"Ugh...!"
Irene's cries were gradually drowned out by the overwhelming agony churning within her body. The moment the Gem of Serenity merged with her, it brought not power, but a torrent of Honkai energy surging from the gem.
This energy far exceeded the limits her body could withstand. While her Honkai Adaptability was indeed off the charts—ensuring her cells wouldn't reject the Honkai energy modification—her Honkai Resistance had not kept pace.
Her resistance remained merely at a 'good' level. Now, faced with such a massive quantity of Honkai energy, her body simply couldn't bear the load.
Irene could feel her entire being screaming in distress. The reinforcement provided by her adaptability was far too slow to catch up with the destruction the Honkai energy was wreaking upon her body.
Yet, in the midst of this process, Irene suddenly felt a trace of relief. The piercing cold began to turn warm, actively starting to heal her cells.
However, the comfort delivered by this sudden healing made Irene feel somewhat drowsy. The will to persist, which had held strong during the pain, now collapsed at the first touch of comfort.
In her drowsy state, Irene seemed to hear her own voice ringing in her ears, but the tone was different from her usual one—it carried a strange, caring nuance.
Then, a streak of electric light flashed before Irene's eyes. As the lightning flickered, Irene instantly felt her body become much more comfortable.
[Leave the rest to me. Rest a while, my dear.]
[Kiana] looked at the now unconscious Irene and found she wasn't particularly anxious anymore. Although she didn't know exactly what God intended, since the Gem bestowed by God had selected a new envoy, then God must have His own reasoning.
Since her other half had chosen a new vessel, she could only obey God's arrangement.
[Kiana] crossed her arms and began to draw upon the surrounding Honkai energy. Her Core was still dormant and couldn't provide her with energy. At the same time, she needed the ambient Honkai energy to help her ward off the deadly black mist. After all, now that her 'half' had chosen someone else, she had no way to avoid this mist herself.
"Work hard, my new half~"
Just as [Kiana] was focusing on collecting the surrounding Honkai energy, hoping to activate her Core of the Herrscher of the Void, a massive gravitational force suddenly crushed down, pinning [Kiana] to the ground.
"What!"
"Heh, caught the little bug, didn't I?!"
Only then did an arrogant voice ring out from the side. [Kiana] turned to look.
A man wearing a shirt maintained a floating posture in the air, paying no heed to his footing. In his hands, two black spheres released the gravity that was suppressing [Kiana]'s body.
"Although you are just a bug from Schicksal..." The man looked down from above at [Kiana], whose eyes revealed anger, and then at the unconscious Irene lying on the ground.
Seeing the black mist emanating from Irene, a smile rose on the man's face. "But seeing as you've saved us quite a bit of effort, I'll spare your lives for now."
Didn't they do all this just to detonate the Gem of Serenity and artificially create a Great Eruption here, allowing the Gem to select its own adaptable host?
Although these Schicksal bugs had infiltrated the place, they had actually helped them out. Who would have thought it would be so convenient—that one of them would turn out to be the adaptable host for the Gem of Serenity?
This was truly a case of wearing out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it without any effort. It saved them energy, and they didn't even have to worry about how to locate the host later.
"A mere ant dares to act impudently!" [Kiana] tried to prop her body up, but the surrounding gravity made it extremely difficult to rise.
Confirming this, a golden light flashed in [Kiana]'s eyes. The Honkai energy she had struggled to absorb inside her body quickly coalesced into several Lances of the Void, which shot violently toward the man.
The man merely gave a dismissive glance. He prepared to manipulate gravity to block the spikes, but before he could even raise his hand, a gate of light suddenly appeared in front of the Lances of the Void, sucking them in.
"What?!"
Before the man could react, a small light opened again behind him. The Lances of the Void that had just vanished shot out, piercing directly through the man's heart and head.
"Just a replica imitating a Divine Messenger, yet you dare to act impudently." [Kiana] stood up, looking at the corpse that had fallen from the sky and crashed onto the ground, curling her lip in disdain.
