A relative appeared before her eyes, and this relative possessed incredibly powerful strength.
Even if Durandal's own guess was correct, her relative didn't intend to fight her; he just used this strange and rough method to remind her of the relationship between them.
Mn, it's inconvenient to let Schicksal know of his existence, covering his body after Honkai Beast transformation with armor...
I have a very bad conjecture right now.
His body becoming like this... could it be because of Schicksal?
Because of Schicksal, he became this way, so he doesn't want Schicksal to know that he now possesses such terrifying power.
Looking at it this way, the fact that I lost my memory is also quite suspicious in itself.
Combining it all... my relative was subjected to human experimentation.
Then I lost my memory, and after losing my memory, I appeared in a sanatorium...
Does this mean that my relative once prepared to take me and leave Schicksal after the human experiments, but in the end, because the young me became a burden, he was injured? He didn't have time to take me away, and finally, it turned into this situation...
No, no, no, what am I thinking!
Right now, I'm just letting my imagination run wild based on a feeling; this is simply too absurd.
Overseer Otto wouldn't... Well, his moral floor actually isn't that high.
But the problem is, I can't suspect Overseer Otto without evidence just because of a feeling, combined with the wild thoughts induced by that feeling.
This kind of behavior is simply too absurd.
Phew, ever since that feeling appeared, I feel like I've become obsessed.
No, I must calm down right now.
A feeling is just a feeling; the actual situation may not be the same as I imagine.
I'll wait until I return and hand the report to Overseer Otto, then see how the Overseer reacts.
.......................
At this time, Aaron, having given up on pursuing the Immortal Blades duo, had long left the area where the Hyperion was located.
If the situation weren't so special this time, he wouldn't have even bothered to fight those two women.
The total engagement time this time was less than two minutes, but right now is the critical period for hunting down Higokumaru. Two minutes might already be enough to determine certain things.
Their active retreat saved Aaron quite a bit of trouble.
Of course, considering the main goal here was to hunt down Higokumaru, Aaron didn't bother seizing the opportunity to snatch Black Abyss Abyss Flower.
After all, he knew very well that if he really did such a thing, Durandal would definitely fight him to the death.
Setting aside who would win between him and Durandal, if Higokumaru slipped away and caused havoc later, then humanity as a whole would lose.
There was no need to waste more time on these unimportant matters for the sake of the Black Abyss Abyss Flower in Durandal's hand.
However, the stubborn goose and the rollover king on this side ran away so consciously this time...
Understood. Lord Otto is still very sensible most of the time.
I hope Lord Otto continues to maintain this style. If he doesn't provoke me, everyone can peacefully do their own things.
While speeding along, Aaron, who had kept his Pure Eye active, could see that on certain road surfaces around him, the Honkai energy intensity was completely different from other surfaces.
The Honkai energy that dissipated in Nagazora City due to the Third Honkai Eruption, aside from the portion absorbed by Yuno during those few hours, the remaining Honkai energy had become ownerless.
And the Honkai energy around here... Well, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a Herrscher is actively absorbing it.
But Higokumaru is acting using Yae Sakura's body. Aside from the Previous Era Corruption Core she holds, there is also Yae Sakura's own Herrscher Core.
Under the dual-core drive, even if Higokumaru wanted to hide her tracks, her body would unconsciously absorb Honkai energy, causing the Honkai energy intensity in the places she passed to differ from other locations.
This difference couldn't be detected by ordinary people.
But the problem was, Aaron wasn't an ordinary person.
Because he mobilized the Meta-Morph Factor more and more frequently, Aaron's ability to sense Honkai energy intensity had actually far surpassed the period when he first obtained the Kaslana bloodline.
Combined with the ability of the Pure Eye, he now easily captured that the Honkai energy concentration on this road was far inferior to other places.
Considering Higokumaru was unlikely to have the IQ to 'actively absorb part of the Honkai energy to pretend to head in this direction', this road should be the route Higokumaru was currently advancing on.
Hah, after searching for so long, I finally caught this guy's fox tail.
Once Higokumaru's matter is resolved, I can finally leave Nagazora City and take a break.
..................
Meanwhile.
At a certain place not too far from Aaron, Higokumaru had already abandoned the idea of fleeing Nagazora City.
From earlier on, she had constantly felt the situation was a bit off.
It wasn't until she fled to the border of Nagazora City that she discovered something she had never anticipated.
The host she was currently inhabiting, Yae Sakura, had turned into a Pseudo-Herrscher because of events five hundred years ago.
But due to obsessions caused by various reasons, the current Yae Sakura had become an existence similar to an earthbound spirit in the area surrounding Yae Village.
Now Higokumaru wanted to leave, but Yae Sakura's obsession prevented her from forcibly detaching from this region.
Of course, given some time, Higokumaru should be able to seize the opportunity presented by this Honkai outbreak to slowly and completely erode Yae Sakura's heart, thereby completely dominating Yae Sakura's body.
But right now, what Higokumaru lacked most was time.
Just now, another battle had erupted over there.
Although judging from the Honkai energy intensity erupted at the scene, the intensity wasn't high for either side, but...
Among the people still in Nagazora City right now, apart from that guy who likely blew up the Herrscher of Thunder, who else could it be!
And this battle didn't last long before stopping.
Higokumaru could feel that one of the parties was rapidly killing their way toward her. Continuing to run at her speed, she would be caught by the opponent sooner or later.
Unable to leave Nagazora City and with speed far inferior to the opponent, Higokumaru had been completely forced into a desperate situation.
And in a desperate situation, there are always those who can perform operations they wouldn't choose under normal circumstances due to the survival instinct.
Of course, Higokumaru didn't count as a person, but that didn't stop it from starting to think about how to solve this huge trouble due to its survival instinct.
