"Judgment-class Honkai beast?"
Ryuga suddenly understood.
No wonder the Herrscher of the Void hadn't left the Northern Ruins.
Turned out she was waiting for her companion Honkai beast.
Mm, but that's not right either?
"Wait, aren't 'companion Honkai beasts' always born first, then draw firepower to protect their Herrscher masters during descent?"
Ryuga's brows furrowed slightly, somewhat hesitant.
By common logic, before a Herrscher descended, their companion Honkai beast would appear first.
(Bella: O_O?)
"Is that so?"
Elysia didn't know.
THUMP~
THUMP~
THUMP!!
Ryuga held his breath and concentrated, listening carefully.
In the city center that had already become broken ruins, steel beams twisted, concrete blocks layered upon layers.
Beneath the deathly silent ruins, a strong and powerful 'heartbeat pulse'—one beat, one beat, another beat, growing clearer and more urgent.
Twisted life was restlessly stirring within the cocoon.
And on the cocoon's surface, spider-web-like fine cracks had already appeared.
High concentrations of Honkai energy continuously accumulated.
Clearly, it wouldn't be long before it broke free from the cocoon.
What was the Herrscher of the Void's 'companion Honkai beast' again?
Seems like it wasn't described either.
Ryuga only remembered the Thunder Herrscher's Shesha.
Judgment-class Honkai beasts were sufficient to trigger large-scale natural disasters, and their bodies were all enormous—like Chi You and Benares.
Massive physiques, impenetrable outer armor, and multiple central cores—this also made them extremely difficult to kill.
"Ryuga, what is the experiment you mentioned?"
Only now did Elysia have time to ask.
"It's about souls."
Ryuga said in a low voice.
"Souls?"
Elysia tilted her head slightly, pink hair sliding along her shoulder, blinking her eyes full of curiosity.
"Mm. In my view, all things in the world are divided between good and evil. Light and darkness, hope and despair—even Honkai."
Ryuga nodded gently.
Speaking of which, he paused, deliberating on how to express it.
"As everyone knows, whether Honkai beasts or Herrschers, after death they all return to Honkai."
Elysia held her breath, fingertips unconsciously curling.
She was thinking.
"I've always suspected their souls... if they can still be called 'souls'... are actually composed of both 'good' and 'evil.'"
"'Evil' drives brutality, while good retains memories, emotions, even some lingering attachments."
"If I could separate these two, only letting the 'good' part return to Honkai while sealing away and retaining the 'evil'... then what would happen?"
Ryuga answered.
'Soul' was a broad concept.
"This?"
Elysia felt her little heart suddenly tremble. In the obscure fate, a faint light seemed to pierce through the fog, lighting up before her eyes.
But unfortunately, that light vanished in a flash, like sand slipping through fingers—unable to retain, unable to grasp.
Elysia stood stunned.
Group friends fell silent for a moment.
Nahida thought of her sealed memories and emotions. (T/N: I have had troubles in translating her name properly but based on the info related to sealed memories and emotions I am going with Nahida, I might change it to something else something else comes up)
Yixuan thought of her sister.
Istaroth thought of three colleagues.
Furina thought of the person in the mirror.
"Let's go! We'll go deal with them."
A sharp cold light flashed through Ryuga's eyes.
"Since this is your debut show, I'll clear out the Honkai beasts, then you can deal with the Herrscher of the Void."
Speaking of which, he turned his head and called out. The two set off together.
Only Emperor-class and above Honkai beasts were qualified for Ryuga's research.
Originally, Elysia severed the threads of fate, giving future Herrschers the possibility of retaining humanity.
Which is to say, 'good.'
The Herrschers of the Previous Era, except for Elysia, actually had no self.
Elysia's sacrifice allowed Current Era Herrschers to have the soil for self-birth, giving this cycle infinite new possibilities.
So if he directly threw the 'good' back, would that also work?
If his experiment succeeded, then Elysia's fate could also be changed.
The battle was about to begin.
The atmosphere in the group solidified somewhat.
No one sent more messages, excitedly staring at the screen.
