Honkai, I Alone Save Everything

"...Invading St. Freya Academy?"

The silver-haired girl was slightly surprised.

Her surprise was twofold.

On one hand, St. Freya Academy, as the Far East Branch headquarters of Schicksal, possessed numerous defensive measures and a considerable number of Valkyries.

Under these circumstances, what kind of talent would Cocolia need to deploy to successfully invade this place?

Could it be that she planned to send a large force of Titan Mechas to attack here…

On the other hand, her mother had not given up on Mei, still intending to capture her.

"Don't worry, my research has recently made some progress… I'll take this opportunity to test just how powerful my [Artificial Herrscher] experiment subject has become."

Cocolia said with a hint of pride.

The experiment concerning artificial Herrschers was her primary research focus, and she had achieved some research results by now.

Since there were results, they needed to be tested.

Chapter 46: Recollection: The Tragedy of Binding

Unlike touching ordinary weapons, upon touching the Oath of Judah, many images appeared before Ming Yu's eyes.

He quickly realized that these were memories from its "past life," experiences from when it was active as the Herrscher of Binding.

The eleventh Herrscher of the previous civilization, the being known as "Binding," possessed power that defied common sense, like a paradox.

—The previous ten Herrschers relied on Honkai energy, wielding the authority to eliminate humanity and civilization, and utilized Honkai energy in various ways.

Similarly, to counter the Herrschers' ever-increasing destructive power, humanity's Fire Moth, through the efforts of Dr. MEI and Mobius, developed hyper-mutation surgery, giving birth to Flame-Chasers who combined the power of Honkai Beasts.

However, the Herrscher of Binding was an "anti-Honkai energy" existence. She could deploy a barrier with a radius of 100 kilometers, rendering all Honkai energy within the barrier completely ineffective except for her own, while also suppressing other forms of Honkai energy to a certain extent.

Even Flame-Chasers, whose bodies were different from ordinary humans, could not survive for long within the barrier. Electronic devices, aside from those used by soldiers, also could not function normally within it.

This battle was precisely the most brutal war in the history of the Fire Moth, and even the previous civilization's fight against the Honkai. Although the ninth Herrscher's final attack caused the disappearance of Mu Continent, humanity's most important technological research center, the Fire Moth's main combat force at least remained intact.

But in the process of fighting the Herrscher of Binding, over ninety-nine percent of the Flame-Chasers perished in this battle.

It was after this battle that only thirteen Flame-Chasers remained in the entire Fire Moth. Humanity's struggle against the Honkai shifted from prosperity to decline, step by step falling into the abyss.

—The above was the information Ming Yu had roughly understood about the Herrscher of Binding.

As for the specific details of this tragedy, he was actually not very clear.

After all, in the game, all the details of this battle were basically scattered throughout various dialogues in [Elysium Everlasting]. Although he had a general understanding of the plot, he hadn't delved into every minute detail like a "Honkai scholar."

At most, he knew that Kevin personally defeated the Herrscher of Binding, ending this tragedy.

But now, he was indeed witnessing the details of this battle, and seeing them very clearly.

Well… it was just from the Herrscher's own perspective.

A white-haired girl walked through the city, advancing at a leisurely pace.

Beside her, all living beings had already lost their breath, and those who were still barely alive were rapidly approaching their demise.

She had no emotions, merely moving towards a predetermined direction.

That direction was the location of the Fire Moth's base.

To destroy it, to destroy this organization established by humans to fight the Honkai, was her mission.

Her actions were progressing very smoothly. After all, a barrier with a radius of 100 kilometers was enough to encompass their base before the Fire Moth could even detect her presence.

The girl didn't need to act personally, nor did she need to witness it. Simply advancing like this was enough to exterminate all life.

However, such tranquility did not last long. Within her field of vision, for the first time, she saw the figure of a human who could move normally.

No, was that really a human…?

It was a man with fiery flames burning all over his body, wearing a mask.

He was gradually approaching her, but unfortunately, the closer he got to her, the stronger her [Binding] effect became.

The flames on this unknown man were being extinguished, clearly indicating he was unable to reach her.

The Herrscher of Binding quietly watched as this fiery demon, seemingly from hell, knelt on the ground as it could no longer sustain itself, appearing as if he was about to faint.

"...!"

However, in the next second, his body stood up again.

Relying on her sensitivity to abnormal energy, the girl sensed that he was not standing up through his own will.

Someone else was forcefully controlling his body to fight through mental manipulation.

—The binding barrier she created naturally had a high degree of resistance to mental perception-based abilities, but that was limited to herself.

If other creatures within the barrier were controlled through mental manipulation, the barrier's suppressive effect would not be as good, making remote control feasible.

But it didn't matter. As long as she approached gradually, within a sufficiently close range, he would still be completely bound by the power of [Binding].

The girl continued to advance at a leisurely pace, moving towards the fiery demon whose appearance she could not discern.

But at the same time, more and more Flame Chasers also appeared within the young girl's field of vision.

Though slow, they were indeed approaching her.

...They want to overwhelm me with numbers?

Unfortunately, she is not someone who can be defeated by mere numbers.

No matter how many there are, they cannot reduce the suppression efficiency of the Binding Herrscher's barrier.

