Wendy fell asleep peacefully, feeling secure.
With one arm around her waist, Zeke held the Key of Thunder-imbued gauntlet in his other hand, wielding the Cleaver of Shamash. His serene blue eyes turned towards the peculiar vortex in the sky.
Activating the capabilities of the Key of Thunder granted him a unique higher-dimensional perspective, complemented by "Omniscient Overlook," flooding his mind with vast amounts of information.
"Space-time distortion, traces of the quantum realm... Is someone harnessing the power from the gemstone embedded in her?" Zeke murmured, gazing at Wendy cradled in his arms.
Zeke glanced down at Wendy nestled in his arms and whispered softly.
A hazy silhouette emerged within the vortex, its true form indistinguishable. Yet as soon as it materialized, the already frigid air plummeted to even colder temperatures.
Even Rita, slumped on the ground, felt her breath catch—partly due to the extreme chill, but also because she sensed an inexplicable terror, akin to an ant instinctively fearing a great dragon.
Zeke gave her a glance, then with a swift twist of his sword hand, intensified the flames, warming the surrounding air significantly and melting large patches of snow.
"It's Lord..."
"Boom!"
One remaining fragment of the Gray Serpent, overwhelmed by uncontrollable joy, spoke aloud only to be instantly reduced to ashes by Zeke.
Then, he turned towards the shadowy figure and raised his blazing greatsword.
"Kevin Kaslana, your power is needed against Honkai. But now is not yet the time for your return."
As a greeting to this esteemed senior trapped in the quantum realm for millennia, Zeke unleashed a surge of potent Honkai Energy soaring high into the sky.
"Rumble!!"
The mere release of energy, before any attack was initiated, generated scorching winds that melted all visible snow within sight.
The spectacle was impossible to miss even miles away, let alone for Rita standing mere feet from it. She felt as if she had instantly transitioned from the depths of winter to the height of summer, beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead.
In the next moment, Zeke swung his sword.
His movement was unremarkable, and his expression remained impassive as ever. Yet, the air distorted dramatically, leaving behind scorched black marks on the surrounding earth.
Rita could feel the Valkyrie Armor searing against her skin.
A towering pillar of flames engulfed the vortex.
Just before the inferno reached it, however, icy shards materialized out of thin air, colliding with the colossal blaze. For several tense seconds, they held their ground before finally crumbling and dissipating.
As Zeke lowered his greatsword, the swirling vortex slowly began to fade away.
"Is it over?" Rita pressed her hand against her twisted left arm, letting out a sigh of relief.
But at that instant, an unexpected change occurred: slender fingers emerged from the center of the vortex, resisting its dissipation.
It was as if someone on the other side was reaching through, attempting to forcibly pry open the vortex like a portal.
And indeed, they succeeded. A gap widened within the vortex, revealing half of a chiseled face with one cold, emotionless blue eye.
"The signal...is fading..."
"Just...a little more..."
"Not enough time..."
"You're...interfering..."
His voice was slow, as if unused to speaking for a long time, giving off a slightly hesitant and stammering impression. Yet, its icy, emotionless tone exerted immense psychological pressure.
Zeke met his gaze with cold composure and replied evenly, "Your sword is quite useful. Until we meet again."
"...Agreed."
Kevin's eyes remained impassive as he uttered this single word before vanishing completely from the real world.
Just before disappearing, Kevin took one last look at this familiar yet alien home, feeling neither anger nor resentment. On the contrary, towards this unknown but formidable boy of the real world, he felt only satisfaction.
A new force against Honkai had emerged—this era held great promise!
"Hissss... Haaah..."
Rita suddenly gasped for breath.
During their conversation, two terrifying presences beyond her comprehension clashed, causing Rita on the sidelines to unconsciously hold her breath.
As she snapped back to reality, although able to breathe again, Rita still felt unable to move even a single finger.
'Is this what the true world is like? Have I been too comfortable, staying at Headquarters all this time?'
Confusion clouded Rita's eyes.
Undoubtedly, she was battered and severely wounded, having faced numerous setbacks on this journey. Yet looking back, she felt it was entirely worth it.
She had encountered enemies unlike any before, experienced the power of a Herrscher, and witnessed the true pinnacle that life could reach. This expedition had completely shaken her from the complacency and pride rooted in her Headquarters upbringing.
The vastness of nature and enormity of the world made Rita realize how ignorant and laughable her previous pride as an S-rank candidate truly was. To save the world, one must possess the strength to stand tall before adversaries like Zeke and that enigmatic powerhouse!
"Can you still stand?"
Zeke, holding the unconscious Wendy in one arm and wielding his flaming sword with the other, approached Rita. He looked down at her from above, his fiery breath washing over her face.
