The Power of the Demon, Dwelling Within

To be honest, even if Lin Yu was afraid of death, he wouldn't start scaring himself after gaining a certain level of strength.

Especially when the system explicitly states that ordinary Herrscher pose no threat to him, Lin Yu really has no choice but to consider other possibilities.

In this world, there are only a handful of beings whose strength surpasses that of ordinary Herrscher.

The Soviet Union is an ally; let's push them out first.

Siegfried is also an ally, and Welt, who is very close to him, certainly wouldn't be so bored as to attack him.

Otto... Otto probably doesn't know his true thoughts yet. In this situation, Otto is probably the person most worried about Lin Yu's safety in the world, so the person who poses a threat is probably not him.

Putting aside those extremely low-probability events, Lin Yu now has to face the fact, no matter how unwilling he is.

Kevin, it's definitely Kevin's out.

But if it's Kevin...

—Is Kevin only worth one [Advanced Skill Book Lottery Ticket]????

"That's obvious. They're not going to be so bored as to try and kill you."

[You've improved to this extent in less than three months. If there were enough time, Kevin would probably treat you as a key player and train you relentlessly.]

Oh, that makes sense.

In the original story, when he faced the coreless Bronya and the weakened Old Yang, he did not take advantage of their vulnerability to kill them.

Logically, he should have tried to persuade me to join World Serpent first, and then I could decide whether to refuse.

I won't refuse to join World Serpent directly, then he'll have no reason to beat me up, right?

Would you do this?

Nonsense, that's Kevin Kaslana.

Is it shameful to play dead in front of this man?

That makes sense, but... hehehe.

The reward has been given to you; the rest is up to you.

[This system will make an exception and give you a hint—don't forget, something's definitely wrong with this world.]

After that sentence, the system did not say anything more to Lin Yu.

After the system went offline, Lin Yu instructed Mike to keep a close eye on any follow-up information from headquarters while he used the strangely obtained lottery ticket.

With a flash of purple light mixed with a touch of gold, a purple Skill Book appeared before Lin Yu's eyes.

[Skill Book - Grand Cross (Castlevania Series)]

[The Grand Cross - A signature technique of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. When used, it unleashes a powerful, large cross-shaped attack using magic, resulting in extremely high destructive power.]

[Note: Upon activating this skill, the user will enter a brief state of invincibility.]

[Note 2: After activating this skill, the user will continuously attract enemies to their vicinity, thus forcing the enemies to endure attacks from the Grand Cross.]

[Note 3: The above are all basic usages. Users can explore this skill on their own and develop other applications.]

Ah, that's a very powerful move.

So now I feel even more panicked.

There's always a supply rush before a major battle, and now such powerful skills are here...

Logically speaking, Kevin would never kill me.

But... how many times has this happened, and I'm still thinking in terms of common sense.

Damn it, if this world had even the slightest bit of common sense, it wouldn't have produced four Herrscher in just three months.

Stop thinking about it too much, pack your bags and get ready for battle.

With my luck, the Herrscher will definitely come after me.

Having this thought in mind, Lin Yu, who was already prepared, unsurprisingly received a communication from headquarters.

"Hello, Lin Yu, can you hear me? This is Theresa!"

"Bishop, just say what you need to say..."

Hearing Lin Yu's weak and listless state, Theresa panicked.

"Are you too tired from fighting the Honkai Beast? If so, quickly think of a way to escape in the opposite direction!"

"The Herrscher that just appeared suddenly seems to have gone mad and started rushing towards you from the area where the Honkai Energy erupted."

"You can't make contact with it yet, but in a few minutes—anyway, don't be reckless, reinforcements are on their way!"

"Ah, I understand. Please rest assured, Bishop."

Even after hearing Lin Yu hang up the call, Theresa still felt very uneasy.

"Seriously, why did Herrscher have to appear at this time of all—the previous Herrscher only appeared less than three days ago!"

"Himeko, has Bianca already been deployed?"

"Ah."

Looking at the information on the display screen, Himeko calmly spoke to Theresa.

"Bianca has already gone there on the fastest transport plane."

"But... I don't think you need to worry so much."

"How could you say such a thing!"

Hearing Himeko's seemingly carefree words, Theresa became even more anxious.

"Lin Yu sounded so tired just now, it must be because the previous battle was too arduous."

"Even though he survived facing Yuno in previous battles, but now—"

"Ah, the past is the past, the present is the present."

Seeing Theresa's extremely anxious expression, Himeko calmly said.

"He possesses the Blank Key and the Seven Thunders of Retribution, making him far stronger than before."

