[Although the carapace on its body was gone, the Swarm King still remained an immortal and indestructible existence.]
Theoretically, the rules of the Ultra Universe and the Honkai: Star Rail universe are not the same. It was only from the moment the Swarm King arrived in this cosmos until now that it had fully integrated with the concepts of this universe.
The deeper the conceptual integration, the greater the Swarm King's immortality.
Although it was still no match for an enhanced Ultraman Saga, Ultraman Saga could do nothing to it either.
"The Aeon of Preservation is the oldest and most magnificent of the known Aeons, the mason of the Celestial Comet Wall, the Subspace Crystalline Wall, and the Great Attractor Base, building its ramparts on a scale of light-years..."
As Stelle's voice sounded, a crimson flame appeared in her hand. A fiery lance, symbolizing the Path of Preservation, gradually materialized.
A distant, ancient aura emanated from it, and some extremely mysterious symbols appeared on the lance's shaft.
The Amber King's methods, while not yet capable of extracting the concept of the Aeon of Propagation from across a universe, could achieve this feat with little difficulty by relying on Stelle's unique nature.
Stroking the blade of the fiery lance, a divine light flashed through Stelle's golden eyes.
The scene shifted.
On the smoke-filled battlefield, Tayzzyronth was already covered in scars and wounds.
Although its body was gradually recovering, it was still no match for its peak condition.
"Are you ready? Swarm King Tayzzyronth. This is something you should be very familiar with."
Stelle, piloting Ultraman Saga's body, hovered in the sky above Tayzzyronth, looking down upon it.
Within her golden pupils, an ancient aura seemed to travel across countless worlds to land upon her.
It was Preservation!!
The moment the tip of the lance ignited, the Amber King's giant hammer appeared like an illusion in the endless void.
"...!!!"
Although it still said nothing, the Swarm King froze the moment the Amber King's giant hammer appeared.
Recalling the battle from years ago, its body began to tremble involuntarily.
Unlike Saga's beam, though both had defeated it, the Amber King had nearly killed it outright. That fear of death still lingered in the Swarm King's mind to this day, unable to be dispelled.
Run!!!
Without any hesitation, the Swarm King's elytra regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye. It flapped its wings and flew towards the endless cosmos.
It had no destination. It was simply trying to survive. The fear of death drove it to flee, its speed faster than ever before.
And it must be said, the Swarm King's newly grown elytra were indeed fast. At the very least, an ordinary Ultra Warrior, even one known for speed like Ultraman Max, would find it impossible to outrun the current Swarm King.
But... it was facing Saga.
Ultraman Saga couldn't fly faster than the Swarm King, but he didn't need to fly to catch up.
A ripple in space, and in the next moment, Ultraman Saga's fist slammed into the face of the fleeing Swarm King.
Hit at such high speed, the Swarm King's head was sent spinning.
But before it could recover, under Stelle's control, the Amber King's giant hammer came crashing down.
The sound of the hammer echoed through the universe, deafeningly loud.
The already dazed Swarm King felt its very soul being shattered by this blow.
Its shell-fold and God-Song were drowned in a splash of seven-colored blood. The primordial ovum, with its fangs and antennae, fled from the side of the Swarm King's foot, flowing away and dying instantly upon leaving its shell.
Seven-colored blood painted the great earth, a grand birth taking place amidst fervor and death.
A scene as bizarre as something out of Cthulhu flickered across the screen, filling the entire starry sky with a mysterious hue.
In the end, under the dimmest blue-green planet, the brilliance gradually faded. The King of a Myriad Insects, Swarm King Tayzzyronth... was falling.
The fall of an Aeon. The death of a god.
This was a sight many had never seen. For most, they might go their whole lives without ever seeing a god, let alone witnessing one fall.
The Swarm King's figure continued to fall. It should have been a moment of great satisfaction, yet it inexplicably evoked a sense of desolation, of helplessness.
This emotion, accompanied by the Cthulhu-esque imagery, was constantly stirred by the dim starlight.
With Stelle's effort, Ultraman Saga raised the Amber King's giant hammer and, using it as a weapon, struck at Tayzzyronth's divine soul.
