More than 1,500 years ago, Kevin had been attacked by Divine Keys.
At that time, Su, in order to stop Kevin's resolute implementation of the Stigmata Project—an act that would undoubtedly kill countless people—chose to fight Kevin within the Seed of Sumeru.
It was true that Su, using Abyss Flower and Star of Eden, inflicted some damage on Kevin in that battle, but this damage only had a minor effect before Kevin healed it directly with his super-variable factors.
And at that time, Kevin hadn't even used [Parvati], let alone [Chimera].
With his defensive power, even the Seven Thunders of Retribution, which was stronger in pure destructive power than Abyss Flower, couldn't have easily breached Diabolic Kevin's defense without unleashing its rated power.
But now, feeling the cold long blade pierce into his body, Kevin, no matter how shocked, could not deny this fact that had already occurred.
The Divine Key, which originally couldn't even break through his defense, had just easily inflicted a wound on him.
The power of the Divine Key hadn't changed, so the biggest variable was indeed the person.
After Leo Ash connected the Seven Thunders of Retribution with the Blank Key, he had obtained the power befitting the [Herrscher of Thunder]...
But that was far from enough.
I just felt my power was weakened by this strange barrier, but now that this stab has landed, I must admit my judgment was flawed.
If this barrier can weaken me this much when placed on me, what if others were to face this barrier...
How much power would they have left inside it?
At this moment, the people outside, due to the slowing of time within the Phantasmagoria, could easily see the movements they originally couldn't capture with their naked eyes.
Watching Kevin's defense being broken by Leo Ash's stab, Vill-V, the creator of the Seven Thunders of Retribution, felt as if she were hallucinating.
Others might not know the destructive power of Seven Thunders, but as its creator, she certainly knew the specific strength of this Divine Key.
And now, Kevin, possessing the Power of Chimera, was stabbed clean through by Leo Ash. Vill-V, who had once dedicated herself to creating an [Anti-Kevin-Armament], felt very complicated right now.
She had worked so hard for so long, only for someone to jump out and tell her with facts—Hey sis, your way is wrong, watch me stab Kevin to death!
As victims who had been beaten up more than once, everyone had a pretty good idea of how strong Leo Ash was.
But now, glancing at the Core in Elysia's hand, Vill-V was certain that Leo Ash was definitely not using the power of Binding.
Without using the power of Binding, he had stabbed Chimera Kevin through right at the start...
Although Leo Ash hadn't won yet, Vill-V felt like she had already seen the outcome of this battle.
It wasn't that she didn't want to have faith in her comrade Kevin. The problem was, this was only the second move of the fight. Leo Ash was perfectly fine, while Kevin, who should have been suppressing Leo Ash, had been stabbed. The facts were right in front of her; she couldn't just blindly believe in Kevin.
However, as the 'victim' of this blow, although Kevin was indeed pierced by Leo Ash's blade, after the momentary surprise faded, he, who had intended to counter-attack immediately, suddenly felt something was wrong.
Power.
A power different from Honkai Energy was, at this moment, flowing into his body along with the blade.
This power wasn't here to destroy me. On the contrary...
—My weakened combat power is actually being *strengthened* by this stab?
Feeling that this stab was becoming more and more strange, Kevin immediately pulled back, retreating from Leo Ash's sight, and silently watched Leo Ash from several meters away.
Honestly, with Leo Ash's skills, it would have been easy for him to follow up with an attack at that moment.
But he didn't. Instead, he allowed Kevin to retreat to a relatively safe location.
"Did you feel it, Kevin?"
Lightly swinging the blade in his hand, scattering the cold blood onto the ground, Leo Ash spoke calmly to Kevin.
"To make you give up the Stigmata Project, just defeating you is definitely not enough."
"So today, after abandoning the Binding Core, I directly showed you these two powers."
Looking at Leo Ash, who had completely given up his offensive stance, Kevin recalled the sensation from just now and murmured as if to himself.
"A special barrier that weakens energy and slows time, and... this special power that strengthens living beings."
"Are you trying to say that these two special energies, in your hands, are enough to become the trump cards to break the stalemate?"
"Yes, with some other special methods assisting, but that's the general idea."
Looking at Kevin, whose expression had clearly changed, Leo Ash asked him.
"Honestly, I was planning to dismember you today to prove I was right, but seriously, after starting, I suddenly feel that's very meaningless."
"You're not Otto. Cutting you up doesn't seem like it would bring me any pleasure. Rather than dicing you now, showing my power and then pulling you to my side to help me... that seems like what I should be doing."
"Is that so... But just this—is clearly not enough!"
Feeling the power within his body constantly stimulating him, Kevin immediately gathered this energy into his right hand and channeled it into the Judgment of Shamash.
And at that moment, the Judgment of Shamash, already in An-Utu mode, erupted in an incomparably terrifying golden light.
Kevin could feel that this power Leo Ash had transferred to him was, in essence, incomparably strong.
This special energy, completely different from Honkai Energy, not only gave him stronger combat power but also increased his recovery ability.
Although Kevin's Power of Chimera was truly suppressed right now, the new power combined with the suppressed Chimera power actually allowed him to unleash even greater destructive force than before.
But this was not enough.
If the opponent is the Cocoon of Finality, this level of 'enhancement' is not enough!
Kevin, forcing himself to bear that responsibility, couldn't just entrust everything to Leo Ash, even after seeing this new possibility.
If Leo Ash wanted to prove he had the ability to solve the Cocoon of Finality, it must begin with the 'defeat of Kevin' as a wedge to start a new story.
Since he dared to entrust this power to me, making me even stronger, this is enough to show that he himself has this confidence.
