Ana suddenly did something bold.
This girl, who had always been innocent and shy, actually pressed both hands against Elias' chest, then rose onto her toes and kissed his lips.
"Mmm?!"
The strange sound did not come from Elias, but from Ana herself.
The kiss lasted only a few brief seconds. In the very next moment, the girl retreated like a startled bird.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, Ana squatted on the ground with both hands clutching her head, then began making noises like a kettle coming to a boil.
"You suddenly kissed me on your own, then immediately got so embarrassed you became like this. Girls really are mysterious. Even though I'm already pretty experienced, I still feel like I don't understand you at all."
Elias looked at the crouching Ana with helpless amusement.
(Wuwuwu, why did I suddenly do something so bold? I actually kissed-kissed-kissed Lord Elias. Once I get back to the academy, I need to visit the infirmary and check my brain. But... Lord Elias' lips were so soft. They felt so nice to kiss.)
"Ahem. I just activated the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience. Maybe rein in the drool in your heart a little, Ana."
"Eh? V-Very sorry!"
Ana had completely lost all the maturity and composure she had shown earlier.
The survivors she had rescued stared in shock. Chen Tianwu in particular was struck hard by the contrast, but at this moment he wanted to cry without tears, because the person his crush had kissed was not him.
"It's fine, it's fine. Getting kissed by a cute girl means I came out ahead. Besides, judging by the taste just now, that seemed to be your first kiss. Thanks, Ana. Go on a date with me sometime."
"Eh eh eh? G-Go on a date with Lord Elias?!"
"Mm-hm. Only ten days of this month are booked so far. I still have plenty of free time left to allocate. Of course, if you don't want to, then forget it."
"I... I do..."
Ana's cheeks flushed red. She felt as if she had been struck by a giant pie falling from the sky, leaving her dizzy and dazed.
The reason she had kissed him just now was entirely an instinctive impulse. The Schariac bloodline already possessed an extremely high natural sensitivity toward Elias, and the dungeon's effect had further increased the entire Schariac family's favorability toward him.
Now, as long as your surname was Schariac, the moment you met Elias, you would instantly become love-brained enough to live up to the family's reputation for giving themselves away.
Not to mention that Ana had admired and adored Elias for a long time already, and had just been saved in classic hero-rescues-beauty fashion.
If she still didn't fall for him after that, then she hardly deserved the Schariac name.
"Mm, not bad, not bad. Your Schariac stigmata has almost fully awakened. Even your Holy Blood is gradually increasing in purity. In the future, Ana, you'll become very strong."
Elias said as he examined her body.
"R-Really!"
"When have I ever lied to you? Once we return to the academy, you can take the S-rank Valkyrie examination."
"S-rank... Valkyrie..."
Ana's eyes sparkled like stars. Though S-rank Valkyries at St. Freya Academy were no longer incredibly rare, their prestige had never diminished.
That was also Ana's goal.
"Alright, we can talk somewhere safe. I also happen to want to use this Honkai Eruption for an experiment."
As Elias spoke, he snapped his fingers. Before anyone could react, they found themselves teleported to the evacuation point.
At the same time, Elias activated [Reverse God] mode. Everyone stared blankly at this sacred figure like a god descended, and for a moment instinctively fell to their knees.
And just then, another god appeared.
"Elias, what are you planning to do?"
The Herrscher of Finality no longer hid herself.
She allowed the gaze of the Cocoon of Finality to fall upon her. Fortunately, it caused no interference, and she immediately understood that her actions had tacit approval.
Or rather... due to the influence of the authority of Origin, the Cocoon could no longer affect her at all.
"I want to see if I can undo everything. Help me, my beloved goddess—let time reverse."
"...I should have told you before. Even the authority over time cannot revive the dead. That is an impossible miracle."
The Herrscher of Finality frowned slightly.
"I know. I know very clearly. But I intend to make the impossible possible. It's only a miracle. I'll create it for you right now. So... Finality, help me."
