Clang!
The longsword was knocked flying, spun away, and stabbed into the ground. Phainon staggered back several steps, then stared at Kevin in stunned admiration.
"Kevin, you're amazing."
Whether it was strength or combat experience, Kevin completely crushed him. Their faces were almost identical, but the gap between them was anything but small.
Crack—
"Little savior, is that all the power you've got? And you still wanted to go get revenge on that little Khas before?"
Cipher used her tail to bring an apple to her mouth and took a bite, teasing him mercilessly.
"How was I supposed to know he'd been going easy on me this whole time…" Phainon scratched his head helplessly.
After hearing that Khaslana had over four hundred million Coreflames, Phainon already understood he absolutely wasn't Khaslana's match. That was a full-on maxed-out veteran player whose stats and mechanics were both completely busted.
"In reality, it's not the same Khaslana collecting Coreflames every time. As the number of Coreflames in his body increases, Khaslana hits a limit he can withstand." Koji explained calmly. "After that cycle where he was on the verge of collapse, whenever Khaslana couldn't hold on anymore, he would pass all of his Coreflames to Phainon and have Phainon take his place and step into the next cycle."
"In other words, this Khaslana might actually be me from the previous cycle, the me who inherited his Coreflames?" Phainon asked, his tone complicated.
"If you've learned the truth, you also know what you have to do, don't you?" Koji asked in return.
Phainon let out a slight sigh. That was exactly it. Cruel as it was, in order to stop the Iron Tomb, he would take over everything Khaslana bore—including his rage—and keep walking forward.
"So basically, that little Khas was just toying with me before?" Cipher suddenly realized something and immediately grabbed her own cat face with her paws.
With more than four hundred million Coreflames, over thirty million of which were trickster-type Coreflames, how could he possibly be incapable of seeing through her "god-speed"?
What did he take her for, just any random cat?
"Mm, pretty much. From the very first cycles, Khaslana already had the ability to perceive trickery. The reason he didn't just kill you outright was because his goal was only to collect Coreflames and stop Re-Creation from arriving."
"If you had been willing to hand over your Coreflame, Khaslana would have been delighted and wouldn't have laid a finger on you."
Cipher's expression turned complicated. She knew herself; after three tens of millions of cycles, she could easily imagine what she must have done. She definitely hadn't handed over her Coreflame.
"Khaslana genuinely hoped that you, Cipher, would be willing to give up your Coreflame on your own. That way he wouldn't have to hurt a companion like you."
Koji couldn't help sighing. Even after so many cycles had worn him down, Phainon still couldn't treat this with detached calm.
"One day, I will die with a wound in my back…"
Mydei's expression twisted into something strange as he looked at Phainon, completely speechless.
That prophecy had hit a little too close to home. Now he'd basically guessed the exact cause of his death: if he ever chose to tell someone his weakness, it would absolutely be Phainon, the comrade he trusted most.
Since the Fire-Thief was Phainon, Phainon would naturally know his weakness. And Mydei definitely wouldn't voluntarily hand over his Coreflame. In the end, the Fire-Thief would be forced to kill him in battle and take his Coreflame.
He wouldn't die fighting the Black Tide; he would die under the sword of the Fire-Thief.
If that wasn't fate playing a cruel joke, what was?
"Uh…"
Phainon scratched his head awkwardly. He'd also just understood that the prophecy had been talking about him.
Personally backstabbing your best bro… just thinking about it made him want to curl his toes into the floor.
"Don't worry about it, Savior. I'm sure that version of you gave me a glorious battle worthy of a final curtain call." Mydei shook his head, unconcerned.
Dying in battle was nothing to complain about. He wouldn't curse the heavens; he would accept it calmly.
Still, he couldn't help feeling a faint ache spreading across his back. Understanding was one thing—actually getting stabbed had to feel terrible.
…
Elsewhere, Elysia and Cyrene were sitting together on a rooftop.
"Elysia, I didn't expect you to have gone through self-sacrifice too?"
"Mm-hmm. But I only died once, so I can't really compare with you, Cyrene."
Cyrene was speechless.
Was this really the kind of thing you needed to compare?
"Our worlds are different. Your world is the real one, while ours is just a virtual civilization simulated by Emperor's Scepters." Cyrene said quietly.
"If we lose, our civilization is erased and rebooted by Honkai. If you lose, the Iron Tomb will be born and your civilization will also be wiped out," Elysia replied.
If you had to talk about the difference between them, then in her world, Honkai was the Cocoon of Finality trying to embrace a civilization. The Black Tide, on the other hand, was the learning-and-evolution process of the Iron Tomb.
The Iron Tomb wanted nothing but destruction. The Cocoon of Finality was only searching for its own kind.
"But don't worry. What comes next is definitely going to be a romantic story unlike any before…" Elysia said with a bright smile.
Cyrene nodded. Still, after all this time… why hadn't Lygus shown up?
…
At the core of Amphoreus, Herta and Screwllum had already captured Lygus's true body inside Emperor's Scepters. He couldn't even manufacture an avatar anymore.
"He's really ugly. Don't you think so, Screwllum?" Herta scrutinized the villainous face in front of her and commented in sheer disgust.
Just seeing this face made her feel like she'd lose her appetite.
Screwllum declined to comment. For a machine intellect, external appearance had no value; what mattered was the underlying algorithms and core.
"If you do this, you'll bring down the wrath of Destruction on yourselves!"
Lygus bluffed with a harsh tone, trying to sound fierce while his heart trembled. Even he hadn't expected the so-called "geniuses" to be this troublesome.
And anyway, what did his face have to do with them?
"Oh? You even know how to threaten us now? 'The wrath of Destruction,' is it?" Herta let out a small laugh.
"So you're saying you intend to represent those Lord Ravagers and declare war on the entire Genius Society?"
Even if many geniuses had already been "game-overed" thanks to Polka Kakamon, the Genius Society was still one of the top forces in the cosmos. They had no reason to fear a mere envoy of Destruction.
"Screwllum's homeworld does not fear threats."
Screwllum spoke mildly. The fact that he alone had been able to resolve the Interastral Peace Corporation's galaxy-wide persecution of machine life was proof enough of his power and influence.
Lygus fell silent.
Damn it, these two geniuses really were completely immune to both carrot and stick.
What could he represent, anyway? The Lord Ravagers each had their own plans; they weren't about to declare war on the Genius Society just because he said so.
As for Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, that being certainly wasn't going to pay any attention to a mere envoy like him.
"Looks like bragging is all you're good for. Any last words?" Herta snorted.
"Oh, right. It seems you haven't noticed yet—an ultra-powerful virus has already taken over the entire Emperor's Scepters."
She was referring to the power of the Herrscher of Corruption. It had been a bit of a surprise, yes, but one she knew belonged to their side.
Even Screwllum found the corrosive virus troublesome. It was the natural enemy of all machine life. Fortunately, it hadn't fallen into the hands of anyone who hated machine intelligences; otherwise, it really would have been a catastrophe.
"?!"
Lygus tried to make a desperate last stand, only to discover that things were exactly as Herta had said.
This was Emperor's Scepters—how could it possibly have been completely infected by a virus?!
(End of Chapter)
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