The battle between the two women was perfectly balanced.
Esdeath's ice surged in endless waves, cold enough to freeze continents. Dozens of mountain-sized glaciers towered across the land—proof of her terrifying might.
Kiana's void powers, on the other hand, were mysterious and unpredictable. She could phase, teleport, and strike from anywhere, devouring Esdeath's frost into the void itself.
Both wielded lv 5 powers. Kiana relied on trickery and precision, while Esdeath's combat instincts, brutality, and mastery of her ability gave her the edge.
After over ten minutes, the land was nothing but craters and frozen peaks. Esdeath slashed her sword—dozens of sword auras filled with freezing air surged forth.
Kiana used the same trick, letting spatial rifts swallow the icy streams before redirecting them. But as she glanced down, she realized too late that Esdeath had used an ice mountain's upward momentum to close in on her position midair.
Just as Kiana prepared to teleport—
Esdeath's hands came together before her chest. "Mahapdama!"
The ultimate freeze erupted. It wasn't merely a stop in space—it was a collapse of molecular motion itself.
In that instant, even Kiana's void form faltered—just for a second. That was all Esdeath needed.
Drawing on her endless battle experience, she lunged forward, thrusting her blade straight through Kiana's heart.
Kiana vanished into light particles, eyes wide with shock.
As Esdeath landed, her expression darkened slightly. At the moment of the strike, she had seen a flicker of golden light in Kiana's eyes—something divine.
"The Herrscher of the Void…" she murmured.
Tatsuki, watching from the livestream, noticed it too. That golden light was unmistakable—it was the power of a Herrscher.
Kiana's voice echoed through the stream: "Waaah! I lost again!"
Esdeath laughed. "A glorious battle—truly exhilarating."
Tatsuki commented calmly, "Kiana didn't lose because of her power. It's her combat experience, her technique, and her control that need work."
Shinobu Kocho chimed in, "Kiana's ability is incredible—so versatile it's hard to react."
Bronya: "Amazing. Hard to believe she gained such strength from a single Apocalypse Mission."
Nami: "I'm so jealous! I touched the Dresden Slate too, but nothing happened!"
Saeko Busujima: "Same here. No reaction at all."
Mikoto Suoh: "Many have tried already—the Slate gives no response anymore."
Silver Wolf: "I checked. There's a special kind of energy in it—the one that awakens abilities—but it's nearly depleted."
Aqua: "So that means the power all went to Tatsuki and Kiana, right?"
Aqua again: "One gets S-rank time powers, the other S-rank space powers—and both straight to lv 5?! That explains it!"
Silver Wolf: "Most likely. Even Mikoto Suoh, a King, only reached A-rank lv 4."
Hai xiaomei: "Uh… I'm also lv 4."
Momonga: "Case closed—the Slate's energy's all been sucked dry by the bosses!"
Tatsuki: "Not my fault. The power came to me on its own."
Kiana: "I don't know anything either!"
Tatsuki: "Ahem… at least there's still enough left to maintain the Kings and Outsiders in Suoh's world."
Mikoto Suoh: "Yeah."
Meanwhile, Ayame Yomogawa was still contemplating how to rebuild Aragane Station when she saw Horobi rise to her feet.
"Miss Horobi, where are you going?"
Horobi glanced back, calm and expressionless. "To atone."
…
Moments later—
Knock knock.
The sound pulled Tatsuki's attention back to reality.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened. Horobi entered—supporting her arm slightly, posture low and respectful. She closed the door behind her and bowed deeply.
"What is it?" Tatsuki asked, looking up.
Without a word, Horobi removed every piece of clothing—revealing flawless white skin and the golden glow of her heart. Then she knelt low, pressing her forehead to the floor in a full dogeza.
"Please forgive my earlier insolence toward you, Tatsuki-sama."
"...?"
Tatsuki blinked, baffled. She means when she resisted me over Biba Amatori? That's what this is about?
