The Paladin on the Infinite Tour

The corner of her mouth raised slightly, she put the magic knife on her shoulder, and Exia pouted in front of her: "Kevin, it seems we have arrived."

"Boom————!"

After knocking away all the imaginary creations that were chasing behind him, Kevin also jumped out of the dimensional gap. After taking a look at the scene in front of him, he nodded in recognition: "Yes, we are here."

What caught their vision was not the sky full of red sand in the imaginary space, nor was it the mere reflection of a broken world without any color.

【Xinghai】

If I had to use one word to describe it, this would be it.

The imaginary number space is boundless and endless, but in the two people's perception, that space also seems too narrow. And now, after passing through the final dimensional gap, what appeared in their eyes was a boundless sea of ​​stars connecting the ends of the sky and the sea, extending into the far distance.

The field of vision seemed to be infinitely enlarged.

There are countless shining stars scattered in the sky, and the trajectories of the stars have left layers of arcs in the sky. Under your feet is an endless sea that sometimes has ripples and sometimes is calm.

“A very beautiful place.”

Alexia sighed from the bottom of her heart.

He has also been to many places, but when it comes to beautiful places... probably only the sea of ​​flowers inside the Great Holy Grail can be compared with the scene in front of him.

(The Inner Sea of ​​Stars....)

Suddenly, the whisper of Shajo's love song sounded in Alexia's heart.

The inner side of the world, the inner sea of ​​the planet.

Although Sajo Aige has never been there, she, who was once omniscient and omnipotent, has seen a corner of the Star Inland Sea - the scene that is presented to several people at this moment is somewhat similar to the Star Inland Sea, the only difference is Is it...the main color difference?

In the Inner Sea of ​​Stars, the most common colors are white, blue or pink. When combined, they are colors that can fill people's hearts with the impression of "dream" and "silence".

But now, the sea of ​​stars in front of us is colorful and deep.

If the situation were different, Ixia felt that she would be happy to stop at this place and take a good look at the scenery in front of her. If possible, she would also like to use a camera to take pictures of the surrounding scenery.

But unfortunately, whether it was him, Kevin, or Shajo Aige, the three of them clearly saw something that they absolutely could not ignore when they came to this space.

【......】

In front of.

Just like placing something that could reach the ceiling in a limited space, that thing with a strong sense of presence made it impossible for the three people of Exia to take their eyes away from it.

【......】

I seemed to hear the sound of some animal chirping.

Looks like a sea creature? It seems to be a bird?

【......】

Unintelligible sounds reached Exia’s ears one after another. As a god-slayer, he should be able to understand any language, but now he couldn't understand the sound coming into his ears.

However, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean you can’t understand it.

--Who are you?

Such doubts arose in the hearts of Ixia and Kevin.

The existence that raised the question naturally didn’t need to think too much.

Alexia looked up at the huge creature in front of her.

In the boundless sea of ​​stars, between the sky and the sea, a huge [Cocoon] is entrenched there.

It really does look like a [cocoon], or... depending on the situation, it seems appropriate to call it [some kind of soft-bodied stone creature protruding from the space]?

It sounds contradictory, but in Alexia's opinion, it is indeed the case.

For some unknown reason, various large and small cracks are scattered on its surface. If you follow the path of each crack, you can see a huge "gap" in its center. No, should I say [eyes]? A "gap" like the eye of the mythical Cyclops was facing Exia and Kevin, with his whole body shaking slightly.

And around Him, there are a large number of small meteorite-like floating objects, like an asteroid belt rotating around Him, and the closer they get to Him, the sea of ​​stars under the feet of Alexia and Kevin looks like [space]. ] It was as if it had been broken by Him. The fragments of space seem to be pieces of glass floating in mid-air, and the cracks engraved on the space itself continue to spread downward.

"Is this...the Cocoon of the End?"

Staring at the giant thing in front of her, Exia asked subconsciously.

This is a question that does not need to be answered. If you follow the path pointed out by Alicia, you will end here, and there cannot be anything else that exists here except the [Cocoon of Finality]. exist.

【......】

As if the eyeballs were moving, the huge cocoon of the end twisted slightly, and the eye-like diamond-shaped depression was facing Exia and Kevin.

--Who are you?

The same question reflected in the hearts of both of them.

After looking at each other, Alexia and Kevin put down their weapons at the same time. Alexia directly removed her incarnation and took a step forward in her most basic appearance.

"I am Exia Messiah Kaslana."

Alexia said so.

"She is a survivor of a long-dead parallel world. She is the strongest Kaslana created by Otto Apokalis. She is a man-made hero."

This was Exia’s initial identity.

"At the same time, I am also the Sekiryuutei of another world, the fourth true ancestor of another world, the emperor of the Kaslana Empire, the king of magicians all over Europe, the god-killer who killed gods and cut off his destiny. By."

This is Exia's identity in another world.

If I had to say something, Ixia actually felt that she could still bring out her identity as the captain of the Sword of Victory team and the next head of the Kaslana family, but she felt that there was no need to say so much.

【......】

The incomprehensible voice sounded again.

This time Alexia heard it more clearly. It felt a bit like the cry of a whale?

Then, another question appeared in my heart.

——Why did you come?

"Come for... [Crossing the End]."

