Objectively speaking, compared to the dazed and lightly wounded Kevin, the completely charred Leo Ash was clearly the victor of this battle.
But in reality...
—That was indeed the correct answer.
Leo Ash, landing from the sky, felt no joy from having temporarily knocked Kevin offline with his Phantasmagoria Sword God.
After all, even with Mind Like Still Water active, the excruciating pain wracking his body felt like it was about to shatter his spirit.
The Judgment of Shamash was already the most destructive Divine Key.
And the Might of An-Utu that Kevin held was connected to a second Herrscher of Flame core, amplifying its destructive power to new heights.
Even with all the powers fused within his body, plus the support of two Herrscher authorities, Leo Ash was nearly burned to a crisp by Kevin's enhanced Might of An-Utu Unleashed...
No, this was probably the result of Kevin holding back.
After all, from start to finish, even when Kevin swung that dual-core-driven Might of An-Utu, Leo Ash had not felt the slightest killing intent from him.
*He really had no intention of killing me.*
Leo Ash now completely understood why the System had judged that he would 'face a survival crisis' even though Kevin didn't intend to kill him.
It was because he struggled so hard that Kevin had trouble controlling his strength, so there was a chance he might accidentally kill him.
Realizing this, a dumbfounded Leo Ash pulled a test tube from his storage space and poured the Full Rejuvenation Potion within it into his mouth.
As the potent potion entered his body, the gravely injured Leo Ash was instantly back on his feet. In the next second, he sprang up, snatched the Seven Thunders of Retribution, and began a high-speed retreat from Kevin.
Durandal, who had been worried about Leo Ash, now watched him sprinting toward her and couldn't help but feel...
This scene was a little different from what she had imagined.
In Durandal's mind, after using that ultimate attack, Leo Ash would collapse from his injuries, perhaps even be on the brink of death.
That was why she had been so worried, her mind already filled with the thought, *'I have to go back and save him.'*
But now, not only was Leo Ash fine, he wasn't even being stubborn!
"What are you standing around for?"
Reconnecting with the Seven Thunders of Retribution, Leo Ash decisively channeled some of the Herrscher of Thunder's power into Durandal and urged her anxiously.
"Run! While that guy's offline, we have to get away from him, fast!"
"Ah? Oh."
Seeing the lightning crackling at Leo Ash's feet as he took Yuna from her arms, Durandal, still carrying Mei, finally gave up on thinking.
*Fine, Leo Ash's choice is definitely the right one. I just need to keep up.*
*Besides, using electromagnetic force for acceleration... Leo Ash's mastery of the Herrscher of Thunder's authority is higher than I thought.*
*But none of that matters now.*
*We're no match for this man at the moment, so a temporary retreat is the best course of action. After we regroup, we can challenge him again.*
*For now... just run.*
And so, while Kevin was still offline, Leo Ash and Durandal, carrying Yuna and Mei respectively, used electromagnetic acceleration to flee wildly toward the exit of Jiuyou.
*Sigh, we're running now, but Kevin has a Quantum Teleportation System.*
*Judging by how he just appeared out of nowhere, even if we run...*
*We're just stalling for time in the end.*
*Once we're on the transport ship, Kevin will just slice the ship in half, and we'll have to fight anyway.*
*It hasn't even been two minutes since Kevin appeared.*
*Reinforcements not arriving in two minutes—that's normal!*
As he sprinted frantically, Leo Ash recalled a feeling he thought he might have forgotten.
Even though the Kevin before him had only absorbed half of Chiyou's power, facing him directly, Leo Ash had to admit that even after playing all his cards, he still felt a sense of powerlessness.
*Sigh, maybe I should just surrender when Kevin wakes up.*
*He won't kill me anyway. If I stop resisting...*
*Holy crap!*
They hadn't run for more than a few seconds before Leo Ash and Durandal both screeched to a halt.
It wasn't because they were suddenly tired, but because they could no longer even perform the simple act of lifting their feet.
As they used their energy to shatter the ice on their legs, they both glanced back at Kevin.
From a distance, Leo Ash saw the very thing he had least wanted to see.
Kevin, whose eyes had been vacant just moments ago, had now opened them.
..
Several seconds earlier
When Kevin opened his eyes again, he saw a sight he hadn't seen in a very long time.
