Despite the Herrscher's immobilization for five days, there is not much we can do. I had a small talk with Elysia and had Fire MOTH reorganize whatever mess happened during the fight with the Herrscher. The others rested for a while. I was left behind in outer space, guarding the sleeping Herrscher of the End.
I rubbed my eyebrows.
There are three things I am sure of.
One, her honkai energy reserves, or rather, output, dropped by forty percent. This makes her half as strong as before.
Two, she is utterly immobilized with little chances to use her [Divine Realm]. No matter how broken she is, she wouldn't be able to fight without an active mind.
Three, her physical body down to her very soul exists as a form of special energy. I don't even need to think as to whom she is based on; the Cocoon of Finality.
This battle also revealed a lot of important things.
For once, Grandpa Su did mention about the Herrscher of the End standing on equal footing with them at the start. She grew stronger until Kevin was forced to use the Judgement of Shamash along with his Diabolic Form's Active Honkai Reaction. That level of attack seems to have surpassed her "current strength", hence her immobilization. That and Selene's attack helped pull that off.
This makes it clear that the Herrscher of the End does not merely seek to destroy. She embodies the Cocoon of Finality's intent of choosing a perfect embrace. Only, humanity's defeat proved that no one is suitable.
What she didn't do was the full-on [Divine Realm] attack from the start. Had I not broken it with a strong mental attack, that would have spelled the end of that fight. After that, she returned to her prior arrangements.
For this, it might have something to do with this Bubble World's nature. Nothing else could explain it otherwise. Any kind of bugs can be attributed to it.
Since this is the case, a plan to turn her into another cultivation hack popped up in my mind. The authority she holds, Finality, is akin to the Dao of Time. She is also a huge energy source in and of itself.
…
Why am I sounding more and more like an evil cultivator?
It was dual cultivation at first. Then, it's turning others into sustenance. What will I do next, enslave others?
Wait a minute.
Enslavement…
The Herrscher of the End…
I think I found the answer to all of our predicaments.
*****
The entire night was hectic for everyone living on Earth. The large-scale phenomenon where bright white light emerged out of the humans' bodies caused a large-scale panic. Some thought it was judgement day, while some thought there is an evil outer god in outer space.
Fire MOTH did not come out to clarify things, instead opting to reduce panics by stricter enforcement of the law.
Right at this moment, the main perpetrator of the trouble came to the Fire MOTH headquarters at the Mu Continent.
"Good evening."
"Ah..?!"
Elysia almost threw the apple pie on her plate to the air. She barely managed to calm down as she closed the refrigerator door.
There, she saw Shi Tian standing in the corner of the room.
"It is bad to startle a cute girl like me, isn't it~?"
Elysia flashed her usual smile.
"A cute girl who's taking out an entire apple pie for a midnight snack. Won't you get fat?"
"Cute girls never gain weight!"
To this, he could only give out a "you do you" look.
"I have something to ask, Herrscher of Origin."
"Hum~?"
Elysia wasn't surprised to hear Shi Tian know about her true identity. He is, after all, the unfathomable immortal swordsman who solo'd the Herrscher of the End.
"Are you aware of the real world's situation?"
"Slightly. Why?"
"Will you mind passing on the authority of Origin to me?"
Her eyes widened at his request before it turned into a somewhat relieved look.
"You know, I was planning on giving it to a cute girl. What should I do now~?"
"A lifetime supply of spiritual dishes…" He paused before emphasizing, "Including desserts."
"..!"
Miss Pink Elf's pink and blue eyes shot up.
"Deal~!"
He did not know whether to cry or laugh. Though, he has a feeling that Elysia would have given it to him whether he gave her the desserts or not.
"I suppose you have that kind of will."
"Yes."
Shi Tian did not bother hiding his extraordinary mental state.
"Then there are no problems. Do not forget about the deal, okay?"
"Um. Catch."
Elysia caught onto the silver ring he threw mid-air. A look of teasing came from her eyes.
"Ah? Are you, perhaps, proposing to me? It is quite unromantic~"
"...Those are the first batch of desserts. Just click on the gemstone to access the space inside. Farewell and take care."
After cupping his fist and bowing, he disappeared like the wind.
"An immortal… it truly befits him."
Elysia's murmurs were lost as she took a look at the warehouse-sized internal storage filled with countless desserts.
*****
A few hours passed. The Herrscher of the End did not break out of her slumber. Her lost energy reserves could not recover for the time being. She could not muster the strength to counterattack.
"I want to enslave the Herrscher of the End."
"""..."""
None of the three girls said a word. Sirin's gaze, in particular, felt sharp.
"I thought hard. If we can raise our realms instantaneously with all the treasures we have, it would have been fine. We can do the same with the Herrscher of the End. But, that is not the case."
Nonetheless, the three girls nodded. Even Sirin, who is a newbie when it comes to immortal cultivation, knows our helplessness. Immortal cultivation takes time, and that is what we lack the most.
"I thought it'd be better to have a high-level fighting force instead."
"What should I do?"
Kiana did not back down from it.
"Me too. How can I help?"
Veliona expressed her typical flat-yet-sharp look. Sirin did not speak, but from her eyes alone, I can tell she shares the same sentiment as Kiana.
"We'll use the forbidden technique together. You three will be responsible for damaging her mind, while I perform the enslavement technique."
For once, Earth's strongest defense talked like genuine demonic cultivators…