Within the depths of The Deep End—
After three long hours of "etiquette correction," the Herrscher of Reason lay sprawled on the floor, eyes rolled back, completely unable to move. Her entire body trembled, her expression vacant—utterly broken.
She forced her head up with great effort, only to see the white-haired boy standing before her, still elegant, calm, and breathing evenly—like a noble prince wearing a pleasant smile.
In that moment, the Herrscher of Reason felt pure humiliation.
She, a messenger of the gods, was kneeling before a human, reduced to this pitiful, disheveled state—while the human stood tall above her, looking down with effortless grace.
Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!
"Don't think you've won, human. I'm just the weakest among the Herrschers. More will descend soon—stronger ones. No matter how powerful you are, you can't fight them all. You'd better kill me while you still can!"
The Herrscher of Reason spat out the words through clenched teeth.
"Hehe~ As expected of a Herrscher controlled by the Honkai. Even after all this, you can still talk tough. You're as stubborn as my little snake. But tell me, why should I kill you?"
Elias crossed his arms, watching her disgrace with amusement.
"Hmph! If you don't kill me now, then when the other Herrschers defeat you and free me from this prison, I'll make humanity pay the price in blood!"
Through sheer willpower, the Herrscher of Reason forced herself to her feet, her eyes shining with defiance. Even facing the white-haired boy before her, she showed no intention of yielding.
But Elias couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Haha! Hahahaha! Ahahaha! That's rich—but very well~ We'll see, won't we? Let's hope you can keep that rebellious attitude when the time comes."
"Hmph! You arrogant human, you're even more conceited than a Herrscher! Just wait—you'll regret it!"
"Arrogant? Heh~ Maybe. But, Herrscher of Reason, when arrogance is born of power, it's not arrogance anymore—it's confidence."
Elias gave her one last deep glance before turning away. The war against the Honkai had begun anew, and the Savior now prepared to return to his faithful Fire Moth.
Though this was already his twelfth cycle—
This time would be the last. He would give it everything he had, leaving not a single chance for the Honkai to prevail.
The Herrscher of Reason glared hatefully at his back, silently cursing him to fail. Then, looking around the vast, dimly lit prison, she couldn't help but sigh.
(Ugh~ How long am I supposed to stay in this empty, dark hole? Oh great Honkai, please let the next Herrscher descend soon! Crush that vile human! Then I'll lock him up in this prison and whip him myself!)
And so, while the Herrscher of Reason spent her days cursing, waiting, and counting the endless passing time...
...a long stretch of time went by.
Eventually, she realized that the once-lonely Deep End had grown rather lively.
Because... she now had four neighbors.
Herrscher of Reason: "..."
Herrscher of the Void: "..."
Herrscher of Thunder: "..."
Herrscher of Wind: "..."
Herrscher of Ice: "..."
Current number of Herrschers contained within The Deep End: Five!
Herrscher of Reason: "What the hell is this?!!"
┻━┻︵╰(‵□)╯︵┻━┻
From the First Honkai Eruption onward, she had waited desperately for rescue—all the way until the end of the Fifth Eruption.
But instead of rescue, the poor Herrscher of Reason had gained four new cellmates.
Truly... what a joyous, Coca-Cola-worthy occasion.
"How does it feel?" Elias asked pleasantly as he stood before the cells, admiring the five Herrschers trapped within—and, of course, his own godlike record.
Herrscher of Reason — Capture time: 15 seconds.
Herrscher of the Void — Capture time: 25 seconds.
Herrscher of Thunder — Capture time: 23 seconds.
Herrscher of Wind — Capture time: 23 seconds.
Herrscher of Ice — Capture time: 26 seconds.
Such was the strength of the man who had cleared eleven previous cycles.
Elias had discovered a new hobby—something he called collecting. Just as Eden loved collecting fine wines, and Pardofelis loved collecting shiny trinkets, Elias had begun collecting Herrschers.
Herrscher of Thunder: "Human! Don't get cocky!"
Herrscher of Wind: "I admit you're strong, but we haven't lost yet!"
