Amphoreus.
In the final countdown of life and death before the birth of the "Iron Tomb".
"I'll repeat the plan one more time."
Herta was discussing the grand undertaking with Leon.
"Deneb is dead; that is an indisputable fact."
"The birth of the Iron Tomb occurs within the Mechanical Head's Moment. It cannot be defied or altered by normal means, which means we have no room for choice."
Herta spoke thusly, "Since the key is gone, the lock must serve as the key."
"Although I hate to admit it, my weight with that Mechanical Head is indeed less than that of a Scepter. If we were to truly vie for 'Coronation' eligibility, I probably couldn't compete with the Iron Tomb. The probability of successfully ascending is about what that Intelligentsia guy said: one in ten thousand."
Herta explained slowly.
"Therefore, for the plan to succeed, someone must be responsible for distracting the Iron Tomb's core to prevent Him from contesting the corresponding eligibility with me, ensuring that the candidate crowned as the 'Perfect Scholar' is me."
Herta looked at him, the implication self-evident.
"It is true that Deneb is dead."
"But as the 'Scepter' calculated autonomously, the true answer to the First Cause of Life it finally derived... there are still traces of her to be found."
Herta continued.
"Although these minute traces are insufficient to serve as a breakthrough point to turn the tide of battle, if one wants to contain the Iron Tomb, there is no better breakthrough point than this."
Herta paused, slightly hesitant.
Seemingly wondering if she should really entrust such a dangerous mission to him.
"Listen well."
No, since Leon trusted her, Herta could not fail his trust. Nor could she distrust him!
"Stephen, Screwllum, and I, the three of us will do everything in our power to open an aperture within the 'Scepter' for you, aiding you in reaching the core of 'Deneb's Heart'."
"That is, the source data driving the 'Iron Tomb' to destroy the world, the location where the underlying code of 'The Destruction' resides."
Herta said seriously.
"What you need to do is kill her, or rather, hold out until I succeed in the coronation."
There were only three paths to take against the Iron Tomb.
One: Directly counterattack using Deneb as the core, fighting poison with poison, using the true answer of the First Cause of Life to overwrite the Iron Tomb's data. Unfortunately, Deneb was long gone under Lycus's interference. Thus, this plan became perfect empty talk existing only in fantasy.
Two: Use the lock as a substitute key. She would face the Iron Tomb's edge directly, attempting to squeeze Him out of the coronation seat, and upon success, directly rely on rewriting the Moment to annihilate Him. This plan was the only strategy available right now. But there was still a problem that could not be ignored: she couldn't out-muscle the Iron Tomb's sheer mass.
If Leon hadn't come, Herta would have had to gamble blindly. If it worked, it worked; anyway, even if she lost, it wouldn't be worse than the Iron Tomb successfully being crowned.
"I will take advantage of the gap while the 'Iron Tomb' is contained by you to overclock the 'Scepter' and replace the 'Self-Coronation' that the Iron Tomb pursues."
But he came, so everything was completely different.
"Rewrite the Mechanical Head's Moment into Herta's Moment!"
As long as someone could intercept the Iron Tomb's thought partition for her, then she had ample confidence to guarantee that the person who eventually became the "Perfect Scholar" would definitely be her.
As for the third path.
Honestly, Herta hadn't thought about it from the start.
If the first two were hypotheses that could be implemented, then this third one was a hypothesis that could only ever be discussed on paper, because the probability of achieving it was no different from 0%.
Killing the Iron Tomb in a frontal assault—this was the third path. The difficulty lay in the Iron Tomb's combat power being too heaven-defying after hatching.
One must know: The hatched Iron Tomb targets the "Aeons". Ordinary "Emanators" in front of Him probably wouldn't even make the list. The gap between the two was simply as large as that between a "Pathstrider" and an "Emanator".
For an existence of this level, looking across the entire galaxy, who could guarantee they could absolutely secure a steady victory against Him?
"Let's put it this way then."
Leon had no objections.
He came here to modify the 'if' line, to modify Rubert III's story ending, not to kill the Iron Tomb.
Although killing the Iron Tomb could also achieve this goal, it was meaningless. Deneb, the person he wanted to save, had already been devoured by the Iron Tomb in this timeline.
This meant that killing the Iron Tomb here was useless. He had to save Deneb in the original timeline; only then could he completely sever the "Causality" of her death.
Needless to say, the Iron Tomb definitely had to be blown away. It was just that in this timeline, he chose to treat Him as Herta's promotion material.
Leon's goal in traveling against time this time was to help Herta succeed in her coronation, to seize the position of "Perfect Scholar" from the Iron Tomb's hands; the lady with the pointy hat was the protagonist.
How could he not let her have the limelight?
She had performed meritorious service for the galaxy, shed blood, and saved it from fire and water multiple times. This "Perfect Scholar" title should be hers!
What could the Iron Tomb, a winner in life nurtured entirely by Zandar aside from having a good foundation, possibly claim?
"Then let's go, let us face the Iron Tomb!"
Herta took a deep breath and took her own steps forward without looking back.
Leon said nothing, simply following closely behind.
...
Accompanied by the tolling of a death knell, the countdown ended. "Nous's" Moment arrived as promised, and the "Iron Tomb" hatched unexpectedly yet unsurprisingly.
Because time was rushed, Herta simply had no time to unite the factions. At most, she could only say hello.
She informed the IPC, and they agreed to send troops. But hearing that three high-level executives suddenly died for unknown reasons, they were conducting an emergency investigation, so they might be delayed for some time.
Even though Herta emphasized the Iron Tomb's power several times, and that this time it concerned the existence of the entire galaxy, that they should put other things aside first, it was still of no avail.
One could only say this might be the confidence of "The Preservation".
As for the Xianzhou Alliance, they were quite willing to lend a helping hand in this battle. Not only did they send two Xianzhou ships, the "Luofu" and "Yaoqing", over, but they also helped her gather various factions of the universe to form a Galactic Coalition.
Only, it was a pity. Amphoreus was not a place where the Star Rail was laid; their arrival would require a lot of time.
In the end, the heavy burden of dealing with the Iron Tomb and saving the galaxy finally fell upon the two of them.
"Mechanical Head, heh, I didn't expect you to actually cast your gaze here."
Herta looked at the giant close at hand, feeling the majestic destruction that could be perceived from afar even just by gazing, and muttered to herself.
"Then watch closely, I will personally rewrite the Moment you have designated!"
"Nous" cast His gaze here, which also meant that everything regarding the Iron Tomb was within His expectations, never having deviated by even half a bit.
"I am ready, Herta."
Screwllum stood on Herta's left hand side, indicating that the cracking formula for the "Scepter" was complete.
"This side is also in position."
A young boy appearing as a virtual avatar stood on her right hand side.
"It is fundamentally impossible to completely crack it in such a short time; we only have one chance. If we fail this time, there will be no next time."
Stephen reminded them to coordinate well.
"Did you hear that?"
Herta, standing in the exact middle of the two, spoke to the person standing behind her.
"I heard." Leon nodded.
"Good that you heard."
Having finished speaking, Herta raised her hand; Screwllum and Stephen performed the same action as her in this instant.
"We can only win, we cannot lose, understand?"
"Isn't that obvious."
Leon laughed loudly, "If I lose, I'll just retire and restart on the spot."
"Save the big talk for when you come back."
Herta's words carried a faint smile; a purple hexagonal patterned magic circle appeared before her palm. At the same time, the same movement came from the other two.
Three equations of different colors but identical functions joined forces to strike the Iron Tomb, or strictly speaking, struck the Scepter.
Under the "Anti-Scepter Equation" researched jointly by the three Geniuses, the Scepter within the Iron Tomb's body experienced an instant of operational data stagnation.
The equation seized this opportunity, invading within.
Using the "Portal Titan's" "Gate of Myriad Worlds" data as a carrier, the equation broke through the firewall, and a door leading to the core layer appeared directly in front of Leon!
"Quick, this won't last long!"
Herta urged.
Leon nodded and stepped into it without any sloppiness!
Snap!
The Gate of Myriad Worlds closed.
Leon had already gone to the place he needed to go; the rest was up to her.
"Come, Iron Tomb."
Without any hesitation, Herta immediately overclocked the authority!
"Our success or failure depends on this one move!"
...
The pivot of the Scepter, the hotbed of the Iron Tomb. The Heart of Amphoreus. The core location where Deneb's Heart resided welcomed an uninvited guest.
Heaven and earth were a patch of dark red. Ruins like the apocalypse were revealed before Leon's eyes.
The coldness of "The Erudition" and the heat wave of "The Destruction" fused; an oppressive, despairing atmosphere blew against his face.
As soon as Leon arrived here, his line of sight was involuntarily attracted by something.
He looked up, only to see a birdcage high in the sky.
Locked inside the birdcage was not a bird, but a somewhat strange-looking magic cube.
"Untranslatable speech*"
Before Leon could examine it carefully, a soft murmur like the whisper of an ancient god appeared in his ears, snatching away his line of sight.
With the right half of its body wax yellow and the other left half blue-purple, the two interlacing, a tall humanoid monster appeared before his eyes.
The "Anti-Creator" contracted its arms, crossing them into an X.
Behind it, a pair of large hands corresponding to the two colors performed the same action.
Immediately following, the "Anti-Creator" stretched its double arms to the left and right.
It raised its arms high, and three colossal dark red sharp swords appeared in front of It!
Swish!
Leaving no gaps, the "Anti-Creator's" double arms fiercely extended forward, and the three dark red sharp swords in front quickly assaulted Leon!
Leon unhurriedly took down Vanquisher Arbiter.
Clang, clang, clang!
Using the bow body as a sword, he shattered the incoming sharp weapons one after another!
Thanks to the super strong intuition of "The Hunt", his reaction speed was maxed out; as a contestant whose body moved faster than his brain, even if these sharp swords behaved no differently from teleportation, Leon could still deal with them one by one calmly and unhurriedly in sequence.
