"He's gone, just like that?"
You just left?
Kevin stood frozen, his gaze somewhat vacant.
He was bewildered, watching Ryuga collect the Sun Disc, land on the ground, pull a strange door from his pocket, open it, and walk away.
The door closed and vanished completely.
Kevin opened his mouth, then rubbed his eyes.
He confirmed it wasn't a dream.
No!
According to the tropes of novels and TV shows, shouldn't you, having saved me, recognize my talent, see my extraordinary potential, and then recruit me?
Even if you don't take me as a disciple, or try to win me over, or pass on your power, at least... you should say a few words, right?
Something like, 'We will meet again.'
He just left?
Damn it.
So, you saved me just because it was convenient?
A dull feeling settled in Kevin's heart, an indescribable sense of loss.
At the academy, he was the campus prince, the heartthrob with beautiful girls following him everywhere.
"What do we do now?"
His girlfriend asked, trembling.
"..."
Kevin slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, letting the frustration in his chest dissipate.
He looked at his girlfriend. Although her face was pale and her hair was messy, her eyes were still full of trust in him.
He squeezed her small hand.
"Let's go! Follow those Sand Soldiers first, find a safe hotel to hide in, and your wounds need to be treated."
With that, Kevin pulled his girlfriend's wrist and strode off in the direction the Sand Soldiers had gone.
...
Shenzhou City.
The entire city was practically reduced to ruins.
The battle between Skirk and Benares had almost cleared the city of all Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies.
"Heroine, have some water."
Himeko handed over an energy mineral water bottle.
Skirk didn't stand on ceremony, taking it and chugging it down.
How many times has she killed Benares now?
She had almost lost count.
A light pink door suddenly appeared on top of Benares's giant egg.
Then, the door gently opened.
Ryuga stepped out first, followed closely by Elysia, whose slender figure was held securely in her boyfriend's arms.
"???"
"Oh~"
Elysia's foot found empty air.
Fortunately, Ryuga was holding her waist, or she would have stumbled and fallen because she missed her step.
Elysia's eyelashes fluttered as she quickly scanned her surroundings.
She then realized the door had opened right on top of Benares's egg.
"This luck?"
Elysia chuckled softly.
"Don't blame me, that's just the coordinates for Shenzhou City."
Ryuga shrugged. Who knew Benares's egg would be right on the coordinates?
The ruined battlefield was littered with crushed Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies, a spectacular sight.
Few buildings remained standing.
Himeko stood right beneath Benares's egg, looking up. Her amber eyes were slightly dazed as she gazed at Ryuga's god-like figure.
"Sorry, I was a little embarrassed."
Skirk greeted him coolly, tossing the empty mineral water bottle onto the ground.
Ryuga's gaze slowly moved down to the woman in the black combat suit with flame-red hair. He was slightly stunned.
If he remembered correctly, that face belonged to the 'Himeko counterpart' of the Previous Era.
Himeko.
Later, due to disappointment and grief, she was seized by the Honkai and transformed into the Herrscher of Fire, eventually being killed by Kevin, who had just become a Fusion Soldier.
After that battle, she was permanently lost on the frozen battlefield.
"That's not your fault."
Withdrawing his gaze, Ryuga glanced at Skirk and leaped down from the giant egg.
His fingertip brushed the eggshell. The black and green snake scales, which felt like jade, faintly pulsed with a terrifying Honkai energy fluctuation.
He closed his eyes, and his perception spread out like a fine net.
Inside Benares's eggshell, a heartbeat thumped, and the concentration of Honkai energy far exceeded the normal threshold, flowing in a chaotic and bizarre manner.
It was like a consciousness whispering, peeking, and manipulating from the depths.
"Tch!"
Sure enough, the Will of Honkai is behind this.
"I've killed it many times, but every time it's severely wounded, it immediately curls up and turns into a snake egg. Even when I kill it, the snake body instinctively curls up and becomes an egg."
"And its eggshell is extremely hard; I can't even break it."
"Although it will be quickly killed by me after it revives."
Skirk was a little annoyed.
This was the first time she had encountered such a troublesome opponent.
"Heh, it's not that your strength is lacking, but that someone is pulling strings behind the scenes."
"Skirk, your power has been targeted."
"The Honkai God."
Ryuga patted Skirk's shoulder, nearly causing the frozen melon to have a stress reaction.
Skirk instantly realized: Is it because my power system is different from this world's?
"The Honkai God? There's such a thing?"
Elysia tilted her head, blinking curiously.
"Uh, ... I just call it the Honkai God. You can also call it the Will of Honkai or something similar."
"Benares is indeed highly defensive, tough, has high HP, and can heal and resurrect. It's practically a tank and a healer combined."
"But each of its resurrections takes time and requires a large amount of Honkai energy."
"Has it ever devoured a Honkai Beast?"
Ryuga asked while explaining.
Skirk immediately denied it: "No, it turned into an egg right after it died."
"Then has it gotten smaller after resurrection?"