In the sky, a seemingly endless swarm of belated drones surged forth from all directions, obscuring the heavens like an aerial army guarding their king.
On the ground, behind Zeke, an infinite Titan Legion marched in synchronized heavy steps, cresting the mountains as a formidable black tide, their overwhelming presence causing hearts to tremble.
Rita's lips quivered under the gaze of those unwavering blue eyes, seemingly unfazed even by the collapse of mountains. Slowly, she nodded, trembling as she stood up.
Clutching her twisted left arm, she respectfully bowed before Zeke.
At that moment, it became crystal clear to her why this young boy, appearing no older than twelve or thirteen, had earned so many prestigious titles and positions—even garnering deference from the archbishop himself.
Because he was truly deserving!
Zeke's experiment concluded, and so did the conflict.
The bad news was the severe destruction in the surrounding area.
The good news: minimal casualties, albeit largely due to sheer luck.
A worker bee crafted a sturdy metallic throne for Zeke, with the unregressed Cleaver of Shamash leaning against it, while the Key of Thunder remained coiled around his right arm. With one hand supporting his cheek and legs crossed, he sat upright, gazing into the distance.
He was reflecting on his actions.
Capturing the "World Serpent" had been his plan, but towards the end, his focus shifted entirely to his fusion experiments. Coupled with mental exhaustion from prolonged sleep deprivation, many aspects were not meticulously planned.
For instance, he hadn't anticipated the World Serpent using Honkai energy-triggering devices, underestimated its capabilities, failed to disable the signal device within Raven beforehand, didn't optimally allocate the combat strength of the three-person black-armored squad, and neglected to fully develop additional fighting potential at the orphanage, among other oversights.
The outcome was acceptable, but there mustn't be any repeat occurrences.
"Zekeeee!"
A certain white-haired bundle of joy lunged forward, nuzzling her face against him repeatedly, accompanied by audible breaths of contentment.
"Ssshh—"
'It's Zeke's scent!'
Kiana felt her entire body buzzing with joy; even her antenna-like hair swayed happily.
The previous Zeke had been terrifying due to lack of sleep, radiating a "keep your distance" aura that made Kiana hesitant to approach him casually.
As a result, it had been quite some time since she could get this close to Zeke. Now, finally, she could fully recharge herself with his energy!
Greedy for Zeke's presence, Kiana breathed in his scent—only to be gently pushed away by his hand on her face.
"Step aside, you're annoying."
"No way! Don't be shy, let me hug you more!" Undeterred, Kiana shamelessly tried to cling closer to Zeke. However, he was no longer just a frail researcher—the strength of MANTIS far surpassed even the extraordinary might of a paramecium.
In the end, Kiana didn't succeed and ended up sitting cross-legged near Zeke's feet, pouting unhappily without speaking, merely glaring at him with accusing eyes.
Zeke remained unfazed, but internally, he sighed with relief as a long-suppressed shadow finally dissipated. From now on, regardless of whether Whitey experienced a Honkai Energy surge or suddenly fell under the control of the Herrscher of the Void, his life would no longer be easily endangered. Nor would he need to worry about this silly girl feeling remorseful after inadvertently harming him.
On the contrary, no matter how much she might squirm, Zeke was now utterly confident he could keep her under control—nothing would ever force him to let go again. He could unreservedly keep this little dolt by his side.
Zeke gently stroked the white head beside him, the corners of his lips curving slightly upward.
Kiana's first instinct was to close her eyes and enjoy the caress, but then she suddenly shuddered.
"What's going on?! What do you want from me? Did I mess up again? At least tell me why so I'll know what hit me!" Kiana summoned all her courage to speak out.
There was no way Zeke had turned gentle on a whim; something stormy must be brewing beneath the surface. Yet despite racking her brain—admittedly, there were far too many things that could irk Zeke—to pinpoint the cause, even if another round of beatings followed, she wouldn't know which specific offense triggered it.
"Thwack!"
Zeke flicked his finger against Kiana's forehead.
"Ouch!" The girl winced softly, covering her forehead with one hand, pouted, and blinked her big eyes plaintively.
Then, she burst into a joyful grin.
Though unsure exactly what happened, seeing as Zeke didn't seem angry, everything must be fine after all.
Behind them, countless worker bees and Titan robots worked together to construct a new headquarters base. Since it was already destroyed, rebuilding something larger and sturdier seemed like the natural course of action.
"Beep—"
"Titan 13 and Worker Bee Squad 23 over there, you're moving too slow! Pick up the pace or no dinner for you!" Bronya, donning a small hard hat and child-sized coveralls, blew her whistle expressionlessly, roleplaying as the overseer with apparent enjoyment.
Meanwhile, Seele, Sin, and others were bustling about inside the kitchen tent, preparing dinner for everyone.
Everything felt peaceful, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.