"Hurry up and hand over your Judgment of Shamash. I'm going to need it any second now."
Elias pointed to the twin guns strapped at Siegfried's waist.
The 7th Divine Key—Judgment of Shamash.
Twin pistols forged from the core of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Fire, fused with soulium. In extreme conditions, the guns could combine into the massive "Cleaver of Shamash." When the Honkai output exceeded 150%, the weapon could further evolve into its ultimate form—"Might of An-Utu."
This was the most violent and pure destructive Divine Key of them all.
And in Siegfried's hands? A total waste of potential.
"Uh, yeah, no. Absolutely not. This is a Kaslana heirloom—can't let outsiders use it, alright?"
Siegfried immediately clutched the pistols protectively, shaking his head like a rattle drum.
Though Judgment of Shamash had killed off several generations of Kaslana clan leaders, the family still treated it like a first love. After using the weapon for so long, Siegfried was emotionally attached.
And if he handed it over to Elias—who knows if he'd ever get it back?
"Oh? That so? Well, I guess I'll just go confess to Kiana when I get back. If she says yes, wouldn't that make us family?"
"What the hell! You call that fair?!"
"I support you, kid! Go for it!"
"Ryoma, shut the hell up!!"
Siegfried's veins bulged with rage. Were these even words a human should be saying? Some friend you are!
He promptly kicked the grinning Raiden Ryoma—who had been egging Elias on—straight into the sea.
Watching the two idiots, Elias could only sigh. So unreliable. Truly unreliable. Sure, men are boys at heart till the day they die, but these two? They were like overgrown huskies.
"Judgment of Shamash will be far more effective in my hands. I'm not just the Herrscher of Rebirth now—I'm also the Herrscher of Fire. At a minimum… I can wield its power five times better than you, and without burning myself alive."
"Uh…"
Faced with such an objective combat difference, Siegfried really had no excuse left.
They were about to fight Chiyou—a Honkai Beast the size of a small continent. A powerful weapon needed a capable wielder.
"Fine… Just remember to return it. And don't give it to anyone else."
"Of course. I'll only return it to a Kaslana."
"Kiana, huh? Yeah, that's fine~"
Siegfried nodded. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't agree, but for Kiana—no problem. Kaslanas were born to wield the Judgment of Shamash!
Ever since that accident in Kiana's childhood, when he inadvertently awakened the Void Herrscher within her and lost an arm—
Siegfried had been growing steadily worse at using the weapon. These days, even pulling off one flashy attack was a struggle.
With a sigh, he handed the twin pistols to Elias.
The next moment, Judgment of Shamash erupted with a blinding light.
"Oh? That's how it is, huh? In that case, let's see what I can really do—Judgment of Shamash!"
As Elias combined the pistols into a greatsword—
The soulium-forged blade quivered as terrifying flames exploded outward. Its shape stretched and shifted continuously—
As if evolving into a stronger form, or adapting to the power of its new master. Judgment of Shamash wasn't just a sword now—it felt alive, like a creature with a soul.
It was the mythical flaming sword that guarded Eden, the divine fire that razed Sodom. And now, in Elias' hands, that myth was becoming reality!
[Detected Herrscher of Fire core… Herrscher of Death core… Energy output exceeding 100%, 125%, 150%, 200%—300%!!]
"Judgment of Shamash—Limit Release!"
A form even more violent than the greatsword mode appeared. Elias felt the scorching power surging through the blade—like he was gripping the very concept of power itself.
Judgment of Shamash—Might of An-Utu Mode!
"Holy crap, that looks awesome!"
Siegfried stared wide-eyed, dumbstruck, as Judgment of Shamash transformed into its Might of An-Utu form in Elias' hands.
His eternally chuuni heart thumped wildly. He never expected Judgment of Shamash to have an even further evolution beyond its greatsword state.
But then again, it made sense. Siegfried had never injected the super mutation activation serum, so he couldn't awaken the Honkai Beast genes within his Kaslana bloodline.
Nor did he have the Honkai energy or strength necessary to unleash Judgment of Shamash's true form.
"Void Herr—uh, I mean Elias, how did you do that? Mind letting me try it out for a sec?"
"Siegfried, in Might of An-Utu Mode, I'm pretty sure just grabbing the hilt would melt both your hands off."
Elias continued to familiarize himself with the blade's overwhelming power. Soon, the once-raging flames were tamed in his grasp.
Though he looked composed on the surface, he was secretly restraining a powerful impulse within.
(Ahhh, I want to cut something! Can't something show up for me to slice?! Anything works! Just let me unleash a Might of An-Utu slash!!)
Elias' breathing quickened.
He looked around for anything that could take a hit.
But all that surrounded them was the endless sea—and the still-sealed Chiyou.
To hold such world-scorching power and not unleash it… Elias' hands itched uncontrollably.
Elias: "I really wanna give Earth a clean part down the middle."
He had originally planned to use one of the twin pistols to strike a deal with Kevin later. But now? Forget that. Who needs bargaining chips when you can drop 999-damage slashes?