Skirk thought for a moment, then shook her head again: "No, its strength is virtually the same. A few times, it even increased."
"That's it then," Ryuga said. "The Honkai God is studying your power."
Although he didn't know much about Benares, he could infer some things from Mobius.
Mobius resurrected through 'Snake's Slough'.
(The Honkai God might think Benares's 'Snake's Slough' is unsafe, so it directly intervened and turned it into an egg.)
Moreover, Mobius needed a large amount of Honkai energy for each resurrection, which is why she devoured Klein when she became a Herrscher.
And she would shrink after each resurrection.
After learning about her resurrection ability, Mobius even deliberately provoked Kalpas to explore the limits of 'immortality'.
As a result, she was repeatedly killed, and when she walked out of the training room, Mobius had regressed to the appearance of a child.
Someone saw it, and rumors of them having a 'love child' spread.
So Benares should be the same.
But Skirk's words were contradictory.
The Honkai God had intervened.
Otherwise, with Skirk's strength level as a top-tier Demon God, she would have long since sent Benares back to its home, and it would be impossible for her to be unable to even break the eggshell.
"I see."
Skirk nodded.
"However, thanks to the Honkai God, those scattered eggshells are excellent materials."
Ryuga pointed to the eggshells scattered all over the ruins and smiled.
They were all top-grade materials.
If Mobius saw this, wouldn't she be so happy she couldn't sleep for days?
Just then, the ground began to tremble loudly.
The concentration of Honkai energy in the air suddenly surged, and a suffocating sense of oppression rolled in like a tidal wave.
Around the snake egg, fragments of rock uncontrollably lifted and floated.
And on the eggshell's surface, cracks spread rapidly, one after another, with a crack sound.
"You guys should leave."
"I'll take care of this one."
Ryuga raised his hand and waved.
Then he turned his head and glanced at Himeko.
"Also, Colonel Himeko, please be careful. The Honkai God is also watching you."
The fact that Himeko could become the Herrscher of Fire naturally meant she possessed the qualities the Honkai favored.
Himeko, who was retreating, suddenly stopped. Her brow furrowed, and a look of confusion flashed in her eyes.
Although she had many questions, she gritted her teeth and sped away without further hesitation.
Benares was about to resurrect again.
The cracks had spread to their limit, and dazzling light burst forth from the gaps.
The Honkai energy stirred up a roaring gale, and dust obscured the sun.
If they didn't run now, they would be caught in the crossfire.
The eggshell completely shattered, and a massive black shadow coiled up. The friction of its scales produced a grating, metallic screech.
From the darkness, the giant snake's scarlet tongue flickered out with a hissing sound.
The snake's head slowly lowered, its neck curving into a bizarre arc. From fifty meters away, its hideous vertical pupils stared intently at Ryuga.
It seemed to be looking down at an ant.
In the distance, Himeko grew tense.
Even the usually lively Elysia fell into an unusual silence.
"Tch, should I call you Benares, or... the Honkai God?"
"This is our first official meeting."
Before he finished speaking, Ryuga's body slowly floated up until he was level with the snake's head. He wasn't used to talking to people while craning his neck.
Ryuga had sensed it when he touched the snake eggshell earlier.
Perhaps it was getting anxious after he had taken out the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Thunder twice?
If he were a native of this world, it might be one thing.
But his power was completely foreign.
Most importantly, he had twice changed the Herrschers' fate and corrected the future of the Honkai.
This was equivalent to someone directly messing with your mind.
Elysia was a one-shot deal, taking her away before the Honkai could react.
But Ryuga was boiling the frog slowly, making small changes and repairs here and there.
It didn't react the first time, but you're still doing it a second time?
[Human, you are strong.]
[You, and her, are not from this world, are you?]
[Leave now, and no one gets hurt.]
Benares's voice rang out directly, deep and resonant, carrying an ancient echo that vibrated in the depths of Ryuga's consciousness.
Or rather, was it the will of the so-called 'Honkai'?
Hmph, you're using my wife Sam's lines?
Ryuga sneered and shook his head. His eyes suddenly became sharp as knives, and he mocked, word by word: "Leave now, or you will all die."
He had never understood why the Honkai God was so partial to Sirin.
Giving her the core, taking hits for her—no other Herrscher received that treatment; only Sirin was held in the palm of its hand.
Now, he somewhat understood.
[Human, I have analyzed your power. Therefore, I can only ask you to leave!]
"You can try."
Human eyes and snake eyes stared at each other.
Both reflected the sharp edge of the other's soul.
The atmosphere instantly solidified.
The next moment, Benares let out a shriek.
Its massive body plunged down, swooping towards Ryuga.
Its giant maw opened wide, baring its sinister fangs as it bit down on Ryuga's head.
At the same time, a foul-smelling poisonous mist, mixed with an extremely cold storm, was violently exhaled.
"Open!"
Ryuga roared.
In an instant, energy surged violently behind him, and two massive, illusory time dials appeared.
One was golden, blazing and magnificent.
