"Roar roar roar roar roar—!"
An earth-shattering dragon's roar echoed across the icy snowfield.
Before the half-scrapped Machina and the injured Valkyries could react, a colossal blue and white figure descended onto the battlefield.
A massive body of black and white, claws that could easily tear through armor, and wings with blue membranes that blotted out the sky, coupled with a majestic appearance. (See image)
This was a white dragon, a creature that only appeared in human myths, representing ancient power and might, and even among Honkai Beasts, it was a top-tier existence.
"The Second Herrscher's accompanying Honkai Beast?!"
"This Honkai Energy is, Judgment-class!!"
The Valkyries, whose morale had already been shattered by Byakuya, now didn't even have the courage to hold their weapons; the Second Herrscher plus a Judgment-class Honkai Beast.
Their Valkyrie Squad, with a maximum rank of A and all members severely injured, couldn't even delay time, let alone escape.
All they could do now was wait for death.
And Byakuya didn't hesitate to deliver a killing blow.
"Benares, go."
"Roar roar roar roar roar—!"
Accompanying Honkai Beasts are absolutely loyal to their Herrschers; Benares executed Byakuya's command without hesitation.
It gathered terrifying Honkai Energy in its dragon mouth.
Most dragons in myths could breathe fire, but Benares was much stronger; this single Honkai Energy breath instantly wiped out the remaining Machina and Valkyries, and even pierced a large hole through the Babylon Tower.
"Well done, Benares."
Byakuya raised his hand and stroked Benares's head.
At the same time, he thought that it wasn't time to give it that name yet; Benares would have to wait a little longer.
Although for those who knew about Honkai, the meaning represented by a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, a dragon, could be said to be a disaster no less than a Herrscher; just one was enough to slaughter a city, and could even threaten a nation.
Although its performance in the original plot was subpar, that was only because Benares was facing a group of overpowered individuals.
At this moment, the children standing behind Byakuya showed no fear at all upon seeing Benares; after all, this dragon's appearance was not ferocious at all, but rather quite magnificent and handsome.
"Roar roar roar~~"
Although it hadn't yet gained intelligence, Benares also sensed the way these human younglings looked at it.
As a Honkai Beast born with the same purpose of destroying human Civilization, it was momentarily unsure how to react; why weren't these younglings afraid of it?
Byakuya, meanwhile, unceremoniously sat on its head, feeling utterly satisfied, for which boy hadn't fantasized about having a dragon mount?
However, he didn't have much time to waste now; Schicksal Headquarters must have already received the news.
"Everyone, from now on I will send you to nearby safe places. Remember, the rest of the journey you must walk on your own."
"Angel brother, aren't you coming with us?"
"I have other matters to attend to; helping you is also helping myself get justice. Remember, although the road ahead may be very difficult, you must all strive to live on. I wish you all find the path to the future."
Saying this, Byakuya used the authority of the Herrscher of the Void to teleport these girls to various towns in Siberia; he couldn't protect these little girls throughout the entire journey.
Rather, the most dangerous situation next would be for himself; almost all of Schicksal Headquarters' and Anti-Entropy's high-end combat forces during this period would soon come for him.
Byakuya also needed to make many preparations.
"Sirin, take good care of everyone."
"Are you going to do something dangerous again?"
The purple-haired girl clutched Byakuya's Herrscher clothes tightly, not letting him go, her eyes fixed on him intently, and the three other little ones were the same.
Byakuya shook his head, a wry smile on his face.
"It's really nothing this time… for now. I'm just going to teach those bastard scientists a lesson, and I'll be back soon. Until then, you all wait for me obediently."
"…Okay, it's a promise. You absolutely, absolutely must come back safely. If you don't come back, we'll wait here, until you return."
"Mm, we promised."
He raised his hand and hooked pinkies with Sirin, then teleported the four little ones to a nearby safe cave, and set up an Imaginary Number barrier there using the Herrscher's authority.
Only after ensuring everything was foolproof did Byakuya feel relieved.
"Alright, now it's time to settle scores with those old guys. If I don't get revenge for so many days of suffering, I'll really be losing out big time."
Byakuya rubbed his hands together, looking towards the Babylon Tower.
The researchers who had breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had left, nearly fainted when they saw Byakuya reappear before their eyes.
Now, there were no Valkyries or Machina left in Babylon, and even at the fastest speed, support from Schicksal Headquarters would take at least four hours or more.
Such a long time.
Enough for Byakuya to get his revenge on each of them.
"Have you prepared for repentance, you scumbags? It's time to pay for the sins you've committed."
"No, don't come over! You devil!"
"Huh? Compared to you, I'm not worthy of being called a devil. Come on, didn't you all love injecting me with Honkai Energy reagents? Now, let yourselves taste what it's like!"
Now, as a Herrscher, Byakuya was already an ultra-high concentration Honkai source. Under his deliberate control, terrifying Honkai Energy surged into the bodies of these old men.
In the most painful and brutal way.
