"The Third Stellar Particle Body!"
Riku's crimson eyes flashed, and without hesitation, he unleashed a Pseudo Star Map Creation, a conceptual world-ending strike meant to kill in a single blow.
"Not good!" Indra's expression changed drastically as he poured out his full power, transforming into golden lightning in a desperate attempt to evade.
Even a two-digit would not dare take such a blow head-on, let alone him!
In an instant, the Pseudo Star Map tore across the Horizon of White Night, once again ravaging this paradoxical world.
That Indra could dodge was no surprise to Riku. Instead, his lips curled upward. The moment Indra moved to evade, Riku vanished as well.
The [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence], his eyes saw through everything about Indra.
When Indra reformed as golden lightning in the far right sky, Riku appeared directly behind him. At the same time, golden chains manifested from the heavens, binding Indra tightly.
"Checkmate," Riku said calmly as he appeared before Indra. Not check as in shōgi, where one might still resist, but true checkmate, where no chance of reversal remained.
"This is... the Chains of Heaven!" Indra's face twisted in shock. His entire body weakened, his Divinity suppressed, as he stared at Riku in disbelief.
"Impossible... The Hero King was never born within the Little Garden. Without him, how could the Chains of Heaven exist? This is a paradox! Why do you possess the Chains of Heaven!?" cried the Lord of White Night, her pupils contracting in astonishment.
The god-slaying treasure [Chains of Heaven] was legendary even within the Little Garden. Famous for its broken-limit power against divinity itself, yet for various reasons, the Hero King had never been born here. Thus, the Chains remained only a legend. And now that legend had been overturned.
The Halloween Queen stared silently at Riku, her heart unable to stay calm. Card after card, secret after secret, every move shattered their understanding of the world. This man seemed utterly without limits. From which world had he even come?
"Perhaps it's simply because... he is Riku," the Halloween Queen said softly.
Her words, strangely affirming of Riku, made the Lord of White Night pause, looking oddly at her eternal rival. They were sworn enemies, yet they understood each other well. For the Halloween Queen to say something like this, no one else could have made her.
But remembering Riku's unfathomable mystery, even the Lord of White Night had to admit the truth in that.
"The battle's over. Far quicker than expected." She snapped her folding fan open, sighing in wonder.
From the very start, Indra had been caught in Riku's trap. They had assumed the Pseudo Star Map was the killing strike, but in truth, it had been a mere decoy.
"Facing an opponent with such bottomless trump cards... It's truly troublesome." The Lord of White Night exhaled lightly.
"You really are hopeless, Lord of White Night. Did you honestly think the fight was that simple?" The Halloween Queen's voice rang with amused scorn.
"You damned Witch, are you picking a fight with me?!" The Lord of White Night's aura flared, murderous intent brimming, ready to strike at any moment.
"Hehe... While yes, the Pseudo Star Map was bait, and the Chains of Heaven the real checkmate, why was Riku able to anticipate Indra's thoughts so perfectly, appearing instantly at his rear? Clearly, there's another gift he hasn't revealed. And that gift... is of a level that defies the heavens." The Halloween Queen's golden eyes glimmered, her voice low.
She recalled Riku's earlier words: "All things beneath the heavens, every phenomenon I see them all."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Hm?" The Halloween Queen's words made the Lord of White Night freeze, recalling the lightning-quick battle just moments ago. She suddenly realised something was off.
She had thought Riku merely raised his strength to an irregular three-digit and then feinted, catching Indra off guard. But that couldn't be right. Indra was the mightiest [War God]. Even against her peak self, he had blocked blows on instinct alone.
"Only now realising it? You really are just a brute with strength alone," the Halloween Queen mocked mercilessly.
The Lord of White Night's face darkened, and she immediately unleashed power toward the Halloween Queen.
The Halloween Queen, of course, retaliated in kind.
Thus, with barbed words and earth-shattering force alike, the two Problem Children once again plunged the heavens into chaos.
"I've lost."
Bound in the Chains of Heaven, Indra gave a bitter smile. Even as the God of Gods, there was no escaping this. In fact, precisely because he was so divine, the chance of breaking free was absolute zero. Against the gods, the Chains of Heaven were this unfair.
But unlike before, Indra didn't ask why Riku possessed such things. He knew Riku would never answer.
"Careless again... damn it." Indra grimaced. The first time he fought Riku, Brahma had died because he had underestimated him and fallen to Riku's trump card. Now fooled by a feint, he had fallen again.
"Careless? I wouldn't call it that." Riku shook his head faintly.
Offering only that cryptic denial, Riku extended his right hand toward Indra.
"First, check," he said coolly.
Boom!
Scarlet energy surged from his palm, condensing into a sphere several meters across, compressed to a terrifying degree.
With a final, resigned look, Indra was blasted like a falling star, hurled away.
BOOOOOOM!
The scarlet energy flood engulfed the Horizon of White Night, making the paradox world quake violently once more.
Had that attack been unleashed outside, it would have been enough to destroy an entire universe. Such was the might of Riku's Super Saiyan God state.
The terrifying storm swept across the Horizon, forcing both the Lord of White Night and the Halloween Queen to halt their brawl and raise their defences.
Only after several minutes did the energy tempest subside, leaving the world scarred and broken.
"Congratulations, contestant Riku Dola, on obtaining the Solar Authority of Scorpio!" The voice of Laplace's little demon rang out.
With Indra entering the [Death] state, the atmosphere at the scene grew grim once again.
"To slay Indra in one strike, without even using your full trump cards... That makes things a little troublesome." The Halloween Queen's voice drifted out, calm yet heavy. "Looks like I'll have to bring out my own trump card after all. After all, I have no intention of losing."
