157. You Can, Not a Pseudo-Herrscher.

Satou Yunona is not human.

At least from a physiological point of view, she no longer meets the standards of a normal human being.

What determines the limits of power?

Physical fitness and willpower are the two most important factors.

But compared to physical ability, willpower is the key.

Satou Yunona cannot exceed her physical limits because that is a given fact, an objective condition.

But willpower is different; it requires taking certain risks and being prepared to die.

The girl then had the right to wield power and authority once again.

After saying all that... isn't it just about risking your life?!

The Pseudo-Herrscher Core spun violently, Honkai Energy continuously being drawn from the void was endlessly condensed under the will of Satou Yunona.

The Honkai Energy within the core is virtually inexhaustible. Even if a storm of Honkai Energy were gathered together, its total amount would inevitably fall short of the limit of the Pseudo-Herrscher Core.

To put it bluntly, the level of Judgment-class Honkai Beast is not necessarily higher than that of Pseudo-Herrscher.

There are countless examples of individuals with different characteristics and different determining factors.

Besides, what she was facing was just a scuffle that barely touched the other party's breath. If Satou Yunona in her prime, she wouldn't need to exert so much effort to resolve this storm.

But now she has to carefully calculate every bit of her resources.

To quell the storm, accumulating a larger amount of Honkai Energy is not the key; manipulation and shaping are the priorities.

The girl didn't plan to use her powers anymore. She knew that compared to simply controlling Honkai Energy to its limit, the connection between using powers beyond their limits and Honkai Consciousness would be much stronger.

But this is also a desperate effort.

Her companions' worried and concerned words, the feeling of Kiana gripping her hand tightly, and the centrifugal force of her body being tossed about by the storm... she completely ignored all these external factors, even the body's warnings of her blood burning and her heart racing.

She should have died long ago in that daytime Honkai. After being dragged into that dream, Satou Yunona's life should have ended there.

Everything that follows will be a fleeting illusion, a tragedy of becoming a puppet against humanity, a destiny of being hunted as a monster—all are inevitable.

Whatever the reason, she ultimately became a non-human monster, and choosing to distance herself from crowds of people is the best option for everyone.

But she was saved.

She owes Su Qing'an; Satou Yunona, that human, should have died long ago.

Such ugly, filthy Pseudo-Herrscher shouldn't exist should have died long ago.

So even if she dies here, it's not a big deal; it's something she owes him.

Sato Satou Yunona naturally wouldn't allow that boy to lose his only family member in the world again.

Su Qing'an may have many friends in the future, but only Murata Himeko will be his only family.

Satou Yunona knew him too well, so she understood that Himeko had a special relationship with Su Qing'an.

Especially noticeable is how naturally the boy could display such a childlike expression.

To this day, Satou Yunona can't forget the things that Su Qing'an and Himeko revealed in their interactions, whether it was in their daily lives or the vulnerability he showed in front of women after Awakened that time—these were all rare and precious moments.

These girls remembered everything, so she made a value judgment on herself. If calculated purely in terms of monetary value, the death of a family member would undoubtedly be more painful for that person than the death of a friend.

That's the only thing that won't do; she doesn't want him to be that sad.

In a fleeting moment of heightened concentration, a hazy memory flashes by, like a rewind, followed by an ethereal voice in my ear.

[Is the power and strength I bestow upon you amusing, my apostle?]

Here it comes again, that voice.

[How powerful! Compared to the frail human body, only this body I created for you is worthy of controlling Honkai Energy.]

Satou Yunona mocked:

"Too weak... Every time you say so much, but I can still hear your voice, it means your stuff is too weak."

"So weak that I had to push myself to the limit, forced to reconnect with your consciousness."

[You can become stronger, more perfect, until you surpass this body once again.]

"How boring, shut up."

He continued to tempt:

[Satou Yunona. You can, you're not Pseudo-Herrscher.]

"... I don't understand what you're saying."

Manipulating such a large amount of Honkai Energy was an experience the girl had never had before. It was like answering different math problems within a set time of a few seconds, and each mistake would take her further away from her goal.

