"How is this possible? How can you be awake? You're supposed to still be in a state of consciousness coma!"
The Herrscher of Dominance stared at Elias in utter shock.
Their only hope of successfully killing him relied on him being unconscious and unable to resist.
Otherwise, even if Elias had less than ten percent of his full strength remaining, not a single Herrscher of Dominance would dare to appear before him.
The white-haired boy before them radiated terrifying pressure—just standing there was enough to make their hearts tremble. He didn't look injured at all; on the contrary, he looked fully recovered.
Then what the hell were they even doing here?!
"It seems that even with hundreds of minds, not one of you is actually intelligent. Otherwise, the moment you stepped into this place—the moment you were trapped within the Labyrinth of Domination—you should've realized that all of this was a trap we deliberately set for you."
Elias spoke calmly as he opened a spatial gate, pulling out one of the Herrscher of Dominance from within and tossing her casually to the ground.
"!!!"
Every Herrscher of Dominance trembled.
The one Elias had thrown out was the same nurse who had previously reported that she had gravely injured him, urging the others to come finish the job.
Now, however, that very Herrscher was brain-dead—a mindless corpse animated only by the power of Fenghuang Down.
The remaining Herrscher of Dominance shuddered uncontrollably.
At last, they understood—it had all been a setup. From beginning to end, they had been dancing in the palm of this white-haired boy's hand. Every move they made had been foreseen and orchestrated by him.
They glanced at one another and, for a moment, shared the same illusion:
As if they were all puppets, their limbs bound by invisible strings—and the other ends of those strings were clenched tightly in Elias' hands.
From start to finish, this white-haired boy had been treating them as mere marionettes to toy with and control at his whim.
Elias had already wrung every ounce of use out of them.
First, he exploited their identity as Herrscher of Dominance to eliminate every traitor within the human ranks. Then, he lured them into this labyrinth to hunt and humiliate them for sport.
"Don't call me despicable," Elias said, spreading his arms slightly, his tone indifferent. "Our camps are different—eternal enemies, until death. Against enemies, one should be as ruthless as possible, use every advantage available. Besides, you're not the kind of foes worthy of respect."
He looked at the two hundred-plus Herrscher of Dominance before him, thinking idly about how he should kill them.
Of course, it wasn't necessary to kill them all—he'd keep a few alive to send down to The Deep End for Vill-V to use as prisoners or collectibles.
Ever since Sheele and Himeko were "released," that place had been empty. Elias thought it was about time to restock the "Herrscher prison."
He also planned to send a few over to Mobius. The snake had requested several Herrscher of Dominance as experimental materials—and he'd granted the request.
Although Elias was, by nature, a man of high moral standards—
That principle only applied to those who weren't his enemies.
Once he deemed someone his enemy, he no longer considered them human. He would show no mercy, recognize no bottom line, acknowledge no restraint.
Elias would extract every ounce of value from his foes, seize their strength, and play with their minds and bodies at will. He didn't mind turning his enemies into toys for his amusement.
The boy's gentleness had always been reserved solely for those he loved. His kindness and compassion—rarer and more precious than gold or jewels—had never been meant for his enemies.
"Damn it! It's all because of that useless one's false intel!"
"That damn human actually fooled us!"
"There are so many of us—he can't possibly kill us all!"
"Fight! Fight to the death!"
"No matter what it takes, the Honkai will triumph over humanity!!"
The remaining Herrscher of Dominance clenched their teeth, unleashing their powers in unison. Some ignited with flames, others conjured wind blades, one manifested a small pistol, another generated arcs of lightning—their abilities were as varied as they were chaotic.
Yet Elias merely watched, pity flickering briefly in his golden eyes.
Pathetic.
The Honkai distributed fragments of the previous Herrschers' powers to these Herrscher of Dominance as if tossing scraps to beggars—splitting and diluting the original authorities a thousandfold before handing them out carelessly.
"But even if you possess a multitude of abilities, what does it matter? None of you have individual Honkai energy exceeding 200 HW. With output limits that low, no matter how many you gather, you're nothing more than a rabble."
Elias shook his head, speaking the cold truth.
The Herrscher of Dominance from the Previous Era were truly unimpressive—too limited, too weak, lacking any distinctive traits.
Although they carried numerous Cores, Elias didn't even bother extracting a single one to embed into the Key of Blankness. None of their powers were worth his attention.
Unless, of course, they were Herrscher of Dominance from the Current Era—that might be more interesting.
After all, the ability to endlessly resurrect as long as one puppet remained intact, and to divide into thousands of bodies simultaneously, was rather practical. As for their power to dominate other Herrschers—that had little value to Elias.
