Kiana's Affection for Lin Yu Should Be High Enough by Now

"Of course I know what you mean. You probably haven't obtained that core yet."

"But I believe that with your power to seal Herrscher, no one else in this era is more suitable than you to Constraint Herrscher."

"You'll be my colleague sooner or later, so it's not a bad thing to be a little gentler with your future colleague now, is it?"

At this point, Hiyomaru, who had been facing off against Yae Sakura and Ji Lin, surprisingly put away his Himeko Jizo Mitama very obediently and gave Lin Yu a seemingly flawless smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to want you to completely trust me."

"I just want to move around in this virtual space. If you agree to my request, I can lend you a portion of my power."

After the vengeful spirit of 'Jizo Mitama' completely dissipated from everyone's sight, the scattered starlight left behind by the dissipating spirit actually gathered together and transformed into a katana exuding an evil aura, which floated beside Himeko.

"This katana is called [Jizo Mitama]. It was a weapon that a detestable woman from the past tried to forge using my core and some of my materials."

"It's a pity that she could only seal me away, not kill me, so she couldn't complete the weapon without my cooperation."

After saying this, Himeko actually manipulated the Divine Key and flew towards Lin Yu's body.

Looking at the katana floating before him, Lin Yu naturally did not touch the Jizo Mitama, but continued to maintain his calm expression, watching Himeko.

"What do you mean?"

"My meaning is very simple—I am handing over the core power to you, and in return, you must allow me to move freely within this space."

At this moment, the way Himeko looked at Lin Yu suddenly became incredibly alluring to Lin Yu.

"See? With this katana, you can control anyone you want in the outside world."

"Even if you corrupt those young girls and turn them into your captives in that area, it's just a matter of one strike."

"With this katana, you can corrupt any enemy and make them your servants—or their victims."

"This deal shouldn't be considered a loss for you, right?"

"Indeed, this deal was a huge win for me..."

To Ji Lin and Yae Sakura's utter astonishment, Lin Yu actually gripped the katana like a complete idiot.

Upon seeing Lin Yu make this move, Himeko immediately said happily.

"I knew you would make this choice, so—"

"—Provided that you don't trip up this katana."

The moment Lin Yu grasped the katana, he covered it with Phantasm Lantern Barrier, completely sealing its power.

"You...!"

Seeing Lin Yu's actions, Himeko, who thought she had successfully bewitched him, suddenly became annoyed and said.

"Foolish! With this katana, you could become the king of this world!"

"In a sense, that's true, but the problem is..."

At this moment, Lin Yu suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"—Who gave you the illusion that I need it?"

"You said this katana can corrode everything, and even make my companions my prisoners in that area?"

"Please, what year is this? Why are you still using such a low-level tactic?"

Having completed the sealing technique, Lin Yu suddenly put his hands on his hips with immense confidence and spoke to Himeko in a pretentious manner.

"Do you really need something as low-level as Jizo Mitama girls?"

"I'm super handsome, okay! As a handsome, sunny, and cheerful guy, they really like me."

"My harem and I are deeply in love, and we have no need for this broken sword to ruin our relationship!"

[Host, just wondering, how are you feeling mentally?]

[Is this something you would say? Are you really going crazy from the pressure?!]

What you're saying is true; apart from being a little tired, I'm in great spirits.

This girl seems to have some brains, but not many—even if I didn't notice the energy fluctuations above, her sudden act of giving me power was enough to put me on my guard.

Furthermore, given that her power is the power of Erosion Herrscher erodes all things, if I were to actually believe her, I would be an idiot.

[Oh, that makes sense, but what does that have to do with the things you're saying now, things that sound like they'd come out of a trance?]

Hey, what do you think of me?

[His moral standards aren't low; let's just call him a good person for now.]

Yes, but that's only how I am with people I feel I should be polite to.

Actually, I'm extremely petty.

This little girl actually dared to treat me like an idiot and fool me, so I'll definitely find a way to make her angry.

It's just saying a few words and being a smooth talker; I do that every day—it feels good to say something, so why wouldn't I do it!

Yes, that makes sense.

[As expected of the outrageous Honkai -talker, even at a time like this, he's thinking about launching a mental attack on the enemy?]

"You, you, you—you bastard! Give me back my core!"

"No, you should go back to sleep. The organization will remember your contributions."

After covering the other person's body with the Phantasm Lantern Barrier, Lin Yu looked at the girl who was frantically talking but had been silenced by his magic spell with the Phantasm Lantern Barrier. At this moment, she made a very mischievous face.

Having just had his power taken away by Lin Yu, Himeko felt even angrier now.

She had finally gathered her strength and found an opportunity to try to erode the other person's body with both words and power, thereby achieving her ambition of taking over the other person's body.

But—hey, why is it okay when he touches the handle of the knife with his hand!

That's my core!

Give me back my core!

"Alright, let's ignore that guy."

At this moment, after sheathing his katana, Lin Yu looked at Ji Lin, who shouldn't have been there.

"Ancestor Ji Lin, can you now tell me why you were able to manifest here?"