Kneeling down and begging the opponent to spare her... clearly impossible.
If this move really worked, Higokumaru wouldn't mind using the forbidden secret technique 'Fierce Fox Dogeza' to gamble for a slim chance of survival.
But judging from the experiences she went through when she was the girl named Rin, human malice toward Herrschers had long since escalated to an indescribable height due to the harm caused by the Honkai phenomenon.
With Dr. Mei's orders, those soldiers were able to kill her, a Herrscher who hadn't fully turned yet, just to 'fight the Honkai'.
Then in this place where no one curbs malice, ask her to give up resistance and gamble that the opponent will be soft-hearted toward her, a Herrscher who really nuked other regions?
Higokumaru was long past being that naive little girl. How could she possibly still have such incredibly naive thoughts after being killed by malicious humans before she could take revenge on those damned people?
Then now there was only one way.
Finish him!
Only by finishing off the creature that defeated the Herrscher of Thunder could I possibly continue to survive.
No, rather, if the opponent is very strong, using my Erosion Authority to take his body, wouldn't that mean I would also become very strong?
Yes, yes, that's it.
If I had enough power back then, would I have been killed by those soldiers?
If I had enough power, would I have been forced to the point where I could only take revenge on those damned humans after my life was taken?
Power... Yes, as long as I have enough power, I won't have to fear being persecuted by anyone again.
If my guess is correct, and Thunder lost to that man... No, if Thunder died at that man's hands, that man must have already mastered Thunder's core.
As long as I take his body, I will become a super powerhouse possessing the strength to fight Herrschers and holding two cores: Thunder and Corruption.
At that step, even if that guy Kevin is still alive, he might not be able to contend with me who has obtained this power!
Right, since I'll die if I can't run away anyway, might as well make a big gamble.
Gamble a bit, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!
At this moment, Higokumaru, having been pushed to desperation, completely concocted a grand plan within her self-constructed illusion.
And it had to be said, within her cognition, this grand plan actually had some potential.
Higokumaru was currently inhabiting Yae Sakura, and relying on this host body, Higokumaru could use the host to release a part of her power to form a sufficiently strong Honkai energy barrier.
After the opponent entered this Honkai energy barrier, Higokumaru could rapidly erode the opponent's body and mind, causing the opponent's mind to fall into the illusion she constructed.
Within the illusion, Higokumaru could directly disable the power of the opponent's physical body.
And within the barrier in reality, she could slowly erode the opponent's physical body, thereby achieving perfect domination over his flesh in the end.
As long as she could complete the erosion of his flesh in reality, or completely crush the opponent's mind in the illusion, then in the end, she could completely dominate the opponent's flesh, obtaining immense power she had never obtained before.
There was no problem with the plan; the only question was—how was the opponent's mental strength?
If the opponent's mental strength was strong enough, Higokumaru's plan would ultimately still fail.
But without hesitating for more than a few seconds, Higokumaru gave up the final hesitation.
The opponent rushing in this direction was clearly coming for her.
The [Thunder] of this era was likely already gone. If she hesitated again in this nine-deaths-one-life situation, then this final opportunity might slip from her grasp due to her hesitation.
Doing it!
I, Higokumaru, am going to do something big today!
Higokumaru, having completely given up on fleeing, spread her perception to the surroundings while stopping her footsteps to fully release her Authority, forming a small barrier.
While releasing her Authority, Higokumaru simultaneously sensed—what, there was actually a young girl who didn't look very old ambushing nearby?
Good heavens, someone is planning to pick up scraps too?
Capture you into the illusion first to torture a bit, and test just how strong my control over the Authority still is.
Bronya, who was originally squatting nearby, saw a... was this rabbit ears or donkey ears?
Whatever, after seeing a beast-eared girl with animal ears speeding past her eyes, Bronya had already committed this scene to memory.
This guy... is also one of the Herrschers?
Nagazora City is so chaotic right now, so many Herrschers... It's a good thing Mother Cocolia didn't send the Titan unit here, otherwise, not only would they fail to take down the Herrschers, but they would also throw away the Titans that were painstakingly modified.
This batch of Titans are Titans with enhanced Honkai Resistance characteristics. If this batch of Titans is buried at a time like this, Mother Cocolia will be sad again.
However... sigh, with so many Herrschers, the possibility of saving Seele has also increased a lot.
But the problem is, Bronya and Mother Cocolia currently don't seem capable of handling these Herrschers.
Bronya, who was having a headache, suddenly realized that the scene before her eyes underwent a drastic change.
Before she could react, she felt her vision go black, and her consciousness was completely stolen by the opponent.
After easily eroding Bronya's body, Higokumaru nodded in satisfaction.
This little girl's Honkai resistance and control over Honkai energy were much stronger than ordinary people, yet even such a little girl was instantly insta-killed by her.
Hehe, in that case, my confidence can increase quite a bit.
Hurry up, hurry up. Once that guy comes over, I'll release my Authority to take him down on the spot.
Then, after having a fresh body...
I won't have to worry about anyone persecuting me anymore!
Not far away, Aaron frowned slightly after sensing the Honkai energy fluctuation ahead.
Oho, stopped running, instead stayed in place preparing to pit me, huh.
Higokumaru, this guy, does she really take me for an idiot?
Allow me to think thrice... No need to bring out Artoria's light cannon for this occasion.
Alright, Roman Artillery, I choose you!
Taking out [Roman Artillery: Pumpkin], Aaron aimed Pumpkin at 'Yae Sakura' who was hiding inside the building.
Sigh, squatting foolishly in place thinking I'll step into the trap. After sleeping for fifty thousand years, this Herrscher... hasn't really slept herself stupid, has she?