These later humans wore no masks, so the young girl could clearly see their pained expressions.

The feeling of slowly dying while being targeted by the power of [Binding], was far more agonizing than being instantly killed by intense fire, frost, or wind.

That powerlessness of watching oneself gradually lose control of their body, feeling their life force slowly drain away, could destroy both their body and mind.

The Flame-Mao, burning with flames, was already close. He swung his fiery fist, attempting to attack her.

But this too, was of little use to her.

Although her primary strength was in deploying this ridiculously large barrier, she herself didn't possess overwhelming combat power. However, through the barrier's suppression, she could significantly reduce the capabilities of all enemies.

Perhaps this Flame-Mao was an elite warrior of Fire Moth, but now, standing within the barrier, he could likely only exert the combat power of an ordinary soldier.

The Herrscher of Binding engaged him in a struggle, easily gaining the upper hand and suppressing his movements.

During this time, other humans also attempted to attack her in various ways, but with little success.

After knocking down the man before her with a punch, the Herrscher of Binding's heart fluttered slightly.

It was a sense of crisis, as if a formidable attack was about to strike.

The young girl was very confident in her barrier's performance, but out of caution, she still scanned her surroundings for suspicious enemies.

Soon, she spotted a gray-haired girl.

She wore the same tight combat suit as most of the Flame Chasers from Fire Moth, but this girl had a crimson feather floating in her hand.

A feather... that was burning vigorously.

But unlike the flames on the Flame-Mao before her, who had already been defeated and knocked to the ground, the feather in the girl's hand had no heat.

It was as if what was burning was not matter, but some kind of spiritual fuel.

Soon, a phoenix, much like the Crimson Flower, soared into the sky and flew towards her from the gray-haired girl's location.

Confidently, the young girl raised her hand, intending to suppress this attack with the power of Binding.

This move had always been very effective. Whether it was fire, frost, or electromagnetic attacks, all forms of energy attacks found it difficult to reach her side. Even if they did, the damage they could inflict was quite limited.

But this time, although the phoenix was constrained by the barrier, its decline was much slower than that of the previous attacks.

The young girl soon realized something:

—This is a mental attack!

By the time she realized this, the Herrscher of Binding had no time to mount any other defenses.

The phoenix engulfed her form. The attack, originating from the spiritual plane, did not burn her, but it did indeed halt her steps.

Because of this strike, her consciousness briefly entered a state of paralysis.

And this was precisely the gray-haired girl's intention.

The opportunity to kill the Herrscher of Binding was fleeting, and now was the best chance.

—Kalpas and the other Flame Chasers would engage her head-on, creating an opportunity for her to activate Feather of the Wind at its first rated power.

Up to this point, everything had proceeded smoothly.

While the powerful mental attack had indeed caused the Herrscher of Binding to stall, it was obvious that a mental attack alone was far from enough to kill her.

To completely eliminate her, they would still have to rely on Fire Moth's most powerful warrior—

The gray-haired girl looked up at the sky.

The man named Kevin was preparing his strongest attack at a height beyond her sight.

This was a plan hastily devised due to the Herrscher of Binding's assault, with all Flame Chasers entering the barrier together to attract the Herrscher of Binding's attention.

Neither the nearly dead Flame Chasers, nor Kalpas, nor herself, were the main attackers.

Their mission was simply to stall the Herrscher of Binding, to keep her position fixed.

The true main attacker would descend from the sky, executing a precise vertical strike.

Like a meteor falling to the ground, the man, wielding the Judgment of Shamash, descended from the heavens. The Judgment of Shamash was unsheathed once more.

By the time the Herrscher of Binding's consciousness returned, she could already feel a heat that seemed capable of incinerating a person.

—This heat was far more terrifying than that of the Flame-Mao from before.

The young girl had no doubt that an attack of this magnitude could take her life, but at the same time, everyone present would likely die.

If an attack of this intensity were to land, no human nearby would be spared.

So, in a way, the victor was still her.

The flame, carrying a deadly high temperature, cut into her body. Even the Binding barrier could not completely suppress this heat.

In what felt like an instant, her life was completely extinguished.

Before the girl's consciousness completely faded, she only saw ice, starkly different from the flames that had taken her life, spreading out and freezing everything around her.

All the blood that had once flowed on this land was frozen in mid-air, suspended as it had just been flung.

Originally, ice should have been colorless and transparent, but the solid ice blanketing this land was, at this very moment, a vivid crimson.

So this was the past of the Herrscher of Binding...

By touching a God Key, one could passively learn its past through the power of projection magic?

A massive influx of information hit him, and Ming Yu had to take some time to process it.

"Ming Yu, what's wrong?"

Kiana, standing beside him, saw him fall into a momentary daze after touching the Oath of Judah. She curiously poked his head with a delicate finger, pulling his consciousness back to reality.

"...Nothing."

Ming Yu shook his head.

After these memories flooded into his mind, he vaguely realized that he could now project a portion of the Oath of Judah's armament.

In a sense, he had come to understand the origin of the Herrscher of Binding and gained a deep understanding of it.

"Then let's go back together! Mei can make something delicious for a late-night snack tonight!"

Kiana suggested.

"You really never seem to get full... Alright, let's head back."