Looking into the boy's incomparably sincere golden eyes, where an undying will seemed to burn fiercely within, the Herrscher of Finality was momentarily dazed.
The Goddess of Honkai realized she had made a mistake.
How could she judge Elias by common sense?
"...You really are impossible to deal with."
The corners of the Herrscher of Finality's lips curved upward slightly.
Then she activated her authority over time, restricting the range of reversal to the affected area of this Honkai Eruption.
"Since you've said this much, Elias, then let me witness something interesting. I'm starting now!"
"No problem! Come on!"
Elias nodded and decisively activated the trait skill called Miracle. This was the gamble he wanted to make.
[Miracle]: Turn the impossible into possible.
(Come to think of it, it's truly strange. Back then, when I tried using it to undo Ely's death, it failed to activate. But in this situation, it works.)
This meant Elysia's death had been fate so fixed that even miracles could not reverse it. Yet Elias had still succeeded in changing that fate and turning it into undeniable reality.
Elias: (I'm amazing!)
As Miracle activated, dazzling radiance burst forth from the body of [Reverse God]. In that moment, Elias felt as if he had become light itself.
The Herrscher of Finality widened her eyes in shock. Even with the vast experience of her long divine life, this was the first time she had ever seen someone make miracles into an innate authority of their own.
Bathed in that miraculous light, she discovered that her own authority had also changed.
Yet after checking carefully, she found that its power had not increased, and its consumption had not changed either.
But something had undeniably become different.
Ana and the others watched this scene in utter shock. As time reversed, the city that had been reduced to ruins returned to the prosperous state it had possessed not long ago. The Honkai Beasts that had been destroyed reappeared, then vanished completely.
Because the Herrscher of Finality had rewound time to before they were born, rewound it to... before the Honkai outbreak, to the moment when no one had yet died.
Suddenly, flames of many different colors appeared across the sky, and these were the souls of those who should have been beyond saving.
"You actually did it!"
The Herrscher of Finality widened her eyes in disbelief. She, who had only ever brought destruction to all things, had truly restored human lives in this moment. An indescribable emotion filled her divine heart.
"W-What's happening to me?"
"I remember turning into a monster?"
"I'm alive? I'm still alive?!"
"L-Look over there!"
"Those two... are they gods?"
When the reversal of time ended, the souls returned to the bodies of the dead, reviving them in the truest sense.
All living beings looked up at Elias and the Herrscher of Finality in midair, then knelt and offered deep reverence.
"He actually revived everyone. Th-This isn't a dream, right? Lord Elias is truly..."
Ana stared blankly at the scene. Witnessing a miracle, the girl's heart felt as though it would burst from her chest. The love she already held, born from admiration and longing, completely surrendered.
"It's not over yet! Finality, freeze time once more. This time, do it at the instant the Honkai outbreak begins!" Elias said.
"No problem!"
The resurrection of the dead had succeeded, but they still could not relax.
They had only rewound time to the state before anything happened. That also meant what was meant to happen would still happen.
If Elias did nothing to interfere, these people who had only just been revived would still die in the Honkai Eruption.
Abyss Flower had already instinctively appeared in his hand.
Although the Herrscher of Death Core from the Previous Era had been split in two by him and given to Dark Seele and Seele, Elias still possessed the Herrscher of Death Core of the Current Era that he could install.
(No... this time, it seems unnecessary.)
Suddenly struck by inspiration, Elias gave up using [Lilium Sanguineum] and instead summoned the Planet-class nine-headed chimera, Heaven Devourer, from within his body.
"Swallow all this Honkai energy for me!"
ROOOOAR—! x9
The nine dragon heads of Heaven Devourer roared excitedly.
Triggering a Honkai Eruption also required Honkai energy. It was essentially startup capital, and this startup capital had been personally sent down by the Cocoon of Finality.
Its purity far surpassed the artificial eruptions people like Cocolia had once tried to create.
Now all nine heads of Heaven Devourer opened their jaws wide, crazily absorbing the Honkai energy within the frozen world.
