Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Eri felt her fighting spirit crumble instantly.

Once the mask of composure was torn away, the fear of death hidden within her was cruelly revealed, constantly wearing down her spirit.

“When we finally arrive here, let’s fight another day. Utsumi, feel free to challenge me, but don’t disappoint me then.”

Novia's voice was soft, yet carried a hint of warning.

An absolute force slowly swept through, causing the particles that make up everything to combine and disintegrate, and everything gradually lost its meaning.

Eri knew she wouldn't die, but if she left and faced Dee approaching outside the shrine, her only fate would be death.

"...I don't want to die...I don't want to die...Mom...Millennium...Demon King..."

Eri, as a Shinigami of Akihabara, would not normally show her true feelings like this. Although she is afraid of death, she would pretend to be indifferent, even before she came to the Otherworld. However, for some reason, when faced with the suddenly appearing 'Peumendeges' and the overwhelming difference in strength it displayed, her heart was filled with despair, just like that of a fourteen-year-old girl in her physical body.

Therefore, Erise grasped at her last support, which was her own shoulder—

“I was you, and you will be me (Tu Fui, Ego Eris).”

After the words fell uncontrollably, the sea began to boil, the waves surged, and tiny points of light rose from the seabed in the deep blue water, like countless fireflies piercing through the abyss and gathering around Eri, who now had long hair.

"...Damn it, how dare someone hit someone as cute as me? They don't want to live anymore—"

Eri, with her long hair, immediately felt an astonishing sense of pressure, which was aggressively suppressing her.

Damn it... what is this thing?! How am I supposed to deal with it?! Even a mutual destruction isn't possible!

In the world of Tokoyo, where she was on home turf, she saw no chance of victory. If she had been in the world of Shindai, the guy she had provoked would have been able to sweep across the land and sea with each of his attacks, shake the era, tear space apart, distort time, and cause the world to roar and rage wildly. Such a scene would have been quite normal.

Sweat beaded on Eri's forehead as she silently gave herself a pep talk—

Compared to the enemies I've encountered before, there's nothing to be afraid of. I can defeat them all by myself!

Just then, the light behind Novia seemed to trace some kind of arc, and suddenly Eri, with her long hair, sensed the sound of something shattering.

Her whole body seemed to be surrounded by an ice palace that was previously invisible to the naked eye.

A dizziness a hundred times stronger than the floating sensation of riding an elevator washed over her. Ignoring the excruciating pain that felt like her nerves were being torn apart, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists with even greater force.

Then, a completely different view of the sea appeared behind her.

One of the seven treasures of the Atlas Institute, the 'Philosopher's Reaction' which can record and recreate the mind, is itself composed of a specific state of the Philosopher's Stone, the ultimate memory medium capable of recording infinite information. Perhaps the Philosopher's Stone used by Cleopatra earlier accidentally reached this level.

Red sand, red desert, a crimson world spreads out endlessly, and then a new body composed of gathered sand unfolds its enormous, magnificent wings behind it—a sacred bird that destroyed humanity to save it.

The Bird of Hermes.

Hermes of Greek mythology later combined with Thoth of Egyptian mythology and the alchemist Mercury to become the symbol of alchemical theology. The Triple Great Hermes, sometimes a man and sometimes a bird bearing that name, appears in various forms in many books.

“You are the highest level of ‘metal’ that I have been striving for all my life, but I never expected that you would be connected with the legacy of the Far Eastern pantheon.”

The red sacred bird Hermes seemed to pity Eri, who was crawling on the ground.

It's not about using sound, but about directly feeding information into the brain.

"Nevertheless, become Peumanderges, for only in this way can you avoid death. That is the right thing to do. I define myself as the right one."

This is self-evident, since the source of the Poimandes is the Hermes Codex, written by the Triple Great Hermes himself.

"..."

Eri had a very bad feeling.

I feel I must stop another version of myself, but there's also a voice inside me screaming that I can't stop her.

"You're saying I can only avoid death by becoming that... that thing? But let me tell you—"

Eri, with her long hair, was in terrible physical condition. No matter how much she was encouraged or scolded, only her eyes and lungs could move. She was damaged on both physical and magical levels. The damage was not so minor that it could be reversed by willpower. Only anxiety kept circulating in her mind.

Even so, she remained steadfast.

"I don't need to think too much, just keep moving forward, that's enough."