Before him, the colossal body of the Herrscher of Finality was starting to crumble under the bombardment of the Moonlight Throne and his own strike from the Might of An-Utu.
"Kevin! One more time, Zeroth Power!"
"The Herrscher of Finality's energy is draining rapidly! As long as we can deplete its energy faster than it can recover, we have a chance to suppress it!"
Hearing Su's combat instructions from HQ, Kevin found it all utterly absurd.
*Was the Herrscher of Finality an opponent that could be defeated so easily?*
But seeing the enemy's body truly crumbling before him, Kevin quickly stopped overthinking and frantically drained his own life force, focusing all the power the Chimera had given him into the Might of An-Utu in his hands.
"Might of An-Utu..."
"—Unleashed!"
Following Kevin's fierce war cry, the other MANTISes still on the field also unleashed their final reserves of power, launching a final assault on the Herrscher of Finality.
As a blinding light swallowed everyone's vision, an exhausted Kevin finally succumbed to his overexertion and collapsed into unconsciousness.
..
When Kevin awoke, he still felt that something was wrong.
But when he saw Mei lying in another hospital bed, he became so anxious that he ignored his own discomfort.
"Mei!"
As he tried to get up from the bed, Kevin suddenly realized that he, who was once supremely powerful, now found it difficult to even stand.
"Kevin, don't move."
Hearing the commotion, Su, dressed in a white lab coat, immediately rushed to Kevin's side and said helplessly.
"Your body hasn't recovered yet. Just lie down for now."
Seeing the relaxed expression on his friend's face, Kevin felt that something wasn't right.
"...Su, what about the Herrscher of Finality?"
"Mm, it's normal for you to be concerned about that. After all, you've been asleep for several days since your battle with it."
"Lie down first. I'll tell you everything that's happened."
After Kevin lay down, he learned from Su what had transpired after he unleashed that final strike.
First, the Herrscher of Finality had not been completely destroyed, but had entered a more severe state of shutdown.
Kevin's repeated use of Might of An-Utu Unleashed, combined with the power of the Moonlight Throne, had inflicted severe damage upon it. Its energy recovery speed was now as slow as a crawling turtle compared to its peak.
Although humanity had not yet completely defeated the Honkai, seeing even Finality beaten into a shutdown state brought a huge sigh of relief to everyone who had been preparing for the worst.
Of course, the researchers were still studying ways to continue suppressing the Herrscher, and other personnel were working hard for the future.
But in any case, compared to the past despair that led to the execution of 'Project Sanctuary', the fact that everyone could now strive for the future was an outcome beyond all expectations.
As for why Kevin and Mei were here, it was simply because they had both pushed themselves too hard.
Kevin's final strike had caused all the Honkai Beast factors within him to resonate with the Herrscher core inside Might of An-Utu.
Under the resonance of the Power of Chimera and Might of An-Utu, Kevin's final attack had literally drained all of his power.
After that, his power level began to plummet, and as of today, his personal strength had returned to what it was before he joined Fire Moth.
The reason he was currently unstable on his feet wasn't because he was too weak to stand, but simply because he hadn't adapted to this new body yet.
As for Mei, because she had used the Blank Key to connect to three Herrscher cores in a short period, her body had long been in trouble.
She had only endured the pain because Finality was approaching, leading everyone to find a solution to the crisis without treating her own body in time.
Only after confirming that Finality was temporarily neutralized did the ever-diligent Mei finally relax enough to collapse.
As for whether Mei's body could be healed...
"It's not impossible, but she absolutely cannot let her condition worsen any further."
After saying this, a teasing smile appeared on Su's face.
"Alright, don't make that face."
"You two have worked hard enough. Leave the rest to us."
"Kevin, you're no longer a 'Cold, Handsome Man'... well, I won't say any more."
With that, Su quickly left Kevin's sight.
Reflecting on Su's words, Kevin incredulously touched a nearby object and was shocked to find that it remained normal, not frozen by his ice power as it should have been.
"I'm..."
Upon hearing the sound, Mei, who had been sleeping, slowly opened her eyes and looked at her lover.
"Kevin, I..."
But under Kevin's gaze, Mei suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
In the next moment...
The two, who should have been unable to embrace, held each other tightly in the private infirmary.
