-"Ehem. So, is there anyone who objects to Eno's plan?"-Mei looked around at all the Herrschers
No one objected; the possibility of defeating Honkai made them not overthink the other matters and focus on the reason why they even became the Herrschers.
-"Good. Then we will proceed with it. What are the next steps, Eno?"-She turned to me.
-"First, regain the power Sa stole back then; second, separate this world from the Tree; third, absorb it and depart back home."-I gave the briefest explanation possible.
-"That's the gist of it."-Mei rolled her eyes at my detailed plan.-"Our current objective is to defeat Sa. Eno will be the main force, but we can't let him do everything, can we?"
They nodded, all wanting some revenge for all the fights they went through.
-"Su has already located our target, but the sheer number of Sky People existing there is terrifying, so we first need to destroy them."
-"Don't worry about that; numbers are something I'm least afraid of. Just give me half an hour, and I can get rid of most of them. It's a good chance to finally test the magic I was working on before."
-"Magic? I'd love to see that."-Mei became interested quickly.-"I wonder how you compare to Vill-V."
-"Let's go meet with the others, and you'll see."-I rolled my eyes at her comparison.
After leaving Azure Dream, we gathered all the forces that will take part in the battle against Sa, dividing everyone's responsibilities and discussing a more detailed plan of action. When this was done, everyone started moving, making their final preparations. I also made my own preparations, soon standing surrounded by curious onlookers as I started to cast my spell.
Previously, I tried to use Mystery connected to angel names to invoke their powers, but their power was limited, making the spell in that form not worth using. So I later modified the formula, accumulating the Mystery of multiple angels to invoke greater power associated with them. But first, I had to call upon my own name. So I summoned my standard, planting it in the ground as I spoke.
