Sunlight shone down on the girl.
Ji Xuanyuan's eyes welled up with tears. After five thousand years, this long-lost warm sunlight felt like salvation.
But soon, Ji Xuanyuan realized she was wrong. It wasn't the sunlight that had saved her—it was the boy beside her.
If not for the miracle Elias had performed, she never could have regained her lost humanity or restored vitality to her body.
"Thank you for redeeming me, Elias."
"Isn't that only natural? Alright, this place is about to collapse. Let's get out of here… I'll be borrowing your steed for a bit."
"Mm, feel free to use it."
The golden warhorse Ji Xuanyuan rode wasn't any ordinary steed. It was a manifestation of her Stigmata-like ability.
The horse could gallop across almost any terrain and looked no less majestic than Durandal's future steed, Krishna.
Elias swung up without hesitation, grabbing the reins, while Ji Xuanyuan sat in front of him, leaning against his chest as she gently explained a few riding techniques.
The two of them, riding together like this, truly gave off the air of a martial arts couple from an old wuxia novel.
"Hyah!"
Sha-lu-lu~!
With a flick of the reins, the golden warhorse galloped forward. Empowered by Honkai energy, it was no slower than a supercar—and could obliterate anything in its way.
Just like that, the two escaped from within Chiyou's internal world before it completely collapsed and returned to the outside.
"Elias!"
"Looks like it worked."
Mei and Welt, who had been waiting anxiously, let out a sigh of relief when they spotted his figure.
Even though they had already believed that nothing could survive that strike from Might of An-Utu, only seeing Elias in person truly put their hearts at ease.
But once relief settled in, there was also a bit of speechlessness.
Mei couldn't help thinking—how does this guy manage to find another beautiful girl to charm, even inside a Honkai Beast's body?
This was getting out of hand!
Looking at Ji Xuanyuan nestled in Elias' arms as they rode the same steed, Mei felt like no place in the world was safe anymore. She had the sudden urge to lock Elias up in a black room forever.
The outside world had way too many temptresses. Elias, you better protect yourself when you go out. Also... I kind of want to ride a horse with Elias too. Or a dragon would work!
"This is… Lady Ji Xuanyuan, correct?"
Welt hesitated over how to address her, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
The girl nestled in Elias' arms was someone who had sealed Chiyou for five thousand years—one of Shenzhou's founding ancestors.
"No need to be so formal with me. At Elias' invitation, I'll continue living in this era… But so much has changed. I fear I'll need a long time to adjust."
Ji Xuanyuan looked around at the outside world with a sigh.
Though she was one of Shenzhou's progenitors, she had sealed herself away at just a teenager and only now returned to the light of day five millennia later. She was a girl worthy of admiration—and sympathy.
The times had changed far too much for Ji Xuanyuan.
She was like an account registered in version 1.0 of a game, only to be banned until version 7.0.
Now finally unbanned, she was looking at a completely unfamiliar world filled with features and mechanics she didn't understand, plus a mountain of story content to catch up on. Ji Xuanyuan would need a long time to sort it all out.
"Alas… I'd love to buy osmanthus wine and reminisce with old friends—but they are all long gone."
Ji Xuanyuan said wistfully.
Five thousand years had passed. Ji Xuanyuan felt that everything she once knew had likely been washed away by the river of time. In this unfamiliar world, only the white-haired boy behind her gave her any sense of warmth.
She instinctively nestled closer into Elias' embrace, like a little girl unwilling to leave the comfort of her blankets.
"There's still one more person—Jingwei (Fu Hua) is alive."
Elias whispered in her ear.
"R-Really?"
"Of course it's true."
Ji Xuanyuan's eyes lit up with joy. She hadn't expected that someone from her past would still be alive in this far-flung future.
Elias nodded with a smile. Time could change everything—but there were still some things it couldn't shake.
Like the Shenzhou flat tablet, unchanged in fifty thousand years!
Compared to a certain lightning general with charisma, Fu Hua's tablet was the true definition of eternity.
"I'll take you to see her later. Yeah, I think it's about time I had a proper talk with Class Monitor Fu Hua."
After all, her old friend had just helped bring him back. Elias didn't believe that someone as honest and dutiful as Fu Hua would still side with Otto against him.
"So, what's next? Chiyou's dead now. Is there any reason to keep the Sea of Quanta portal open? Should I ask Tesla to shut it down?"
Welt pointed to the seemingly useless portal. After all, Chiyou—whom they were planning to exile—was already gone.
