Looking at the 'Fu Hua' before him, whose eyes had turned crimson red again, Su said nothing on the surface, but inwardly he was already shaking his head.
If it were Hua saying these words, Su would certainly be at ease.
But with the Herrscher of Sentience saying them, Su couldn't feel at ease at all.
In Su's view, both the reserved Hua and the flamboyant Herrscher of Sentience regarded Leo Ash as an important person.
However, even though they considered him important, Hua's body would still unconsciously launch a powerful attack against Leo Ash.
That punch indeed didn't hit a vital spot, but an attack that punched straight through the chest was, in itself, quite fatal.
If Durandal, with the Abyss Flower, hadn't been right beside Leo Ash, he would have, if not died on the spot, at least been knocked unconscious with severe injuries.
And that incident was enough to show that the current Hua, even if she had the will, couldn't completely suppress the Herrscher personality within her.
Under this premise, when Hua confronts Kevin...
Just imagining the scene of the flamboyant Herrscher of Sentience facing off against Kevin, who would recognize her as a Herrscher, made Su break out in a cold sweat.
He had come to confirm if Hua's current state was suitable for battle.
And now, seeing Hua's personality shifting several times within a minute or two, Su felt it would be better for her to remain in seclusion.
"I'm sorry, Su..."
Regaining control of her body once more, Fu Hua, her eyes clear again, spoke helplessly to her comrade.
"As of now... I am still unable to completely suppress her."
"Actually, after your injuries were healed by Mr. Leo Ash, this phenomenon should not have happened to you."
Looking at Hua, whose expression was beginning to contort in a struggle, Su pondered for a moment, then recalled the news he had heard in Jiuyou a few minutes ago.
"From just a moment ago, Miss Yuna and Miss Mei's cores have been operating at full throttle."
"If I'm not mistaken, the core within your body is likely in a similar state."
"Otherwise, it's impossible to explain how this Herrscher personality can be active to this extent."
Just as Fu Hua was about to speak, her eyes turned crimson red again.
"Su, you truly are my good buddy! You're right!"
"It's the damn Honkai that's supporting this Herrscher!"
"Quickly, quickly help me suppress her! I feel like my good apprentice is going to get into trouble on his trip to Shenzhou this time. I must go see him, then bring him to Mount Taixu to be protected by me personally!"
"...I apologize. My condition is truly poor today."
After pushing the Herrscher personality back, Fu Hua said to Su, her face full of apology.
"Normally, she does not possess such terrifying power."
"...Sigh."
Letting out a long sigh, Su said no more, instead releasing his mental energy to envelop Fu Hua.
After making this gesture to assist her, Su remained silent.
The Herrschers in Shenzhou, who had betrayed the Honkai, were all receiving support from it.
Behind this extremely bizarre phenomenon, Su had already seen the essence of this incident.
The Honkai was afraid.
Afraid of Kevin regaining his power.
And if Kevin were to absorb Chiyou's corpse, then even if he couldn't recover his peak strength, he could at least wield the Power of Chimera.
The young men and women of Schicksal indeed possessed terrifying potential.
But now, for all the players on the world stage, time had run out.
Facing the accelerating Honkai, Kevin, after regaining his strength, would absolutely launch the Stigmata Project at the first opportunity...
This, paradoxically, also meant that the Stigmata Project, in the Honkai's perception, was a reliable plan that could 'threaten' it.
If he hadn't made up his mind 1,500 years ago, Su might have even considered standing with Kevin to fight the Honkai.
But the thought of the people in that village turning into Honkai Zombies because of the Stigmata Project made Su immediately collect himself and abandon the idea.