The other was blue, cold and flowing.
The golden one was behind, and the blue one was in front.
Ryuga suddenly raised his hands, his fingers flying as if plucking invisible strings.
The next moment, Benares's nearly two-hundred-meter-long giant snake body suddenly froze in mid-air, unable to move an inch.
It was as if it had been instantly fixed in place.
[Human, what... did... you... do?]
[I...]
The Will of Honkai trembled for the first time.
It suddenly widened its vertical pupils, only to realize that its body, which spanned the sky, was now bound by countless illusory clock dials—gold and blue—that had pierced through its body.
Layer upon layer, covering its entire form.
[No! This kind of power?]
The snake's pupils suddenly contracted. It sensed that the time on the golden dials was moving forward, while the blue dials were flowing backward.
The two forces of time violently tore, dislocated, and crushed within its body.
It was about to... break!
"Goodbye, so-called God!"
Ryuga's lips curled into a smile, his eyes devoid of emotion. He clenched his open five fingers towards Benares.
In that instant...
On the golden dials, the time spring raced forward, pushing time to surge.
The blue hands spun wildly in reverse, pulling the years to flow backward rapidly.
The time flow of different segments of the same body was forcibly cut apart.
One segment of the body was experiencing rebirth.
Another segment of the body had decayed for a thousand years.
The temporal 'paradox' exploded within Benares's body, like billions of sharp blades bursting from the inside, shredding it inch by inch.
[Human, you, cough ah...]
A large mouthful of green, viscous snake blood sprayed out, and Benares's mournful shriek echoed throughout the night sky of Shenzhou City.
Its massive body collapsed with a crash.
It was cut into one-meter segments.
Green snake blood poured down from the sky like a rainstorm. A thick, fishy smell permeated the air, and upon hitting the ground, it corroded the earth, sending up plumes of white smoke.
Two hundred segments of the snake's body fell one after another, hitting the ground with continuous thuds.
The earth roared incessantly, and dust clouds soared into the sky.
"∑q|OДO|p Eh."
The group members watching the live stream were all dumbfounded.
Including Skirk, who was profoundly shocked.
She knew she couldn't compare to Ryuga, but she never thought the gap was this huge?
Himeko opened her mouth, unable to speak.
Only Istaroth saw the clue: this was the power of time.
Was it the time power gift she gave Ryuga?
Or...
Ryuga floated above the snake's remains, his clothes flapping in the wind. He glanced with cold mockery at Benares's hideous vertical pupils.
"Heh~, you've analyzed my power?"
"What a joke."
Benares wasn't dead yet; the Will of Honkai was still supplying Honkai energy.
Unfortunately, the different temporal paradoxes had completely severed it, making resurrection impossible. No matter how much Honkai energy was supplied, it was useless.
"Death is a stern mistress."
"And your soul will be weighed by the Goddess."
He snapped his fingers.
Boom! A scorching Shadow Flame erupted from the snake's remains. This time, it was directly burning the Will of Honkai itself.
[You, ah... Human—]
"Some souls are destined to burn."
...
The Third Honkai Eruption ended.
The matter here was concluded.
All that remained were the small aftershocks of the Honkai that would affect the East Asia region.
Ryuga couldn't do anything about that.
He had already eliminated the Herrscher and the companion Honkai Beast as quickly as possible, so the subsequent aftershocks shouldn't be too severe.
"Colonel Himeko."
"Ah?"
"What happened?"
Ryuga was curious. On Himeko's familiar face, disappointment, anger, and relief were constantly playing out, which he found quite fascinating.
"Heh, I disobeyed orders and was relieved of my duties by Fire Moth."
Himeko gave a slight grimace.
"Oh~, then why don't you join me?"
Ryuga extended his hand in invitation.
"Huh?"
"I mean, work for me."
"..."
Himeko: You'd better stop talking; the more you say, the more misleading it sounds.
"Ahem, I mean, join my Virtual Universe Company."
Himeko pondered for a moment. She neither refused nor agreed: "I still have to deal with the Fire Moth situation. Also, I have something I need to ask the Demon God. If you have time, how about I buy you a drink?"
Her words were also directed at the supervisory team behind her.
If Ryuga hadn't been there, she would probably have been detained.
If they were smart, they would know what to do.
Sure enough, they secretly called someone.
Whether it was his appearance, strength, personality, or voice, Ryuga was exactly Himeko's type.
The kind she liked.
"Tonight is too late. How about tomorrow night?"
"Okay, see you tomorrow night then."
"Mhm."
...
Not far away, Elysia pouted, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel hiding nuts.
She was a little jealous.
Hmph!
Naughty Ryu.
Why is he smiling so gently?
He likes everyone he sees. It's so annoying!
Elysia took a deep breath, puffed out her full chest, and her beautiful eyes suddenly became determined: No, it seems the brave Elysia needs to make a move tonight.
Like changing into a white silk battle suit.
To be continued…
Advance 50 Chapters are up on my patreon!
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