~"Know that there is no mercy for you, you will only perish. I am the heaven that you imagine. ~ Univers Immortel Metatron!"~The divine aureole appeared behind my back as all my 72 wings stirred the void surrounding me.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the power in my bloodline, causing my halo to turn into the White Crown. Drawing upon my Banshee lineage, I slowly started to recite incantations as the divine choir echoed my words.
~"Et tu Domine susceptor meus et gloria mea et exaltans caput meum ~ Vehuiah!
Tu autem Domine ne elongaveris auxilium tuum a me ad defensionem meam conspice ~ Jeliel!
Dicet Domino: susceptor meus es tu et refugium meum: Deus meus, sperabo in eum ~ Sitael!
Convertere Domine, et eripe aninam meam: salvum me fac propter misericordiam tuam ~ Elemiah!
Exquisivi Dominum, et exaudivit me: et ex omnibus tribulationibus meis eripuit me ~ Mahasiah!
Psallite Domino, qui habitat in Sion: annuntiate intergentes studia ejus ~ Lelahel!
Miserator et misericors Dominus: longanimis et multum misericors ~ Achaiah!
Venite adoremus, et procidamus: et ploremus ante Dominum, qui fecit nos ~ Cahetel!"
Eight Angels descended around me, each emanating divinity and holiness beyond mortal comprehension. Some spectators even knelt and prayed after seeing them appear. But this was only the first part of the spell; now I had to invoke their shared choir.
~̸͕̬̫̻̹̼̏̔̏̃̅̚̕̚"̴̨̢͈̪͎͓̝̄̍̈̀͠S̴̡̝̥̙͆͂͒ͅe̸̹̬͙͎͓̪̕͜r̴̪̻̮͆̊̃͠a̴̜̚p̴̢͇͙̥͐̓̃ḩ̵͚̗̘̭̠̜̟̌̀̈ͅi̵̞̐̽̈͝n̸̛͙̬͉̺̤͆͆̈́͆̽̓ ̷̡̳̓̄s̴̢̗̠̬̟͇̺̲̉́̇̓̀̕͜ṱ̵̢̼͙͇̞̀͘a̴̻̪̲͖͐ḇ̶̡͍̝̙̱͒̐̄́͂̋͝͝á̸̗̪̭̼̠̭̟͂͑̆̈́̀̅̚͝ͅn̶̥͇̉̐̄́̌͗̕t̸̜̭̹̰̰̤̹̝͓͌̂̏ ̶̗̳̳̗̹̪̅̍̈́̔̐͒̀̈́͗͜s̸̮̥̣̘̱̣̿̓̇͜͝ü̶̯̥̋̈́͋̚ͅp̷̢̛͆̊͋̏̏̈́̈́̈́ẹ̴͇͇́̾̎̈͒̈̿̿r̶̛̲͍̮̘̠̲̍͋͗̒͆͛́ ̷̖̞̩͌̀͊̾̓̂̚i̷̡͇̤̰̝͓̱̮̒ͅl̷̼͈̩̄͗̐l̸̞̪̙̪̣̎̃̿̋͛̊̾͑ư̴̜̜̿͂̃̓̿̓d̷̢̛͖̩̳̝͋̐͗̾̕̕͜:̸̹̊ ̷̛̳͔̞͚̯̠̇̇͝ͅs̵̛̱̗̋̅̈́̾e̸̢̞̦̖̠̣͎̩̽̄̾͘x̶͖̩͇̙̗͈̙͗͋̓͆̇̓̌͋ ̶̧̩̦̳͔̗̯͚̎͂̎͐̓͊͜a̵̻͈̝͈̲̳̹̎͌̐̋͜͝ļ̴̢̈̅̀̓̋̑̅̇͝ͅæ̷̡͓̗̩͔̦̖̥̽ ̶̢̗͙̙͂̈́͐̚͝ͅǘ̶̧̳͓̣͒̽̈́͌͠n̸̛̜͈̬̳̩͙̱̮̏̾̅͐͛̚͝͠i̸̟̳͉͚̫̪͑́͋̋̈́͝͠,̵̼͓̳̹̹̈́̃͗̔̅͆̋̕͝ ̶̛͖̖̥̝́̒̈́̇ḛ̴̡̗̭̠̱͔̀̋t̴̨̠̯̜̩̭̥͊ ̷̨͓̘͓̗̲͎̈̉̑͆͊͒̑̌s̶͕̅͑͐́́͠e̸̠̲͖̻͉̹͆̓͐̆̒̕͝͠x̷̨̻͉̾͋̉͋̎ ̵̡̘͚̪̯͈̬̬̆a̸͇̜͍̋̅̈́̄̕l̷̡͈͙͚̳̞͈̄̇͒͛̾͌̃æ̴̬͓̫̖͈̤̖͂̔̓́͂͘ ̴̺̲̺̄̾͌͋̏̍a̸̩͇̤͖͈̥̺̺͕̽̏̊͌̊̓̇͂l̴̦̪̠̰͍̘̪̥̝͊͑́͆͠t̶̢̳̝͇̓͜ȩ̶̗̫̄̏r̷͖͚̘̫̥͕̬̈̾͘i̵̛̻̫̘̐̏̅̀͠͝;̶̨̜̙̟̝̈͑̀̀̅̅̚ ̸̡̛̬̜͖̎̋̉̂̍͌̚͝ḑ̵̙̜̪͙̺̫̾͆̈̌ͅư̴͙͓̮̙͔̝̮͛̓̆͐̅͌͝͠a̸̮͓̩͕̠̩̓̇͝ͅb̶̨̖̥̗̦͖̕ū̷̢̇̆̅͗̄͜͝s̸̼̙͕͚̈̓́̇̎̏ ̶̝̻̪͈̳̳̼͖̺̽̄̅̾̈́̂̔v̷̨̦̗̖̺̗͎̑̽̌̿͛͘͜ͅe̸͚̻̪̪̱̝̩͗́̃͌̇́͌͗͝l̴̪̪͐̐͌̌͐̉́̚ạ̶̲͈͇͎̑̆̄̾̐̀̄͂͆b̸̝̻̃͑͊a̷̛̲̝̺̓̂ṇ̴͎̄̅̓̄͐͂̃̓͝t̸̠̝̞͑͝ ̷̢̧̹̺̗̳̈́͘͝f̷̛̛̺̻̙̖̱̓̈̌̃͝͝ͅa̶̭͈͆̈́͋͜c̴̛͋͜ͅi̶̝̘̫̣̩͙̳̺̓̀̓͗̄͒̈͜e̴͙̙͍͕̞͋̒̏͊m̷̯̳͗̎̈́̑̇͗͒̑ ̷̼̤̮̯̐̓̊̄e̸͔̳͛͊̂͋͑̆̏͝͝i̴̤̣̾̏̕̚͝ṵ̷̧͚͚͕̺̌s̴͉͎͇̜̲͖͌̈́̃̚͝,̵̬̓̍̆͐̆̂̈́̾ ̴͙͚̓̃̅̆̊̚͜͠ͅé̶̪̩̏͆̇̉̓͘t̵͈͓̤̫̉͂ ̴̻̠̃̽̂̈́̃̽̈d̷̡̡̙̳̗̜̝̗͌̄̽͝ù̷̦̘̆͜a̶̺̫̮̫̜̭̭̥͚͂̃̈́̉͊̃́͗͘b̸̧̛̫͇̦̥̈́́̄́̊̊͊̚ǔ̷͇̬́̈́͗̇̕̚s̷̡̧̰̝̹̟̯͚̬̆̀̂͐̇͑͑̓̕ ̷̮̗̻̰͔̑͂̌v̵͓͈͙́́̑́̏͆̀͛͘e̶̠̙̳̳͍̠̞̣̔̀̅͌̓̑̎̽̓͜l̷̢̧̨̲̻̗̰̗͐̊̉̆̍͝ǎ̴̬͔̫̈́̉̉̀͂b̷͈̘̞̺̍̎̕͠ą̵̊̓̈́̉̑̎̕n̵̡̪̜̠͖̲͖̎͘͝ť̷̛̩̈̂́̕̚͜ ̴̰̺̲̹̓̓̓̈́͑͗̕p̷̨̼̼̗͇̝̗̔͒ȅ̸̤͙͕̹͎̼͙͛̑̂͋̊́͝ḑ̸̪͔̻̜̱̿̑̇̈́̿̒ȅ̶̺̬̱̄̈́̈́̍͜͠s̴̮̀̃̀͂̽̔̕̕͠ ̶͙̟̘̣́̽́̈ͅĕ̴̲͙̦̿̋̈́́̀͘̚͝ͅi̷̥͇̗̯̭̰̞̊͑̄u̸̧̳̮̝̘̱̣̯̔̀̋̆̎̿̈́͝s̷̩̪̋̿̐̅̐͗̀͝ͅ,̴̛̭̈ ̶̫̜͔͓͇̹̼͆̽e̴̢̫̬̪̗̿ţ̸̛̱̫̫͂͂͌͑̿̾͊ ̸̱̮̝͊̊̒̌̉̽̉̔d̸̨̡̘͕̲̺̅̃̂͝u̴͎̬̲̼̻̖̣̻̿̿͜a̷͖̕b̸̧͓̼̠̲͈͈̲̾ͅȕ̶̧̘̦͕͚̲̝͜s̸̡̢͕̝̭͊̊̇̾͘͜ ̵͔̹̗̘̹͚̗͂v̴̢̩͔̦̲͌̓͐͒̎̀̇ǫ̴̠̪͍̟͉͔̉́͋͛̓̑̈́̌̚l̵̛͉̆̈́̀́̌̚͝a̷̢̢̡̘̞͖̰̋͑͂̂̏͆͝ͅb̴̯͍̹̯̟̤͊̂̋ǎ̶̡̻͉͖̗̤̘̈̓̒͊̀̋̕ṋ̴̢̢͎̳̔̑̐̏̈́̈́̋̄̔͜t̸̮̉̂̎͂̐̂̒͐͝.̴̧͎̙͈͚͌̔͗̓͐̈͘ ̵̛̻͒̅̿́̔̐͑̿~̷̫̰͈̓̏̿̈́͆͝ͅ ̷̗̖̖̬̫̹̂́̐͘͝M̶̩͚̻͙̰͇̪̮̭̓͑̓͛̂͒́͑͛e̵͓̠͆̇͝t̵̠͊́̔͐̚͝͠a̴̦͐̿̂̈̃t̷̢̪̺̣̯͓͛͐̈̈̐̄͠r̸̛͕̭̦͚͖̩̓̑̃̿̎̍͊͝o̸̭͕̫̠̫͊̿͑̐͆̋ņ̷̦̖̈́!̸̯̘̠̽̈́"̵̧͌̓̎̈́̐͊͑̍͝
When the words of the last incantation were spoken, it was as if the most beautiful sound appeared along with the harshest of cacophonies; it was truly indescribable, as if the mortal mind couldn't comprehend such sounds. But the effect was instantaneous; the whole sky burned with holy flame, announcing the descent of the heavens.
The first of the Nine Choirs and of the Cosmic Pillars, the Burning Ones known as the Seraphim. Those angels don't concern themselves with the world or humans; only divine will and truth matter to them; thus, they stand by God's Throne, and that Throne is something only I, as Metatron, can represent and sit upon. So I decreed.
~"Bring the wrath of heaven down; let them know no mercy."
When my command ended, all eight Angels of the Seraphim Choir disappeared from around me, traversing the distance in just a single step to deliver my will. I felt my energy slowly drain; even with my absurd reserves, this was quite taxing. But the strength matched the price; the whole choir could easily rival an average Divine Spirit from Artoria's world.