*Don't overthink it.*
*Since I have already taken a stand against the Stigmata Project, I should no longer have any hesitation.*
*Hua has worn Fenghuang Down for so long; her control over mental and conscious abilities should already be very high.*
*With my assistance, even if she can't completely suppress the Herrscher personality, she should at least be able to temporarily subdue it.*
*After she accomplishes this, we must immediately head to Mr. Leo Ash's location.*
*After all, putting myself in his shoes, if I were Kevin, knowing that the Honkai has begun to accelerate, I would also want to reclaim my past 'greatest strength' as soon as possible.*
*Both he and I have 'backdoor' access, but we won't use it until the very last moment.*
*So, the probability of him attacking Jiuyou right now should be very high.*
*This is troublesome.*
*And I also have to consider whether Mr. Otto, hiding in the shadows, will make a move during this time and create even more trouble for us.*
*And even at this point, we still have to be wary of something we have forgotten, but absolutely should not forget.*
*The Honkai, or rather, the Herrschers born from it.*
*The Honkai is the enemy we should be fighting together.*
*Yet now, because of the Stigmata Project, a battle with Kevin is unavoidable.*
*If I were the Honkai, then...*
*While Kevin is fighting fiercely with Mr. Leo Ash and the others, a new Herrscher will surely descend, right?*
"Su, if I remember correctly, during the tragedy of the Herrscher of Binding, you once controlled Kalpas's body to fight, right?"
Within the envelope of mental energy, Fu Hua suddenly spoke to Su.
"Although the Herrscher personality is constantly restless, if I give up everything to suppress her, it should cause both of us to lose control of the body simultaneously."
"If it really comes to that, I will enter a slumber with her, and at that time..."
"—I'll be counting on you to take care of Leo Ash."
After saying this, Fu Hua said no more, closing her eyes and entering a state of feigned sleep.
And Su, watching her, said nothing, only continuing to release mental energy waves to help his comrade suppress the Herrscher personality faster.
*Although Hua said that, with my combat skills, I'd just be quickly defeated if I faced Kevin.*
*And now, I don't have an offensive Divine Key. Even if I were to fight using Hua's body, Hua's side...*
*Unless we both enter a state of artificial decay to fight, we would still be quickly defeated by Kevin.*
*Actually, tallying it up now, over at Jiuyou we have Mr. Leo Ash, Miss Bianka, Miss Yuna, and Miss Mei—four Herrscher-level combatants.*
*And two of them are Herrschers with the full support of Prometheus No. 17.*
*Here at Mount Taixu, both Hua and I possess power that surpasses Herrschers.*
*But Kevin...*
At this moment, Su recalled the battle from 1,500 years ago...
No, calling that struggle a 'battle' was giving himself far too much credit.
In that fight, Su used three ultimate moves.
And Kevin, with just a swing of his Might of An-Utu, gravely wounded Su on the spot.
Admittedly, the current Kevin was not as powerful as the Kevin of the past, but while the current Kevin was weaker, he also had something he never had before—a second Herrscher of Flame core.
Other Herrscher cores would at most allow Might of An-Utu to expend Honkai Energy freely, but with 'two Herrscher of Flame cores,' its destructive power would only reach a new level.
Thinking of this, Su had his main body remain here while creating a clone and teleporting it to Anti-Entropy's Ark.
And within Anti-Entropy's Ark, Welt, who had already recovered, now felt his Herrscher core operating at full throttle.
Just like in Abyssal City before, Welt Yang, who had always been considered a traitor by the Honkai, was once again receiving support from the Honkai's side.
It was also for this reason that Welt was not at all surprised by Su's arrival.
After all, Su, operating in the shadows, had been constantly trying to prevent the advent of the Stigmata Project.
With Kevin now out of seclusion, it was only natural for the constantly moving Su to return to Anti-Entropy's side.
"Mr. Su."
Looking at the 'Su' before him, Welt, who had already realized it was an energy clone, spoke to him.
"I've adjusted my condition. The Moonlight Throne, I have it ready as well."
"Excellent."
Hearing Welt proactively say these words, Su let out a small sigh of relief.
*With Mr. Welt and the Moonlight Throne, the odds of winning against Kevin should be a bit higher.*
*As long as I can heavily injure Kevin, I can bring him into the Seed of Sumeru and seal him along with myself in this World Bubble.*
*At that point, at least I won't have to worry about him being able to execute the Stigmata Project.*
*Everything is ready, but even now...*
*I really still don't want to fight Kevin.*
Su, secretly gathering his forces, recalled the moments he had shared with Kevin and truly felt that it was perfectly normal for Gray Serpent to hate him now.
1,500 years ago, Kevin was sealed in the Sea of Quanta precisely because he trusted Su.
And now, 1,500 years later, after Kevin's release, he had not once blamed Su for what he did back then.
Yet now, facing his returned best friend, the first thing Su prepared to do was to secretly gather forces to seal him away once again.
