Mariana Trench. The Deep (Haiyuan City)
On the battlefield of The Deep, Kevin watched the young man before him quietly, finally choosing to speak first.
"Is there anything left unfinished?"
"Ah, no more. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Constantly limbering up his joints, Aaron, who had adjusted his condition to the optimal level, looked at Kevin before him and felt that he was now...
—*Actually under a mountain of pressure.*
It wasn't that Aaron hadn't considered shouting for Durandal, Siegfried, and Theresa to stay and help, but after pondering for a few seconds, he abandoned the idea.
The combat power of those three was indeed strong, but the problem was, aside from Siegfried and Theresa having joint combat experience, the remaining people didn't know each other's backgrounds at all, making it very difficult to form coordination.
Of course, for those three combat geniuses, given a little time, they could naturally familiarize themselves with each other's combat rhythm.
But the problem was, in front of a powerhouse of Kevin's level, everyone had no chance to adapt to each other's combat rhythm.
In front of the strongest warrior who could slaughter ordinary Herrschers and even beat the Herrscher of Finality into a crash with the cooperation of the Selene, any detail in the four's actions could lead to a combat error.
And in front of Kevin, who had two Divine Keys, any error was fatal.
What was worse, aside from Aaron, the remaining three were closely related.
Siegfried was Durandal's father, Theresa was Durandal's godmother, and Siegfried and Theresa were old friends.
If any one of the three was heavily injured, the remaining two would likely reveal flaws one after another due to worrying about the injured person, and be defeated by Kevin one by one.
So, rather than letting those three stay to assist him, Aaron felt a one-on-one duel suited his combat rhythm better.
Of course, besides the reasons above, not wanting to expose all his trump cards in front of Theresa, Murata Himeko, and Durandal was also a reason.
Although Theresa and Otto didn't get along, they were still grandfather and granddaughter.
After meeting Siegfried, Durandal definitely wouldn't be as obedient to Otto as before, but with her brain...
Anyway, if Otto wanted to scam intelligence out of her, he could probably figure out seventy or eighty percent of the trump cards in Aaron's hand with just a few casual words.
Murata Himeko had no direct conflict with Otto. If Otto exchanged intelligence on Ryusuke Murata for 'the information she saw', Himeko had no reason to keep secrets for Aaron—after all, Otto was her direct superior, and she had no need to go against her own boss.
Giving Himeko the HSN Serum was, in a sense, also buying some goodwill.
Of course, having thought so much, if he lost to Kevin here, then all of this would become meaningless.
What Aaron should be thinking about most right now wasn't other trivial matters, but...
—*How to survive Kevin's hands.*
*A magnetic field master should be full of confidence*—anyone could say the words, but the problem lay in whether one could maintain that confident mindset when facing a strong enemy.
And regrettably, Aaron, who knew Kevin's terror and was currently suppressed by Kevin in terms of aura, knew very well that the man before him was simply too powerful.
Just standing in front of him, Aaron felt cold sweat constantly seeping out of his body.
And the bottleneck he had been stuck at for a long time... okay, actually less than a month, actually loosened a tiny bit when Kevin started suppressing him with his aura.
Fighting a strong enemy of this level would inevitably refine his power under the oppression provided by the enemy.
But the problem was, Aaron had to have an 'after' for that.
"Not making a move?"
Looking at Aaron who was constantly moving his body, Kevin spoke indifferently.
"I can feel that you seem to be fearing me."
"Knowing clearly that you are not my opponent, yet choosing to fight me head-on at a time like this. I really don't know whether to praise your courage or mock your stupidity."
"Hehe, I am just this kind of idiot. Although I can't beat Finality and may not necessarily beat you, asking me to bow to [Project Stigma]... sorry, can't do it."
"Even knowing that this is the only plan that can save humanity for the current humans?"
"Yes."
"Hah, incomprehensible. Stubborn."
Looking at the young man before him, Kevin shook his head helplessly.