Elias' Might of An-Utu had simply been too overpowering. Far beyond anything Siegfried could unleash.
A dual-core Herrscher, two Herrscher of Fire cores resonating across eras, and the fourth-gen anti-Honkai armor Vermilion Knight: Eclipse amplifying it all.
Elias' full-power slash was probably on par with Kevin's… well, okay, maybe not quite final form Kevin, but still.
"No, don't close it yet. Either way, I was planning to take Chiyou to the Sea of Quanta. Whether it's alive or dead doesn't matter—it's a gift for a friend."
Elias kicked Chiyou's corpse lightly as he spoke.
Originally, he had planned to enter the Sea of Quanta with Kevin to rescue Ji Xuanyuan. But it turned out that he and the others were far stronger than expected—he killed Chiyou with just one slash.
"Alright, but be careful. Let us know if you need anything."
"Don't worry. I can handle that giant popsicle. But just in case—Mei, I'm leaving these with you."
"Th-these are?!"
Elias reached to his armor and chest, detaching two glowing gems and handing them to Mei.
The rice cooker girl trembled as she received them, clutching them tightly with both hands.
They were the Herrscher cores of the Herrscher of Fire and the Herrscher of Rebirth—Elias' most powerful assets.
Such priceless objects, handed to her so casually, made Mei both thrilled and incredibly nervous.
"Elias, what are you—"
"I can't bring the cores with me to meet that big ice cube. And there's no vault on Earth I trust to hold them safely. Only you, Mei, make me feel at ease. I'm entrusting my greatest power to you~"
"...I'll protect them with my life!"
Mei replied solemnly.
Her hands—clutching Elias' gems—would not loosen their grip until he returned.
Her other hand was always on her sword, ready to strike down anyone who dared to come near.
"I'll let the others know—no one is to come within fifty meters of Miss Mei."
Welt said with a helpless smile.
"Good. Anyone who enters that radius, I'll assume they're trying to steal the gems—and I won't hesitate to draw my blade."
"Uh… that might be a little extreme…"
Elias chuckled and gently patted Mei's head. This girl was just too earnest sometimes.
But maybe that was what made her so endearing. Elias found himself liking her a little more.
The cooking lady's eyes narrowed contentedly.
If she still had the cat tail from yesterday's cosplay café, it'd probably be spinning like a helicopter rotor right now.
"..."
Ji Xuanyuan blinked at the sight.
It was hard to tell what she was thinking.
After that, Elias dragged Chiyou's corpse and tossed it into the Sea of Quanta portal—then followed in right after.
Even though he'd successfully saved Ji Xuanyuan and eliminated the threat of Chiyou, Elias knew he had likely exposed himself to Otto Apocalypse's surveillance.
Twice now, he'd used Might of An-Utu—and the energy signatures weren't exactly subtle. It was inevitable someone would take notice. There might even be a Schicksal satellite aimed at him right now.
(Sure, I'm strong enough to handle most things, but it's better to play it safe. Until I reach the limits of what I can currently achieve, I need to avoid unnecessary conflict.)
(Besides, I have to get that thing from Kevin. If things go well, I might even screw over both of them! Especially Otto—time for some serious extortion!)
Elias licked his lips excitedly.
After all, fortune favors the bold. If all went as planned, he could sever Kevin's return route from the Sea of Quanta and trick Otto out of another Herrscher core.
On top of that, he could even set up a little surprise for a certain future boss battle~
(Alright, we're here!)
The Sea of Quanta loomed before him. Elias opened the portal for just under two seconds, just long enough for him and Chiyou to pass through—then sealed it behind them completely.
This was a section of the Sea of Quanta very close to the real world. Even if he didn't have exact coordinates, Kevin was always lurking in this area.
There was no doubt he'd sensed the brief opening of the portal.
And he'd definitely noticed Elias' arrival.
Still—
"Gotta have a little flair."
Elias grinned as he pulled out a megaphone, setting the volume to max.
"KEVIN!! Your good buddy is here to slurp some noodles with you——!!!"
His booming voice echoed across the Sea of Quanta. Any world bubbles nearby definitely heard it. They were probably wondering, "Who the heck is Kevin?"
Kevin: "..."
Elias: "Yo~ Miss me?"
Kevin: "...Sigh."
The moment Elias finished shouting, Kevin arrived on scene, already looking utterly exasperated.
Arms crossed, he stared at Elias with a look that said: You've got the nerve to show your face? To bring up noodles?!