Honestly, she clearly hates math problems the most.

[Hahahaha, you're so funny, you know? Your soul is more steadfast, purer, and more beautiful than most humans in the world. Pseudo-Herrscher? Even that's not an incomplete existence. You deserve better.]

This statement is as ridiculous and absurd as a salesperson giving you an Audi A6 for free and then saying it's not good enough for you, before pulling out a Rolls-Royce and saying it barely suits your taste.

Honkai Consciousness shouldn't be such a talkative being. Satou Yunona prefers to believe that Honkai Consciousness is an intelligent mechanism that intelligently judges that it needs such a personality to transmit information in order to effectively negotiate with itself.

But regardless of the reason or situation, the meaning the other party wants to convey is the same.

[Satou Yunona, you lost because you are still incomplete, and the title "Pseudo-Herrscher" is inherently synonymous with incompleteness.]

[You can become Herrscher.]

Satou Yunona is very bad at math problems.

The control over Honkai Energy was gradually losing its ability to shape her; His words slowly wove a dreamlike spiderweb, gradually eroding her mind.

[Awaken, awaken...]

[Only by becoming Herrscher will you have the ability to deal with Judgment-class Honkai Beast. At that point, you can choose to make them your pet, kill them, or devour them as you coexist with them.]

"You're so annoying."

This is the girl's answer.

She tried to ignore the words that kept echoing in her ears, while the Great Honkai beneath the earth's veins continued to rapidly take the form she needed.

In order to better control Honkai Energy, Satou Yunona's body has already formed a link with Honkai Energy.

The subtle resonance caused a large number of blood droplets to seep from the pores of the fair skin.

But it cannot be treated with power.

Otherwise, controlling Honkai Energy will only become more difficult.

Her organs began to inevitably suffer damage. Even though her special body prevented her from being directly harmed by Honkai Energy, the additional kinetic energy and shockwaves were unavoidable negative factors.

Slippery blood even seeped from her palm. Kiana, who had been holding her hand tightly, immediately noticed something was wrong. She anxiously tightened her grip on the girl's hand and shouted:

"Yuno! Don't push yourself anymore."

Bronya and Raiden Mei, noticing something was wrong through the team's voice chat, began to dissuade them:

"Sister Yunona, we can think of other ways."

"Yuno, calm down first."

In a perilous situation where they could easily be swept into the storm, the two people who were only ten meters away from Satou Yunona were powerless to help her even if they wanted to.

Kiana gritted her teeth, her azure eyes now seeming to ignite with a blazing fire.

Surely there are other ways.

The turbulent emotions raging within her soul made her extremely uneasy; such feelings of impending loss were extremely rare in Kiana's short life.

Her soul felt as if it were being torn in two, and the flames burned her will. For a moment, the girl felt like she wasn't herself anymore. The Honkai Energy flowing within her suddenly exploded and accelerated, instinctively strengthening her body once again.

Just as Otto had thought, no matter what happens or what the outcome of this mission is, Kiana will experience tremendous growth.

However, regardless of the circumstances, stopping Satou Yunona's current recklessness is Kiana's top priority.

You're willing to risk your life for a fighter jet? Yuno, have you been wanting to die for a long time?!

Regardless of what you're really thinking, I can't let you continue to act recklessly.

She growled:

"NekoCharm!"

Kiana activated the armor's [BurstMode] Burst Mode.

The Burst Mode releases the Honkai Energy in the back power reactor at several times the original supply rate, greatly enhancing the armor's combat capabilities in a short period of time.

To move through the storm without being blown away was the only method the girl could think of at first. All the thrusters of the White Comet battlesuit were activated, and golden patterns shimmered at the joints of the armor.

The girl's original prone position changed, Honkai Energy continuously gathered at her left foot, shaping into a solid Honkai Energy attack according to the formula inside the armor.

The corresponding illusory object solidified at the edge of the storm, successfully replicating Kiana's real left leg movement before slamming heavily into the ground.