With this kind of power, who needs anything else? He was pretty sure he could go confront Otto head-on at this point.
"Oh yeah—might as well do this while I'm at it."
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"For Kiana and Durandal's sake—I'll fix this for you. But this is a one-time favor."
Elias placed his left hand on Siegfried's shoulder.
The next moment, the power of the Herrscher of Rebirth activated. Siegfried's mechanical left arm detached and fell away.
And in its place—a brand new arm regrew.
"My left arm—it's back!"
"What's there to be shocked about? Don't forget, I'm the Herrscher of Rebirth. Shaping a human body is nothing. A hand? That's child's play."
"Thank you, Elias. I owe you big."
"Just remember to pay me back. You already owe a lot."
Elias joked lightheartedly.
But let's be honest—Siegfried probably couldn't ever repay all his favors. Which meant... Elias would just have to collect with his two daughters. Heh heh heh~
"Elias, the doctors say the portal stabilization devices are set up. We're ready."
"Perfect. I'm on my way."
Hearing Mei's voice, Elias lifted Judgment of Shamash in Might of An-Utu Mode and made his way over. The weapon paired too well with his Vermilion Knight: Eclipse armor—his coolness stat just hit +1.
"Elias, the Sea of Quanta portal stabilizer is fully operational. You can now—holy crap, that looks amazing!"
"Is that Judgment of Shamash? I didn't expect it to have a hidden form like this."
"Yeah… I can feel an overwhelming destructive force from it. An indescribable surge of Honkai energy."
Tesla, Einstein, and Welt couldn't take their eyes off the Judgment of Shamash: Might of An-Utu in Elias' hands.
Now this was a true fire-element greatsword wielder! Compared to what Siegfried had been doing with it before… that was basically waving around a campfire stick.
"Alright, you and Mei start transferring all your Honkai energy to me. I'll open the passage to the Sea of Quanta right after."
Elias activated the Honkai energy absorption mode of his Vermilion Knight: Eclipse armor. For now, the passage would only be opened on their side—the quantum side would remain sealed.
It was like a corridor with doors at both ends. First, open the front door. Once Chiyou was inside, shut the front, then open the back.
That way, they could be absolutely sure a certain big popsicle wouldn't sneak out.
"Okay. Take it all—my Honkai energy!"
"Mine too, Elias. It's all yours."
Welt and Mei began channeling their energy into Elias. With the combined power of four Herrscher cores, the total output exceeded 10,000 HW.
Einstein and Tesla both shivered slightly. Thankfully, they had injected the Honkai energy serum beforehand.
Otherwise, even with Elias harboring no ill intent, the sheer density of Honkai energy would've turned them into zombies.
"This power… I feel amazing."
Elias clenched his fists. For the first time, he felt truly full—his body, evolved beyond all recognition, finally had energy to match.
Before, he was like a bugged character with ever-expanding HP and MP bars—except only the HP was filled, while the MP was empty.
Now, with all this energy pumped into him, his blue bar was finally full.
His Vermilion Knight: Eclipse armor and the Judgment of Shamash: Might of An-Utu on his back both glowed with searing crimson light, as if Elias himself was ablaze.
But this was merely the result of both systems detecting the absurd intensity of Honkai energy within him and pushing their performance to the absolute limit.
"Open!"
Elias found the right coordinates, then tore through the air with both hands. Space itself shattered like glass.
A deep, glowing blue passage unfurled before them—seemingly infinite in depth.
This was the one-way path to the Sea of Quanta.
But it didn't stop there. As Elias continued pouring in more Honkai energy, the portal visibly expanded—100 meters, 500, 1000…
"Truly... spectacular."
The Anti-Entropy members couldn't help but marvel.
Before them stretched a vast corridor into the unknown. Just witnessing it made their hearts pound and their souls tremble.
From the main control room, Tesla shouted in excitement:
"Expansion rate matches projections! Ten seconds to target size! Nineteen, eighteen… three, two, one!"
"Target scale reached! Messy Hair, go!"
Hearing this, Einstein unflinchingly pulled the lever beside her.
A series of devices kicked into motion. After transferring control of the portal from Elias, they began maintaining the structure independently.
"High-density Honkai energy crystals are ready!"
The next second, countless compressed purple crystals were piled in front of Elias, Mei, and Welt.
Their Herrscher cores absorbed the crystals rapidly, replenishing their energy bars to full.
"I'm diving in to pull out the Xuanyuan Sword!"
Elias, having absorbed the energy fastest, had only used about two-thirds of it so far.
"Got it!"
"We'll be right behind you!"
Welt and Mei nodded and continued absorbing Honkai crystals.
Meanwhile, Elias plunged into the sea. With his body radiating such intense heat, the surrounding waters instantly boiled into thick steam.
He quickly reached the ocean floor and found the abyss where Chiyou was sealed—and there...
Was a golden ancient sword embedded in the rocky wall.
Elias: "The 10th Divine Key—Xuanyuan Sword!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven