Herman watched Ultraman King battling within the Warp. After receiving the psychic energy of countless beings and experiencing an explosive increase in power, Ultraman King was now thoroughly overpowering Dr. Primitive in his transcendent Mythical Qiongqi state. A strange feeling surfaced in Herman's heart.
This scene looks so familiar!
I feel like I've seen it somewhere before!
It was Ultraman Tiga, which I watched in my previous life... In the Ultraman Tiga series, the people of Earth lent their light to Tiga, allowing him to unlock his Miracle Form and defeat the Evil God.
And just now, the many deceased spiritual souls within the Warp lent the radiance of their psychic energy to Ultraman King, granting him new power and reversing the course of his battle against Dr. Primitive.
After Herman finished marveling at the sight, he saw Ultraman King attack with all his might. He raised one hand vertically in front of himself while holding the other horizontally across it.
Psychic Miracle Lightning Ray.
A torrent of psychic lightning erupted outward and slammed violently into Dr. Primitive's mythical body. In an instant, the enormous Mythical Qiongqi body exploded—literally exploded.
Sharp beast claws, a hideous head, and severed wings scattered throughout the Warp.
There was no doubt about the outcome of this battle. Ultraman King, who had received the blessing of the Warp's master and the power of all beings within the Warp, had won.
Countless souls throughout the Warp erupted into cheers at the sight.
"We won!"
"The righteous giant defeated the evil monster!"
"Yes!"
...
Listening to the cheers and then looking at the scattered remains, Herman could not help freezing in place.
Dr. Primitive died just like that?
Unwilling to believe it, he cast the Research System's Attribute Appraisal on the remains. The result quickly appeared.
Dr. Primitive Leviathan Slice · Qiongqi · Corpse Fragment.
Only then did Herman feel that things made sense. After all, Dr. Primitive was a genius whose intelligence surpassed that of ordinary people by countless times, not some reckless fool with more courage than brains.
Before breaking into the Warp, he must have prepared a trump card... The one who had died was merely one of Dr. Primitive's slices. In that case, there was nothing strange about it. Nothing strange at all!
With that thought, Herman turned toward Polka Kakamond. Her face was still completely covered in mosaic, making it impossible to discern any expression.
However, after Herman tossed an Attribute Appraisal her way, he successfully detected the emotions within the heart of Polka Kakamond, the Lord of Silence. They were filled with shock.
Indeed, at this very moment, Polka Kakamond's heart was shaken beyond measure.
She had never imagined that when The Herta faced Dr. Primitive's invasion this time, she would not even need to personally take action. Merely dispatching one of her creations had been enough to completely thwart Dr. Primitive's scheme and utterly defeat him.
Through the Knowable Domain, Polka Kakamond knew perfectly well that the spirit of the Plasma Spark Tower, Ultraman King, had been born less than twenty-four hours ago.
Yet in such a short span of time, Herta had temporarily strengthened him with psychic energy until he reached Emanator level. Just how absurd was that?!
According to the Knowable Domain's calculations, Ultraman King could currently wield this power only within the Warp.
But even that was absurd enough... because according to the Knowable Domain, the Warp was currently still in a period of rapid growth.
In the future, barring any accidents, the Warp would cover every region of the known universe. At that point, Herta's method of bestowing psychic blessings would become permanently effective!
When that time came, even if Herta had not become an Aeon, she would still possess an Aeon-like method of blessing living beings and transforming others into eternal Emanators!
More importantly, if Herta's psychic blessing could temporarily elevate Ultraman King to Emanator level, then could she also temporarily elevate Noah, Zagi, and the others?!
After thinking this far, Polka Kakamond clearly recognized one fact.
The Herta, this rising star of the Genius Society, had already surpassed many of the Society's long-established geniuses.
If she continued conducting research in the future, she would inevitably achieve further breakthroughs, creating ever more inconceivable scientific accomplishments... and growing ever stronger. At the same time, it would become increasingly difficult for Polka to take down The Herta, until eventually it became completely impossible.
As Polka Kakamond reached this conclusion, she heard The Herta's voice. "Polka, do you know how many slices Dr. Primitive has in the universe?"
"Of course. I possess the Knowable Domain. I only need to turn my thoughts toward the question to learn how many slices he has." Polka Kakamond raised her head and stared at The Herta. "Dr. Primitive previously had nine slices. But after you killed the doctor's Qiongqi Leviathan slice, only eight remain."
Hearing this, Herman's heart stirred as he silently thought.
In the game's story, Zandar One Kuwabara, Seat 1 of the Genius Society, left behind nine slices after his death. The very first slice to be revealed created and nurtured Irontomb, that terrifying Lord Ravager.
Dr. Primitive, Seat 64 of the Genius Society, is no less extraordinary than Zandar. He also created nine slices, and the very first one fused with the Leviathan Qiongqi.
Perhaps the remaining eight slices of Dr. Primitive that have yet to reveal themselves have fused with even more inconceivable species.
At the same time, he most likely hasn't abandoned his plan to seize the Plasma Spark Tower.
After all, Herman knew better than anyone that the original Plasma Spark Tower, before Herta upgraded it, truly could only create giants of light.
Only living beings who carried justice and light within their hearts could become giants after being illuminated by the Plasma Spark Tower.
As for living beings harboring negative intentions, once exposed to the light of the original Plasma Spark Tower, they would simply die, turning into ash and disappearing without a trace.
In a sense, Dr. Primitive's ambition of evolving every living being in the universe into a giant of light truly was achievable. It was just that more than half of all living beings in the universe would die in the process..
With that thought, Herman closed his eyes again and spoke to The Herta, whose soul remained inside the Simulated Laboratory. 'Everything happened just as you predicted. Dr. Primitive lost, and he lost completely. Even his slice was torn apart by Ultraman King.'
'That's good news. I also have some good news to tell you.' The Herta's soul smiled pleasantly.
Herman froze for a moment. 'What is it?'
The Herta said openly, 'I now have an idea for how to create existence-energy within this universe, and I've already successfully realized the concept inside the Simulated Laboratory. All that's left is to purchase the necessary materials and create existence-energy in the real world.'
'That really is good news. Send me the list of materials needed to construct existence-energy, and I'll order them from the Interastral Peace Corporation. Also, since we've thoroughly researched existence-energy, we can begin constructing the Warp · Soul Society.'
'Mm.'
The Herta nodded seriously in agreement.
Meanwhile, on another side, at a higher level and within higher dimensions, many Aeons had been paying the closest attention The Herta
They noticed the disturbance within the Warp and, without hesitation, cast Their gazes toward it.
They immediately witnessed the battle between Ultraman King and Dr. Primitive's slice. They saw the newborn Ultraman King erupt with Emanator-level combat power and successfully defeat Dr. Primitive's slice.
The sight surprised the Aeons.
From an Aeon's perspective, They could clearly see that Ultraman King was a newborn lifeform who had only just come into existence.
Yet he possessed such extraordinary combat power. That was extremely abnormal.
More importantly, Ultraman King had never embarked upon any Path.
And that meant Ultraman King's tremendous combat power was purely the result of The Herta's scientific research.
The Herta had already become capable of artificially creating Emanator-level combat power!
Emanator-level existences were exceptionally special even when viewed across the entire cosmos, and not even Aeons could simply ignore them.
Yet The Herta, with the body of a mortal, could single-handedly forge such combat power. While this shook the Aeons, it also made Them increasingly eager to see what The Herta might accomplish in the future.
...
Nous, Aeon of Erudition, was currently staring at Ultraman King while calculating and analyzing at a frantic pace.
"Psychic blessing. Ultraman King elevated into a Chosen Champion of the Warp! Possesses Emanator-level combat power within the Warp! In reality... incompatibility will occur, and the duration of his Emanator-level combat power will also be reduced to three minutes."
"This situation did not exist among the universe's originally calculated possibilities. Another inconceivable anomaly."
Nanook of Destruction was likewise observing Ultraman King, thinking silently.
'Herta has grown once again. She can already grant a newborn lifeform the combat power of an Emanator.'
'In the future, perhaps she will be capable of creating the most terrifying destruction!'
'For example, by using the golden blood of annihilation I previously gave her to create a magnificent destruction and death specifically targeting Nanook of Destruction!'
Nanook's philosophy held that the universe was destined for destruction, including Nanook Themself.
Only after everything experienced the greatest possible death and destruction could all things proceed toward rebirth!
Even though that reborn universe... would no longer contain any life from the old universe.
Elsewhere, Mythus, Aeon of Enigmata, also directed Their gaze toward Ultraman King and silently thought:
'The power that strengthened Ultraman King is psychic energy. It is a unique form of energy distinct from the Paths... and its upper limit has yet to be seen!'