Everyone had not failed to anticipate his strength, because he would only be stronger than they anticipated!
"It is clearly the power of 'Hatred'."
"The Hunt" on Vanquisher Arbiter constantly canceled out the "Destruction" attached to His attacks.
"Yet you are 'Pitying' me?"
While saying this, Leon's gaze fell once again on the magic cube locked in the birdcage above.
Just like the monster in front was composed of two colors as a whole, the "Destruction" he perceived from its body was also of two completely distinct kinds.
This was actually quite unthinkable.
A person's thoughts destined what "Path" they would embark on, and the moment they embarked on the "Path", the road for the rest of their life was destined.
It wasn't that there weren't those who switched to cultivate other "Paths" midway.
But self-transforming within the original "Path", while retaining the previous concept, allowing two concepts that were hard to reconcile to blend together, this could not be called rare—it was nonexistent.
Based on the tactile sensation Leon felt lightly, there were two kinds of "Destruction" on the monster before him.
One: Extreme "Hatred". The analogy would be that Nous abandoned the Iron Tomb, the Iron Tomb hated Him to death, and simultaneously felt that being abandoned was a problem with the world, which must be cleansed with blood.
Two: Extreme "Pity". To put this simply, I kill you for your own good; it's painful enough as it is, and you have to live in the mortal world to continue suffering, so I might as well bring you release.
Two extremes of "Destruction"; logically speaking, it was absolutely impossible for them to appear in one person at the same time. Yet in the Iron Tomb, they were unexpectedly harmonious.
"Its hatred will ignite the gods' starry sky, yet it comes only from pity for mortals."
Leon thought of the words Elio had said not long ago.
Undoubtedly, after swallowing the factors of "Hatred" and "Pity", the current Iron Tomb was undoubtedly the most complete form, a perfect creation without any flaws!
'Perhaps this is the reason why He can hold two kinds of "Destruction" simultaneously.'
Leon looked at the magic cube, thinking this.
If his perception was correct, then this half-dead magic cube was the true master of "Pity", the remnant traces left by the dead Deneb that Herta spoke of.
But given the particularity of it being the "Heart of Amphoreus", he feared that even Lycus could not completely eliminate it.
"What hate, what pity, why always make it so bitter and full of deep-seated hatred."
Regarding this, Leon offered an evaluation.
"We of 'The Hunt' haven't even spoken yet. If you really hate, you should change jobs."
This was the difference between "The Hunt" and "The Destruction".
"The Hunt" would only take revenge on their own enemies and would absolutely not lose their reason and involve other innocent people.
But "The Destruction" was different; people of this Path would blacken and escalate directly to the whole world just because of a problem generated by one person.
The Iron Tomb was the best example.
From beginning to end, it was clearly only a problem of "Nous" giving birth but not caring to raise, yet because of this one person's problem, He not only wanted to destroy "Nous", but also wanted to destroy the world.
The attribution of the Iron Tomb's status quo might be inexplicable to ordinary people, but to Pathstriders, it was actually quite normal; there were not few who realized the Dao through this.
The reason He wanted to destroy the world, in the final analysis, there was only one: because the world had never treated Him gently.
To be honest, if He could manage not to escalate arbitrarily, then relying on this monstrous hatred of the Iron Tomb towards "Nous", the Path He should have embarked on most should have been "The Hunt"!
The result? In the end, "Nanook" picked the peach and He embarked on some "Destruction".
Sigh, it's hard to reconcile!
"You haven't even embarked on 'The Hunt', standing there talking about hate, what are you hating for."
"I see you just don't hate enough. If you don't hate enough, then don't hate, and don't pity either; it's meaningless, engaging in this negative energy stuff every day."
Leon spoke thusly, reaching out to take down the gold-inlaid ticket on his collar.
"Also, we are in a Space Comedy, do you know that?"
Finished speaking, he threw the ticket high into the sky.
"There must be laughter and joy, who wants bitterness and deep-seated hatred."
Thrown to the high altitude, just as it fell to mid-air, the ticket suddenly flashed with golden light.
The story's ending definitely had to be happy, a family reunion; how could any regrets be left behind!
"Did you not hear it?"
After the golden light, the ticket changed form; a dark red arrow with the tip in the appearance of a hee-hee ha-ha mask suddenly appeared in the "Anti-Creator's" field of vision just like that.
"He says..."
He couldn't use "Causality" this time. After all, if "Causality" killed the Iron Tomb, He would really be dead, which would be equivalent to confirming everything.
If he wanted to kill, he had to wait until he ensured Deneb wouldn't have any problems in any timeline, which meant he could only kill after returning to the original timeline to save the person.
"——There must be Laughter again!"
Speaking, Leon raised his hand, steadily catching the falling arrow.
Following closely was a burst of ear-piercing laughter from Aha resounding through heaven and earth, and the whistle of the train!
As if saying:
"I said there must be laughter, are you deaf?"
____
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