After all, he had already nearly gathered all Herrscher Cores himself.
"Don't underestimate us! Even if we die—we'll make you bleed!"
One of the Herrscher of Dominance shouted viciously.
"Ah, well, that is quite the threat," Elias said with mock seriousness. "I really don't want your blood dirtying my clothes, though. After all, this outfit was hand-sewn by Eden herself."
Elias brushed the front of his pure white cloak affectionately. It was made from the finest fabric in the world, with white goose feathers embroidered along the cuffs.
He wasn't one to care much about fashion—honestly, Elias wouldn't have minded wearing something simple.
But Eden had strong opinions on that.
When the great artist once discovered that Elias' wardrobe consisted mostly of Fire Moth uniforms in slightly different styles, she immediately spent half a month personally sewing him several sets of stylish, sharp-looking outfits.
The one he was wearing now was one of those.
It was safe to say that the Savior's iconic image—and his immense popularity—owed quite a bit to Eden's efforts.
"Though I'm long accustomed to blood and carnage, I can't allow Eden's handmade clothes to be stained by you lot. Why don't I change before fighting you?" Elias said casually, opening a spatial gate and rummaging for an old set of clothes.
"You—you're mocking the Herrscher race!!"
The Herrscher of Dominance felt so furious she could almost die from rage.
"Eh? I'm serious," Elias replied, blinking innocently.
The women around them couldn't help but laugh helplessly.
Eden's golden eyes shimmered with delight. Her earlier frustration from failing to kill a few Herrschers herself had completely vanished. She hadn't expected Elias to treasure her handmade clothing this much.
At that moment, she resolved to make hundreds more sets when they got home—so Elias could wear something new every day. After all, the goddess of art could do just about anything.
But then—someone unexpected stepped forward.
"In that case, if you don't want your clothes stained, leave these enemies to me."
The purple-haired girl took off her glasses.
"Eh… Mei?"
Everyone turned to look at her, startled—including both Elias' allies and the Herrscher of Dominance. None of them had ever considered the scientist a combatant.
But in the next instant, Mei grabbed the edge of her white lab coat and flung it aside.
Beneath it gleamed a fitted suit of armor—black tactical bodysuit, combat heels, and a luxurious white mantle.
Elias' eyes widened slightly. He knew that armor all too well—the External Divine Key, Key of Blankness!
"Mei, when did you…"
"Elias, let me handle this one," Mei interrupted softly.
There was both confidence and quiet determination in her eyes.
"…Alright. Then I'll leave it to you, Mei."
Elias hesitated for a moment—but there was no reason to refuse. He smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder, eyes filled with expectation.
A surge of energy rushed through Mei as excitement and fighting spirit ignited within her. She turned toward the Herrscher of Dominance, her violet eyes shining with eagerness.
"Eli, are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, Mei's a scientist—you're really letting her jump into a fight?"
"Those Herrschers may be weak, but two or three together can still match a low-tier MANTIS!"
Elysia and the others couldn't help but protest in worry.
In their eyes, Mei was a pure scientist who had never set foot on the battlefield. No matter how advanced her armor was, there was no way she could handle over two hundred Herrscher of Dominance.
Even they would need some time to take out that many.
"Hehe, relax. Just trust Mei—and prepare yourselves to be amazed."
Elias folded his arms with full confidence. He was genuinely looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions soon.
On the other side, Mei's lips curved upward the moment she heard Elias speak with such faith in her. But the Herrscher of Dominance, seeing that this scientist dared to stand up and challenge them, immediately grew furious.
"Hah! Just a scientist acting so arrogant? Fine! If we can't kill Elias, at least we can kill you!"
"Everyone, get ready—let's show this woman what happens when she underestimates Herrschers! You really think changing clothes makes you a fighter?"
"But let's get this straight first—no calling for help when you lose, got it? Hey! You hear me?!"
With that, the Herrscher of Dominance charged straight toward her.
"Hehe, Elias was right. Even with hundreds of brains, not one of you is smart. Now, allow me to show you what science can do."
Mei reached behind her waist and drew a pair of twin pistols.
Not far away, Kevin's eyes went wide.
"Wait—what the hell?! That's the Judgment of Shamash! Mei, did you steal—uh, borrow—that from me?!"
"I only borrowed it for a while. And besides, Kevin, this isn't yours—it's Elias'. Also…" Mei smirked. "Everyone, open your eyes wide and watch carefully!"
She activated the Key of Blankness, linking it to the Herrscher Core of Fire within the Judgment of Shamash. In the next instant, under everyone's stunned gaze, the twin pistols transformed into a massive flaming greatsword!