'In Ultraman King's hands, this energy can defeat a genius of the Genius Society. In Herta's hands, it has even become a means of adjusting the gravitational systems of galaxies.'
'Without question, psychic energy is mysterious!'
After Mythus reached this conclusion, the Path began responding to the thoughts of Its Path's originator... surrounding Ultraman King and Herta and drawing them onto the Path of Enigmata.
Far away, Xipe, Aeon of Harmony, was also observing this place. The reason was simple. From Xipe's perspective, the wills of the countless beings within the Warp had unified at a certain instant, cheering Ultraman King on together and lending him the light of their psychic energy.
It was precisely because of this that the course of the battle shifted toward Ultraman King's victory.
In the eyes of Xipe, Aeon of Harmony, this meant Ultraman King had been walking the Path of Harmony, gathering the faith and wishes of the masses to invoke the final miracle and successfully defeat his enemy.
What a beautiful sight.
At that moment, Xipe's desire to obtain the race of giants of light, as well as their creator—The Herta—grew even stronger.
Of course, since Xipe had previously been warned by several Aeons, They did not personally descend to forcibly invite The Herta into the Family and make her a member of Harmony.
...
Far away, another slice of Dr. Primitive awakened from a hibernation pod, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.
"Primitive · Qiongqi Leviathan Slice entered the Warp and was killed. The newly risen genius The Herta truly is extraordinary... As expected of the rising star who completed her self-coronation and became an Emanator of Erudition faster than anyone else."
"However, all of this also proves that the Plasma Spark Tower newly developed by The Herta truly possesses tremendous value. Otherwise, Primitive · Qiongqi would never have charged into the Warp."
"But since he's already dead, it's time to begin a new round of planning. Once I've made sufficient preparations, I'll choose a time when Herta isn't home and invade again..."
Dr. Primitive began making his plans.
Meanwhile, Polka Kakamond was also speaking with Herta. "Herta, the Knowable Domain told me that the giants of light you created would eventually possess Emanator-level combat power in the future... Yet you've already granted Ultraman King Emanator-level combat power now. That exceeded my expectations."
Herman replied, "So your Knowable Domain still hasn't reached perfection."
Polka Kakamond did not deny it. She said calmly, "My Knowable Domain has only achieved partial omniscience... because true omniscience would inevitably come with omnipotence!"
"And an omniscient and omnipotent existence simply does not exist in this universe. Not even Nous has attained such a state."
"After all, if one were truly omniscient and omnipotent, then one would inevitably possess the power to settle everything and would naturally be the strongest existence in the universe!"
"And yet the current universe still has more than ten Aeons hanging high among the stars, with no clear difference in the intensity of Their radiance."
Polka Kakamond paused after saying this, then continued, "So I have a request. I want to research you."
"Research me?"
Herman's heart skipped a beat, and a thought involuntarily surfaced in his mind:
Has information about the Research System been exposed?!
Impossible. Even the Aeons have no way of discovering that I come from a higher dimension.
Calmly analyzing this... Polka Kakamond probably wants to research Herta's fate, which has already surpassed its original trajectory, as well as the many technologies she has developed that defy common sense.
After thinking this through, Herman calmed down and asked Polka, "I'm permanently based in The Blue's star system. Do you intend to stay here?"
"Mm. I want to stay." Polka Kakamond gave a slight nod. "I want to permanently reside within The Blue's star system, research the various technologies you've developed, and observe you as a person..."
"Of course, I can also pay a price for that. Let me introduce myself properly. I, Polka Kakamond, am not only Seat 4 of the Genius Society, but also the creator and administrator of Device IX's cosmic dark web. If there is any secret information you wish to know, you may ask me."
"The creator and administrator of Device IX's cosmic dark web?" Herman rubbed his chin. "I learned about that identity of yours long ago through certain special channels, and I think it suits you perfectly. After all, you possess the Knowable Domain. Even if your omniscience is incomplete, the informational advantage it gives you is still enormous."
"I really do have many questions I'd like you to answer."
"Ask whatever you want. I know ninety-nine percent of everything in the universe." Polka's voice brimmed with confidence. She was clearly extremely assured when it came to her own field of research.
Seeing this, Herman asked:
"I want to know whether Idrila, Aeon of Beauty, is missing or has fallen."
"I also want to know at what moment Nous' destined final end will arrive!"
"These questions aren't particularly difficult. You should be able to answer them, shouldn't you, Polka Kakamond?"
"..."