To him, it had been a trivial matter. But this… this was beyond apology—it was devotion.
"Well… fine," he said helplessly. "I forgive you."
Receiving forgiveness, Horobi lifted herself slowly, crawling forward until she reached his feet.
And from there… the rest came naturally.
Tatsuki had never been one to refuse what was freely offered.
…
"Miss Horobi!" Ayame gasped later that evening, eyes wide. So this… this is how she apologizes?
She had heard of many ways to express remorse—but this was unprecedented. As the future head of the Yomogawa family, Ayame understood adult matters… but Horobi's "method" went far beyond what she'd ever imagined.
And those sounds echoing faintly through the walls… they were undeniable. Just earlier, Seitenshi and that mysterious woman named Echidna had finished a meeting with Tatsuki as well.
Ayame swallowed nervously. Tatsuki-sama… really isn't human, is he?
…
Later, when Mikasa and the others returned, the room was still lively.
Mumei tilted her head. "What are Horobi and Tatsuki-sama doing?"
With Biba gone, the two women had started calling each other sisters.
Vivi scratched her reddened cheek awkwardly. "Tatsuki's, uh… helping Miss Horobi with a massage. Let's go take a bath instead."
She quickly dragged Mumei and Mikasa toward the bathroom. The three had grown close after fighting side by side.
Seitenshi simply shook her head and walked straight to Tatsuki's bedroom.
…
Hours passed in the slowed flow of this world.
At last, Tatsuki asked Echidna to open a tea party. This time, however, it wasn't the Witches he invited—it was Seitenshi, Horobi, Pandora, and Kayo Senju.
Kayo had contributed greatly to faith development across the worlds—she deserved her reward.
[Ding! Apocalypse Mission time remaining: 10 minutes. Mission ending soon!]
The notification rang through the Chat Group.
Tatsuki rubbed his temple with a faint smile. "Too much indulgence really drains self-control."
With a gesture, he restored his stamina and cleaned himself with a flash of golden light, changing into fresh clothes.
"It's time to end this."
He took Seitenshi and Horobi's hands, lifting them up as the golden house around them began to dissolve.
Moments later—
"I'm back," Kusuo Saiki said, teleporting in.
Tatsuki looked him over: spotless clothes, calm demeanor, full of energy. Clearly, he'd had no trouble.
Everyone gathered together again—Ayame and Vivi avoiding eye contact, Mikasa as stoic as ever, Mumei watching curiously.
"The time's up," Tatsuki announced. "Let's finish it."
The results of his experiment were clear now—even with time slowed for this world, the mission countdown hadn't changed.
"Leave the rest to me."
Time resumed its normal flow.
Tatsuki spread his Wings of Salvation, ascending into the heavens. He soared past the clouds, through the atmosphere, into the void of space itself.
All across the world, people looked up—and saw a divine radiance blazing through the sky.
Miles-long golden wings unfurled, bathing the world in holy light.
Salvation.
"The Kabane… they're disappearing!"
Where the golden light touched, the monsters turned to dust.
"It's a miracle!"
"It's the God of Salvation!"
No one doubted it. The proof shone before their eyes—Kabane burned away, the infected were healed, the world reborn under divine brilliance.
It had to be God's blessing.
As the world bathed in that light, faith energy surged—flowing from every heart into the Wings of Salvation.
[Ding! All Kabane eliminated. Reincarnated demonic cultivators neutralized by Tatsuki. Apocalypse ended!]
[Tatsuki: +2,000,000 Points | Kusuo Saiki: +300,000 | Seitenshi: +60,000 | Vivi: +30,000 | Mikasa: +20,000 | Mumei: +15,000]
[Apocalypse Mission complete. Confirm return?]
Tatsuki descended slowly, satisfied.
Aside from Kusuo Saiki and Seitenshi, the others gazed at him in awe—they had seen true divinity.
Especially Horobi—her entire being, body and soul, now bore Tatsuki's mark.
She could still feel him within her… moving faintly inside.
...
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