On the far side of the planet, miles away from the main battlefield amidst the ruins of Dulan Fortress...
"They sure look like they're having fun over there. Getting rescued by the heroes... oh wait, heroines. Looks like they're grinding a massive amount of Li-bao's affection points right now."
Mobius stood with her hands in her pockets beside a jagged, broken metal pillar. With a profound sigh of regret, she pulled her gaze away from the chaotic battlefield in the distance.
After the Gates of a Hundred Worlds opened, the Foxian slaves stranded at the fortress began stepping through the dimensional tunnels leading to safety off-world, assisted by various rescue squads.
However, spatial teleportation wasn't omnipotent. There was a hard physical limit to the transport capacity per trip, and the sheer number of slaves backlogged here was simply far too massive.
Even with the little cuties like Tribbie, Trianne, Trinnon pushing themselves to the absolute limit—even burning through their own mental energy to keep the portals stable—it was mathematically impossible to evacuate everyone safely in such a short window of time.
It was a small blessing that the Foxians hadn't willingly surrendered to the biological dream pods. Not everyone had been entirely moved by Cangdu's rallying speech; some had chosen to stay sunk in their beautiful, illusory dreams.
But right now, those who had remained asleep had already been swallowed whole by Phantylia—dreams and all—without leaving so much as a trace behind.
Heaven helps those who help themselves. It was as simple as that.
Yet, the fact remained: they couldn't evacuate everyone fast enough.
And so, those who were severely ill, too old, or—like Cangdu—hanging onto life by a thread after the previous rebellion and believed they would only be a burden, silently chose to stay behind.
Their eyes were dull but perfectly calm. They had already accepted their fate to meet their end in this hellscape.
They were more than satisfied. In the final moments of their lives, they got to watch the future of their race step into an idyllic paradise blooming with flowers and birdsong.
No matter how many problems the Xianzhou Alliance had, at the very least, Foxians there could eat until they were full. They would have clean water, fresh clothes, and be afforded the basic dignity of a human being.
As for the ones left behind... perhaps they could do one last thing for their people.
"Dr. Mobius..."
Cangdu struggled to lift his blood-and-dirt-caked face, his voice barely a rasp. "You said earlier... that if we're willing to consume that thing you brought... we actually have a slight chance of surviving?"
"Not just surviving."
Mobius gently shook the writhing, pitch-black mass of flesh in her hand, which pulsed as if it possessed its own independent life. "If you're lucky, you'll even retain a clear consciousness. And you'll gain the power to continue taking your revenge on the Borisin."
This lump of flesh, codenamed Monster Cell, was one of the many highly dangerous bioweapons the snake lady had developed during a massive burst of inspiration.
(An inspiration sparked during her frequent, shameless trips to the Hyperion to freeload off Fuli while ignoring everyone else's dirty looks).
Once consumed, the cells deeply fused with the host, completely shattering their original biological constraints and consciousness to unlock power far beyond their physical limits.
The exact outcome directly correlated to the user's innate aptitude and sheer obsession, since Mobius hadn't yet established a comprehensive data archive for the project.
Ultimately, only extreme individuals who possessed "intense desires, obsessions, or extreme dissatisfaction with reality," met "a specific threshold of willpower," and could "endure the agonizing mental shock and physical mutation during the fusion process" had any hope of a successful transformation.
Even as an Executive of Anti-Entropy, it was incredibly difficult for Mobius to quickly find a large batch of unfortunate souls—ahem, volunteers—who met such absurdly strict criteria.
That is, until she stepped onto this planet and saw these Foxians, their eyes burning with the unquenchable flames of absolute hatred.
"It's exactly as I warned you before."
Mobius's tone was entirely flat, sounding exactly like a scientist listing the potential side effects of an experiment.
"Once you consume the Monster Cell, it will drastically weaken—or entirely eradicate—your original moral compass, your rationality, and your ability to suppress your desires. You will become highly subservient to your primal urges and the deepest, most intense cravings in your heart."