Back then, he betrayed Kevin because the Stigmata Project was too cold-blooded.
But now...
*I, who have betrayed my best friend twice, am I not, in some ways, a cold-blooded person myself?*
*I really hope my calculations are wrong, but...*
At this moment, the weary Su recalled the letter Mei had given to Kevin back then.
The beginning of that letter contained Mei's expectations for Kevin.
*Keep going, Kevin.*
*—Whether in the past or now, you will absolutely never stop moving forward.*
...
Shenzhou. Jiuyou
In Jiuyou, Leo Ash watched Durandal, Yuna, and Mei relentlessly attacking Chiyou's corpse and could only think that this corpse was absurdly tough.
After the end of the Chiyou Arc in the original story, although the officials didn't explicitly state it, they did mention Chiyou's... well, to be precise, Chiyou's corpse's movements before being devoured by Kevin in 2017, through the weapon description of [Dragon's Spine].
In the description of Dragon's Spine, a piece of information was clearly mentioned.
[A greatsword made by Anti-Entropy using the bone marrow collected from within the ancient Honkai Beast Chiyou. The colossal body of Chiyou, known as the demon dragon, still slumbers in the depths of the sea.]
From this information, it was clear that Chiyou's corpse could be made into weapons.
But perhaps due to the difficulty of production, or perhaps for other reasons, Chiyou's corpse wasn't completely scavenged by the people of the Current Era, instead ending up as a meal for Kevin.
And now, watching everyone struggling to dismantle even half of Chiyou's remains, Leo Ash truly felt that it was a good thing this thing was sealed early.
If the sisters Danzhu and Cangxuan hadn't acted quickly back then, given this thing's ability to devour even soil to strengthen itself, give it some time, and it might not have been 'Judgment-class' but 'Finality-class.'
As for why Leo Ash wasn't acting now, the reason was simple—the other three had forcefully told him not to.
The three present, though not completely familiar with each other, shared a simple thought.
*It's better for Leo Ash to rest. If he keeps going like this, he'll break down sooner or later.*
Of course, they thought this, but none of them said it out loud.
In the end, it was Yuna, the quickest thinker of the three, who came up with a reason: 'Senior, you're the most familiar with fighting Herrschers. We need someone in peak condition to handle any sudden emergencies,' and persuaded Leo Ash to stand down.
And the reason Leo Ash didn't insist on joining the dismemberment army was that he, to some extent, agreed with Yuna's words.
*Unease.*
From the moment he arrived in Jiuyou, the sense of unease in Leo Ash's heart had grown stronger and stronger.
*In just a few more minutes, Chiyou's corpse will be completely dismantled by us.*
*At that time, Kevin, unable to find a power-up in the short term, won't dare to act recklessly, and we'll have more time to develop.*
*But, Kevin must have thought of this as well, so...*
At that very moment, a terrifying energy fluctuation suddenly appeared in the space where they were.
As the energy wave spread, the three who had been attacking Chiyou all became extremely vigilant and quickly retreated.
As the energy wave finished spreading, a man appeared in their line of sight.
White hair, blue eyes, and—isn't that the Judgment of Shamash?!
At the sight of this man, having already determined he was the enemy Leo Ash had mentioned, the three finally understood why he had said, 'If you see that man, don't get into a fight, retreat at top speed.'
The reason was simple.
Just by standing there, the oppressive aura emanating from him made it hard for them to breathe.
"All Schicksal and Shenzhou personnel, retreat from here immediately!"
After shouting this to the members of the two factions who were struggling to move behind him, Leo Ash immediately asked the System a question.
*System, are you there?*
*...Damn, it really went offline.*
*This is big trouble.*
*The System being offline means Kevin definitely came with hostile intent.*
*A situation like my first meeting with Yuna, where we could still talk, is impossible with Kevin.*
Now, Kevin, after forcing everyone back, was trying to absorb the remaining half of Chiyou's body as quickly as possible.
And before he could complete this action, the four people present moved.
Mei, wielding MagStorm, compressed the power of the Herrscher of Thunder to its limit and unleashed an incredibly ferocious lightning slash at Kevin.
