Hellish gravity pressed down upon the land as one of the Herrscher of Legion's bodies let out a wild, grating laugh. The gravity was almost fully charged.
"What... are you going to do?" Bronya gritted out.
"Simple." [Seele]—Jiang Qiao wearing this guise—looked up at the enemy, smiled, then formed a finger gun, aimed it lightly at the gravity core that was building power, and uttered a rather impactful sound effect through slightly parted cherry lips:
"Like this, biu~"
"Hm? Are you trying to scare us to death? Haha..."
"BOOM—"
Before the laughter faded, a blinding, scorching beam of light shot down from the sky, heading straight for the core. After a terrifying surge of energy, the dark gravity singularity flickered and extinguished, leaving only billowing steam behind.
The gravity field covering half of Australia dissipated, leaving behind cracked, ravaged earth. High above, peeking through the clouds, the fully sci-fi styled floating battleship revealed its main cannon, the muzzle gleaming coldly, still radiating power.
"See? Problem solved~" As Kiana helped Bronya up and the Herrscher of Dominance stood stunned, Jiang Qiao's voice, sounding like [Seele]'s, carried a casual ease.
Bronya looked somewhat disheveled, but gazing at the warship above, understanding dawned, mixed with confusion. "That's the SELENE System... Why? It shouldn't have enough energy."
The SELENE System—an 'energy conversion device' developed in the Previous Era, capable of converting Honkai Energy into basic thermal energy. The Previous Era briefly used it to halt the Herrscher of Finality.
In the Current Era, although Anti-Entropy unearthed the blueprints from ruins and built the warship specifically to counter the Final Herrscher, its energy supply had always been insufficient.
Basic functions were manageable, but the main cannon required four Herrscher Cores to power up and fire.
"It's just energy~" [Seele] smiled dismissively.
Although this current body lacked the means to supply power directly, and couldn't be used in a 'Herrscher of Truth' state like the [Bronya] body for better control, lacking energy was never a major issue for Jiang Qiao. He had many ways to provide it.
Especially since he had just returned from the Sea of Quanta, having acquired Su's Sumeru and its beacon along the way.
As the core of Project VALUKA, the Bubble Universe named Sumeru possessed unique properties. Combined with the Cosmic Juggernaut beacon (the Previous Era's Herrscher of the Void's core) and Jiang Qiao's own 'auxiliary methods', it allowed him to power the SELENE's main cannon even while just using the [Seele] body.
No matter how powerful the Herrscher of Rock's pseudo-black hole was, it was still based on the 'Honkai Energy' system. Once the SELENE converted the Honkai Energy fueling the pseudo-black hole's core, the long-brewing technique simply dissipated.
However, this outcome was clearly difficult for the narrow-minded Herrschers of Dominance, embodying the collective malice of humanity, to accept.
'He' was furious, but the next moment, erupted in mocking laughter. "Damn it... But so what if you stopped our plan?! Even like this, you're still no match for us!"
Dealing with the pseudo-black hole only solved the immediate crisis. In terms of raw combat power, they were still stronger! In the eyes of the Herrscher of Legion, Kiana and Bronya were no threat at all, just blood bags maintaining and contributing Herrscher Authority.
As for Seele—that coward posed even less of a threat!
However... glancing at the SELENE in the sky, the Herrschers of Legion did show a flicker of apprehension. That thing could even trouble the Herrscher of Finality; their own lack of individual combat strength made it even more dangerous.
"Hmph, after we deal with you, we can always try again."
"But, to avoid unnecessary interference, let's change the stage." Sensing something rapidly approaching, the Herrscher of Legion spoke, then clapped its hands amidst chilling laughter.
The next moment, the surroundings shattered. The environment shifted from bright daylight to eerie, dim gloom. Accompanying this change were countless identical mocking laughs.
"Look, look, those two traitors look so pathetic."
"Oh my, hiding behind a coward~ Honestly, how embarrassing~"
"Are they really Herrschers? Suddenly, I feel ashamed of the title."
"Revoke their Herrscher status! Revoke it!"
"Agreed!"
"Clang—"
"Silence."
"Facing esteemed guests from the outside, how can we be so impolite?" A puppet dressed as a judge tapped a small gavel, revealing a malicious grin.
"Alright then~"
"Ladies, welcome... to the Theater of Domination."
A tidal wave of cheers, spoken in unison, washed over them. Yet, disturbingly, though seemingly synchronized, the sound reached their ears as chaotic noise, like disparate things forcibly stitched together, resembling a slop bucket overflowing with kitchen waste.
There's a perfect idiom for such people: wū hé zhī zhòng (a disorderly mob / rabble).
"These guys... are so creepy..." Kiana bit her lip, looking at the rampant and chilling puppets. She instinctively moved closer to Jiang Qiao and asked, "What should we do?"
Clearly, someone acting like this wouldn't be Seele. Having had similar experiences, both the white-haired girl and Bronya had already figured out the true nature of the current [Seele]. Although they each had their own thoughts, facing a major enemy, they chose to put those thoughts aside for now.
"Maybe... we should temporarily retreat?" Bronya suggested hesitantly. She felt extremely uneasy now—her Herrscher Authority had been stolen. For Bronya, who had focused solely on training her Herrscher powers since awakening, this was disastrous.
Kiana, on the other hand, upon realizing the enemy could steal Herrscher Authority, quickly adapted. She resorted to other means, like her formidable close-combat skills, and also... Taixuan Sword Mind!
Her trip to the Elysian Realm, while not significantly changing her attitude towards the power she possessed, had equipped her with formidable strength even without relying on the power she loathed, thanks to Professor Hua's Taixuan Sword Mind and Kevin's personal guidance.
In fact—the current Kiana, armed with a good weapon, already met the standard for a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie.