"Ahhh, ahhhhhh—!"
"Not enough, not enough! You're wailing like ghosts at just this level? What you did to me and to those children was far more than this! This isn't even one ten-thousandth of our pain!"
He grabbed the few remaining hairs of one of the old men, his divine golden eyes seeming to scorch the souls of these people.
Then Byakuya vented to his heart's content.
He subjected these people to all the human experimentation methods that had been used on him. These bastards didn't have "Pain Dullness" and "Super Pain Dullness," so some of them fainted after just a few tries.
"Tsk, trash."
Finally, due to time constraints, Byakuya threatened these people to experiment on each other. Whoever could last until the end would earn the right to live.
The beautiful humanity that a certain Pink Elf Miss loved did not exist in the Babylon Laboratory.
These researchers, for the sake of survival, unhesitatingly attacked their companions.
Byakuya felt like he was watching a terrible movie, these people had lost the right to be called human, harming each other amidst screams and growls.
For someone as particular about sound as him, Byakuya felt his ears were being polluted.
…One hour later…
"I survived, I survived! Haha, let me go, you promised, let me go!"
"Alright, alright, I'll let you go, but… whether those guys will let you go is another matter."
Due to the excessively high Honkai Energy concentration, a large number of low-level Honkai Beasts had already gathered around.
Byakuya casually threw this fellow into the Honkai Beast pile, and the next second he was devoured by the Honkai Beasts.
How could he possibly let him continue to live?
Which of these researchers at Babylon Tower didn't have their hands stained with blood, and who hadn't caused dozens or even hundreds of innocent children to die on those cold experimental tables?
It would be a sin for Byakuya to let any of them go.
"Alright, these trash have been cleaned up. Now, it's time to upgrade my own configuration."
He looked up at the sky.
That high-hanging moon suddenly made Byakuya think of Paramecium, after all, Kiana's name means 'Moonlight Goddess'.
"Speaking of which, it's been several months since I last saw them. I really miss them both, sigh I really want to eat Mei's bento, sleep on Mei's lap, and pinch Kiana's little face"
"Sigh~ never mind, cheer up, the real test is just beginning. The plot has already been changed by me, who knows what kind of changes will happen."
The most urgent task now is to improve his strength and get the remaining four herrscher cores on the moon.
Becoming a five-core Herrscher would be more reassuring.
But at the same time, Byakuya also warned himself.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, absolutely don't get ahead of yourself! Be careful in everything, you must be careful not to mess up!"
"Benares, let's go to the moon."
"Roar, roar, roar—!"
Byakuya did not choose to use the power of the Herrscher of the Void to teleport directly to the moon over a super long distance.
After all, as a newly born Herrscher, not only had he just gone through a major battle, but he had also teleported so many children to different places, so Byakuya's Honkai Energy was a bit stretched thin now.
And Benares, as a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, could fly far beyond supersonic fighter jets with just ordinary flight, and it wasn't long before she carried Byakuya out of the atmosphere.
"…It's truly beautiful."
Turning to look at the beautiful blue planet, Byakuya couldn't help but exclaim.
It was a pity he didn't have a phone or anything on him now, otherwise he would definitely take a picture to remember it by.
"It's said that there's a Divine Key in satellite form floating in outer space, what was its name again… Never mind, I can't dig out the herrscher core from it anyway, I'd better ask the will of honkai for a new one."
The man and the dragon soon arrived on the moon.
Although humans can see the moon every night by looking up, due to the influence of its revolution and rotation cycles, tilt angle, and other factors, there is always an 82% portion of the moon that cannot be directly observed from Earth.
These unobservable parts are called the lunar farside. (God knows what the rabbits discovered on the farside of the moon back then…)
In fact, the lunar farside contains a large amount of Honkai Energy, as well as a lunar base left by the Previous Era.
During the War of the End, the Previous Era sealed a portion of the Herrscher of the End's power within it.
"Finally found it."
Byakuya flew around on Benares and finally found the target location.
He didn't need to wear a spacesuit; as a Herrscher, he could move freely even in a cosmic environment.
Byakuya looked around curiously, feeling his horizons broadened.
The Previous Era's technology was truly powerful. While it wasn't difficult for the Current Civilization's technology to land on the moon, they had already built such a large-scale base on the moon.
Byakuya quickly found his target.
In a place resembling an altar.
An orange-gold crystal was suspended there.
The moment Byakuya's hand touched it, his consciousness entered a pure white space, and in this space, an equally pure white figure transformed into Byakuya's likeness, sitting on a white throne.
Byakuya knew that it was the will of honkai.
And at this moment, the will of honkai pointed at him.
"Guh! Don't give me so much at once!"
He only felt a splitting headache, too much information was being poured into his mind, and he couldn't process it all at once, most of it being memories of the Previous Era.
Dr. Mei of the Previous Era commanded the construction of this lunar base, and although it didn't defeat the Herrscher of the End, it successfully sealed a portion of her power.
