But, even if Kevin realized the situation was bad, it was already too late.
The three who had been sucked to Leo's side had not given up resisting.
Although their attacks just now had been ineffective, it didn't mean the enemy before them was completely invincible.
Especially for Kalpas. He couldn't be bothered to think that much.
In his mind, Leo had only blocked their attacks because he was prepared to defend.
And a Herrscher's defensive preparations, to put it bluntly, were just relying on Honkai Energy to strengthen themselves or activating the Imaginary Barrier that all Herrschers had.
In Kalpas's eyes, he didn't care which it was.
If the enemy's defense was strong, he just had to use a stronger attack to break it.
He didn't know why Leo wasn't using the Field of Binding against them at this stage.
But an opening was an opening. Thinking too much at a time like this and missing an opportunity due to hesitation was not something Kalpas would do.
As for Kosma and Kevin, although their thoughts weren't as pure as Kalpas's, they also launched another attack after being pulled in by Leo.
The enemy was clearly difficult to deal with. And for him to dare pull the three of them in at a time like this, he had obviously already prepared his follow-up.
Only by using stronger, faster attacks to interrupt his follow-up rhythm would the three of them have a chance...
—to save their comrades and get out of here.
That's right. With things having reached this point, Kevin had already silently changed his battle plan.
He certainly didn't plan to let the enemy continue corrupting the Elysian Realm, but now, the enemy was clearly prepared for their surprise attack.
Against such a strong and apparently quick-witted opponent, Kevin felt they should wait until everyone was gathered to discuss a counter-strategy before acting again.
And to be frank, Kevin felt that a large part of why the situation had gotten so bad today was that this group of 'memories' hadn't gathered together right from the start.
There was no point in regret now, but if possible, he definitely wanted to save Su and Elysia, have everyone retreat, and then find another chance to stage a comeback.
Kosma wasn't thinking about all that like Kevin, but he knew very well that if he didn't coordinate with the two beside him and continue attacking, they would truly have no chance left.
The enemy dared to pull them over, which meant he hadn't used his follow-up move yet. And that move...
Considering both Su and Elysia were hung on crosses in an extremely short amount of time, Kosma felt it was best not to be too optimistic.
But unfortunately...
Although Kalpas's idea of "if their defense doesn't break, just keep hitting them until it does" wasn't wrong in theory...
Although Kevin's idea of "where there's life, there's hope" also wasn't wrong in theory...
Although Kosma's idea of "coordinate with comrades and continue the assault" was even more correct...
But at this moment, facing Leo, who had already activated the three [Dominus] Glyphs, none of their ideas mattered.
Grand Cross. This was the ultimate technique passed down through generations of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters.
This move, activated with one's own mana, not only possessed extremely powerful destructive force, but the radiant cross that exploded behind the user also held the concept of [Holy Attribute].
At the same time, the [Dominus] Glyph was also a power from the Castlevania worldview. The source of this glyph's power was the Belmont clan's mortal enemy, [Dracula the Vampire].
From the moment this glyph was born, the powerful mana it contained possessed an [Evil] aura.
Now, Leo, having used the three great glyphs to temporarily enter a "Demon Lord" state, had naturally also switched to a [Evil]-aligned state in terms of his mana attribute.
So, what would be the result of using [Evil] mana to power a [Holy] cross?
The answer was soon revealed to everyone.
As these two conflicting powers merged, the Grand Cross behind Leo exploded.
Before the three of them even launched their follow-up assault, Leo knew that Grand Cross's invincibility buff wouldn't last that long.
He had used the game-like mechanics to trick them the first time, but he clearly couldn't use the same method to block a second wave.
So this time, Leo didn't hesitate, directly using these two conflicting powers to detonate the already immensely powerful cross.
All four of them, including Leo, were simultaneously swept into the energy storm from the cross's explosion.
But Leo, as the one who caused the storm, was naturally affected far less than the other three.
Compared to the other three who were sent flying, Leo, still standing in place, suddenly discovered...
"Hoh, truly watertight."
At some unknown time, his feet had been encased in ice.
When Kevin launched his assault, he hadn't forgotten to try and restrict Leo in other ways.
Although Leo could break the ice on his feet at any time, the moment he did so, Kevin's goal of distracting him would be achieved.
If the plan went smoothly, after distracting Leo, Kevin would have had a chance to lead his two comrades in a counter-attack.
The problem was, now that all three had been blown away, they had not only suffered considerable injuries but were once again at a distance from Leo.
Now, even if they wanted to trade blows, they needed time to close the distance to Leo.
But Leo wasn't about to give them that chance.
"Alright, the farce is over."
After the three of them broke their fall, Leo looked at them as they prepared to counter-attack again and snapped his fingers lightly.
"Did you all forget something? I'm the Herrscher of Binding."
"I'm not an idiot. Why would I leave such a strong Authority unused and keep fighting you three simpletons to the death?"
The moment Leo said this, the three of them instinctively sensed that danger had descended.
But at this moment, the power Leo had been silently pouring into the ground had already formed countless iron chains, binding the three of them tightly.
