Leo Ash had activated Phantasmagoria on Rin, but this Phantasmagoria wasn't meant to rewrite her perception.
Ultimately, besides the two uses of [materializing the target's thoughts and past memories] and [rewriting parts of the target's cognition], Phantasmagoria had a third use—[weakening the energy intensity of the area/person/creature where the barrier is used].
And this so-called ability to weaken the energy intensity of the area/person/creature was actually Phantasmagoria's strongest combat characteristic.
In the original work where the Void Demon Stone Fragment appeared, "11eyes: Crossover," the ability user Minase Yuka, after activating Phantasmagoria, nullified the abilities of several other users.
When the enemy creatures, the 'Dark Sprites,' were hit by Phantasmagoria, they would be instantly annihilated due to its energy-weakening property.
And the abilities her companions gained from other Void Demon Stone Fragments would also be nullified within the Phantasmagoria.
A pyrokinesis user couldn't ignite flames within the barrier.
A user with an immortal body and automatic regeneration would revert to an ordinary human inside the barrier.
And now, after using this ability on Rin, Leo Ash felt, as expected, that the energy intensity from Rin's body had significantly dropped.
Although Rin's own strength was formidable, preventing Phantasmagoria from completely suppressing her, the weakened Rin no longer posed a threat to Leo Ash.
"Human... what did you do!"
Confirming that the drop in her energy intensity was not a hallucination, Rin completely panicked.
This feeling... is it Binding?!
No, Binding was killed by those damn humans...
Wait, the humans of today and the humans of back then don't seem to be the same group.
And before, on that long-haired woman, I also sensed the aura of 'Thunder'.
So, that wasn't a delusion?
Having reached the next era, Thunder has already awakened.
In that case—the probability that Binding has also awakened is not zero!
"You should be on our side, Binding!"
Shouting the other's name, Rin furiously charged at Leo Ash.
"Why did you choose to side with the humans!"
As Rin charged out of the barrier, she felt the power that had just been weakened instantly recover by a fair amount.
Because of this, the confidence she had lost returned in that moment.
"...I'm a Herrscher? Since when."
Watching Rin, who had recovered a significant amount of her power, Leo Ash began to condense the energy he had absorbed through Royal Guard into his right fist.
And the energy he had absorbed from Rin's fireballs now surprisingly possessed the properties of fire.
Upon releasing this power, Leo Ash's right fist ignited with flames.
These flames did not burn his fist; instead, they gently wrapped around it like a creature he had tamed.
"Instead of running away, you're charging towards me?"
"That's fine too."
After condensing his power to its peak, Leo Ash leaped up and slammed his fist heavily onto Rin's head.
Previously, Rin had been hit a few times on the head when Leo Ash jumped on it, creating a wound.
And now, Leo Ash naturally slammed his fist, without holding back, onto the same wound.
One strike.
The moment this punch hit the enemy, Leo Ash even caused the mana in his body to erupt from his fist, pouring his remaining mana into the enemy's body.
"So... painful! What are you trying to do!"
Feeling a power different from Honkai Energy appear inside her, Rin, who was about to attack, now found that her power was being further weakened.
"Do I need to explain what I'm doing to you?"
Landing on the ground, Leo Ash coldly gazed at the space beneath Rin's body.
In the spot Leo Ash was looking at, Phantasmagoria manifested once again.
But this time, the re-manifested Phantasmagoria was powered by the mana Leo Ash had blasted into her body.
The mana continuously seeped from the inside out, activating the barrier's power.
And at this moment, Rin, whose strength had been weakened and whose head had been struck, was now too late to stop this terrifying barrier from weakening her power.
In that instant, countless chains woven from mana began to entwine around Rin's body, completely restraining her.
The immobilized Rin could only watch helplessly as Phantasmagoria continuously weakened, weakened, and weakened her power, and then...
After more than ten seconds, the fox demon before them disappeared.
In her place, a pink-haired girl bound by iron chains appeared on the ground.