-"Let's go."-I looked at the dazed crowd.-"Don't you want to join the fight?"
-"Indeed."-Mei nodded and called out through the communicator.-"All stations, depart. Out."
Following behind the army, I waited for Sa to appear while I watched the battle happening. The most eye-catching were my Angels; something that was not unexpected, as the Mystery they possessed wasn't only that of modern angels, but also of the ancient ones.
While the contemporary depictions of angels mostly focus on their beauty and holiness, a look an angel would present to a devout follower, they also possess the form they only show to their enemies. In it, there was no more beauty, only fear; no more holiness, only wrath. A look that no words can describe, more eldritch than even the evil gods and demons they face.
Countless Sky People swarmed them, only to be evaporated by their flames, as clear a one-sided massacre as it could be. From behind them, Herrschers utilized their Authorities and skills to accelerate this slaughter, trying to not fall behind my Seraphim Choir. Assisting them were MANTIS and Valkyries, dealing with those who slipped by.
The advantage was firmly on our side, and both Sa and I knew it. Continuing this war would end in our victory, so she had to act; whether she would run or fight remained to be seen. No matter what choice she'll make, I didn't plan to let her go; preparing to act at any sign of her activity. And I didn't have to wait long, as I felt the Sea stir slightly as something tried to enter it.
Without wasting time, I teleported to that place, bringing us both into Azure Dream's Reality Marble. Isolated from the Sea outside, Sa quickly revealed her real form, the panic in her actions no longer possible to conceal. Neither of us talked, knowing that would be in vain; instead, we clashed directly, as we did back in Border of Nihility.
While she emerged victorious in that last battle, sending me into the embrace of Nihility, she also suffered some serious damage; something apparent due to a red crack running down the middle of her body, an aftermath of the slash I left her with. Now, I planned to use my standard to finish what I started.
In the air around us, countless crystal swords met her void constructs, shaking the space with each clash; yet this was only a side show, as the greatest confrontation was direct, between my standard and Caliburn and her scythe. Both of us could traverse space at will, flying and teleporting nonstop, not giving even the briefest of moments to breathe to either of us.
Our battle was a confrontation between her mastery of Quanta, supported by stolen Authority of Finality, and my magic and formations, reinforced by Remembrance. The core of this battle was our respective abilities to control fate, time, and laws; both of us transcending the physical realm and its limitations.
To an outsider, this battle was like any other, two people trying to deliver a killing strike, but in reality, each of our slashes, thrusts, and spells was imbued with powers capable of destroying a world. Sa wielded Quanta, trying to distort and consume reality, while I used my Remembrance to continuously reinforce and repair it. At the same time, my spells and formations were imbued with powers that manipulated Fate, forcing Sa to rely on Finality to negate them.
But even that quickly proved not to be enough to defeat her; god was a god after all. Prolonging this battle was ill-advised, so I changed my approach. Changing my magic and formation to contain Sa for a moment, I raised my standard high into the air, reciting the Thirteen Strictures.
~"The battle must be one-on-one."
~"Approved."
~"The enemy must not be an elemental."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must be one against evil."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must not involve personal gain."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must not be inhumane."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must be for truth."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must be to live."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must be to save the world."
~"Approved."
~"One's comrades-in-arms must be courageous."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must not be against one pure of heart."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must be an honorable one."
~"Approved."
~"The battle must demonstrate one's ideals."
~"Approved."
All but one restriction were released, bringing forth the True Name Release in full power, just one step away from making the Pillar of the End descend. My Reality Marble disintegrated, turning into the true Ends of the World, where all Fate and existence no longer matter. There was no more space or time here, only a pure white light enveloping everything with an aura of annihilation.
~"Split the heavens and tether the earth, anchor of the storm. O'light, may you be released from the ends of the world."
I slowly lowered my standard, pointing it toward the desperate Sa, who used all she could, even at the cost of harming herself, to quickly escape. But ever since she arrived here, it was too late to struggle.
~"Rhongomyniad."
With the last letter spoken, the light around us moved; one by one, like endless spears, light pierced Sa's body, soon enveloping her in a sphere of light. Slowly, all that light began to constrict, shrinking smaller and smaller. I could feel Sa's last struggles, but it was for naught, as when the sphere became a singularity, everything within met its End.
I started at the space before me, confirming if everything was done, and when no signs of Sa appeared, I started to deal with the aftermath. Before the world could return to what it was, I absorbed the Authority of Finality and Sa's power over the Sea of Quanta, restoring the full power of my Authority of Rebirth while strengthening my control over Quanta.