...
In the time that followed, the members of Fire Moth methodically arranged for humanity's revival and the suppression of Finality.
Although some complained, 'This seems even more tiring than fighting the Honkai,' or 'Ah, Project Sanctuary was built for nothing, what a waste of resources,' everyone knew that complaining was just a way to vent. No one truly felt resentful.
After all, compared to the despair of 'hibernating and entrusting the future to the next era,' being able to continue fighting for the future was something beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
After the initial work of humanity's revival was complete, a small, happy event occurred within Fire Moth.
In a church, Kevin and Mei held a grand wedding.
Looking at the joyous face of his wife beside him, Kevin still felt that something was not quite right.
But...
*Isn't this the future I've always wanted?*
After that, Kevin lived through a dreamlike time.
He and Mei were happily married and gave their son, Adam, a little sister.
And Finality, beaten into a shutdown, was finally sealed completely through everyone's efforts.
Everything was moving toward the future Kevin had yearned for.
Until one day, as Kevin watched Mei making him breakfast, he suddenly started walking.
"Dear?"
Seeing her beloved suddenly walk toward the door without a word, Mei hurriedly followed him and asked.
"Breakfast is almost ready."
"Thank you."
"But... I have to go."
At that moment, Kevin did not look back at the 'lover' behind him.
Even though he had already sensed the abnormality, he still didn't want to see a sad expression on her face.
But in that instant, Kevin felt himself being embraced by his 'lover' from behind once more.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes, there are things I have to do."
"I see. It can't be helped."
In that moment, the clothes on their bodies and the surrounding environment underwent a bizarre transformation.
The two, who had been in casual wear, were once again dressed in the combat suits and lab coats they wore when fighting the Honkai.
And the cold air that shouldn't have been there began to emanate from Kevin's body once more.
Ignoring the frost on Kevin's body that was cold enough to injure her, Mei held him and whispered.
"Keep going, Kevin."
*Yes, those were the last words Mei ever said to me.*
*This dream was too beautiful. Perhaps, in my heart, I had always longed for these things to happen before my very eyes.*
*But a dream is still just a dream.*
*Mei is dead.*
*Everyone is dead.*
*The Herrscher of Finality is still preparing to reap humanity's lives.*
*And I...*
*—must stand up and stop it all!*
As Kevin reclaimed his consciousness from the Phantasmagoria, everything around him dissolved into nothingness.
Returning to reality, the first thing he felt was the pain from his body and a sharp ache in his brain.
At his peak, not even Fu Hua with Fenghuang Down could affect Kevin's senses.
But Kevin's current power was not what it used to be, and Leo Ash's Phantasmagoria Sword God was truly far too strong.
Leo Ash's attack had fused the powers of two Herrschers. From a Honkai Energy perspective alone, this strike, combining the mental assault of Phantasmagoria with two Herrscher-level energies, was enough to surpass Fenghuang Down at its peak.
At the same time, Phantasmagoria's 'energy weakening' property was constantly trying to suppress Kevin's own energy levels.
The [Power of the Lord of Dread's Glyph], [mana], [Dimensional Energy], and other forces mixed into this attack were relentlessly trying to tear Kevin's body apart.
So although Kevin appeared to have only suffered minor damage and a brief mental disruption...
Only Kevin himself knew that the wound Leo Ash's sword had inflicted was actually terrifyingly severe.
It wasn't enough to defeat the current Kevin. In fact, given some time, he could not only suppress the injuries but also use his super-variable factors to repair his body to an even more perfect state.
However, it was more than enough to move him.
Kevin wasn't angry about the vision he had seen in the illusion.
In Leo Ash's eyes, Kevin was the enemy.
And using any means necessary against an enemy was perfectly reasonable.
Moreover, Leo Ash had demonstrated strength far greater than Kevin had imagined.
If Kevin's personality hadn't changed so drastically due to his past experiences, the old, cheerful boy he once was would probably have shouted to old friends like Su and Hua, 'Guys, I've found a real gem!'
*Leo Ash, not only did he not disappoint me, I actually underestimated his power.*
*So now...*
"The others can go, but you can't."
This time, facing the four who were already fleeing frantically, Kevin mercilessly unleashed his full ice power, freezing the ankles of Leo Ash and Durandal.
