"UOOOOOOO—!"
Chen Tianwu let out a roar. He felt something within his body about to overflow—pure power, the divine might capable of tearing apart and trampling everything.
With this power, let alone destroying heaven and earth—even the girl he liked would surely be within his grasp.
However, before he could revel in that strength for more than a few seconds, a fist the size of a sandbag rapidly enlarged in his field of vision.
Boom—!
The instant the punch struck his body, Chen Tianwu's eyes flew wide open as he was blasted backward like a cannonball.
"Tsk~ Why shout so loudly? You only absorbed a tiny, insignificant portion of my Honkai energy. Did you really think that made you invincible?"
Elias held a pseudo-Fenghuang Down in his hand.
Looking at the Chen Tianwu he had just sent flying, his eyes were filled with surprise... and delight.
"Sixth Herrscher confirmed. Codename changed from the Herrscher of Earth of the Previous Era to the Herrscher of Stars. Host body: Chen Tianwu. Male. Seventeen years old. Tsk tsk, what an unexpected delight."
He hadn't expected a second Herrscher to be born. Chen Tianwu had secretly absorbed half of the Honkai energy Elias had released—and without a doubt, this was Honkai's handiwork.
Instead of triggering a Honkai Eruption like the Herrscher of Sentience or the Herrscher of Dominance of the Previous Era, Honkai had chosen a concealed method, directly granting the Herrscher Core to Chen Tianwu and turning him into a Herrscher.
Then, taking advantage of the earlier moment, the Herrscher Core absorbed Elias' Honkai energy to strengthen itself, thus giving birth to a Herrscher of Stars with 5000 HW of Honkai energy.
(This really is unexpected. Is it fate correcting itself, or just pure coincidence? Just like in the game—after the Herrscher of Ice is born, the Herrscher of Stars appears as well.)
At this moment, within Chen Tianwu's body was a radiant golden Herrscher Core. His entire body was wrapped in a gravitational field. Everything around him twisted and collapsed. Clearly, this was the authority of gravity.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? Brother!"
Chen Tianwen stared at the scene in panic.
The little girl looked at Chen Tianwu and felt nothing but unfamiliar fear. Her instincts told her that the beast-like figure roaring before her—though bearing her brother's face—was no longer her brother.
"Don't worry, little sister. Your brother's fine."
Elias raised a hand and gently patted Chen Tianwen's head. He tossed the pseudo-Divine Key in his hand, and a ghostlike, semi-transparent figure drifted out of it.
And that figure had the same appearance as Chen Tianwu.
"A g-ghost—AAAH—!"
"Xiaowen, it's me. Your brother!"
"Brother... turned into a ghost—AAAH!!"
Chen Tianwen screamed in fright. Looking at the "ghost" who looked exactly like her brother, the little girl nearly fainted on the spot.
"Pfft hahaha~"
Elias couldn't help but laugh.
When he had punched Chen Tianwu—or rather, the Herrscher of Stars—away, he had activated Fenghuang Down's Zeroth Power at the final moment.
That was how he preserved Chen Tianwu's consciousness.
Otherwise, he would likely have already been devoured and erased by the Herrscher of Stars' persona—dead beyond saving.
The Herrscher of Stars corresponded to the Herrscher of Earth of the Previous Era. His birth was undoubtedly unexpected, yet Elias felt no panic whatsoever. On the contrary, he was quite pleased.
"Another Herrscher has arrived. Nice~ Honestly, why doesn't Honkai just bring out all the remaining Herrschers of the Current Era at once? It'd be easier for me to deal with them all in one go."
For Elias now, Herrschers were no longer enemies to fear. The sooner they came, the better.
At this moment, Chen Tianwu's body had been completely overtaken by the Herrscher of Stars' persona, becoming a pure Herrscher.
Rumble—!!
He made no attempt to control his power, allowing the authority of gravity to run rampant.
A black sphere burst open in midair. Instantly, the earth trembled and split apart, cracks spreading like a web of death.
Countless trees, humans, even towering buildings were torn from the ground, flying toward the pseudo-black hole in the sky.
"That won't do~ Get back down!"
Elias activated his own authority of gravity.
It was the opposite of the Herrscher of Stars' gravity, directly canceling it out and restoring the surrounding gravity to normal. At the same time, Elias spread his five fingers and grabbed toward the pseudo-black hole.
"Shatter!"
"How... is that possible?!"
