Under normal circumstances, a Herrscher awakening happens in the blink of an eye.
When Bronya received the Core of Reason in the original, she evolved into her dual-turbine duck form almost instantly.
If Nagami hadn't intervened, Raiden Mei's transformation into a Herrscher would've also completed within moments.
It was Nagami who intercepted that wave of Honkai energy, causing the Gem of Conquest to stall in its evolution.
Lacking the necessary power to become a Herrscher core, it remained in a prolonged state of energy absorption.
Now, the Herrscher of Domination—was about to awaken early, but again nothing about this was normal.
First, because this particular Herrscher awakening wasn't even part of Honkai's original plan.
Second, because Jin Li herself was no ordinary human.
The Will of Honkai required time to specially modify her body to accommodate and contain more power.
That process wouldn't take forever—but it wouldn't be instantaneous either.
Now that Chiyou had swallowed the light cocoon containing the nascent Herrscher, there was no longer any way to prevent her birth.
In that case...
Why not use this precious time to prepare something big?
Something that might—not just might, definitely—make a huge difference!
Nagami once used it once in the Date A Live world a railgun that fired using Earth's magnetic ield as its launcher.
Even without charging, that railgun had been enough to vaporize DME's most powerful battleship without leaving a single scrap behind.
If C.C. had enough time to charge it properly, its destructive power could reach planetary levels.
Blowing up a moon? Not a problem.
But when it came to fighting humanoid enemies, that attack was practically useless.
The wind-up was way too long, and no villain would just stand there like an idiot waiting to be hit.
Worse still, the railgun needed a precise firing angle—screw that up, and you could end up nuking the world before the villain even gets the chance.
With all these constraints, C.C. had written it off as impractical in the Honkai universe.
She was the Herrscher of Reason, sure—but she wasn't about to destroy the world herself.
Still, this might just be the one scenario where that attack was perfect.
Chiyou's newly empowered form was massive. More dangerous, yes—but also the perfect target.
Plus, since it was stationed offshore in the East China Sea, even a high-powered railgun blast wouldn't do too much damage to the mainland.
Violent winds whipped her skirt around as C.C. hovered in the sky, golden eyes narrowed at the ruined city below.
More Valkyrie squads had arrived for the rescue operations. For now, at least, the situation on the ground was under control.
"This spot'll do."
Blue-purple electric arcs danced along her green hair.
Dozens of micro magnetic threads coiled around her right hand, spiraling outward into the air.
She closed her fist.
Dense electromagnetic strands twisted the space around her into a massive fold.
Steel and concrete from the city streets surged toward her like a tidal wave—scrap metal from ruined buildings drawn in by magnetic force, flowing over the roads and rising past high-rises.
C.C. didn't need to create new materials out of thin air using her powers—just repurposing what was already here saved time and energy.
A soft cyan glow shimmered around her as she conjured a few key components from scratch.
Some parts couldn't be salvaged—they had to be made.
Slipping a delicate hand into her chest, she pulled out the Core of Reason.
Her gaze lifted to the skies.
Under her golden eyes, the overcast heavens came alive with streaks of lightning.
Thunder cracked and rolled across the sky, warping the very air.
The Tesla Earth–Ionosphere Resonance Chamber roared to life—drawing limitless energy from the ionosphere, funneling it into the growing cannon before her.
The Super Electromagnetic Railgun—charging sequence: commenced.
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Meanwhile…
"How likely is our plan to work?" Nagami asked, brows furrowed.
"With my knowledge of the Honkai Will… over 70%," Otto replied with theatrical calm—his words flamboyant, but his confidence absolute.
"More than half… Good enough."
With that, Nagami ended the call and flew back to the others.
"What's our next move?" Fu Hua asked.
She had overheard the first part of the conversation with Otto.
But afterward, Nagami had kept avoiding her eyes, almost as if he were dodging her.
Puzzled, she looked at the black-haired teen deep in thought.
Had she still been in her prime as the legendary Immortal Red Kite, she might've been able to deal a serious blow to Chiyou.
But now? Even with the Shadow Knight armor equipped, Fu Hua could barely put a dent in that beast.
Against a monster that size, ordinary punches and kicks were like tickling it.
And there was no way she could pull off techniques like Fleeting Ember, Mysterious Spirit or Taixu Sword God in her current state.
Her only hope now was to rely on Nagami.