"Leo Ash, stay. Come back to World Serpent with me."
"You now have the right to enter that place."
"I promise you, after you enter that place, you will obtain what you desire."
Hearing Kevin's words, Leo Ash believed him.
But Durandal, on the other hand, didn't believe a single word he said.
"Leo Ash! This guy is definitely up to no good!"
"I'll cover our retreat, you take Mei and Yuna and—what are you doing!"
Seeing Leo Ash toss Yuna to her, Durandal said furiously.
"This guy can't be trusted! Why don't you understand!"
*He actually doesn't intend to kill me.*
*In fact, in a way, he probably wishes someone would kill him.*
*But saying that now is useless... I need to find a way to send Bianka away.*
*If we keep fighting now, our side, with two exhausted Herrschers, will be wiped out, and that will complicate many things.*
*If I go, I won't die, and I can ensure that everyone else has enough fighting strength left...*
*What a pain. I really don't want to act anymore.*
*But I have no choice. I have to think of some nonsense to spin.*
"You retreat first. Only if you use Abyss Flower to heal those two will we have a chance of winning any future battles."
"Instead of being wiped out here and now, preserving the embers of our fighting strength is what you should be doing."
Using the Herrscher of Thunder's authority to once again imbue power into Durandal's legs, Leo Ash told her solemnly.
"Running away is for a better victory, and—I'm really afraid of dying."
"My life depends on how fast you can heal them—Go!"
Though Durandal was filled with reluctance, faced with Leo Ash's words, she ultimately chose to obey.
As Durandal resumed her sprint, Leo Ash completely disarmed himself and stood calmly in place, quietly waiting for Kevin to approach.
"You... you really believe what I said?"
Seeing Leo Ash's posture, Kevin felt that something was amiss.
"Yeah, I can't beat you anyway. Surrendering obediently might actually be a way to live. Why would I want to fight you to the death right now?"
*That makes sense.*
*But those words... heh, I almost fell for it.*
Facing the seemingly completely relaxed young man, Kevin didn't say much, but a thought had already formed in his mind.
As the strongest person in history, Kevin was arguably the most knowledgeable person when it came to the application of Honkai Energy, bar none.
That was why he could sense that Leo Ash's sword strike contained energies completely different from Honkai Energy.
Faced with such a promising young talent who was full of secrets and, according to Gray Serpent's intel, 'appeared to be resourceful and cunning,' Kevin naturally wouldn't believe he was sincerely surrendering just because he couldn't win.
Instead of 'Leo Ash surrendering,' Kevin was more inclined to believe that Leo Ash was 'feigning surrender.'
Leo Ash was a talent with great potential, but the current Leo Ash was not yet strong enough to surpass him.
Therefore, to avoid trouble, it was best to incapacitate him first before bringing him back to World Serpent headquarters.
With World Serpent's medical systems, he could fully heal from any injuries in just a few days.
*So, Leo Ash...*
*—Sorry about this!*
In that instant, Leo Ash, having sensed that Kevin was inexplicably about to strike, raised a mana shield at top speed.
Unfortunately, against a fully serious Kevin who had already been caught off guard once, Leo Ash's defense was utterly useless and was shattered instantly by Might of An-Utu.
Durandal, who was just about to find a place to start healing her teammates, became fully alert upon seeing another spatial fluctuation up ahead.
But soon, upon seeing who had arrived, the once vigilant Durandal cried out in shock.
"Isla?! What are you doing here!"
"No, wait, this isn't the time to think about that! It's dangerous here, you need to quickly—"
However, Isla Ash offered no response to Durandal's warning.
At that moment, a 'squelch' echoed through the space of Jiuyou.
Isla Ash, clutching the [Key of Binding], witnessed the scene she had least wanted to see.
"Dad!"
Before Isla's very eyes...
—Kevin, determined to injure Leo Ash before taking him back to World Serpent, had pierced his body with the Might of An-Utu.
And with Kevin's action, a wave of energy that should not have existed here...
—suddenly spread out in all directions.
Despite the shocking scene, at that moment, everyone present...
Durandal, Yuna, Mei, Isla, and even Kevin himself, all inexplicably felt the same thing.
Due to this sudden wave of energy, they were all experiencing—an emotion called fear?!!!
.....