The Herrscher of Stars stared in disbelief as the pseudo-black hole he had created grew smaller and smaller in Elias' hand—until it became a tiny black sphere that could be held in his palm.
Then Elias crushed it barehanded.
"I refuse to accept this! How can something like this exist?!"
"It's only this much power. Why scream about it? Surrender nicely and I might spare your life."
Elias flicked his white claws. His only impression was that crushing a pseudo-black hole felt rather unimpressive—nothing compared to the soft slime of his girls.
Honkai had indeed played a clever move. The birth of the Herrscher of Stars in this manner had caught Elias off guard.
But a mere single-Core Herrscher was still nothing more than an ant before a [Reverse God] possessing absolute strength.
However, at that moment...
"AAAH! Ana! Ana! AAAH!!"
The content of the Herrscher of Stars' roar changed. Everyone froze for a moment, then simultaneously turned to look at the girl who had become the Herrscher of Ice. She herself looked utterly confused.
Ana: "Um... why are you calling me?"
Chen Tianwu: "I—I don't know. It has nothing to do with me."
Elias: "Ohh~ I see."
With his extensive experience dealing with Herrschers, Elias immediately understood what was happening. Because of the influence of the authority of Origin, Herrschers of the Current Era were different from those of the Previous Era.
Possessing humanity, they were no longer mere puppets of Honkai. Destroying the world now required a reason. They would not blindly obey Honkai's commands as they had fifty thousand years ago.
And this was also why, when selecting host bodies in the Current Era, Honkai often chose those with darkness, despair, or psychological trauma within their hearts—because such people were more likely to develop cool ideas like "destroy the world."
Today, after falling in love with Ana at first sight, Chen Tianwu had watched his goddess throw herself into Elias' arms and even take the initiative to kiss him. In that instant, he truly had given birth to the thought of destroying the world.
Chen Tianwu: "How did this happen? I finally fell for someone for the first time, and I lost so completely... The girl I like already belongs to someone else. Heh... kind of makes me want to destroy the world."
Honkai God: "Good! Granted! Catch the Core!"
Of course, that alone was not enough. So Honkai tampered with the descending Herrscher of Stars persona, twisting and infinitely amplifying the envy, jealousy, and hatred in his heart.
Thus was born a Herrscher of Stars who, unable to obtain love, intended to destroy the world.
"Ana! Ana! Ana! Why isn't it me?! Why?! Damn it! I hate this! I'm so jealous! So envious!"
"..." xN
Everyone's gazes shifted in unison toward Chen Tianwu, who was still floating midair in ghost form within Fenghuang Down. At this moment, he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. What kind of public execution was this?!
It was far too embarrassing!
The feelings he had for the girl he fell in love with at first sight were exposed in the worst possible way. He could feel the subtle looks from everyone—especially the "disdain" in Ana's eyes, which pierced through even the veil covering her face.
Ana: "Sorry. I could never like you."
Chen Tianwu: "Pfft—!"
Herrscher of Stars: "AAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Chen Tianwu felt as though he had suffered a critical hit beyond description. The Earth was no longer a place he could continue living on. Could someone hurry up and kill that so-called Herrscher version of him already?
For him, this was an undeniable black mark in his history.
"Emmm... Somehow this doesn't feel like an enemy I should deal with personally. Right... Ana, you handle him."
"Yes, Lord Elias!"
"Th-That ruthless? Is that really necessary?"
"Ahem! I just want Ana to use this opportunity to get familiar with her newly obtained authority. I absolutely do not intend for her to personally execute a defeated rival. Hehe~"
As he spoke, Elias pulled Finality, Ana, the Herrscher of Stars, and Chen Tianwu into the Imaginary Space. In a place like this, no matter how the two fought, it would not affect the real world. Super convenient~
Chen Tianwu's feelings were indescribably complicated. Watching the girl he fell in love with at first sight utterly destroy another version of himself—was there anyone more miserable in this world right now?
Ana, however, was brimming with fighting spirit. Not because her opponent was Chen Tianwu, but because she had the chance to display her strength in front of Elias. The girl immediately resolved to give it her all.
Ana: (Mom once said that in front of the person you like, you should strive to show your best side! So... Lord Elias, please watch me closely!)
Elias: Popcorn ready. Recliner ready. Camera ready. You may begin. I'll be watching carefully.