"If your willpower isn't strong enough, it's incredibly easy to degenerate into a mindless beast that only knows how to destroy and slaughter."
She lowered her voice. "That's right. In terms of behavioral patterns, you might become strikingly similar to the very Borisin you despise."
Obtain absolute power, but discard your humanity... Do you accept the terms of this transaction?
Cangdu's hand, reaching out for the eerie, writhing flesh, froze in mid-air.
He fell into a deep silence. The other surviving Foxians held their breath.
After a long pause, a low voice echoed out. It was a calmness that had been ground down to sheer numbness by endless suffering.
"I'm not a Xianzhou native. I don't understand their grand philosophies about 'when will the cycle of vengeance end' or 'dropping the butcher's knife to become a Buddha'..."
"All I know is that the Borisin have bathed our people in blood and enslaved us for thousands of years!"
"And as long as they exist... without a doubt... the Rhino-Hound, the Blood-Wind, the Black-Claw... all the other packs will continue to inflict this exact same torment onto our kin!"
The Sea of Quanta was too vast, the Imaginary Space too expansive. As things stood, no faction in the universe was willing to risk devastating their own foundation—or mutually assured destruction—just to wage an extermination war against the Borisin. Not even the Taixu Frontline could manage it.
"I was supposed to die here anyway! To hell with the future! All I want is the now!"
Cangdu's voice suddenly spiked, his eyes igniting with a reckless, all-consuming fire. "Even if there's only a sliver of a chance! Even if I turn into a monster! I want to tear them apart! I want to rip out their throats with my teeth! I want them to taste our despair!"
Without another second of hesitation, the man snatched the writhing Monster Cell and shoved it directly into his mouth!
It was like a flare had been fired. The eyes of the surrounding Foxian survivors erupted with the exact same fatalistic resolve and bottomless hatred. One by one, they grabbed the Monster Cells laid out before them and swallowed them whole!
Witnessing this, Mobius merely watched with supreme indifference.
She had seen similar scenes play out far too many times in her long life to feel any intense emotional turbulence.
The only slight headache was that since all the Foxians had consumed the Monster Cells simultaneously, the mutation process was going to trigger all at once.
This would undoubtedly generate a massive spike in energy readings and anomalies. Like a lit torch in a pitch-black cave, it was guaranteed to attract the mindless, straggling Borisin soldiers currently being puppeteered by Phantylia.
Sure enough, the sound of the outer barrier fracturing under immense strain echoed through the ruins.
The mindless, frenzied Borisin howled as they relentlessly battered the defenses. It was only a matter of time before they broke through Mobius's preemptive wards.
"Oh well... they are highly valuable initial test subjects. I can't let them go to waste so easily."
She let out a soft sigh, finally pulling her hands out of the pockets of her lab coat.
A massive, dark green cocoon of pure energy instantly materialized, engulfing her entirely. At the exact same moment, the howling Borisin soldiers shattered the barrier, their grotesque faces twisting with bloodlust and cruelty as they charged in.
And then, a colossal serpentine shadow towered over them, casting them entirely in darkness.
It was a gargantuan monstrosity rearing its head high into the sky. Its entire body was plated in dark green scales that gleamed with a freezing, merciless luster under the dim light. The silhouette of its head was jagged and ferocious, crowned with a faintly visible, twisted diadem.
Hyper-condensed Honkai energy, liquefied into a state resembling living magma, flowed through the gaps between its scales. Erratic, sickly-green lightning violently crackled and hissed, sounding exactly like tens of thousands of venomous vipers flicking their tongues in unison, heralding the arrival of rot and finality to all living things.
Stretching her newly gigantified body, Mobius grumbled internally. "I spent a lot of effort modifying this form so it wouldn't look exactly like Sesha's true body..."
A vicious, bloodthirsty glint—one entirely contradictory to her usual profound intellect—flashed in the serpent's eyes. It glared down at the Borisin, brimming with an utterly savage desire for destruction.
Active Honkai Reaction.