"What, you still mad I snuck off last time? That I didn't tell you I could freely enter and exit the Sea of Quanta?"
"...What do you think?"
"Come on, isn't it obvious? I'm from the current era—I couldn't let you out of the Sea of Quanta to run your Stigmata Plan. It's a matter of perspective, you know? Try to understand."
Elias shrugged, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"..."
Kevin was speechless.
It did make sense. From Elias' standpoint, Kevin was a major threat that absolutely couldn't be released. His actions weren't born of malice, but loyalty to his era.
Putting himself in Elias' shoes, Kevin realized he would've done the same.
Maybe even worse—he wouldn't have come back to face him at all.
"So what is it this time? Come to bring someone else into the real world?"
"Nah. Didn't you hear me through the megaphone? I came to slurp noodles with you, my friend."
"...Noodles. Friend."
Kevin's eye twitched twice.
Elias' antics reminded him of a certain dazzling, flower-like girl.
This kind of shameless social terror—able to drive people up the wall even after fifty thousand years—was something he truly couldn't handle.
Especially Elias' absurd confidence that Kevin wouldn't kill him. It was like the guy had Kevin's personality completely figured out.
Even with countless things on his mind, all Kevin managed to say was:
"...Did you bring seasoning this time?"
"Huh? Kevin, what are you saying? That's like saying bell pepper curry has no spice—how could instant noodles not come with a flavor packet?"
"...Yeah. How could it not come with one? Sigh."
Kevin's voice was hollow. He couldn't help wondering—what exactly had he eaten last time? Just plain noodles in hot water?
And not only was there no seasoning, he didn't even get a veggie pack.
Elias noticed Kevin's expression and tilted his head in confusion. Had he accidentally picked up a defective pack last time?
(No way. The odds of getting instant noodles without seasoning are like one in a million. Kevin, your luck's incredible.)
Thinking back, Elias suddenly felt guilty. The guy had waited fifty thousand years for a bowl of noodles, and that's what he got? Elias could only imagine how crushed Kevin must've been.
"Ahem. Don't worry, this time I brought the flavor packet. And also, here—this Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Chiyou. Consider it compensation."
"A Judgment-class Honkai Beast? Alright, I'll take it."
Kevin's eyes lit up. After fifteen hundred years, his energy reserves were nearly gone. A beast like Chiyou would go a long way toward restoring his strength.
Still, he was a little surprised. Elias bringing him power-up materials?
"Don't look at me like that. Even if you return to peak condition, without real-world coordinates, you can't leave the Sea of Quanta. So what am I worried about?"
"...And if I captured you? Forced you to open the way back?"
"First, even if you did catch me, I still wouldn't open it—so don't bother. Second, you can't catch someone who can turn into a quantum ghost. Third, my travel restrictions in the Sea of Quanta are basically nonexistent. I can leave whenever I want."
"..."
Kevin stared at Elias' smug expression, realizing he really had no way to deal with him.
And the guy even brought him food. Would attacking now just be ungrateful?
Elias smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Besides, as long as I'm around, even if you're stuck here, at least someone drops by with noodles and conversation. But if you mess with me—no more visits."
"...Come with me. I'll take you to the world bubble I created. I have some questions about the current era."
"No problem~ I've got something to discuss too. Let's eat and talk."
(Didn't you say you were just here for noodles…)
Kevin didn't say it aloud. In his years of becoming increasingly deranged, he'd long since lost the ability to properly snark back.
So, with a sigh, he grabbed Chiyou's corpse and led Elias toward his self-made world bubble.
Elias was quite impressed. Even after all this time and so much power lost, this giant popsicle could still make artificial world bubbles.
(No way. I've gotta go grind some Previous Era dungeons myself. If I could run my own Chimera Project, that'd be way more busted than fusing a couple Herrscher Cores.)
—A few minutes later—
Elias slurped from a freshly made cup of noodles while watching Kevin absorb Chiyou's energy.
"So… how's Chiyou taste?"
"...Not bad. Though it's a bit burnt."
"That's normal. I grilled it with the Judgment of Shamash."
"Oh, that makes sen—wait, WHAT?!"
Kevin nearly choked. What did he just hear?
Chiyou was killed with the Judgment of Shamash?
Elias proudly thumped his chest. Yup—that was all him.
"Elias… what are you?"
"You don't need to know, Kevin. It doesn't concern you."
"..."
Kevin was rendered speechless by this cryptic response. Somehow, it felt very familiar—and very blood-pressure-raising.
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