Herrscher of Ice: "You know nothing about the Honkai! The Honkai will prevail!"
Herrscher of the Void: "That's right! No matter the cost, the Honkai will always triumph over humanity!!"
Their defiant shouts echoed through the halls of The Deep End.
Anyone unaware of the truth would surely think Elias was the villain here, and these Herrschers were the righteous heroes.
"..."
Elias rolled his eyes helplessly. Honestly, he'd have liked to skip straight to the Herrscher of Finality—but unfortunately, he hadn't yet figured out how to build a prison strong enough to contain her.
"The losers' bravado is kind of nice to hear, but reality is reality—you were all utterly helpless before me." His tone was calm, as though stating a simple fact.
And indeed, it was the truth. The five early-era Herrschers—Reason, Void, Thunder, Wind, and Ice—hadn't even survived a single move against him.
To Elias, they were barely a warm-up. Though his overwhelming performance had drawn the Honkai's attention once again, that didn't worry him.
He had seen every countermeasure the Honkai could deploy in his ten previous loops—and found ways to overcome them all. Simply put, he was unshakably confident. Failure was not an option.
"Well then, that'll be all for today. Farewell~"
Elias brushed the dust from his black military uniform and turned to leave.
Now, he wore the attire of Fire Moth's supreme commander—a jet-black uniform designed by Eden herself, combining elegance and combat functionality. A crimson cape draped over his shoulders like flowing blood, and each step of his polished black boots carried the weight of a mountain.
He looked every bit the cold, emotionless general—though that illusion shattered the moment he smiled.
Still, the sight alone was enough to make anyone instinctively want to follow him.
"W-wait!"
The Herrscher of Reason suddenly called out, desperate to stop him.
"No waiting. My time is precious," Elias replied coolly, continuing toward the exit without turning his head.
"Human! Tell me—why don't you kill us? Why just imprison us here… and do nothing?" The Herrscher of Reason shouted after him.
As the first to be captured and confined within The Deep End, she had spent a long, long time pondering her situation. Beyond her ever-growing hatred for Elias, one question haunted her more than anything else.
Why had he merely imprisoned them—never once harming or experimenting on them?
She had once believed Elias captured Herrschers alive to use them as test subjects for some cruel experiment.
But clearly, she had been wrong. They were simply… kept here. Other than the occasional "disciplinary correction" whenever someone mouthed off too much, they had never truly been hurt.
As for the rumor that he collected Herrschers? No one in their right mind would believe that nonsense! Even if that were part of it, it could only be a small reason—not the true one!
"Human, what exactly is your purpose?" the Herrscher of Reason demanded again.
"..." ×4
The other four Herrschers fell silent too, turning curious, uncertain gazes toward the white-haired boy's back.
"My… purpose?"
Elias stopped walking. For a moment, the world itself seemed to fall silent with him.
The five Herrschers held their breath. It felt as though an invisible hand had gripped their hearts. Even in defeat, they couldn't help but feel awe toward the boy who had so effortlessly overwhelmed them.
"I want to free you—from the Honkai's control. Tell me, what would you think if I said that?"
Elias' calm voice echoed softly, and when his golden eyes glanced back at them, the five Herrschers froze completely.
"To free us… from the control of the gods? What kind of absurd nonsense is that?! You—just a human—think you can do something like that? Are you insane?!"
The Herrscher of Reason broke into a cold sweat—and so did the others.
They were beings born from the Honkai, created as its extensions. To them, obeying the Honkai's will was as natural as a child obeying its mother.
But now, a white-haired boy was saying he wanted to liberate them—from their own mother, from the Honkai itself.
The five Herrschers simply couldn't comprehend it.
Elias wasn't surprised. Comparing the Honkai to a mother wasn't exactly accurate—after all, no true mother would ever command her children to slaughter humanity, destroy civilization, and self-destruct when they failed.
Across ten cycles of reincarnation, Elias had witnessed countless horrors born of the Honkai. He had unraveled many of its hidden mechanisms and understood well that Herrschers were nothing more than disposable tools in its grand design.