It was the ultimate trump card of a MANTIS (Massively Augmented Neo-Tech Integrated Soldier). By completely unchaining their own mind and shattering the safety limiters of their human form, they could delve into the deepest abyss of their altered genetics, fully manifesting and commanding the terrifying power of a Honkai Beast in an ultimate combat state.
In this form, primal bestial instincts violently assaulted the MANTIS's consciousness. Not only did their rationality plummet, but their battlelust and urge to destroy skyrocketed exponentially.
Even as the original pioneer of the Active Honkai Reaction, Mobius wasn't completely immune to this side effect.
With a casual flick of the Shadow Staff forged from pure lightning and energy, the vanguard of the charging Borisin—along with their heavy armor—were instantly pulverized into a bloody paste.
"Oh, right. There's one thing I forgot to mention."
She spoke in a low, raspy, echoing voice. It sounded like she was talking to herself, yet it carried perfectly to the ears of every single Foxian currently writhing in agonizing mutation.
"If you fail to control your rationality in the future... if you really do degrade into something identical to, or even worse than, the Borisin... and you find yourself needing someone to hate..."
"Then feel free to direct all your hatred at me."
"Because I honestly don't give a damn."
---||---
Meanwhile, at the former site of Mangus's command tent...
"Lingsha, look over there! Dr. Mobius looks exactly like a super majestic, giant dragon! Do you think she actually has Vidyadhara blood in her?!"
Bailu stood on her tiptoes, peering toward the distant fortress. Thanks to her Sequence Level physical specs, she had a crystal-clear view of the shocking anomaly unfolding in that sector.
"Your Eminence... the Professor simply integrated the genetics of a very unique Honkai Beast. It is fundamentally different from our Vidyadhara lineage..."
Lingsha massaged her temples, her tone laced with deep, fond exasperation for her High Elder's sheer, unadulterated innocence.
Ever since coming of age and officially taking the reins as the Luofu's High Elder, Bailu had diligently shouldered the heavy burden of solving the "Vidyadhara reproduction crisis"—even if she constantly yelled "Stop bothering me!" at the nagging Dragon Counselors.
As for the title of "Professor," as mentioned before, Mobius had briefly served as a biology instructor for Lingsha and her older sister. It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret.
"Oh... I see." Bailu replied, visibly disappointed. The translucent, crystal-like tail behind her drooped dejectedly.
Makes sense, she thought. A snake is just a snake at the end of the day.
But a dragon? That's the absolute symbol of a true Emperor!
"Alright, Your Eminence."
Looking at the High Elder's adorable face, which still retained a hint of baby fat, Lingsha fought down the intense urge to pinch her cheeks. She raised her hand, displaying the Prison Realm artifact currently sealing Yunli.
"Since we have secured the package, we should proceed to the main battlefield. We cannot simply sit back and watch while our friends from beyond the stars risk their lives on the front lines, can we?"
"Exactly!"
Bailu wasn't the helpless little girl who constantly needed coddling anymore. Her gaze fell on the Prison Realm. "You can't crack that thing open?"
"If we intend to forcefully break it open... out of everyone I am familiar with, only General Fu Xuan's Origin Strike: Star Shatter! possesses the necessary output," Lingsha explained with a helpless shrug.
A cute, fluffy rabbit constructed entirely from aromatic smoke obediently rested on her shoulder. "Besides, releasing Yunli right in the middle of this chaotic situation might not be the wisest course of action."
Both the Vidyadhara and the Foxians were immune to the Mara-struck condition. The Living Planet couldn't mentally corrupt them.
Yunli, however, was a completely different story. She was a pure-blooded, third-generation Xianzhou native of the Zhuming.
"I know, I know. I was just asking." Bailu retracted her gaze. An aura of absolute majesty, perfectly befitting a High Elder, settled over her delicate features.
"Go!"
With a gentle wave of her arm, the massive gourd hovering behind her, radiating a rich, medicinal fragrance, flew into the air.
The mouth of the gourd tipped over, unleashing a torrential downpour of sweet, glowing rain. The healing showers swept toward the distant, violently chaotic battlefield.