Only at the same time, in his heart, he was very gratified by Aaron's attitude.
Project Stigma was undoubtedly the best plan to fight the Honkai in Kevin's eyes, but while Kevin as a [Warrior] approved of this plan, Kevin as a [Human] still didn't hope for this plan to truly be completed.
After all, Project Stigma was simply too cruel for humanity.
Fifteen hundred years ago, Kevin knew clearly that Su would stand on his opposite side, yet he didn't strike first to imprison him. Aside from Su being his best friend, perhaps deep in his heart, Kevin also hoped someone would come to stop him who was about to turn into a demon.
But now, this sentimentality was too superfluous.
[Human] Kevin could not fight the Honkai.
This was the conclusion he reached fifty thousand years ago.
After his lover and comrades had all passed away, Kevin as a human no longer had any value in existing.
What this world needed wasn't a powerless [Human], but a [Warrior] who could lay down everything to fight the Honkai.
So now, there was no need for any softheartedness or confusion.
Burn everything that attempts to hinder me from completing Project Stigma to ashes!
At the moment when both of their fighting spirits reached the peak, they moved simultaneously.
Aaron gently tapped the switch at his waist.
Kevin poured Honkai energy into the Star of Eden.
[Clock Up!]
The instant Clock Up was activated, Aaron entered the world of Clock Up.
Once the Clock Up ability was activated, it could boost the user's speed to a thousand times the normal level.
Considering that Kevin's output was strong but his speed hadn't reached this level, Aaron had completed the armoring of the Rider System before coming here.
Only, after completing the Clock Up, Aaron discovered—his body had become incredibly heavy.
*This degree of heavy pressure, Kevin... did he actively use the Star of Eden's ability?*
[Spirit Commands—Focus, Intuition, Wall, Activate!]
The moment these three Spirit Commands were activated, the Kevin in Aaron's eyes moved.
In the eyes of Aaron who had Clocked Up, Kevin's godspeed strike became incredibly slow.
But simultaneously, within the double gravity field constructed by Kevin using the Star of Eden, Aaron's movements also became incredibly slow.
This sword slash Kevin struck from a distance even faintly cut through the surrounding space, causing spatial rifts to appear around them again like just now.
If Aaron hadn't activated three auxiliary Spirit Commands in time, this sword might have already slit his throat.
As the remote slash was completed, Aaron was also forced out of the Clock Up state.
"You actually dodged it?"
Seeing that there was only a shallow wound on Aaron's throat, which recovered completely in an instant, a look of surprise appeared in Kevin's eyes.
When he launched the attack just now, he first used the Star of Eden to form a sufficiently strong gravitational field.
After all, Aaron escaping from Kevin last time was partly because Kevin was too cautious, but Aaron's considerable speed was also a reason.
So this time, Kevin had planned to apply control first before outputting damage.
Kevin's plan was indeed executed perfectly.
But he completely hadn't expected that Aaron's speed, evasion ability, and defensive performance would all increase drastically in an instant.
That strike which should have inflicted heavy damage on the enemy couldn't even leave a shallow wound.
And at this moment, Kevin discovered something that interested him even more.
Aaron, who should have raised his momentum to the peak, currently had a fighting spirit intensity that was actually climbing continuously and faintly.
Aaron couldn't possibly be arrogant enough to hold back under Kevin's pressure.
Then, this continuously rising power...
