With a deafening roar of engines, a uniquely designed aircraft streaked across the sky like a stream of light, rapidly approaching from the distance.
Inside the surgical room, the lead doctor paused mid–C-section, tilting his head slightly as he squinted toward the sound.
"They're here? Perfect timing. We're almost finished on this end too."
Nagami muttered under his breath as he studied the fusion between the Origin Stone and the Herrscher Core embedded within Fengshuang Down.
A brilliant purple glow pulsed within it—like a flawless shard of amethyst glass.
His gaze turned contemplative.
With the Alpha Stigma Eye's analytical power, there should be no mistake in catalyzing a soul.
Yet, judging from the data feedback from the Apocalypse Virus, it seemed something unexpected might emerge.
When Nagami pressed for details, the Apocalypse merely replied: "It's still unclear, but rest assured—it will be a blessing for the King."
Well then, he thought with a faint grin, I'll look forward to it.
The aircraft arrived in the blink of an eye.
As the front hatch opened, a sultry woman with long burgundy hair stepped out and greeted Nagami with a familiar, teasing smile.
"So? Got a special mission for your big sis?"
She leaned casually against the cabin, resting her chin on the back of her hand, watching as Nagami fiddled with something.
"Don't tell me it's to help deal with those Honkai beasts over there?"
Nagami raised an eyebrow, feigning shock. "Oh? Since when did you unlock prophetic powers?"
Then, just as quickly, his expression softened into a warm, teasing smile.
"That's right. Your mission is to join us in taking down the Super-Judgment-Class Honkai Beast, Chiyou… and the Herrscher of Domination who's about to be born."
Himeko's eyes flew wide open.
Her expression looked like someone who'd just been struck by lightning—or worse, someone who'd just realized life was trolling her.
Beside her, Fu Hua's face also showed surprise… but it faded quickly.
She was used to Nagami's antics by now.
"You're joking… right?"
Himeko asked with a subtle note of doubt in her voice.
If Nagami had said it with a serious face, she wouldn't have believed him.
But the fact that he said it so casually, like he was just talking about the weather… 'That's when she knew he was dead serious.'
As a Valkyrie whose mission was to protect all that was beautiful in this world, Himeko never hesitated when facing the Honkai.
But even a fool could see the power gap between her and Chiyou—it was practically astronomical.
Technically classified as an A-rank Valkyrie, Himeko's actual abilities far exceeded that.
When equipped with the Crimson Core Armor powered by the Hyperion's energy supply, her Nexus system allowed her to skirt the edge of S-rank capabilities.
But even that level of power… against this thing?
It'd be like scratching an elephant with a toothpick.
She glanced toward the colossal beast in the distance—so massive that even the slightest movement sent shockwaves through the clouds.
Her expression turned to pure disbelief.
"You're not messing with me?"
"Of course not," Nagami replied with a playful squint and a grin. "Relax. I'm not about to let you walk into a suicide mission."
He didn't even flinch at her disbelieving look.
"I'm going to fully restore your body first. I mean, come on—there's no way that beat-up old frame of yours could possibly satisfy me."
Nagami's words, as usual, carried a flirtatious undertone when speaking with mature, beautiful women.
"Tch. Even with this so-called 'beat-up body,' I could still make sure you're the one stuck in bed."
Himeko scoffed and let out a smug laugh.
Seeing that Nagami and Fu Hua were standing atop a Honkai energy platform, she activated her aircraft's hover mode and leapt over to join them.
Fu Hua, listening to their exchange, felt a vein pop on her forehead.
'What the hell are they even talking about?!'
'Do they realize what's happening right now?!…Or am I the one who's out of touch?!'
After one last snarky comment, Himeko's tone finally shifted to seriousness.
"You're serious about this? Even if my body gets fully restored, the Nexus system alone won't be enough to inflict real damage on that monster."
"Who said anything about Crimson Eclipse?"
Nagami raised his hand, revealing a brilliant red gemstone swirling with radiant light.
"This version doesn't have Vermillion Knight: Eclipse. But what it does have… is a new character—The Herrscher of Flames. I bet everyone's gonna blow their crystals trying to pull her."
His words made no sense to either Himeko or Fu Hua, but they both instinctively latched onto the key phrase.
"The Herrscher of Flames?!"