The Herrscher of Stars—Chen Tianwu—let out a roar and immediately launched an attack toward Elias. Perfectly reasonable. After all, Elias was the object of his jealousy.
Even knowing that this man's strength far surpassed his own, a man—or Herrscher—consumed by extreme envy and hatred had no rationality left.
However, Elias lay calmly on his recliner, eating popcorn without sparing him a second glance.
With his adorable personal Valkyrie guard right beside him, there was no need for him to take action. Or rather, if he did, the Herrscher of Stars would instantly receive his end.
"Don't even think about laying a hand on Lord Elias! Chen Tianwu, your opponent is me!"
With a raise of her hand, Ana erected an ice wall before Elias, blocking the Herrscher of Stars. A blizzard poured down from the sky, instantly transforming this section of Imaginary Space into a frozen wasteland.
The Herrscher of Ice was also a large-scale annihilation-type Herrscher. Though she was often instantly defeated, from a certain perspective, the Herrscher of Ice stood on par with the Herrscher of Fire.
It was just that, in the game, whether in the Previous Era or the Current Era, the Herrscher of Ice had always received rather poor treatment.
"Anaaaaa—!"
The Herrscher of Stars looked at the girl standing protectively before Elias. His emotions, already twisted to extremes by Honkai, left him with only one thought—destroy everything.
Herrscher of Stars: I'll never love again. Let it all burn.
Such was the fury of a rejected man.
A crushing gravitational force pressed toward Ana. At this point, he did not even spare the girl he had once secretly admired. Yet the Herrscher of Stars was shocked to find his movements sluggish and stiff.
Every snowflake drifting down from the sky dealt real damage and weakening effects upon him. The Herrscher of Ice excelled at creating terrain advantageous to herself.
Within this domain of extreme frost, the Herrscher of Stars felt his blood gradually freezing. If it had been an ordinary human, they would have been turned into an ice sculpture in an instant.
Even a fellow Herrscher could not endure it for long.
"It's not over! If I can't have it—then I'll destroy it!"
The Herrscher of Stars roared and instantly pushed his authority to its maximum. Each snowflake crashed heavily onto the ground and shattered.
"Guh—!"
Ana was like a bird dragged down from the sky. If she had still been the former A-rank Valkyrie, she would likely have been crushed flat by this gravity.
"Elias, your Valkyrie may lose. The Herrscher of Ice ranked fifth among the Previous Era Herrschers, while the Herrscher of Stars was ninth. The later the order, the stronger the Herrscher."
"Mm-hmm~ I admit that, in terms of authority, controlling gravity surpasses controlling temperature. But my Ana is a professional Valkyrie~"
Watching Ana forced down by gravity, Elias showed not the slightest concern that she would lose.
"When it comes to combat skill and strategy, Ana is a professional. Even with a gap in authority, she won't lose to an amateur."
"Is that so? Then I shall watch with interest."
The Herrscher of Finality raised a brow. Since Elias said so, she could allow herself a bit of anticipation.
"But tell me—did you really let this Valkyrie fight the Herrscher of Stars just because it seemed interesting?"
"...Not entirely. Some grudges are better settled personally. Even if, in this timeline, they never actually happened."
Elias shook his head. As he looked at the Herrscher of Stars and Chen Tianwu, his gaze turned considerably colder.
In truth, he disliked Chen Tianwu.
In another timeline, Ana had not become the Herrscher of Ice in such a harmless manner. She had struggled constantly against the Herrscher persona to avoid becoming Honkai's puppet.
In her original fate, Ana was like a Kiana without Raiden Mei, without Fu Hua, without Himeko to help her—destined only for death.
And yet... her sole wish had been to die as a human.
But even that wish had been trampled by Chen Tianwu.
In the game, Chen Tianwu's affection had been entirely one-sided. Ana had never responded to or accepted it.
And after realizing the girl was not as perfect as he imagined, he had darkened on his own and become a Herrscher.
Then, under the pretext of wanting Ana to live, Chen Tianwu gave her his Core. As a result, Ana could no longer resist the Herrscher persona and ultimately became the Herrscher of Rimestar—unable even to die as a human.
Elias: "Kindness forced upon someone is no different from malice. The distance between admiration and reality is the greatest of all. Darkening just because someone doesn't meet your expectations... People like that are the worst. They have no right to be loved by a girl."
Chen Tianwu: "Cough cough! Why do I feel like I just got completely and utterly condemned?"
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