Boom!
With a single step, a scorching ring of fire instantly erupted, sweeping outwards from Kalpas as its center.
But what was a powerful attack for others was like a gentle breeze to Takatsuki. Even though the surroundings were almost incinerated, Takatsuki remained unmoving in the firestorm.
Not to mention his inherent ability to control and transform into flames, just his own strength and Haki were enough to prevent these flames from harming him in the slightest.
So I'm already this strong...
Takatsuki had never properly studied the level he was currently at.
There wasn't a clear standard for combat power in Honkai Impact 3rd. Although there were terms like 'Feathered Ascension' and 'Herrscher' to denote levels, they weren't universal combat power rankings.
And Takatsuki's own abilities were too diverse; not only did the favor of the gods provide him with all-round enhancements, but he also had a variety of abilities that allowed him to exert more power.
Feeling Kalpas in his artificial collapse state, through his aura perception, Takatsuki could roughly judge the gap between his energy level and the other party's.
"Is Kalpas's energy stronger than mine...?"
If Takatsuki's internal energy was quantified as 10, then Kalpas in his artificial collapse berserk mode would probably be around fourteen to fifteen.
One Kalpas was like this, so what about Kevin... or even the Herrscher of the End?
However, in terms of methods... Kalpas just recklessly and continuously released his energy, transforming it into raging flames to destroy everything.
While Takatsuki gathered his own power and unleashed it through various means.
"Inside and out, kill all who Stand in the way! Kill!"
Seeing that his probing attack posed no threat to Takatsuki, he immediately pushed off the ground and charged towards Takatsuki.
In the game, Kalpas, upon entering the artificial collapse phase, would first use the Pillar of Annihilation as an attack method, wildly swinging and smashing.
And in the second phase of artificial collapse, the berserk phase.
Raging flames would instantly ignite the entire field, and he himself would move at high speed like a moving ball of fire, rushing towards the target. Once caught, it would end with a series of furious throws.
During this, there were also multiple attacks called "Calamities," which in the game required corresponding skills to deal with, known as "Crossing the Calamity."
But in the current reality, there was naturally no such mechanism as in the game, so there was only Kalpas, charging like a "train" with flames.
While charging, he let out a mad laugh.
"Come on! Bear my wrath! Hahahahaha—"
Looking at Kalpas charging towards him, Takatsuki just sighed and took a step towards Kalpas...
"?"
The raging flames enveloping Kalpas's body instantly vanished, revealing his reddish, magma-like body underneath, and... a giant flat-head screw that had pierced through his back.
"What..."
Kalpas felt the power in his body rapidly draining away. It wasn't disappearing, but rather being sealed.
And the source of the seal was that screw piercing through his body.
Even his unvented rage seemed to be restricted by this power, forcibly suppressed.
"How did you do that?"
Kalpas turned around to look at the empty space behind him.
The moment he attacked, Takatsuki instantly vanished from his perception, and the next moment his body was pierced. He had never encountered such a bizarre method before.
Moreover, the screw piercing his body didn't seem to be a real screw, but rather some ability manifesting in that form, because when he tried to pull it out, he found that he couldn't even touch the screw, and his body being pierced didn't cause any actual damage.
"Book Maker, one of my abilities, a method that can seal an opponent's abilities."
It belonged to Misogi Kumagawa's forbidden Overload, also known as Minus-of-Minus, the true ability of the completely Minus man, and one of the new character cards Takatsuki had acquired.
And the ability to revive the dead, which was mentioned before, was also one of this person's abilities.
"Seal... good... very good!!!!"
Book Maker's seal wasn't just a seal on power; it also affected talent, intellect, and emotions.
The original description was that it would reduce the target's comprehensive abilities, including physical body, mind, talent, intellect, and technique, to the same level as Misogi Kumagawa.
As for why it's called 'reducing'? That's because Misogi Kumagawa claimed to be the weakest creature on Earth.
But Takatsuki found it absurd in the anime, after all, a guy who could pierce people with screws claimed to be the weakest? This wasn't something that could be achieved by merely seeing weaknesses.
After gaining this ability, Takatsuki realized that it was all nonsense.
After all, this was just Misogi Kumagawa's own description. The actual effect of Book Maker was sealing, and it had nothing to do with the user's own ability, but rather with negative emotions. Therefore, the stronger the user's happiness and the fewer negative emotions they had, the weaker the sealing effect would be.
Looking at Kalpas, who was still not planning to stop and ready to continue fighting even after being sealed by a single screw, Takatsuki could only silently take out a few more screws and look at Kalpas in front of him...
Every Flame-Chasers possessed the power to defeat a Herrscher, and among them, Kalpas's strength, while not the absolute strongest within Flame-Chasers, was still outstanding.
And such a powerful warrior was easily defeated by Takatsuki.
Although there was a huge energy gap, Takatsuki had more methods.
This also gave him a clear understanding of his own strength.
However...
"I wonder what Kevin's strength is like now."
Not only Takatsuki had progressed, but the current Kevin was also much stronger than the Previous Era's Kevin. Looking at Kalpas, who was pinned to the wall with five nails and bleeding profusely, Takatsuki considered whether to go fight Kevin in the Elysian Realm to understand his past moves and fighting habits when another figure arrived on the battlefield.
"Oh, I didn't expect that a little white mouse actually got into the Elysian Realm."
Hearing that familiar tone, Takatsuki knew who it was.
Mobius, also the last one to sign the contract.
"Let me see, black hair and black eyes, a face similar to Kevin's. You must be the Throne of Heroes's envoy they mentioned."
After the battle with Kalpas ended, Takatsuki canceled his invisibility, and unexpectedly, Mobius happened to discover him.
"It is me. Long time no see. Oh, I should say, nice to meet you for the first time, Mobius."
"It seems the other me met you in the end? Did she sign the contract?"
Mobius asked Takatsuki with a hint of playful expression.
"I signed it, and she knows what you did to her."
Takatsuki's words made Mobius's expression change slightly, but she quickly recovered: "What I did to her? I don't know what I did to her."
"Then let's assume that's the case."
Without much explanation, Takatsuki just shrugged: "Suicide is also another beginning, and it can be considered another pursuit of one's own infinity."
"It seems you have no intention of fighting me. I came here to find Klein. Can you help me?"
"Looking for Klein?"
Mobius's expression became strange: "Since you're here, don't leave, little white mouse. It just so happens that I'm very interested in what you call a Heroic Spirit…"
Watching Mobius's reaction, Takatsuki knew the outcome.
And he had just felt something trying to invade his body, but it was expelled by the Horse Talisman.
Poison gas? Or something else?
Takatsuki wasn't sure, but he didn't care. At worst… he'd just beat them all up.
When Sakura, Kevin, Fu Hua, and Elysia rushed to the scene, all they saw was Kalpas nailed to the wall in a "big" character, along with Mobius's puppets covering the wall, and Mobius herself pinned to the wall by a single nail.
"Who did this?"
Sakura widened her eyes, looking at the tragedy before her: "Did Mobius and Kalpas fight again? Both suffered heavy losses?"
Mobius had a history of provoking Kalpas, so Sakura made that guess.
"Even if both suffered heavy losses, it's impossible to nail oneself to the wall. This is clearly the work of a third party."
The four Flame-Chasers looked at a figure emerging from the flames, covered in blood, and casually holding a large screw in his hand.
"Oh, please don't misunderstand, I was just passing by, so I did nothing wrong."