The anchor point closed, and Mei's shocked expression vanished into the air.
The black figure's distorted posture and diagonally twisted attack came to an abrupt stop after cutting Lin in half at the waist. Her neck was bent at an impossible angle as she looked at Lin, who had been cleaved in two by her.
She didn't feel the impact of a solid object.
"Lin's" body scattered as it fell, the light and sound effects completing their final task and disappearing into the air. Meanwhile, another person charged in from the back before the light particles had fully faded.
"Thwack—"
The black figure belatedly tried to swing her scythe again, but the person's speed was a little too fast for her reaction. Before she could even raise her hand, she was kicked in the back of her hand by the opponent, and the terrifying, strange force made the scythe fly out of her grip.
The calm, azure viewing screen lit up at this moment. Lin grabbed the black figure's head, lifting her from the ground.
The scattered black mist around them tried to protect the black figure, attacking Lin who had seized her. But when they were half-way to gathering on Lin, the Abyss Flower and Black Abyss, combined on his other hand, emitted a dazzling white light, instantly dispersing the black mist.
After the black mist cleared, the true appearance of the black figure, held by Lin, was revealed.
"…"
No one could see the expression beneath Lin's helmet.
He had too much surprise and confusion in the brief second he stared into the black figure's eyes. In the black figure's reflection, he saw his own cold, ruthless self—a person wearing a helmet, without a face.
For a moment, he even had the illusion that he should sit down and talk with this person; perhaps…
Fortunately, there were no "perhaps," and there was no need for such hesitation.
"Clang!"
The Abyss Flower blocked the sharp claw attack aimed at his heart. Another claw stabbed toward his face. Lin was forced to let go and retreat.
As the distance widened, the black mist, thick with the aura of death, reappeared, and this time its speed was extremely fast, nearly filling the entire space in a few seconds.
The scythe he had knocked away had disappeared. In the black figure's hand were a pair of floating, crimson sharp claws. Lin quickly calculated the time the black mist needed to envelop the entire space and realized that fighting in this area would be extremely restricted, giving the black figure too much of an advantage.
So, after dodging the claws once more, Lin plunged the Black Abyss and Abyss Flower into the ground. A towering tree violently shot up from the crack in the floor, binding the black figure with branches and restraining her atop the tree crown, nearly a hundred meters high.
The moment the tree touched the black mist, it began to wither and decay. Lin knew this wouldn't be of much use against the black figure, but it was enough for him to change the location of the battle.
The size of each space in the Elysian Realm is different. Places like the laboratory, the sacrificial chamber, and the resting room are relatively small spaces, as their owners were the source of these spaces' memories, and were generally introverted.
However, there were many more specialized combat arenas in the Elysian Realm.
Lin's authority allowed him to close and open space anchor points, but the black figure's movements had previously ignored the transfer anchor points, traversing between spaces like an electronic phantom. Lin only managed to track her down after she focused on Raiden Mei.
A transfer anchor point opened behind him. He leaped into it, and then the anchor point reappeared at the top of the giant tree, swallowing the black figure.
"Boom!"
The two landed together in the boundless space where "Lin" once resided. Without giving Lin much time, the black figure immediately lunged forward with her blade, her killing intent raging.
Lin wielded his lance with practiced ease, parrying the attacks without fault amidst the flashes of blade light. He observed whether the black figure's movements and abilities were the same as in his memory.
The movements were identical.
Although the Authority of Creation was not used, the Authority of Decay, aside from being less powerful, was exactly the same.
It was essentially impossible to fight against a genuine Herrscher Authority with a false Divine Key, so Lin tentatively concluded that the black figure was also just a pseudo-Herrscher, her existence much like his own—merely a memory body.
However, the existence of a Herrscher memory body in the Elysian Realm was information he should definitely know.
And the information he didn't know was absolutely unknown to anyone else in the Elysian Realm.
Therefore, the problem lay outside the Elysian Realm.
World Serpent? Or Raiden Mei?
Lin tilted his head, landed a swinging punch that smashed the black figure into the ground, and followed up with a kick that sent her flying a hundred meters away.
No, this was likely not a problem of the "present."
Upon noticing the black figure's form and apparent self-awareness, Lin ruled out the possibility of a change in the Current Era. The black figure's appearance should be related to the Previous Era, and more than likely, an extraneous situation occurred during the memory synchronization between the original body and the memory body.
The high-level executives of Moth's Flame…
No, they couldn't interfere with the Elysian Realm.
Then it could only be… Mei?
The black figure's power was not at its full strength. The Black Abyss and Abyss Flower in Lin's hands were also merely replicas. Logically, Raiden Mei, as a Perfect Herrscher, should be able to contribute a lot of power in this battle, but Lin always felt that things were not that simple.
Was something missed?
Just as Lin and the black figure were fiercely fighting, another figure silently appeared behind him.
…
Where is this?
"She" walked aimlessly on the narrow path. The amusement park had many similar small paths. This slightly tranquil path was a resting place for visitors who wanted to enjoy a moment of peace after playing.
The cobblestone path underfoot was uneven. "Her" shoeless feet felt a little prickly when stepping on it, but the moment "she" developed the concept of pain, the pain in her feet instantly vanished.
Some bright flowers bloomed along the roadside. As spring arrived, flowers competed for beauty. "She" was also attracted by the vitality and beauty they held, and bent down, reaching out to touch a petal.
"Whoosh…"
However, before "her" finger could even touch the flower, the娇娇艳 (delicate and enchanting) purple flower turned into a lump of black residue in the wind, scattering and breaking apart with a gentle blow.
"She" froze for a moment and then wanted to touch other flowers, but all the flowers, without exception, withered and turned to dust. "She" looked back and saw that the flowers, grass, and trees on the path she had walked had all withered. The small, lush path under the tree canopy had become a dry, sand-filled disposal site.
This isn't right… "She" didn't want to hurt these children…
"She" became a little anxious, so the other power within "her" spread out from her feet.
"Sizzle—"
A swaying purplish-red flower bloomed in the gentle breeze.
To "her" delight, all the withered and dead plants grew back and blossomed again, radiating a richer life force than before, instantly restoring the area to its previous state.
Great, "she" didn't want to hurt anything in the first place…
Right, since I can revive plants, then…