"Hiss... this is really tragic."
Elias looked at the miserable scene before him and couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. The Elysian Realm that once resembled a dreamlike paradise was gone.
The labyrinth garden had become a scorched wasteland. The aerial courtyard had crashed to the ground. The Eternal Castle was half-destroyed. Strange ruptures—like glitched holes—had appeared in both sky and earth.
The Elysian Realm had turned into ruins.
Most of the women who had fought until the world darkened were now lying on the ground. Yet their hands still gripped their weapons tightly, as if declaring that what had fallen was only their bodies—their spirits had never admitted defeat.
Though that was pretty much useless...
"The only ones still standing are... Ely and Mobius? Those two actually held out to the end? And from the looks of it, Elysia's about to win? A miracle!"
Elias' eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait... aside from Eden and the others, why are there also the 'corpses' of the ELF Elysias here? Don't tell me even those little ones joined the fight? That's insane."
Elias stared at the scene in shock and noticed that the Equipment: Living Form modeled after himself—Hero Elias—was also present. At this moment, his eyes were completely hollow.
Hero Elias shook his head and let out a deep sigh before carrying the fallen ELF Elysias away one by one. Seeing that expression, Elias more or less understood what had happened.
Oh~ as expected of an ELF modeled after me. Facing the same tragedy as I would... poor guy. Looks like his days haven't been easy either.
ELF Klein had to work twenty-four hours a day.
But Hero Elias had to go on twenty-four dates a day.
From a certain perspective, both were equally overworked.
Elias shook his head and focused forward. At this moment, the battle between Elysia and Mobius was about to be decided.
Elysia's Herrscher of Human · Ego battle suit was now filthy and scorched in many places. All five of her wing-blades had snapped. Her Honkai energy and stamina were nearly depleted.
Mobius was in an even worse state. It was obvious at a glance that she had revived many times already. When Elias had seen her during the day, she had still been a tall, voluptuous beauty around one meter seventy, with curves that could suffocate a person—those two E-cup slimes on her chest practically lethal.
But now she had reverted back into a child. Her chest was flatter than Fu Hua's. Elias didn't even dare imagine how many times Mobius had died and come back to life today.
"Still, it's unbelievable. Even though the Herrscher of Origin is extremely will-based and outrageously powerful, logically she shouldn't have been able to defeat everyone. Elysia isn't the Herrscher of Finality, after all."
In truth, if the Herrscher of Finality hadn't had that HP-lock cheat, then even without Elias, the Flame-Chasers would have had a strong chance of grinding her down.
"That pink fatty isn't that strong! Elysia, you shameless cheat!" Mobius glared at the pink elf, teeth clenched.
"Hmph! I was the one getting ganged up on first. Only an idiot would bother with honor against all of you. Bleh!" Elysia stuck out her tongue and made a face.
"Damn it! Stand still! I'll finish you right now!"
Veins bulged on Mobius' forehead. She truly hadn't expected to overturn like this. Her mood was utterly foul.
A few hours earlier, after losing her domain [Stars of the Past], Elysia had been beaten down relentlessly by everyone. If not for the pink elf's thick HP bar, she would have long since been out.
But at the moment she was about to collapse, a flash of inspiration struck her. She deliberately put on the appearance of having exhausted all her strength, then lay on the ground and played dead.
After that...
The others immediately turned on each other.
With the "Great Demon King" Elysia defeated, the already fragile alliance shattered in an instant.
One second they were comrades fighting side by side.
The next, they were stabbing each other in the back.
Mobius was the first to strike, launching a merciless attack at MEI, who stood closest to her. She killed her in a single blow, instantly eliminating her old enemy who had always deducted her research budget.
That became the fuse.
A new round of conflict erupted among the Flame-Chasers. Sakura used her instantaneous speed to eliminate Aponia, only to be taken out by Vill-V's self-destructing mechanical creation.
Vill-V herself was then defeated by Griseo. The girl wielding a lightsaber deflected all incoming firearms with elegance—yet in the end, she succumbed to Mobius' paralyzing poison mist.
As for Pardofelis, she had probably been eliminated early on by the aftershocks of everyone's attacks.
And just when Mobius was on the verge of victory, Player Elysia suddenly rose again—shattering Mobius' beautiful dream.
"Elysia... I'll remember this!" Mobius fumed. She had been only one step away from victory. If she had known, she would have finished Elysia off first.
