"Damn it. It's been a long time since I've taken a hit this bad."
Elias staggered. It had been ages since he was last injured, and such a sudden severe wound hurt so much he nearly teared up.
The heart pierced by the World-Destroying Divine Spear was still beating, but every pulse sent blood gushing out. Along with the excruciating pain, he could clearly feel the icy temperature of the weapon impaling him.
But there was no way Elias would die from something like this.
Putting aside his absurd number of resurrection abilities, his heart had merely been pierced. That wasn't even enough to qualify as killing Elias once. Even so, it was still an extremely troublesome situation.
(Finality's power is interfering with my regeneration. Fuck, I really screwed up this time! I never expected this bastard to have gone to Teyvat and found the weapon Finality left there back then.)
This World-Destroying Divine Spear was one of the very few powerful weapons in existence capable of injuring the current Elias. And as the signature weapon of the Herrscher of Finality, the World-Destroying Divine Spear naturally carried the power of Finality as well.
The power of Finality could suppress Elias' Herrscher Authorities. In fact, if this had merely been an ordinary wound through the heart, Elias could have regenerated it in the blink of an eye using the Authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth.
But under the influence of Finality's power, Elias felt a wave of weakness wash over him, and the output of all his Authorities instantly dropped to less than one-fifth of normal.
That was only natural. After all, the Herrscher of Finality countered every Herrscher. Of all the Authorities, the only two Elias had yet to master were Origin and Finality.
Still, the problem wasn't actually that serious. Elias gritted his teeth and tried to pull the World-Destroying Divine Spear out of his chest. For the current him, an injury of this degree would at most leave him staggered for a few seconds.
However...
Those few seconds were already enough for the Ferryman to achieve his objective.
"...It actually worked. It seems fate is still on my side, devourer of bubble worlds!!"
When the Ferryman saw the World-Destroying Divine Spear pierce Elias' chest, he almost felt as though he were dreaming.
In truth, the moment he fired the divine spear, the Ferryman's instincts had told him that someone with Elias' strength would definitely be able to dodge it.
What he never could have imagined was that Elias would actually give up his chance to evade for the sake of two mere women.
To someone like him, who was accustomed to weighing the value of everything on a scale, this was completely incomprehensible. At the same time, a strange sense of contradiction arose in the Ferryman's heart.
(Would a demon who mercilessly devoured countless bubble worlds really choose to let himself be injured just to save someone else?)
But he had no time to think deeply about that question now, because even after being pierced by the World-Destroying Divine Spear, Elias still hadn't fallen. Even his presence had barely weakened.
The Ferryman immediately understood that he had to activate his final trump card at once, or everything he had done would be for nothing!
"Devourer, witness my ideal!"
The Ferryman once again took an Ether Anchor from his coat and set it ablaze. And it wasn't only that one. More than a hundred Ether Anchors stored aboard his Hyperion all began burning at that very moment.
These were the cores of more than a hundred worlds burning together. Their blinding radiance seemed ready to illuminate the entire Sea of Quanta. In the next instant, that overwhelmingly vast energy was compressed into a single point.
Crack!!
Another sound of something breaking rang out.
But this time, it wasn't a bubble world that shattered.
It was the Sea of Quanta itself!!
And the place being torn apart was exactly where Elias stood!!
The Ferryman trembled all over with excitement.
He had succeeded! He had actually succeeded! By igniting hundreds of Ether Anchors at the same time and concentrating the tremendous power they released onto a single point, he had created enough force to tear open a fissure in the Sea of Quanta itself!!
And he had preset the coordinates where that energy would converge onto the World-Destroying Divine Spear. At this moment, that divine spear was embedded in the savior's heart, which meant the fissure had opened directly on Elias' body!
"Aaaaah—!"
Elias' eyes widened until they nearly split. A golden fissure appeared across his body. It was a wound torn into the Sea of Quanta, a wound in the world, and also a wound in him!!
This horrific pain was on an entirely different level from merely having his heart pierced. Worse still, Elias could sense that the fissure seemed to connect to a special dimension capable of isolating everything.
And right now, he was being sucked into it! If he truly fell inside, he might never be able to escape again!!
"What a beautiful paradise..."
The Ferryman stared in fascination at the fissure across Elias' body. This was precisely the paradise he had pursued so desperately, an eternal world, a home capable of sheltering everyone.
The place connected to the fissure was known as the "World's Interstice," an alternate dimension possessing independent time and space. As long as an enormous bubble world could be created inside this interstice, it could become an eternal paradise, a refuge where everyone could return.
The erosion of the Sea of Quanta could not affect it, and any bubble world existing within would never again face the risk of destruction.
Of course, to open such an interstice, the Ferryman had burned hundreds of Ether Anchors. In other words... he had sacrificed hundreds of bubble worlds, but it was all worth it!!
(If you want to save everyone, you must be prepared to sacrifice everyone!)
Abandon compassion, for it is the mud that obstructs progress.
Abandon kindness, for it is nothing more than a futile shackle.
Abandon bonds in pursuit of ideals.
Abandon will in pursuit of rebirth.
Abandon hope in pursuit of reality.
This was the Ferryman's resolve. This was the desperate stubbornness of a failed madman who had never successfully saved anyone, yet still wanted to save the world!