Yuna and Durandal, who had already established a cooperative foundation during the dismemberment a few minutes ago, now channeled Abyss and the Herrscher authority within them, merging the two streams of corrosive black fog together. Then Durandal, the stronger of the two, formed it into a spear and hurled it at Kevin.
As for Leo Ash, he had already connected the Seven Thunders of Retribution with the Blank Key, briefly transforming into the Herrscher of Thunder, and, like Mei, slashed at Kevin.
Facing the four-pronged attack, Kevin felt no pressure, but he still instantly conjured an ice shield to block all their power.
"Hah... interesting."
Watching the ice shield, quickly eroded by the black fog and then easily torn apart by the lightning, Kevin, who was facing these attacks head-on, let out a breath of cold air.
"The Blank Key, the Herrscher of Death, a descendant of the Kaslana clan, and..."
A girl with the same face as Mei, possessing the power of Judgment.
*Heh, in a way, I suppose this is a kind of fate.*
"It seems you all knew I was coming here to take Chiyou's corpse."
Kevin, who had casually blocked the follow-up attacks with the dual-core Might of An-Utu, spoke to them with indifference.
"Did Su tell you all this?"
"Or have the humans of this era already foreseen what I am about to do and hope to stop me here?"
Facing the imposing Kevin, Leo Ash, gripping his Divine Key, didn't know how to respond.
And seeing Leo Ash's tense expression, Kevin slightly adjusted his own and, before everyone, actually put away the Might of An-Utu that had been pointed at them.
"Alright, if you don't know where to begin, then allow me to introduce myself."
"Perhaps you already know. I am the Lord of World Serpent, Kevin."
"According to Gray Serpent, after learning of the Stigmata Project, you chose to reject it."
"A plan like that—of course we could never agree!"
Durandal, facing Kevin, spoke with utmost seriousness.
"Your plan is basically just a massacre under the guise of defeating the Honkai, isn't it? World Serpent, which speaks of such things so righteously, is not worthy of our trust at all!"
*Well said, Bianka.*
*But unfortunately, it's useless to say anything now.*
Leo Ash couldn't see what Kevin was thinking, but he knew clearly that if a fight wasn't necessary, the System would have appeared by now.
Although he didn't think Kevin would kill him, a 'vanguard against the Honkai,' he had—already received the reward, so it would be purely idiotic to be unprepared.
*Time to analyze the situation.*
*Kevin has obtained the Judgment of Shamash, the Gem of Haste, and absorbed half of Chiyou's corpse.*
*But from my observations using Precision Control, the Honkai Energy radiating from him has indeed grown stronger, but at the same time, his power is also in disarray.*
*Even for Kevin, after being sealed for 1,500 years and absorbing half of Chiyou's corpse, he can't completely convert that absorbed energy into combat power within seconds.*
*Now, for us, the only chance is to take him down before he digests the energy Chiyou has given him.*
*However, even so, this is clearly a nearly impossible task.*
*Yuna and Mei have the support of the Honkai now. Even if they haven't fully transformed, they have power close to the peak of a single-core Herrscher.*
*But the problem lies with Bianka.*
*The time she fights Kevin to a 50-50 stalemate in a probing battle is three years from now.*
*And now it's only 2014. For the rapidly progressing Bianka, the 2017 version of herself is definitely far stronger than her 2014 self.*
*Adding my own power into the mix... it's not stable enough.*
*Su has left; he must be consolidating forces elsewhere.*
*But I can't count on Su returning in time.*
*It's not that I don't trust Su, but... facing Kevin, even if I want to believe in my own strength, this trembling deep in my soul is never wrong.*
*I'm terrified of death, and that fear, originating from death, is intensifying because of Kevin's appearance.*
"Miss Durandal is right, and..."
Looking at the weapon in Kevin's hand, Mei also spoke to him with a grave expression.
"The weapon in your hand belongs to Uncle Siegfried, doesn't it."
"He would never give the Judgment of Shamash to anyone else. What did you do to him!"
After Mei finished speaking, Yuna continued where she left off, speaking to Kevin.
"You came here to ambush us from the start. After absorbing Chiyou's corpse, I can feel that the energy inside you is still in turmoil from the absorption."
"In other words—you're stalling for time to perfectly absorb the power, right?"
"Everyone, attack together! If he completely digests Chiyou's power, we're the ones who will be truly finished!"