"... Perhaps it's because the power within this Stigmata is too great."

At this moment, Ji Lin, recalling his previous experiences, said thoughtfully.

"After I gave you my Stigmata, it should have completely disappeared."

"But after your Stigmata and Stigmata suddenly merged, the soul fragments residing within the Stigmata were actually strengthened."

"I am not Ji Lin in his true form now, but merely a remnant soul."

"However, within this Stigmata Space, I sensed a power that was not Honkai Energy flowing, so I borrowed this power to complete my 'regeneration'."

"But..."

At this point, Ji Lin suddenly showed a hint of guilt.

"I borrowed that power, so the seal on this Herrscher has also loosened."

"By the time Ms. Yae Sakura and I realized something was wrong, it was too late. That's why we used the power of the Stigmata together to 'summon' you."

Hmm, let me think about it.

The power I sealed away for Himeko was actually the Phantasm Lantern Barrier.

While I usually only use the Phantasm Lantern Barrier to alter other people's perceptions and weaken the enemy's power, if used well, this barrier can locally change reality.

The Phantasm Lantern Barrier in the original work did something similar.

Ji Lin was originally a fragment of a soul within a Stigmata, so it's not surprising that he unconsciously used this power to revive.

Sigh, anyone can win the revival match.

Only that man, once he left, was truly gone.

"Ancestor Ji Lin, please don't make that face."

Seeing the guilty look in Ji Lin's eyes, Lin Yu spoke to Ji Lin and Yae Sakura.

"The situation is urgent now, and I think it's actually a good thing to have one more person guarding the place."

"This Herrscher may not have been inherently bad, but now she is undoubtedly an enemy of humanity."

"If a similar incident were to occur again, please continue to notify me immediately."

There's already enough trouble outside, and now we also have to continue suppressing Himeko here...

Tsk, even with the Phantasm Lantern Barrier in place, I can still feel the powerful fluctuations emanating from the Herrscher Core.

With my current strength, I am not capable of perfectly sealing and controlling this katana.

Only after I can wield the power of this katana...

—That's when my chances of winning against Otto will increase significantly.

.

Chapter 163. Kiana's favorability towards Lin Yu should be high enough, right?

When Lin Yu's consciousness returned to the real world, he could feel that he had made a connection with something.

However, considering that there might be surveillance cameras installed by some man in the rest room at the Schicksal Headquarters, Lin Yu certainly wouldn't dare to do anything reckless.

He had no idea what information Otto had seen in the Void Archive's database.

Now, if Lin Yu were to summon a strange katana in a place where Otto might see it, that would be very strange.

If Otto had seen the design blueprints for Jizo Mitama and instantly remembered its purpose, then things would be in serious trouble.

Even if Otto were even slightly paranoid, after seeing Lin Yu summon the katana, he would use Feathered Dust to hypnotize Lin Yu and then make Lin Yu summon the weapon in front of him.

If Lin Yu doesn't reveal it then, all the past pretense will be exposed.

If Lin Yu were to take it out, would Otto, who could summon the Key of Corruption and was capable of killing Cecilia Qigfly, let Lin Yu go?

It's true that Jizo Mitama is a hard counter to Otto, but only if the user can perfectly control Jizo Mitama.

Although Lin Yu is much stronger now than he was fifteen days ago, the strength he possesses is due to the skills and items he has acquired, combined with the techniques he has honed in his dreams.

The overall improvement in his strength gave him the power to fight against Herrscher.

However, this does not mean that some of his shortcomings do not exist.

Even a veteran A-Class like Shigure Kira, who used to possess the Black Abyss White Flower, would have her arm eroded by the Divine Key.

If Shigure Kira hadn't been thrown into some strange place in the past, according to the Valkyrie ranking criteria of Schicksal, she would definitely be an S-rank no less than Rita.

Even someone like this would experience a huge burden if they touched the core of the Black Abyss White Flower, which was already 'dead'. Using this example as a reference, Lin Yu felt that he should not be too arrogant in this regard.

Moreover, this core is still 'alive', and the Key of Erosion's corrosive power can unconsciously erode the bodies of others at a speed far exceeding that of the Key of Creation.

I got the ace, but I can't use it.

No, we shouldn't think of it that way.

No matter how strong the corrosive power of the Key of Erosion is, in essence it is still the corruption of the body by Honkai Energy.

If I wrap my right hand in holy blood, it might slow down the Key of Erosion's erosion of me.

But it's not good to keep cutting yourself every day...

As expected, I still need more HSN Serum.

Before I traveled through time, I just thought this serum was pretty amazing.

But looking back now, Dr. Mags a genius that even someone like Otto, who considered himself the smartest person in the world, would genuinely admire.

Otto would never praise a traitor who betrayed him if he hadn't produced a truly outstanding creation.

As the holder of the Divine Key, which possesses the Void Archive, Otto's research and development tends to rely more on the technology of Previous Civilization for improvement and technological replication.

But Dr. Mags, who basically has no access to that database, is capable of creating something like this...