This guy was definitely an idiot. He had sneaked over and successfully launched a sneak attack, yet instead of finishing it immediately, he had to stand there and run his mouth.
Moreover, she could sense that the ability he used also seemed to come from God, yet she sensed no proof of God's blessing on him—no Herrscher Core.
He was likely just like her current vessel—a replica created by humans to steal the authority of God.
"Oh my, such decisive action, my Senior~"
Irene's voice suddenly rang in [Kiana]'s ear. [Kiana] was about to dodge, but she saw a layer of electric light flash across her own shoulder.
Before [Kiana] could process what had happened, she instantly felt her spirit improve significantly. She seemed to hear the surrounding wind more clearly, and could even distinctly hear the sound of blood flowing from the corpse on the ground.
"You..." [Kiana] was just about to speak when she suddenly realized her body seemed to have slowed down drastically. She wanted to speak, her mouth opening and closing continuously, but it seemed she only squeezed out a single tone.
"Oh, oh, don't rush. Speak slowly. Although, right now you should feel like time around you is passing very slowly, right?" [Irene] wore a gentle smile on her face. The hand originally placed on [Kiana]'s shoulder gave a light push.
With just that light push, [Kiana] instantly fell over. She wanted to brace herself against the ground or stabilize her center of gravity, but her body reacted as if it had several seconds of lag—there was no response at all.
She had already hit the ground before her hands even began to move.
"You..."
[Kiana] felt her body being flipped over. She wanted to resist, but her body simply wouldn't obey her commands. Her eyes held anger and a deeply hidden panic.
This feeling of powerlessness reminded her of many memories—very terrible memories.
"I guess you want to ask what I did?" [Irene] still wore a smile, electricity flashing in her hand. "[I] call it 'Active Polarization'."
"As for your current state, I merely polarized your spirit. In other words, your current physical reaction speed cannot keep up with the speed of your mental thoughts."
"If I were to describe it using [My] memories... perhaps this usage could be called a 'Gold Experience'?"
As [Irene] spoke, lines of Mirror Sync appeared in her hand.
A simulated Oath of Judah appeared in [Irene]'s grip. Feeling the Power of Binding transmitting from Judah, [Irene] felt somewhat helpless. The other 'self' didn't get her Honkai energy restricted when using Judah. It seemed Judah still didn't trust her.
Whatever, no harm done. She would have to talk to them later anyway. Hopefully, 'Dear' wouldn't be angry.
[Irene] thought while forcefully extracting a chain from the simulated Judah and tying it around [Kiana]'s body. The mentally rampant [Kiana] wanted to resist.
But her body couldn't keep up with her actions at all. She could only watch helplessly as [Irene] tied her up. [Irene] even had time to tie a bow knot.
"You want to betray God! You traitor!" [Kiana]'s eyes were filled with rage, but the Power of Binding was already manifesting on her body.
Actually, if her spirit hadn't gone berserk, [Kiana]'s physical specs would have been enough to break open this counterfeit Judah.
But unfortunately, in her state of mental frenzy, even if [Kiana] wanted to move, her body absolutely couldn't keep up with her thoughts.
[Irene] listened to [Kiana]'s words and shrugged indifferently. "Anyway, among those behind us, few do any honest work. One more like me won't matter."
[Kiana] didn't understand Irene's words. By now, Judah's Power of Binding had begun to affect her, driving her back into the depths of consciousness.
"Besides, I only care about [Me]~" Irene patted Kiana's face, then looked up toward the outside of the vault. She heard footsteps; it seemed someone had arrived.
*
Underground Vault · External Corridor
Fu Hua's figure sped through the empty hotel corridor like a ghost, the Valkyrie armor on her body not fitting quite right. She made heavy, rapid sounds on the carpet.
There were no longer any regular bodyguards here. When the Honkai energy erupted, those bodyguards had already evacuated, so Fu Hua encountered no decent resistance.
After all, compared to Titans, those bodyguards were, in a sense, harder to deal with.
Fu Hua glanced at the miniature screen on her arm, confirming that the gathering point of the Honkai energy was underground—likely a place like an underground vault.
