The light in the Elysian Realm Hall seemed to dim slightly due to the protracted battle on the screen.
Inside the massive floating screen was a scorched earth that seemed to have been plowed over by countless wars and drenched in magma and blood.
Under a dark red sky, two figures, like tireless ancient behemoths, continued to collide in the most primitive manner.
One side was Kalpas, covered in blood, with a wider expanse of crimson crystals than ever before, his roar nearly piercing through the screen.
The flames surrounding him were no longer purely crimson, but mixed with a dark gold that looked as if he were burning his very life essence. Every punch he threw carried a shattering screech, smashing deep, bottomless pits into the ground.
He was clearly completely immersed in the extreme frenzy of the combined "Artificial Collapse" and "Bloodburning" states. Reason? What was that?
At this moment, there was only combat, only the instinct to smash the thing on the other side.
The other side was Mydei, whose entire body was pierced by countless broken blades like thorns, yet held together by the same dark, bloody energy, barely retaining a human shape.
He did not have the deafening roars of Kalpas; there was only silent and endless attack and regeneration.
Every time a part of his limb or torso was blasted apart by Kalpas's fists, those broken blades and flesh would rapidly reorganize in an even more hideous way, while striking back with equally violent force.
He was like a terrifying machine born for war that automatically upgraded after being damaged.
The health bars of both sides danced back and forth between "plummeting wildly" and "slowly recovering" with a sense of despairing balance.
Kalpas burned blood to trade for extreme attack and speed, while Mydei seemed to possess some uncanny trait of "converting received damage into regenerative power."
Coupled with the fact that this space also had an automatic healing function.
Thus, the scene became: Kalpas unleashed a world-destroying combo, draining more than half of Mydei's health bar—Mydei's remnant body squirmed, his health bar began to slowly but firmly recover, while he counterattacked—Kalpas was injured, his rage grew, his blood burned more fiercely, but the health bar continued to recover, once again beating Mydei to the brink of death—Mydei began to recover again...
Cycle after cycle, endless and ceaseless.
In the hall, time seemed to have frozen amidst this endless bombardment.
Pardo had originally been squatting in the corner, but now she was like a cat with its bones removed, sprawled on the soft cushion, her Tail weakly slapping the ground, her blue eyes having lost their luster.
"I... I can't take it anymore..."
Pardo groaned listlessly, "How much longer are Brother Kalpas and that big guy... going to fight? My eyes are going blurry... Is there no halftime break or commercial break?"
Beside her, Su, who had been watching the battle with his eyes closed, slowly opened those gentle yet currently weary eyes, and calmly reported a number precise to the second: "Since the battle began, it has lasted for eight hours, fifty-seven minutes, and forty-three seconds. Furthermore, according to analysis, neither side has shown any trend of exhaustion or a decline in their will to fight."
"E-eight hours?!"
Pardo let out a wail and laid completely flat, "My Tail fur is going to get knotted just waiting!"
Cyrene held a cup of flower tea that had long since gone cold, her small face scrunched up, looking at the screen with worry: "Mr. Kalpas... he'll be okay, right?"
Anaxa analyzed, "The 'Bloodburning' state and the 'War Absorption' trait of Mydei have formed a sort of balance. One side gains explosive power at the cost of consuming themselves, while the other converts a portion of the damage received into sustained power. Unless one side is completely depleted, or the combat mode undergoes a qualitative change, this cycle can theoretically... continue forever."
Big Tribbie had already given up on understanding, holding a giant plush toy she had swiped from the Paradise recreation room, her head bobbing as she started to doze off.
Even the usually calm Fu Hua couldn't help but rub her temples, whispering to Kevin beside her: "Do we need to intervene? If this continues, the burden on Kalpas will be too great."
Kevin crossed his arms, his icy blue eyes fixed on the two frenzied figures on the screen. After a moment of silence, he shook his head: "This is the battle he chose. Kalpas's way... is just like this."
The implication was that unless Kalpas stopped or was defeated himself, outsiders had no right to interfere in this battle that was perhaps "exhilarating" for him.
Elysia looked at her companions sprawled all over the floor and the yawning Golden Descendants, a look of helplessness appearing on her beautiful face.
She clapped her hands lightly, trying to liven up the atmosphere: "Alright, alright~ everyone, cheer up! It seems Kalpas and this Mr. Mydei are truly evenly matched! Since this won't end anytime soon... ♪"
Her pink eyes turned, and she looked at the invisible system in the air of the hall with a bright smile: "Lovely Miss System? Could you open another battlefield for us? For example, let Yae Sakura go test that Miss Castorice? With two live streams going on at once, everyone won't be bored anymore! Right?"
Griseo, who was curled up in Aponia's arms with her little face flushed from sleep, seemed to mumble in her sleep: "The red one... and the gold one... are spinning around and around..."
Aponia gently stroked the child's hair, shaking her head slightly at Elysia to indicate that Griseo needed rest. She then picked up the little girl, nodded slightly to the others, and silently left the hall to take Griseo back to her room to sleep.
The system's electronic synthesized voice immediately sounded, responding to Elysia's proposal: [Request denied. The current process (Kalpas vs Mydei) is occupying too much core computing resources, and the scene stability needs to be maintained at full capacity. It is impossible to open a second battlefield in parallel. Suggestion: Patiently wait for the current process to end naturally, or for Kalpas to terminate it voluntarily.]
"Eh—how can that be!" Elysia puffed out her cheeks, making a cute expression of disappointment.
Anyone with eyes could see that Kalpas on the screen had no intention of stopping at all.
That intensifying wild laughter and roar clearly showed he was enjoying the fight, immersed in the ultimate pleasure of combat.
For him, perhaps an opponent like this, whom he could unleash everything on without worrying about killing them, was a once-in-a-lifetime "good target."
Thus, the Elysian Realm Hall fell into an even more awkward situation: a live stream of an infinite war that might last another eight hours or even longer, and a group of viewers forced to keep watching until they were dizzy.
Pardo let out a soul-piercing cry: "Brother Kalpas! I beg you! Hurry up and finish it! Or get finished yourself, that works too!"
The only response to her was another violent heavy punch from Kalpas on the screen, blasting half of Mydei's body into powder and triggering a new cycle of the loop.
In the suburbs of Fuyuki City, inside a guest room in the west wing of Einzbern Castle.
Sakura Matou woke up suddenly from her sleep, her small body trembling violently with fear, letting out a short cry of surprise.
She sat up, her violet eyes widening in panic in the darkness, cold sweat soaking the hair on her forehead.
In her dream... it was that place again.
Beneath the Matou Family mansion, the deepest, darkest, and dampest worm pit.
Countless slimy and cold sensations, indescribable rustling whispers, and a will that seemed to be piled up from the pain of countless lives was gently squirming, as if it were about to wake up... no, it seemed to have become a little more conscious than before.
That gaze made her feel suffocated even in her dream.
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