But Bronya was in an awkward position. Taixuan Sword Mind... she hadn't practiced it much at all! Of course, there was a reason for her lack of practice. Besides slacking off, Bronya mostly felt it wasn't very useful to her.
Among the five forms of Taixuan Sword Mind, only the Heart-Refining part was somewhat useful for the Herrscher of Reason. As for the so-called Sword Qi and Sword Form... Sword Qi was just Honkai Energy manipulation, and Sword Form was a 'combat technique' summarized from the Previous Era.
Bronya, the magnificent Herrscher of Reason, needs such things? Sword Heart required immense effort she wasn't willing to spend, and Sword Form was unnecessary given the power of the Herrscher of Reason...
In short, Bronya viewed Taixuan Sword Mind merely as a tool to help master her Herrscher powers. Since Bronya already mastered them, why waste effort training this stuff?! The Herrscher of Reason Authority is invincible!
The result? Facing an opponent like the Herrscher of Dominance who could steal Authority, Bronya found herself in an extremely awkward spot. She could only summon the reverted-to-basic Project Bunny to put on a show with its cannons.
Running away might sound cowardly, but explaining it as a tactical retreat made it much more acceptable.
"No way! We absolutely cannot let these guys escape!" Kiana objected firmly, expressing her stance clearly. If it were just the Herrscher of Legion, even if they escaped, they couldn't cause massive destruction immediately.
A temporary retreat to strategize would be fine.
But adding the Herrscher of Rock... The Australian Eruption had only been going for a few hours, yet the entire continent suffered heavy losses, and even other regions experienced disasters. If these puppets escaped and secretly planned something big, wouldn't they unknowingly get blown sky-high by these despicable guys?
Gripping the positron handgun issued by Anti-Entropy, she glared daggers at the puppets, radiating killing intent.
"..." Bronya also suddenly understood, instantly regretting her foolish suggestion, her resolve hardening. Although she hadn't been overly filled with idealistic energy lately—becoming somewhat complacent about the future after Seele's rescue and Welt's guidance—she still knew right from wrong in major situations.
She didn't want the orphanage back in Moscow blown up, and Seele... Glancing at the 'Seele' right beside her, the conflicted Bronya suddenly had an idea and whispered, "...Maybe you should use Bronya's body?"
Though reluctant to admit it, deep down, Bronya had to concede that Jiang Qiao seemed much more proficient using her body than she was. Just like the encounter with the Staff of Underworld back in London, if he were using her body, maybe he could retrieve the stolen Herrscher of Reason Authority from those wooden dolls.
And if he could fully utilize that power... at least it would be a strong combat asset, right?
Besides, if it was Seele's body... it was somewhat more acceptable—
"Eh? Oh! You can borrow this young lady's too!" Kiana also caught on and quickly offered. She disliked that power and didn't think she could use it well. But Jiang Qiao definitely used it well. Letting Jiang Qiao use her body would undoubtedly increase their chances of winning. As for idiot Bronya's...
"Idiot Bronya is too weak, use mine!" Perhaps driven by some hidden motive, or simply speaking her mind, the white-haired girl's subconscious words immediately irked Bronya.
What's that supposed to mean? What do you mean Bronya is too weak? Bronya's body isn't weak at all! The stubborn MetalGearBronya couldn't possibly admit her body was weak.
The problem arose entirely because Bronya used it... cough, it had nothing to do with how Bronya used it! It was entirely the enemy being too cunning, and Bronya letting her guard down!
If Bronya knew beforehand these guys would steal Authority, how could she have fallen for it!
"Idiot Kiana's body is the weak one! It can't compare to Bronya's at all!" Bronya glared, her apricot eyes wide with defiance. Back in the base training, idiot Kiana was completely defeated by Bronya. How dare a mere defeated opponent's [Kiana] compare to her [Bronya]!
—Hearing this, the Herrscher of the Void inside Kiana flew into a rage. Undoubtedly, she was the true representative of that power. Not the white-haired girl who needed someone else's help just to use it without suffering backlash.
The self-proclaimed Queen Herrscher of the Void was naturally proud of her power. Therefore, she took Bronya looking down on [Kiana] as looking down on her.
Tch! You little trash, if it weren't for this blockheaded replacement using that power, you Herrschers of Reason would have been crushed by Imaginary power hundreds of times over! The Herrscher of Reason from over a decade ago couldn't beat me, and you, who aren't even as good as your predecessor, dare look down on me?
And you! Kiana, you're useless too! That bastard practically shoved all my power down your throat, yet holding almost the entire Imaginary Authority, as the original Herrscher, you get chased around by that half-baked successor midget! Bah!
"Both of you, shut up!" An irritated voice cut through Kiana and Bronya's argument about 'whose body is better'.
They looked, bewildered, at the annoyed 'Seele' glaring at them—her beautiful eyes, now glowing red, held sparks of fire.
Undoubtedly. This was Veliona.
Unlike with Seele, Jiang Qiao treated Veliona even more leniently. Seele deliberately maintained control, only swapping when necessary or requested by Veliona, after consideration. But Jiang Qiao—he held no defenses against Veliona. This allowed Veliona complete control over the body.
Originally feeling complex, somewhat annoyed emotions about Jiang Qiao's arrival, Veliona was now deeply conflicted. ...This guy trusts me that much?
However, amidst her conflict, she noticed Kiana and Bronya's unethical debate about 'whose body is better'. Instantly, Veliona forgot her other concerns and exploded with anger. What's the meaning of this? Both of you fighting to hand this man over, meaning [Seele] isn't good enough, right?
As a die-hard Seele fan, defending Seele to the ends of the earth, Veliona couldn't tolerate them 'ignoring' [Seele] like this. What [Bronya], what [Kiana]...
Bah! Neither of you is half as good as our [Seele]!