Over the Eastern Sea.
"Waaah! Onii-chan! Are you okay?!"
A tiny, fairy-like creature no larger than a figurine zipped toward C.C. the moment she materialized, her delicate face full of panic.
Higokumaru, of course, was well aware of Nagami's dual existence.
"Nagami!"
A panicked voice rang out.
The shrine maiden with cherry blossom-colored hair, now fully manifested, stared in disbelief at the green-haired girl who had been split clean in two.
Her beautiful face was frozen in shock and denial.
Sorrow and rage surged from within her heart.
With a tightening motion of her right hand, the eerie crimson glow around her faded, and in its place appeared a blazing red demon blade—Crimson-Dyed Sakura.
"Ahhh!"
Yae Sakura, overwhelmed with fury, unsheathed the blade in a flash and charged upward, swinging her weapon toward the Herrscher wielding the dark golden sword above.
"Sakura, don't!"
C.C.'s intact half immediately reached out and grabbed the shrine maiden's pale hand.
At the same time, her other half swiftly seized Higokumaru.
With a startled yelp from the little fox, they shot through the air at high speed, retreating toward Nagami.
Only after putting more than ten kilometers between themselves and the Herrscher of Domination did they finally stop. C.C. turned toward Yae Sakura, her expression stern.
"Don't rush in recklessly. That Herrscher's power far exceeds anything we imagined."
Yae Sakura stared at her in shock, a lingering fear in her eyes.
Watching as the green-haired girl's body, once split in two, was seamlessly knitting itself back together.
Her body wrapped in luminous blue particles like the flames of an immortal phoenix—was overwhelming.
Gripping the fabric of C.C.'s left shoulder, Sakura pulled her close, burying her face in the crook of her neck and embracing her tightly.
"Thank goodness... you're okay."
Seeing Nagami's female form sliced in half the moment she emerged had nearly given her a heart attack.
"I'm not that easy to kill."
There was no need to elaborate on the Herrscher of Reason's survival skills.
Getting sliced in two? For C.C., such an injury didn't even warrant using her Code.
The green-haired girl could feel the other's body trembling slightly in her arms.
Shaking her head, C.C. gently stroked Yae Sakura's back and turned her gaze toward the little fox, who was patting her chest with a relieved expression.
Her golden eyes flicked back and forth between Yae Sakura and Higokumaru.
As if suddenly realizing something, her pupils widened slightly.
Shimmering violet light burst out, forming a radiant hexagram in midair.
At the same time, several identical magical circles appeared around Higokumaru.
"Eh? Onii-chan, what's all this? What are you doing?" the little fox blinked curiously, cautiously reaching out to touch one of the magic circles.
Then she quickly shook her head—now wasn't the time for questions like that.
"What!? Who was that person just now? Why do they look so much like..."
"A Herrscher."
C.C. cut her off before she could finish, releasing Yae Sakura from their embrace and stepping back slightly, her expression solemn.
"That was the Herrscher of Domination, wielding seven cores."
"Se-Seven... seven cores?!"
Both Sakura and Higokumaru shouted in unison.
The sheer disbelief was written all over their faces.
"We're doomed! Is the world gonna end?!"
Higokumaru clung to the fabric on C.C.'s shoulder, yelling at the top of her lungs.
Most of her chaotic memories had been wiped out by Nagami's nuclear detonation in the stigmata space, but she still vaguely remembered what a Herrscher was.
Sakura's expression turned equally horrified.
Seven cores? Just how terrifying was that?!
"But it's not completely hopeless," C.C. added, still working through the analysis spell around Higokumaru.
She offered a small, reassuring smile.
"We're not entirely defenseless. With the Herrscher of Reason, Herrscher of Thunder, Herrscher of Flames, Herrscher of Sentience.
Plus a combat power on par with a Herrscher—our S-rank Valkyrie Golden Airhead—we still have a fighting chance."
Uhh...
Due to unresolved Karen-related issues, Sakura had been hiding in the stigmata space, refusing to face reality and completely unaware of what had been happening lately.
But hearing Nagami list all those Herrschers in rapid succession caused a visible twitch at the corner of Yae Sakura's eye.
Her brain began to throb.
Just what in the world happened while she was gone?
Had several years passed outside without her knowing?
How else could there be this many Herrschers now?
And the most ridiculous part—they were all on humanity's side?!
"There's no time to explain," C.C. said, voice grave. "Even with five Herrscher-level forces, we might not be able to defeat the Herrscher of Domination."
