Evacuation progress of the Mu Continent's residents—fifty percent, sixty percent, seventy percent…
The flowing winds carried information to Elias. With the aid of his portals, the efficiency of the evacuation had increased more than a thousandfold. However, this also brought immense pressure upon him.
"Faster! Hurry up! Even with so much Honkai energy, it's never enough!"
Elias urged everyone to move faster through the portals.
Beads of sweat rolled down the white-haired boy's forehead as he strained his Core to squeeze out more Honkai energy to sustain the thousands of massive space portals.
Since becoming an eight-core Herrscher, it was the first time Elias had ever been troubled by a lack of Honkai energy.
In truth, the people's efficiency was already unbelievable. Within just thirty minutes since the Herrscher of Earth had been confined inside a pseudo–black hole, more than eighty percent of the population of this supercontinent—home to one-sixth of humanity—had already been evacuated.
Fire Moth's mech forces and fusion warriors, aided by his portals, were performing evacuations with extraordinary efficiency. But this still involved hundreds of millions of lives.
Every passing second weighed on everyone's hearts.
And just as the final group began their evacuation—
Crack! Crack! Shatter!
"Not good! The Herrscher has reached critical state!"
Mei, who had been monitoring the battlefield through satellite feed, turned pale.
The pseudo–black hole Elias had created suddenly shattered apart. The Honkai energy from the Herrscher's self-destruction had already overloaded it, leaving no more time to rescue the remaining civilians.
"How many people are left?! How long will it take?!"
"R-Report! Still twenty million remaining! Estimated minimum—three minutes!"
"Three minutes!"
Mei clenched her fists so tightly that her nails pierced her palms, blood seeping through her fingers.
Three minutes—such a short, yet impossibly long time.
Elias had already bought Mu Continent over half an hour. To ask him to buy another three minutes—no one could even bring themselves to say it.
The only thought in Mei's mind was to abandon them.
To abandon those twenty million people.
They had already achieved far fewer casualties than predicted—hundreds or thousands of times less. Losing another twenty million would not alter the overall situation of the Previous Era.
"Elias… please come back… Everyone on Mu Continent has already been evacuated… Leave there quickly."
Taking a deep breath, Mei forced out the lie through her communicator.
Everyone in the command room turned to her in shock, but no one spoke to correct her.
Because no one knew better than they did what Elias had accomplished.
Their savior had already done the impossible. Even the greediest of hearts could not demand more.
(Even if you hate me for it, it doesn't matter. I can't let you stay in that deadly place any longer. So… Elias, come back!)
Mei had already made her resolve.
But it wasn't just the resolve to abandon twenty million lives.
It was also the resolve to be hated by Elias for the rest of her life.
She knew very well that she was committing an unforgivable sin—that she was deceiving humanity's savior, tricking Elias into abandoning millions of souls.
Such an unpardonable crime—even being executed a hundred times wouldn't be enough. And that kind-hearted boy would never approve of such a decision.
But when faced with the choice between twenty million lives and Elias' safety, Mei didn't hesitate.
Even if it were a hundred million—or a billion—she would still choose to protect Elias.
"Dr. Mei, you…"
One of the analysts tried to speak but couldn't find the words.
Dr. Mei shook her head, her expression calm—or perhaps, utterly cold—as she swept her gaze across the entire command room.
"This has nothing to do with Elias. It's my own decision. Those twenty million… if they die, then so be it."
Mei fought against the trembling in her body.
Yes—this had nothing to do with Elias.
It wasn't him who abandoned those twenty million lives. It was her. She had deceived the kind-hearted Savior.
So… this sin belonged to Mei alone.
However, just as the girl thought this—
"Thanks, Mei. But I've been holding out for over half an hour already. Lasting another three minutes? Piece of cake."
Elias' relaxed voice came through the communicator.
Mei's entire body trembled. She hadn't realized Elias could monitor the Mu Continent's situation through the thousand winds.
"Wait, Elias! You've already done enough! Don't push yourself! The Herrscher's self-destruction power is beyond calculation! Next time—I'll find a way to stop it, so…"
She looked toward the projection screen—where the white-haired boy was already standing again, maintaining the portals as he slowly walked toward the soon-to-explode Herrscher.
"Please, Elias… come back."
Tears streamed down from the eyes of the woman once deemed the pinnacle of logic. Mei was nearly begging as she spoke to him.
"…Didn't expect to hear you say that. Heh, I'm really happy. Thank you, Mei. You're such a nice person."
