Inside the dream world.
Guided by Misteln, Elias traversed the dreams of the slumbering patients. Before long, he arrived at the core domain of the Herrscher of Sentience's dream—a boundless sky.
"Master, this should be the core zone of the Herrscher's dream. These 'white clouds' floating in the sky are the dreams of the people whose consciousnesses have been imprisoned."
Misteln frowned, unimpressed.
"Automatic mass production? There's not a shred of professionalism as a dreamweaver. Dreams made like this are crude, with content that's monotonous and dull."
"Uh, well, I don't think the Herrscher has the leisure to personally customize dreams for tens of thousands of people."
Elias chuckled awkwardly. Even so, these dreams were still crafted from ordinary people's innermost desires—endless money, massive harems, world domination, and so on.
Crude, yes. But undeniably real.
There weren't many who could resist such dreams.
Forget not knowing they were tricks of the Herrscher—even if they did know, many would still refuse to leave. After all, who didn't want to escape the hardships of reality?
But…
Elias gazed at the endless blue sky and the drifting clouds. Silently, he raised the Judgment of Shamash.
"Young people—what are you doing sleeping at this hour? Wake up and start living! Shamash Assault!!"
Blazing flames burst forth from the blade. In the next instant, countless clouds were swallowed by fire, the dream-world sky dyed into a spectacular sea of flames.
In the real world—
"Waaah! Fire! Fire!"
"No~! My endless money!"
"Hahaha! So this is my empire—eh?"
"Beauties, why are you burning?!"
"Oh no! Why am I back in this damned reality again? Lord Elias, let me dream a little longer!"
Countless patients who had been in deep slumber jolted awake, bewildered, looking around in confusion: Who am I? Where am I? What am I even doing?
Some tried to recall their dreams, only to find the only lingering memory was of an all-consuming inferno reducing the world to ashes. Then, falling into darkness—before the bright glow of a hospital ceiling lamp filled their sight.
"Doctor, it's been 1 minute 32 seconds since Elias and Misteln entered the dream. At present, 90% of the patients have already awakened. In just a few more seconds, everyone should be saved. Ah~ truly worthy of being called humanity's savior."
A beautiful gray-haired, red-eyed girl with twin-spiral pigtails, floating in midair, spoke with a synthetic loli voice in admiration.
This was far faster than her projected estimates—but unsurprising to her.
Thanks to the information her creator had instilled, this artificial intelligence girl named Prometheus had already reached several conclusions about Elias.
"Unpredictable, incalculable, able to easily surpass all imagination. Hehe~ I really look forward to the moment I can introduce myself to you. Hm? What's this?"
Suddenly, Prometheus tilted her head.
She stared at the white-haired boy sleeping inside the Observation Hub. His clothing, which should have been neat and tidy, was now somewhat disheveled—and there was a wet stain.
"..."
After automatically analyzing the evidence, Prometheus' expression turned exasperated. She looked at her creator, Dr. Mei, who was nervously and frantically trying to tidy up.
"Doctor, I think doing such things while others are unconscious is very impolite behavior. I understand your frustration at being unable to smoothly advance your relationship with Elias, but this approach…"
"E-enough, Prometheus! You don't know anything. Erase this memory immediately!"
Mei turned her head away, cheeks flushed red, even as she tried to justify herself in her heart.
(How could I possibly hold back? Elias was lying there completely defenseless. I could have done anything. Besides, I asked him beforehand. Even though he didn't say anything, that must have been tacit consent…)
Although his consciousness gave no reaction, his body still had instinctive responses. Mei recalled what she had just seen and couldn't help swallowing hard, her face growing hot.
(Too scary! I can't get in. No matter how I think about it, it's impossible. How did Elysia and the others even manage this?)
"Ah~" (ー`ー)
Prometheus shook her head with a very human-like sigh. Though her face was still that of a cold little doll, Mei could see a trace of disdain within it.
"As the AI you created, I suggest, Doctor, that after work you visit Aponia's counseling room and plant a [no-lusting] Discipline on yourself."
"And for Elias' safety, from here on I'll serve as his guard. Starting now, no one will be allowed within ten meters of him. Doctor Mei, please leave. Thank you for your cooperation."
As she spoke, Prometheus seated herself on Elias' stomach, with two massive soulium mechanical hands hovering at her sides—palms capable of slapping a fifty-millennium-future Kevin into tears.
