Who Isn't a Herrscher?

Hearing Luo Mio speak to her as if she were some kind of puppy or canine, Leticia rolled her eyes seductively and replied with a hint of authority in her voice.

"No. The controller's aura is mixed in with the auras of those fleeing rats, so I can't pinpoint it accurately."

"Is that so..."

Luo Mio narrowed his eyes slightly, then walked over to the rat corpse that Asuka's Evil-Breaking Cross Sword had cleaved in two.

As he looked at the rat's corpse, Luo Mio's eyes suddenly shifted. He turned to Asuka and asked in confusion.

"Asuka, I saw you use 'Authority' on those rats outside just now, right?"

"Mm."

Hearing Luo Mio's words, Asuka nodded. Her expression also became somewhat more despondent as she looked at the wine-red Gift Card in her hand.

"But my Authority didn't work... It had taken effect without any obstruction when I used it on passersby, but against those rats..."

"..."

Luo Mio fell silent at Asuka's words.

When they had been outside the cave, Luo Mio had seen Asuka use Authority on that swarm of rats.

Yet Asuka's Authority had no effect whatsoever on them.

According to Black Rabbit, Asuka's Authority was a raw talent, almost like an uncut gemstone that had never undergone artificial refinement. Moreover, Asuka's own talent seemed to have developed a tendency toward domination after such a long period of cultivation.

It was a Gift that altered animals, plants, and phenomena through the strength of one's own will.

However, Asuka's Authority also had an unavoidable flaw. When it encountered a transcendent individual of a higher rank than herself—an existence or weapon with a spiritual status one level above her own—her Authority could not exert its controlling effect.

A month earlier, Luo Mio had accompanied Asuka in testing the effects