"Star of Eden... Kevin, I didn't expect you to play this trump card so early. Is it alright?"
The pseudo-black hole successfully separated their figures, yet simultaneously connected their bodies—everything around, whether light, shadow, or matter, twisted towards the center of the black hole under the immense mass collapse. Michael and Kevin were no exception.
"Firstly, the Ninth Divine Key is no longer called the Cosmic Juggernaut; it's now called the Star of Eden. Secondly, as an enemy, such questions are not for you to consider, nor do you need to. You should think about how to deal with this."
"Tsk tsk tsk!"
Michael's head shake instantly rippled the surrounding light. The light and shadow, originally stretched into threads, began to twist like a vortex, becoming an indescribable jumble of colors in an instant. Kevin involuntarily averted his gaze; his head was already dizzy, another look might cause it to explode.
"I'm just quite impressed. Compared to Hua's use fifty thousand years ago, you seem much more adept at using the Ninth Divine Key. To actively choose to involve both of us within the pseudo-black hole's range... I don't really mind, but Kevin, can your body handle it?"
"I said, as an enemy, you should focus more on how you should respond!"
Seeing Kevin's stubborn refusal to budge, Michael revealed an enigmatic smile. Of course, given that the pseudo-black hole distorted all light, only he himself could perceive this smile.
"So, how do you think I'll respond? How should I respond? Fifty thousand years ago, Hua used the Ninth Divine Key to buy you time to return to the battlefield. What about you? Hmm, seeing Mobius appear, guessing Hua would be held up by her, so you stall me too, waiting for Su and Hua to deal with Mobius together before joining forces to fight me, right? But what makes you think I'll be trapped? Don't I possess the authority of the Ninth Herrscher?"
"!"
Kevin's thoughts wavered for a moment. He had indeed overlooked the authority of the Ninth Herrscher. In the heat of battle, time was precious; how could he possibly think of so much! It was just that fifty thousand years ago, Hua did use the Ninth Divine Key to achieve the goal of stalling time, so he simply followed suit.
Could it be that Hua used other means that time?
Before he could figure it out, he heard Michael chuckle again:
"Alright, I'll just do nothing. I'll wait for you."
"You—"
Although the goal was achieved, how could Kevin possibly be happy with Michael's nonchalant attitude?
Perhaps he could consider this a victory for his goading tactics, but clearly, it wasn't, because Michael explained in the next sentence:
"Don't overthink it. I just feel that rather than cleaning up three small fry one by one, it's better to wait until you're all together and wipe you out in one go."
Kevin had somewhat grown accustomed to Michael's current unprecedented arrogance. Although he didn't quite understand the specific reason, it seemed somewhat deliberate.
Compared to the negative emotions Michael was projecting, he was more concerned about another issue:
"So, you're not worried about Mobius?"
"Why should I worry about her?"
Kevin saw the tangled mess of light before him begin to rotate again; Michael must have tilted his head again.
"Never mind Su and Hua teaming up; even the current Hua alone is more than a match for Mobius. I know that, of course. And then? Not to mention Mobius is practically impossible to kill, and the people she's facing are Su and Hua after all. I'm still not worried about her safety."
For some reason, Kevin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Despite having resolved to treat Michael as an enemy, he still feared, feared Michael would say something even more ruthless and devoid of kinship.
Because it wasn't just verbal arrogance; it signified Michael's denial of their past, fifty thousand years ago, when they fought side-by-side. Although, from a purely rational perspective, since the two were now adversaries, perhaps denying the past was already inevitable?
But Kevin still hoped. Even now, he clung to this stubborn wish—he hoped their current confrontation truly stemmed only from his own misunderstanding, or Michael having difficulties he couldn't voice... Michael might be able to deny everything from the past, but sorry, he couldn't!
Unfortunately, it was ultimately just his... wishful thinking.
After a brief pause, Michael's voice sounded again, still arrogant, still exaggeratedly annoying, but compared to the words he spoke, these qualities were insignificant:
"But, so what if Mobius dies? Rather than saying I'm not worried, it's more accurate to say I don't care. Anyway, she completed the task I gave her. I don't need her anymore afterward. Whether she lives or dies has no impact on me."
