"That's… the Shuhadaku form of the Judgment of Shamash…" Otto's expression became a bit grim as he looked at the weapon in the small figure's hand.
Otto had never been afraid of Siegfried, only of the incomplete Human-form Collapse he had once unleashed, which unlocked the limits of Shuhadaku of Uriel.
It was like the descent of a god of destruction, a brilliance that could only be rivaled by the light of a dying star, hence the name "Shuhadaku."
"Ryn, Durandal, don't let your guard down. Be wary of the replica Shamash in that armed doll's hands. I can't estimate how much power the replica can replicate, but it will definitely be powerful."
Otto paused for a moment, then hesitated before continuing to speak to Durandal and Ryn: "There's no need to fight him to the death. The Previous Era used a different energy source than we do. After tens of thousands of years, that doll's energy reserves won't be very high."
"Understood." "Understood."
Durandal and Ryn nodded to each other, then sped towards Armed Doll Kevin.
Rita, on the other hand, prepared to retreat with little Otto. The aftershocks of Ryn's and Durandal's battle were not something the current Rita and Otto could withstand.
Oh, and there was Stan, clinging tightly to Rita's leg. Its limiter had been damaged when Durandal swatted it away, so now Stan was just an ordinary cat that could absorb Honkai energy, speak a little cat language, and had a very active inner monologue.
"Kid, what's your name? Can we talk?" Ryn hovered in front of Armed Doll Kevin, attempting to resolve the situation peacefully.
"Herrscher…" Armed Doll Kevin raised the Shuhadaku of Uriel in his hands and aimed it at Ryn, his icy face devoid of any emotion. "I will not hand over the Second Divine Key to you, and certainly not to a Herrscher."
"Hey, you little brat, it's not like Herrschers are going to steal your food…"
"Ryn, move!"
Upon hearing Durandal's shout, Ryn moved aside. Durandal's charged spear whistled through the air and struck Armed Doll Kevin, smashing him into the riverbank.
"Durandal, I was still negotiating," Ryn said helplessly to Durandal beside him.
Durandal spread her hands, shrugged, and said with regret, "The negotiation has already failed, hasn't it?"
"Might of An-Utu."
In the brief moment Ryn and Durandal were talking, a massive beam of fiery energy, large enough to incinerate a small island in an instant, shot towards them.
"Queen!"
The Might of An-Utu was too fast. Durandal immediately moved in front of Ryn, summoning Queen to block it.
However, even Queen couldn't withstand such a wide-range attack from the Might of An-Utu.
"Let me handle it."
Ryn patted Durandal's shoulder, flashed in front of her, and extended a hand towards the energy beam.
"Grips of Taixuan!"
Hum—
The fiery energy beam of the Might of An-Utu, along with a large area of space around it, was directly swallowed by Ryn's black hole and compressed into a baseball-sized orb of liquid flame energy, which he held in his hand.
Ryn examined the energy ball in his hand for a moment, then threw it at Armed Doll Kevin, who was charging at them with his sword raised.
"Never seen an energy ball this hot before, have you? It's a gift!"
"Hah—!"
Armed Doll Kevin deflected the energy orb with his sword, but Durandal's spear immediately pierced his body.
"Ryn said he was giving it back to you, so you can't refuse it! Hah—"
Durandal flung Armed Doll Kevin, who was impaled on her spear, into the air, spun around twice, and sent him flying towards the energy ball he had just deflected.
"Queen!"
Durandal summoned Queen to block in front of her, while Armed Doll Kevin collided with the energy orb, causing a massive explosion.
Boom—
The energy from the Might of An-Utu created enormous waves on the Thames River, and the massive shockwave swept through all the buildings on the bank.
Jackal was also blown away by it. If she hadn't been so far away, Hare would have had to transcribe her again.
As the thick smoke from the explosion cleared, according to the rule of "no smoke without a scratch," Armed Doll Kevin appeared to be fine on the outside.
However, in order to withstand that attack, Armed Doll Kevin had consumed a significant amount of energy.
Sensing his remaining energy, Armed Doll Kevin raised his sword towards Ryn and Durandal and charged again.
Ryn drew his Stars sword and clashed with Armed Doll Kevin.
