In the crudely pulverized steel jungle, a tiny figure flew backward. She turned in the air and stepped onto the surface of the sea, the resulting spray increasing resistance and gradually slowing her down.
She lowered her hands. The scorched marks fell away with a shake, revealing a metallic silver-white beneath the synthetic skin, shimmering under the reflected light of the sea.
The Eighth Herrscher paid no mind to her tattered clothing. Instead, she stared intently at the familiar aura emanating from the Fire Moth headquarters, which had been nearly split in two.
That was the aura of a kindred spirit.
"Yes... just like that. Fight like a Herrscher..." She curled her lips into a sinister smile. It seemed there was an unexpected harvest after all.
Boom!
A thick beam of light, carrying the heat of evaporated seawater, erupted from the gap!
"Tch..."
The Eighth Herrscher dodged hastily, barely escaping the range of the attack, but the searing temperature still left a sensation of destruction on her. The seawater below was split by a massive rift, which only refilled a second later as if in delayed realization.
Human weapons were indeed unexpectedly dangerous. The previous Herrschers were likely killed just like that—by a "momentary lapse."
She frowned, her bionic electronic eyes rotating, zooming in and locking onto a figure suspended in mid-air just like her.
His helmet had vanished under the corrosion of Honkai energy. The ends of his shoulder-length black hair were tinged with bright blue spots. The gray core embedded in his chest had turned azure again, extending countless slender, vessel-like lines of the same color across his body and armor.
Icy, flake-like debris separated from those lines and scattered, vanishing into the air.
Slowly, those flakes reconsolidated onto the armor on his body that had been corroded and damaged. A brand-new, sharper set of armor gradually covered him, as if a Herrscher were reshaping their image... No, he had already become a Herrscher.
The final Herrscher to descend in the Previous Era—the Herrscher of Reason, who had experienced two falls—reappeared in the world as if a god undergoing rebirth in a myth.
He slowly opened his eyes. The originally black-and-green pupils were now occupied by azure. But soon, within a blink, they transformed into iridescent pupils like a disc, and a piece of VR-goggle-like armor covered his original face.
"..."
After the figure's transformation was complete, he fell silent.
He seemed to be using his dulled brain to search through memories shattered by the impact of the Honkai. His meager, pathetic thoughts could not turn, having been crushed in the contest between humanity and the Honkai.
Because he hadn't expected that even a fictional Herrscher Core would possess the ability to pollute consciousness, he had been robbed of his awareness while completely defenseless.
The Eighth Herrscher wore a smile. She was waiting.
Waiting for the birth of a new Herrscher. Waiting for her "brother" to complete his Chrysalistion.
At that time, the Lin in reality would also be replaced by a new Herrscher consciousness, without her even needing to guide him intentionally.
Inhale.
Exhale.
"Whew..."
However, she did not see the figure approach with a blank expression. Instead, he adjusted his breathing again and again, becoming more and more steady, until...
A watch-like device appeared on his left wrist. Then, a pair of steel wings that blotted out the sun unfurled behind him.
Wings? No, those were neatly arranged, dense...
Floating cannons.
"Hm... It seems I've been proven wrong again, haven't I?"
The Eighth Herrscher showed a disappointed expression and shrugged. The appearance of Prometheus body she had simulated also began to collapse. A massive amount of Honkai energy leaked from her body as black mist gradually enveloped her.
The Herrscher of Sentience, who controlled consciousness, might sound less powerful than other Herrschers—as if she could only target the mind while her own combat strength was far inferior.
But in reality, the manipulable space of consciousness was not necessarily lesser than other authorities. If one died in a space of consciousness where truth and falsehood were indistinguishable, the original body would be nothing more than a breathing corpse.
And what one could achieve by controlling consciousness, naturally, far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.
For instance, creating various illusions to serve as one's combat power during a mental battle. The strength of these illusions depended on the mental power of the consciousness. As the Herrscher of Sentience, her mental power would be stronger than that of other Herrschers.
Naturally, she could perform certain bizarre maneuvers.
Bang!
Two figures erupted simultaneously. The resulting sonic boom shattered eardrums. Countless beams of light shot out from the floating cannons. The entire sea area was instantly enveloped in high-temperature particles, and white water vapor obscured their vision.
Lin iridescent pupils scanned everything he needed at high speed within the head-mounted display. His consciousness had not been completely eroded by the Herrscher Core, but that didn't mean he could perfectly master it.
Those azure, vessel-like lines were, in truth, just like the purple lines from the time of the Honkai sickness—a complete manifestation of the corrosion of the human body. Because his body had been modified by the Honkai serum and his consciousness had undergone mutation within the Herrscher Core, he felt no pain, which allowed him to barely use the Core.
Even so, he could feel his consciousness constantly changing in a certain direction. That was by no means a good sign.
Before his consciousness was completely corrupted, he had to defeat the Eighth Herrscher and leave the conscious space.
His rapidly moving body came to a sudden halt, defying the laws of physics. The Godslayer in his hand sliced through the mist, clashing with the Eighth Herrscher's arm in the air.
Screech—!
A sharp, ear-piercing sound echoed through the eerie, vapor-filled sea. At that moment, the previously damaged Raikiri appeared in Lin other hand. Lightning flickered on the blade. Before the Eighth Herrscher could react, he cleaved her in two with an upward slash. The floating cannons surrounding the area fired simultaneously, their countless beams piercing her body.
However, the Eighth Herrscher's smile was like a nightmare. Her body was torn apart, but it looked like... a projection?
No, Lin had hit the Eighth Herrscher at least ten times during the floating cannon attack, yet she appeared uninjured. Could it be—
The false body vanished. Familiar black mist surged before him in an instant. Lin used Honkai energy to construct a barrier around himself, but that black mist seemed to have a life of its own, immediately corroding the barrier with an eerie, devouring sound.
The black mist of... the Herrscher of Death?
At that moment, Lin realized something. He suddenly looked up.
Unknowingly, the sunlight had been blocked. A pale green vertical pupil, harboring frantic malice, was staring at him.
A giant, grotesque form extended its head from the surface of the sea. Pitch-black fluid crackled with green lightning. A former "enemy" stood before him, seemingly unchanged.
The companion Honkai Beast of the Third Herrscher—Judgment-class, Shesha.
The serpent shadow writhed wildly. The monstrosity darting through the ocean was like the World Serpent—the Jörmungandr that had killed Thor, the God of Thunder.
The Eighth Herrscher landed atop Shesha's head. She gave a cold laugh and pointed a finger at Lin, who looked like a mere insect within Shesha's shadow.
Raging turquoise lightning spread across the surface of the sea.