A slightly golden rainbow flame lit up in Alexia's hand.

"To end the battle that has lasted for more than 50,000 years, and to end the fate that will one day spread to everyone, Kevin and I came here."

"We are here to [kill you], you can also say we are here to [assimilate you]."

"And in the final analysis, we - we are just here to [cross the end]."

67. Farewell to the real self

There’s nothing to explain about Exia’s reason for fighting.

If possible, he didn't want to fight. As long as he and Bianca could live a stable life without causing any big troubles around the world, then he would be happy to be at ease.

But for some reason, there are always some bastards who come to trouble him, forcing him to constantly pursue great power.

Until now——

【Cocoon of the End】

As long as the root of the Herrscher's continuous birth in the world is solved, then all the problems it brings may be solved.

Therefore, in those two versions of the Origin Plan, Exia personally was more inclined to directly destroy the Cocoon of the End. Devouring it or assimilating it seemed a bit tame.

And now, he finally stands at a place where he can achieve this goal. He only needs to completely release his golden sword and smash the cocoon of the end in front of him to end the battle that has lasted for more than 50,000 years and let everything come to an end. Finish.

But......

【.......】

Listening to the whale-like voice quietly again, Alexia could not bring up the idea of ​​tearing the cocoon of the end in front of her into pieces.

Because after actually coming here and actually facing the Cocoon of Finality, he had an idea - there was no point in killing this guy.

There was no "hostile" emotion felt from it, and even his instinct as a God-killer had no reaction at all when faced with the Cocoon of Finality.

The cocoon of the end is not the enemy.

Solving it does solve the problem, but not solving it doesn't mean it cannot solve the problem.

so......

"Kevin, I suddenly feel that I can actually do this kind of thing alone this time."

"...You said it yourself, you need an assistant." Kevin said, "Alicia also said that you need someone to look after you - so, have you decided?"

"Well, it's decided."

After dispersing the golden rainbow flame in his hand, Ixia continued to take a step forward, reaching a distance where he could touch the Cocoon of Ending with his hand, and stretched out his hand towards it: "Cocoon of Ending, I don't I know if you can understand me, but I am here to declare to you like this——"

"[Give me all the remaining powers of the Herrscher]!"

It’s not just the Herrscher of Finality, the Herrscher of domination, the Herrscher of restraint, and the Herrscher of erosion. Just in case, Ixia also wants to take possession of the powers of these three Herrschers who have not yet come to the world!

He decided that this time he would become the Herrscher of the End!

Complete destruction of the Cocoon of Finality may have an impact on the original world, and using Chimera to devour and assimilate the Cocoon of Finality may also cause it to resist, thus causing irreversible effects on the original world.

Take the initiative to accept the power of the Herrscher of the End and make the existence of Herrscher of the End completely a force that can be controlled.

This is the relatively most harmless and safe of the three options.

【......】

The ethereal and melodious voice sounded in the boundless sea of ​​stars.

The [eyes] of the Cocoon of Ending fell on Exia, and after excluding Kevin, she really stared at the human in front of her.

then--

"Buzz!"

A ray of light appeared in front of Alexia, and what emerged from it was a figure who looked similar to Alexia. Not only was his height and appearance, but he also felt very similar. For a moment, Kevin even felt like there were two Alexias appearing in front of him.

After taking a few steps back so that the figure could fully appear in front of him, Exia was silent for a moment: "...I didn't expect to see you again in this way."

"Long time no see, [Messiah]."

"...Well, long time no see, [my king]."

The light around her completely faded away, and another identical [Exia] completely revealed its own form!

It was the one who should have disappeared more than half a year ago... [Messiah].

Another him who once existed in Exia's body!

"I didn't expect that I would be reborn in this way...but I can see you now, and it's not a loss to be played by this guy behind you."

[Messiah] had a rather familiar smile on his face.

"I haven't seen you for more than half a year. I have indeed made a lot of progress."

"Well, thanks to you——then you are [on trial], right?"

Yes, trials.

The moment she faced the [Messiah], Exia understood what the Cocoon of Finality was doing.

If you want to get the power of the end, you can, but before that, Exia must first prove that you are qualified to get the power of the end.

"When you take on the power of the end, you must face your true heart and your true self. To you, I am the real you, and I am your true heart - the me who should have died and disappeared. Forcibly intercepted it from that point in time, and then brought it to this point in time."

"It should be said that it is really the authority in charge of [Time] and [Reincarnation], the power of the Herrscher of the End, that can even do this kind of thing... Okay, having said that, I still need to Can I give you some time to prepare?"

As the other side of Ixia, no one is more suitable to give him the final test than the Messiah.

"...Kevin."

Alexia turned around, entered the [Light and Shadow] state again and waved the magic knife, directly opening up a space path: "Leave everything to me, you should go back first."

"...Is it okay?"

"Well, leave it to me. I will go back soon, and I can feel that the Inherent World is probably still in a tight situation, and it would be a waste to leave you here. You go back first, thank you for your hard work and accompany me Let’s go on this trip.”

Looking at Exia and Messiah in silence, after taking a deep breath, Kevin nodded, turned and walked into the dimensional path that Exia opened for himself.

It wasn't until Kevin's figure completely disappeared that Alexia closed the door.

"I've kept you waiting, Messiah. Now it's time to begin."