Elias looked momentarily surprised before smiling in genuine warmth.
"Guh—!"
Despite the dire situation, Mei felt an almost physical urge to vomit blood. Different tears welled up in her eyes this time.
She had just been handed… a "good person" card.
Everyone in the command room broke into a cold sweat. They all swore they heard something crack—surely it wasn't Dr. Mei's heart… probably just a cup.
"Anyway, I'll handle this. So that's that—bye~" Elias said lightly.
"Wait—get back here, you idiot!"
Bzzzt…! The signal cut out as the soulium earpiece was crushed in his hand.
"So I just need to hold for three minutes, huh… The shields can probably only last twenty or thirty seconds at best. Guess I'll have to go all out for once. Well, I won't die anyway."
Elias thought about the many ways he could keep himself alive and felt a bit more confident. His gaze turned toward the Herrscher of Earth, whose explosive energy was about to burst apart the pseudo–black hole.
The layers of defenses he'd placed earlier—imaginary barriers, ideal-fluid shields, molecular partitions—were now visibly collapsing one after another.
They weren't as fragile as paper, but even combined, those protections—each strong enough to withstand a nuclear strike—couldn't last more than five seconds per layer.
The Herrscher's self-detonation could obliterate heaven and earth at any moment, and Elias was nearly out of Honkai energy, still maintaining his portals while trying to buy time.
"Man~ being a savior sure isn't easy. Luckily, I still have a few tricks left. Then let's call this moment… the Hour of Salvation!"
Elias once again activated his artificial cascade. The white-haired boy's body transformed into a colossal white dragon.
Artificial cascade required no Honkai energy—breathing was harder than activating it.
ROOOOAR—!!
The white dragon's body was covered in cracks, yet its overwhelming majesty remained undiminished.
Then, the Savior White Dragon opened its jaws toward the Herrscher of Earth—
In the next instant, the raging Honkai energy surrounding the Herrscher was devoured.
This was another ability Elias had inherited from Chiyou's Meta-Morph factor—similar to Vishnu's Infinite Devour—but unlike Vishnu, the absorbed Honkai energy could only be stored or expended, not used to enhance his growth.
Because of that, there were no dangerous side effects.
"Good—this works!"
Feeling the dried-up Honkai energy within him rapidly replenish, Elias let out a relieved grin.
He layered more defensive techniques while simultaneously activating the basic time control ability he had obtained from Sin Mal, doing everything he could to delay the Herrscher's detonation.
Thirty seconds. Sixty seconds. Eighty seconds.
Those three minutes became the longest three minutes in history.
"The Herrscher's Honkai energy is weakening! Estimated explosion power is decreasing! Lord Elias, he…"
"No—no, it's not enough! This level of reduction is meaningless! Damn it, make them run faster!"
120 seconds. 140 seconds…
In less than three minutes, the Savior White Dragon had devoured over 100,000 HW of Honkai energy—three times more than Elias' peak capacity!
He was forced to continuously neutralize the excess Honkai energy using his Holy Blood. The neutralized energy turned into pure particles of light, radiating gently from the dragon's body.
The sight was indescribably beautiful.
Watching the dazzling white dragon shedding endless motes of light, countless people found themselves entranced—almost forgetting the urgency of the moment.
160 seconds. 180 seconds!
Elias silently counted in his heart. When the final moment arrived, he let out a breath of relief.
He could delay no longer. The Herrscher of Earth's self-detonation erupted completely—the unleashed Honkai energy would annihilate the heavens and the earth in the next instant.
Just as Elias was about to use a portal to retreat—
"Huh? They haven't finished evacuating?!"
The thousand winds brought him the information—the evacuation was incomplete.
The three-minute estimate Mei had given was only the fastest possible projection. Reality was never as precise as a computer's calculations.
Elias quickly understood. Those still left behind weren't important personnel—fewer than a hundred thousand remained.
Among them were elderly people with limited mobility, a few policemen who stayed behind to assist the Fire Moth's evacuation effort, several soldiers who chose to cover others' escape—and most heartbreaking of all, a heavily pregnant woman.
Cruel as it sounded, those hundred thousand didn't hold the kind of value or significance that justified the Savior risking his life for them.
They surely wished to live—but sadly, their fates had not been kind. Many would say it was inevitable—a tragedy without alternatives.
However—
"Tragedies exist to be rewritten!"
Elias—the Savior White Dragon—halted his retreat. He turned once more toward the exploding Herrscher of Earth, and under countless stunned gazes, he lunged forward and embraced her.