Seeing the girl's appearance, Yae Sakura cried out in shock.
"Rin...!"
It wasn't Yae Sakura's fault.
After all, Rin, in her true form, bore a striking resemblance to her younger sister, Yae Rin.
"Binding... let me go!"
Struggling relentlessly, Rin stared at Leo Ash with eyes filled with nothing but hatred.
"Why are you siding with the humans, the humans are clearly—"
"If you could, please refrain from framing me."
Hearing the footsteps from behind, Leo Ash said very calmly.
"I'm just a human, not the 'Binding' you speak of."
Are you kidding me? If I were really the Herrscher of Binding, would I need to go through so much trouble to beat you?
"Human? You?"
Looking at Leo Ash's cold eyes, Rin said with great resentment.
"Whoever you are—if you're going to kill me, just get it over with!"
*Hmph, in the end, humans are just this kind of despicable creature.*
*Come on, after you kill me again, you, in your complacency—will only have your body taken over by me, hiding in the Stigmata space.*
"Kill you? Why would I do that."
Looking at this collapsing space, Leo Ash slightly raised his right hand, causing the mana-woven chains to bind Rin even tighter.
He then directly covered Rin's body with the Phantasmagoria and spoke to the bewildered Rin.
"There's no benefit for me in killing you."
"You just stay here and reflect on your actions."
To change Rin with love, that was the original story's strategy.
But honestly, the so-called 'changing with love' is highly dependent on one's state of mind.
In the original story, Theresa was able to directly reform Rin because that woman truly had great love in her heart.
Even knowing it was her grandfather who killed her most important friend, Theresa was still willing to forgive her grandfather.
Leo Ash knew he wasn't that broad-minded.
If someone he despised was placed in front of him, given enough mental preparation, Leo Ash might just twist their head off without a second thought.
And for Rin, as long as the person she tried to tempt truly had hatred in their heart, she could slowly turn them into a malevolent Pseudo-Herrscher, just as she had corrupted Yae Sakura's mind and body.
The audience had already been shown how miserable it was to become a Herrscher through the original story's Raiden Mei.
[Darkness rushes in from all directions, as if to tear one's body to shreds]—this is the future a host must face the moment they become a Herrscher.
And after that, the awakened Herrscher Personality will try to suppress and erase the host's human personality, eventually using the Herrscher's body as its own.
Leo Ash felt that his life was still pretty good...
Alright, even though he was forced by Schicksal to complete missions, forced by the troublemaking faction of Anti-Entropy to help suppress Raiden Mei, and running around every day just to stay alive, he still felt that this life wasn't too bad.
Not to mention how severe the pain of becoming a Herrscher is, if the Herrscher Personality suppressed his current personality, could Leo Ash still say he was himself?
It's not like he was at a dead end. Why would a young man with nothing better to do become a Herrscher?
As for killing Rin, Leo Ash had no intention of doing that either.
The Previous Era had already shown what would happen if the Herrscher of Corruption was killed. Leo Ash felt it was better not to entertain the foolish idea of 'hey, let's see if this 50,000-year-old little girl still has the power to control those computers and drop bombs'.
He couldn't reform her, and he couldn't kill her, so in the end, he could only make a compromise.
Leo Ash, having fused with the Void Demon Stone Fragment, was now, in a sense, a magician.
Being able to weave chains to imprison enemies with a large amount of mana was proof that he had begun to master this powerful magical energy.
And as a magician, Leo Ash, after unleashing Phantasmagoria and using it in combination with the chains to bind the greatly weakened Rin, had done enough to temporarily seal her in this Stigmata space.
Of course, over time, Rin would still recover some of her power and try to escape from Leo Ash's body or take it over.
But at least for now, Leo Ash, having sealed her, should be temporarily safe... right?
[After binding the incredibly tragic young girl with iron chains, a thought suddenly occurs to you.]
[Since these people who were suddenly pulled into this space might not remember everything that happened here after they get out, why not take this opportunity...]
[And use the invincible Phantasmagoria to throw a grand party!]
