"Do the other six Annihilation Monarchs know your name? Are they dead?"
"Nanook knows your name. Did you destroy them?"
"Silly child, I know you're trying to make me laugh, but it's not funny."
Ervitos rose from the throne, looking down at Leon with an unreadable expression.
"I've always been patient. For over eight hundred years, I've savored the chaos, infighting, struggles, and collapse of 243 worlds…"
"Most of those worlds were ultimately flattened by the Antimatter Legion."
"A few exceptions, like Jarilo-VI. The Stellaron's a handy thing—saves time and effort."
"No need to slowly push the frontline or build advantages."
"No need to apply pressure or erode resistors."
"Just plant a seed, let it grow naturally, and watch, like observing an ant colony, as suffering human civilizations slowly crumble structurally."
"Little bug, do you acknowledge and appreciate my gentle, considerate aesthetics of destruction?"
Leon flashed a polite smile. "I'm a doctor, and I can tell you've got a serious condition. I can treat you for free."
"Brain-dead at such a young age—pretty pitiful."
"Though it's not nice to strip others of their right to be brain-dead, I really pity you. A doctor's heart, you know…"
"Sigh."
Ervitos sighed and shook their head.
"If you can't appreciate it, then—you'd make a fine Voidranger."
"Don't worry, I'll craft you a nice shell. Materials from a suspected Aeon Emanator are rare."
Leon's smile didn't waver. "You talk like you've got me in the bag."
"I'm an Annihilation Monarch under Nanook, Lord of Destruction. So far, I haven't seen anything I wanted to consume that I couldn't."
Ervitos' palm rippled with terrifying energy.
"Then you're seeing it now."
Leon's wings flared, slicing forward with a virtual cut. Cyan-glowing wing blades tore through space.
Myriad wind blades shot from the wing edges, instantly forming a storm around Ervitos.
Each blade vibrated at high frequency, carving vacuum ripples like a thousand swords unsheathed, weaving a silver net of death.
"This kind of Imaginary fluctuation…"
Gray mist swirled as Ervitos casually blocked Leon's attack, frowning in puzzlement.
They weren't entirely sure, mulling it over.
"You don't seem to be an Aeon Emanator. So—what makes you think you're qualified to face me?"
Despite Leon's barrage of biting sarcasm from the start, Ervitos, as an Annihilation Monarch, wouldn't let it faze them.
On closer inspection, something felt off about Leon.
Now that they'd clashed, the oddities multiplied.
Those wind blades hid an unfamiliar Path power.
"Whatever. If this is all you've got, you'd better give up your pointless resistance."
"Jarilo-VI's destruction is nearing its end. Don't delay my enjoyment."
With that, Ervitos' palm appeared above Leon's head.
Leon's body arched slightly, his right wing glowing cyan as it slashed upward.
Ervitos' fingertips unleashed a destruction beam, but upon touching Leon's wing, it vanished like a stream into an abyss.
A flicker of shock crossed their face for the first time.
Leon didn't let the opening slip. As Ervitos froze for a split second, the vanished power surged back, defiantly piercing their arm.
"Didn't see that coming, huh?"
Ervitos yanked back at lightning speed, gray mist coiling around the severed arm, repairing it in a blink.
"Interesting, but you're definitely not an Aeon Emanator."
"So?"
Leon smirked nonchalantly.
He wasn't one now, of course—otherwise, he'd scare them off, and where's the fun in that?
Aha talked big about not wanting to help, but their actions were honest.
Dutifully masking the Imaginary fluctuations of Mercy's power.
As for Joy's Emanator power, Leon hadn't used it, so Ervitos couldn't possibly detect it.
"Intriguing."
A eerie, burning energy emerged behind Ervitos.
"A spear can't pierce a shield if it's not sharp enough. You can reflect attacks, but maybe the force isn't enough. Let's see how long you can withstand the Antimatter Tide."
The wasteland instantly turned into a deep sea, a towering, invisible tide crashing toward Leon, swallowing him whole.
Yet beneath the tide, Leon stood unscathed.
He stood atop the sea's current, eyes brimming with mockery.
"This Antimatter Tide? Feels like a bath."
Know why even Delusion couldn't handle Mercy?
Mercy's power has one authority.
Simple.
Theoretical absolute immunity to attacks, plus the ability to return them.
Why theoretical? Because an Emanator can't be immune to an Aeon's attack, nor a Pathstrider to an Emanator's.
Leon's current power wasn't at Emanator level, so he could only block some attacks.
But at least, he wouldn't be gravely injured by a few random hits.
Draining his power slowly was exactly what he wanted.
"Time for something more fun."
The black mist on Ervitos' face wavered. They clasped their hands, pressing into the void.
An Imaginary torrent formed a storm, hurtling toward Leon.
Leon's wings spread again, the gale from their span blowing the gaseous Imaginary energy back along its path.
"Playing gas attacks in front of me? That's a laugh."
Ervitos' composure began to crack. Failing to regain control of the storm, they instinctively dodged.
Watching their own Imaginary destruction storm controlled by their opponent, they were more puzzled than shocked.
"How'd you do that?"
"Who was it that said they could consume anything? Can't even handle your own creation?"
Leon flicked his hand, casually smoothing his ruffled feathers with elegance.
Ervitos didn't get mad.
They saw it now.
Leon's defense was formidable, but his offense was sorely lacking, posing no threat.
Once Leon's power was drained, they could crush him easily.
They didn't know what Path power Leon used, but since it wasn't Emanator-level, it didn't matter.
A Path is like a sea: Aeons command the ocean, Emanators raise giant waves, and Pathstriders only ripple the surface.
That's the gap.
"Let's see how long you can keep up with me."
"You won't be disappointed."
Leon's eyes flashed with sharpness, meeting Ervitos' star-shattering onslaught.
The battle dragged on, reducing the silent star system to cosmic dust before they paused.
Leon wiped blood from his lips, his wings trembling violently, forming illusory wind feathers.
All floating feathers exploded into light particles, converging into a spiraling spear of light capable of piercing stars.
"Take my spear—"
The spear seemed to tear through time and space.
In that fleeting moment, Ervitos knew they couldn't dodge and made the wisest choice.
They detonated their left arm to avoid being pierced, using the gray mist to erode space and tear open a rift.
The spear grazed the edge of their severed arm, plunging into a distant star cluster, obliterating a red giant.
"You're indeed an interesting person…"
Ervitos slipped into the spatial rift, their hoarse voice echoing with an unknown static.
"Hope next time we meet, you can hold out as long."
"Heh, next time, I won't be as 'gentle'…"
…
…
The Destruction Emanator comes from a train dialogue with Gepard, a real but unnamed entity, so I made one up. The game doesn't explain why they retreated, so I took creative liberty. Hoyoverse probably won't fill this gap.