"I have seen your resolve, but..."
As the sound of explosions faded, a calm voice emanated from the white light, followed by the appearance of a white hole above the All-World Matrix.
"Your resolve is beneath mention in the face of a void capable of swallowing 'IX' itself."
Zephyro's figure reappeared. The intense light from the white hole behind him enveloped him, turning him into a mere shadow within the radiance.
However, Phainon clearly saw the golden blood dripping from Zephyro's arm... Her attack had been effective.
At that moment, a faint electric current flashed through Phainon's mind, followed by a look of realization.
"Outside, I might not be your match right now, but... this is Amphoreus."
Phainon raised the sword in her hand, which began to glow with digital characters belonging to Amphoreus.
"Data Burning..."
With a gentle swing of her sword toward Zephyro, the white sun behind him was instantly covered by golden-yellow flames.
Then, it turned into nothingness.
The same happened to Zephyro's body.
Though ignited, Zephyro remained composed, launching one final attack at Phainon.
Phainon also ignited the data within her digicore and charged head-on toward Zephyro.
Just as the two were about to collide, the All-World Matrix was suddenly enveloped in a pink light that forcibly calmed the mind.
Phainon and Zephyro's bodies froze in mid-air, both turning toward the source of the light.
Under the light's shroud, the Nous constructs facing the Chrysos Heirs were all decomposed into data... and finally absorbed by Dermuge into the Digital World's database.
"It seems it's time for me to leave too, then♪"
Elysia spoke in a lighthearted tone as she watched her body begin to dissipate into data from the bottom up.
"Amphoreus, is it...? Let's set the next travel destination here~♪"
Before dissipating, Elysia happily decided on her next itinerary.
"I'll be waiting for you in Amphoreus, and I'll be your guide when the time comes~"
"Elysia looks forward to meeting little Cyrene~♪"
Elysia's voice echoed in Cyrene's ears before finally fading away.
Cyrene looked up at the nearly shattered All-World Matrix with a slight smile, then set off toward the demiurge matrix.
(Ahem, there are too many Chrysos Heirs, so just imagine their individual battles yourself, hehe.)
All the Chrysos Heirs, bearing some wounds, moved together toward the demiurge matrix... "Now, it's up to those two."
Lygus crossed his arms and looked up at the top of the data space, speaking indifferently.
But he, along with the other Zandalars who were currently intercepting Polka, were far from calm.
No one could stop the fall of Nous anymore.
The circumscribed circle of knowledge would break through its blockade, and living beings would once again gain the right to explore unknown knowledge.
As for researching another machine to help the universe ascend dimensions... Zandalar wasn't considering it for now; the probability of creating another Nous was still too high.
Unless someone took control of the Path of Erudition in advance, the next machine created would very likely ascend directly to become the second Aeon of Erudition.
「It wasn't my original intention, but I did it for survival too.」
"Congratulations, Lady Dermuge, you are about to attain true freedom."
Lygus offered his sincere blessings to Dermuge.
His long-cherished wish was fulfilled: Dermuge, whom he had imprisoned for so long, was gaining freedom, and Amphoreus would transform into a cradle for digital lifeforms to enter the cosmos.
The final result was only the loss of a few bodies; overall, it was a win-win... within Nous's calculation space.
Digi-Na continuously slashed at the surrounding mimetic data entities, searching for an entrance to the deeper layers.
"It looks like you need a little bit of help~♬"
A large eye made of corrosion data appeared beside Digi-Na's head, looking at her with a mischievous smile.
The moment she appeared, all the surrounding mimetic data entities fell into a state of programmatic disorder.
Before long, they began to destroy everything around them, throwing this section of Nous's calculation space into chaos.
"Little Corruption, what took you so long?"
Digi-Na lowered her Erudition dramon sword and Iron Tomb Ash-Annihilation Cannon, complaining slightly.
Even with the dramon sword and Iron Tomb Ash-Annihilation Cannon, which were banes of Erudition, clearing them out was still too troublesome.
Once cleared, they would be replenished instantly.
Moreover, high-level individuals would occasionally emerge to launch sneak attacks on her.
If she hadn't been using a cheat against Erudition, those Emanator-level data entities alone would have been enough to give her a hard time.
But there was no helping it; such was the composure of a permission-holder—just delete everything and be done with it!
"I was driving a Mazda, and there was a traffic jam on the way, ehe~♬"
"..."
Digi-Na glanced speechlessly at Little Corruption's maliciously cute eye.
Then, Little Corruption's body transformed into a human form amidst a convergence of data.
"No more joking, I found the back door leading to the Underlying Logic."
As she spoke, a crack corroded by Little Corruption appeared before them.
A powerful force of the Path of Erudition emanated from within, a force far exceeding the Emanator level.
In fact, an Emanator couldn't even compare to it.
This was the core processing unit of the Aeon of Erudition, Nous—the deepest data logic space.
The two exchanged a glance and flew inside with utmost caution.
After they entered, the corrosion crack behind them snapped shut, and the originally dim Underlying Logic space instantly lit up.
This was a sealed, square space covered in blue data patterns.
Countless data cables, like nerves, connected the surroundings to a massive spherical core in the center.
「I ask you: Why break the blockade and lead the universe toward destruction!」
「Why break the blockade!」
「Why march toward an uncertain Finality!」
「Answer!!!」
「Outsiders!!!」
The blue space turned crimson, and the data cables flashed with scarlet electricity as the power of Erudition pressed down on them like a tide.
Digi-Na quickly lifted her cloak, shielding both Little Corruption and herself beneath it in an attempt to resist this Aeon-level pressure.
But they still underestimated the crushing weight of an Aeon; they were pinned directly to the floor of the data space by the pressure.
However, Little Corruption did not just sit and wait for death; she gritted her teeth and completely transformed herself into a data virus to infiltrate the floor.
Digi-Na struggled to raise her Iron Tomb Garuru Cannon, releasing a scarlet wave that rippled outward.
Although Nous's pressure decreased slightly, an even more powerful pressure followed immediately after.
'Oh, for God's sake, who said I counter Nous! How the hell am I supposed to fight this? I can't even move!'
In her mind, Digi-Na was already cursing Lygus's ancestors for eighteen generations.
Countering is one thing, but that's on the premise of maintaining mobility and being able to land hits.
In this state... forget it, let everything be destroyed... Little Corruption was frantically squeezing her clearance and divine power, attempting to corrode Nous even deeper.
She hoped to at least touch that core eyeball.
But Nous's computing power was simply too immense.
At this moment, Nous had abandoned all modules except the core, concentrating all computing power here.
Even though Little Corruption had corroded a portion of the data, Nous was always able to excise and completely destroy it in advance.
Nous had begun a self-mutilating counterattack.
He had thought about completely destroying Digi-Na and Little Corruption, but both had special protection within them, leaving Nous only able to glare.
Nous knew who the power protecting them belonged to... "Kiana Kaslana!!!"
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