The Eighth Herrscher, I Wasn't Lying
"Pretty fast."
Ai Yue was somewhat surprised. He had come intending to help clean things up, but it seemed that was no longer necessary. "Let me take a look."
"What can you tell from looking at it?" Mobius asked, but still handed over the serum. "Be careful. This is the only dose. If you drop it, we'll have to make another."
"Don't worry. I've got steady hands." Ai Yue took the serum and pretended to hold it up toward the ceiling light for inspection, while actually activating the system. "Mm, it should be fine. Use it now. We've found the Herrscher."
"Here?" Mobius took the serum back and frowned slightly as she glanced at Aponia beside them. "Wait, are you sure we shouldn't bring someone stronger? You're not actually expecting me to fight the Herrscher, are you?"
Although she and Aponia were both Fused Warriors, neither of them had experienced much combat. Going up against a Herrscher like this was still rather reckless.
"Please rest assured, Dr. Mobius," Aponia said gently. "I won't let the Herrscher hurt you."
"That's not what I'm worried about." Mobius shook her head. "But will the few of us really be fine facing a Herrscher? Especially you. You're just an ordinary person, aren't you?"
"That's exactly the effect we want. You don't understand." Ai Yue smiled faintly. "Without an opening that looks weak, how can we expect the enemy to struggle desperately?"
"As long as you know what you're doing." Mobius no longer hesitated. She backed away from Ai Yue, then plunged the serum into her own neck.
As the serum entered Mobius's body, the aura and energy around her grew frantic, as though something else were awakening inside her.
Aponia calmly took half a step forward so she could protect Ai Yue immediately if anything went wrong. Ai Yue, however, did not react at all. He merely observed every detail of Mobius.
He wasn't worried that Mobius would lose control again. The serum had been inspected by the system, so there naturally wouldn't be any problems.
Reality unfolded just as he had expected. Once the energy around Mobius stabilized, she opened her eyes. Her pupils had turned golden, but they held neither madness nor malice. Instead, they were filled with reason.
"It worked." Mobius had been somewhat excited, but when she saw Ai Yue's calm expression, she suppressed her emotions and put on a similar air. "So this is what it feels like to wield Herrscher power? It's rather fascinating."
Mobius could feel a new energy swelling inside her. Whenever she subconsciously tried to control it, the corresponding knowledge naturally surfaced in her mind.
Is this the information hidden in the Herrscher genes?
After contemplating it briefly, Mobius pointed at the equipment on the table. A golden rift abruptly opened above it and swallowed it whole. Another rift unfolded above a different table some distance away, then "spat" the equipment back out.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The equipment, which had originally required two people to lift, had been moved effortlessly.
Then another golden rift opened behind Mobius. She took one step back and walked straight into it, vanishing into the deep darkness and disappearing from the room.
Ai Yue turned to Aponia. "Can you pinpoint her location?"
"Of course." Aponia held the "mental fluctuation detector" on her head with one hand. Soon, an astonished expression appeared on her face. "She's very far away now... almost on the other side of Earth."
Is this the power of a Herrscher? She's only just gained control of it, yet she can cross such a distance?
A few seconds later, Mobius reappeared before them, though she had changed slightly.
The purple patterns that had spread across Mobius's body during the previous experiment had appeared once more. Clearly, this was related to her wanton use of the Herrscher authority.
"That's about enough. I feel like I'll die in another five minutes." Mobius said this cheerfully, then looked at Aponia. "Where is the Herrscher?"
She had just tested the maximum range of her teleportation. As it turned out, with an accurate location, Mobius could now appear in most places on Earth.
Aponia reached out and placed a hand on Mobius's shoulder. Through their mental link, she shared the Herrscher's current location with Mobius.
"Excellent." Mobius opened her eyes. "Then let's go."
The next moment, a golden rift swallowed all three of them.
"This should do it."
In a room somewhere inside a certain building, the Eighth Herrscher had finished all the preparations she could make and finally let out a sigh of relief.
First, she had gathered as many Honkai Beasts as possible, forming a vast sea of Honkai Beasts outside the building. Then she had established an illusion barrier that would cause every human within its range to fall unconscious.
This would hinder the humans' assault as much as possible. Even if they truly managed to enter the building, the Eighth Herrscher still had one final measure.
There were quite a few unconscious survivors inside the building. Once the human assault reached the vicinity, she would awaken them and have them call for help. That would make the humans hesitate and prevent them from casually using large-scale weapons.
As long as she could buy enough time to master the final technique of the Herrscher authority...
The Eighth Herrscher confidently closed her eyes and began comprehending the information that had appeared in her mind the moment she was born.
Yet at that moment, she suddenly felt a strange fluctuation of special energy appear on her face.
That fluctuation was very weak—but it came from a Herrscher authority?
The Eighth Herrscher opened her eyes in astonishment and saw three people, led by Ai Yue, emerge from a golden rift and appear before her.
Eighth Herrscher: ?
What the hell is going on?!
