The Resurrection of the Herrscher of Death / Divine War

Before his consciousness is completely corrupted, he must defeat the Eighth Herrscher and leave the consciousness space.

The rapidly moving body stopped abruptly, defying the laws of physics. The God Cutter in its hand cleaved through the mist and collided with the arm of the Eighth Herrscher in mid-air.

"Sizzle—"

A sharp, piercing sound echoed in the eerie, misty sea. At that moment, the damaged Raikiri appeared in Lin's other hand. Lightning flashed on the blade, and before the Eighth Herrscher could react, he slashed it in two from bottom to top. The Floating Cannon surrounding the space also fired in unison, countless beams of light piercing through its body.

However, the Eighth Herrscher's smile was like a nightmare. Her body was torn apart, but it looked like... a projection?

No, Lin hit the Eighth Herrscher at least ten times during the attack from the Floating Cannon, yet she didn't seem injured. Could it be—

The illusory body vanished, and the familiar Black Mist surged in front of him instantly. Lin manipulated Honkai Energy to build a barrier around him, but the Black Mist seemed to have a life of its own and immediately began to erode the Honkai Energy barrier, emitting a strange, consuming sound.

The Black Mist of the Herrscher of Death?

At that moment, Lin realized something and suddenly looked up.

He didn't know when, but the sunlight had been blocked out, and a dark green vertical pupil, filled with crazed malice, stared at him.

The enormous monstrous shape stretched its head out of the sea, the pitch-black liquid crackling with green lightning, and the former "enemy" stood before it as if unchanged.

The Third Herrscher's Companion Honkai Beast, Judgment-class, Sessha.

The serpentine shadow writhed wildly, its grotesque form, writhing in the ocean like a giant serpent of the mortal world, had killed Thor's... Jörmungandr.

The Eighth Herrscher landed on Sessha's head. She sneered and pointed at Lin, who looked like an insect in Sessha's shadow.

Raging blue lightning spread across the sea.

Chapter 167 The Resurrected Herrscher of Death

"Oh dear... Our lovely Mr. Kobayashi seems to be in a predicament. Should I stop and wait for you?"

The Ship Cannon with high Honkai Energy conversion rates swept across, and the figures that melted in the beams remained unharmed, hovering in the air. Sessha used the black mud of unknown composition to block the Ship Cannon's attacks. Ordinary Floating Cannon could not leave any decent marks on her body, and she carefully protected the weaknesses that Lin had once exploited—her cavity and eyes.

—This is clearly not the experience of being defeated by Lin once, but the experience that its controller, the Eighth Herrscher, learned through memories.

The turquoise lightning turned the sea into a pool of lightning, and serpentine bolts of electricity lunged at Lin in the air. Whenever he tried to block these attacks with his Honkai Energy Shield, those persistent Black Mist would suddenly appear from nowhere and crawl into his shield like insects. He could only dodge these deadly lightning strikes at high speed in the air.

Is it troublesome? Not really. As long as he spares some attention to guard against Sessha's electric shocks and stays away from the giant snake's liquid attack range, Sessha poses almost no threat to him.

The problem is that he cannot effectively defend against it.

The Phase Transfer Device tore through space, and Lin appeared behind the Eighth Herrscher in an instant. He tried to reach out and grab her, but all he touched was an illusory phantom and mockery.

Then a black, mud-like spiral spike came at him. Lin casually swung his knife to meet it, but he didn't feel any force. Immediately afterward, his back was hit and his right shoulder was pierced, and he rolled forward.

The alternation between illusion and reality makes every attack from the Eighth Herrscher fatal.

An attack that appears to be massive and imposing may just be a feint, while a seemingly insignificant harassment could be fatal. Strength, speed, damage... these may be fake or real, but once he believes them to be real, they become truly real.

This is not an illusion that can be resolved by so-called heat scanning. The Eighth Herrscher's ability directly affects human consciousness, and in the world of consciousness, these illusions are "reality".

