As for why she was named Haxxor Bunny, besides the Authority of Erosion she was about to master, the new Divine Machine's external appearance also played a very large role.
"Hah."
The Monarch swung his arms out from his sides.
The other seventeen Divine Machines, scattered across near-earth orbit, simultaneously began to adjust their orientation under the influence of their attitude control engines, rapidly converging on the position of the main body. After nearly half an hour of reconstruction and combination, a mecha with a volume large enough to obscure a patch of the sky appeared in planetary orbit.
Heavy Armor Sma... no, a more precise name would be:
Heavy Armor Giant Rabbit 900000P!
The Monarch's "model assembly" was not yet finished. A mere shell was nothing more than a powerful piece of space weaponry.
The most important part of Haxxor Bunny lay in the combination of the two Herrscher Cores: fusing the Core of Erosion left inside the Divine Machine after the main consciousness of the Herrscher of Erosion had dissipated with Prometheus, the machine's original will, whose existence had been deleted by the Herrscher.
The First Herrscher Core and the Twelfth Herrscher Core.
The existence of Haxxor Bunny was not only for the Monarch to gain a new combatant, but also a simulation of the possibility of fusing "Origin" and "Finality."
With that—
Under the Monarch's control, the crimson and deep blue cores disintegrated and reconstructed themselves within Haxxor Bunny's body.
As a sci-fi-esque, pale blue light began to extend from the eye position and illuminate Haxxor Bunny's frame, a virtual humanoid projection slowly materialized from the dark, starry sky above the mecha.
---o---
[Name: Primordial Species · Haxxor Bunny]
[Level: 80]
[Other: Omitted]
---o---
"Salutations, my Creator."
Haxxor Bunny's address for Lu Xing was not "Monarch," but "Creator"—a consciousness engraved upon the very root of her existence, making her a member of the Monarch's [Retainers] from the moment of her birth.
At the same time, Haxxor Bunny, who could directly control two Herrscher Cores, immediately soared into the first tier of the [Retainers] in terms of combat power. The eighteen Moonlight Thrones serving as her engines provided her with an energy level cap far exceeding that of other Machine Species.
Her loyalty was also beyond doubt.
In the mental world, her existence bloomed as a deep blue light, no less brilliant than that of Xiao Zi or Cheche.
The only problem was...
"It couldn't be because of the name, right?"
Lu Xing very carefully sized up the virtual humanoid he had originally planned to call "Big Duck Duck." The overly obvious flat transition from large to small made his pre-planned name seem somewhat inappropriate.
"There is no need for formalities."
"From today onwards, your name is Duck Duck."
Since there was no "Big," wasn't it as simple as removing the word? Lu Xing decisively used his ultimate, most proficient countermeasure:
Ignore it!
"How does it feel to be reborn?"
Ignoring the "child," "child-rearing guide," and other such things that Xiao Zi was muttering very softly in the mental world, the Monarch directly asked about Haxxor Bunny's current condition. Although the plan had proceeded very smoothly, whether any fine-tuning was needed still depended on the actual user's experience.
"Very... good."
A faint golden stream of light flashed across the blue band of light on her body.
The power from the "Authority of Origin," which allowed Haxxor Bunny to inherit some of the Monarch's attributes, enabled her to mobilize Imaginary Energy on a small scale. This trait might not have an obvious enhancement on her combat power, but it was something most Honkai Beasts dreamed of: the potential for further advancement.
"The power inherited from you allows me to faintly sense the existence of a higher level of power—"
Haxxor Bunny's voice suddenly paused for a moment.
"And an imminent crisis."
"..."
"Good."
"To be able to realize that... it seems you are even more outstanding than I anticipated."
"The idle chat ends here."
Using "imminent" to describe it was indeed very appropriate, but with a little control, a considerable amount of time could still be freed up.
"Duck Duck."
"Open your core's defenses."
"Let me see what exactly Dr. Mei hid inside."
As the power reactor's armor opened layer by layer, the Herrscher Core buried deep within Haxxor Bunny's body was revealed before Lu Xing, emitting a light like a sea of stars. The Monarch could, of course, directly use his Authority to read the information within, but now that Haxxor Bunny had reconstructed her consciousness, respecting an independent individual was a quality a "guardian" must possess.
The band of light representing his Authority floated up behind him.
Ripples of data streams continuously gathered within Haxxor Bunny's core.
---o---
"..."
"I see."
After reading the information hidden within the Core of Reason, even for someone as composed as the Monarch, this "I see" no longer held its usual calm tone, but was filled with a sense of shock.
The "Stigmata Project" proposed by Dr. Mei was incomplete. The actual execution process had only just reached the general direction of "screening for humans with Honkai energy adaptability."
As for the subsequent parts—
[Construct a Stigmata Space modeled after a Herrscher Core]
[Deduce from the transformation process of a Herrscher's consciousness, concluding—]
[—]
[Give the concept of "Honkai" a physical form]
[Construct a virtual space of civilization using consciousness]
[—]
[Reverse consciousness and reality]
[Leave behind an ember for civilization]
[—]
[Create a nearly identical process of civilization]
[—To Replace Finality]
"..."
The extremely vast and clear Stigmata Project appeared in Lu Xing's mind without concealment. The logic was interlocking and remarkably tight, but its purpose was overly "philosophical." One could never have organized such a line of thought without having heard Cthulhu's whispers.
Through the complete Stigmata Project, Lu Xing finally had the clearest understanding of Dr. Mei's attitude: as long as civilization could continue to exist, and the concept of humanity was not erased, then no matter how its form changed or how exaggerated the sacrifices... it was all worth it.
To put it simply:
Even if the details differed, at its root, the so-called Stigmata Project was the "squeezing of orange juice" from EVA.
But now, all of this—
"Haxxor Bunny."
The Monarch's consciousness withdrew from the [Core of Reason].
"All information regarding the 'Stigmata Project,' whether it's the main file stored in your memory or the fragmented backups Dr. Mei left on the surface..."
"Delete all of it."
"Understood."
No matter how grand this plan was, it had now lost all value and meaning. The only thing the Monarch needed was the very first part of the Stigmata Project.
All the rest, whether it threatened his own existence or not, could be forgotten by the world along with Haxxor Bunny's "rebirth."
It might have been useful.
But who could guarantee that the strength of the Herrscher of Finality would not be influenced by the existence of the Stigmata Project?
After all, the "Origin" that could influence "Finality" had already deviated from its original track.