On This Day, the Girls Witnessed the Truth

With a slight sigh, Kevin spread his nearly withered wing and flew into the sky. Thirteen rhomboid marks also rapidly unfolded behind the man like a peacock spreading its tail feathers. Incredibly terrifying energy quickly gathered within them, giving people the illusion of dark clouds pressing down on the city.

"I admire your courage and strength, but if you want to prove yourself, you have to fly higher than me."

With his gaze fixed on the boy below, Kevin spoke earnestly, word by word, as his tattered golden greatsword fell to the ground.

Swish—

In Setsuna, the energy gathered in the rhombus mark shot out, a total of thirteen blazing beams of light shooting towards the boy, each possessing power surpassing that of Herrscher's full-force attack.

Looking up at the blazing pillar of light that almost filled his entire field of vision, Shi Hen could clearly feel the destructive and murderous aura emanating from it.

Even so, there was no trace of panic on his face, and a confident smile appeared on his lips.

Boom!!!

Thirteen blazing beams of light finally descended, and the torrent of light and heat instantly engulfed the boy's figure, along with a thick layer of ground that was sheared away from the ground for more than ten miles around.

After a while, the beam of light dimmed slightly, and a cherry-pink crystal barrier appeared where the boy was. A crystal-like, exquisitely beautiful prismatic core was emitting a warm and gorgeous nitrogen-argon light.

"You're really late, Elysia. But it's just in time, isn't it?"

With a light laugh, Shi Hen grasped the Herrscher Core that he had given to Elysia without hesitation.

After going around in circles, this core is no longer the blank and flawless object it once was, but is now filled with the mark of a certain Miss Pink Fairy.

Its name is— [Origin]!

In an instant, light shone from the Herrscher Core, and the signs of artificial Honkai on Shi Hen's body faded and disappeared one by one, completely restoring him to his human form. Even the armor formed from the Quantum Sea turned silver-white, complementing his long white hair.

Through the tempering of the battle with Kevin, and with the arrival of the [Origin] authority, the many conflicting forces within Shi Hen's body finally achieved harmony at this moment.

Just as a conductor suddenly appears in an orchestra, the various forces that were originally in conflict quickly reach a unity and jointly play a harmonious movement.

This is the inscription of "True Self" that belongs exclusively to Shi Hen.

Click~

The crystal barrier in front of him suddenly shattered, Shi Hen's body flew towards Kevin like an arrow, the baseball bat in his hand emitting a light that was even brighter and more radiant than the moonlight.

Seeing the changes that had occurred to the boy, Kevin, whose mouth had transformed into a carapace, seemed to curl up slightly. The thirteen rhomboid marks on his back merged into the giant sword, and he himself swooped down towards the boy.

Boom--

As expected, Shi Hen and Kevin collided head-on, their Silver-white Bat and golden greatswords pressed tightly together, and equally surging and terrifying energy was released wildly from their bodies.

This is a battle between humanity and the Honkai, a fierce clash between the "True Self" and the "savior," between the origin and the Finality.

Although compared to the colossal tree that blots out the sky at the Finality, the First source can only be considered a seed.

Fortunately, the boy happened to have the ability to nurture and grow it.

During the standoff, golden and silver radiance, like that of the sun and the moon, burst forth from Kevin and Shi Hen respectively, rapidly expanding and engulfing everything around them.

Chapter 243 On this day, the girls witnessed the truth.

It felt like a fleeting moment, yet also like spanning 50,000 years of human civilization.

When Kiana returned to the platform space, all that remained in her heart was boundless emotion.

By this time, she had fully understood the meaning of "The Finality" and the arduous efforts that generations of humanity had made to Anti-Honkai.

Kiana!

Upon seeing the white-haired girl return, Durandal was the first to step forward and hug the girl tightly, a smile of relief and joy on her face.

"I'm back, sister."

Sensing the Honorable Knight's feelings, Kiana patted the girl on the back and said.

"Kiana, you've now become the Herrscher of Finality?"

Mei's gaze swept over the White-haired Girl in front of her, whose aura had drastically changed, and she made a final confirmation with a slightly solemn expression.

"Yes, now we are truly on the same level as Kevin, and we have the qualifications to end this endless cycle."

Kiana nodded slightly, a confident smile on her face.

Not just the 50,000 years of their era, but everything that humanity experienced in the Previous Civilization Era, and countless generations of humanity before that... After she becomes the true Herrscher of Finality, this endless cycle can be officially declared over.

As she thought about it, Kiana frowned slightly. "But..."

"Just what?"

Mei couldn't help but press for more information.

"It's nothing, it must be my imagination."

Meeting Mei's eager gaze, Kiana gently shook her head.

As she gradually took over the authority of the Finality, she also vaguely sensed the vibrations of another authority of the Finality, as if... Kevin was on the verge of death?

But this is undoubtedly impossible.

Having truly become the Herrscher of Finality, she knew very well just how powerful the authority of the Finality truly was.

Don't say that Welt White's strength is inferior to Kevin's. Even if he obtained the power of the false god from Otto, he still has no chance of being compared with Kevin has the power of the ultimate.

Although the authority of a false god also possesses unique characteristics, it is ultimately a falsehood compared to the Finality, and the two are simply incomparable.

"In that case, let's hurry back to the moon. Hen is waiting to meet us."

Mei glanced at the white-haired girl with some concern and said softly, while reaching out to brush a few strands of hair from her Mei, her expression showing barely suppressed worry.

Although she didn't think Kevin had any reason to hurt Shi Hen, she had been separated from the boy for a long time, and she really couldn't control her emotions.

"Um..."

Kiana responded, her fists clenching involuntarily, a hint of worry, unnoticed even by the girl herself, flashing in her four-pointed star-shaped eyes.

