Because Kevin and Elysia had already notified the Fifth Branch while chasing her, the members of the Fifth Branch, protected by Himeko, had already evacuated to a cleared area. However, they hadn't expected the Sixth Herrscher to arrive so quickly, meaning Himeko hadn't had time to return yet.
Upon entering the Fifth Branch, the Sixth Herrscher began frantically searching for Lin's corpse. Since she couldn't defeat him on the mental level, she would resort to an easier method.
A method she had used before.
Since Lin's consciousness could transfer to the Herrscher Core, it could certainly be expelled. This action required a vessel that could also contain consciousness.
The Sixth Herrscher had considered using the Authority of Creation to manufacture a fragile body, but firstly, Lin's interference with the Authority of Creation was particularly severe, preventing her from creating a body capable of containing consciousness. Secondly, consciousness requires a concept of compatibility, which is why she maintained dominance in her current body despite the Honkai augmentation.
To successfully expel him, it was best to use his original body. This was like an animal instinctively recognizing which of two similar habitats was the one it frequently inhabited.
Even if Lin's consciousness wanted to stay in the Herrscher Core, the Herrscher Core's rejection and the original body's attraction would leave him no choice in the matter.
Once he returned to that frail body that would collapse at a gust of wind, she had hundreds of ways to kill him again.
"I remember they said he was sent back to the Fifth Branch." The Sixth Herrscher heard the noise of the soldiers charging into the Fifth Branch. She had to quicken her pace to find the corpse. Logically, even if the Fifth Branch personnel evacuated, they wouldn't take extraneous items with them. Transporting a corpse to a safe location was pointless, so the corpse should still be in the Fifth Branch.
With no one obstructing her and her heightened sensitivity to living organisms and corpses, she quickly located the room storing a large number of corpses on one of the floors. The sound of pursuit grew louder, but she didn't hesitate. She breached the door and entered the room dense with the aura of death.
"…"
Bodies covered with white sheets were laid out one after another on platforms. In this room, which seemed to be used for more than just corpse storage, only two corpses were not fully covered.
One was the Councilman's corpse, and the other was Lin's corpse.
They were the only two corpses that hadn't been processed for serum extraction. All the other corpses were patients who had suffered from and died of the Honkai Virus.
Besides them, there was another "person" standing among the fallen bodies.
Prometheus I, with her eternally unchanging, icy expression, stood guard in front of Lin's corpse.
The Sixth Herrscher didn't waste any words on her. A single punch pierced Prometheus I's chest-mounted power core and the arm she held up to block, then tossed the completely destroyed Prometheus I aside.
Before her system went into hibernation, Prometheus I reached out a finger toward Lin's pale face.
"Snap."
The Sixth Herrscher, whose grip strength was astonishing, delicately and powerfully grabbed the corpse's neck. She wanted to crush this body right then and there, but not only could she not do that, she had to laboriously restore the corpse as much as possible to a state where consciousness could enter and revive it.
Connecting with the Authority of Creation within her body, she carefully used the power to restore Lin's disfigured corpse.
This guy's body… was he really injured to this extent when he wounded me?
Lin's body was internally far more damaged than it looked externally. All his organs were atrophied and non-functional. His nerves were almost entirely burnt away by a type of solution. Most critically, his heart was so eroded by Honkai Energy that it was unrecognizable as a human heart, resembling a swollen tumor of venom and Honkai Energy.
As she used the Authority of Creation, a sharp tree branch shot out from under her feet, piercing toward the corpse's head with lightning speed.
However, the Sixth Herrscher had anticipated this situation. She moved the corpse away, dodging the stab. Then she restored some of Lin's organs, bringing them to a state where they could barely function, but were still on the brink of necrosis.
This state was sufficient.
"Boom!"
Kevin, having leaped onto this floor, fired a shot at the Sixth Herrscher without looking. The bullet directly pierced a third of the Sixth Herrscher's neck, but she gave a sinister smile. Grabbing Lin's corpse with one hand, she activated the Phase Transfer device with the other.
"What expressions will you have when I kill him one more time?"
Kevin could only watch as the Sixth Herrscher and the corpse vanished from the desolate room. Her mocking voice echoed in his ears.
…
"I told you, we shall see."
The Sixth Herrscher sneered at Lin, whose figure was beginning to fade. She plunged her scythe into the ground and knelt on one knee. Her condition looked equally poor, but the mockery in her expression was completely unchanged.
Thanks to Kevin and the others damaging her body to the point where her consciousness began to detach, consciousness would be easier to strip away in the seam. Here, Lin's consciousness would be attracted by his original body and repelled by the Herrscher Core, forcing him back into that body.
And once she left, she could use the Authority of Creation without restraint to heal her body's wounds, so even near-fatal injuries were nothing to her.
More than that, she wanted to see how helpless and powerless Lin would be when he returned to his dying body. That would be exhilarating.
Everything he did was futile. His entire life was meaningless. This outcome was the most powerful evidence to prove that her words were true and his were not.
"For me, who controls life and death, wanting you to die or wanting you to live is a simple matter, human. Enjoy the last moments you can still perceive this world."
"…"
However, to her annoyance, Lin acted as if he hadn't heard her, relentlessly interfering with her control over the Authority even in these final moments.
"Human…"
"You do not control life and death. You only use a high-efficiency method of killing to cause death, and you cannot resurrect any organism, including your subordinates." Lin calmly brought his sword down on her chest. A corner of her manifested consciousness shattered. He said indifferently, "The so-called control over life and death is merely a special ability with a different manifestation. The only difference between you and the previous Herrschers is that you talk too much."
"So much so that I'm starting to get impatient."
The blatant mockery fueled the Sixth Herrscher's rage.
The Sixth Herrscher, who should have broken his psychological defense, was instead mocked by him. She didn't even notice that her consciousness control was already diminishing as her state of mind wavered.
"Hmph, more words are pointless, human. Your time has come."
The Sixth Herrscher grabbed her scythe, blocking the light blade, then thrusted forward, driving Lin from her Herrscher Core toward the native body that was attracting him.