Bolstered by the High Elder's restorative power, combined with Miyuki Asakura's continuously sustained Deva Path aura and Lingsha's secret, mind-soothing aromatic incantations, the allied forces—who had been steadily losing ground against the Living Planet's furious onslaught—were instantly reinvigorated.
They barely managed to stabilize their defensive line.
And "barely" was the exact right word.
No matter how insanely badass and intimidating everyone had looked when they first arrived through the portals, when forced to clash head-on with Phantylia—who was currently using an entire planet as her physical body—individual strength seemed impossibly insignificant.
The initial advantage gained from their sudden ambush was slowly, methodically being ground down by the enemy's literally bottomless energy reserves and endless barrage of attacks.
At the end of the day, an overwhelmingly massive entity like a Living Planet wasn't something one or two S-Rank powerhouses could just punch to death.
The gap between a living being and a dead object was a dimensional chasm. A dead planet, no matter how massive, was just a chunk of nature. Eight billion terrifying upright apes could ravage it all they wanted, and it wouldn't care.
But the second it gained a consciousness and the ability to act? It could literally just roll over and wipe out an entire human civilization. The destructive output scaled exponentially.
Anna and the rest of the reinforcements were intimately aware of this fact. That was why, from the very beginning, their core objective had never been to "defeat" Phantylia.
It was to stall for time.
"Asta! Are you done yet?! We're seriously getting pushed back over here!" Kiana shouted frantically over the comms channel, her lightning-infused bullets shattering yet another wave of towering rock-golems rising from the ground.
"Almost there! Almost there! Stop rushing me!"
Earth-Meld Technique. Upon activation, the spell allowed the caster to dive directly into the ground and travel completely unimpeded through solid rock at roughly sixty kilometers per hour.
Relying on a Light Cone engraved with this spell, Asta and Tribbie had been continuously drilling straight toward the Living Planet's core.
They had no other choice. The Gates of a Hundred Worlds couldn't open into coordinates filled with solid matter, forcing the duo to resort to this painfully slow method.
The planetary radius of Bubble Universe 1025 was roughly 190 kilometers. After two and a half hours of full-speed diving, the two had finally reached a strategic depth roughly two-thirds of the way to the core.
"Little Da! We can't go any further!" Tribbie warned in her soft, childish voice from within Asta's arms. "If we go any deeper, we'll definitely trigger Phantylia's awareness!"
"Got it! This depth should be more than enough!"
Asta decisively halted their descent. With a flick of her small wrist, she pulled her absolute masterpiece out of her spatial storage.
Imaginary Collapse Gravity Bomb.
Its core lethal radius was 20 kilometers. Upon detonation, it generated an ultra-intense gravitational field in exactly 0.000001 seconds, reaching an intensity roughly 7.4 times the gravity of the Sun. Furthermore, it left behind a semi-permanent, hyper-gravitational anomaly.
Its yield was more than enough to outright shatter a planet's crust, triggering apocalyptic global earthquakes and localized mega-tsunamis.
"Little Li, oh Little Li... I'm really bleeding capital for you this time!" the wealthy heiress muttered under her breath. "When we get back, if you don't extend the IPC's exclusive Light Cone distribution rights for at least another three years, we're gonna have a serious problem!"
Her hands, however, didn't hesitate for a microsecond. Without blinking an eye, she meticulously primed and installed a super-weapon expensive enough to bankrupt countless minor civilizations.
Setting the timer for exactly sixty seconds, Asta took a deep breath and screamed, "Teacher Tribbie! Bail out! Bail out!"
"Gates of a Hundred Worlds—Open!"
Having prepped the spell in advance, the little girl clapped her hands together, instantly stabilizing a teleportation portal right beside them.
Asta scooped Tribbie up and practically dove headfirst into the portal, making sure to shriek a warning into the public comms channel: "Everybody run! The bomb goes off in sixty seconds!"
"WHAT?! Only fifty seconds left?!"
"WHAT?! Half a minute?!"