"Farewell, Mobius! There can be only one winner in this Elias competition—and that's me! Take this—Pink Elf Flying Kick!"
"Guaaah—!"
Elysia took a running start and leapt high into the air, spinning several times before extending her long leg and delivering a single kick squarely to Mobius' face.
The next second, Mobius was sent flying, tracing a graceful parabola through the sky before falling with a splash into the sea of the Elysian Realm.
"Yay—! I finally won!!"
Elysia raised both hands in triumph, overjoyed. This had been the hardest battle of her life. Her win rate in a head-on fight had been less than three percent.
But she had created a miracle.
"Did you see that! This is the power of true love! As long as it's for Elias, Miss Pink Elf can do anything! Cough, cough... well, nobody can hear me right now anyway. I'll brag to them properly later. And now..."
Her bright eyes locked onto the white-haired boy. Those sky-blue pupils burned with passion. Now it was time to claim her spoils.
Though it was a pity the date had been ruined.
The entire night from here on out belonged to her.
"Elias... my Elias... I finally won... won't you praise me?"
"Mm. As expected of my dear Elysia. Brave and clever. But... unfortunately, you haven't won just yet." Elias looked at her with pity.
"Eh?"
Bonk!
Elysia froze in confusion. Before she could react, a sharp pain exploded in her head.
What's going on? I was ambushed? Who attacked me? Weren't they all dealt with already? Wuuu... how could this happen? My Elias...
In the end, Miss Pink Elf rolled her eyes back and fainted.
After she collapsed, a trembling figure slowly revealed herself.
She was the cutest kitty in the Elysian Realm—and the luckiest girl of the Previous Era—Pardofelis.
"S-S-Sorry, Sister Elysia! I'm really sorry! I didn't expect I'd actually survive until the end. But with such a good opportunity, if I didn't sneak attack you, my conscience wouldn't let me rest!"
"..."
If Elysia hadn't already been unconscious, she definitely would have spat out a mouthful of blood.
Pardofelis took a deep breath and glanced at the baseball bat in her hand, still stained with blood. She thought to herself that she absolutely had to destroy this murder weapon later.
But then she reconsidered.
This was the weapon she had used to defeat the Herrscher of Origin.
Its commemorative value was off the charts!
Maybe she should keep it instead. Hide it at the very bottom of her treasure chest.
Incidentally, the baseball bat had been swiped from Kevin. As for how she had managed to survive until the end...
The answer was the same as Elysia.
She played dead.
Only Pardofelis had done it more thoroughly.
When Elysia first clashed with the Flame-Chaser girl group, the cat had dug a hole and buried herself. After that, relying on her naturally unnoticeable presence, she lay low the entire time.
And miraculously, she had actually survived all the way to the final round.
Then, just as Elysia believed she had secured victory and let her guard down, Pardofelis acted like a true "old six," sneaking up from behind and knocking the poor pink elf out cold with a single swing.
"I-I feel like my life has reached its peak. I actually took down Sister Elysia! Am I dreaming or what?!"
"This kind of overturn... if it were me, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight," Elias commented.
As the winner of this romantic war, Pardofelis felt more fear than joy. She could easily imagine that after tomorrow, she probably wouldn't have a good time ahead of her.
Hopefully she wouldn't end up with ten crystal arrows in her back and then be dissected by Mobius and ruled a suicide.
Just thinking about it made Pardofelis feel like her fate was sealed. Forget nine lives—even nine hundred probably wouldn't save her this time!
But in truth, Pardofelis was a clever cat. She had already understood the consequences before she acted. And even so, she had resolutely chosen to strike.
The reason was simple...
"If I die, I die! If I miss such a good chance, I'll regret it for the rest of my life! If I can die in Boss Elias' arms, then this life of mine would be worth it... probably!"
"Ah... I really don't know whether to call you cowardly or brave. But either way, congratulations. You stood at the very end."
"Hehe... this is probably the most glorious achievement of my life."
The cat scratched her head shyly. Thinking back to her record in the Previous Era, she had never defeated a Judgment-class or Vipralopa-class Honkai Beast.
At most, she had fought a few Emperor-class ones. Well... she could technically count the Herrscher of Finality and that Planet-class Honkai Beast—but for those she had only been watching from the sidelines.
But now...
She had successfully taken down the Herrscher of Origin.
Pardofelis felt awesome beyond belief.
"So, Boss Elias, tonight you..."
