"BOOM!"
The moment Chen Li finished weaving the Benares doll and tossed it into the Guide's inventory, he felt his entire body jolt.
His consciousness slowly detached from the dreamscape, only to be met with an astonishing sight.
Sirin's body was levitating in mid-air. An immense amount of Honkai energy was pouring out of her, but it stopped expanding once it reached a ten-meter radius, forming a sphere that held her securely at its center.
"Whoa, holy shit, the Moonlight Throne!" The instant Chen Li saw the energy cannon on the chest of the distant humanoid mech, he understood everything.
This was the Moonlight Throne, mounted on the Arahato.
The Moonlight Throne was a weapon capable of converting Honkai energy into other forms of energy. It was used during the Previous Era's final battle against the Herrscher of Finality. When the Moonlight Throne's attack struck the Herrscher of Finality, it converted a portion of her internal Honkai energy (2%) into thermal energy.
When overloaded, the Moonlight Throne could no longer convert a Herrscher's Honkai energy into heat, but it could accelerate the rate at which it drained from their body. Approximately 30% of the Herrscher of Finality's Honkai energy was seeped into the moon's soil this way.
And in this current era, that same portion of Honkai energy manifested as the four gems (Herrscher Cores) gifted to Sirin by "God," completing a cycle.
However, the Moonlight Throne on the Arahato was imperfect. It could only force the Honkai energy to leave Sirin's body, and only within a paltry ten-meter range.
And Chen Li? Although he was also near Sirin, he had no Honkai energy in his body, so he was completely unaffected. Besides, he had his [Friends Circle] active.
Just as Chen Li was wondering what to do, the gems flickering with a strange light inside the ten-meter sphere caught his attention.
He suddenly had an excellent idea for how to pass the time.
"I'll fucking lick 'em all!"
Tearing off the Golden Homu King helmet, Chen Li grabbed a gem and started licking it, occasionally taking a bite of the overflowing Honkai energy next to him.
To Chen Li's palate, each Herrscher Core had a different flavor. Licking the Core of Wind was a bit chilly, the Core of Flame was spicy, the Core of Death was a little sour, and the Core of Thunder was kind of numbing.
Chen Li hadn't suddenly lost his mind. He was increasing his resistance to these Herrscher Cores. Even outside Sirin's body, within this sphere constructed of immense Honkai energy, the cores could still exert their power, which naturally meant they could increase Chen Li's resistance to their respective authorities.
But Chen Li felt this wasn't quite enough. So, out of greed...
He carefully gnawed a tiny piece off of every single Herrscher Core.
Just a little piece.
Except for the Core of Reason. The thought of Welt still hiding inside it made Chen Li hesitate to take a bite, afraid he might accidentally eat him.
And considering he would have to fight the Herrscher of Thunder after returning to the Previous Era, he took an even bigger bite out of that core, leaving a clear tooth mark.
However, just as Chen Li was holding the Thunder Core and contemplating whether he should bite it again to even out the mark, a giant hand suddenly reached into the massive sphere, grabbed him, and violently yanked him out, along with the Core of Thunder.
Chen Li looked up to find himself in the palm of the massive mech, Arahato.
The Core of Thunder was extremely hot and was melting Arahato's arm. This was normal; after all, this Arahato wasn't forged from Soulium.
When Chen Li saw the arm detaching from Arahato and flying off into the distance, he instantly used the Authority of the Void to teleport back near Sirin.
He didn't bring the Thunder Core back with him. He had no use for it anyway.
Chen Li could only hope that the bite he took and the tooth mark he left wouldn't cause any trouble or psychological trauma for the future Herrscher of Thunder.
Just as the colossal Arahato mech reached with its other hand to grab another Herrscher Core, the Honkai energy that had dissipated in the ten-meter radius around Sirin was rapidly being recalled, along with the cores inside it—
Sirin slowly opened her eyes.
The very first thing she did was reach out a hand toward the colossal Arahato and clench her fist.
The Arahato was instantly ensnared by countless subspace ribbons. Under the authority of the Herrscher of the Void, space shattered like a mirror, tearing the entire mech to shreds.
"Homu King." Sirin turned her head to look at Chen Li.
"Right here, right here. The rescue was a success. Benares's rationality and wisdom have been preserved," Chen Li said, holding up a doll.
"Well done." Sirin nodded, then slowly flew toward the wreckage of the Arahato.
The Arahato, which had been scrapped in a single blow by the Herrscher of the Void, now had its cockpit exposed. A blue-haired woman lay unconscious in the pilot's seat.
"Why must you ants always deceive me? Treating me like a lab rat, and that woman pretending to care about me!"
"It was you ants who nearly got Benares killed! Now it's your turn to feel despair."
Sirin floated in front of the blue-haired woman in the cockpit, opened her hand, and took out the Core of Reason.