The Solar War, fueled by the chaos stirred up by Riku, progressed with astounding speed. In just a single day, countless god-kings, star spirits, and dragon species had been defeated by him, one after another entering into the state of [Death].
For the Halloween Queen, her curiosity had been more or less satisfied, but dragging things out any further seemed unwise. She had no intention of losing to the Lord of White Night in the very first Solar War.
"Her trump card?" Riku's crimson eyes narrowed as the [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence] shone, allowing him to see through past, present, and future. In that instant, he understood exactly what the Halloween Queen intended.
He frowned. Even knowing what she was about to do, there was no real way to guard against it.
"Could it be…!" The Lord of White Night's expression shifted, clearly realising what her eternal rival planned.
"Riku, you've shown me so many fascinating things. Now, it's my turn to return the favour," the Halloween Queen said with a bright, playful smile.
At her words, the sky and earth twisted violently. The [Horizon of White Night] vanished, replaced by a world of golden mirrors.
In the next moment, both Riku and the Lord of White Night were drawn into an unknown dark void, where countless points of light glimmered all around. Each one was a star, radiating golden brilliance, all linked together through overlapping boundaries.
Manipulating the boundaries of the stars themselves, this was the [Golden Great Demonic Realm], the interstice of boundaries. It was the Halloween Queen's true secret art.
"Queen… the interstice of boundaries, is it? You really dragged me into quite the troublesome place," Riku muttered, his [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence] piercing through everything.
The interstice of boundaries was one of her most powerful techniques. The rift itself was the will of boundaries made manifest, existing in an unconscious state of ultimate defence.
When the Queen was in this state of supreme defence, even a two-digit existence would find her untouchable.
"So, we've returned here again… The [Golden Great Demonic Realm], the interstice of boundaries…" The Lord of White Night frowned deeply. She had once been trapped here herself, bombarding endlessly for nearly a year until both her and the Queen's spirit ranks had been worn down, and only then had she managed to escape.
"Welcome to the interstice of boundaries. Lord of White Night, this place should hardly be unfamiliar to you, so I needn't say more." The Halloween Queen's figure appeared before them once again, her tone calm and relaxed.
Yet even this figure could not be sensed through spirit rank. Her true body was separated by distances beyond imagination.
"Hmph." The Lord of White Night's face twisted in displeasure as she let out a cold snort.
"Riku, if you can escape this interstice before the Solar War ends, I will face you in a Gift Game where I wager everything I have." The Halloween Queen's eyes sparkled as she locked her gaze on him.
With that, her figure vanished. There was never any doubt whether Riku would accept.
"Before the end of the Solar War, huh? That means twenty-three days remain," Riku muttered, brows furrowed.
"Boy, I'm not trying to discourage you, but escaping this rift within the remaining time is impossible," the Lord of White Night said sternly. "Back then, I spent nearly an entire year bombarding without end, until her spirit rank was drained to its absolute minimum, and only then did I manage to break out."
"Indeed… even a two-digit existence would not be able to escape quickly. That is the Queen's true strength," Riku admitted, genuinely impressed.
The Halloween Queen was truly worthy of being the only three-digit existence to break into the transcendent tier. Her power was undeniable.
"So, what do you plan to do? Right now, you could never break free before the Solar War ends," the Lord of White Night pressed, her sharp gaze fixed on him. "Or… do you still have some hidden trump card?"
In the past, she would never have believed he could. But after seeing Riku reveal hidden ace after hidden ace, she dared not say such words too firmly anymore. To be proven wrong again would be far too humiliating.
Riku gave no immediate answer. Instead, he casually gathered energy and fired it toward a random point.
But instantly, the attack was transferred elsewhere by the rift's boundaries, vanishing without effect.
"I told you it's useless," the Lord of White Night frowned. "Don't you dare ignore me, boy."
"As expected, it was transferred," Riku muttered. "Looks like ordinary methods won't work."
Though his perpetual motion engine allowed him to maintain peak output indefinitely, even that wouldn't be enough. If the Lord of White Night had taken nearly a year, then even at his best, it would take months, far too long.
Even using the [Pseudo Star Map] might cut down the time somewhat, but it still wouldn't be enough.
"To manipulate boundaries with such perfection… what an absurd ability," Riku couldn't help but sigh once more.
"At least you understand. In this Little Garden, not a single person has ever managed to lay a hand on that idiot Queen. Yet the number of Shura Gods and Buddhas she has toyed with is countless," the Lord of White Night sneered.
"True, manipulating boundaries is an invincible, monstrous power… but that doesn't mean there's no way to win," Riku replied with a faint smile, his composure returning.
"…You really do have another trump card, don't you?" The Lord of White Night snapped her folding fan open, staring intently at him, a fresh wave of unease stirring in her heart.
"There are several ways to escape," Riku said evenly.
The words made the Lord of White Night freeze, her expression twisting strangely. Inside the rift of boundaries, the only method she had ever known was to blast endlessly until the Queen's spirit rank was exhausted. Yet Riku claimed there were several ways. It was hard not to suspect he was bluffing.
Noticing her doubt, Riku only smiled faintly, offering no further explanation.
Because what he said was the truth.
The [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence] could unravel the truth of the Halloween Queen herself. Though her nature was infinitely complex, surpassing even Athena, under this broken ability, Riku could see through it completely in a matter of hours.
And by the rules of the Solar War, unravelling an opponent's truth was also counted as a victory, forcing them into the state of [Death]. Of course, such a method could likely only be used once after all, if everyone's truth could be exposed so easily, even the vast number of Solar Authorities wouldn't be enough to cover the losses.
But once was enough. As long as he forced the Halloween Queen into [Death], even if the interstice itself remained, it would no longer matter.
Still, Riku had no intention of revealing this method here and now. That would be too great a waste.