"You're all pitiful creatures, really. Herrschers—mere pawns in a divine chess match between the so-called god above and me. You may wield great power, but in the end, you're nothing more than puppets."
"So what... if that's true..." The Herrscher of Reason clenched her fists tightly. The others looked visibly shaken as well. Deep down, they all knew Elias was right.
"That's why all you have to do is tremble in your humiliation and wait—for me to save you. Don't worry, whether you wish it or not, I will save you... Herrschers of the Honkai."
Elias adjusted the brim of his hat, golden eyes burning with unwavering resolve.
The Herrschers were stunned once again.
"Something like that... we never asked for your help!"
"I know. But that doesn't matter. I want to do it. I can do it. So I will do it. From beginning to end, this is just my selfishness."
"..." ×5
It was a selfishness born of salvation.
After saying those words, Elias turned and left The Deep End, leaving the five Herrschers behind—each of their minds shaken to the core.
A faint melody soon drifted from the direction he'd gone—a hauntingly beautiful voice, like fine wine laced with forbidden sweetness.
Love is just a history that they may prove
And when you're gone
I'll tell them my religion's you
When Punktious comes to kill the king upon his throne
I'm ready for their stones
Like Jesus said
With my hands, hands, hands above my head
I won't cry for you
I won't crucify the things you do
I won't cry for you
See, when you're gone, I'll still be Bloody Mary
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Líberate, mi amor~
...
Inside the Fire Moth headquarters—
"Lord Elias, welcome back. These are your assigned targets for today: Parvati, Ganesha, and Asura," one of Fire Moth's clerks reported respectfully.
"Leave those small fries to Kevin. I've got something much more important to do later," Elias said casually, waving his hand.
"Yes, sir!"
The clerk's eyes shone with admiration. In his mind, three Emperor-class Honkai Beasts weren't even worthy of the First Flame-Chaser's attention. Honestly, even assigning Kevin to them was overkill—an ordinary fusion warrior squad could handle it just fine.
Since the war between humanity and the Honkai had begun, Elias and Elysia had both joined Fire Moth. And from that moment on... the organization's entire style had changed. It became violent—extremely violent. And terrifyingly efficient.
On his second day after joining Fire Moth, Elias personally visited every high-ranking officer's residence, pressed a blade to each of their throats, and told them to choose—submission or death.
By the end of that night, the rookie soldier had become the organization's supreme commander.
Naturally, there had been voices of dissent at first.
But once Elias' impossible achievements were revealed—alongside his flawless strategic decisions and the magnetic charisma of a Savior loved by the world—
All resistance vanished.
Fire Moth Soldier A: "The best part of fighting the Honkai under Lord Elias' command—it's just too damn satisfying!!!"
Fire Moth Soldier B: "It's weird, isn't it? Honkai Beasts used to be terrifying, but now it feels so easy to fight them!"
Fire Moth Soldier C: "That's because our great Savior is a genius! Only someone like him could've thought of such a plan!"
Fire Moth Soldier D: "Man, I'm jealous of the Flame-Chasers... I heard each of them has some insane ultimate ability!"
The Flame-Chaser system—originally meant to be established only after the Herrscher of Binding's era—had already been implemented under Elias' leadership. And because he had formed close bonds with all of them since childhood, the fifteen Flame-Chasers were now more like a family.
Of course, family squabbles—or rather, love-related warzones—still erupted from time to time...
In this twelfth iteration of the world, the pink-haired elf was still strong, but no longer the uncontested queen. Mobius, Vill-V, Eden, and Mei had all received legendary-level buffs.
Under the guidance of the great Savior, what was once humanity's greatest crisis—the Honkai itself—had been utterly crushed. It was no longer a struggle for survival... it was a game.
According to the latest Fire Moth statistics, the average lifespan of a Honkai Beast was now ten minutes. Even the most resilient ones rarely lasted over half an hour before being exterminated.
The cause of this absurd level of dominance? Two new Divine Keys—personally designed and ordered by Elias himself.
Under his guidance, Vill-V had practically opened the door to a new world, unable to stop herself from exclaiming—
"Wait... it's possible to use Divine Keys like that?!"