"Michael, you... Heh, you don't need to try and provoke me like this."
"Kevin, aren't you... being a bit too self-righteous?"
Michael let out a series of low chuckles, deepening his voice. "Don't think too much. Dealing with you doesn't require such troublesome methods. It's just been fifty thousand years, haven't had many people to talk to. Finally seeing old friends, of course, I have to say a few heartfelt words, right?"
"Wrong! Michael, defeating us probably isn't as simple as you boast, right? Don't treat me like a fool! If that were really the case, why didn't you act..."
"Why didn't I act fifty thousand years ago, five thousand years ago, when your body's recovery was far from what it is now?"
The power of the pseudo-black hole was slowly fading. The surrounding light was flowing back from a tangled mess to straight lines. Kevin could thus clearly see the sneer on Michael's face:
"Is this the reason you dare face me here? From a rational analysis standpoint, it's indeed correct. But unfortunately, I was actually just giving myself a vacation. After all, just finished the Samsara world and then immediately had to rush to do this, do that... This kind of overtime behavior deserves harsh condemnation. It's just that the concept of time is a bit luxurious for me. Accidentally rested a bit too long, seems to have caused a misunderstanding for you, my apologies."
"Heh..."
Kevin breathed calmly, feeling the gravitational pull around him weakening. He knew the final battle was imminent.
However, he only felt something hammering at his heart, again and again, until the pain numbed his features, rendering them incapable of change.
"Heh... hehe..."
In the end, he could only manage a few intermittent laughs.
Yes, this feeling wasn't unfamiliar. He had experienced it once fifty thousand years ago. It was better not to remember, but recalling those distant memories completely shattered his already crumbling mental defenses.
"Good... Good, good, good... Since it's like this, then I absolutely won't hold back anymore. Michael, here today, either you die, or I perish."
Kevin was sad, but not desperate. It wasn't because he was confident he could defeat Michael, of course not... He himself certainly couldn't, adding Hua and Su might not be enough either; he knew this clearly, he always knew.
He firmly believed he could win, actually for only one reason, a reason even Su didn't know.
Thinking of this, a barely perceptible curve appeared on his lips. Yes, Finality was indeed strong, so strong that all the Flame-Chasers combined couldn't match it. But this wasn't fifty thousand years ago. Humanity had more preparations, for example, the gift Mei left behind, the one meant to be opened only at the conclusion of Project Stigma.
That spark of hope, stolen by the artificial intelligence girl named after the mythological fire-bringer.
He knew this was also a gamble, but he was betting that Michael, as Finality itself, was completely unaware of this.
This was all he could do. This battle, as he said, was either you die or I perish. Win, and use the authority of Finality to implement Project Stigma ahead of schedule. Lose, and it would merely be a reenactment of the extinction that should have arrived fifty thousand years ago.
"Pfft! Hahaha, hahahaha. Stop dreaming, Kevin. In my eyes, there has only ever been one possibility..."
Michael was unaware of Kevin's inner thoughts, and Kevin wasn't afraid of him using his powers to probe his mind—for the former, it was unnecessary. For the latter, he firmly believed in the Discipline he had exchanged sleeplessness for, immunity to mental attacks. This wasn't out of trust in the Discipline; he simply, blindly believed that what his comrades could use could genuinely support him. That was all.
"No need for more pointless words, Michael. Everything will only be known after we fight."
The moment his voice fell, the gravitational pull imposed by the pseudo-black hole vanished. Everything returned to the starting point, back to the city wailing in a sea of fire, caught utterly unprepared.
Smack!
Michael's raised right hand blocked his left cheek just in time. The next instant, Hua's fist arrived, hitting square in his palm.
"Hraah—"
Without much verbal exchange, Kevin swiftly raised the Judgment of Shamash high above his head and slashed down.
"Hmph."
