"Holy crap! Is… is Chiyou really that massive?!"
Nagami and C.C. hovered several kilometers above the ground, a radiant platform formed from condensed Honkai energy shimmering beneath their feet.
C.C. gently lowered the Immortal Lord she was holding, her gaze fixed in stunned silence on the colossal beast that dominated the entire sky.
"This… I remember there being brief mentions in Fuxi's writings, but… Chiyou was never this big!"
Even Fu Hua couldn't hide her shock as she turned her gaze toward the towering monstrosity.
Reflected in her eyes was a mixture of awe and horror.
As someone who retained some scattered memories from her time as the red-plumed Immortal, she had a vague sense of her power at its peak.
And if this was truly what Chiyou had looked like back then… then forget sealing it—Fuxi, Nuwa, Ji Lin, and even herself combined wouldn't have stood a chance.
They likely would've all died trying.
"Honkai… just how much did you buff this thing?!"
C.C., that normally elegant and composed green-haired beauty, let loose a rare and unfiltered curse. Even the sky itself was being blotted out.
The beast's massive form slowly emerged from the ocean depths, and the enormous body alone caused the surrounding rivers to visibly recede, their water levels dropping at an alarming rate.
Compared to this, even Benares—another Judgment-class Honkai beast—was practically mosquito-sized.
There was no need for precise energy sensing.
Anyone could feel the crushing pressure radiating from Chiyou's mountainous frame, its surface lined with glowing purple patterns like molten lava coursing across stone.
Each line pulsed with an unimaginable concentration of Honkai energy, so dense that even the air distorted around it, warping reality with suffocating heat.
Waves of hot steam erupted from the East China Sea, generated by the sheer intensity of Chiyou's energy signature.
"Is… is that what Nagami meant by a Honkai beast?"
Tokisaki Kurumi floated up from the shadow dimension Nagami had created, her usual smirk nowhere to be seen.
For once, she was speechless, staring dumbfounded at the sky-blotting creature with a mix of dread and disbelief.
Don't tell her she'd have to fight this thing to gain powers from another world?
She glanced down at her two flintlock pistols and then back up at the beast—of which she couldn't even see the full shape.
Her mouth opened slightly.
Forget scratching it.
Would her attacks even register as a mosquito bite?
Nagami didn't let Inori Yuzuriha out of the shadow realm.
Kurumi, as a time-based spirit, might not hit hard, but her survival skills were second to none.
Inori, on the other hand—even if, Mana Ouma, took over her body— she wouldn't be able to tap into the full power of her Apocalypse Queen title.
Without the virus having spread globally yet, her strength was too limited, and bringing her face-to-face with this version of Chiyou would be pure suicide.
Fu Hua noticed the strange and almost surreal way Kurumi had appeared from Nagami's shadow and, naturally, cast him a questioning look.
"She's… a close friend of mine. Her name is Tokisaki Kurumi."
Nagami hesitated for a moment but didn't offer any more explanation. Now wasn't the time for backstories.
Fu Hua blinked in confusion at the overly brief introduction and turned her gaze to Kurumi, who simply smiled and nodded politely.
Under different circumstances, Kurumi would've teased him with something like,
"We just got married and already you're introducing me as a friend? How cruel, my dear husband~"
But in the face of this crushing pressure, even she wasn't in the mood to joke.
"That's…"
C.C.'s golden eyes shifted, replaced by a glowing hexagram of pure violet light.
Through her "Alpha Stigma Eyes," she saw something beyond the visible spectrum—an overwhelming torrent of pure light energy surrounding Chiyou.
"A Herrscher!"
Something was changing at the very center of the Honkai energy storm.
Having seen Mei transform into a Herrscher and having become one herself, C.C. instantly recognized what was happening.
But… that outfit—what even was that?!
Wait. No way. That can't be…!
The new Herrscher hadn't yet formed her full gear, but thanks to the Alpha Stigma Eyes, C.C. could clearly see the girl engulfed in Honkai energy.
Nagami had never seen her before.
She wore flowing yellow robes embroidered with dragons and phoenixes swirling in battle.
The hem rippled like golden waves, and her long sleeves floated high in the raging energy storm.
Her jet-black hair was tied back, and she wore an imperial crown adorned with a gemstone in its center.
Delicate golden tassels fell from both sides of the crown.
There was no mistaking it.
This was a girl tied to Chiyou.
Her traditional, Eastern appearance only confirmed Nagami's suspicions.
If he couldn't figure out her identity by now, he might as well have the IQ of a paramecium.
And then he saw it.
Floating behind her, glowing faintly with a dark golden hue, was a sword—an eerie blade radiating black and purple energy.
That was no ordinary sword.
That was the Xuanyuan Sword.
Forged from the core of the Tenth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Domination—it was one of the strongest weapons ever created.
A Divine Key imbued with the ultimate power to control.
Unlike most Herrscher cores, the Tenth Herrscher's cores were weaker and mass-produced.
So Dr. Mei forged each one into a Xuanyuan Sword and launched the Hyperion Soldier Project to train users who could wield them.
The Divine Key's shape could change depending on the user's transformation genes
—Fu Hua, for instance, evolved hers into the Taixu Grip once she unlocked its true power.
But this girl's version wasn't just any Xuanyuan Sword.
It contained the original core—the first and most powerful core of the Herrscher of Domination.
It held the powers of six different Herrschers: Lightning, Flame, Ice, and more.
And worst of all—its core was no longer embedded in the sword.
It was inside her.
The conclusion was inescapable.
"That was Herrscher of Domination energy!"
Nagami's voice dropped, his expression darkening like never before.
As a fellow Herrscher, he could feel her overwhelming power.
She was at least as strong as the Domination Herrscher that Kiana faced in the theater storyline of the game.
And she was still getting stronger—fast.
Everyone knew: the higher the Herrscher number, the more terrifying the power.
After all, the essence of the Honkai was to test humanity. And just like in school, each test got harder.
Because of Nagami's interference, this tenth "exam question"—the Herrscher of Domination—had appeared earlier than it should have… and was even more powerful than in the original story.
Now add to that a buffed version of Chiyou an apocalyptic creature born from a previous era's peak Herrscher level and "Judgment-class" almost felt like an understatement.
That thing could probably eat a Judgment-class like popcorn.
And now… both had appeared together.
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