*Oh, could it be that because the pressure I gave him was too great, it instead stimulated the potential within his body that hadn't been fully excavated?*
*Interesting.*
*Clearly fearing me in his heart, yet simultaneously constantly squeezing his own potential to improve his combat power to face me.*
*Does this contradictory mindset actually make his power rise continuously?*
*Truly interesting.*
*I don't know how many times this guy can move at that extremely fast speed.*
*Just now, in an instant, he actually dodged my attack without me noticing...*
*Among us thirteen, only Sakura could do this.*
*This doesn't look like freezing space-time, but can pure speed be this fast?*
*This time I used the Star of Eden's power to temporarily stop his movement, but next time, this guy won't fall for it again after suffering a loss once.*
*Using the Star of Eden's power to surround myself and form a sufficiently strong gravitational field is also a tactic.*
*But the Star of Eden in my hand is a fake after all. Even if it can still function normally now, I can't guarantee how long this imitation can last in subsequent battles.*
*Although if I continue to drag this out, I can also think of a way to crack his moves.*
*But the problem is—why should I stall?*
*Aaron's power is still rising continuously, and regarding tactics, both sides can think of means to break the game.*
*And right now, I almost forgot one thing.*
*When I met Aaron, he knew of my existence.*
*Even regarding Project Stigma, the most confidential matter for World Serpent, this young man behaved as if he knew it like the back of his hand.*
*I need to probe his trump cards during battle.*
*But in his eyes, he might already be clear about what abilities I can use to fight.*
*Looking at it this way, if I continue to delay, the danger I face will also increase accordingly.*
*Sure enough, now...*
*—I must fight with all my strength!*
*If I don't fight with all my strength now, after Aaron uses his unknown trump cards to crack my tactics, the only advantage left for me will be pure strength.*
*And, having stayed in the Sea of Quanta for fifteen hundred years, my power has weakened quite a bit.*
*If I'm not given enough Honkai energy to absorb and recover my original power, I can't bring out the power I had when dueling Finality back then.*
*I see. Aaron calculated all these factors before choosing to fight me even while [Fearing Kevin].*
*The pressure I bring him can make him constantly force himself to squeeze out the potential in his body.*
*And at the same time, he also knows I've become less powerful than back then, so he judges that if he fights me with his trump cards, perhaps there will be a sliver of a chance of winning.*
*Only, it's a pity. This is ultimately just [Your Calculation].*
*How can my power be something you can calculate!*
In this moment, Kevin connected the Star of Eden in his hand to the hilt of the Greatsword of Shamash.
Seeing this scene, Aaron's expression under the mask changed instantly.
In this moment, he immediately took out the Revive Hourglass and switched it to [Steel] mode.
And simultaneously, he also activated that power he hadn't used for a long time.
[Ittou Shura, Activate!]
Kevin's Judgment of Shamash, as the Key of Destruction with the strongest destructive power, actually had a hidden mode.
As long as the Judgment of Shamash detected the energy of a second Herrscher Core, the Judgment of Shamash would liberate its hidden power and enter the [Might of An-Utu] mode.
If Kevin released the Zeroth Rated Power in this strongest mode to attack Aaron...
No, not if.
Kevin had obviously made his choice.
Although the mimicked Star of Eden created by Welt was just an imitation, judging from past battles, the Star of Eden created by Welt was a high-end imitation that could still function normally after activating its Rated Power.
Even if the power of the mimicked Star of Eden was inferior to the original, the power of the mimicked Core of the Rock Herrscher was already enough for the Judgment of Shamash to enter Might of An-Utu mode and launch an awesome attack on Aaron.
This strike of [Judgment of Shamash] was enough to cause the entire surrounding space to be thoroughly incinerated by this blow.
And under these circumstances, Kevin also borrowed the remaining power of the Star of Eden to release a sufficiently strong gravitational field around him.
At this moment, due to power overload, spiderweb-like cracks had appeared on the mimicked Star of Eden.
But before it shattered, Kevin had already swung the weapon in his hand.
After activating Clock Up again, Aaron made his choice.
"Judgment of—Shamash!"
Faced with Kevin's strike filled with killing intent, Aaron didn't retreat but advanced, rushing toward Kevin who swung this sword.
Accompanied by terrifying flames surging out from the blade of An-Utu, the fire instantly covered Aaron's body.
And under the burning of this terrifying flame, the armor on Aaron's body couldn't last for an instant before being thoroughly incinerated before Kevin's eyes.
..................