"Moreover, given how much this kid loves to act, if he really senses something is wrong, he'll put on an incredibly energetic front to reassure us."

"Instead of worrying about Lin Yu's safety, I think you should think about what you should say to her when she comes back."

"She?"

Although Himeko did not explicitly state who 'she' was, Theresa immediately remembered something after Himeko successfully diverted her attention.

During the Fourth Honkai Outbreak, World Serpent took her student Wendy from the Oceania Branch.

Her student Wendy participated in the artificial Herrscher experiment because Theresa recommended her.

Even if Theresa has many reasons, objectively speaking, Theresa has wronged Wendy in this matter.

Someone outside Herrscher Transformation, and Wendy happens to have Herrscher Gem inside her...

Seeing Theresa clutching her head in utter frustration, Himeko felt her plan had failed.

Her intention in saying these things was mainly to reassure Theresa not to worry too much about Lin Yu.

As a result, after saying these words, Theresa's already suppressed guilt suddenly burst forth because she guessed that 'Wendy may have become Herrscher.'

Sigh, being so emotional is probably one of Theresa's strengths.

But it is precisely because you are so sentimental that you are so far from being a Bishop Otto's teachings.

While having a human touch isn't a bad thing, Theresa...

Bishop Otto openly started causing trouble during the Fourth Honkai Outbreak. If he continues in this style, he will definitely commit even more atrocities.

When that time comes, you'll have no choice but to fight him, yet you'll still maintain this naive attitude...

—At that time, you'll be schemed against by him to the point of wishing you were dead.

However, on the other hand, Theresa was worrying too much, but...

"Eh, Himeko?"

Seeing Himeko's gaze turn in their direction, Lin Yi, who was looking at messages on her tablet, asked Himeko in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Xiao Yi, I'm only 27 years old."

After walking up to Lin Yi with an unfriendly expression, Himeko's lips twitched as she approached the girl in front of her and said fiercely to Lin Yi.

Don't you think it's a bit inappropriate to call a 27-year-old unmarried woman "grandma"?

"But, but I am Shenzhou."

Looking at the woman in front of her who exuded a sense of oppression, Lin Yi asked in bewilderment.

"In our Shenzhou, seniority is very important. Using the wrong seniority or title for other elders is not something a well-behaved child should do, is it?"

No, there is no way to refute it.

Is this child... really only a few months old and has only been conscious for a few months?

Looking at Lin Yi's innocent face, Himeko always felt that if she had a child, she probably wouldn't be as smart as Lin Yi now, even when she was over ten years old.

And also...

Hello!

That must be part of Schicksal's job!

Why are you the one handling this?!

Watching Lin Yi handle some not-so-complicated tasks in an orderly manner, Himeko glanced back at Theresa, who was still holding her head in her hands, and felt that this world was too magical.

However, considering that this world has been abnormal since the moment it began to Honkai, Himeko suppressed her urge to complain and asked Lin Yi softly.

"Xiao Yi, when you hear that your Dad might be in danger, aren't you worried about his safety?"

"Himeko."

Hearing Himeko's question, Lin Yi turned off the light screen in front of her and looked at Himeko with a subtle expression.

"I am calm, not cold-blooded."

"Of course I'm worried because Dad is facing a threat, but..."

"If I cry and make a fuss like a little child, not only will I waste your and Grandma Theresa's time, but if Dad finds out about it, he'll definitely be distracted."

"If my Dad is distracted in battle and loses because of me, I think I will never forgive myself in this lifetime."

Thinking back on the students she had taught and the classmates she had made in university, Himeko, gazing at Lin Yi, felt...

Forget it, that age should be at least ten years higher.

What could be the reason that this child has this level of intelligence at this age?

Sigh, if I weren't worried that this question might hurt her as an artificial human, I would really like to ask her what she went through from birth to finding Lin Yu.

Moreover, no one else is being mentioned anymore.

Even though Kiana is much more sensible now, she still can't compare to her daughter.

The mother is a bratty kid, but the daughter is so well-behaved...

Could it be because Yuno and Lin Yu's genes successfully suppressed Kiana's genes?

Meanwhile, inside the transport aircraft

After communicating with headquarters, Lin Yu immediately put on the Blank Key and took out the Seven Thunders of Retribution from the Soul Steel Storage Box.

"Mike, follow headquarters' instructions and retreat in the opposite direction."

"Oh, okay—okay my foot!"

Looking back at Lin Yu, who had already donned the Blank Key and picked up the Divine Key, Mike felt a twitch in the corner of his eye.

"According to Bishop Theresa's orders, we should retreat."

"You're acting like you're about to fight Herrscher to the death—don't do that!"