Kosma was fine, but the number of chains on Kevin, the strongest of the Previous Era, and Kalpas, the restless, unruly hothead, clearly surpassed the number of chains on Su.
And after being bound by the chains, the three of them discovered with great sorrow...
—They hadn't even exchanged more than a few blows, so how had they, just like Su and Elysia, been hung up on crosses by him???
Just as Leo had said, he wasn't an idiot. He naturally wouldn't leave a powerful ability like the Field of Binding unused.
From the beginning, Leo hadn't released this power, clearly for other reasons.
In order to take out the other stubborn elements in the Elysian Realm in one go, he had to make the others think 'we can win'.
If he had activated the field from the start, Kevin, Kalpas, Kosma, and Hua would absolutely not have launched a direct assault.
So, from the beginning, Leo had been putting on an act of 'Ah, I'm too lazy to keep this field active', just to see if he could bait a few fish.
Facts proved that although his method was simple, it was really effective.
Under the hints he gave through his actions, these four really did form the idea that the Herrscher of Binding was 'being too arrogant', and they launched a direct assault on Leo.
The problem was, how could someone like Leo, who had clawed his way up from the bottom, be an idiot who didn't know how to use his power?
Leo, who had long ago set a trap for the four, used Grand Cross to 'i-frame' the first wave, then used the attribute conflict to detonate the cross, easily injuring the three and weakening their combat power.
And after weakening their combat power, the crosses and chains created by the Herrscher of Binding's Authority could more smoothly hang the three of them in mid-air.
Although it seemed like a lot of thought went into it, to put it bluntly, Leo just used Grand Cross to block their attacks, sent them flying, and then hung them up.
In less than two seconds, Hua, who was still trying to control Leo's mind again, just stared blankly as all of her teammates were hung up on the spot by Leo, becoming Bai Ciman No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5.
"Ah, battle over."
Looking at Hua, who had frozen for a second before taking a combat stance, Leo said helplessly.
"Miss Hua, I have no intention of being your enemy. Besides..."
"—At this point, you don't really think you and Fenghuang Down can still make any waves in front of me, do you?"
"...How will I know if I don't try!"
Facing Hua, who was full of fighting spirit but clearly just putting on a brave face, Leo felt a real headache coming on.
He really didn't want to fight her. But in this situation, if he didn't make a move, Hua would most likely fight him for her comrades' sake.
Sigh. How annoying.
Even though she's a memory, having a 'domestic dispute' at a time like this really isn't pleasant.
On the other side, Sakura, who had just seen Kevin and the others charge over only to be instantly defeated, blinked her vacant eyes, then rubbed them.
Then, after lightly patting her own cheeks, Miss Sakura hadto admit that she was, in fact, wide awake.
So, her brother-in-law, facing an assault from Kevin, Kosma, and Kalpas, took out her comrades in just two moves???
And now, Sakura, already starting her after-action review, realized that her brother-in-law had probably been baiting them from the very beginning.
The thought that her brother-in-law not only possessed strength far beyond her imagination but was also far more manipulative than she'd imagined made Sakura's heart grow even more worried.
She was worried about her comrades, of course, but in this situation, worrying was useless.
Rin's husband had attacked them, but he hadn't tried to kill them all, so the situation wasn't irreversible.
So, what Sakura was truly worried about now was...
Rin's partner was this kind of person, who looked kind but was actually ruthless. Her future... would it really be okay?
"Sister..."
Seeing the rapidly changing expressions on Sakura's face, Rin could only feel that her sister must be imagining all sorts of strange things.
"I don't know what you're imagining, but I really think you've gotten the wrong idea about something!"
"Rin..."
Sakura stared at her sister and sighed helplessly.
"Can't you just ask your husband not to be so harsh with my comrades?"
"First, Sister, you need to be clear on one thing—the most Leo will do for my sake is not touch you. I don't get a say in what happens to the others."
"Second..."
Rin, having been misunderstood by Sakura, pointed irritably at Hua, who was still in a standoff with Leo, and said.
"Who's his wife!!!"
"If you have to say it, it's the original Hua from the real world over there who has a messy relationship with him!"
???
!!!
"What did you say???"
"When did you find out!!!"
Hua, hearing Leo's utterly shocked words, froze completely.
Wait, he didn't deny it???
In that case...
—What Rin said is true???
Although it was clearly difficult for Hua to use Fenghuang Down to control Leo again, it wasn't hard for her to use it to sense his emotions.
And, very awkwardly, she felt that Leo's current shocked expression was clearly not an act.
He was serious.
So, he and I...
"Huh? What's with that attitude?"
Looking at the stunned Leo, the misunderstood Rin snapped.
"You two haven't publicly announced your relationship, but the problem is, just from the looks you two occasionally give each other, anyone remotely close to you can tell you're already together."
"...You mean, Kiana and the others all know?"
Seeing Leo's extremely awkward reaction, Rin gave him a disgusted look and continued to twist the knife.
"Forget Kiana. Right now..."
"—I bet even Mike and the others know."
"Everyone just hasn't spread it around out of respect for the Archbishop. You two..."
"—You really thought you were hiding it well, didn't you?"
......