The girl used the strength of her left leg to support her entire body and stand still. This movement made her waist appear exceptionally flexible. She then used her left hand to pull Satou Yunona up and hug her.

Kiana continued to channel Honkai Energy into the ethereal limb; this skill was designed for a one-time, brief attack.

However, the girl used it as a crutch, forcibly supporting herself and Satou Yunona. To do this, she had to consume a large amount of Honkai Energy reserves in the power reactor to keep her limbs from disintegrating due to the lack of Honkai Energy.

Kiana embraced the blood-soaked, seemingly unconscious Satou Yunona, her arms around Yuno's waist and head as she fell backward. The sheer exertion of her energy left her breathless.

"Yuno, stop."

Satou Yunona did not answer. She could no longer hear the sounds of the outside world. The murmurs of the Honkai Consciousness and the Honkai Energy shaping underground were the only things she needed to fight. Everything else had been completely forgotten.

Whether it's a bloody price or a tattered and unsightly appearance, it's not within Satou Yunona's consideration.

The shaping was complete; it was a hundred-meter-long blade, barely sculpted as if entangled by dragons and snakes.

Satou Yunona has succeeded halfway; all she needs to do now is control it to unleash its power and end this endless, ever-escalating storm.

Her mind wandered as she considered that she couldn't strike directly at the center of the altar, or she would hurt Himeko- sensei.

The best target position is the top edge of the altar.

The offset should not be too large, otherwise accidents may occur.

Kiana shook the girl's body, almost pleadingly saying:

"You'll reconnect with the Honkai Consciousness if you keep going like this. Please, I'm begging you, stop. There's a way."

Given her Honkai Energy adaptability, she could naturally sense the unstable Honkai Energy fluctuations underground, which were like raging waves.

"I'm sorry, Kiana. It's my fault... I made you worry."

This time, Satou Yunona finally responded. In order to aim at the altar outside, she re-received the information from her body. The pain of her nerves being torn apart did not make her frown, but the girl's words, which were vaguely tinged with sobs, made Satou Yunona feel sad.

As she whispered words of comfort, she opened the last vestiges of her will, choosing to exhaust all her energy to successfully unleash the attack.

"This is the last time... Forgive my selfishness, Kiana."

In order to avoid being Honkai Consciousness and becoming an even more terrifying being, Satou Yunona resolved to end her own life with this strike.

After manipulating such a massive amount of Honkai Energy for the last time, the girl truly lost the confidence to resist the Honkai Consciousness.

It's incredibly naive to continue gambling that your willpower can withstand such erosion.

Satou Yunona cannot allow her friend's life to be endangered by these uncertain possibilities.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to end a life that has become Pseudo-Herrscher for this reason.

Just as Kiana suspected, Satou Yunona had long since given up on living.

But the deep-seated hatred she carried and the friends around her wouldn't allow her to choose the path of complete self-destruction.

So she has lived diligently and earnestly until now.

That's enough.

However, the next second...

The demons, sweeping in with countless streams of fire, drew their swords and shattered all obstacles. Their endless figures, carrying unparalleled dominance, charged directly into the center of the storm.

He shattered the girl's vision, obliterated the outer layer of elegance, and destroyed...

Satou Yunona's will to die.

The unfamiliar armor concealed his face and figure, but the familiar weapons revealed his identity.

It's Su Qing'an.

The girl sighed helplessly.

Time and time again.

It's you again! I really don't know what to say.

Satou Yunona laughed as she dispersed the Honkai Energy shaping underground. After barely severing the link with the Honkai Consciousness, she completely fainted in Kiana's arms.

There are always some people who, the moment they appear, make you unconditionally believe that they can overcome all obstacles.

For Satou Yunona, Su Qing'an was that person.

Even long afterward, Satou Yunona would still recall this scene.

His back, clad in jet-black armor, charged resolutely towards the altar, as if he had already known the answer to everything.

If Satou Yunona could know all the endings in advance, she might have taken a completely different path when faced with the questions and answers from the Honkai Consciousness.