With each fall of the hammer, Tayzzyronth drew one step closer to death.
Even though its God-Marrow had not been fully extracted, Tayzzyronth had already lost all possibilities, becoming a corpse walking towards its demise.
It had just begun to merge with this universe, with a world vaster than its original one laid out before it, but its concept... came to an abrupt halt at the very moment it was about to expand.
---o---
"This time... it's really dead."
Quietly watching the fall of the Aeon, Ruan Mei, who was in the Honkai: Star Rail universe, found herself in a daze.
Shock? Or perhaps disbelief.
In short, the fall of an Aeon had dealt a tremendous shock to her inner world.
Every fall of the giant hammer, every splash of blood, the battered divine soul, the separated concept—every single one of these allowed this genius to feel what it was to be truly shaken, what it was to be truly beautiful.
"The life of an Aeon... is dazzling... and beautiful."
After a long silence, Ruan Mei spoke slowly, the shock in her eyes yet to recede.
For someone who was born lacking emotions, this was likely her first time experiencing such a feeling.
And it wasn't just her. The viewers across the entire infinite multiverse who witnessed this scene also swallowed hard, their hearts unable to find peace for a long time.
The death of the Swarm King, the Amber King's giant hammer, the light of Ultraman Saga—any one of these was enough to leave them stunned.
"Ultraman Saga... raised the Amber King's hammer and smashed the Aeon of Propagation to death. Heavens..."
Clutching her head, Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath, but her heart was still in turmoil.
For a human from an ordinary world to see such a scene, it was a miracle she wasn't scared to death.
Is this what death is like? Is the fall of an Aeon so different? Or are all Aeons like this...
And then there was Ultraman Saga. As the light of miracles, the moment he raised that giant hammer, he seemed to become one with the entire universe.
His light shone in all directions, the seven-colored light mingling with the Swarm King's blood, as if trying to extract the concept of the Swarm King from every single drop.
"The fall of a god, the death of an Aeon, a bewildering scene... In my five hundred years of life, I have never seen something so astounding."
At the Schicksal headquarters, Otto sat up, sighing with emotion.
The red tea on his desk had long since gone cold.
The Swarm King was dead, killed by the combined efforts of many parties, just like its first death.
Saga, the Amber King, Stelle, and even Noa—all of them together brought about the end of the Swarm King.
---o---
[On the light curtain, the giant hammer continued to fall, and the Swarm King gradually fell silent.]
Its body began to decay, the remaining shell dissipating, as if returning to the embrace of the cosmos.
"After all that hammering, the God-Marrow still has a chance to recover. Is this how it's going to end?"
Gazing at Tayzzyronth's body, Stelle stroked her chin in thought. Within her golden pupils, that ancient power and energy belonging to the Aeon of Preservation had already dissipated.
The Swarm King was dead, at least for now. But its God-Marrow remained. The giant hammer could not smash the God-Marrow of Propagation.
Perhaps after several hundred years, or even thousands, tens of thousands, or an even longer time, the Swarm King would reappear in the universe. And by then, who knows who would be there to stop it.
"Sigh... speaking of which, the Amber King couldn't completely kill the Swarm King back then either. The life force of an Aeon... is a bit too much to handle."
"Leaving behind a lingering disaster is never a good thing, but... I'm powerless to do anything more."
Stelle sighed and had Ultraman Saga raise his hands high. Then... a beam that cut through the cosmos appeared once more, shooting straight at the Swarm King's shell.
This time, there was no suspense. The Swarm King's physical body disintegrated, vanishing like dust without a trace.
"Hah... is the battle... over?"
Climbing out from the space within Ultraman Saga's body, Musashi and Asuka had gradually recovered and gotten to their feet after the Swarm King's disappearance. Although they had temporarily lost consciousness due to fatigue and the high-intensity battle, they could still feel what Stelle was doing.
"It's over. At least for the next ten thousand years, the Swarm Disaster will not appear in the Ultra Universe again."
