The End

Xu Ying was fast. After catching Gu Yan as he fell, he retreated without hesitation. The others also fled for their lives with all their might.

A sense of inevitable doom enveloped everyone, as if Death's scythe was at their throats.

Meanwhile, Xu Muchi, blocked by Honkai Energy, couldn't get close to the Herrscher Core. After unleashing a full-power sword strike, she quickly retreated as well.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Since Ji had used all her strength to repel Gu Yan, she had no chance to dodge Xu Muchi's attack. The sword light pierced through her throat—

"Ugh!"

Morr wailed, grief-stricken.

"Ugh... Heh, this is a gift from God. Humans are unworthy!"

The Herrscher's vitality was indeed tenacious. She could still speak despite such an injury, but that was all.

The Insight Gem cracked, emitting dazzling light in all directions.

The next instant, the world fell silent.

All sound vanished in an instant. Light seemed to be cut apart, cracking and collapsing inch by inch. If Gu Yan hadn't been able to see Xu Ying flying with him on his back, he would have thought he was dead.

A blue halo filled the entire world, and wild energy devoured everything.

The sea was gone, and a massive crater appeared behind them. The distant water had been scattered by the impact and hadn't reached this area yet. Centered on the Herrscher Core, an unknown radius had been blasted into a vacuum.

Gu Yan closed his eyes and sighed softly. The Herrscher of Reason had chosen to destroy her Herrscher Core and self-destruct.

She herself was probably reduced to nothing. Gu Yan couldn't comment on the Herrscher of Reason's actions. Perhaps she was merely loyal to the Honkai God and had given everything for it...

As an enemy, he would show no mercy, but the storm had passed.

[Ding! Loading progress updated, current progress: 70%]

『December 20th, Year 250, the First Herrscher was killed on Madga Island. The First Honkai ended.』

"I'll help you heal."

Xu Ying placed Gu Yan on the beach. The others also arrived one after another.

A rich life force surged into Gu Yan's body, and his injuries vanished. He felt every cell in his body cheering. This feeling was different from the repairs provided by Honkai Energy.

Perhaps Xu Ying's ability was superior to ordinary special abilities. Gu Yan's Plunder had never been effective. If not for its inherent limitations, his ability to control life force would have been comparable to the Herrscher of Death.

"Thank you, I'm fine now."

He had originally wanted Xu Ying to not pay special attention to him, as everyone else had also come over and were quite seriously injured.

However, Xu Ying had no intention of saving anyone else. He just nodded and sat on the ground.

After fighting for so long, Gu Yan's buffs had long expired. Now, after being infused with life force, his condition had greatly improved. He secretly lowered Resurrection to Advanced Healing and reapplied it to everyone.

After the final explosion, only eleven S-Class combatants remained, and they were all heavily injured. Only Xu Ying was completely unharmed.

Xu Ying had used his abilities just now, and everyone's injuries were healed again. They all mistakenly believed it was Xu Ying's help and looked at him gratefully.

"..." Gu Yan was speechless for a moment but had no other reaction.

"Thank you." Xu Muchi, however, knew this was Gu Yan's ability. She had flown this far while heavily injured, her stamina completely depleted, and collapsed near the two of them.

She had been closest at the time, so naturally, she was the most severely injured, almost turning into a bloody mess.

Silently increasing her Advanced Healing, Gu Yan glanced at Xu Ying. Xu Ying also sensibly withdrew his life force to heal Xu Muchi.

"How do you feel?"

Xu Muchi's question was out of the blue, and it was unclear who she was asking. But Xu Ying's face remained like a zombie's, so it seemed she was asking Gu Yan.

"..."

After thinking for a moment, Gu Yan didn't answer. He just shook his head and slumped down, also collapsing.

This time, aside from taking a lot of hits, everything else was acceptable. The Herrscher's anti-ability shield was too overpowered. It could be said that it rendered everyone else powerless. But without the shield, Gu Yan estimated that the casualties caused by the Herrscher would have been reduced by more than seventy percent.

If this world continued to fight the Honkai at this rate, it probably wouldn't last through five Herrschers, and that was even with him including himself.

"What is the 'God' she spoke of?" Xu Ying could tell that he was very confused, otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken.

"Perhaps it's some formidable existence, but definitely not human." Gu Yan pretended to be confused. He chose not to reveal the truth. He understood the Honkai, but precisely because of that, he couldn't explain it clearly.

Cheating on an exam would lead to disqualification.

"According to the Herrscher, her power, including that crystal, all came from 'God'." Xu Muchi used a cleaning spell on herself, washing away the bloodstains, her brow furrowed.

"Are you worried that what we dealt with this time wasn't the Root?" Gu Yan asked with feigned doubt, while inwardly thinking:

Yes, yes, that's exactly it. Keep talking.

The hearing of the others was extraordinary. They didn't try to conceal their conversation. As soon as Gu Yan spoke, the atmosphere instantly became serious.

"I'm afraid that's the truth."

"Let's return after inspecting Madga Island again. We need to be prepared. The situation is not optimistic."

Pfft!

A black shadow suddenly emerged from the water. The group, who were in conversation, immediately became vigilant.

"Damn it! This energy is disgusting!"

Elfa shook his drenched overcoat. He had dived into the sea during the explosion, but was still dazed by the shockwave.

"What are you looking at me for? Wanna fight?"

After being affected by the explosion, perhaps due to the water's cushioning effect, Elfa's condition wasn't much worse than Xu Ying's.

Gu Yan looked at the irritable black dragon, speechless for a moment.

Stop shaking your shirt, can you find some pants first? Please!

"Add sugar, egg mixture..." The young girl, wearing an apron with her long hair tied back, muttered to herself.

She was making cookies. Although it was a sudden whim and she had never made desserts before, she was extremely serious and overly careful.

"Put it into the piping bag, it's almost done!" A smile appeared on the girl's face, as if she could already see her work being praised, and she was very happy.

Even though she had heard terrible news before this, now, facing that person, all her sadness vanished, replaced only by anticipation.

The sound of a doorknob turning echoed.

"Wow! What are you making, Fornia?" Nelly hugged Fornia from behind, nuzzling her gently like a kitten.

"It's cookies for little Nelly~" Fornia turned around, wrapping her arms around the petite Nelly and resting her chin on Nelly's forehead.

The height was just right.

She felt the person in her arms seemed a bit surprised, and chuckled, "I'm fine, little Nelly, don't worry about me."

"Huh?"

"Silly, you weren't this lively and proactive before." Fornia's finger gently flicked Nelly's forehead, her gaze filled with fondness.

"Okay, but Fornia, you must not be sad by yourself. I'll be with you."

Nelly's face was already flushed red, her whole body looking like it was about to steam, incredibly cute.