Then now...
"Leo Ash, there's no need to drag this out any longer."
"Yes, there really is no need to drag this out any longer."
At this moment, as if to prove something, Leo Ash, who had completely abandoned Honkai Energy, tossed the Seven Thunders of Retribution aside and simultaneously put away the Blank Key.
And at the same time, pouring extremely strong Dimensional Energy into his fingers, this time Leo Ash didn't mix various energies, but directly used the purest Dimensional Energy to unleash that ultimate move.
"Special... Beam Cannon!"
Facing this blow, Kevin, who had already used An-Utu Unleashed, actually felt the greatsword in his hand begin to show 'surface damage' from the aftershock of that power, even before it collided with the enemy's ultimate attack.
One must know that the Judgment of Shamash, as the [Key of Destruction] with the most destructive power, not only possessed terrifying destructive force but also had incomparably frightening defensive power, as it had to withstand that same force.
This was not some one-time-use weapon. Every time the Judgment of Shamash was activated, if there was battle damage, it would absolutely be the warrior swinging the greatsword who was damaged, not the Divine Key bearing the name [Destruction].
But now, just the aftershock, before the attack even expanded, had already caused cracks to appear on the Judgment of Shamash in An-Utu mode.
"An-Utu... Unleashed!"
Following Kevin's roar, gilded flames erupted from An-Utu, charging directly toward Leo Ash's Special Beam Cannon.
Only, this 'beam clash' didn't last long at all.
In just an instant, the Special Beam Cannon had already broken through the strongest attack Judgment of Shamash had ever produced since its birth, and its aftershock directly pierced Kevin's body.
Although experts clashing often didn't require much boring probing, everyone, including Elysia who already knew Leo Ash's intentions, never expected this battle to end so quickly.
Kevin, whose body was pierced, was now so heavily injured that he directly reverted from his Chimera form, changing back to his previous human state.
"This... how... is this possible..."
Kevin, now struck down to the ground, had never imagined that he, having become even stronger, would be instantly killed by Leo Ash in this moment.
He had absolutely no intention of holding back, and though he had held expectations for Leo Ash a moment ago, he had indeed attacked with the premise of [killing Leo Ash].
Kevin firmly believed Leo Ash could block his attack, but he never expected that the one to be counter-killed would be himself.
"Wait... is that how it is?"
Noticing that his heavily injured body was rapidly repairing itself again, Kevin finally realized why he had been defeated so easily.
Afterward, a bitter smile finally appeared on his face.
He wasn't wrong. Leo Ash had indeed shown him some possibilities in this battle.
But because of what Leo Ash said earlier ('Rather than dicing you now, showing my power and then pulling you to my side to help me... that seems like what I should be doing'), he had subconsciously believed that Leo Ash had defined this battle as an [Exhibition Match].
But unfortunately, in hindsight, this was clearly just Leo Ash's rhetoric.
Leo Ash did intend to display sufficient power to try and pull Kevin to his side, but the problem was, he never seemed to have said he intended to defeat Kevin fair and square.
Kevin's impression of Leo Ash: He's too lazy to bother with winning or losing; he'll just lay out his plan through combat and let Kevin know his plan is better.
But the actual Leo Ash: Settle Kevin first, then talk about the rest later.
It was precisely because of the implication in Leo Ash's words that Kevin immediately used the power Leo Ash had 'given' him, trying to force Leo Ash to use even stronger power to suppress him, this 'stumbling block'.
But looking back now, the words Leo Ash spoke were clearly intended to deliberately mislead Kevin.
Kevin's final blow was indeed the strongest attack the Judgment of Shamash could produce, but the special power [Dimensional Energy] attached to it was a 'gift' from Leo Ash.
This energy had only just left Leo Ash's body; it was still within Leo Ash's range of control.
By making this power, contained within An-Utu Unleashed, directly merge with the Special Beam Cannon upon collision to strengthen it, Kevin's strongest attack instead became a special BUFF for Leo Ash's Special Beam Cannon.
And as the Special Beam Cannon hit Kevin, Leo Ash detonated the Dimensional Energy inside Kevin's body in the most brutal way. Attacked from both front and back, Kevin, already suppressed by the Phantasmagoria, naturally fell in a very miserable state.
However, what relieved Kevin was that, judging from the fact Leo Ash didn't press the kill, he at least truly only intended to display his power and methods, not to kill Kevin.
Otherwise, with his weakened Power of Chimera, Kevin probably wouldn't be able to repair his body so quickly.
The reason Kevin's body could still recover quickly after being forced out of his Diabolic state wasn't because he was tough, but because this special power, after injuring Kevin, was actually repairing his body again.
"Sorry for tricking you, but in my eyes, this was the fastest way to show that possibility."
After walking up to Kevin, Leo Ash looked indifferently at Kevin, whose body he had repaired and who once again had the strength to fight.
"If you want to continue, I will, of course, accompany you, but now..."
"—Do you think there's truly any meaning in that?"
"...There's no longer any need to fight."
Standing up from the ground, Kevin let out a light breath and said to Leo Ash.
"A special ability that slows time, a powerful energy with both destructive and regenerative properties. The former is enough to suppress me in my Diabolic state, and the latter has shown me even more possibilities."
"But, even knowing these things, I still can't completely understand what your plan is. In the end..."
"—Because right now, I haven't assembled all the trump cards yet."
Dispelling the Phantasmagoria, Leo Ash looked at Elysia outside the barrier.
"For the current me, I still lack the Authority of the [Backdoor] and the [Herrscher of Origin]."
"It takes time to explore these powers, so—stop delaying. After I finish explaining the rough plan, just hand the powers over to me."
.....