Lin fell into the sea, and the splashing waves passed through Sessha's huge body. After disappearing, Sessha's figure reappeared on another sea surface not far away. At the same time, the Eighth Herrscher stood on top of its ferocious head.

She looked down at the spot where the "Herrscher of Reason" had fallen.

The world of consciousness is her domain, and even if Lin's consciousness is the main focus, she still has an absolute advantage.

Even other Herrscher could never be stronger than her in terms of consciousness and spirit.

As Sessha churned and churned, the sea transformed from calm to turbulent, with massive whirlpools appearing in the ocean. A human falling into one would be instantly shredded. Beneath the surface, terrifying electric currents swept across the land, searching for all life and halting its activity.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and thunderstorms caused by Sessha continued to fall. Apart from their safe havens, the brutal lightning strikes were enough to breach even the strongest defenses.

But apart from that, everything else was so quiet.

The Eighth Herrscher remained vigilant; she needed to confirm that Lin's consciousness was truly dead. Every method this cunning human had employed was utterly vile, and if she let her guard down now...

Lin did not use the core of the Herrscher of Reason correctly. He was still stuck in the narrow human mindset of seeing himself as weak and the enemy as strong. He should have confronted her directly; that way, he might not have lost.

"Click—"

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the waves. The Eighth Herrscher was stunned for a moment, then her expression changed as she stared at the turbulent whirlpool.

A giant mechanical arm extends from the vortex.

Next, there was a second one, then the body, the single blue eye, and finally the legs.

If we say that Sessha is a colossal creature that blots out the sky.

This mechanical giant before us is far beyond ordinary understanding; the distance between heaven and earth seems to shrink beneath its form.

The Eighth Herrscher stared at the giant before it. Its single eye emerged from the thunderclouds like a searchlight illuminating the night, watching the insignificant, tiny, insect-like Sessha.

At this moment, there was a Titan, which looked no different from the Autonomous Titan that were completely destroyed in the Seventh Honkai Eruption.

But compared to the Titans of the past, it was as different as dust compared to humans.

Sessha howled, and lightning and liquid simultaneously struck the giant Titan, leaving cracks in its mechanical body.

This action seemed to enrage the mechanical god, which spread its three fingers, grabbed Sessha as if she were a common venomous snake, and slammed her onto the sea.

"Bang!"

Oh no—

The Eighth Herrscher suddenly realized that since the Titan was not controlled by humans, it would not be deceived by its abilities and would directly attack the real Sessha!

To make matters worse, just as missiles, bullets, and beams were fired simultaneously, Sessha wrapped around the giant's body as the two monsters fought fiercely, another blurry figure tore through the curtain of seawater, slashing at the head of the Eighth Herrscher with twin blades.

"Bang!"

The Eighth Herrscher gritted her teeth and glared at the composed man in front of her. He appeared to be unharmed, and the wound on his right shoulder had disappeared. The Herrscher of Reason's power allowed her to freely reassemble and recreate her body. As long as there was Honkai Energy, the healing effect might not be worse than that of the Herrscher of Death's Creation Authority.

Without a word, the arms, legs, weapons, and even the Floating Cannon and Black Mist of both sides clashed countless times within seconds. Then, the Eighth Herrscher forcefully smashed through the forest, and the Black Mist of death swallowed the Floating Cannon that could not dodge in time, and then pounced on him.

But at that moment, Lin remained unmoved, standing calmly as the Black Mist surged towards him, threatening to ravage his body in the next second—

"Whoosh!"

A dark green vine blocked the Black Mist from below.

The Black Mist, which exuded an aura of death, was extinguished almost instantly when it touched the vine, like fire meeting water. Then, more and more vines formed a protective wall, shielding him.

"Huh?" The Eighth Herrscher was stunned when she saw the vines.

The Black Mist is the Withering Authority of the Sixth Herrscher, also known as the Herrscher of Death. She conjured it up through Lin's memories as a means of attack. This Black Mist has a more terrifying corrosive ability than Honkai Energy. Whether it is life or matter, as long as it comes into contact with the Black Mist, it will perish in an instant.