System, I'm glad you're here to tell me I'm safe.
But the moment you show up and pull this, I'm not very happy—am I that kind of person?
[Am I that kind of person? As you pose this question to the system, a disdainful sneer echoes in your heart—Of course I'm that kind of person.]
Hey! Stop slandering me!
[After you get out, you're planning to use Phantasmagoria to check if Theresa and Bronya have any information in their heads that they shouldn't.]
[Since using Phantasmagoria is a foregone conclusion, then... hehehe.]
Um, if possible, I'd still prefer to be a decent human being.
Two people of that size... wait, the person who programmed you, this AI, wouldn't really be able to do something like that, would they?
That's just too depraved.
[The System didn't say anything, it's your overactive imagination.]
I hope it's really just me being too dark.
[And then...]
[Ding! Detected that Host meets the conditions for receiving a reward. The reward has been sent to the system mailbox.]
Oh, here it is. Let me see...
After opening the system mailbox, Leo Ash saw the reward he received from the system this time.
[Ding! The reward received by the Host this time is (Special Item - Advanced Item Lottery Ticket).]
[(Special Item - Advanced Item Lottery Ticket) - A special item. The holder can consume this item to conduct one lottery draw, randomly drawing an item from the system's item pool that is highly likely to match the user.]
Ah, it's a bit greedy, but I'm still a little curious—why not a ten-pull?
[First, the 'Herrscher of Corruption's' direct combat strength is far inferior to the 'Herrscher of Thunder's'. You got a ten-pull for defeating the Herrscher of Thunder.]
[Second, the rewards for 'surviving a crisis' are dynamic. You are much stronger now than before.]
[Finally, although you survived this crisis, do you really think it's over?]
That's true.
Rin is now imprisoned by me. Given our current relationship, she probably hates my guts.
[But the System is very curious. Faced with such a constantly perilous situation, you've never once thought of using the threat of the Herrscher of Corruption to exploit a bug?]
System, I'm not really a smart person.
[I can see that.]
But I'm not an idiot either.
In the face of a threat, if I choose to constantly vacillate, trying to 'obtain' a survival threat and then 'resolve' it, it might seem great—in your dreams.
The threat is objective. If I act with the mindset of 'grinding quests' in a survival crisis that you've determined will threaten my life, I'll get myself killed sooner or later.
This isn't a game, it's survival.
This is no laughing matter.
[...Heh, well said.]
[But there are other reasons, aren't there?]
Oh, well, I can't hide it from you anyway, so I'll just be direct.
I, Leo Ash, don't have many skills. The only reason I've been able to be revived and make it this far is all thanks to you, the system, for pulling me through.
I don't know what you're thinking, but the fact is you've helped me.
For a being who has shown me kindness and has not violated my principles, for me to secretly think about taking advantage of them... that's really not right.
Besides, how could a trans-dimensional system be fooled by an ordinary person with an IQ not exceeding 130.
If I tried to find loopholes, whether I'd succeed is one thing, but the probability of pissing you off is quite high.
And what good would pissing you off do for me?
Emotionally, I feel it's wrong.
Logically, I think it's utterly stupid.
So—why would I waste my effort thinking about such a stupid thing that is both ungrateful, highly likely to put my life in danger, and has an extremely low probability of profit?
[...Heh, you see things quite clearly.]
And, I think you, you damn troll of a system, definitely have a tendency to bait people.
There must have been people in the past who weren't afraid of death and tried it, right?
[Indeed, there were.]
And they...
[Why do you think the System is with you now?]
Right.
In the final moment before the space collapsed, Leo Ash saw Yae Sakura, who wanted to speak, and Rin, who was still glaring at him.
But for the two of them, no matter what they did, they could not interfere with the established fact that the Stigmata space was about to collapse.
In the next moment, the space they were in shattered.
And Leo Ash, who had regained consciousness, found upon waking...
Ah, I really don't want to move.
After fighting with Rin in the Stigmata space, I'm even more tired.