Crimson flames coiled around her entire body, the white sections of the Key of Blankness turning red as an immense surge of Honkai energy erupted from her form—instantly surpassing 3000 HW…
"Shamash—Assault!" Mei roared.
Her swing was far from elegant, her stance technically incorrect—but the blade's arc burned through the air, instantly incinerating the Herrschers before her into nothingness.
Its power was hardly inferior to Kevin's own.
"???" Kevin stood frozen.
Everyone present—except Elias—was utterly stunned. Whether Flame-Chasers or Herrschers, all were left speechless.
In that moment, Mei's display of strength was no weaker than that of a high-tier MANTIS. She looked as if she had become a new Herrscher of Fire herself.
"Impossible! She's using Herrscher authority!"
"She's not wielding it as a weapon—she's using the authority itself?!"
"No way! A mere human can't possibly channel Herrscher power!"
"Wait—could it be her armor?!"
The Herrscher of Dominance, now reduced to fewer than fifty after Mei's first strike, were struck with horror. Their earlier disdain had completely vanished, replaced with fear and awe.
(It worked! I can fight too!)
Mei's heart pounded with exhilaration as she stared at the result of her slash. Checking the status of her armor, she gripped the flaming blade tighter, her excitement surging even higher.
The External Divine Key—Key of Blankness.
It was a combat armor capable of embedding Herrscher Cores directly into its system. Unlike other Divine Keys, the Key of Blankness treated the wearer's body itself as part of the weapon.
Based on the principle that "a Herrscher's Honkai energy exists within Imaginary Space, and their Core serves as the key to access it," the Key of Blankness could link a Herrscher Core directly to the human body—enabling a human to temporarily connect to Imaginary Space.
To wield Herrscher authority within a mortal frame.
"Holy crap—Mei, you're insane!"
"Since when did scientists become this overpowered?!"
"Mei-chan, you really are a terrifying opponent."
...
The Flame-Chasers stood frozen, jaws slack. Forget the Herrscher of Dominance—even they, her own comrades, were utterly stunned.
None of them had imagined that Mei had secretly developed such a godlike piece of equipment! To wield Herrscher authority without becoming a Herrscher—such an impossible fantasy was now unfolding before their very eyes.
"Come on! None of you are getting away!"
Mei charged headlong toward the Herrscher of Dominance.
She wasn't exactly graceful—her movements with the flaming greatsword were rough, more like she was being swung around by the weapon's sheer weight than actually swinging it herself.
Yet, her presence alone completely crushed the Herrscher of Dominance. And even if her swordsmanship was clumsy, Herrscher combat wasn't about skill—it was about authority.
The Herrscher of Fire's power, which manipulated molecular motion itself, was now perfectly wielded in the hands of the greatest scientist of the Previous Era. The greatsword of Shamash was merely her artistic flourish.
"What—what is wrong with this woman?!"
"D-Don't come any closer! Stay back!"
"Ahhh! It burns—it burns so much!!"
"Are all scientists monsters?!"
The Herrscher of Dominance couldn't take it anymore. They had already suffered enough today to start questioning their very existence. One by one, they turned to flee—but Mei raised her hand.
In the next instant, flames surged upward, forming a blazing wall that cut off all escape routes. She had already mastered the authority completely.
"I told you—you're not going anywhere."
Panting, Mei lifted her greatsword once more, pointing it at the last few remaining Herrschers—fewer than ten now.
She was doing the very thing she had dreamed of all her life.
(Do you see this, Elias? I finally don't have to just stand in the control room watching you fight. From now on, I can fight beside you—just like Elysia and the others!)
Just as every archer secretly dreams of fighting hand-to-hand—
Every scientist, perhaps, dreams of one day charging into battle—swinging a massive sword and cutting through their enemies with overwhelming power.
The Flame-Chasers had often felt powerless, frustrated that they couldn't always stand beside Elias on the battlefield. But in truth, Mei was the one who had felt that the most.
(Mei: "At least all of you can fight alongside him… but every time, I can only watch from the rear.")
The Key of Blankness had never needed to be created. Fire Moth already had more than enough combat power—even losing one Herrscher-class unit wouldn't have mattered.
So this armor was something Mei had secretly built.
It was her personal project.
Her ideal.
Her obsession.
It embodied the dream of a scientist who wished for nothing more than to fight alongside the boy she admired.
As Elias once said—
Many people misunderstood Mei. Because she commanded Fire Moth with such cold precision, they assumed she was a purely rational realist.
But in truth, Mei was a dreamer—a romantic, through and through.
After all, she was the girl who, as a child, once said she wanted to stand against the stars themselves.