"Hello. We meet again." Ai Yue emerged from the golden rift with a grim expression. Clearly, the experience of spatial teleportation had not been pleasant. Even so, he tried to look calm as he drew Pikachu and pointed it at her. "I told you. I would definitely find you."
"Damn human!" The Eighth Herrscher roared. Knowing there was nowhere left to retreat, she unleashed all her power and lunged at Ai Yue. "You, I will never forgive—"
"Bang."
The next second, a bullet howled out of the barrel and struck the Herrscher directly in the heart.
Yet as the Herrscher's body collapsed to the ground, Ai Yue also slowly fell backward.
His vision blurred, and he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
The Eighth Herrscher, who should have been dead, now stood before him, wearing a mocking smile.
The Eighth Herrscher's Cause of Death: Celebrating at Halftime
"Surprised?"
Seeing Ai Yue looking around in confusion, the Eighth Herrscher sneered. "Did you really think that defeating a Herrscher who controls consciousness only requires killing her body?"
After being humiliated by this man an unknown number of times, the Eighth Herrscher had finally recovered a little of her dignity.
Of course, that was only what she thought.
"Oh? And?" Ai Yue finally shifted his gaze back to the Eighth Herrscher. "This is a dream you created in the final moments of your life, isn't it? Once your body's vitality is extinguished, can your spirit really exist on its own?"
Ai Yue spoke calmly, completely unconcerned as the expression on the other party's face grew increasingly twisted. "Even if time flows differently in the dream, how long can you exist?"
"I can exist forever!" The Eighth Herrscher finally lost control and roared, her voice filled with venom and hatred. "As long as I kill you and take your body!"
To a Herrscher who toyed with consciousness, the body was merely a container that could be replaced at any time. As long as her spirit and Herrscher Core remained, she would always have a way out.
However, possessing another person came with severe aftereffects, as well as a period of weakness. Thus, she would not use this move unless absolutely necessary.
But the current situation left her no room to hesitate. Besides, the culprit who had driven her into this dead end stood right before her. How could she hold back?
As long as she killed him, she could not only avenge her humiliation, but also escape her current predicament. She could use his identity to recuperate, perhaps even destroy the Moth to Fire from within and eliminate this greatest obstacle. The Eighth Herrscher could find no reason not to do it.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Ai Yue extended a hand and made an inviting gesture. "Let me properly experience the might of a Herrscher."
"Arrogant!" The Eighth Herrscher roared furiously. An irresistible force instantly enveloped Ai Yue. "Drown in your own dreams!"
"You're still willing to give me a wonderful dream at a time like this?" Ai Yue said with a beaming smile. "You're actually pretty nice."
He offered no resistance, allowing the vortex formed from that power to draw him in.
Shallow human. Even now, he still hasn't realized how terrifying a beautiful dream is?
Hearing Ai Yue's words, a trace of mockery appeared in the Eighth Herrscher's eyes.
A nightmare might seem terrifying, but it would make people instinctively struggle and resist. Controlling such a person would only consume more power.
A beautiful dream, however, could make someone willingly abandon their resistance. Even after realizing that something was wrong, they would still sink into it because they could not bear to let go of the dream's beauty, ultimately becoming part of the Herrscher authority once their body's vitality was extinguished.
Of course, the Eighth Herrscher could not use this method to deal with Ai Yue now, because she did not have that much time. Thus, she had used all her strength to construct the most flawless beautiful dream in history. It would manifest the deepest desires hidden in Ai Yue's heart and completely crush him with his most beautiful ideal.
Although this would consume a tremendous amount of mental power, the Eighth Herrscher could bear it. After all, it was only one human's desire. No matter how unusual it was, what could he possibly imagine?
Once Ai Yue was completely immersed in the dream, she would seize the opportunity to annihilate his consciousness.
Therefore, Ai Yue's only chance for survival was to find a way to kill the Eighth Herrscher's consciousness before falling into the dream.
When she saw Ai Yue vanish into the vortex of the dream, the Eighth Herrscher also relaxed. She had been worried that the big-breasted nun with mental strength far beyond that of a human would interfere, but whether because she trusted Ai Yue too much or had been careless, the nun had yet to act.
Now, all she had to do was wait for Ai Yue's consciousness to fall completely silent.
Feeling his mental fluctuations gradually weaken, the Eighth Herrscher couldn't help smiling.
She had already begun imagining her plans after possessing Ai Yue. She would use his identity to sow discord within the Moth to Fire and destroy their trust, then find a way to contact its higher-ups and turn them into her servants. She would drive them to wage war and drag all human civilization into a quagmire of conflict...
No. Why is the mental energy consumption so excessive?!
A moment later, the Eighth Herrscher abruptly awoke from her ambitions. Feeling her mental power being consumed at an alarming rate, her expression immediately turned ugly.
The dream she had prepared for Ai Yue consumed different amounts of mental power according to its contents. If he merely desired a happy family, it would consume very little. But if he desired to become the ruler of a country, a national-scale dream would require a massive amount of mental power to construct.