Imaginary numbers, unknown space.

Feeling his body become light again, no longer burdened by the Power of Finality, Kevin smiled with relief, and his eyes showed more admiration as he looked at the boy in front of him.

"You win."

Kevin said softly, his voice revealing deep weariness.

"As expected."

Shi Hen nodded slightly to Kevin, showing no sign of modesty whatsoever.

What are your plans next?

Ignoring the young man's attitude, Kevin asked calmly, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

After defeating him head-on, the boy will not possess the same Power of Finality as him, but the Stigmata Project will be completely taken over by the other party.

It can be said that today's youth have taken on the responsibility of the world's fate in his place.

"Let's hold a funeral for you, Boss Kevin, first."

Shi Hen said with a smile.

Kevin: "???"

Without offering any further explanation, Shi Hen waved his hand and took Kevin to the World Bubble he had previously saved.

Unlike the original lunar base, the World Bubble is now covered with lush green grass, and wildflowers of various colors bloom freely, forming seas of flowers.

On the grass not far away, a black-haired woman in a white coat lay quietly like Sleeping Beauty, as if waiting for the prince to awaken her.

"Plum!?"

Upon seeing this, Kevin's usually calm eyes immediately stirred with emotion.

"The Stigmata Project captured and preserved a World Bubble 50,000 years ago as a place to imprison the Herrscher when the project was restarted. And very fortunately, the World Bubble recorded the scene when the world was about to be destroyed 50,000 years ago."

Shi Hen explained with a smile.

"... Thank you."

His lips twitched for a moment, and it took Kevin a long time to finally utter two words.

Although he could understand that the Dr. Mei in front of him was just a shadow of Mei in the Eigen World.

But now, isn't he just a lost soul?

If it weren't for the boy's efforts to maintain his existence, he would probably have long since vanished into the torrent of imaginary numbers.

"The fall of a hero must be witnessed by someone."

Shi Hen said earnestly, word by word.

A smile appeared on Kevin's lips as he extended a fist toward the boy. "My path has come to an end. What follows is your future. Go and show that sun what kind of brilliance humanity can truly radiate, Shi Hen!"

"Well, goodbye, Boss Kevin..."

With a smile, Shi Hen extended his fist for a final clash with the man.

Bang!

Amidst the muffled thud, a light screen, visible only to him, quietly appeared:

[Infinite Serpent's status has changed; you have obtained a new Flame-Melt Factor: Savior Kevin.]

[Main Quest - Path of Destiny: You have become a member of Anti-Honkai organization. Hide behind the scenes and strive to become the final boss. (Current progress: 99.9%)]

As his gaze swept over the semi-transparent text on the light screen, Shi Hen's lips slowly curled into a smile.

With this, he had the last piece of the puzzle in hand, and he was only half a step away from the finish line.

When Kiana and the others returned to the moon, they saw the Finality Crater, which was completely unrecognizable and looked as if it had been bombarded by a meteor shower for three days and three nights.

In the center of the ravaged battlefield, the boy's figure still stood alone, while a pale humanoid behemoth in front of him collapsed, its body instantly turning into countless starlight and dissipating rapidly.

"Mark!"

Without bothering to find out what had happened, Kiana rushed towards the boy without hesitation.

Looking at the cheerful white-haired girl, Shi Hen also showed a gentle smile, opening his arms as if to welcome the girl into his embrace, but a brilliant light shone in the palm of his right hand.

"Kiana, watch out!"

She shouted urgently, Durandal quickly caught up.

Just a second before Kiana was about to throw herself into the boy's arms, a Silver-white Bat slammed down, only to be blocked perfectly by a white lance.

When--

The clash between the baseball bat and the lance produced a deafening roar like metal striking metal, and the powerful impact caused a cloud of dust to rise suddenly, also causing the white-haired girl to stop its cheerful steps.

Although for the girl who had become the Herrscher of Finality, this level of impact was no different from a gentle breeze, the truth it revealed was enough to cause Kiana a mental blow of a million tons.

"Hen, what are you doing? And sister, you, you..."

Looking at the familiar boy with a gentle smile and the solemn-looking blond knight, and sensing the tense atmosphere between them, Kiana's expression froze, and she even became a little incoherent.

"Because Shi Hen is [Welt White], and [Welt White] is Shi Hen! We've been completely deceived by him all along!"

Glaring at the still-smiling black-haired youth before her, Durandal spoke slowly and deliberately, in an extremely serious tone.

"No, no way! The mark is something like 'Welt White,' isn't that a lie Otto used to deceive us? We saw through it before..."

Without hesitation, Kiana shook her head frantically, trying her best to defend the boy, "Hen, you should explain to your sister too, say you're not [Welt White], how could you possibly be [Welt White]..."

As she looked at the boy, Kiana's voice trembled with tears.

"Oh..."

Faced with this fluffy white-haired girl, Shi Hen simply chuckled softly, releasing his baseball bat and dissipating it into specks of light. "I must say, Otto is indeed one of the few truly intelligent people in the world. Even with just a few scattered clues, he was the only one who almost discovered my true identity."

"What do you mean? Hen, what are you talking about...?"

Kiana stared blankly at the boy, looking as if her brain had completely shut down.

"Kiana!!"

Looking at the girl who seemed completely broken, Durandal called out with a tone of pity, her gaze towards the girl growing increasingly angry.

"Hen! What exactly do you mean? What's your true face? You must be lying to us, right!?"

A beam of lightning suddenly lit up, Mei asked, trying to suppress her emotions, but her delicate body trembled more and more obviously, and the electric arcs on her body seemed to jump and flicker wildly out of control.

"Captain Hen..."

Looking at the boy with worried eyes, Seele's body swayed uncontrollably, as if a gentle breeze would cause her to collapse completely.