"No matter how many times I see it, I never get tired of it. It even feels a little like coming home."
"Elias, you really do love this battleship."
"I do~ Especially this elevator. From a certain perspective, you could even say it was the origin of everything for me."
Under Vill-V's guidance, Elias toured the interior of Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK.
The sheer scale of the reborn Hyperion's interior gave Elias quite a few pleasant surprises. In the future, it would undoubtedly live up to its title and become an "eternally unsinkable vessel" that could roam freely across the infinite heavens of the universe and the infinite Sea of Quanta.
The two of them then boarded the internal elevator leading to the bridge. Elias immediately felt as though he had truly returned home, because it looked exactly like the login screen from Honkai Impact 3rd!
In the past, he had always viewed it through a phone screen. Now, Elias could finally examine every detail in person.
Armor plates forged from high-strength alloy were secured directly with specialized screws, while ventilation openings were left completely exposed throughout the structure.
There were no decorations. It was simple without being crude, filled with the beauty of advanced technology and an unmistakably professional atmosphere.
After all, only a design that openly exposed each component like this could allow maintenance personnel to dismantle and repair the ship as quickly as possible whenever a malfunction occurred.
This further proved that the Hyperion was a battleship built primarily for practicality and combat. It would never sacrifice even the slightest amount of performance for unnecessary decoration or visual appeal.
Through the transparent, bulletproof double doors of the elevator, Elias could observe the scenery within the ship. Numerous Honkai energy storage tanks were installed along both sides, and when the elevator reached the bridge...
"Captain on the bridge!"
Hearing the pleasant mechanical female voice, Elias instinctively clenched his hands, overcome by an indescribable sense of emotion.
Rejoice! Elias, who wielded the authorities of every Herrscher, crossed time and space to shatter tragedy, and stood as humanity's greatest savior, had finally boarded his faithful battleship, the Hyperion!
"Truly... Nothing has changed."
Elias stared at the bridge in a daze and sighed.
Even so, reality was still somewhat different from the game. For example, the bridge in the game was extremely cramped.
Once the elevator doors opened, two steps were enough to reach the end. It seemed as though even two people standing there would make it crowded. Elias' bridge, however, was both long and wide, spacious enough for dozens of Valkyries to stand in two rows while he walked between them.
Elias: (Now this is great. If the bridge in the game were this large, I wouldn't have to worry about which Valkyrie to choose as my bridge attendant. There'd be more than enough room for all of them!)
Apart from that, the bridge was not physically connected to the ship's other areas. For example, the three control consoles responsible for piloting the battleship were suspended in midair by three mechanical arms.
An electronic display was embedded in the railing before Elias, presenting every piece of data related to the battleship.
Only Elias' fingerprints could operate this display. It represented the battleship's highest level of authority, allowing him to directly manage every system aboard the ship or issue commands to its crew... although in the game, it had been used to display events.
Directly ahead of the bridge was specially reinforced glass that could reveal the scenery outside or serve as a projection screen for information. Its defensive strength was sufficient to withstand attacks from a Judgment-class Honkai Beast.
"How does it feel? I followed your instructions carefully, Elias. After all, you told me several times that the bridge absolutely had to remain consistent with the original Hyperion."
Vill-V spoke while admiring Elias' delighted expression.
"Mm! Thank you, Vill-V. This is exactly the Hyperion I wanted. Ahhh, this is wonderful~"
Unable to restrain himself, Elias raised his hands and touched everything around him like a child who had discovered a favorite toy. Vill-V repeatedly pressed the shutter of her camera. Watching Elias display such innocent childishness made her feel completely rejuvenated.
"Since you like it so much, why don't we take it outside for a spin? Its energy reserves are full anyway."
"We can?"
"Of course. This is your personal vessel, Elias. Carrying you wherever you wish to go is the original mission of Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK."
Vill-V clapped her hands as she spoke.
The next instant, the ceiling of Helixcraft split apart, allowing brilliant sunlight to pour down upon the Hyperion.
At the same time, the platform inside the workshop slowly began to rise.
Vill-V also transferred complete control of the battleship into Elias' hands.
"Now, issue your command to your heart's content, Captain Elias. Tell the Hyperion where you wish to go."
Vill-V pointed toward the sky with one hand.
Although the Hyperion had now become an ultra-advanced spacecraft, its operating system was not complicated.
Vill-V had even prepared numerous control modes.
There were multiplayer operation mode, voice-control mode, fully manual mode, automatic AI mode, and many more... Honestly, while the thoughtfulness was appreciated, none of it was particularly necessary.
Elias strongly suspected that each of her nine personalities had designed a different control method.
However, he had no time to criticize that now. Elias' excitement had already been completely ignited.
"Then set sail, Hyperion! Set our destination for the moon!"
Elias swept his hand forward, and the battleship activated the next instant.
Hummmm!
Accompanied by the sound of the power reactor starting, the Star of Eden gravity engines installed within the Hyperion came into operation, allowing the thousand-meter-long colossal battleship to rise directly into the air through antigravity.
Blue flames then erupted from the thrusters at the rear of the vessel. The next instant, Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK soared into the clouds with enough momentum to pierce the sky.
"!!!"
Elias' eyes widened as he watched the scenery racing past outside with excitement and delight. At the same time, he suddenly remembered something.
The name Hyperion belonged to one of the twelve Titans of Greek mythology, a son of Gaia, goddess of the earth, and Uranus, god of the sky. The name itself meant—the one who traverses the heights!
