"Honkai Legion—protect the embryo."
ROAAAR—!!
Issuing the command, Selene shot toward the San Francisco Bay, where Liver and Jackie were still locked in a fierce battle.
Moments after her departure, as the energy representing the world's yin continued to pour into the cocoon, the massive violet-black sphere began to pulse rhythmically—each throb echoing like the heartbeat of a giant.
With every beat, the purple-red cracks spreading across the ground widened, and the Honkai's corruption of the world deepened.
Now that Shendu, the Fire Demon—highest of the dark chi hierarchy—was undergoing full resurrection, and with no Immortals remaining on the side of yang to counterbalance him, the equilibrium of this world had completely collapsed.
Centered on the dragon statue's resting place, an ominous glow spread across the sky for hundreds of kilometers. The clouds above darkened, and the air grew heavy with an oppressive stillness.
From San Francisco outward, most of the western coast was now under the influence of demonic resurgence—the sign of a new era of evil.
Though, to the untrained eye, the surge of supernatural power made it seem as if the world was growing stronger, the truth was the opposite. The world's defensive barrier was weakening—fragile and stretched to its limits.
...
BOOM—!!
ROAAAR—!!
BANG!
Jackie's dark-blue battle armor glimmered faintly with each strike. Sonic booms erupted from his fists as he pounded the pink-and-white 'demonic' creatures that stood in his way.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
His punches grew faster and heavier. The Seraph-class Honkai Beasts that blocked his path were pulverized into dispersing violet-red energy particles. Even the Chariot-class and Templar-class ones were sent flying, crashing through building after building.
At this level of destruction, collateral deaths among civilians were inevitable, though Jackie was far too focused to notice. Since donning the Divine Armor, his expression had grown colder—his resolve sharper.
"Damn it... I was this close to finishing Liver. Where did all these monsters come from... And Uncle... is he alright?" Jackie hovered midair, his breath ragged, eyes grim.
"Hahahaha... Jackie, I'll admit it—you're a true warrior. But it's over! Do you see it? General Selene's Honkai Legion has descended! This world is finished!"
"Cough... Give up! I can recommend you to the General herself. Surrender now, and she may spare your family—perhaps even grant you a position of power!"
Liver wiped blood from his lips, laughing between coughs. Perhaps out of genuine respect—or nostalgia—he found something familiar in Jackie's defiance, something that reminded him of the soldiers he once led.
Of course, he had no idea Selene had already turned Jackie's family to ash.
Without hesitation, Jackie barked back, "Never!"
"Liver... I can feel it. There's still justice inside you. So why? Why surrender yourself to a demon?!" he demanded, voice echoing through the smoke as the Honkai Beasts momentarily paused their assault.
Liver wiped his mouth again, his tone filled with regret. "...Wrong answer, I'm afraid. Which means... you'll have to die."
"Water Dragon—Heaven's Retribution!"
Buzz...!
Hearing the familiar sound, Jackie scowled. "Damn it! These monsters just won't stop coming!" He watched as the massive beasts around them began to charge their violet-red energy once more.
At this rate, he knew he couldn't hold out for long.
Taking a deep breath, he surged through the air, weaving between blasts of energy. "Then I'll end this the only way I can—cut off the head! Take down Liver first!"
But before he could close the distance—
ROOOAR!! A massive blue-glowing hand descended from the heavens, radiating crushing Honkai energy.
It was already too late to dodge.
Crossing his arms in front of him, Jackie braced himself. "Then come on!" he roared, meeting the attack head-on.
But this was no ordinary foe. The Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Assaka, stood on an entirely different level from the others.
BOOOOM!!
The impact shattered the sound barrier multiple times over. Jackie's armored body was hurled downward like a missile, crashing into the San Francisco Bay with a deafening explosion that sent seawater soaring hundreds of meters into the sky.
There was no familiar sensation of impact against flesh. The creature—struggling against his crushing force only moments ago—had somehow survived, protected by a sudden burst of energy shielding it at the last second. The Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Assaka, blinked its small eyes in confusion and rumbled softly, "Rrrr...?"
The next instant—whoosh!
In a flash of golden light, Jackie erupted upward from the depths of the bay, his expression dazed and uncertain. "I... what just happened...?"
ROAAAR—!
The beast's bellow jolted him back to awareness. Drenched in seawater and sweat, he looked up at the towering red-and-blue colossus before him—and at the countless Honkai Beasts gathering all around.
"I can't waste any more time!"
There was no room for hesitation. Whatever strange power had just surged through him didn't matter. What mattered was stopping the monster—defeating Liver—and sealing away the new demon.
Taking advantage of his current, inexplicably enhanced state, Jackie blurred forward, crossing nearly a kilometer in an instant. His golden-glowing fist shot forward like lightning.
"Get out of my way!" he roared, his voice cold and sharp as steel.
BOOOOM!!
The air exploded. Assaka's enormous body—hundreds of meters tall—was hurled backward like a ragdoll, crashing through clouds and sea alike.
The Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Assaka—defeated within minutes of appearing!
"What the hell... how did his power spike like that?!" Liver muttered, watching in disbelief. Ever since Jackie had donned the Divine Armor, his strength had increased exponentially with every moment.
It was absurd. Liver had been winning easily at first, but now—after only a few clashes—he was being utterly crushed. Worse yet, Jackie's energy was still climbing.
"Liver!" Jackie shouted. "Now it's your turn!"
As he spoke, the Divine Armor around him blazed even brighter. In the blink of an eye, his speed and power surged again—so rapidly that the surrounding air ignited from sheer friction.
Locking onto Liver's aura, Jackie tore through the air, smashing aside the Honkai Beasts in his path. But just as he was about to close in—
Something moved above.
A crushing pressure descended from the sky.
Danger!
The Divine Armor's systems screamed in warning. Every cell in Jackie's body froze in instinctive terror. He tried to dodge—but before he could move, a silver-white figure appeared before him in an instant.
CRACK—!!
Even through the divine plating, Jackie felt it—the sharp, searing pain of shattered ribs.
"Ghh—!" Blood and bits of tissue spattered from his mouth as his body contorted midair.
His lower half still surged forward with momentum, while his upper body snapped backward, forming a grotesque Z-shape in the air.
Had it not been for the Divine Armor's protection and the strengthening of the yang energy of righteousness, Selene's punch would have turned him into vapor.
"The backlash of the world's positive force, hmm?" Selene's voice dripped with contempt. "So... you think the Immortals will resurrect through this man's body? You think I'd let that happen?"
She seized Jackie's head in one hand, her crimson eyes narrowing to cold slits. "Trying to resurrect?" she said, her voice low and lethal. "No chance in hell."
A violet crystal platform materialized beneath her feet.
CRACK! The air itself shattered like glass.
In the next moment, Selene moved.
The atmosphere splintered under the force of her acceleration, fractures webbing outward in all directions.
BOOOOOOM!!
Still gripping Jackie's head, she used his body as a shield, hurtling through the air at incomprehensible speed. Within seconds, she had crossed tens of kilometers inland.
Everything in their path—stone, steel, even the sea itself—melted into molten glass beneath the heat of their passage.
The entire city of San Francisco was split in two by the blazing torrent of magma left in her wake.