They said in unison, their shocked expressions perfectly synchronized.
Nagami gave a smug hum.
"Yes."
A sharp snap of the fingers cut through the air, accompanied by a confident smile.
That expression alone made it clear—Nagami wasn't joking.
"Not just the Herrscher of Flames, you know. There's also the Herrscher of Sentience."
Nagami finally understood why people enjoyed speaking in half-truths.
It felt amazing to be cryptic, especially when he saw the matching looks of frustration on their faces
—The kind of expressions that screamed they were this close to punching him just to make him spit out the rest.
Himeko and Fu Hua—like mirror images—blinked at the smug, punchable smile on Nagami's face.
Both instinctively clenched their fists.
"Anyway, let's get to the main event…"
Nagami's gaze sharpened as it locked onto the towering behemoth in the distance—Chiyou.
The pure violet energy within the hexagram at his feet pulsed and cracked like real lightning, cutting through space itself and gathering toward a singular point:
The Herrscher of Domination, moments from being born inside Chiyou's massive form.
His expression turned solemn.
"I've got two newborns of my own to deliver. Mind sharing some of that milk powder with us?"
It sounded like a whisper, almost a joke.
But as Nagami extended both arms, something far more serious began to unfold.
The [Core of Void] floated from the glowing circle on his chest, its power pooling in his palms.
In his right hand, the Herrscher Core of Fenghuang Down, infused with the Apocalypse Virus, held the rapidly maturing soul of the Herrscher of Sentience.
In his left, the Crimson Plague Gem, now glowing with deep red intensity thanks to the unprecedented Honkai density over the Eastern Sea, pulsed with strange energy.
Within Nagami's unique vision granted by the Alpha Stigma Eyes, he saw the cocoon inside Chiyou—which had been greedily absorbing Honkai energy suddenly flare with radiant light.
In the next moment, a massive gravitational pull exploded from it, drawing in every trace of Honkai energy across the sea like a whirlpool.
"Now!"
Nagami's voice cut through the air like a whip.
The power of the Core of Void resonated with the Fenghuang Down Core and the Crimson Gem.
He clenched his right fist.
With his left hand, he pressed the Crimson Gem directly against Himeko's chest—over her heart.
In that instant, Fu Hua heard it—a faint, brittle sound echoing deep within her mind.
Like glass fracturing.
A previously still sea of consciousness surged violently, breaking apart like a shattered mirror.
Cracks—fine and far-reaching—spread across her mental landscape, followed by a soft crumble as shards fell away into nothing.
'Something had been born.'
Scarlet feathers shimmered into existence as the newborn Herrscher of Sentience began absorbing Fu Hua's staggering fifty millennia of memories.
Meanwhile, crimson hair twined with searing flame.
Himeko could feel Nagami's hand radiating enough heat to reduce her to ashes.
A torrent of energy surged from the Crimson Gem—wild and unrelenting.
Her body pulsed with blinding, magma-like radiance.
The air around them warped.
Steam hissed as ocean water boiled from the overwhelming heat.
The sky blurred under the intensity, and waves of heat began consuming the entire sea.
'BOOM!'
A thunderous blast tore through the heavens.
From Himeko's body erupted a radiant crimson light—flames of annihilation surging outward like a tsunami.
Burning particles of light condensed into Herrscher gear.
Crimson armor flowed into shape from pure energy, her Herrscher dress forming in flickers of molten brilliance.
Both she and the Herrscher of Sentience unleashed a terrifying gravitational force, stealing Honkai energy meant for the Herrscher of Domination and pulling it into themselves.
Just as Otto and Nagami had theorized, the Honkai Will had overcommitted its resources strengthening Chiyou and the forming Herrscher within.
It simply couldn't spare the processing power to corrupt Himeko or the new Herrscher of Sentience.
And Honkai energy—the fuel for all Herrschers was a fundamental rule of this world.
The Honkai Will couldn't stop it from flowing to newly born Herrschers.
Flame. Consciousness. Authority.
Their collision shook the world.
Explosions roared across the sky. Blistering winds ripped through the battlefield.
Ocean water, caught in the storm of energy, twisted into colossal whirlpools and shot up like dragon-spirals toward the heavens.
And thus…
The Herrscher of Flames.
The Herrscher of Sentience.
Were born.
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