She had felt it in that one slash that split her in two—Ji Lin's (Ji Xuanyuan) power had undergone a complete qualitative transformation.
With seven cores and the boost from Honkai, the Dominator had reached a whole new tier.
"No way..."
That strong?
Before Sakura could finish her sentence, a massive black pillar of light erupted in the distance, piercing through the sky.
She froze.
The rest of her words caught in her throat.
Clouds across the entire sky billowed in waves from the shockwave, and even from beyond the horizon.
One could feel the overwhelming killing intent—it was like witnessing the wrath of a god.
"Whew... looks like it's starting."
C.C.'s face turned visibly grim, though she finally managed a short breath as her Alpha Stigma Eyes finished its analysis.
She reached into herself and drew out the Void Genome, then turned to Higokumaru.
Under the little fox's confused gaze, she calmly extended both hands toward her.
"This might hurt a little... so hang in there."
"Eh? Big bro, what are you— AAH!"
Higokumaru's scream was cut short.
The Void Crystals snaked through C.C.'s slender fingers, unraveling into red-black ribbons that wrapped around the tiny fox.
Her petite body immediately dissolved into a swirl of deep crimson energy, merging with the Void Crystals like glowing particles of dusk.
In C.C.'s now-empty hands, a magnificent black-and-red tachi sword materialized—Jizō Mitama.
But even that soon unraveled, consumed by the same sinister void light, dispersing into an ominous black mist as the crystals devoured it too.
Brilliant light flared—radiant and cosmic—like violet-blue stars suspended in the night sky.
Crimson and pitch-black particles whirled together under this power, coalescing into a pure, authentic Herrscher-level energy of Erosion.
As the power of the Void surged, a distinct halo appeared on Yae Sakura's chest.
Under C.C.'s control, that dark crimson light flowed into it like a tide.
At the same time, subtle changes began to take shape in Sakura's iconic red-and-white shrine maiden robes.
The fabric shifted, as though morphing into flowing light particles.
"What... is this?" Sakura furrowed her brow in surprise.
"Herrscher of Corruption Trial Mode," C.C. replied calmly.
"The previous era's Herrscher of Corruption has been fused with the Herrscher core inside Jizō Mitama.
Using my power—and your deep connection with Higokumaru—I can let you temporarily become a Herrscher of Corruption."
As she explained, C.C. reabsorbed the Void Genome core back into her body.
Her six-pointed star eyes turned toward the towering black pillar of light erupting from the direction of the Herrscher of Domination.
That deep, shadowy radiance resembled an endless drop into the abyss—everything it touched was swallowed by darkness.
It was like the descent of some mythical titan.
Even the agonized roars ringing out from the battlefield seemed faint in comparison.
Chiyou was struggling to move its mountainous body.
Every shift sent up waves the size of tsunamis.
If the railgun blast hadn't already vaporized a massive amount of seawater, the colossal beast's body might have flooded the ocean just by sinking into it.
There was a gaping wound nearly five kilometers wide in the center of Chiyou's torso, black and purple particles still leaking from its edges.
If this had been the original Chiyou that railgun blast would've reduced it to ash without a trace.
But now, it had survived a direct hit to its vital core.
That alone spoke volumes about how drastically Honkai had amplified its strength.
The Herrscher of Domination's energy wrapped around Chiyou like countless threads of dark gold light, devouring the beast in a swirling storm of corruption.
"There it is...!"
Through the unique vision of her Alpha Stigma Eyes, C.C. could see it happening—the massive body shrinking, bit by bit, under the compression of Domination's power.
Meanwhile, the power of the Herrscher of Death flowed in, rapidly accelerating Chiyou's regeneration.
The already dense Honkai energy around the creature grew even more intense, shimmering with an unholy beauty.
The energy alone radiated such overwhelming heat that the surrounding seawater took on the color of death.
Finally, Chiyou was compressed into a size small enough for a human to ride.
It threw back its head and let out a thunderous roar, shattering the ocean around it.
The water surged skyward, forming a torrential curtain of rain.
Then the beast leapt into the air, its massive limbs striking the void like stones dropped into still water—each landing sent ripples across the fabric of space.
It landed beside Ji Lin, who wordlessly mounted the beast.
Her cold gaze pierced the atmosphere like a lance, cutting through the distance between worlds.
Her target: Nagami
The dark golden sword in her hand slowly rose—gleaming with deadly intent.
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