Kevin.
The strongest of humanity.
He had already used [Heavenly Fire Unsheathed] once.
The power of this move was undeniable. In later generations, this was a skill that only the patriarch of the Kaslana family could use, and it required their entire life as the price.
His gaze swept over the damaged locomotive.
The way [Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng] had appeared was extremely "chaotic." Following the spatial trail left by the Second Key of God and then simply breaking through the door with brute force... this method of use had caused immense damage to [Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng] itself, and the energy consumed was incalculable.
That's right.
Kevin's expression was resolute, his will to fight absolute, but this could not conceal his exhaustion.
Even with the Parvati genes providing him with "cooling," the intense steam rising from his body and the blistering, bursting "bubbles" on the back of the hand gripping the Judgement of Shamash all proved just how terrible Kevin's condition was.
This was a possible scenario in a branch of his plan.
Forcing Kevin to appear in a heavily wounded state... this process had been smoother than imagined, yet not as easy as he had anticipated. The best-case plan would have been to blow up the [Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng] carrying Kevin, burying this strongest human directly within the cracks of the world. The next best plan was to have a Kevin who had exhausted so much Honkai energy in the process that he was unable to use [Heavenly Fire Unsheathed] appear before him.
As for the current situation...
Kevin was stronger than expected. A Kevin who had not yet undergone the "Chimera Project" was naturally unable to use "Jiemie," but Lu Xing had not expected that he could fire the ultimate-class "First Power Rating" move, [Heavenly Fire Unsheathed], consecutively.
Ancestor Kevin truly lived up to his name.
However.
None of this mattered.
Since Kevin had appeared here, it simply meant that the difficulty of "Plan B: Kill Dr. Mei" had increased slightly.
But as for everything else—
DENG!!!
The power of the Honkai energy halo finally reached its limit.
This blow could sink a continent and annihilate a Herrscher. Whether Ancestor Kevin could take it would depend on how his hastily prepared second [Heavenly Fire Unsheathed] measured up against Lu Xing's own fully charged attack!
An ultimate, brilliant, momentary celestial light!
VMMMM!!!!
The sword was drawn, soaring to the heavens, a prairie fire of flame!
SHIIII!!!!
Light illuminated the entire world.
At this moment, the brilliance of the sun was as nothing before the pillar of light that connected heaven and earth.
The mere shockwaves that overflowed from the clash turned everything in the vicinity to dust.
Even Su, who Mobius had been struggling to suppress just moments ago, grew quiet. Before a power that could destroy all things, even the wildest frenzy would become utterly serene.
The powers intertwined, locked in a stalemate, mutually annihilating each other!
"Still a little short."
Perhaps it was because he was on the left side of the beam struggle.
Lu Xing understood that this [Atomic Breath] had not won out against Kevin's [Heavenly Fire Unsheathed]. He had consumed Honkai energy, but his opponent had poured his very life and will into that single move.
The colliding energies had, about 0.15 seconds ago, deviated slightly in his direction.
If that was the case...
Deng!
The radiance of the halo dimmed for an instant.
The next moment—
BOOM!!!!
Entire mountain ranges were razed to the ground.
The clash between the Judgement of Shamash and Atomic Breath had completely reshaped the terrain for a hundred kilometers around.
Hah.
Hah.
Tssss—
The greatsword of Heavenly Fire was stabbed into the ground, accompanied by Kevin's deep breaths and the sweat that evaporated on his skin before it could even fall. The crimson and bright yellow blade, wreathed in two colors of light, plunged straight into the earth as if cutting through tofu, leaving only the black hilt exposed.
Clang.
"Kevin!"
The long tachi fell to the ground.
At this moment, the weapon containing a Herrscher Core was far less heart-wrenching... and heart-stirring... to Dr. Mei than the back of the man before her. It had been a long time since the Fusion Warrior surgery that Mei had been able to hold Kevin like this.
The extreme heat could not penetrate the [Blank Key], but the intense steam still baked her face red.
"We..."
"We won."
"Yes, we..."
Swoosh—
Thwip—PFFT!!
Grip the sword, turn, slash.
The reaction and movement were impeccably clean and efficient.
But Kevin, his oil already spent and his lamp nearing its end, had only managed to shatter five of the incoming crystals with that single blow. The Space-Time Crystals, even when not formed into the Subspace Lance, possessed astonishing sharpness. If coated with [Photon Cutting], they could easily slice through alloys, let alone a human body.
The Space-Time Crystals had appeared without any warning.
In the scant 0.2 seconds they took to stab toward Dr. Mei's back, Kevin only had time to deliver one slash. The remaining three were met by his broad and sturdy back... which took the full brunt of the impact!
"Cough!"
A clot of blood, mixed with sparks and ice crystals, was coughed from his mouth.
Compared to the crimson blood flowing like a stream from his back, the injuries to his internal organs were far more severe.
"Kevin!"
Mei, held in Kevin's arms, watched in horror as the blood streaked across her cheek.
"I'm... fine."
Kevin did not let go of Mei.
Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. The Space-Time Crystals, which had pierced through his body like long spears, ensured that any movement would only worsen his injuries.
Thud.
It did not last long.
With a not-so-muffled sound, the crystals in Kevin's back all dissipated into scattering Honkai energy and vanished.
Before him and Mei—
The body of the unknown Honkai Beast had long since turned to ash, but its four crystal-pillar-like black arms were only now slowly fading... no, they were only vanishing now that their mission was complete.
As for what they had originally been holding...
The purple tachi, the damaged locomotive, the shattered armament engine, and the long tachi that Mei had been holding just moments ago.
Wind! Lightning! Space! Ice!
The Keys of God. Four complete Herrscher Cores!
The surprise attack was just a cover!
The death was a feint!
His final objective was the four Keys of God forged by the Flame-Chasers!
Vmm!
No longer so exaggerated, no longer so immense.
But the Black Temple, which Kevin and Dr. Mei both recognized from firsthand accounts, appeared next to the Keys of God!
That's right.
Lu Xing had used the power of [Infinity].
Withstanding the blow from the Judgement of Shamash had caused his rank to temporarily drop to Temple-class. But relying on the Honkai energy he had reserved in the halo beforehand, Lu Xing had successfully executed the surprise attack and the "theft."
Now...
Resurrection had consumed a massive amount of Honkai energy.
In his Black Temple form, he could not connect to Imaginary Space.
The remaining energy was probably only enough to—
A circular gateway silently opened. The four Keys of God, along with the figure of the Black Temple, vanished into it...
...and disappeared.