Seeing his chosen apostle/Herrscher appear before him, the will of honkai naturally bestowed these powers upon Byakuya without reservation.
"Tsk, is this the sealed power of Honkai? Good, now it's all mine!"
Feeling four new authorities right before him, Byakuya swallowed them without hesitation.
A total of four herrscher cores!
Purple, green, black, and red herrscher cores entered Byakuya's body.
God bestowed upon me a crown, the lightning of conquest, drawing ten thousand bolts as bow and arrow, shattering all things.
God bestowed upon me authority, the storm of desire, wielding endless gales, covering a thousand miles in an instant.
God bestowed upon me a brocade robe, the quiet death, offering the wine of demise, sweet as a dream.
God bestowed upon me a sharp sword, the raging flame of plague, immortal fire entwined around me, burning mountains and boiling seas.
The Herrscher of Thunder Core, the Herrscher of Wind Core, the Die Lv Core, the Herrscher of Flame Core, plus the original Herrscher of the Void Core, at this moment Byakuya's body already contained a full five herrscher cores!
"Hahaha, so strong, too strong! I'm invincible now!!" He clenched his fists in ecstasy.
The unprecedented surge of power excited the young man who had been an ordinary person not long ago.
With a raised hand, he could destroy heaven and earth; the beautiful blue planet now seemed to be in his palm.
"Roar, roar, roar—!"
Benares also let out a celebratory dragon roar, as if happy that her master had become stronger.
However, this loyal demonic dragon was startled the next second, seeing the young man who had just been standing with his hands on his hips, laughing up at the sky, thinking he was invincible… directly slapping himself.
Slap!
Although no sound could be heard in space, Benares could feel that the slap was very forceful.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss, that was close, I almost got carried away. I can't be arrogant, especially as a Herrscher. There are still many, many monsters in this world that can kill me, I absolutely must not get arrogant and seek death."
Byakuya rubbed his face, reflecting on himself.
Leaving aside others, there was a certain Flat-Chested Immortal, oh no, the Scarlet Finch Immortal.
Byakuya knew very well that even with five cores, he probably couldn't defeat her… even if Fu Hua was severely weakened now.
Among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era, who could be a simple character? With a full fifty thousand years of accumulation, even a five-core Herrscher couldn't withstand it.
But!
Aside from Fu Hua, Bai was truly not afraid at all.
As long as he didn't get overconfident and played to the strengths of a Herrscher, a long-range mage, whether it was Siegfried, Cecilia, Theresa, or even Otto, he already had the absolute upper hand in terms of raw power.
"Forget it, instead of thinking about these things, it's better not to fight them in the first place. What bad intentions could a Herrscher have? I just want to live a good life. Destroy the world? Not even a dog would do that."
will of honkai: "..."
Bai, as soon as he obtained the power, immediately resigned, completely ignoring the will of honkai in his mind urging him to destroy the world.
However, despite that, the feeling of getting stronger was still pleasant. Byakuya raised his hand and waved at Benares, who immediately walked over obediently and lowered her head.
"It's time for you to become a Pseudo-Herrscher, Benares. Since I, your master, have become stronger, then as my Dependents, you must also become stronger."
"Roar!"
"Very good, this time we must usher in a happy ending. Not just Sirin, but you too."
Byakuya injected a large amount of Honkai Energy into Benares's dragon body, unlike the original plot where Sirin created four Pseudo-Herrschers by molding four pseudo-cores.
Byakuya gave all the pseudo-cores to Benares.
Pseudo-Herrscher of Flame core, Pseudo-Herrscher of Death core, Pseudo-Herrscher of Wind core, Pseudo-Herrscher of Thunder core.
A four-core Pseudo-Herrscher created by the five-core Herrscher Byakuya himself, Benares's current strength is almost on par with a normal Herrscher.
Most importantly, during this process,
It became her.
Benares, from a beast, became a human.
Byakuya used the authority of the Herrscher of Death to create a human body for Benares.
Beautiful long azure hair, sapphire-like blue eyes, delicate and proper facial features, a golden ratio figure, Bai's aesthetic was excellent. Benares had now become a super beautiful girl. (See picture)
And when the authority of the Pseudo-Herrscher and her own Judgment-class Honkai Beast power were integrated into this body,
A pair of blue and white dragon wings unfolded behind the girl, and a dragon horn grew on the right side of her head. In short, these Honkai characteristics also manifested.
Byakuya: "...Because it's cool, it's OK! From now on, your name is [Bella]. Please take care of me in the future, my Bella~"
Bella: "...Yes, Master, I am willing to turn into lightning, and I swear by my life and glory to protect you in the darkness of the eternal night. Whether you fall or not, Bella will always be by your side to protect you."
Even though she already possessed independent consciousness, her loyalty to Byakuya could not change in the slightest.
This was not the loyalty of a Honkai Beast to a Herrscher, but Bella's loyalty to Byakuya.
"Alright~ Then it's time to go back. We can't let Sirin and the others wait too long.
Bella