But the Herrscher of Death does not only possess the Authority of Withering; she also has a completely opposite ability: the Creation Authority.

The balance between life and death has become the characteristic of the Herrscher of Death, and the only thing that can stop her from withering is her creation.

Upon seeing the vines that could withstand the Black Mist, an absurd conjecture arose in my mind and, within the next few seconds, became a reality.

The Eighth Herrscher looked down and saw a figure she had seen in Lin's memory standing on the sea. Under the command of her fingers, the vines grew wildly with vigorous vitality.

After noticing the Eighth Herrscher's gaze, the figure raised her head and gave her a mocking smile.

Are you kidding me...?

Forest...

Using the power of the Herrscher of Reason, the body of the Sixth Herrscher has been recreated?!

"What a pity, my 'sister.' If this were the real world, perhaps I would help you after my resurrection." The Sixth Herrscher, Seele, mocked the stunned Eighth Herrscher with unrestrained laughter. "But this is that guy's consciousness world, so even if I'm being controlled to 'betray' him, you can understand, right? Hahahaha..."

After the vines dispersed, Lin had disappeared from the spot.

Chapter 168 God War

The Titan slammed Sessha into the icy seawater. Its scales were torn apart by the giant three-fingered hand. The excruciating pain made Sessha struggle desperately. The falling lightning became more and more violent, and large and small parts of the Titan's mechanical body were also cut off by the lightning. But it did not feel pain and did not waver in the slightest.

"Roar--"

Sessha's tail wrapped around the Titan's arm joint, tightening its grip despite the pain. Under its immense force and stress, sparks flew from the joint. It spat out serpentine venom, and black mud transformed into blades that seeped into the joint. In no time, the fluid that pierced from within severed the entire arm.

The giant severed his wrist, Sessha escaped from his grasp. Crazy lightning surged across his dancing body, nimbly climbing up from the Titan's legs and coiling, attempting to tear the Titan's waist apart once more.

The clash between the ultimate artificial creations and the ultimate Honkai creature is earth-shattering, as if the legends of the mythical era are about to unfold. Star-like fragments and scales fall from their bodies, and rampant Honkai Energy collides with exploding missiles, creating a raging storm.

The giant's azure eyes shimmered with particles of ice crystals. It tried to grab the giant snake with its remaining arm, but was evaded by its agile movements. The sound of parts meshing rang out, and its whole body made a splicing sound like the joints of a human body twisting. Just as Sessha wrapped around its waist, a giant pincer emerged from the open armor on its chest and grabbed Sessha.

How many more stamina and Honkai Energy Sessha have left to break free of the Titan's grip? This monster, resembling a colossus, is so troublesome and terrifying that it must be destroyed in one fell swoop.

Its serpentine eyes shone brightly, and pure Honkai Energy gathered in its belly. The ability that it hadn't had time to use in its battle with Lin was now being charged.

Honkai Energy Breath is a simple ability that every Upper-class Honkai Beast can use, but the power of the breath depends on the Honkai Beast's control over Honkai Energy and the total amount of Honkai Energy. When used by this Judgment-class Honkai Beast, its power is top-tier, capable of leveling mountains and tearing the sky.

High concentration of Honkai Energy reaction detected

Titan's processor was collecting data that had exceeded its limits, and once its energy surpassed what Titan could handle, it could only produce the simplest response—

He stretched out his hand and blocked Sessha's way.

"Boom--------"

A purple-green beam of light burst forth from the sea, cutting a rift in the thunderclouds and revealing a pristine dome!

The colossal giant that blotted out the sky finally fell.

Hands and head were completely obliterated, and the crumbling mountain shook the sea level.

Sessha struggled to break free of the giant pincers, but it discovered that even though the giant was dead, the restraint was not over.

In its naive mind, it would never have imagined that the Titan's head was merely a monitor and a decoration.