"Alright, alright~ Tonight I'll stay with Pardofelis."
Elias raised a hand and patted the cat's head. Her tail immediately began swishing happily. She grabbed his other hand and rubbed her cheek against it.
Just like a cat acting spoiled toward her owner.
"But first let's clean up this mess. We can't leave everything to ELF Klein. That would be too pitiful. Good thing the Realm is virtual."
With a wave of his hand, Elias brought up the control panel of the Elysian Realm and activated automatic restoration mode.
Instantly, the nearly destroyed Realm reverted as if time were flowing backward, returning to its original beautiful state.
In fact, even total destruction wouldn't matter. Every Flame-Chaser's memory domain had data backups. Even if completely erased, they could be reconstructed from a save.
"As for everyone else... can't you all just get along? Don't fight over me. You've known each other for so long, yet you showed absolutely no mercy."
Using telekinesis, Elias gathered the fallen Flame-Chasers from all corners of the Realm. Then he activated the authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth and cast a grand healing.
"Why can't you learn from Hua? Look how detached she is from worldly affairs... oh. Right. She's not home."
Fu Hua was currently undercover in Schicksal, following Otto's script. In fact, the intelligence about Otto dispatching search teams to find Cecilia had been sent back by her.
The honest one was diligently carrying out her mission, completely unaware of the earth-shattering event that had just occurred in the Realm. If she found out, the flat immortal would probably suffer a mental break.
(Fu Hua: ...You didn't include me again?)
Under the healing authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth, the women quickly recovered to perfect condition.
But when they opened their eyes and looked at one another, the gazes they exchanged were those of mortal enemies.
On this day, fifty thousand years of sisterhood came to a complete end.
Elias silently prayed that when they went on missions in the future, they wouldn't stab each other in the back. As for restoring their bonds... Elias had already given up on that.
The friendship between women was such a beautiful, stable, sincere, sacred emotion.
Provided she wasn't competing with you for the same man.
"Wuuu... how could this happen? Pardofelis, you used to be such an honest and obedient child. I never expected you'd become like this!"
"Sister Elysia, I... I used to be a thief, you know."
"Pfft—!"
"Hahaha! Serves you right! Elysia, you deserve it!"
"Mobius, that shoe print on your face looks lovely."
"I'll kill you, you pink piglet!!"
Elias watched the women bicker and couldn't help but hold his forehead with a sigh. Maybe he shouldn't have healed them so thoroughly. They had started arguing again immediately.
Seeing his troubled expression, the women glared at one another and temporarily ceased hostilities.
However...
Every single one of them looked at Pardofelis with disturbingly gentle smiles.
Pardofelis: T▽T
She decided then and there that she would cling to Elias all day long from now on. Only by doing so could she secure even a sliver of survival.
Although Pardofelis had won this romantic war and obtained the "Holy Grail," Elias still prepared a delicious feast for the others as a consolation prize.
The enraged pink piggy elf devoured more than half of it by herself.
"At this rate, you're going to gain weight again," Elias remarked.
Elysia: Σ(°△°|||)
As for the lucky little cat who had claimed victory...
"Boss Elias, I'm ready. Come on!"
Inside Pardofelis' memory domain.
Having washed herself clean, she wore an adorable cat-themed pajama set. Her cheeks were flushed red as she looked at the white-haired boy before her. The Honkai Beast cat tail behind her swayed restlessly.
"Don't be so nervous, Pardofelis. I'm not going to eat you... well, actually, tonight I am."
"Mm! Boss Elias, come eat me! But... before that, I need to give this back to you."
From a hidden pocket close to her body, she carefully took out a silver coin pierced by a bullet and solemnly placed it in Elias' hand.
This was the lucky charm she had given him in the first cycle of the Previous Era—containing half of her luck. In the twelfth cycle, Elias had returned it to her.
"I've always kept this coin close to me. We agreed I'd return it to you fifty thousand years later. I hope my luck can keep helping you from now on, Boss Elias."
"Thank you, Pardofelis. You're unbearably adorable."
Elias cherished the silver coin, threading it into a necklace and placing it around his neck. It lightly clinked against a cross pendant gifted by a certain white-haired Kaslana cat.
Carrying half the luck of Pardofelis and half the luck of Kiana, Elias felt like the luckiest person in the world.
He tenderly lifted Pardofelis onto his lap. Their figures gradually overlapped.
Soon, pleasant catlike sounds echoed continuously through the memory domain.