Sanguineum! Abyss Flower, Zeroth Power—Heilige Lanze Welwitschia!"
Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, Elias began activating his Holy Blood Liberation—before the Great Eruption even started.
Before anyone could even voice their confusion—
BOOM—!!!
[Warning! Warning! Honkai Eruption detected! Honkai Eruption detected! The Eleventh Herrscher is about to appear! Estimated Honkai energy concentration: 35,000 HW! All personnel are advised to—]
"Haah—!!"
Before the first alarm cycle had even finished, Elias—already prepared—threw the Abyss Flower skyward.
This time, before anyone could even feel the corrosive power of the Honkai, crimson blossoms of creation rained down from the heavens, enveloping everyone in their radiant light and shielding them completely.
(Ha! So it really was like this!)
Watching the petals fall, Elias both laughed and sighed in disbelief.
Pardo's flu had indeed been the omen of the Eleventh Herrscher's arrival. Truly ridiculous—but his cat was apparently the world's most beloved child.
"What?! It's appearing already?!"
"The Eleventh Herrscher—where is it?!"
"All units, prepare for combat!"
"Wait! The Eruption is only the precursor—the real threat is still…"
The Flame-Chasers immediately switched into battle mode. Elysia returned wielding Whisper of the Past, her expression firm despite the chaos.
Though morale was high, Elias knew better. The real danger was only beginning. That earlier Eruption had merely been the Herrscher of Binding announcing her birth.
And this Herrscher—one often deemed the most terrifying existence before Finality itself—was about to reveal her true might.
BZZZZT—!!!
A radiant golden barrier suddenly expanded outward, covering a hundred-kilometer radius. Massive golden gears appeared in the sky, turning solemnly.
Majestic. Dazzling. Terrifying.
"Ghh—!!"
Every Flame-Chaser groaned in pain.
They felt their Honkai energy draining away rapidly. An indescribable weakness spread through their bodies, forcing everyone—except Kevin and Elias—to their knees.
Prometheus, detecting extreme abnormality, immediately rebooted and switched from Honkai-based energy to alternate power sources, yet even so, she could barely move.
Bathed in golden light, the land below seemed to have received divine grace. But divine grace always demanded a price—their lives.
"So this… is the Eleventh Herrscher's… power?"
"This can't be… A Herrscher with anti-Honkai energy properties?"
"Damn it… I can't move my body…"
"It's not just Honkai energy… all other forms of energy are being heavily suppressed… even Prometheus' systems are nearly offline…"
"At this rate… even our bioelectricity will fade… Everyone within the barrier… will die!"
This was the terrifying might of the Herrscher of Binding—
She was the chain of the divine, the sacred calamity itself.
The Herrscher's power was to create a massive barrier with a radius of one hundred kilometers. Within it, all Honkai energy would become null, and every other form of energy would be drastically weakened.
This was the [Elysion Pedion].
Lower-ranked MANTIS couldn't survive inside for even a minute, while higher-ranked ones would last less than three. As for ordinary humans…
Without bioelectric energy, they would die in under ten seconds.
But there was no way Elias would allow that to happen.
"Herrscher of Rebirth's authority—Law of Creation, maximum expansion! No one… is allowed to die!"
Elias pulled another Gem of Haste from the Abyss Flower and embedded it into his Key of Blankness. In an instant, the two Herrscher Cores of Death began to resonate.
Back when he had absorbed two Herrscher Cores of Wind and became the Dual Herrscher of Wind, he discovered that resonance between identical Cores amplified their power nearly tenfold.
Now, with two Herrscher Cores of Death synchronized within him, Elias stood as a god who ruled over both life and death.
"This is—Sanctum of Creation!"
Enduring the crushing force of the Herrscher of Binding's Elysion Pedion, Elias pushed his output far beyond the barrier's "no-Honkai-energy" restriction, forcing the Herrscher of Rebirth's power to its utmost limit.
Countless white blossoms burst across the land, spreading in an instant and completely blanketing the one-hundred-kilometer-wide Elysion Pedion.
Those who should have perished beneath the divine barrier were, under Elias' Sanctum of Creation, protected and preserved—without even losing consciousness.
"It's him… That man has arrived…"
"We're saved… Thank goodness…"
"So this is the Savior's White Flower… such a gentle power… ahh…"
"Dear God… I think I'm changing my faith."
Within the one-hundred-kilometer radius, everyone felt two conflicting sensations—the agony from the divine light above, and the soothing warmth from the sanctum below.
