"..."
Death Temple's words once again caused the atmosphere to inevitably fall into silence.
At this moment, an old man wearing a half-mask of amber very appropriately took up the topic.
"I am honored by the Monarch's favor."
"This humble one is Rock Tortoise, ranked Eighth Seat, proxy for the 'Authority of Rock'."
His open-collared cape could not hide his dark complexion. His rock-hard muscles were sharply defined. His short white hair, sharp as needles and dense as a forest, connected with his beard, running down from his jaw to his sideburns.
That's right.
The human form Rock Tortoise displayed was the very image he had shown to the world in the age when "myths" still existed:
The Sea God, Pontos.
It was just that due to the influence of the Monarch's authority, and his current status (mainly), certain aspects had changed slightly.
The gazes of Rock Tortoise and Eden met inadvertently.
Immediately after...
The former flinched, very slightly.
Although his external image was tall, mighty, and imposing, Rock Tortoise's courage was only skin-deep. His true strength was at the bottom of the barrel among the [Retainers].
Just as he himself had said, being able to sit in the eighth seat was only because the Monarch hadn't held a "Grand Tournament Before the Throne" to re-determine the rankings.
"This old one is White Whale."
"Ninth Seat under the Monarch, proxy for the 'Authority of Sentience'."
After Rock Tortoise, the one to continue the topic was a stooped old man, leaning on an amber-colored cane shaped like a tree root.
Unlike the other [Retainers], the high top hat worn slightly askew on White Whale's head was actually to cover a rather conspicuous spiral horn.
White Whale was different from Rock Tortoise.
Though he may have been born and existed in the ocean for no shorter time than the latter, he had awakened extremely early and did not have much contact with humanity.
This elderly image was also a manifestation of his "cognition" of himself.
---o---
"Great Crab."
"Tenth Seat, proxy for the 'Authority of Death'."
"..."
Great Crab's self-introduction was quite unique.
She—that's right, an unexpected "she"—directly used the name the Monarch had for her.
Beneath the uniform (cape) that Xiao Zi had designed for the [Retainers], vast blackness was dotted with a little fresh red, making Great Crab's human attire exceptionally striking.
Her smooth black hair flowed like a waterfall over her shoulders to the top of her lower back; her conspicuous red lips, along with a sailor's knot of the same shade at her collar, made her navy-blue sailor uniform, which complemented her fair skin, even more exquisite. The final touches were the black silk fabric peeking out from under the pleated skirt and the six long swords hanging, partially hidden, on the inside of her cape—
Setting aside strength and style, Great Crab's human form was indeed filled with a strange beauty belonging to a young girl.
To be able to construct such detailed clothing with Honkai energy, and to have an aesthetic sense that wasn't, like most of the others, helped by Xiao Zi or simply copied from a template... when Xiao Zi first saw her, she was filled with curiosity about Great Crab's past:
Just how did she complete her awakening, or rather, what kind of "incident" occurred during her awakening process into an Aberrant Species?
However, now was not the time to delve into these matters.
As Great Crab's eyes met Pardofelis's curious gaze—
"Chenling."
"Temporarily ranked Eleventh Seat, proxy for the 'Authority of Domination'."
The loli demon god's gaze swept, very nonchalantly, over Great Crab, who was seated to her right.
It wasn't that she coveted the position one seat higher than her own, but because...
From the human side to the Honkai side, the loli demon god, who had maintained her current voice and appearance, for the first time felt that she might have met a "true kin" with a little bit of similarity.
---o---
As for the last two...
There was actually no need for an extra introduction.
The Twelfth Seat, Higokumaru, and the Thirteenth Seat, Haxxor Bunny, appeared in their positions as a fox Miko and a "Duck Duck projection," respectively. After her introduction, the former continued to focus her gaze on her sister across the table, while the latter was being stared at by Dr. Mei, who was not far to her left.
Of course, Dr. Mei was likely not looking at the Haxxor Bunny projection—it wasn't really a projection, as this clone made with the [Authority of Reason] was a tangible entity—but rather at the "Heavy Armor Bunny 91E" that was sitting in the chair in Haxxor Bunny's place, propping up the girl's body with its palm.
That's right.
This thing was also a mechanical clone, just that its template was the "Heavy Armor Giant Rabbit 900000P!" that still hung high in the deep space.
On a side note, Vill-V's gaze towards Haxxor Bunny was far more fervent than Dr. Mei's. Mobius, on the other hand, had focused most of her attention on Chenling and Great Crab—a plan that had been forcibly terminated, who would have thought it would be realized... and even sublimated, here with the Monarch.
And when it was Fire Moth's turn to speak—
"Kevin."
"First of the Thirteen Flame-Chasing Heroes, bearing the Stigma of 'Savior'."
"..."
Kevin, being the first, hesitated for a moment before continuing to add to his previous words:
"Primordial Species · Chimera."
That's right.
Any Fusion Warrior capable of entering a Collapsed State, their very existence had already been given the same name as a Honkai Beast by this new civilization.
Humans could become Honkai Beasts.
Honkai Beasts could take human form.
It was just as everyone had already silently acknowledged deep in their hearts, a fact they had been deliberately avoiding for a long time—
Between them, there was no difference.
---o---
Just then, what should have been Elysia's turn to speak was cut short.
The self-introduction session that Xiao Zi had proposed to alleviate the awkwardness was interrupted by a vortex of golden Honkai energy gathering above the throne.
All twenty-seven figures rose from their seats, paying their respects to the giant who had appeared upon the throne.
"Oh?"
"Was this your idea, Xiao Zi?"
The Monarch immediately noticed the difference in the [Retainers].
"How is it, are you satisfied?"
Xiao Zi tapped her forehead twice lightly and was the first to sit back down and speak:
"These are the 'Five Principles' I 'inherited' from you. They're being put to good use, right?"
"Hmm..."
"I don't think I got the name wrong?"
"..."
"Not bad."
In truth, many parts were wrong, but... Lu Xing didn't care about these things. She could do whatever she liked.
The Monarch's gaze moved away from Xiao Zi.
After everyone had taken their seats, he slowly began to speak:
"The fissures have all been sealed. The energy level of the Imaginary Space is rising rapidly."
"Within twelve hours, all precursors will disappear, and after that—"
A dark golden light flashed across twenty-seven pairs of eyes.
"Finality will descend."