Given Elias' current strength as a five-core Herrscher—
Cecilia was not his match.
Theresa was not his match.
Even if the two of them fought alongside a fully-recovered Siegfried, they would still be utterly overpowered.
But! Right now, standing before him was none other than the Immortal of Shenzhou!
Elias instantly entered high alert, treating the situation as a dire threat.
"Bella, be extremely cautious. Do not let that white-haired, red-clothed woman get close. She is dangerous—very dangerous."
"Understood, Master!"
Elias and Bella shared a telepathic bond, allowing them to communicate without words.
Which was why Bella was utterly shocked—she couldn't quite grasp what made Fu Hua so terrifying. But if her master was this wary, then a single mistake would be fatal.
The Immortal Phoenix—Fu Hua. A guardian of Shenzhou for over fifty thousand years.
The woman who once made Honkai Impact 3rd temporarily rename itself Fu Hua Impact 3rd.
The one character whose strength in the game's meta never seemed to decline.
Even though she had lost her invincibility, her immortality, and much of her former strength, she remained one of the legendary MANTIS warriors of the Previous Era, the wielder of Fenghuang Down—Key of Sentience, and the same person who nearly killed six-core Sirin in the original timeline.
As all Honkai Impact 3rd players knew—
Fu Hua counters everything.
"Still… she's not unbeatable."
Elias initially considered trying to negotiate, but there was no time for that—
The moment Fu Hua, Theresa, and Cecilia saw Siegfried's injured body and Judgment of Shamash in Elias' hands, they immediately assumed the worst.
Without hesitation, Cecilia activated Abyss Flower to heal Siegfried, while Fu Hua and Theresa launched a direct assault on Elias.
"You're not getting close!"
Seeing One-Punch-Woman Fu Hua charging straight for him, Elias instantly teleported to a distant location.
At the same time, he unleashed a barrage of attacks—
Electromagnetic railguns, high-velocity wind blades, searing flames, and even subspace spear—
All of it was fired without restraint.
Had Siegfried still been conscious, he would have been horrified to realize how much Elias had been holding back in their fight.
"…This Herrscher is no simple foe."
Fu Hua effortlessly evaded each attack, continuing to close the gap between them.
She inwardly regretted missing her chance to take him down in a single strike.
Meanwhile, Bella faced off against Theresa and Cecilia. If she were still her previous self, she would have stood no chance against two wielders of Divine Keys.
But now, she had received four Pseudo-Herrscher Cores from Elias and could also rely on his Void Authority to reposition her at any moment.
Because of that, she was steadily overpowering the two Valkyries.
Ultimately, however, the battle's outcome hinged on Elias and Fu Hua.
The two clashed intensely.
And yet—
"Huh? I might actually win this."
Elias was surprised to realize that he had a legitimate chance at victory.
Perhaps because he had entered this fight fully aware of who he was facing, he had been treating himself as the challenger from the very beginning. Without underestimating Fu Hua even slightly, and with full knowledge of her abilities, he was actually holding the upper hand.
If getting close meant certain defeat, then he would simply attack from afar.
No matter how high Fu Hua's agility was, there was no way for her to outrun instant teleportation.
(But she still has one technique that poses a huge threat to me. If Fu Hua uses Fenghuang Down to overclock her memory and activate Taixuan Eminence… yeah, I probably wouldn't be able to block it…)
But maybe he could dodge it!
Elias steeled himself.
If Fu Hua dared to use it, he would run. There was no way in hell she could reach him if he burned through an enormous amount of Honkai energy to teleport himself to the Moon.
And if, somehow, Fu Hua still managed to reach him there… well, Elias figured he might as well just sacrifice the Will of Honkai in his mind.
Worst-case scenario, he'd let her cut him.
At most, she'd disconnect the Will of Honkai from his mind. If anything, Elias would be grateful. That damn thing was always nagging him to destroy humanity—its absence would be a blessing.
Elias: "Wait… so does this mean I actually have the advantage here? Damn, I'm incredible."
Fu Hua: "…This just got difficult."
The Immortal Phoenix frowned. She had initially been confident in taking Elias down, but the Herrscher before her was far too cautious—he wasn't giving her a single opening.
If the fight dragged on, she would run out of strength first. Unlike a Herrscher, who could recover Honkai energy from the Imaginary Space, she had no such advantage.
(Master, be careful!)
"Hm?"
Bella's sudden warning prompted Elias to instantly teleport ten meters away, narrowly dodging a black spear hurled at him.
"Abyss Flower's Abyss mode?"
"You dodged it?"
Cecilia's expression showed pure surprise.
She had aimed her attack from a blind spot, expecting a sure hit. But she had no idea that Herrschers and their bonded Honkai Beasts shared telepathic awareness.
Seeing that Fu Hua alone couldn't subdue Elias, Cecilia had decisively joined the battle.
They both knew that only by working together could they hope to defeat the Herrscher boy before them.
However—
"Naïve."
Elias scoffed coldly.
With the sheer number of authorities he wielded, few could even break his defenses. Even just the Ideal Fluid Shield was bordering on the limits of physics.
"That's what you think."
Cecilia smirked mysteriously—then sliced open her own arm.
The next second, the beautiful silver-haired woman flung her blood toward Elias.
In an instant, his shields began shattering one by one.
"…Tch. Holy Blood."
Elias' eye twitched in annoyance. He cursed himself for forgetting such a crucial detail—
The Schariac Bloodline's Holy Blood could purify all Honkai energy, making it the ultimate Herrscher-killer!
No matter how strong his barriers were, they were all made of Honkai energy. To him, Cecilia's blood was like boiling water poured onto snow—it erased his defenses effortlessly.
And despite her long retirement, Cecilia was still an S-rank Valkyrie.
She wouldn't waste this golden opportunity.
"Now!"
Gripping Abyss Flower, Cecilia lunged at Elias.
The Divine Key, infused with both Creation and Decay, surged forward to pierce the Herrscher's body—
Except it didn't.
"I told you. You can't win."
"What—?!"
Cecilia's eyes widened in shock as she realized what had happened.
Her spear had been intercepted—by a spatial portal.
It only looked like she had struck Elias. In reality, her attack had completely missed.
"N-No… This is bad. We're finished…"
A look of despair crossed Cecilia's face.
She could already see the unavoidable subspace spear approaching—
At such close range, even an S-rank Valkyrie had no chance of dodging.
"Kiana… Siegfried… I'm sorry…"
Cecilia braced herself, convinced that her next moment would be her last.
But then—
"Eh?"
"Off you go."
Elias grabbed her by the arm and threw her out of harm's way.
(Eh~ Can't hit the mother-in-law. That wouldn't be right.)
Kiana's mother, Durandal's mother, and—most importantly—the only person in the original timeline who ever gave Sirin warmth and maternal love, ultimately sacrificing all of her own blood to save Siberia…
Elias had a long list of people he wanted to save in this life.
And without a doubt, the woman before him ranked near the very top—second only to Sirin.