"Good. Everyone's alive."
Elias exhaled deeply, golden eyes burning with determination.
Within his sanctum, no one would die.
The Herrscher of Binding's power was indeed terrifying—an absolute restraint over Honkai energy and even all other forms of energy. It was the relationship of water to fire.
But one water hydrant could never extinguish a wildfire engulfing an entire forest.
Even if the Herrscher of Binding's ability was the natural nemesis of Honkai energy—even if Elias himself was restrained—it did not mean he would be defeated.
She might be the eleventh to descend, near the end of the Herrscher order.
But what could one Core do against a being with eight Cores—someone who had become a Chimera fusion warrior and the very embodiment of the Palatinus?
Against an absolute power, mere elemental counterplay meant nothing. That was the simple truth.
"So this is Eli's Sanctum…"
Elysia gazed dazedly at the vast field of white blossoms and at the countless people saved within its light, feeling as though she had glimpsed the paradise of her dreams.
She raised her hand to touch one of the flowers.
Instantly, she felt a soft, healing power flow through her body. What a gentle strength, she thought—just like the white-haired boy who had created it.
"Elias, how long can your sanctum last? Forcing your power to expand this far under an anti-Honkai barrier… even for you…"
"It's not easy," Elias admitted, frowning. "There are nearly ten million lives under threat within the Herrscher of Binding's Elysion Pedion. Even for me, I can only sustain their lives for about thirty minutes."
Mei's eye twitched slightly. That was already absurd. As the pinnacle of scientific intellect from the Previous Era, she had quickly calculated the structure of the divine barrier after experiencing it firsthand.
Though the Elysion Pedion could nullify Honkai energy, it still had an upper limit.
Any Honkai energy below 10,000 HW would be completely nullified by the Elysion Pedion. Even if it exceeded 10,000 HW, the barrier would still neutralize about 500 HW of Honkai energy per second!
Considering that 1,000 HW was enough to give birth to a Herrscher, this meant that, theoretically, the Herrscher of Binding could eliminate a Herrscher in as little as two seconds!
(How could such an absurd ability even exist?! If not for Elias and Kevin becoming Chimeras, we'd have no way to fight this Herrscher at all!)
Dr. Mei trembled slightly.
(Whether it's mechs or fusion warriors—once they step into this barrier, they'll instantly lose their power, and within moments, they'll be destroyed or die!)
Without the two of them, the only solution Mei could imagine was to fill the void with lives.
They'd have to send the MANTIS charging into the Elysion Pedion, where their Honkai energy would be sealed and their bodies pushed to the brink of death—hoping they could locate and kill the Herrscher of Binding within the one minute they had to live.
Alternatively, they could use the energy of both fusion warriors and mechs to overwhelm the barrier's capacity, attempting to burst it open.
But either method would lead to mass casualties among the fusion warriors and catastrophic losses of mechs.
(Thank goodness… Project Chimera succeeded. Elias' decision was, as always, absolutely correct. How did he predict this? No, now's not the time to question that!)
Mei took a deep breath, forcing down her curiosity.
"Elias, what should we do now? Your Sanctum of Creation allows us to move, but our Honkai energy is still sealed. Only you and Kevin can act. Should we send him to find and kill the Herrscher?"
"Hm? Then I'll go immediately!"
Kevin was ready the moment he heard that, already activating his [Diabolic] form.
The Herrscher of Binding had to be within the Elysion Pedion. Though her exact location was unknown, with a radius of just 100 kilometers, it would take him less than ten minutes to find her using [Diabolic]'s speed.
Elias could maintain his sanctum for thirty minutes—that was more than enough time.
"Kevin, get back here! You know how strong we Chimeras are when we trigger Artificial Cascade!"
Elias rolled his eyes and pulled back the white-haired berserker.
"Forget the aftermath of your attack—just the shockwave alone would kill countless civilians. Even if you manage to defeat the Herrscher, your strike would bury half the city with her!"
And even if Kevin tried to restrain himself, the Herrscher of Binding wouldn't. Fighting her within her own barrier was nothing short of suicidal.
"Uh… then what should we do…?"
"Don't worry. Leave it to me."
A confident smile spread across Elias' face.
At that moment, everyone knew—the battle was already won.
The white-haired boy lifted his gaze toward the sky, where the golden gears turned and the radiant barrier cloaked the world.
"Elysion Pedion, huh? Watch me tear it apart all by myself."