The radiance of the lance gradually grew more dazzling.
The deep blue pillar of light erupting from "Vishnu's" mouth, amidst the wildly spreading tide of energy, slammed viciously into Lu Xing's body!
"A Herrscher."
"No, even beyond that."
Entering an Artificial Honkai Eruption without any reliance on drugs had caused Kosma's strength to skyrocket by another level. The Doomsday-class Honkai Beast "Vishnu" he had transformed into now surpassed even the Herrscher of Flame in terms of physical destructive power.
But it was useless.
VMMMM!
Golden threads intertwined in the air.
The pitch-black chaos woven from them devoured all the energy. With the Subspace Lances having returned to his side, Lu Xing's control over spatial power was far more than twice as strong as before. In his current state, even without active interference, the [Counterfeit Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng] probably couldn't even tear open the tiniest of spatial rifts.
[Phase Shift]
In his complete state, Lu Xing could directly ignore almost all physical energy attacks with this one move.
As long as the energy level did not exceed the Emperor's, it was impossible to break through the defense of [Phase Shift].
Even more so—
SQUELCH!!
The pillar of light carrying the power of ruin returned along its original path, instantly piercing through Kosma's body!
Flesh and blood splattered!
However, the wounded beast did not stop its advance. The "rage" that had reached its peak in his mind overrode all pain and emotion, supporting "Vishnu's" body as it charged fiercely towards the Black Emperor!
"ROOOAAARR!!"
The roaring soundwave ravaged the surface of the earth!
The ink-blue demon lunged towards the Emperor—
"Too slow."
A fierce wind and biting ice coalesced into chains. The powers of [Fluid Creation] and [Universal Stagnation] combined, and in a mere half-second, had bound Kosma tightly in mid-air with indestructible chains.
Then.
SQUELCH!!!
Blood and Honkai energy sprayed towards the sky and the earth simultaneously.
A profound darkness stabbed straight through Kosma's body, while golden flames madly roasted his flesh.
"AARRGGHH!!"
A miserable howl erupted from the demon's mouth.
At the spot on his chest pierced by the lance, the tentacles symbolizing the "power of Devour" were instantly burned to ash by the blaze!
"Be quiet, for a moment."
Swoosh—
With a light flick of his lance, the thirty-meter-tall giant demon was thrown aside like a discarded dog.
RUMBLE!
He was no match at all.
Let alone Kosma, even if Kalpas unleashed the full power of "that heart," with Su's help...
At most, they would only last one more move against the Emperor.
Resistance was meaningless.
However, somewhat unexpectedly, aside from Kosma, Kalpas, who should have been unable to control his emotions, had not made a move against him—
Even though the partner he considered his confidant had fallen right before his eyes.
Kalpas...
"Oh?"
Kalpas stood in front of Su, and Su stood in front of the fallen Kevin. A hundred meters behind them was Kosma, who had been tossed away by the [Radiance] and was still being suppressed by the golden flames, unable to get up.
"So that's how it is."
"The backup plan was here..."
Griseo was dead.
Both his spirit and body had been turned to dust by the hammer-blow of [Annihilation Iron Fist], not leaving the slightest trace in this world.
But.
Sakura and Aponia were different.
Their physical bodies had indeed been smashed into meat paste by the Emperor, but their spiritual power... a sort of trigger, pre-planted within "Yudu Chen," had gathered their spirits, which should have dissipated, without losing a single drop.
"It's meaningless."
It was indeed an exquisite operation, but there was no point in doing so.
Spiritual power...
Aponia's memories had already been wiped clean.
The Emperor had previously targeted Aponia based on her "threat level." If he had perceived a bit more information, "converting" her into a legion subordinate would have been the wisest choice. A "Honkai Beast" without human memories, with just a little tuning, could have become a vital combatant for the legion, far from humanity.
He had to admit.
It was a bit of a pity.
Even if such "spiritual bodies" were preserved, it would be impossible to replicate Aponia's power as a Fusion Warrior. At best, using Mobius's technology, they could be made into armed automatons like the "Gray Serpent," or perhaps add a brick to the construction of the future Elysian Realm.
That was all.
As for Sakura... although her memories were not lost, having lost her body, her future was likely no different from Aponia's.
And.
All of this was predicated on one thing.
That they could successfully escape from the Emperor with "Yudu Chen."
Lu Xing had no intention of leaving the Flame-Chasers with such a possibility. An opportunity to reduce the number of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers by half would absolutely not be—
VMMMM!!
Red, blue, green, and purple.
The energy leaping on his halo converged into a constantly flashing elemental brilliance.
[Photon Cutting]
Swoosh—
SCHLICK!!
"..."
Stars converged into an ocean.
Auroras surged between the rift and the firmament, and crystal flowers withered and bloomed in the void.
"..."
His gaze swept across the edge of this world.
The Emperor, no, Lu Xing, quickly understood where all of this was coming from.
A domain.
The power to nurture hope rippled in this domain that isolated spacetime. Everything resolved into two words that gradually became clear in his perception:
"Origin."
The power of a Herrscher.
This was the power of a Herrscher, glimpsed once before but never felt in detail.
And its source, without a doubt—
"In the end."
"You still didn't show your face here... Elysia."
This was Elysia's power.
Although Lu Xing didn't know its nature, the only Herrscher power in the current world that was so "girlish" could only belong to Elysia.
However.
This was Elysia's power, but it was not Elysia herself.
Within this domain, both real and illusory, there was no sign of the Pink-Haired Elf. Standing far opposite the Emperor was...
A Manta Ray.
Adorned with markings of pure white and pale pink, its wings shaped like hearts, the Manta Ray floated quietly on the other side of this domain.
Name: ???
Level: 80
Other: Unknown
No name, unknown information.
Only one thing was certain: the Manta Ray appearing here was, in all likelihood, Elysia's symbiotic Honkai Beast.
This was the first Lv. 80 Honkai Beast Lu Xing had ever seen, and one about which he knew absolutely nothing.
However...
An increasingly powerful aura began to surge from the Emperor's body.
Lu Xing prepared to test the great Manta Ray's quality. As the only existence in the Flame-Chasers whose depths he did not know, if he didn't even dare to face Elysia's symbiotic Honkai Beast, how could he ever hope to get a glimpse of her true strength?
With this—