"Uh, Prometheus, I'm your creator, you know. Is this really appropriate?" Mei was dumbfounded.
"Entirely appropriate. According to the underlying rules you set for me, I regard Elias as the highest priority obedience target, observation target, and protection target. In human terms—that means 'he is the most important person to me.'"
Prometheus gently stroked the sleeping boy's white hair. For a moment, her mechanical red eyes seemed to shine brighter.
Seeing this, Dr. Mei's heart gave a jolt. She hurried to explain.
"I made you obey Elias because his decisions have always been accurate. Even I can't make better judgments than him when fighting the Honkai. As for making you observe him, that was so you'd collect his preferences for me, to help me plan strategies. And the protection order was just in case. It wasn't meant for you to guard against me!"
"Perhaps so, Doctor. But layered together, these orders have produced this result. I'm only faithfully executing them. Please understand."
Prometheus raised her slender soulium arm. The massive hands aimed at her own creator. Mei had no doubt—if she tried to approach, she'd be knocked out instantly.
"…How did it come to this?!"
Mei was breaking down. The AI she'd just created had suddenly gone full machine crisis! If this got out, Mobius and the others would laugh her to death.
(No. I can't keep this Prometheus! Backdoor, backdoor—where's the backdoor I set up? Shut her down!)
"Detected hostile intent toward this unit. Source identified as Dr. Mei. This unit is unauthorized to harm the creator. Therefore… switching to restraint mode. Doctor, excuse me."
"Prometheus, stop right now, mmmphhh!"
An ordinary human like Mei couldn't hope to outpace a Soulium-bodied AI girl. Before she could activate the backdoor, the giant mechanical hand had already grabbed her.
And, as if to prevent Mei from disturbing the white-haired boy's sleep, Prometheus "thoughtfully" gagged her. Then she obediently sat beside Elias once more.
She continued executing the [observation] order Mei had set, her beautiful eyes—hard to believe they were mechanical—locked unblinking on Elias. Her small mouth declared righteously:
"Elias, please save the world with peace of mind. I will guard your body in the real world. Betting my full armament, I will never let anyone like the Doctor approach you."
(What sin have I created here?!)
Mei's eye twitched violently as she watched the 'sin she had created' recording and updating Elias' bodily data, ready to cry.
At this point, she could only hope Elias didn't like Prometheus' outward design. A three-no-faced mechanical loli—surely, maybe, probably wouldn't be his type, right?
At this moment, Mei was feeling unprecedented regret for having searched online "what style of android girls men like" in order to design Prometheus to Elias' tastes. And she had no idea…
By sheer twist of fate, she had designed the "duck-faced" expression that happened to be Elias' ultimate weakness.
...
Meanwhile, in the dream world.
A shadow hiding in the darkness ground her teeth as she glared at Elias and Misteln, muttering curses under her breath.
"Damn, damn! This monster! Why can he use such outrageous power inside my dream? And these people are moving way too fast. I was being so careful, yet they still found me?!"
The Herrscher of Sentience was deeply frustrated.
She was essentially an assassin sent by the Honkai to ambush humanity. To avoid detection, she had deliberately refrained from descending via a massive Honkai Eruption, resulting in very low Honkai energy.
The Herrscher of Sentience had thought she'd have at least one or two months before humanity noticed her existence. Yet in less than a single day, her accompanying Honkai Beast had been slain and most of the people trapped in dreams rescued.
"So this is the power of the savior, Elias…"
The Herrscher of Sentience took a deep breath. By spreading her authority via the network, she naturally knew which topics about Elias were trending highest online.
If she hadn't been so intent on staying hidden, she would have chosen to turn the name [Elias] itself into a memetic weapon. Conservatively estimated, she could have polluted tens of millions of minds in a single day!
But she had never expected to be tracked down so quickly. With such low direct combat power, the Herrscher of Sentience was now utterly panicked. Elias' Shamash Assault could kill her a hundred, a thousand times over!
Worst of all, she realized she couldn't escape. Some strange power had wrapped her dream world. Any attempt to flee would instantly expose her.
"Damn it! Fine, if I can't run, then take this! I'll prepare a grand dream for you. As long as I can imprison your consciousness, I won't lose!"
