2 hours remain until the arrival of Finality.
"Miss Pink Elf."
"Are you also not good at talking?"
Before the Capricorn constellation fissure, Behemoth's colossal body almost completely blocked the entire area in front of the fissure.
Beside her, the mermaid sitting on the back of the great manta was pulled from her thoughts by the sudden greeting.
"Uh…"
"No, that's not it. I was just thinking about something."
In truth, this great sea manta, which the Monarch had once mistaken for a Companion Honkai Beast of Origin, was merely the Doomsday-class Honkai Beast [Maheśvara], which Elysia had reconstructed using the [Authority of Origin].
That's right.
It was the original body of the Honkai Beast whose genes Elysia had been fused with.
Incidentally, although Elysia appeared in her mermaid form, her remaining Authority of Origin was insufficient to deploy the "Origin Space." Her current Herrscher form was simply an act of "revealing her true body."
"…"
"What a pity. I thought you were just like Cheche."
Behemoth ceased the conversation.
It was Elysia, who had become noticeably more quiet and reserved—though still smiling—since the end of her wager with the Monarch, who now took a slight interest in her "comrade-in-arms." This had nothing to do with the fact that the other had "a pair of cute little horns."
"Behemoth."
Elysia did not know Behemoth's nickname. She only knew of Cheche's "race" from the interactions among the [Retainers].
"How did you come to know the Monarch?"
"…"
"Little Bai?"
This was the second time Elysia had heard a [Retainer] use this name for the Monarch; most of the time, she heard it from Ziz. In reality, Cheche had been led astray by Xiao Zi. Her original name for the Monarch did not have the "Little" in it, but with Cheche's logic, adding "Little" to the name of a Monarch who was "not as big as her" didn't seem out of place.
As an aside, we shall never know just how many handkerchiefs Xiao Zi bit through after hearing Cheche's new nickname… though they were all just replicas created with her Authority.
"Little Bai, played with Cheche."
"Little Bai, saved Cheche."
"…"
"That's it?"
"Mm, that's it."
Behemoth's account was incredibly simple, and for a moment, Elysia didn't quite grasp it.
However…
Intelligent as she was, she soon understood the weight contained within those two simple sentences—
Companionship, and a bond forged through life and death.
"Miss Pink Elf."
"…"
Evidently, Cheche had taken this title as Elysia's name.
"Um, if you don't mind…"
"My name is Elysia."
"…"
"Understood."
"You are like Cheche. You both have two names."
Elysia gave up on correcting Cheche's mistake. Although their dialogue seemed to flow, in reality, even when communicating telepathically, Cheche couldn't change her slow, word-by-word manner of speaking.
"…"
"You had a question for me just now, didn't you… Cheche?"
"…"
"I think so, but you interrupted me, and Cheche forgot what I was going to s—"
VWUUUM!!!
Before Behemoth could finish her sentence, the colossal space beast suddenly shed her lazy demeanor. A brilliant crimson light dyed her magnificent gold, and her entire eye instantly transformed into a crossed "X" shape.
"It's coming out."
Behemoth stared intently at the location of the constellation fissure.
"The seal is dissipating. It will be one hour earlier than expected."
Compared to her idle chat just moments ago, not only was Cheche's voice sharper, but her speech had also become rapid… or rather, excited.
"…"
"Little Bai's calculations are never wrong."
"But why—"
Elysia picked up where Cheche left off:
"The Herrscher of Finality."
"If Bai can share his Authority with his Retainers, then Finality can surely do the same thing." Elysia's expression was equally grave. "It must have sensed the change in 'us,' so Finality also shared its power with its Companion Honkai Beasts."
"Was this also part of your plan…"
"Monarch."
Elysia did not speak the last part of her thought aloud.
As the seal vibrated violently along with the constellation fissure, the nebula of Honkai energy that permeated the surrounding space had, at some unknown point, been completely cleared away.
To be precise, all of it was now converging inside Behemoth's mouth.
[Honkai—]
No, this ultimate move, enhanced by the Authority of the Void and requiring a long charge time just like the [Star-Annihilating Cannon], should be called:
[Star-Collapsing Roar Cannon]
---o---
1 hour remains until the arrival of Finality.
"Mr. Kevin."
"This big fellow seems a little impatient."
Before the Aries constellation fissure… there was no longer any sense of direction. The constellation formed by the fissures was already on the verge of shattering, with Honkai energy surging and churning everywhere.
"…"
Kevin, completely focused, paid no mind to Xiao Zi's greeting.
"I think."
"As comrades-in-arms, we should really communicate properly."
A cross-shaped sword and the Book of Reason appeared in Xiao Zi's hands.
"Looking at this situation."
"The true power of this Aries is likely one-tenth of Finality's."
Xiao Zi used a rather understated phrasing. One-tenth of Finality's power… aside from lacking the empowerment of all the Authorities, its Honkai energy level was completely equivalent to 100% of the Monarch's own power.
"We are teammates, after all."
"Mr. Kevin, your weapon… can it cut it?"
"…"
Xiao Zi was very perceptive. The greatsword in Kevin's hands, though a custom version made by Vill-V using the Key of Domination and numerous cores, could no longer bring out his full strength. That weapon was suited for Kevin in his initial Chimera state. While he could still use it in his Karma-Demon State, it was only to a "barely" adequate degree.
The Kevin of this moment, even if he had not yet reached the theoretical "Savior State," stood at the absolute peak of the Karma-Demon State. To use that sword was perhaps a bit—
CLANG!!
"!?"
"How is that possible…"
Kevin was first startled, then looked with no small amount of surprise at the weapon Xiao Zi had thrown to him.
"See? We can communicate just fine."
Xiao Zi teased Kevin first.
"The genuine, original article. By no means a fake replicated by the Authority of Reason… It's obviously more useful in your hands than in mine as a collector's item."
[Judgment of Shamash]
That's right.
The weapon Xiao Zi had tossed to Kevin was none other than the Judgment of Shamash, which the Monarch had carelessly tossed to the ground back when its Herrscher core was lost. This greatsword was a weapon Dr. Mei had made specifically for Kevin, and the effort (and resources mobilized) she had poured into it was far beyond that of any other Key of God.
The destruction of the Mu continent caused the [Judgment of Shamash] to be swept into the Sea of Quanta, and then fall into a bubble universe along with the Monarch.
And as luck would have it, the place where the Judgment of Shamash landed was right in Xiao Zi's hands.