At that instant, Yuna slammed both her palms onto the ground, and as the powers of the Herrscher of Death and her own as a Pseudo-Herrscher erupted simultaneously, Kevin was suddenly bound by vines that shot up from under his feet.
"Ho, interesting."
Watching the remaining three rush forward, Kevin truly felt...
—Everything he was facing right now was simply wonderful!
A Herrscher and the descendant of a MANTIS who trusted each other, a Divine Key wielder with immense talent and limitless potential—they all faced a partially restored Kevin without a hint of retreat, despite the oppressive feeling he gave them.
No, not just that. Facing the four of them directly, Kevin could clearly see the determination to protect the world in their eyes.
*Good.*
*Truly good.*
*Elysia, if you could see this, what kind of expression would you make?*
*It's just a pity that while your resolve is commendable, in terms of power...*
"You are still too weak."
Kevin, without using Zeroth Power, had something on his face that Leo Ash absolutely did not want to see.
A Honkai Beast's carapace had appeared on his face.
Not only that, but his arms, as he released the Honkai Beast factors of Parvati, had become like the limbs of a Honkai Beast, dark black with hints of purple Honkai patterns.
For Leo Ash, who was preparing to charge Kevin, there was one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that because Leo Ash and the others had dismantled half of Chiyou, Kevin had only eaten half a meal. He was clearly not full and couldn't use the 'Power of Chimera' at this stage.
And the bad news was...
—Damn it, Kevin using the power of Parvati is still terrifyingly strong in terms of energy level!
After releasing his Honkai Beast factors, Kevin certainly wouldn't just stand there.
The current Kevin was clearly weaker than he was 1,500 years ago, but the Kevin of 1,500 years ago, at full power, could completely freeze even the flames of an unsheathed Might of An-Utu.
And against the powerful vines created by Yuna, Kevin simply froze them, then shattered them with a jolt of power, easily breaking free from the enemy's restraint.
As he retreated, he swung his sword at the three of them.
Faced with this slash of fiery sword energy, all three chose to evade.
But just then, they heard Yuna's shout of alarm.
"Everyone, watch your feet!"
Beneath their feet, ice that had spread across the nearby ground now erupted with countless sharp ice spikes, stabbing towards the three who had been forced back by Kevin's Might of An-Utu.
If they were just ordinary ice spikes, they naturally wouldn't harm the three at all.
But the one releasing the ice spikes was Kevin, so anyone who took that hit head-on would be an idiot.
The Kevin of his prime could instantly freeze the Judgment of Shamash Unleashed, and even if the current Kevin was far from his former self, freezing their bodies with the cold air he released would still be an effortless feat.
Facing the future of being impaled and frozen, Leo Ash directly unleashed the Stigmata on his right hand and instantly applied the Phantasmagoria to his fist.
"Phantasmagoria... Destructive Punch!"
Combining the energy-weakening property of Phantasmagoria with the energy-exploding property of the Destructive Punch, Leo Ash successfully weakened the attack's energy intensity before shattering the surrounding ice spikes with his punch.
But at that moment, Kevin certainly wouldn't let go of the slight opening Leo Ash exposed by using a fist technique.
Although their exchange had only consisted of a move or two, Kevin had already vaguely discovered something when he introduced himself earlier.
This four-person team actually operated with Leo Ash as its implicit center.
In other words, as long as he defeated Leo Ash, the remaining three would become even easier to defeat after his fall.
As for trying to 'persuade' Leo Ash to join World Serpent, Kevin had never even considered it.
In Kevin's eyes, the stone-faced Leo Ash had no intention of talking to him at all.
Kevin, who knew nothing of the 'Cold, Handsome Man' trait, naturally saw Leo Ash as a warrior filled with determination who couldn't be bothered to communicate with him.
Kevin certainly hoped for more warriors like this, but now...
—He had to make these people recognize the cruelest reality.
*Warriors, if you cannot surpass me, you will never be able to defeat Finality.*
*So now...*
*—Let me see just how much potential you all have!*
In the next moment, the sky full of dancing ice crystals, as if with a mind of their own, flew towards Leo Ash's body.
Leo Ash, who should have successfully retreated, was...
—Successfully wounded by Kevin's attack and crashed heavily onto the ground.
....