The words of 'herself' reached Eri's ears.

"However, it is very difficult for a person to keep moving forward; it is not so easy."

"Idiot, you're so cute, and you're even me, why are you so stubborn? Did that demon king turn you into a silly brat?"

Long-haired Eri ignored the Hermes Bird behind her, "'I'm already a child bride, right? When he appears again, I'll beat him so badly he won't be able to leave the house for three years, and I'll make him hang me around all day! I'll take his manhood."

“Ga… Wu…”

Eri Sei never imagined that her other self would have such a personality.

"However, I still have to tell you the truth. Whether it's that stinky bird behind us that's eyeing us like a hawk, or that guy in front of us, the difference in combat power is just too great. As of now, they're no match for us... That's a fact, but how can we just give up like this!"

This heartfelt cry resonated with Erise, who could feel the passion within her own soul. Despite being trapped in terrible despair, she refused to give up.

Unconsciously, Erise recalled her memories of facing the Indian hero Karna in the final of the Shinjuku Holy Grail Tournament.

Facing Karna wielding his Noble Phantasm, the Demon Lord told herself he had no Noble Phantasm. Her feelings then were the same as now; her instincts whispered that victory was impossible, only defeat or death awaited her. But under the influence of that manipulative bastard's words, she rebelled for the first time—

"stand up."

It was as if she could see the Demon King who had once used her body looking at her as she wanted to 'surrender' to death, and as if the words spoken by the Demon King echoed in her mind, gradually restoring light to Eri Se's lifeless eyes.

"Erise, get up."

Fighting a terrifying enemy so powerful it inspires despair makes one feel that directly confronting such a frightening enemy is simply a foolish act of overestimating one's own abilities.

But they still have to use every trick in the book to grasp that last glimmer of hope for victory, because they are the weak.

Did I truly give it my all? Did I even try my best? Did I become fearful after the initial setback, fighting with a half-hearted attitude? It was merely a confrontation with genuine despair, and I completely lost the strength to resist…

The things the Demon King tried so hard to tell me in the past, the path I've walked so far, all the hardships and struggles, all the entanglements and struggles—were they all so easily tested?

The answer is absolutely no.

But no matter how positively you think about it, if it doesn't exist, it simply doesn't exist.

In terms of ability, I currently have no way to beat this guy.

But if that bastard Demon King saw this, he would definitely mockingly say:

"No matter what, Erise, you're not going to admit defeat, are you? Then stand up and give me a good beating or some taunts."

It was neither unreasonable force nor excessive trust; he simply spoke to himself in this matter-of-fact manner.

"I……"

Eri found herself still not loosening her fist.

This experience taught her that she had not given up, not only in spirit but also in body.

"Let me fight and move forward, my other self."

Erise roused her trembling knees and stood up unsteadily, positioned between the Bird of Hermes and the chosen path.

The Hermes bird spread its enormous wings, silently staring at the girl with her back to it. Its gaze was as intellectual as an old scholar observing some incredible phenomenon. Meanwhile, Eri stubbornly smiled and roared at the silver-haired man sitting on the throne with a single finger.

"Now, I'm going to answer your earlier question, 'I asked you, Utsumi Erise, do you think you can defeat me?' Since you asked, I, Utsumi Erise, cannot not answer. I'm going to tell you clearly that I 'cannot' right now."

"Yes, that's right. Only by becoming Permanderges can you have any chance of moving forward."

The Bird of Hermes said with satisfaction.

However, amidst the storm whipped up by the enormous wings, Eri Seiji continued speaking to the person on the throne:

"But whether I can defeat you or not doesn't matter. You are indeed very strong, so what? To be honest, it doesn't matter. As the weak, all I need to know is that you are far stronger than me. But humanity will not stop here. It will keep moving forward, daring to challenge, racking its brains, and using every means to challenge. And don't look at me like this. In fact, among humans, I am just an insignificant part. There are many who are more outstanding than me."

"...Are you denying that I'm right?"

The sacred bird spread its enormous wings.

Eri's attitude and words completely negated the desire for her to become the Hermesian bird of Perimanderges.

But she was simply following the way of life as the fourth generation of the Utsu-gami of the Eastern Japanese pantheon.

So even though Eri Se noticed the amazing magic contained in the feather, she still stubbornly walked slowly forward and spoke to the figure on the throne.