Yet the current rate of consumption had long since exceeded that of a national-scale dream. What the hell is that bastard doing in the dream? Did he gather all the humans in the world for a party?
She couldn't wait any longer. If this continued, even if she possessed him, she would enter a prolonged period of weakness. How could she carry out her plans then?
With that thought, the Eighth Herrscher stopped hesitating. She closed her eyes and immediately sank into Ai Yue's dream, intending to kill him while he was constructing his fantasy.
The next second, when she opened her eyes, everything within sight was shrouded in emerald light.
What the hell is this place? Is this even Earth anymore?
The emerald radiance came from an unknown source and covered every corner within the Eighth Herrscher's field of vision. Towering peaks rose around her, so high that their summits were invisible, making her feel as tiny as an ant. Even the peaks themselves radiated that same emerald light, which gave them a sacred quality that soothed the soul in the eyes of a Herrscher.
The Eighth Herrscher explored the dream with her mental power and was astonished to discover that this scene covered most of the planet's surface. Apart from that, countless radiant giants moved between the mountains, revealing a scene brimming with life.
Only then did the Eighth Herrscher understand that the radiant objects were not mountains at all.
They were cities belonging to the giants!
No wonder the mental energy consumption was so enormous. This bastard had actually created an entirely new world inside the dream!
But why was such a clear and realistic world Ai Yue's deepest desire? What sort of future plans did he have?
The Eighth Herrscher vaguely sensed that she might have discovered something extraordinary.
At that moment, however, the atmosphere around her suddenly became strange.
She instinctively looked around and realized that, at some point, giants had surrounded her. Some stood upon the ground, while others floated in the air, but their radiant eyes were all fixed tightly on her.
Even though this was a dream constructed from her own mental power, the Eighth Herrscher suddenly felt like prey caught by someone else.
The Eighth Herrscher, Confirmed Dead
"Gaaaaah!"
With a scream, the dream restraining Ai Yue shattered.
Ai Yue opened his eyes. The surroundings had returned to the pure white space from before, where only he and the Eighth Herrscher had been present. The Eighth Herrscher stood opposite him, clutching her chest and panting frantically, a trace of fear still in her eyes.
It was understandable. Even in a dream, being struck by thousands upon thousands of beam attacks at once certainly wouldn't feel good.
"You should've come a little later." Ai Yue sounded somewhat regretful. "I hadn't finished becoming King Star yet."
"What was that planet?!" The Eighth Herrscher was nearly hysterical. She could not accept being defeated in a dream within the realm of consciousness. "What exactly was that?!"
"My beautiful dream." Ai Yue spoke as though it were obvious. "I have you to thank for it. Without this dream, I would probably have needed countless years before I could see such a scene."
What the Eighth Herrscher had seen in the dream was naturally Ai Yue's ultimate hope for the humans of this world.
The Land of Light—Ultra Star, located in the M78 Nebula.
The radiant giants were powerful beings that had evolved from humanlike lifeforms after being exposed to the energy of the Plasma Spark Tower. Not only was their civilization extraordinarily advanced, but their individual abilities were also absurdly powerful. According to the setting, the Land of Light had no police system because not a single crime had occurred there in four hundred thousand years. It could be called the ultimate ideal nation.
Yet Ai Yue understood that transforming Earth into a world like Ultra Star required more than a technological leap. It also required a moral ascension. Otherwise, if people with ulterior motives gained powerful abilities, they would only cause tragedies that could never be resolved.
That day was still unimaginably far away.
That was why he had buried this hope deep within his heart. If the Eighth Herrscher had not turned it into a dream, Ai Yue probably would not have seen such a scene for a very long time.
"You predicted this long ago, didn't you?" Seeing the reminiscent look on Ai Yue's face, the Eighth Herrscher suddenly understood. "You knew I would use this method against you, so you had already prepared this to wear down my mental power, right?"
The Eighth Herrscher had never taken humanity seriously. Because she possessed a final escape route, she had never believed that humans could kill her. Thus, even though she had repeatedly suffered setbacks, she had not cared.
After all, once she fully mastered the knowledge she had possessed since birth, she would become an existence humanity could never defeat. What did a temporary defeat matter?
She could even treat a temporary death as a smokescreen to deceive humanity, just as she had done to Ai Yue. Once humanity relaxed its guard after sinking into false victory, she could return like lightning and unleash another calamity.
But now, even this escape route had been cut off by the man before her. After voluntarily breaking the dream she had created, she had lost her chance to possess Ai Yue. And the time remaining no longer allowed her to find another target.
Besides, even if she could escape Ai Yue, would the nun waiting outside really let her get away?
"I did anticipate that you would try to possess me." Faced with the Eighth Herrscher's accusation, Ai Yue honestly nodded. "But as for the dream, I can only say that was an accident."
The reason Ai Yue had appeared before the Eighth Herrscher was that he knew she still had the ability to possess another body. Even if her physical body were destroyed, she could still occupy someone else's body and be reborn.
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