And also...
Looking at Kiana lying on top of him, Leo Ash said helplessly.
"Kiana, let me go..."
"You're... so heavy..."
"Senior?!"
Hearing Leo Ash's voice, Kiana immediately looked up in pleasant surprise and saw his deathly pale face and unfocused eyes.
"You, you're not... no, you look like something's wrong!"
[Oh, look! Look!]
[For a young girl conscious of her weight, words like 'you're heavy' should be taboo.]
[But now, after you've stepped on this landmine, your junior completely ignores your words and focuses all her attention on your physical and mental well-being.]
[Looking at the young girl filled with concern for you, you are certain—this one's in the bag!]
[Paramecium, Get daze!]
Sigh, if only you weren't a chatterbox obsessed with lewd jokes, that would be great.
"Don't worry, Kiana, I'm really fine, just a little... tired."
After forcing out the last word through gritted teeth, Leo Ash looked at his right hand, which was now throbbing with a sharp pain.
On his right hand, a bizarre Stigmata was engraved on the back of his hand.
The reason this Stigmata was so bizarre was mainly...
What does this bright red character [菜]("Scrub") mean?!
[TL Note: In Chinese, 菜 literally means "vegetable," but as slang it means "noob," "weak," or "unskilled" — gamers might say "你很菜" ("you suck").]
[Looking at this character, you instantly understand why this Stigmata, now under your control, has taken on this appearance.]
[In your heart, you view everything in the world as beneath you. In your eyes, they undoubtedly deserve nothing more than the word 'Scrub'.]
[Otto is a scrub, Kevin is a scrub too, Welt is even more of a scrub, what Holy Sword Bianka, Herrscher of Finality Kiana—all these powerhouses will sooner or later fall at your feet or *your* feet!]
Hey now, I can let the lewd jokes slide, but can you not mix men into it?
I like beautiful girls! Beautiful girls!
And what do you mean I think everyone else is a scrub!
I get it now. This 'Scrub' refers to myself.
If you take away my cheats, forget surviving until now, I probably would have been killed by the people Cocolia sent.
This 'Scrub' isn't a heart of arrogance that dismisses others, but a warning to admonish myself.
[Ah, well...]
[Even without the trolling, the System thinks you could be a little more confident.]
No, no, no, the problem is a bit serious now.
[The problem is a bit serious? As this thought pops into your head, you almost burst out laughing.]
[Because of the space's collapse, Bronya's and Theresa's memories are fragmented.]
[They will only remember their conversation with you, not the subsequent battle with its intense energy fluctuations. For the two who are still unconscious, there's no need for you to modify their memories at all.]
I see, that does save some trouble.
But, there's one more thing I have to do.
At this moment, driving the last bit of mana he had forcibly squeezed out of his body, Leo Ash used this mana to activate Phantasmagoria on Kiana.
"Kiana, when we first got here, we didn't encounter anything—that's right, isn't it?"
"Huh? But... oh, right."
Kiana, whose perception had been slightly altered by Leo Ash, now forgot about their encounter with Rin and Yae Sakura.
"By the way, Senior, how could you be so crazy before?"
Kiana, suddenly remembering a question, said with a displeased expression.
"To actually charge into a horde of Honkai Beasts, I really thought you were going to die there!"
"I told you, I'm an expert."
Showing the Stigmata on the back of his right hand, Leo Ash said very calmly.
"I've awakened a Stigmata, so I have some level of combat ability. I won't be taken down by a few Honkai Beasts."
"You call... this a Stigmata???"
Looking at the word 'Scrub' written on Leo Ash's hand, Kiana froze for a second, then suddenly clutched her stomach.
She knew it was very impolite to act this way towards a senior who had been risking his life to protect her.
But, knowing the extended meaning of this word in Shenzhou characters, Kiana felt a little...
"I can't hold it in anymore, hahahahahahaha!!!!"
Looking at the Stigmata on Leo Ash's hand, Kiana burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
"What are you doing, Senior? This Stigmata, this... is this really a Stigmata? Hahahahahaha."