Looking at the two of them, Stelle spoke slowly. Given the degree of damage to the Swarm King's God-Marrow and soul, it would be impossible for it to reappear for at least a few tens of thousands of years.
But after a few tens of thousands of years, it would make a comeback. And at that time, the universe would still have great gods like Noa to protect it. However, the thought of not being able to completely destroy the Swarm King right now made Stelle feel utterly uncomfortable.
"Ten thousand years..."
Ten thousand years. For an Ultra Warrior, for most inhabitants of the cosmos, this was already a very long time. But on the scale of the entire universe, it was far from enough.
The Swarm King remained a lingering threat. Especially now that it had merged with the concepts of the Ultra Universe, the next time it appeared, the concept of Propagation would likely expand to an unimaginable degree. And who knows how many civilizations would be destroyed then.
"You've already done your best. Leave the rest to us."
Seeing Stelle's troubled expression, Musashi patted her on the shoulder and comforted her.
Speaking of which, Stelle was from another universe. She would eventually have to return to her own home. In ten thousand years, she certainly wouldn't be here. When the Swarm King reappeared, they would have to rely on the power of the Ultra Warriors.
"But..."
"There are no 'buts.' Although this guy is from the same universe as you, you have nothing to do with the Swarm King. We Ultra Warriors were able to defeat him this time, so we can definitely do it next time!"
Stelle wanted to say more, but Asuka cut her off.
Seeing this, Stelle could only nod. "Alright then. In ten thousand years... I'll have to count on you."
---o---
Across the infinite multiverse, countless viewers who saw this scene were filled with emotion.
This Aeon business... it's best to stay away from it if you can.
The Swarm King was dead, yes, but it could revive in ten thousand years. Given this situation, even if Saga, the Amber King, and even Noa were here, they could probably only delay the Swarm King's revival indefinitely, but not kill it completely.
"Ace Pilot of the Death Squad": "Sigh, the King of a Myriad Insects. It plagues one place, then goes to plague another. Now... who knows what it will take to bring peace to the universe."
Elysia: "The concept has already been extracted, yet it still can't be defeated. Is there really no other way?"
Detective Conan: "At least in the Honkai: Star Rail and Ultra universes, there is no way to kill the Swarm King. To kill the Swarm King, one must rely on a power from outside the world."
A power from... outside the world?
Seeing Conan's words, Otto, the Bishop of Schicksal, one of the most intelligent humans across the multiverse, had a sudden realization.
In this third viewing, a power from outside the world seemed to have been present from the very beginning.
That's right. It was... the Gray Mist!!
---o---
[On the light curtain, as a flash of light passed, Zero, Dyna, and Cosmos, the three Ultra Warriors, appeared in the cosmos.]
The Swarm King had been eliminated. The destruction of the remaining Swarm was only a matter of time.
This battle was a victory for them, the Ultra Warriors.
BOOM!!!
Just as the three Ultras were preparing to return to the Land of Light to provide support, a deafening roar came from the depths of the universe.
"That is..."
Ultraman Reiga!
The Ultraman Reiga who had run off somewhere had now appeared, covered in scars, floating before a mist-like calamity.
The Gray Mist, having crossed the edge of the universe, had appeared directly in the cosmos.
"Drip... Drip..."
The sound of his timer rang out. The strongest Ultimate Ultra, Ultraman Reiga, was actually running out of energy under the pressure of the Gray Mist?
This was one of the strongest Ultra Warriors, a fusion of eleven of his comrades.
"Hey, Reiga... are you alright?!"
Seeing Reiga's state, Zero hurriedly transformed into Ultimate Shining Zero and stood in front of him!
"Zero-senpai, be careful!!"
Before Reiga's words could fall, a streak of Gray Mist pierced through Ultraman Zero's body at superluminal speed.
If it weren't for the Aegis of Palagye on his chest, Zero's life would have been in danger.
"What the hell is this thing!"
Zero clutched his wound with one hand, while the blade in his other hand extended continuously, slashing straight at the Gray Mist.
And the result, naturally, was without question.
His attack rendered useless, Zero immediately opened a spatial portal, taking Ultraman Reiga with him as he fled the scene.
---o---