The world then returned to what it was, returning me to the Sea of Quanta, while I closed my eyes, trying to bring the berserk divinity within me under my control. It took me a few minutes for some basic functions to return to me; things like breathing or thinking that were of no use to 'God', who was omnipotent and omniscient.
As 'God-like' Metatron, my divinity is the same as that of perfect God; and as this type of 'God' doesn't exist as an individual, only as an idea, this creates a special symbiosis between me and this power. While I can access this omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent power of God, I need to endure the burden that sitting on this Throne brings. While using this divinity in normal range won't have that much influence on me, it only numbs my emotions and humanity; the continuous usage of it, first summoning an Angelic Choir and then almost fully unleashing Rhongomyniad, was too much for the current me.
When I felt some of my emotions finally returning, I decided to go back and meet with others; staying here any longer would make them worry. I teleported back to the World Bubble where the battle with Sky People had been taking place; there, a celebratory atmosphere could already be felt. My arrival caused many to surround me, talking and laughing, helping my feelings return more quickly due to the resonance with my Empathy. But my abnormality was noticed by Bianka and Mei, who approached me with worry.
-"Eno…"-Bianka grabbed my hand.
-"Your eyes."-Mei looked at my eyes that glowed with remnant divinity.
-"It'll pass, don't worry."-I smiled, but it looked somewhat stiff.
-"You…"-Mei looked at Bianka, and both of them shook their heads.-"I'll spare you the talking to for now, but we'll talk later."
I nodded, accepting their judgment.
The celebrations continued when everyone returned to the real world, becoming a joint festivity between all four forces. With Otto out of the picture, many previous conflicts lost their cause, and the debts no longer had a debtor, so with this joint operation as a catalyst, the idea of properly uniting started to sprout.
Schicksal under my and Bianka's control and Fire-Moth under Mei's were already joined together due to my existence; Far East Branch was officially part of Schicksal, and Cecilia already recognized my position as the new Overseer, so they also agreed to be part of New Schicksal; this meant that only Anti-Entropy remained.
Their situation was complicated due to how their internal structures were organized, but with Bronya as the next Sovereign, Welt's and two professors' support, and the strength of New Schicksal, they would most likely follow suit after securing some benefits. From our side, aside from ensuring some responsibility among more radical elements, we would accept their rational requests.
Due to all of that, the world entered a state of peace it didn't see for so many years, with negotiations between forces happening while we also worked on the next steps of our plan. I also took over the responsibilities of Schicksal Overseer, appointing Rita and Maria as my assistants to share some of Amber's duties. Bianka meanwhile worked with Cecilia to reorganize Valkyries, cooperating with Kevin and Sakura to join the ranks of Valkyries and MANTIS.
Mobius and I also helped to resolve issues with Artificial Stigmata once and for all, not only creating Stigmata for MANTIS, but also helping Valkyries to undergo MANTIS operations. As many older Valkyries suffered from severe Honkai Infection, this was the only way for them to recover, so most happily signed up for the procedure, despite knowing that there was a risk of mortality.
But surprisingly, the mortality rate was reduced almost to zero due to an unexpected synergy between the MANTIS procedure and the Sacrament of Confirmation. All those who saw my Angels in action expressed their wish to become Sankta, and this quickly spread throughout the whole Schicksal, becoming even stronger when Mei, Bronya, Cecilia, and Bianka decided to uphold Schicksal's church roots by having the organization follow the Lateran way of government.
They changed the scriptures to those of the Lateran Church and established departments following the style of the Lateran Curia, fully turning Schicksal into a branch of Laterano in this world. As such, all but a small minority of people accepted the Sacrament of Confirmation, becoming Sankta in the process.
During one of her MANTIS surgeries, Mobius discovered that Sankta genes were much more malleable, something I was aware of as Sankta evolved from Teekaz, but didn't connect it to our needs. After some more testing, Mobius confirmed that Sankta could easily accept compatible genes to strengthen themselves, but compatibility of those genes was a major barrier; she pointed out that Honkai genomes worked due to high Honkai resistance and adaptability of patients, but how it worked on those who never experienced Honkai was hard to say.
But answering that question could wait for later, as now we were focused on moving toward resolving the Honkai. Mei, Einstein, and I spent most of our time trying to resolve any doubts and issues with my plan, with Vill-V and Tesla working on my Kreios in the meantime. With our combined efforts, we soon found out what we needed to do, but more importantly, what we lacked.