"So it really works. Activate stealth mode."
As the warp ended, the corners of the Ferryman's lips curled upward.
However, the instant he saw the target he had been searching for, his eyes widened involuntarily beneath his hood, revealing intense astonishment.
That was because the Ferryman saw an enormous white battleship nearly two kilometers long hovering above a bubble world. Although this vessel was almost ten times the size of his own, the two shared nearly identical appearances, as well as the same name.
The Hyperion, the Eternal Unsinkable Ship.
"Just as I expected. Since they're both Hyperions, their systems must possess an extremely high degree of similarity. In that case, if I use the Hyperion's electronic signature as the search target, then as long as the distance isn't too great, I can locate you."
Searching for a complete stranger within the boundless Sea of Quanta would naturally be unimaginably difficult. But since the other side also possessed a Hyperion, things were different.
To put it in somewhat crude terms, Elias' Hyperion and the Ferryman's Hyperion could be considered biological brothers born to different parents. Through the resonance of their bloodline—or rather, their identical systems—it was not difficult for them to locate one another.
"Begin charging the main cannon. Lock onto the enemy vessel."
The Ferryman issued the voice command without the slightest hesitation.
Since he did not know the other party's exact capabilities, and considering what he had heard about Elias' "demon deeds" in the Hel bubble world, he judged that rather than attempt friendly communication, it would be better to simply attack.
After all, as far as his lifelong wish was concerned, the Bubble World Devourer, Elias, was clearly an enemy.
The Ferryman was also well aware that, to many people, what he was doing was not salvation but destruction. Perhaps one day he would become a Noah who saved the world, but right now, there was no question that he was a villain.
And since he was already a villain, he might as well commit to it completely!
"Your Hyperion certainly looks stronger than mine, but if I amplify my main cannon with the power of an Ether Anchor until its output is enough to pierce through a bubble world, I should be able to destroy it in a single shot."
"And I know the Hyperion's defensive systems inside and out. Even if yours has more advanced technology, as long as the underlying logic of its systems hasn't changed, I can find an opening and launch a surprise attack without being detected by your radar."
"It's just that I don't see that nine-headed monster..."
The Ferryman muttered to himself.
Perhaps because he was the only person aboard this battleship, and because he did not want himself to feel quite so lonely, at some point he had developed the habit of talking to himself.
Those who were too lonely often talked to themselves.
Because even hearing one's own voice could create the illusion that someone else was speaking to them.
"Forget it. Charging complete. Fire the main cannon."
Following the Ferryman's command, the Hyperion's main cannon unleashed a pure white beam of light.
...
Three minutes earlier.
Having warped above a new bubble world, Elias and the other two were looking forward to the journey ahead.
"Ai, let's leave the battleship here."
"Huh? We're not taking the Hyperion into the bubble world?"
"Let's not~ We're here on vacation. No need to make such a grand entrance. A super-battleship nearly two kilometers long attracts way too much attention. I can just open a portal back here when we're done."
Elias shrugged as he spoke.
According to their advance observations, the civilization of this bubble world was highly developed, only around a decade or so behind the proper world.
If such an enormous battleship suddenly appeared, it would be the equivalent of aliens visiting Earth. There was a one-thousand-percent chance every local faction would immediately take notice.
How were the three of them supposed to enjoy their vacation then?
It would be better to leave the Hyperion outside the bubble world and return once they had enjoyed themselves. In any case, Ai's mainframe body was installed aboard the battleship. As its onboard AI, she would immediately know if anything unexpected happened to the Hyperion.
"A new world... I'm really looking forward to this."
"Hehe, Rosemary is definitely going to be the most surprised later."
"Let's go. I can't wait anymore~"
Elias looked eagerly at the bubble world before him.
He felt that a wonderful, relaxing vacation was waiting just ahead. Once he had enjoyed himself to his heart's content, he planned to absorb the bubble world into his body as a token of gratitude to this world.
However, the instant the battleship's hatch opened...
Boom, boom, boom—!!!
"Watch out!!"
A terrifying beam powerful enough to pierce through an entire bubble world shot toward them from an enormous distance. Although Elias' reflexes were fast enough, he was still a little too slow against an attack traveling at the speed of light.
Six wings instantly unfurled to protect Ai and Rosemary.
The Hyperion and the bubble world behind the three were also unharmed.
But... Elias himself took the beam straight to the face.
"...That's too much. Seriously, that's way too much! I got off the ship one second ago! One second!! For freak's sake, which adorable little bastard just shot me in the face with a beam?!"
Veins bulged across Elias' forehead.
He experienced the wonderfully agonizing sensation of the scorching beam blasting directly into his face.
Although it did not do much damage, the blinding white light that nearly burned out his eyes, combined with the sudden sneak attack itself, immediately sent his anger soaring and filled his rage meter to the maximum.
His relaxing vacation had been interrupted before it had even begun.
Grinding his teeth, Elias glared toward the direction the beam had come from.
"I don't give a damn who the hell you are. Die!"
The ice-blue gemstone on his white wings lit up.
An extreme chill instantly surpassed absolute zero. Crystal-clear ice condensed before Elias, blocking the terrifying beam and reflecting its energy outward in every direction.
Elias admitted that a "planet-destroying" attack truly was capable of injuring him. If he took one head-on without defending himself, then even his current body could still be pierced through.