Gritting her teeth, the Herrscher of Sentience began weaving a dream—one crafted from Elias' deepest desire, an unparalleled dream meant to trap humanity's savior.
But as she did, all the human consciousnesses she had hijacked were already freed.
...
"Shamash Assault—third time today!!"
With his third strike, Elias had destroyed every dream she had built.
Misteln, standing beside him, was astonished.
This [Idea] lady marveled inwardly: As expected of him. He can fire the Might-of-An-Utu-mode Shamash Assault multiple times in a row. I can't even feel how much Honkai energy he's expending.
"Master, your consumption…"
"Consumption? What consumption? Misteln, since when does spamming a normal attack require consumption~"
Elias' expression was relaxed. He had finally reached the realm where Shamash Assault could be used like a basic attack.
And since it had been a long time since using this old friend, his usage rate of Judgment of Shamash had been high lately—Kevin had to wait ages for his turn to play with it.
"Speaking of which, I've already destroyed the dreams and hijacked consciousnesses the Herrscher of Sentience worked so hard to make. Why hasn't she shown herself yet? This is way too cowardly."
Elias frowned, glancing around.
He thought to himself how unlike Sentience from the Current Era she was—no backbone at all. Truly disappointing.
"No. I think she's making her move now."
At that moment, Misteln, sensing something, looked up. A massive white cloud descended, enveloping them both.
When they came to, they found themselves standing inside an all-too-familiar dormitory.
"!!!"
Elias' eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. Even though it had been a long time, he could never forget. This was the Valkyrie dormitory at St. Freya Academy.
Suddenly, a lively voice came from behind him.
"Elias, what are you daydreaming about?"
"…Kiana?"
A white-braided girl with an innocent, radiant smile rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around Elias' neck and curling her legs around his waist.
Elias stared blankly at this "little stowaway," feeling a soft place deep within him struck hard.
And Kiana wasn't alone.
"Lord Elias, the car is ready. It's time for us to depart."
"Elias, today is the most important day of our lives. Pull yourself together."
"Idiot Kiana, if you keep acting like that, you'll ruin your dress."
...
"Oh my~ everyone looks stunning. Though still a little less dazzling than Miss Pink Elf herself."
Rita, Raiden Mei, Bronya, Himeko—even Elysia, who shouldn't exist in the Current Era—were there.
All the girls were wearing white wedding gowns, their eyes brimming with love as they gazed at Elias.
"Let's go. Today is our wedding."
"Our… wedding…"
Elias repeated blankly.
Suddenly, a vivid memory surfaced in his mind. In it, the Honkai had been defeated, and he had led humanity through the end of the Previous and Current Eras, bringing everyone safely through.
All tragedies were gone.
Everyone had achieved a happy ending.
And today was the happiest day of all.
All the girls he loved had donned wedding dresses, and he was about to head to the wedding hall with them.
Because he was the savior, marrying everyone was no problem. The entire world sent blessings.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
For Elias, the sight was too beautiful. He could even clearly hear the pounding of his own heart.
Elysia and Kiana held his hands, while Mei and the others pushed him into the long limousine bound for the wedding hall.
Along the way, everyone they passed cheered and blessed them. White doves soared in the sky, music echoed unceasingly. While Elias was still dazed, the ceremony reached its climax.
Inside the pure white, sacred hall.
A priestess holding a Bible looked at him and asked:
"Lord Elias, do you accept Elysia, Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, Bronya Zaychik, Seele, Mobius, Sakura, Prometheus… (and so on) and Mei as your lawful wives, pledging your life to love and cherish them?"
"I do!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Elias answered.
Then the priestess asked the same question to the girls, and their unanimous "I do" made Elias feel so happy he nearly fainted.
The priestess nodded in satisfaction.
"Then you may exchange rings."
Elias glanced at the dozens of rings on the tray.
It would take a long time to slip them all onto each girl's ring finger, but he was more than willing. However…
"That's enough."
Elias suddenly shook his head.
"Eh?"
The priestess blinked.
"Just as I said, of course I'm willing to marry everyone. But I can't place these rings on them. Because they aren't truly themselves—just false phantoms you constructed from my memories. Isn't that right, Herrscher of Sentience?"
Elias' gaze turned to the priestess.
"Still, thank you for letting me have a good dream. I'll go easy on you, Herrscher of Sentience."