Despite being an ultra-heavy battleship, its speed was also astonishingly fast. Before long, it had crossed the 384,401 kilometers separating Earth and the moon.
Vill-V had spared neither effort nor expense in creating this Hyperion, pushing every aspect of its performance to the absolute limit.
Elias stared unblinkingly at the moon, which now appeared close enough to touch, and felt that landing on it was easier than visiting the neighborhood convenience store.
Although for him, that had always been the case...
Meanwhile, as a certain great inventor gazed upon the universe, wicked thoughts involuntarily emerged in her mind.
Vill-V: (Ahhh~ It would be wonderful if we could elope. Elias and I could travel through the universe alone aboard this battleship. The sea of stars is so vast that the others would never be able to find us, no matter how hard they searched~)
At that moment, every personality inside her mind fell silent, then anonymously voted in favor of the Magician's proposal.
Unfortunately, after Vill-V transferred every authority aboard the Hyperion to Elias, she could not even open a single door inside the battleship herself, let alone alter its course.
Elsewhere, Elias was examining the control panel.
In truth, as someone who possessed the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption, the fastest method of operation would be to hack directly into the system. Doing so would allow him to skip every tutorial and control the battleship as naturally as his own limbs.
But Elias would never treat his personal vessel so crudely. Besides, piloting a battleship was just like piloting a mecha—one of the ultimate forms of romance for any man! How could he possibly approach it so carelessly?
"Hmm... Judging by the time it took to fly from Earth to the moon, its flight efficiency is already extremely high. But from the perspective of interstellar travel, it still isn't quite enough."
After speaking, Elias shook his head with a wry smile. I really am greedy. I can't believe I'm still dissatisfied.
Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK possessed tremendous speed, but it was still difficult for it to perform true interstellar voyages. Put simply, Elias could only use it to cruise around the solar system.
However, Master Vill-V proudly thrust out her enormous breasts, declaring that a battleship she had built could never be limited to such a degree. Interstellar travel? Of course it was possible!
"Don't worry. This Hyperion also possesses a function known as 'warp,' allowing it to cross enormous interstellar distances. So interstellar travel won't be a problem~"
"Seriously? Vill-V, you turned on cheats, didn't you?!"
Elias' eyes immediately widened as he stared at his family's great inventor in astonishment. She was so terrifyingly capable that perhaps Bronya really should hand the Gem of Reason over to Vill-V.
Earth's civilization was still taking its first beginner steps in space exploration. At present, the only nations capable of sending humans to the moon were Shenzhou, the Land of the Beautiful, and the Bear.
Even the middle one currently deserved a question mark.
After all, the Current Era's technology was inferior to that of the Previous Era. Everyone still struggled merely to reach the moon, yet Vill-V had already developed interstellar warp technology.
She had single-handedly surpassed her entire era by an unimaginable distance. This was even more outrageous than inventing a rocket during the Stone Age!
"How could that be? The technology itself isn't anything extraordinary. It's merely an application of the Herrscher of the Void's authority."
Vill-V waved her hand, indicating that she had not cheated to such an absurd degree. Even she could not casually assemble a genuine interstellar warp device with her bare hands.
However, there was already an existing reference.
The Honkai was undeniably a threat to human civilization, but no one could deny that it had also accelerated technological progress.
During the Previous Era in particular, humanity had created an unknown number of impossibly advanced technologies by researching the authorities of Herrschers.
Back when Vill-V constructed the Cosmic Juggernaut, she had already researched the Herrscher of the Void's authority quite thoroughly. Otherwise, she could never have created a "stargate" capable of spatial transportation between Earth and the moon.
Since she had already been capable of designing a "stargate" that transported objects between Earth and the moon fifty thousand years ago, it was only natural that Vill-V could create a "warp" system capable of crossing interstellar distances fifty thousand years later.
It might have sounded outrageous, but it was also perfectly reasonable~
In the end, the same phrase remained true: Master Vill-V was the greatest of all time!!
At that moment, Elias suddenly realized something.
"Uh, wait. First, you used the Star of Eden as the battleship's gravity engine, and now there's a warp function modeled after spatial authority. Vill-V, don't tell me..."
"Hehe~ That's right! Didn't I tell you before that I installed everything I possibly could aboard Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK? Elias, you can essentially regard it as one enormous composite Divine Key."
Vill-V spoke with a face full of pride.
If one asked who in this world possessed the greatest ability to apply Herrscher authorities, Vill-V, bearer of the Helix Signet and creator of every Divine Key, was unquestionably the foremost expert.
This Hyperion possessed a self-repair function based on the authority of the Herrscher of Reason, gravity engines based on the authority of the Herrscher of Earth, medical pods based on the authority of the Herrscher of Death, a fire-control system based on the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption, and much, much more...
"Uh... All right. You really are incredible..."
Elias swallowed and raised his thumb once again.
He felt that his impoverished vocabulary could no longer produce suitable words of praise. All he could say was that Vill-V truly lived up to her declaration: "If I want to do it, then I can do it."
"Hehe, actually, this Hyperion still has another surprise. Elias, would you like to guess what it is?"
"Hehe, I think I'll pass on guessing. But I can say with certainty that there isn't only one surprise left. Given your style, Vill-V, it would only be normal for there to be at least a hundred more."
"Uh... As expected of you, Elias. You understand me so well. Fine, in that case, let's reveal the answer directly~"
As Vill-V spoke, she pulled a flash drive from the four-dimensional cleavage before her chest and inserted it into the control console.
A woman with cabbage-like twin tails then appeared in midair above the bridge through a lifelike holographic projection.