"The experiment succeeded. Project Noah really is viable! Next time, I'll seize even more Ether Anchors from bubble worlds, then open an even larger World's Interstice and create an eternal paradise within it where everyone can return!"
"Farewell, devourer of bubble worlds. Struggle desperately like an ant inside this World's Interstice."
"So that's your plan? To create a massive bubble world inside this World's Interstice, one that won't be eroded by the Sea of Quanta? Amazing. Truly amazing. There's only one thing I can say to that... Ferryman, you're a fucking idiot!!!"
After hearing the Ferryman's explanation and personally experiencing the unique nature of this World's Interstice, Elias finally understood exactly what this bastard was trying to do.
And then he completely lost it.
There was something seriously wrong with this redundant bastard's brain!!
With Elias around, what the hell did they need a World's Interstice for?!
Right now, Elias desperately wanted to unleash a torrent of curses, verbally tear the Ferryman apart for three days and three nights, then string him up and beat him.
Unfortunately, there was no longer enough time. Half of Elias' body had already fallen into the World's Interstice, and he was about to be banished from the duel.
Even if he wanted to escape, he couldn't. After all, the coordinates where the interstice had been opened were fixed directly onto Elias' body. During these final few seconds, Elias immediately made his choice.
"Ignite the world! Judgment of Shamash, Zeroth Power. Shamash—Assault!!"
His final Shamash Assault erupted. With a full-power strike, Elias completely annihilated the last remnants of the Ferryman's forces. This way, Luna and the others would no longer face any danger afterward.
Immediately afterward, Elias pushed the Authority of the Herrscher of the Void to its absolute limit. At the very last moment, he finally completed the repairs to the bubble world behind him, saving it from the danger of destruction.
After accomplishing those two things, Elias had already fallen completely into the World's Interstice. Looking toward the panicked and terrified Rosemary, Luna, Himeko, and Ai, he barely managed to force out a smile.
It was as though he were saying: Don't worry about me.
"No! No! Human!!"
"Lord Captain, come back!!"
"How could this happen, Elias?!"
"His signal... disappeared... No. That's impossible!"
The moment Elias fell into the World's Interstice, the fissure instantly healed as well. The Sea of Quanta was still the Sea of Quanta. With its boundless and endless energy, healing such a wound required practically no effort at all.
Luna, Rosemary, Himeko, and Ai stared at the place where Elias had disappeared, feeling as though their hearts had vanished along with him.
An unprecedented emptiness spread through their entire bodies. At that moment, the world seemed to become a meaningless shade of gray.
His figure, his presence, his existence, his signal—everything about that person could no longer be sensed.
"No... No, this can't happen! It'll be fine. It has to be fine. Human is so strong. How could he disappear? He'll definitely come back... Aah, it's all my fault. This is all my fault!"
Luna clutched her head with both hands and collapsed to her knees. Himeko's face was deathly pale as guilt and self-reproach overwhelmed her as well. If Elias hadn't tried to save them, he never would have been struck by that spear, and none of this would have happened!
He was supposed to be a god standing high above all others, a savior with no weaknesses who could never lose to anyone!
Yet she had become Elias' weakness!
It was because of her that he had been injured!
It was because of her that he had fallen into the World's Interstice!
Tears streamed down Luna and Himeko's cheeks as both coughed up a mouthful of blood. The uncontrollable guilt nearly crushed their hearts and drove them to collapse.
"Ferryman, tell me everything! How do we open the interstice again? How do we bring him back!!"
Rosemary's delicate body trembled as she pressed her scythe against the Ferryman's neck. She had never been this furious, never lost her composure this badly, and never felt this terrified!
Even when she had been tied to a cross and sentenced to burn at the stake, she had never been this frightened. But the instant Elias fell into the World's Interstice and Rosemary could no longer sense his presence, this elegant and composed witch truly panicked.
"...Why? Why did he repair that bubble world at the very end? What was his purpose..."
The Ferryman was in an utterly miserable state.
With all of his Ether Anchors burned away, he no longer possessed any great power. And Elias' final Shamash Assault had not only annihilated all the remaining Quantum Shadows and Imaginary Constructs,
it had also burned away half of his body. Everything below the Ferryman's abdomen was gone.
His gray robe had likewise been incinerated, revealing the Ferryman's plain, ordinary face and a body corroded by Honkai energy. Everything below his neck had already transformed into that of a zombie.
Perhaps it was precisely thanks to this half-zombified body that the Ferryman, despite having only half of himself left, still clung to one final breath.
But clearly, he didn't have much longer to live, and every remaining moment came with agony worse than death.
Yet none of that mattered now.
Ignoring the scythe against his neck, the Ferryman stared blankly at the bubble world Elias had repaired. He felt as though something had shifted out of place, as though something was fundamentally wrong.
Why had the Devourer called him an idiot just now?
Why had he repaired this bubble world?
Why had he saved those two women?
There were many times when what one saw was not necessarily the truth, what one heard was not necessarily real, and what one believed was not necessarily correct.
Just like himself, the Ferryman who destroyed bubble worlds in order to save bubble worlds, was Elias, the Devourer who treated bubble worlds as food, truly destroying them?
The Ferryman looked blankly toward the four girls.
"Tell me... who exactly is he?"