Scorching red, profound blue.
Two lights that should have been clearly distinct were now completely intertwined, together forming a cataclysm that would extinguish all things.
BOOOOMM!!!!!
The earth disintegrated, and clouds scattered.
A bottomless chasm stretched to the horizon, and the ravaged lands of the Mu Continent were once again gouged with a wound that cut deep to the bone.
"Oh?"
The most impossible thing.
It had indeed appeared right before his eyes: the combination attack of [Atomic Breath] and [Proton Scream] just now...
Had missed!
The attack that should have been fatal.
It had been simultaneously affected on both a physical and mental level!
At the final moment before the attack was unleashed, a voice saying, "Please aim elsewhere," had suddenly appeared in his mental world. Lu Xing, who possessed the Authority of Sentience, hadn't put up many defenses against mental interference, not expecting that a mental attack could actually affect him.
As for the physical level.
The influence came from the already overloaded and burnt-out Abyss Cannon.
Kevin was not a large target; even a slight deviation could cause the attack to miss. The Eye of the Abyss, however, was different. Given its size, even the interfered-with [Proton Scream] could have destroyed it with even a glancing blow. The Emperor's attack was intended to annihilate both Kevin and the Eye of the Abyss at once!
Therefore...
The President had not hesitated in the slightest.
The Abyss Cannon, positioned diagonally behind Kevin, had fired directly at the Imaginary Emperor the very instant Lu Xing made his move!
Since it was not a head-on collision, the attacks released by both sides dissipated into a flow of energy after converging, surging out towards the horizon along with the explosive shockwave!
Clang!
Whoosh!
The sound of the impact was even louder than the howling gale.
The Emperor returned to a "standing" posture, his gaze fixed firmly on the Eye of the Abyss below—
That thing was no longer a threat for the time being.
What was truly annoying...
Were the "moths" emerging from the dust and smoke.
Light brown long hair, a black-and-white nun's habit with a cross, paired with the faint, transparent butterfly wings drooping behind her—
The future third of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers: "Discipline" Aponia.
Aponia was strong.
However, on her own, the power of her "Discipline" was not enough to affect the Imaginary Emperor who possessed the Authority of Sentience.
What made up for this shortcoming...
Came from the feather she held cupped in her hands—
"Eighth Key of God: Key of Consciousness, Yudu Chen."
That's right.
The power to counter a Herrscher's Authority also came from a Herrscher.
The Herrscher Core extracted from Ange's "body," combined with Aponia's power, allowed "Discipline" to break through the Imaginary Emperor's mental defenses and successfully interfere with his actions. Although the effect was minuscule, in a battle at their level, any detail could determine the outcome.
And this...
Was precisely why Aponia had brought "Yudu Chen" here.
"Eighth Key of God: Yudu Chen."
This crucial weapon was not born from thin air. It was created by Vill-V, who, after Mobius shared relevant data on the "Gray Serpent (consciousness transfer)" (an event that was a miracle in itself), worked desperately alongside Dr. Mei to build it (to give the front-line combatants a chance to recover, neither of them underwent deep treatment after the battle).
At the same time.
The "moths" the Emperor spoke of did not refer to Aponia alone—
Su, Sakura, Kalpas.
Plus Griseo and Kosma, who had already arrived and were still alive.
Besides the heavily injured and fallen Kevin, six warriors of the Flame-Chasers were gathered here!
The next moment.
All the Fusion Warriors performed the exact same action: they took the vials of medicine held in their hands and brutally injected them into their bodies!
"So that's how it is."
His gaze swept over the weapons plunged into the ground.
A slender sword of interweaving gold and silver, a purple narrow-bladed tachi...
Aside from the "Yudu Chen" held by Aponia, the weapons in Su's and Sakura's hands all looked extremely similar to Keys of God!
"Counterfeits."
That's right, counterfeit Keys of God.
By relying on the pseudo-cores obtained from Pseudo-Herrschers and modifying them using the data they had on the Keys of God, they could create degraded, even single-use versions of the Keys.
This was one of Dr. Mei's many unrealized plans.
Imagine.
If the adaptation problem of the Blank Key could be solved, the combat power that could be unleashed by combining artificial Keys of God with the Blank Key... if that could truly be achieved, it probably wouldn't even be difficult to overwhelm the Eleventh Herrscher through sheer numbers.
And these artificial Keys of God.
They were essentially the precursor versions of the yet-to-appear, one-thousand-strong "Tenth Key of God: Key of Domination."
The weapon previously in Su's hands.
It was clearly a counterfeit of "Chien-Chieh I-ch'eng."
The Flame-Chasers' ability to rush here so quickly was likely thanks to this thing. To think they could achieve this with a counterfeit, even while the Eye of the Abyss's spatial interference was still in effect... as expected of...
The Children of Civilization.
But so what!
Krak—
Taking advantage of the moment the Emperor was influenced by Aponia, plus the opening after his ultimate attack, Kalpas successfully rescued Kevin from Lu Xing's grasp.
Unfortunately, Sakura did not succeed in reclaiming the Judgement of Shamash!
One must know.
The Emperor had far more than just two Herrscher Cores within him.
With his will alone, Lu Xing could transform the Judgement of Shamash into its Jiemie Form, or...
Pop!!
Rip out the Herrscher Core!
The gem-like core slowly rotated in the Emperor's hand. The flames encircling the sword's blade instantly surged into the gem as if birds returning to their nest the moment it was extracted!
Clang.
The dim Soulium blade fell to the ground.
At the same time, the Core of the Herrscher of Flame transformed directly into a crimson fire dragon, surging along the Emperor's arm and into his body!
The Emperor, who possessed the power of five cores.
He could directly absorb the power of a Herrscher Core's Authority without even needing to reveal his Honkai Crystal!
And now—
DENG!!!
Among the six Herrscher Authorities.
The final shortcoming, the lack of the Herrscher of Flame's Core, was completely filled!
A tidal force of flame flowed back and forth across the Emperor's body, and the channel connecting to the Imaginary Space expanded by more than half again!
His abilities hadn't changed, his skills weren't enhanced.
But...
"Flame-Chasers."
His body slowly unfurled.
Arms, wings, halo, crown.
Everything without exception displayed the Emperor's terrifying power—
"Let's see if my Honkai Energy runs out first..."
Swoosh!!
The massive figure vanished in an instant.
In the next moment, he had already appeared above Aponia!
"...Or if you all..."
Aponia, in her "Artificial Eruption," had only just begun transforming into the likeness of the Honkai Beast "Mitra"; the Emperor's [Annihilation Iron Fist], perfectly fusing the power of four elements, was already smashing viciously towards her back!
"...are wiped out first!"