"Monarch—"
"It is not your fault."
Lu Xing glanced at the now-unconscious Kosma and Griseo, cutting off the Plague Temple who was about to "plead for forgiveness."
"His Artificial Eruption state..."
"Has shades of Kevin's. In fact, it's quite remarkable that the two of you were able to hold on for so long."
The greatest weakness of Kosma's Artificial Eruption was his mind, which was why the White Whale was sent to assist the Plague Temple. But who could have imagined that Griseo, who was as weak as a kitten, would turn out to be Kosma's most solid pillar of support?
Even the loneliest of souls can walk a great distance when they have company.
"Elysia."
Lu Xing's gaze shifted back to the Pink-Haired Elf.
"To still have three points remaining after answering five questions."
"For an exam where any score above zero is a pass, your results have far exceeded my expectations."
Lu Xing had yet to make a move, but the surface of the fourth spatial gate was already rippling with waves and light.
"I'm starting to have some regrets."
"Perhaps I made the exam questions a bit too simple—"
"BOOM!!!"
A violent impact flattened nearly a quarter of the island.
The destruction caused by this blow surpassed even the "clearing of the field" from Lu Xing's own descent. To avoid unnecessary complications, Lu Xing had even diverted some of his attention to protect the fragile bodies of the ordinary humans.
But this explosion... the number of humans who had died was likely far more than fifty.
The only one capable of such an act was, naturally, Kalpas.
At the same time, by unleashing a move of such destructive power, Kalpas, now completely enveloped in dark-red flames, had clearly entered a serious state. His mask had long been burned to ash by the high temperatures, and the almost-liquid flames were branded onto his face like tattoos, obscuring his true features from any prying eyes.
"Death, stand down."
The Death Temple had failed to take down Kalpas.
As the being with the second-highest direct combat power in all of the Flame-Chasers, surpassed only by Kevin and Elysia, Kalpas was indeed not someone the Death Temple could handle—even having obtained the Authority of Binding, and even... having borrowed additional authority from Lu Xing.
At the Death Temple's level, even with the boost from the Monarch's extra authority, her body still struggled to withstand the "backlash" from the [Divine Grace Barrier]. Unlike the enhanced version Lu Xing had inherited from Odin, the version used by the Death Temple was more similar in effect to the original "Authority of Binding": a passive, indiscriminate nullification of all Honkai Energy within a certain range.
As the wielder of the authority, the Death Temple was only affected by about 20% of its power, but even at just one-fifth of the effect... her own Honkai Energy would give out before Kalpas fell.
"WHOOSH—"
"BOOM!!!"
The Death Temple used [Teleport] to evade Kalpas's descending fist. When she reappeared, she was already before the Monarch's throne. [Teleport] was a spatial ability inherited from the Templar class and a shared ability among the Four Temples.
"Monarch."
"Please forgive my failure."
Lu Xing said little to the Death Temple kneeling before him, only gesturing for her to step aside for the moment.
Behind her...
Having lost his target, Kalpas's destructive urges surged, but he had not completely lost his sanity. He could at least still distinguish who his opponent was... or rather, he knew to seek revenge on the one who had sent him flying before!
Wrapped in surging flames, Kalpas transformed into a meteor. After stomping a crater nearly a hundred meters in diameter into the ground, he shot straight towards Lu Xing!
And then—
"BOOM!!!"
The earth cracked, and seawater rushed in.
The dark-red meteor was "cut short" mid-flight, crashing headfirst into the ground!
"AARGH—AH!!!"
A roar more savage than any beast's erupted from the waterlogged earth.
But no matter how he struggled, the fist-sized black "singularity" on Kalpas's body remained unmoved, pinning him firmly down.
"Hmph."
The index finger that had "pointed" out was quietly withdrawn.
This was the first time Lu Xing had truly "lifted a finger" since evolving into his current form.
[Gravity Control].
A non-lethal skill used casually, yet it could effortlessly take down a combatant of Kalpas's level with a single blow.
This was the Monarch's current realm of power.
It was also the reason Elysia was glad she hadn't made a move.
"Although his methods were somewhat discourteous," Lu Xing said, looking at the island with its missing corner and the not-so-intact human corpses being quietly carried back to the sea by the tide.
"It is undeniable that the Flame-Chasers now..."
"Have four points."
"THUD!!"
"Eden..."
As the fifth gate opened, a behemoth far larger than any of the previous ones was slammed violently into the sea... to be precise, the Monarch had deliberately thrown the creature into the sea.
Elysia looked at the aquatic creature dancing gracefully in the sky. Although this was the first time she had seen its true form, Elysia was certain that it was her dear Eden.
As for the other one...
"HSSS!!!"
The Rock Tortoise that had been thrown into the sea was scooped up by an invisible hand condensed from the Authority of Rock and flung completely out of sight!
"Hmph."
An absolute disgrace to the Retainers!
As a Judgement-class Honkai Beast who commanded the [Authority of Rock], he couldn't even take down Eden, who was only using a weakened version of the authority and had barely even seen a battlefield!
Although humans had troops stationed there, the Rock Tortoise was not fighting alone.
If the failures of the others could be excused, then the Rock Tortoise's defeat truly showed Lu Xing the limitations of high-tier Honkai Beasts—a limitation distinct from that of variant species, one that came from advancing step-by-step from lower ranks, which was displayed in its entirety at the "Primordial Emperor-class" level.
"What are you angry about?"
The Monarch had just finished venting his dissatisfaction when, accompanied by ripples in space, Xiao Zi landed gently on his shoulder. Before Lu Xing could speak, Xiao Zi, having already grasped the situation, preemptively "sealed" his opinion.
"To be able to enter her Artificial Eruption state through her own power," she said. "To lose to a 'kin' like that, Pontos's loss wasn't entirely unjust. Besides, it's not certain he could even beat my attendants, is it?"
"..."
"Where is Kevin?"
Lu Xing changed the subject.
Xiao Zi's Authority of Reason was related to the [Divine Flame]. As a "creation" integrated with the Honkai Crystal itself and not just a simple authority, the connection between Lu Xing and Xiao Zi was far closer than with any other Retainer. This was why she could vaguely sense Xiao Bai's condition.
"I used a mimicked Authority of the Void to hurry here."
"Kevin should be able to follow the fluctuations and track me down soon... It seems I'm going to lose this point after all."