As one of Elias' abilities, it could naturally move within stopped time as well.
"Very good~ It's rising fast."
ROOOOAR—! x9
Elias felt the Honkai energy inside his body surge wildly, already breaking past 4,000,000 HW. His strength soared once more.
Beside him, Heaven Devourer wagged its tail happily, indicating it had thoroughly enjoyed this meal.
"As expected of you, Elias."
The Herrscher of Finality had never seen such an operation before. This man had directly eaten the Honkai energy meant to trigger a Honkai Eruption.
Hic! x9
The nine dragon heads of Heaven Devourer let out satisfied belches.
"Hehe, how interesting."
The Goddess of Honkai smiled, thinking that following Elias would truly never be boring.
At that moment, she made a decision.
She would completely abandon her mission as the Herrscher of Finality and never return to the Cocoon—her home—again. Not only would she no longer destroy this civilization, she would even protect it from the threat of Honkai.
The reason was simple.
Because this was Elias' world.
Meanwhile, the entire world had already been shaken.
The Manila Honkai Eruption, the largest Honkai outbreak Southeast Asia had seen so far, had naturally drawn global attention. Everyone in the world who understood Honkai had been waiting for the result.
And the result far exceeded their expectations.
Time reversal. Resurrection of the dead. Finality descending.
The most excited of all was undoubtedly a certain Schicksal Overseer.
"How is this possible?! Revival... actual revival? The dead really came back to life?! These multicolored flames... are they human souls?"
"Turning back time... that is Finality's authority. But wait, wasn't it said that even reversing time could not revive the dead? No... that's not right!"
"The one who used power just now wasn't only the Herrscher of Finality. Elias did something too, and that should be the key to reviving so many people... but what exactly did he do?!"
Otto abruptly stood up, eyes wide as he stared fixedly at the projected screen.
Resurrection of the dead—this was the pursuit that Otto Apocalypse had clung to for five hundred years, the great undertaking he had resolved to achieve even at the cost of everything in his life.
Yet now, that miracle had appeared before him so suddenly that his soulium heart nearly failed to endure it. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
This time, the Herrscher of Finality had not frozen the entire planet's time. Satellites in space had clearly recorded the entire miracle, leaving countless people numb with shock.
Very few people in this world wished to die, yet death was the curse that haunted humanity throughout life. And now someone had achieved resurrection on such a massive scale.
"Quick! Quick! Get me all available information on those two!"
"My God... what has happened to this world?"
"They're affiliated with St. Freya Academy? Send people to contact that academy immediately. Remember to be absolutely courteous!"
"No matter the price, we must win those two over! At the very least, we cannot become their enemies!"
That single display from Elias and the Herrscher of Finality drove countless people mad. Elias himself could already foresee that St. Freya Academy would become extremely lively in the future, but...
(None of my business. Cecilia and Theresa can handle it when the time comes~ Anyway, I doubt any fool would dare threaten me or anything like that.)
(If it becomes too troublesome, I'll just use the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience to alter the consciousness of the whole world.)
Elias thought irresponsibly.
Theresa: "!!!"
Far away at St. Freya Academy, the slacking-loving Theresa still had no idea what kind of overtime hell awaited her in the future, but instinctively shivered anyway.
Elias and the Herrscher of Finality descended back to the ground, facing the crowd's reverent and fanatical gazes...
Neither felt much of anything.
One was already used to it.
The other simply did not care.
"Alright, the first phase of the experiment is complete. We can now proceed to phase two," Elias said.
"Eh?" xN
Everyone froze for a moment. In the next second, Elias walked up to Ana and pinned her against a wall.
Then, lifting the girl's chin, he asked affectionately,
"Ana~ are you willing to..."
"I am willing!!"
"Uh..."
Before Elias could finish speaking, Ana had already agreed.
At this moment, hearts shone in the girl's eyes. Her already sky-high loyalty and admiration toward Elias had completely overflowed.
Right now, as long as it was one of Elias' wishes...
She would be willing to do anything.