Honkai's Thousand Laws, Abducting Kiana at the Start

However, Su Jue had the upper hand at this moment. He directly detonated the flames, forming a colossal flaming greatsword that covered half the sky. If Fu Hua were awake, she would have recognized it as a technique modeled after the Tai Xu Sword God.

As the sword strike descended, it illuminated more than half of Sky City with its flames. Any remaining clouds from the Honkai Bomb's explosion were completely incinerated.

The air, scorched by the heat, formed shockwaves that swept down from above, ultimately culminating in a storm. Within the tempest, Durandal desperately resisted the slash. The World Bubble within her body rapidly supplied immense amounts of Honkai Energy, creating a force to clash against it.

Hundreds of meters above the ground, the two powers finally collided with ultimate intensity, resulting in an annihilation-level explosion.

The towering, ancient trees, already stripped bare by the flames, were instantly reduced to dust. The rampaging power spread downwards, completely destroying the buildings on the upper levels. Beneath the trees, Mei, already exhausted, could only watch as the shockwave, carrying countless building ruins, bore down on her.

Just as she was beginning to feel numb, the Thousand Calamities puppet, which hadn't appeared for a long time, materialized once more. It directly pulverized the falling debris into dust before grabbing Mei's shoulder and fiercely throwing her away.

Flung through the air, Mei slammed into a wall with a loud thud, the pain contorting her face.

Was this rescue method intentional?

Chapter 116: Deliberately Playing Weak

Su Jue's expression remained unchanged as he successfully knocked Durandal down.

Having connected with Kiana's mental space, Su Jue, now in control of five Herrscher cores, found it not difficult to defeat Durandal. Moreover, this was merely knocking her down; neither side had revealed their trump cards yet.

If Su Jue were to fully utilize his five cores, leveling Sky City instantly would be child's play. However, his goal wasn't simply to take Kiana away, nor was it to kill Bianka. It was to put on a performance, to announce the arrival of Kiana to the entire world.

And during this grand announcement, Kiana's presence couldn't be too insignificant, otherwise, people wouldn't take it seriously. But if he appeared too strong, he would surely be targeted by various factions, especially that sinister blonde man who was undoubtedly spying on the battle right now and could fixate on Kiana's tail at any moment.

Su Jue had to appear powerful enough without becoming a public enemy of the world. As for assessing his combat strength, Durandal served as the perfect benchmark.

Therefore, this battle had to be fiercely contested within controllable limits. Choosing the Herrscher of Flames' abilities as his core was also a consideration. The power of flames, if nothing else, was incredibly spectacular, making it perfect for showing off.

As for the intense importance he displayed towards Kiana, it was merely a signal to others, indicating he had a weakness. For someone as cunning as Otto, a powerful enemy wasn't terrifying; as long as they had a weakness, he could deceive even a god.

But in reality, Kiana was merely a weapon, a tool. Everything he did was simply to sharpen that weapon.

"I will not be swayed by emotions," Su Jue muttered to himself, then added, "Absolutely."

After confirming once more that he truly had no emotional loopholes, Su Jue turned his gaze back to the ground. Bianka, knocked down by that sword strike, had crashed through the entire building, but this level of impact was merely a minor injury for Durandal.

As Su Jue gazed afar, a faint azure star flickered. The next second, the star transformed into a human figure. Durandal, wielding dual pistols, had approached, tearing through the searing airwaves and charging towards Su Jue.

Such a direct attack was not difficult to block. Although Su Jue wielded his greatsword with one hand, its sheer size gave it an extensive attack range, easily parrying the incoming assault. Then, flames erupted, and the two retreated after a brief clash.

However, he failed to notice that during their clash, Durandal was somewhat distracted. Her brow was furrowed, as if she were contemplating something.

"Bishop Otto, I am a warrior. I should win through the fairest duel."

"But the opponent is a Herrscher. In the fight against Honkai, only by any means necessary can victory be achieved."

Su Jue did not hear their conversation. During his duel with Bianka, he also had to manage his puppets, ensuring no mistakes occurred. Besides the puppets fighting Schicksal and the Thousand Calamities puppet interacting with Mei, the others had basically been helping civilians evacuate. These were all tools for promoting Kiana; it would be too wasteful for them to die under his hands.

After finishing his call with Otto, Durandal took a deep breath. She disliked Otto's unscrupulous methods but was not a rigid person. Looking at Su Jue standing in the sky, she charged forward once more.

This time, she did not intend to engage in close combat. The Eternal Silence Lance shot forward like a beam of light. As the dedicated weapon of the God-Slaying Armor, it would automatically return even if thrown.

"Awaken, defenders of glory." He summoned two more [Self-Driving Phantom Spirits]. When [King] and [Queen] cooperated, their combat power increased significantly.

However, this still posed no trouble for Su Jue. He wasn't limited to just using the greatsword for attacks. Theoretically, the Herrscher of Flames controlled molecular motion, a power rooted in the laws of physics that could destroy all existing human weaponry. It was only due to limitations in imagination and expressive ability that it manifested as flames.

