Returning from the Sea of Quanta, Ryn looked down upon the massive city of Manila from the sky.
Not long ago, it was a bustling metropolis ablaze with lights; now, it had become a hell on earth.
Ryn landed in the center of the city and, with himself as the epicenter, infused the Authority of Life and Death into the ground, spreading it outward. Vibrant life force instantly permeated the entire city. Grass and trees began to grow violently, and colossal trees and vines that blotted out the sky enveloped the city.
Covering the whole of Manila with Honkai energy at once left Ryn a bit drained, but fortunately, his mana regeneration was impressive. After a few deep breaths, his Honkai energy was full again.
The network of vines obscuring the city blocked any possibility of the Honkai Beasts escaping.
The Authority of the Herrscher of Death is Creation and Withering, manipulating "cells" and "genes" to rewrite and reverse the existential forms of living beings. Ryn rewrote the genes of the plants, causing them to grow explosively and begin emitting a strange gas.
"This is a miracle of creation, and also a cage of world-destruction. Next... is the moment of reckoning."
Ryn snapped his fingers. In an instant, within the area covered by the gas, the sturdy, massive bodies of the Honkai Beasts began to fester and disintegrate, while the wounds on humans and other creatures started to slowly heal.
The gas emitted was a deadly poison to the Honkai Beasts, but conversely, it was a life-saving medicine for humans and some animals.
After doing all this, Ryn flew into the black hole he had left behind earlier. Chen Tianwu was still waiting for him there.
Although several hours had passed in the real world, in a black hole where even light could be distorted and devoured, time was meaningless.
Inside the black hole, only a dozen or so seconds had passed.
"I only hope my benefactor can take good care of Chen Tianwen..." Chen Tianwu uttered his last words as his consciousness faded.
"You can take care of your sister yourself."
Ryn placed his hand on Chen Tianwu's body, and the power of creation was immediately activated. Using Chen Tianwu's genes as a blueprint, it began a process of super-speed healing and regeneration. In less than ten seconds, Chen Tianwu's injuries were completely healed.
After healing Chen Tianwu, Ryn took him out of the black hole.
Ryn could only heal physical injuries; the mental anguish would have to be healed by people themselves over time. Chen Tianwu had fallen unconscious, as had the people of the city.
In the healing gas, Ryn had also added something else. The healed people would not remember why or how they were healed; their minds would automatically fill in the blanks with a suitable cause and effect.
By the time Ryn reached the Valkyries' assembly point, he found that the Schicksal Valkyries were all waiting for his arrival. There was worship and admiration in every Valkyrie's eyes; after all, the massive commotion Ryn had caused could not be hidden from them.
"Lord Ryn!" "Lord Ryn!" "Lord Ryn!"
The moment Ryn appeared, the Valkyries cheered and rushed towards him. Ryn had not only annihilated the Honkai Beasts but also saved many seriously injured Valkyries.
"I'm relieved to see that everyone is alright. I now declare the mission complete!" Ryn waved his hand, announcing that the Honkai incident had been resolved.
The Valkyries hugged each other happily, cheering and jumping for joy, tears of celebration streaming down their faces. But after a few seconds of happiness, they returned to their ready-to-deploy state.
Valkyrie A wiped away her tears and said resolutely to Ryn, "The Honkai is gone, but the people are still waiting for us to rescue them."
Valkyrie B echoed, "That's right! A Valkyrie's duty isn't just to fight the Honkai..."
Watching these Valkyries, who were clearly terrified of death and still grieving the loss of their comrades, yet were steeling themselves to go on a rescue mission, Ryn couldn't help but feel moved and saddened.
The Honkai rampaged, and the only ones who could fight it were these girls who should have been in school, living out their youth.
Valkyries were all teenage girls. They could retire in their twenties or thirties, but how many could actually live to retirement... And how many more years could they live after retiring...
"There's no need. Go back and rest..." Ryn patted the head of a nearby Valkyrie and told them they could return to base and bury their comrades.
"But the people are still waiting for rescue..."
Anna softly retorted. Although they should follow Lord Ryn's orders unconditionally, their beliefs wouldn't allow them to sit by and do nothing for the people.
"The Myriad Spirits have already freed them from the rubble, and I have healed their injuries. The people are all lying safely on flat ground now. Leave the rest to the people's army! You've all worked very hard. Get some good rest."
Ryn explained to the Valkyries and notified Cortana to send a message to Otto and the Philippine government.
With the roads cleared, rescuing people lying on the ground was a task Ryn believed the local authorities could handle. If they couldn't... then even if the Valkyries went to help, it would be in vain.
Because the final resettlement of the people still depended on the local government. If they couldn't even handle a rescue of this difficulty, then there was no hope for what came after.
Ryn walked past the hesitant Valkyries with the unconscious Chen Tianwu, searching for Chen Tianwu's sister, Chen Tianwen.
If Chen Tianwu could become a Herrscher, then Chen Tianwen must be at least at the level of a Herrscher vessel. Recalling how the Honkai Beasts had converged on Chen Tianwen earlier, Ryn guessed that if she hadn't lost consciousness, she would have been the one to become the Herrscher.
Or perhaps she was killed by falling rubble in the process of becoming a Herrscher, causing the Herrscher transformation to fail...
After all, no matter how strong a Herrscher was, without covering themselves in Honkai energy... they were still of mortal flesh.
"Lord Ryn, please wait!"
Anna called out to the departing Ryn and hurried over to him, solemnly handing the Build Driver back to him.
"Thank you for the Valkyrie battlesuit, Lord Ryn. It's really amazing! Not only did it save me several times, turning dangerous situations into safe ones, but it also gave me many boosts and so much power that I could smash a Honkai Beast with one punch, and also..." Anna thanked Ryn profusely, describing all the help his Build had given her.
"Huh?"
Ryn took the Build Driver with some confusion, then patted Anna's head and said with a smile:
"Anna, it seems you've misunderstood something... This Valkyrie battlesuit is bound to me. It provides you with absolutely no amplification. All it has is its most basic defensive function."
"Anna, don't underestimate yourself. What you described was actually your own power! You are very strong too. Don't forget, you are an A-rank Valkyrie!"
Anna stood frozen on the spot, then gave a deep bow to the departing Ryn.
"So... that was my own strength... But..."