Honkai Energy is omnipotent; it can simulate and reproduce many abilities.
Space, storms, lightning, decay, and creation…
Even gravity is within the scope of its authority.
This was not the first time Mei had encountered the ability to manipulate gravity; after all, Bronya, who had become the Herrscher of Reason, could manipulate gravity by reproducing the Divine Key, Star of Eden.
However, fighting an enemy who could manipulate gravity was a first.
"Gravity… Herrscher of Earth?"
Mei recalled the origin of the Divine Key, which she had heard as an anecdote from Takatsuki.
The Herrscher Core of Star of Eden came from the Herrscher of Earth of the Previous Era, possessing the ability to manipulate gravity.
And directly beneath the force that was pulling her, a dark circular entity existed.
A pseudo-black hole…
Within that small black hole, there was power that could crush stars.
In front of a black hole, not even light could escape, let alone lightning.
Mei had not expected to encounter a second Herrscher here.
And she was currently completely unable to escape from the Herrscher of Earth's ability using her own power.
"Damn it!"
Mei reached out and grabbed a sheathed katana with an octagonal tsuba that emerged from the golden Hamon in front of her, discarding her original weapon into the golden Hamon.
With her left hand gripping the scabbard and her right hand gripping the hilt, she assumed a drawing stance in mid-air.
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū!"
The Hokushin Ittō-ryū was originally a martial art for samurai on the battlefield, with every move and stance aiming for a quick end to the fight, so many of its profound sword arts were based on iaijutsu.
The blade was instantly drawn from the black scabbard, and a deep blue light instantly occupied the space in front of Mei as she slashed.
A visible crack appeared before her, as if space itself had been torn apart. In the next instant, she fell into that rift due to gravity, appearing in a distant location.
"Phew…"
She let out a sigh of relief as soon as she landed.
After being locked on by the Herrscher of Earth's ability, she finally regained her mobility by moving through space and shaking off the locked gravity.
"You saved me again, Takatsuki."
Looking at the katana in her hand, this weapon had been given to her by Takatsuki earlier. Mei didn't know its origin, but she knew that this weapon, named Yamato, had the power to cut through space and control separation.
And just now, she had used this power to cut through space and escape the gravitational pull of the Herrscher of Earth.
Looking at the Honkai Beasts that had gathered around due to the immense Honkai Energy recklessly unleashed by the two Herrschers, Mei sheathed the Yamato in her hand and once again assumed an iaijutsu stance.
Although the Honkai Energy and magic power on Mei were constantly expanding, the surrounding Honkai Beasts and Zombies showed no fear, charging towards Mei.
Even the two Herrschers, as if devoid of reason, also converged towards her once they found Mei outside their attack range.
Looking at the monsters that had gathered around her, Mei recalled a sentence Takatsuki had said when she received this weapon.
"I am the storm that is approaching!"
As the words fell, Mei's figure instantly vanished from her spot, and time and space within a twenty-meter radius around her seemed to momentarily freeze.
Countless red phantoms and lightning continuously flashed within it, passing through Honkai Beasts and Zombies one after another, leaving hundreds of red light trails in space.
And the space affected by these light trails became dislocated like shattered glass. All the figures of the Zombies and Honkai Beasts, upon being touched by these light trails, instantly froze, as if time had been suspended.
When she came back to her senses, Mei had returned to her original position.
She gently exhaled a turbid breath and re-sheathed the blade in her hand.
Click—
A crisp sound of the blade sheathing rang out, as if triggering a mechanism. The surrounding frozen space and time instantly resumed, and at the moment of resumption, countless wounds burst open on the bodies of the Honkai Beasts and Zombies.
With just one move, all these ferocious Honkai Beasts and Zombies perished here.
Even the Herrscher of Earth, who was affected by the periphery due to its close proximity, burst out with countless amounts of blood.
It almost met the same fate as those Honkai Beasts.
"Phew… This move is so strong—"
Looking at the Yamato in her hand, although Mei was very proficient in the Hokushin Ittō-ryū, the Dimensional Cut she had just performed was not something her own sword skills could achieve; it was entirely dependent on the sword in her hand to draw out its power.
The price for using this move was a significant drain on her stamina and magic power. Relying on the Herrscher Core within her to continuously extract Honkai Energy to recover some stamina, she also realized that this move could not be used as a regular technique.
However, she also felt that if she could master this move, although she would still need the Yamato to perform a Dimensional Cut, the consumption would be significantly reduced.
"Although that last move can't be used, smaller moves are still fine."
Mei once again assumed an iaijutsu stance.
The Herrscher of Earth opposite her, though lacking reason, instinctively feared this stance that had just severely wounded it, subconsciously taking a step back.
But just as it took a step back, several red slashes instantly flashed around its body.
"!"
Small Dimensional Cut: Using a quick iaijutsu, relying on the Yamato to unleash small Dimensional Cuts from a distance. Its advantage is that there is no projectile trajectory; the attack almost instantly lands on the target the moment the blade is drawn, causing multiple slashes.
However, Mei's attack this time did not hit.
At the Herrscher of Earth's original position, a block of ice took the brunt of the Dimensional Cut, instantly shattering into dozens of pieces.
Mei looked up at the Herrscher of Ice floating in mid-air.
"Even without consciousness, does it have the instinct to protect its companion?"
Looking at the Herrscher of Ice in the sky, the other party still showed no signs of regaining consciousness. Let alone negotiation, the other party hadn't even uttered a single word until now.
"Forget it, then let the second round begin. Even though it's a two-on-one, I won't lose to you."
Gripping the Yamato tightly, the two Onikairas that were originally beside Mei instantly floated behind her, as if worn by someone.
And behind her, a half-body red phantom resembling a Japanese warrior appeared, with the two Onikairas attaching themselves to it.
The red phantom and Mei assumed the same stance, facing the two Herrschers before them.