The fluctuations of Honkai energy were growing stronger, and the ominous premonition in Fu Hua's heart grew more intense. She knew very well what the only thing here was that could cause such a massive Honkai eruption.
Under normal circumstances, that gem shouldn't erupt suddenly without cause. Kiana's disappearance served as partial proof, a point that worried Fu Hua greatly.
"Kiana... Irene..." Fu Hua murmured the two names, her speed increasing again.
Just as she was about to reach the vault, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Before her eyes, it was no longer the mist formed by dense Honkai energy from before. Pitch-black mist pervaded the space below, and within that black mist, there was no longer any floor leading down.
Anything touched by the black mist vanished without a trace, as if devoured by it.
Fu Hua knew very well what the black mist before her was. It was the Authority of the Herrscher of Death.
Looking at that layer of black mist, Fu Hua took a deep breath. It seemed the situation was indeed heading in the worst direction. Perhaps Sirin really had resurrected within [Kiana]'s body.
Fu Hua casually snapped off a section of the handrail next to her and tossed it in. The moment the rail touched the black mist, cracks immediately appeared on its surface. It disintegrated in mid-air, then dissipated into the mist.
If she were to reach in, her body would inevitably be decomposed. The Valkyrie armor she wore couldn't withstand the decomposition of the black mist either; after all, this was the Authority of a Herrscher.
However, Fu Hua found it a bit strange. If it really was Sirin, why was there no movement yet? The black mist was also very calm, not looking like someone was controlling it.
Could it be that Sirin was currently adapting to the Authority? If so, she had to act quickly.
Thinking this, Fu Hua hesitated no longer. As for the black mist before her, she had a way.
Fu Hua began to circulate the Taixuan Sword Qi, gathering the surrounding Honkai energy into her fists. She had dealt with people possessing this type of ability before, and had even developed a technique specifically for it.
Just as Fu Hua was about to throw a punch to clear the black mist, a cynical voice suddenly rang in her ear.
[Looks like you've run into a bit of trouble, old friend.]
"Otto?" Fu Hua frowned, pressing her ear communicator to speak to the other side. "I'm very busy right now and have no time. If you have something to say, say it quickly."
[I know, I know. The situation seems to have indeed become a bit complicated.] On the other end, Otto didn't seem to feel particularly anxious.
[It seems our experiment can be considered a semi-success. Hmm, but if things continue to develop like this, the aftermath might be a bit troublesome.]
"..." Listening to Otto's words, Fu Hua furrowed her brows. "Have you been watching all this time?"
[Oh, no, not that,] Otto immediately denied Fu Hua's accusation. [I respect personal privacy very much, old friend. I merely discovered a massive Honkai energy gathering point next to you.]
[Besides, Wraith has already told me the situation.] Otto's voice remained unhurried. [Also, I have a piece of news to tell you. That Teacher Irene seems to be there too.]
Far away at Schicksal HQ, Otto swirled the red wine in his glass, the corners of his mouth maintaining that unhurried smile.
The current situation basically confirmed that Kiana could indeed accommodate a Herrscher Core. However, judging from Wraith and the observations via satellite, the situation remained normal.
Looking at it this way, she had likely only accommodated the Gem of Serenity, and Sirin's own will probably hadn't awakened yet. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this calm.
But no matter. As long as a step forward was taken, it was a good thing.
Otto wasn't anxious about this. Even if he were anxious now, it would be useless. The plan required taking one step at a time. As long as all the actors were in position and could take the stage perfectly, it was fine.
As for the fact that the Gem of Serenity had been absorbed and couldn't be retrieved—what did it matter? Confirming this fact could be considered the final function this gem performed for him.
After all, he was already clear that the Herrscher of Death didn't possess the power he had initially envisioned. Since that was the case, using it as a bargaining chip didn't matter.
Listening to the news from Otto, Fu Hua clenched her fists. [As you can see, if you don't want this city turned into ruins, help me out so I can clean up this mess.]
________________________________________
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