"Little guy, we're not the bad guys, you know! We can talk this out!"
"There's no need. My duty is to protect the Second Divine Key and to annihilate anyone who dares to covet it."
Armed Doll Kevin kicked Ryn's sword with his knee, using the recoil to create distance, and simultaneously blocked Durandal's thrust.
"Glory of Kingship!"
Durandal activated her armor's gamma particle thrusters. After three consecutive thrusts, the thrusters were fully unleashed. With the full power of the thrusters, Durandal pushed Armed Doll Kevin back, plowing a trench dozens of meters long across the ground.
Just as Durandal and King were about to deliver the final blow together, Armed Doll Kevin erupted in a massive pillar of flame, forcing Durandal to retreat from the high-temperature area.
"Descent of a Myriad Spirits."
Ryn pointed down at Armed Doll Kevin. The entire Thames River was lifted high into the air, its waters transforming into countless water dragons that rushed towards Armed Doll Kevin, who was engulfed in flames.
Armed Doll Kevin swung his sword, shattering several water dragons, then aimed at Ryn, who was hovering above the dragons, and fired another Might of An-Utu.
"That move is useless. Grips of Taixuan."
Ryn reached out towards the energy beam of the Might of An-Utu, once again compressing it into an orb, and prepared to throw it back at Kevin.
"Where did he go?"
"Ryn, the Second Divine Key!!" Durandal shouted to remind Ryn, while activating her thrusters and flying towards the Second Divine Key at super speed to stop Armed Doll Kevin.
Armed Doll Kevin calmly watched Durandal and Ryn rushing towards him, then with one stroke, plunged his greatsword, which had reverted to its normal form, into the locomotive of the Second Divine Key.
Boom—
The carriages of the Second Divine Key, Thousand Worlds as One, began to detach and self-destruct. Finally, a massive spatial gate opened on the side of the locomotive, from which a huge energy blast and an irresistible suction force emanated.
Shuhadaku of Uriel could no longer be maintained, and Armed Doll Kevin's energy was also about to run out. He could no longer continue to fight Ryn and Durandal, so he would carry out his master's final order: destroy the Second Divine Key and fall into the Sea of Quanta with it.
And now, the gate was open, and the Second Divine Key and Armed Doll Kevin were gradually entering it.
"Is that guy's plan to destroy it if he can't have it! We have to get the Second Divine Key back before the gate closes!"
"There's no time to explain! I can move freely in the Sea of Quanta. I'll go get the Second Divine Key back!" Durandal gritted her teeth and accelerated towards the gate opened by the Second Divine Key.
"No! That's too risky! That power of yours can only be maintained for three minutes now," Rita's panicked voice came through Durandal's communicator.
"If we don't do that, all our efforts will have been in vain, won't they?" Durandal cut off the communication with Rita, then nodded at Ryn, who was smiling at her…
Wait, why was Ryn smiling…
"Since your power is risky, let me do it. I'm a child of the sea, after all!"
Ryn smiled and gave Durandal a peace sign, then rushed into the gate.
After entering the gate, Ryn grabbed the Second Divine Key and started flying towards the gate with it.
But then, Ryn felt something in the Sea of Quanta pulling at him, not wanting him to leave.
Ryn turned his head to look but saw nothing. However, when he turned back, he saw an unexpected person.
"What, can't pull it?"
Durandal flew to Ryn's side and helped him push the Second Divine Key.
"It's not that I can't pull it, it's just… Durandal, how did you get in here too?"
"Hmph, I don't like to wait. Let's go, the gate is about to close. Hah—"
Durandal turned her head, activated her gamma particle thrusters, and pushed the Second Divine Key towards the gate.
"Fine."
Ryn took one last look at the Sea of Quanta, then he and Durandal dragged the Second Divine Key out of the gate.
Just as they were about to exit, Durandal pointed to Armed Doll Kevin floating not far from Ryn.
"Ryn, look at that guy. Bring him with us!"
"I almost forgot about this annoying guy. Let's pack him up and take him with us!"
And so, Schicksal successfully acquired the Second Divine Key, which was now just a locomotive, and the Armed Doll Kevin, who had lost all his energy and fallen into a deep sleep.