Four more mechanical arms emerged from the collapsing metal shell and grabbed Sessha's tail, abdomen, and both sides of its mouth!

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Sessha felt the relentless, monstrous force intensifying, and the sound of its body disintegrating was terrifying. It could only desperately spew out Honkai Energy, but the mechanical arms angled its mouth towards the sky. Its death throes ended when its Honkai Energy was completely depleted.

The final breath still disappeared into the sky, and the mechanical arm finally aimed its mouth at the beam cannon in its chest.

It realized what was about to happen, its slippery body trying to escape through the gaps in the robotic arm. Its desperate screams could not elicit a response from the cold computer, and the bright white light that appeared would be its death announcement.

"Bang—"

The beam of light pierced through the snake's mouth and exited from its tail, instantly destroying its struggle.

Four robotic arms worked simultaneously to tear the already limp and mushy Sessha corpse in two and throw it into the sea.

After doing all this, Titan's mission finally came to an end. His battered body fell into the ocean and gradually sank into the unfathomable depths.

This was a battle that could only be described as "abstract".

The two combatants were nowhere to be seen. Occasionally, two dark figures would suddenly appear in mid-air and then disappear. When one side struck the other, the attack would pass right through it, and when the other side retaliated, the opponent would disappear into a spatial rift.

Feint attack, illusion, evasion...

The figure tossed aside the Raikiri, and Sakura's weapon appeared in his palm. He fell into the sea like a cannonball, plunging the blade into the water. Ice instantly spread from his feet, freezing everything around him indiscriminately!

A faint sound came from the ice-covered, deserted area, and the six Floating Cannon immediately fired in a crisscross pattern, instantly melting and evaporating the ice and seawater.

But there was no feedback of hitting the object. Immediately afterwards Eighth Herrscher behind the figure raised her right arm, which was shrouded in Black Mist, and stabbed at the figure's back!

"Whoosh!"

The ferocious cleavage flower opened its mouth at her feet, forcing the Eighth Herrscher to stop and retreat rapidly. Along her retreat route, a bloodthirsty giant scythe was already ready to reap her life.

"Bass!"

The Sixth Herrscher and the Eighth Herrscher, separated by two Great Herrscher Honkai, faced each other. The Sixth Herrscher licked her lips, her long red and black hair flying in the wind pressure, and pressed down on the scythe with one hand, suppressing the Eighth Herrscher under the blade.

"Why help humanity?" Compared to the Sixth Herrscher's madness, the Eighth Herrscher was much calmer. She questioned her own kind whom she had betrayed, her hands gripping the end of the scythe tightly.

"Huh? A human? Hehehehe..." The Sixth Herrscher's teeth chattered as she mercilessly swung her free hand toward the Eighth Herrscher's face. "Isn't he Herrscher now too? What's wrong with Herrscher helping each other?! Hahahaha!"

But the punch landed on thin air. The Eighth Herrscher, which was originally a physical entity, had somehow been replaced by an illusion. The Sixth Herrscher spat and scanned the surroundings with ferocious pupils, searching for the Eighth Herrscher's figure.

"Because this is his subjective world, your image will also be adjusted according to his consciousness...?"

A booming voice came from all directions. The Sixth Herrscher transformed her scythe into a giant claw, an impatient smile playing on her lips, "You're Herrscher with a high level of self-awareness, just like me, right? If that's the case, why are you being so boring? When I tear your mouth into six pieces, can you still calmly analyze things? Wouldn't that make things a little more interesting?"

"... I can't understand it."

"Don't worry, you'll understand soon enough. In this virtual space you've created, why should I, a dead Herrscher, adhere to the old rules?"

"Traitor."

The Sixth Herrscher grinned indifferently. "We have two Herrscher. You're the traitor now, 'sister'."

But the moment she uttered the last word, that fleeting, almost imperceptible moment of reverie was keenly noticed by the Eighth Herrscher.

It was this seemingly insignificant difference that determined the outcome of the battle in the blink of an eye.