But!
That meant an attack capable of destroying an actual planet!
How could this pathetic attack, which could merely pierce through a bubble world, possibly do anything to an existence as far beyond normal standards as him?
The authority of the Herrscher of Ice continued to activate. A razor-sharp icicle of extreme cold formed and flew directly against the incoming beam toward the Ferryman's Hyperion.
Boom—!!
A single strike pierced straight through the entire battleship.
Then, amid a brilliant explosion of fire, the Hyperion's engines ceased functioning and the vessel began plummeting downward.
And that was that.
"Uh... so what exactly just happened?"
"I-I don't know. That came completely out of nowhere."
Rosemary and Ai stared blankly at the scene.
It had begun too quickly and ended just as quickly.
They had not even had time to analyze the situation before Elias directly shot down the enemy vessel that had attacked them. Looking at the exploding, disintegrating, plummeting battleship that seemed extremely familiar...
Both women unanimously concluded that this inexplicable attack was already over. After all, neither of them believed anyone aboard could possibly survive under those circumstances.
"Hmph. What a lunatic."
Elias snorted and did not pay the matter much further attention.
Although he had been attacked completely out of nowhere, if this was all the enemy was capable of, he simply could not bring himself to be wary.
He merely lamented how ridiculously unlucky he was. Therefore, he would have to party even harder later to heal his wounded mood!
"Let's go, Rosemary, Ai."
"Mm~ Captain/My Lord." x2
None of the three took this insignificant episode to heart. They turned and flew toward the bubble world ahead.
...
Meanwhile, on the Ferryman's side.
"...I never expected him to possess power on this level... I really was too careless this time... The Devourer's strength is far beyond anything I imagined... Fortunately, the power of my Ether Anchors protected me, or I would already be dead."
The Ferryman and his Hyperion had crashed into an uninhabited bubble world whose interior had already been destroyed. He could not help but marvel that he had gotten somewhat lucky.
If he had not fallen into this bubble world after being shot down and had instead plunged into the depths of the Sea of Quanta, he might very well have been swallowed by the raging quantum currents and lost forever.
Still, he had truly made a fool of himself this time. He had believed his attack would be an instant kill, only for Elias to emerge without losing so much as a single strand of hair.
But that was hardly the Ferryman's fault.
Elias' strength was simply too absurd!
A Planet-class Chimera + Palatinus + an Ascended Herrscher with two authorities + a dual Pseudo God of Quantum and Imaginary + the bearer of thousands of bubble worlds... The Ferryman could already be immensely proud simply for surviving one of Elias' attacks.
"So... what should I do next...?"
The Ferryman leaned back against the wreckage of the Hyperion.
He was not particularly panicked by the destruction of his battleship. After all, the vessel known as the Eternal Unsinkable Ship would not be destroyed so easily.
Although the Ferryman possessed nothing more than a mortal body, he had piloted this battleship through the Sea of Quanta for countless years. Some special form of quantum entanglement had long since formed between him and his Hyperion.
As long as he possessed the power of an Ether Anchor, even if the Hyperion were destroyed, the Ferryman could reconstruct his battleship from his own memories.
Such was the bond between a veteran driver and his beloved ride!
If Elias wanted to reach this level, he would need at least ten years of piloting experience. But since he possessed the authority of Truth, if he ever encountered the same situation, he could simply reconstruct the vessel directly.
Though with Elias as its captain, there was no possibility that his Hyperion would ever be shot down in the future!
"What terrifying power. That was only a casual attack from the Devourer just now, wasn't it? Yet I had to consume the energy of several Ether Anchors just to barely preserve my life."
The Ferryman stared at his trembling hands.
He knew he had just taken a stroll past death's door.
At the same time, that white figure had been branded deeply into his soul, nearly becoming a psychological trauma.
Thus, the Ferryman made an accurate judgment.
"I can't win... There's no possible way to win... Even if I burned through every Ether Anchor I possess, I doubt I could fight the Bubble World Devourer head-on. That is an ultimate horror that should never exist within the Sea of Quanta. Just... what exactly is he?"
"No. That's not what I should be thinking about right now. The important thing is that if I don't find some way to solve this enormous problem, then even if I create a bubble world that cannot be eroded by the Sea of Quanta, he could still destroy it through brute force... or simply eat it."
"But... how am I supposed to defeat an enemy who fundamentally cannot be defeated?"
The Ferryman asked himself this question.
Then he sat motionlessly in place like a stone statue. Countless ideas flashed through his mind.
Yet every single one was rejected instantly.
That was the most absolute, overwhelming strength he had ever witnessed in his life!
Even though Elias had only revealed the barest tip of the iceberg of his power, it had already proven that no matter how many Ether Anchors the Ferryman possessed, he could never withstand even one of Elias' casual strikes.
His survival this time had been nothing but luck.
If he failed, there would never be another opportunity.
Thus, the Ferryman knew he had to proceed with extreme caution.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, an Ether Anchor slipped from within his robe and rolled to his feet.
The eyes hidden beneath his hood suddenly lit up.
"I've got it. If I can't defeat you, then I'll simply make it impossible for you to interfere with me. This is the perfect opportunity for a test—to see whether my Project Noah is truly viable."
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