Then, the white dragon wings folded tightly around him, forming a cocoon of radiant white light.
The next second—a massive explosion and shockwave erupted from within the cocoon, its destructive power surpassing that of any hydrogen bomb.
BOOOOOOM—!!
"Elias—!!"
All who cherished the white-haired boy cried out his name at once.
The Mu Continent was swallowed by pure white light.
The super explosion that should have devastated neighboring continents never spread beyond its boundary.
The last remaining survivors of Mu Continent—those who had not yet escaped—were given three more precious seconds. It was enough. Every last one of them made it through the portals.
When the survivors learned what had happened, they collapsed to their knees, trembling and weeping uncontrollably. Tears spilled down their faces as they cried out in anguish toward the distant sea where the white dragon had vanished.
Every one of them understood—the Savior had bought those final three seconds for them. A mercy so great, even a lifetime of gratitude could never repay it.
And then—
BOOM!
A massive white figure fell from the sky, crashing into the ocean. Blood rained down like crimson mist, dyeing the waters red. The wounded dragon struggled to crawl onto a small island.
The Savior White Dragon's exoskeleton had melted and cracked apart. Both pairs of its hundred-meter-long wings were broken, its right claw, left leg, and half of its tail—gone.
The once-radiant figure now lay before the world in a state of unbearable, tragic beauty.
"Elias! Elias!"
Elysia leapt from the aircraft, her whole body trembling, heart seized with terror like never before.
She ran without hesitation toward the fallen dragon—and when her eyes met the horrific wounds covering its body, her vision went black. She nearly fainted on the spot.
"Black Abyss White Flower! Black Abyss White Flower!"
Elysia took a few deep breaths to steady herself. Her trembling hands once again activated the Zeroth Power of the Key of Creation. Without hesitation, she poured all of her Honkai energy into the White Flower, letting it bloom across the Savior White Dragon's battered body.
(Don't leave me, Elias… Please don't leave me! I wish—please, heal him! No matter the cost, no matter what I have to give—just heal him!)
She invoked the full power of the Herrscher of Origin, praying with all her soul that the world would not take away the boy she loved.
"Ely… is that you?"
At that moment, the Savior White Dragon slowly opened his eyes. The once brilliant golden pupils had faded into dull gray.
"My eyes… will take some time to regenerate…"
Facing the Herrscher's self-detonation at such close range, his dragon eyes—the most fragile part of his body—had been the first to be destroyed. Just moments ago, he had relied solely on his remaining senses to crawl onto the island.
Elias rarely spoke in his dragon form; after activating the artificial cascade, the draconic throat structure made human speech difficult.
But now, he didn't even have the strength to revert to human form.
"It's me! Elias, thank goodness—you're alive!"
"Ely… don't cry. There's no way I'd die, right?"
Hearing her sob, Elias panicked. He rubbed his massive dragon head gently against the pink elf's cheek, trying to wipe away her tears.
"Mm! Yes! Eli, you won't die—you'll never die! But this time, I really, really…"
Elysia spread her arms wide, hugging the side of the white dragon's face. When she had seen him swallowed by the explosion, her heart had truly stopped for a moment.
Never in her life had Elysia been so afraid.
She had imagined countless futures before—Elias proposing to her, the two of them overcoming the Honkai together, traveling the world side by side… and so much more.
But at this moment, all of that no longer mattered. As long as Elias was still alive, as long as the boy she loved was safe by her side, she was content.
"I made you worry, Ely… and also… sorry."
"Don't say sorry, Eli! You're the great hero who saved everyone—no one can make you apologize!"
Elysia gently caressed the Savior White Dragon's head.
"I just meant… sorry… our promise… I can't keep it."
"Huh?"
"Mu Continent… it's gone. We said we'd come back to travel here again… but looks like that promise can't be fulfilled."
Elias shook his massive head lightly.
Elysia froze for a moment. Biting her soft pink lip, her eyes filled with emotion. Despite performing a miracle and saving hundreds of millions, the boy still cared more about the promise he made with her.
So foolish. How could anyone be this foolish?
Her boy… was the sweetest fool in the world.
At that moment, Elysia's love for Elias overflowed like a broken dam, flooding her heart and mind—drowning the pink elf in a tide of pure affection, turning her into a hopeless, lovestruck fool for the boy she adored.
"Elias…"
"Hmm?"
"I really, truly love you. So… please, never leave me. Ever."
Elysia pressed a tender kiss against the white dragon's cheek.
And with that—the Ninth Eruption came to an end.
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