Earlier footage of Okhema's battlefield—bloody and brutal scenes—was also shot from Ryuga's first-person view, and he hadn't appeared on camera.
Which is to say, group friends still didn't know about his dog-headed Demon God form. (Reference to Nasus Skin)
...
In the distance, sporadic roars carried on the wind, lingering for a long time.
In the sky, 'mosquitoes' churned, covering the entire city. 'Jellyfish' floated among them, a dark mass obscuring the already gloomy sky.
On the ground, large groups of 'knights' and 'ball-huggers' stood shoulder to shoulder.
Countless large-shield Honkai beasts stood like mountain ranges, guarding in formation, layer upon layer, with no end in sight.
At the edges, densely packed zombies eroded by Honkai wandered aimlessly.
And in the air above the ruins' center, a blurry figure floated quietly.
This was the Herrscher of the Void herself.
She lowered her eyes, motionless, as if overlooking, as if contemplating.
The entire earth was like hell itself.
Deathly silent.
...
Scorching Sky slowly materialized as Ryuga gripped it firmly with one hand.
His body also swelled instantaneously, bones crackling like serpentine thunder.
Shadow Flame erupted like an angry tide, churning around his body.
One meter, two meters, ten meters...
His form continuously grew taller until it towered like a mountain range, once again transforming into the dog-headed (Creator Demon God) form.
Canine head fierce, dual pupils blazing with crimson fury.
Elysia's pupils constricted, both shocked and unable to suppress her excitement.
Witnessing a deity descend, group friends instantly erupted.
The next instant, Ryuga took one step forward. Ripple-like energy waves spread outward, instantly tearing through space.
Though separated by tens of thousands of meters, he arrived in the blink of an eye.
[Snowy Mountain Qingxin Melon]: "Doggy!"
[13th Sect Master of Mount Yunjian]: "Ah, this?"
[Jingliu]: "..."
[Istaroth]: "Handsome."
[Director Fu]: "So this is the Desert Reaper? So cool! But I'm in the Meow Meow Sect."
"This strike will pierce the stars."
Ryuga roared.
Five fingers suddenly clenched tight. In that instant, Shadow Flame roared and soared from Scorching Sky's spear tip, layer upon layer churning and coiling like an angry dragon.
His right arm's veins bulged as power converged entirely into his arm.
Under brute force, the earth beneath his feet cracked layer by layer, spider-web-like fissures spreading outward.
Suddenly his waist twisted, like a fully drawn divine bow, transforming Scorching Sky into a meteor and hurling it with full force!
BOOM~
Scorching heat waves exploded like volcanic eruption, bursting outward in a ring. Dense swarms of Honkai beasts instantly vaporized, not even managing a wail before returning to nothingness.
The long spear shot forth like a meteor breaking through the sky, trailing dark purple tail flames, piercing toward the massive cocoon at the ruins' center.
Inside the cocoon, a dragon barely stepping into Judgment-class suddenly opened its eyes, crimson vertical pupils reflecting a destructive ferocious light.
Sensing approaching death, within its roar, Honkai energy erupted like a tidal wave.
The resilient cocoon shell was torn apart by force.
Dragon wings unfurled as the massive body shot skyward.
And almost simultaneously, high in the firmament, the Herrscher of the Void's eyes snapped open.
The star-piercing spaer caught her attention.
Raising her hand, five fingers pressed downward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several Sub-Space Lances condensed from the void, wrapped in twisted spatial rifts, bringing ear-piercing sounds as they shot straight for Ryuga's heart.
At the critical moment—BANG—
A sudden sonic boom exploded, spreading outward in layers of ripples.
Dense pink arrows howled from the horizon like a cherry blossom storm, arrowheads glinting with crystalline light.
Precisely intercepting and detonating the Sub-Space Lances.
Energy fragments scattered in all directions.
A slender figure with pink hair flowing in the wind, longbow condensed like moonlight in hand, corners of her mouth curved in a playful smile.
"Hi~, your opponent is me."
Upon seeing who it was, the Herrscher of the Void's eyes turned ice-cold: "Traitor!"
"???"
To be continued…