"Otto's already issued the order," Nagami said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "All main fleet-class warships are en route. Don't worry. We're not letting that thing set foot on Shenzhou."
"And C.C. is already preparing a railgun blast strong enough to actually damage Chiyou."
He tilted his head toward the horizon, eyes sharp.
"Until the cannon is fully charged… it's up to us to stall it."
A blue meteor streaked in from the direction Nagami was watching.
Howling wind swept past her fair skin, rustling her bangs wildly and tugging at her long golden hair like a flag in a storm.
Arriving on the scene was Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie—Durandal.
Just like Nagami, she was one of the few capable of flight faster than any aircraft. Naturally, she had flown here herself.
"What's the situation?"
No wasted words.
Her piercing gaze locked onto the massive beast looming in the distance, as if it were waiting for something.
In her eyes, a glimmer of molten gold shimmered like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"As you can see," Nagami replied, "conventional attacks are basically useless against that thing."
Kurumi had already tried using her twin muskets, which—while they looked like something out of a stage play—fired bullets powered by spiritual energy.
They weren't much weaker than regular energy attacks.
But Chiyou had only glanced at Kurumi. Literally just one look.
Then it casually swung its massive, barbed tail—hundreds of meters long—like it was swatting a fly.
Kurumi was knocked aside like a toy.
'Girl, what are you doing? That's not the kind of scratch damage we need!'
Chiyou hadn't bothered chasing her.
Nagami figured it was because Kurumi had stopped attacking quickly enough.
After all, if a fly lands on you for a second and flies off, who bothers hunting it down—especially when you've got bigger things to deal with?
"Inside that thing, a new Herrscher is being born," Nagami added.
That Herrscher… could very well emerge with the combined powers of six others.
He didn't say it out loud, though.
Nothing was confirmed yet—and saying it would just be jinxing it.
If he had the power of Grandpa Huang to pull off reverse-jinxes, maybe he'd risk it. But unfortunately, he didn't.
Durandal didn't respond with words.
She silently extended her delicate hand, summoning a sleek white spear into her grip.
This was the 6th Divine Key, forged from the core of the Sixth Herrscher of the Previous Era—the Herrscher of Death.
It was the symbol of Schicksal's mightiest Valkyrie.
The weapon had two forms:
The white spear, Bright Blossom, inherited the power of creation and regeneration.
The black spear, Abyss Flower, held the power of decay and disintegration.
"Let's go."
She hefted the Divine Key, expression fierce and determined.
That was always her way—face the Honkai beasts head-on.
Nagami pulled Inori Yuzuriha from the shadow space and sent a command through the Apocalypse Network.
Inori's pure glassy eyes flared with crimson light, and Mana Ouma clung coyly to Nagami's arm.
"Mana, Kurumi, help out with the city evacuations," Nagami said.
Kurumi's Fourth Bullet, the one that could reverse time for anyone it hit, would be invaluable for saving civilians.
As for Mana—she might not be strong enough now to face Chiyou directly, but she could still deal with minor enemies without issue.
Nagami turned to Kurumi, who was still staring blankly at Chiyou.
He clapped her lightly on the shoulder.
"All your spent 'time' will be fully reimbursed."
He had originally planned to say double reimbursement, but knowing Kurumi, she'd probably claim double anyway. So he wisely kept quiet.
"Fu Hua, you go with them too."
Thanks to quantum transmission tech, Fu Hua was now equipped with the Shadow Knight: Moonblade battlesuit.
Its boosters allowed short bursts of flight, but that was nowhere near enough to fight Chiyou.
Worse, the suit was designed specifically for Fu Hua's fighting style—almost entirely lacking in ranged attack options.
Fu Hua stood silently, looking between Nagami and Durandal.
Then, with a heavy expression, she nodded.
But inside, a wave of bitterness welled up.
'Have I really... become this weak?'
In a battle of this scale, she couldn't contribute anything meaningful.
Even wearing high-tech armor, she was effectively sidelined.
Once, as the legendary Vermillion Knight, she would have been on the front lines, clashing with the beast blow for blow.
Now… she could only rely on others.
Nagami quietly observed her dim expression. He could guess what she was thinking.
Protecting this land had nearly become her obsession and now she was powerless to do so.
If not for the betrayal of her idiotic disciples, Fu Hua—the Red Kite Immortal—wouldn't be in this sorry state.
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