As long as the surrounding temperature was high enough, it could destroy all energy attacks, except for the unreasonable Honkai Energy.

As the attacks from the Self-Driving Phantom Spirits descended, Su Jue didn't even bother to block. The attacks became illusory in the intense heat.

However, Durandal seemed to have anticipated this. As the Self-Driving Phantom Spirits dissolved into points of light, her figure, at some unknown point, had already closed in to within five meters of Su Jue.

Just a crude bait.

The five-meter distance vanished in an instant. Their figures crossed paths in the blink of an eye.

Durandal maintained her lunging posture, but blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The Moonlight Armor had been torn open by a large gash, with traces of high-temperature burns visible.

Indeed, just crude bait.

As a qualified Herrscher of a Thousand, Su Jue enjoyed these "You thought I was on the first floor, but I was actually on the fifth" scenarios.

Unless it was due to a flaw in his own emotions, he would never put himself in danger.

Durandal, having been counter-attacked by Su Jue, clutched her wound, breathing heavily. However, her azure eyes held a hint of guilt.

This isn't right!

In an instant, Su Jue felt a sense of unease. By the time he reacted, the Black Abyss White Flower was already within inches of him. Even worse, its target wasn't him, but Kiana, whom she was holding.

Pfft—

The greatsword of flames fell from the sky, hot blood splattering onto Kiana's face. In the final moment before the Black Abyss White Flower struck, Su Jue used half of his body to shield Kiana from the spear.

This is your sister, and you could still do that?

Or did she calculate that Su Jue would block?

However, looking at Durandal's expression, it was likely she was merely acting under someone's guidance.

The sharp lance had nearly pierced Su Jue's chest, making him look gruesome and terrifying.

Fortunately, it was merely a fatal wound. Although he hadn't expected Bianka to actually dare to act, the impact wasn't significant. He still had the Serenity Gem hidden away; he might as well use this injury to shatter her fighting spirit.

"Is this the method of Schicksal's Valkyries? Truly..." With half his lung pierced, Su Jue found it extremely difficult to speak. The power of the Black Abyss White Flower continued to ravage his body, preventing his wound from healing.

The continuously flowing blood gradually solidified under the scorching heat, creating a gruesome sight. However, given a Herrscher's physical resilience, would he die so easily from such a wound?

The Serenity Gem kept automatically healing Su Jue's injuries, forcing him to divert some of his attention to suppress it.

He gasped for air for a long time, even making Bianca think he was going to die right there.

"Truly spectacular."

Durandal's expression was complex. She could clearly hear the sarcasm in Su Jue's tone, but she couldn't refute it. This method of attacking a hostage went against her principles. In fact, she was only trying it out and hadn't expected Su Jue to sustain such severe injuries.

But they were enemies, and Su Jue's feigned weakness didn't disrupt her focus.

However, neither of them noticed that Kiana, who had been deeply unconscious, had eyelashes that trembled slightly, and a pained expression flickered across her brow.

Chapter 117: Dreamscape

The Honkai Bomb contained an overwhelming amount of energy, severely corroding both Kiana's consciousness and body, plunging her into a deep slumber.

To prevent any accidents, Su Jue chose to project the Theater of Domination into Kiana's mindscape, using the theater to help her bear the excess Honkai Energy. Her body still had the Serenity Gem, which would subconsciously repair her injuries, and Su Jue had actively invoked the Serenity Gem to accelerate her recovery.

Her damaged consciousness was maintained by Feather Dust's abilities. With the help of the Key of Consciousness, a multitude of relaxing dreamscapes could be constructed, allowing her fatigued spirit to rest.

Originally, this nurturing process was supposed to take a very long time, enough for Su Jue to deal with the final troubles in Sky City.

Strangely, however, no matter how beautiful the dreamscape, it would shatter quickly, as if Kiana's subconscious instincts instinctively rejected the dream's validity.

Within the vast Theater of Domination, a group of puppets with only basic forms stood guard around the stage. Each time a dreamscape shattered, another puppet would appear. As the dreamscapes multiplied, the puppets' appearances became more detailed, gradually shifting to resemble Su Jue.

This was Kiana's consciousness space, and she held absolute control over it. The Theater of Domination, as an intruder, had unknowingly been influenced by her subconscious.

The changes in the Theater of Domination were a sign of Kiana's consciousness about to awaken. However, according to Su Jue's predictions, her awakening was still at least two days away, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

The dreamscapes were continuously decreasing. The sleeping girl, unaware of what she was dreaming, had a blush spread across her cheeks.

For some reason, this particular dreamscape lasted for quite some time before gradually dissipating.

The dreamscape shattered again. As Kiana's consciousness became clearer, the swaying Theater of Domination grew more chaotic.

Until the final dreamscape arrived.

It was less of a dreamscape and more of a memory, a memory concerning Su Jue.

Yet, Kiana's perspective this time was peculiar. Her line of sight was very high, and objects appeared enormous.