"Open the damn portals! Who the hell wants to die with that Phantylia bitch?!"
Total chaos erupted on the surface. Abandoning all sense of elegance or battle formations, everyone frantically swarmed toward the emergency evacuation portals held open by Trianne, Trinnon, and the others.
The sixty-second countdown flashed by in the blink of an eye.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!
A terrifying, indescribable, apocalyptic roar erupted from the deepest depths of the planet's core! The entire celestial body convulsed, violently expanding and shuddering from the inside out like an egg that had just been smashed by a sledgehammer!
The vitalized continental plates shrieked with a deafening, ear-piercing agony. A massive web of hyper-fractures violently tore across the planet's surface. It looked as though the world was going to completely rip itself apart in the next second!
"DAMMIT—! YOU WRETCHED ANTS!!"
Phantylia's colossal, energy-condensed face manifested in the fractured sky once more. It was completely twisted with sheer fury and the agonizing pain of a critical hit.
But the pain quickly warped into a freezing, hateful sneer. "But did you really think... a pathetic little firecracker like that could shatter my flawlessly forged vessel?"
"Oh? It can't?"
A crisp, incredibly heroic female voice echoed cleanly across the void. "Then what if we follow it up with an orbital bombardment from the main cannon of the Yaoqing General's flagship, the Moon-Chaser?!"
Beneath the surreal, dreamlike quantum starry sky, a colossal Xianzhou flagship coasted into view, looking exactly like a moving, silver-white mountain range. It aimed its impossibly massive main cannon directly at the heavily battered planet.
Standing boldly at the very vanguard of the ship was the heroic Heavenly-Strike General!
"Target the defensive breach blown open by the Imaginary Collapse Gravity Bomb! Yin-Yang Primal Chaos Divine Light—"
Her silver-white hair whipped wildly against the backdrop of the cosmic sea. Feixiao ruthlessly brought her battle-axe down.
"FIRE!"
At the bow of the warship, blinding black and white energies violently converged, tangling together into a bizarre beam that completely devoured all surrounding light!
Wherever the beam passed, atomic particles were annihilated, and space itself warped violently. In the span of a single breath, it slammed into the planet's weakest point, detonating a catastrophic energy singularity forged from absolute destruction!
But it still wasn't over!
"So, you're Phantylia."
"It seems you've taken quite 'good care' of our Ah-Yuan recently."
A female voice, heavily suppressing a volcanic fury, drifted across the void. Standing elegantly on the bridge of the Hyperion, Raiden Mei's gaze was freezing cold.
She took off her tactical calculation glasses. The massive deck of the warship split cleanly down the middle, slowly revealing an awe-inspiring, ultra-massive super-cannon.
The extending barrel was a perfect octagon, housed within a hollow Honkai particle stabilization ring. It looked as though the entire cannon had been segmented into distinct geometric structures, with highly futuristic blue light violently bleeding from the seams.
"In exchange, please accept... this return gift."
Genesis. The absolute pinnacle, anti-planet/anti-world destruction weapon forged by Raiden Ryoma at the cost of everything he possessed. When fired at absolute maximum output, it packed enough firepower to instantly vaporize a Class-2 planetary-scale bubble universe.
"Make sure you—SWALLOW! EVERY! LAST! DROP!"
Following the girl's fury-laced declaration, the true, absolute endgame was finally triggered!
The Gravity Singularity tore apart the planet's core structure!
The Yin-Yang Divine Light dissolved its physical existence!
The Genesis Super-Cannon delivered the ultimate purification!
Three world-ending strikes converged on a single point at the exact same microsecond! It was as if three entirely distinct wills of Finality had jointly executed a death sentence upon the planet!
In an apocalyptic display of absolute destruction that completely defied all human language, within a void of absolute nothingness where even the most fundamental particles of matter were thoroughly annihilated... the Living Planet that Phantylia had painstakingly schemed for and placed all her hopes upon was utterly, conceptually, and physically erased from existence.
A fleeting dead silence descended. The raging tide of absolute destruction became the only color left painting the Sea of Quanta.