"First, to make this sneaky traitor disappear completely!" Sirin viciously crushed the Core of Reason, then casually tossed it at the feet of the unconscious Dr. Einstein in the cockpit.
"..." Chen Li stared, stunned by the move.
Just as Sirin was about to make a move on the blue-haired woman, golden chains shot toward her. It was an attack from Theresa, wielding the Oath of Judah.
Sirin swiftly dodged the attack, but thick vines suddenly erupted from beneath her feet, binding her tightly. It was Cecilia, controlling Sirin with Abyss Flower.
"So you've come too, Cecilia? As I thought, your goal was to eliminate me all along."
Even though Theresa had attacked first, Sirin's attention was decisively drawn to Cecilia.
Cecilia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Cecilia! Siegfried! Both of you! Go spend some quality time in the Infinite Corridor!"
Enraged, Sirin paid no mind to the vines restraining her, breaking free instantly and unleashing the full power of the Herrscher of the Void.
Two black spheres instantly enveloped Siegfried and Cecilia, teleporting them to an unknown location.
"Long live the Queen!" Chen Li cheered from the side, waving a flag. The praise was endless!
To be fair, the oppressive presence of the Herrscher of the Void was truly enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Finding that Cecilia and Siegfried had vanished and she was left to face the enemy alone, the pressure on Theresa instantly multiplied. And next to the enemy was a bizarre, yellowish Homu King. Even the well-traveled Theresa had no idea where this thing had come from.
"Where did you send them?" Theresa demanded.
"I locked Siegfried and Cecilia up. I'll deal with them later. Let them die a little slower, feel a little more despair. It's the best punishment for them. And now, it's your turn." Sirin floated in the air, looking down on Theresa, who was even shorter than her.
"What's all this nonsense? Oath of Judah! Zeroth Power! Activate!"
Compared to the easily-provoked Sirin, Theresa clearly understood the principle of opening with an ultimate attack. Only rookies wait until they're losing to pop their ult to turn the tide; veterans pop it right at the start. You can't expect a character with no burst damage to clutch a fight at 1 HP and kill three full-health opponents, can you? Not that it would work even at full health.
Glory to the House of Ismal!
The Oath of Judah unfolded to its full power. Countless chained spears snaked out from it as giant gears materialized from thin air.
The God's Grace field activated!
The Second Herrscher, who had been clad in her Herrscher battlesuit, instantly lost all her power as the field deployed, reverting to the tattered, lab-garment-wearing young girl she once was.
The Key of Binding, Oath of Judah, could create a field within which all Honkai energy was nullified, and other forms of energy were weakened to varying degrees. It was a weapon designed specifically to counter Herrschers and MANTISes.
Our invincible Queen of the Void had stumbled yet again!
Of course, Theresa, who activated the field, wasn't much better off. As a clone created by Otto in imitation of a MANTIS, she was also suppressed by the God's Grace field. Just standing felt like it took all her strength. Fortunately, before coming to subjugate the Herrscher of the Void, she had returned to Schicksal for special training to resist the field's effects, otherwise she wouldn't be able to take any effective action at all.
Theresa held a single chain from Judah and hurled it viciously at Sirin, who was trapped in place by countless chain spheres.
However, due to the field's influence, the monstrously strong Theresa threw it crooked.
"It hurts!!! No!!!"
Having lost her Herrscher powers and feeling the agony of the God's Grace field, which felt as if her body was being torn apart, the familiar sensation stirred Sirin's darkest memories.
And when Theresa's stray spear stabbed into her thigh, it was the final blow that completely shattered Sirin's defenses.
"Don't hurt me anymore! DON'T!"
Avrora... Agata... Benares... save me...
"Benares! Homu King!" In her moment of utter helplessness, Sirin subconsciously called out the names of her two surviving retainers.
"Hm? I'm involved?" Chen Li, who had been planning to sit on the sidelines and eat some melon seeds since Sirin couldn't die anyway, was taken aback when he heard his name.
Although Sirin's Honkai energy vanished the moment it left her body, the Herrscher Cores were still inside her. As long as she had the Gem of Serenity, it was impossible for her to die.
"Whatever. Seeing as I've been by her side for so long and have grinded my Herrscher of the Void proficiency up to 80%..."
Flick!
Theresa, who had laboriously dragged her spear over to Sirin, was sent flying by a single finger, collapsing to the ground completely exhausted.
Chen Li crouched down, looked at Sirin, who had already resigned herself to dying once, and extended his hand...
...and ruffled her hair.
Sirin, who had been momentarily dazed by the sight of Chen Li's tall and reassuring figure standing strong within the God's Grace field, was instantly snapped out of it by the hair-ruffling. His next words nearly made her faint from sheer anger.
"Your Majesty, why is your hair pointy on both sides?" Chen Li asked with genuine confusion after trying to pat down the two sharp points of her hair and finding they wouldn't stay down.