"We come from the sea, and when we return to the sea, whether sailing or gazing into the distance, it is as if we have found our home in the darkness."

If we condense 50,000 years of human history into a mere half-century, we know very little about the first 40 years. In the final stage, we learned to cover our bodies with animal skins. By this standard, 10 years ago, humans emerged from caves and began building new homes. Christianity arose less than two years ago, and printing and publishing only appeared this year. In the 50 years of human history, less than two months ago, the steam engine provided the world with new power, and Newton discovered the significance of gravity.

This condensed time capsule of history teaches humanity the necessity of knowledge and progress, and the importance of perseverance and unwavering commitment. Whether or not individuals keep pace with this progress, humanity as a whole will continue to explore more distant and unknown worlds.

"Roar!"

Hermes, the sacred bird, flew in to kill Eri, swooping down to do so.

With a roar, a massive number of crimson sand feathers shot out.

That was already a bombing. The immense magical power contained in every feather triggered an explosion more violent than even the Noble Phantasms of Top Servants.

Eri, who had been looking at Novia, turned her head to face the immense destruction and stomped her foot firmly on the ground.

"The Witch, the Spirit Medium, the Demon King".

Black evil spirits suddenly began to envelop the dry red desert. An astonishing amount of magic swirled like a hurricane, transforming into alder trees that bound the soaring sacred bird Hermes, gradually dragging it down to near the ground.

So the sacred bird Hermes cried out loudly, attempting to break free of its restraints and fly towards Eriset a second time.

Nevertheless, Eri Se was no longer afraid.

Since it was not the real Triple Hermes, but a spirit simulated by the Philosopher's Stone, taking its life was a power that I, as the pinnacle of the so-called alchemical myth, should possess. The sacred bird was bound by chains formed from leaves.

Therefore, she leaped high into the air and jumped towards the head of the sacred bird, using the last bullet of the Magic Bullet Shooter.

The seventh shot will only explode inside Erise's body after the Demon King disappears.

Eri used all her strength to press the muzzle of the gun against the sacred bird's eyeball.

A tremendous roar caused the sacred bird that had been ravaging the sky to dissipate into the clouds. Then, it landed on the ground. Eri was exhausted, but she still walked to the path she was about to choose and continued speaking.

“I read in a book that many years ago, the British explorer George Malary died while climbing Mount Everest. Someone once asked him why he wanted to climb Everest, and he replied, ‘Because it’s there.’”

Novia sat motionless on the throne, her hand supporting her chin, mimicking the contemplation of Yahweh in his youth, and softly spoke to Eri:

"...This is really a headache. But you've made this decision so easily? Are you really going to give it up? This is a miracle that only applies to you. If you refuse, you will never become the supreme alchemical myth, and you will never become Poimandrees again."

At this moment, Eri's expression was very clear.

“Utsumi, that means seeing the universe.”

“…Utsumi Erise, these words are actually meaningless to me.”

“That’s something you’ll never understand, and it’s quite meaningful to me.”

then.

"Erise".

The girl's calm voice rang out.

"Therefore, I, in response to both Permanderges above and the Great Lord of the East—"

"I just need to keep moving forward. I will never choose any of you. I will only become."

Whether it was the knowledgeable and existing Poimandres, or the Eastern Lord whose very nature was to explore unknown stars with humanity, Eri Se did not choose either path. She simply looked ahead, walked forward, and headed towards a path that seemed to have no future.

This is the path that Utsumi Erise chose.

This is also a concrete manifestation of the answer that Novia, sitting on this throne, had been searching for when she was the Demon King.

So, this is what Yahweh felt at that time?

Novia knew that as human beings, they could find all sorts of reasons for everything, for themselves or for others.

If Yahweh were exactly the same as himself now, then what were his thoughts back then?

I just can't understand why this is the path I've been longing for, yet I can't seem to achieve it. Oh well... whatever.

But the difference is.

Novia stood up, her mere presence distorting the surrounding time, space, and even causality. She spoke a single sentence to Eri Se in front of her:

"Gah... Close your eyes, imagine the universe, Utsumi Erise."

Chapter 533 If it doesn't work, beat the pigeon until it admits it.

"You were born at the end of 2011, after the war ended."

In 2011, the largest war in history broke out, which was triggered by the failure of the Holy Grail War.

That was World War III, a conflict that blended modern science with ancient mystery.