If Michael could be killed by such a mundane strike and mundane coordination, he wouldn't deserve the title of Finality at all.
The moment before the greatsword descended, he used the force transmitted from Hua's fist to flash sideways. His boots scraped against the ground with a low friction sound, chaotic dust kicked up nearly knee-high. He seemingly dodged Kevin's blow by a hair's breadth, yet in reality, strolled casually away.
Swoosh—
As expected, the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind. Sensing the flow of air in space, the shape of a longsword formed in Michael's mind—
"Key of Domination, aiming for the waist, good choice."
If it were slightly higher, Michael could bend over or even duck his head to dodge. If slightly lower, Michael could leap up to evade. Only the center point, the waist, required the target to cover the greatest distance to dodge, unless someone could master the trick of automatically splitting their body in half and closing back up after the sword passed—likely impossible for anyone.
However, all this was predicated on the necessity of "dodging"...
Michael stood ramrod straight, making no move to evade.
Ling Shuang, swinging the sword, flashed through countless possibilities—Was this man seeking death? Had he simply failed to react in time, or failed to even detect the attack from behind?
No, that shouldn't be it. The oppressive aura this man emanated was still fresh in her memory. Such a basic mistake shouldn't happen to him.
However, he did have a strange relationship with Master. Should she hold back because of that?
No, of course not!
Various thoughts flashed through her mind, yet her sword didn't slow even by half a fraction due to her thinking. Still Water, No Dust, Clear Mirror, Grand Void—her sword heart had reached the Grand Void state. Achieving Still Water, No Dust, and a mind free of distractions was not difficult. She could even go further, just like now; her mind couldn't be said to be free of wandering thoughts, yet it didn't affect her attack motions much.
As for whether she could cut the man before her in two? It seemed unnecessary to think too much. The move she used wasn't some powerful sword technique, not even one of the forms taught by her master, just an ordinary horizontal slash. But she had confidence—confidence in herself, confidence in her past ten years of arduous training, confidence in her sword heart, sword spirit, and confidence in the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand.
"Got him—"
To think so would be somewhat naive.
Clang—
Michael indeed stood motionless, but just as the Xuanyuan Sword was about to touch his body, it was blocked prematurely by something invisible to the naked eye, even emitting a harsh impact sound.
"Not good!"
Ling Shuang's attack having failed, she instinctively chose to retreat. Michael, however, moved now. He spun around quickly, his left hand grabbing for the longsword in Ling Shuang's hand.
There was no time to think. Anyone else's first reaction would naturally be another horizontal slash to force Michael back, but the simplicity of that choice itself felt wrong. She forcefully suppressed her impulse, quickly found a second course of action in her mind, and put it into practice—
She performed a messy flourish, causing Michael's grabbing hand to pause mid-air. Seizing the opportunity, she reversed her grip on the hilt, completely eliminating the possibility of Michael snatching the Xuanyuan Sword.
And then, she saw the smile on Michael's face again.
His motion to snatch the sword halted abruptly. His palm quickly stood upright, and from a distance he couldn't possibly touch, he gave a gentle push towards Ling Shuang—
Boom!
Amidst flying dust and rubble, Hua arrived at the last moment, blocking in front of Ling Shuang, using her own body to tank Michael's casual blow for her disciple. Of course, Michael's casual blow was just as easily received by her; apart from some extra dust on her cuffs and collar, she was completely unharmed.
But such destructive power was still a novelty for the young girl. Although she had witnessed the clash of two Judgments of Shamash from afar twice recently, that was ultimately long-distance viewing, and she was somewhat preoccupied with facing that monster.
It naturally couldn't compare to experiencing it firsthand now.
She blinked blankly, turning her head. A wide, long trench had been carved into the earth before and behind her, extending beyond sight. If filled with water, people would believe it was a small river.
And the small patch of ground where she and her master stood had become something akin to a small islet in the middle of a river...
For some unknown reason, she looked up at the sky without cause. The white ring of light formed by the eclipse still hung high overhead, stubbornly shedding insignificant light upon the mortal world.