"I'll ha-ha your head."
Leo Ash, gathering his strength, activated the Honkai Energy in the Stigmata and threw a punch that stopped right in front of Kiana's face.
And the moment Leo Ash stopped his punch, Kiana... believed him.
It was plain to see that Leo Ash was exhausted, his strength a fraction of what it was.
But now, through the Stigmata on his right hand, he had shown Kiana one thing.
What he had just said was true.
"Now, do you believe me?"
"Mhm, mhm, I believe you!"
Watching Kiana nod her head frantically, Leo Ash felt like he really couldn't move anymore.
Just now, because the battle was in the Stigmata space, Leo Ash wasn't affected by physical fatigue.
But after the battle ended and his consciousness returned, Leo Ash now felt not only physically exhausted, but his mental fatigue had also been greatly exacerbated by the strain of the fight.
Ah, I can't go on.
Although only a few minutes have passed, I really want to ask—where are my reinforcements?
Even if my life isn't worth much, Theresa and Kiana are with me.
Where is Bishop Otto?
Bishop Otto, send help!
"Ah, found them."
Just as Leo Ash felt he was about to lose consciousness again, he suddenly heard a voice.
[Hearing this voice, even without opening your eyes, you know who has arrived.]
[The young woman you call Bianka, full name Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina, is currently Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie, and also your friend.]
[Bianka, who got to know you through Rita, has a good relationship with you, at least from her side. As for you... hehehe.]
Sometimes I feel that your 'hehehe' just means you can't come up with anything else to write.
[Hehehe, you guess.]
[In any case, the Goose is here, so Nagazora is safe! The Goose is here, so the skies are clear!]
That's right, since Durandal is here, Yuno must have been suppressed by her.
Right now, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie is by my side, she's my friend, and there's no sign of any conflict with me, so now...
"Bianka, Kiana, if there's nothing else..."
"I'm logging off."
Durandal, who had just landed and was walking over, saw Leo Ash say one more sentence before his head tilted to the side and he collapsed into the other girl's arms.
"Senior? Why are you... again..."
Looking at the once again unconscious Leo Ash, Kiana said helplessly.
"I really don't know what to do with you. By the way, who is Bianka..."
"That's me."
Quickly walking over to Kiana's side, Durandal scanned the surroundings and took out the Abyss Flower she always carried.
"Please step back a little."
"You... you're a Schicksal Valkyrie, right?"
Looking at the blonde Valkyrie she seemed to have seen before, Kiana said with extreme vigilance.
"Why are you taking out your weapon? Senior... Leo Ash is one of you Schicksal people!"
"It is precisely because he is one of our Schicksal people that I am taking this out."
Unleashing the power of Abyss Flower, Bianka let out a soft breath.
At the same time, Bronya, Leo Ash, and Theresa, covered by the flower's power, had their injuries healed and any remaining toxins in their bodies resolved.
Looking back at the three of them breathing steadily, Kiana finally let out a sigh of relief.
On the other hand, looking at the girl before her, Durandal felt...
There was something about this girl, whom she had seen in the database, that was stirring something in her heart.
Just now, Durandal, who had been ordered to capture the Herrscher alive, had refrained from using her weapon due to Otto's command.
It was for this reason that she had spent a little extra time completely disabling the struggling Herrscher.
After confirming that her subordinates had retrieved the Oath of Judah and had also escorted the incapacitated Herrscher back to Schicksal HQ, Durandal had come to this place to retrieve Leo Ash and the Theresa and Kiana he had mentioned.
"Alright, don't worry about them too much. They're fine now."
"That's great. Since they're fine, then this young lady will just..."
Looking at the Kiana in front of her, Durandal spoke with a resigned tone.
"Don't even think about running. In front of me, you can't escape."
"Kiana Kaslana, come back to Schicksal with me. Bishop Otto told me before..."
"—As long as you are obedient, he will not make things difficult for you."