In previous dreamscapes, although many were relaxed daily routines or her time at St. Freya, even in her dreams, Kiana clearly felt the absence of a very important person by her side, which caused the dreamscapes to shatter exceptionally quickly.

As her consciousness became clearer, Su Jue's image gradually solidified, making it harder for her to wake up. But no matter how difficult it was to wake, it was still her own perspective. This time, however, the angle was too strange.

But when she saw the young child, Kiana subconsciously held her breath, gradually forgetting she was in a dream.

"Tread Snow." She heard the boy's call. The boy sounded anxious, constantly searching the room. Kiana's perspective shifted back, as if hiding herself.

She curiously lowered her head and discovered she had a pair of fluffy little paws, with pure white fur like snow on her paws, while her body was entirely black.

So, she was the cat named Tread Snow.

Tread Snow hid on top of the wardrobe, occupying a high vantage point, and her fur color provided concealment. The little boy couldn't find her at all.

Watching the anxious little boy pacing back and forth, Tread Snow felt no urgency, only boredom – this foolish human still hadn't found this cat, truly too stupid.

With this thought, Tread Snow lowered her body, gradually closed her eyes, and purred herself to sleep.

Unbeknownst to her, the sky had completely darkened. Tread Snow, having had a good sleep, stretched and jumped down from the wardrobe.

"Meow~" A crisp cat meow echoed in the room. But the room was quiet, so quiet that the little cat felt a little scared.

She meowed loudly again, but the little boy, who would usually respond after just two meows, was silent today. The little cat found it strange and jumped to the window to look outside.

Outside, there was nothing but a sky full of stars. The window wasn't closed; Tread Snow only needed a gentle leap to reach the outside world.

However, Tread Snow didn't do that. The boy had taught her not to run out carelessly.

She sat by the window, waiting. Her stomach growled with hunger. The little cat wondered when the boy would return.

She sat there all night, thinking all night. By dawn, the boy still hadn't returned.

Two more days passed. Tread Snow was so hungry she was losing strength. The house had been emptied of its contents at some point. She didn't understand what moving was, nor why the boy had been in such a hurry.

Then, one day, the door opened.

Tread Snow excitedly ran to the door to greet the visitor, only to be met by a drunken man.

It was that bad man, seemingly the boy's father. The kitten didn't know what a father was; she just wanted the man to take her to find the boy.

The drunkard stepped on Tread Snow's paw. He hadn't seen the kitten at all until Tread Snow cried out in pain and he reacted.

"Where did this stray come from?" the man cursed and kicked Tread Snow away.

The kitten hit the wall. She struggled to get up, but her paws wouldn't obey, and her waist had lost all sensation. Broken bones crunched. Tread Snow used her remaining front paws to desperately crawl to the door and sat there, waiting for the boy's return.

Her consciousness gradually blurred. The kitten Tread Snow finally saw the boy's figure. She let out a meow.

The boy waved at her, calling her name.

Silently detaching from the lifeless cat body, Kiana took a deep breath. In front of the cat's corpse was only a photograph, and the place she found it was not by the door.

In the photo, the little boy was happily smiling, holding Tread Snow on a park bench.

Kiana didn't know why she had such a dream, but she was very familiar with the boy in the dream. In many previous dreams, she had been recalling his appearance.

Su Jue.

So what exactly was this dream foretelling? Before she could fully process it, the entire dream dissolved into fragments, shattering and withering away.

As the world plunged into darkness, the final dream finally ended, and Kiana in the theater gradually opened her eyes.

"Where is this?"

The girl murmured, looking at the collapsing theater around her. The puppets, born from the subconscious of the dream, were also fading away. Their bizarre behavior made her feel as if she were still dreaming.

However, when warm blood splattered on her face, Kiana suddenly realized something. She tightly grasped the snapping threads, and then some images slowly surfaced.

118 Herrscher Su Jue

Cries, wails, during the Great Honkai, no one could be saved.

A boy with gray hair stood amidst vast scorched earth, gazing up at the sky obscured by thick smoke and haze.

Gradually, the sunlight sank into the earth, and boundless darkness engulfed the land. The cries and wails of the despairing fell silent, leaving behind a dead, still world. The boy stood alone in the wasteland.

Although the image only showed the boy's back, Kiana seemed to see tears streaming down his face.

After a long while, moonlight pierced the haze and fell upon the ground. The boy, who had been looking up at the sky, turned around and looked in Kiana's direction.

Then she finally saw it: beneath the boy's gray hair, silhouetted against the moonlight, were his golden eyes.

The image suddenly vanished, and Kiana jolted awake.

"What was that?"

The figure of the gray-haired boy was undoubtedly Su Jue, but his numb, despairing expression was utterly incompatible with the boy she remembered, who never gave up.

"You know perfectly well, don't you? That's the mark of a Herrscher's awakening."

A familiar voice suddenly echoed in the silent mental world, like a hunter who had long observed its prey, thrusting its weapon into Kiana's mind and shattering her illusions.