At the same time, Godzilla and Aha were still chipping away at a wall...
-------------------------------
According to the power the Herrscher of Domination originally possessed, there was no way she could so easily drag Kiana and her companions into the Theater of Domination.
It wasn't that it was impossible, but it would create ripples, allowing the outside world to detect and trace the exact location.
The Herrscher of Domination, fully aware of the outside situation, never thought she could act with impunity.
After all, at the core, the Herrscher of Domination was merely a collection of all negative emotions.
Pathetic enough in real life already, could gathering up a bunch of pathetic weaklings really give birth to a fierce tiger?
However, once the Will of Honkai cast its gaze and granted permissions, things changed.
The vast Honkai energy and higher-level authority instantly elevated them into the most massive Herrscher of the current civilization.
Perhaps in one-on-one combat they were still inferior to complete Herrschers, but together, even a true fully awakened Herrscher could not withstand them!
"Just like this!"
Countless threads descended. A massive puppet, grotesque and eerie, slowly lowered itself.
The oppressive weight of its colossal body was innate.
The true Herrscher of Domination made their grand entrance.
"Hahaha, do struggle, won't you? Offer the Theater of Domination a performance brilliant enough to please the audience, don't let them be disappointed."
The host slightly bowed, raised a finger, and smiled.
"Ahh! That bastard is so damn annoying. How could someone like that even exist in this world?"
Kiana glared, suddenly feeling her hands too short. Only when the need arises do you regret short hands!
"Kiana, be careful. This enemy is unlike any we've faced before."
Mei stood back-to-back with Kiana and Bronya, forming a defensive formation.
As for Himeko, she needed no concern from these children.
In fact, fighting alongside them might even throw off her own rhythm.
All she had to do was keep a proper distance, and not allow the Herrscher of Domination an opening.
"Damn it, if only the Hyperion were here…" Urgency filled Himeko's heart.
Her armor carried the Nexus system, capable of independent combat in light-load mode, but to unleash its true power, it required warship-level energy support.
Yet now, forget warship-level supply, even her current energy reserves would soon be depleted if she dragged this out.
All she could hope for now was to find a way out of this space, or that far away at St. Freya Academy, Theresa would arrive piloting the Hyperion in time.
Otherwise, today she likely wouldn't survive long enough to see Theresa again.
"Struggle, fight, until in the end you realize, everything you've done is in vain! In vain!"
"Like a painter who spent twenty years of life, only to end up dragging a tattered easel alone down the street, scorned by all who see him."
"Like a diligent student who still can't ever surpass the genius always in first place, falling into despair."
"Like helping someone who fell, only to be wrongly accused and struck down, ending up with nothing but disgrace!"
"You are like them now, worthless, inept, laughable fools who can't do anything when it matters!"
Such words filled the chaotic stage. Messy and jumbled, as if every corner spoke, as if voices echoed endlessly.
"Sounds so tragic… could these be their personal experiences?" Kiana couldn't help but quip.
The Herrscher of Domination's words were just too tear-inducing.
For a moment, Kiana even pitied them.
"Indeed… it is tragic."
"Hard to argue."
Mei didn't know what to say. She wanted to refute, but she knew society truly had people who suffered such lives.
If her rebuttal provoked them, it would only be worse.
As for Bronya… since childhood she had strangled people with stockings, in some ways, she understood the cruelty of the world even more than Kiana.
After all, Kiana had at least her father's company when she was young. Later she survived alone by brute strength, doing decently, and once she entered Chiba Academy and met Mei, things went uphill fast.
Aside from a brief period of sorrow, most of Kiana's life was far better than what these Herrschers described.
At that moment, the Herrscher of Thunder spoke to Mei.
"Hey, listen up! Be careful. Their target is your Herrscher core. If you're bewitched, neither of us will end well!"
"Relax. I won't waver."
No matter how eloquent you are, the Herrscher of Thunder would never believe you!
Herrscher to Herrscher, who doesn't know who?
Yes, your pasts may have been tragic, but what does that have to do with me?
Truthfully, every Herrscher has a tragic tale of their own.
To the Herrscher of Thunder, the words of the Herrscher- of Domination were nothing but whining.
They were simply venting hatred for society, blaming everyone else.
Pity-seeking was fine, but don't try it in front of your "colleague."
If I can stand beside you as a fellow Herrscher, do you really think my life was easy?
"Well well, seems our colleague doesn't want to talk nicely with us. What shall we do?"
"Traitor, traitor! A Herrscher siding with humans, you've lost your pride! You've become nothing more than their dog!"
The Will of Honkai strengthened the Herrscher of Domination, turning them into giants.
No matter how strong they were, however, they were never truly one.
What makes humans human is precisely the endless differences in desires between people.
The Herrscher of Domination, being a collection of such desires, could never unite completely in the face of true mortal danger.
They were villains who would even kill their own companions.
The Herrscher of Thunder might not have ascended the "normal" way, but her tempered will couldn't be shaken by mere words.
"Damn it, damn it! How could a mere human have such resolve? And you, a Herrscher who's forgotten your tragic past, unforgivable!"
The frenzied screams of the Herrscher of Domination shook the entire theater.
The next moment, countless puppets of domination surged toward the four like a tidal wave.
Stretching as far as the eye could see! If they couldn't sway her will, then they would crush her in direct battle!
Think we're useless just because we're made of negativity? Think we're mere trash of society? Then watch what happens when we unite, see the power even trash can unleash!
Provoked by the Herrscher of Thunder's defiance, the Herrscher of Domination swung their threads, everywhere the eye could reach, domination's army marched!
Himeko's pupils shrank sharply. No matter how brave she was, she could never withstand an army of this scale.
Clenching her teeth, she turned, preparing to burn herself for one final charge,
"Have you seen a star shatter?"
"Eden Star!"
BOOM!!
Airwaves roared as countless puppets were blown apart, Welt stood firm against the wind.
"Welt!!"
…
On the other side of the theater,
"What an intense fight. The Herrscher of Domination feel completely different from the earlier ones." Raven's face showed surprise.
Mostly because… she actually had quite a lot in common with the Herrscher of Domination.
"This time's Herrscher of Domination… their reflexes are sharper."
Kevin spoke calmly, clenching his fist, a dangerous aura leaking out.
Truthfully, he despised the Herrscher of Domination.
But before that, he had to deal with the rats lurking in the shadows.
"Haha… always called a knight, yet this is the first time I've been called a rat. Feels oddly amusing."
An aged man with white hair revealed his figure, a mocking smile on his face.
Among the three, the man looked like a machine and the hooded woman both pressed on him with heavy pressure.
But compared to the man in the center, they were nothing.
That man…
"Simply a monster." Siegfried had never thought that one day he would actually call someone else a monster.
"Siegfried Kaslana, knight of Schicksal, possessing S-class combat strength, currently wanted by Schicksal, and at the same time, the special, classified, subject of the Judgment Of Shamash"
Gray Serpent's mechanical eyes flickered with excitement.
To celebrate the return of his lord, a divine key was absolutely necessary.
Siegfried was his target to begin with. He had originally planned to seize the Judgement of Shamash, but unexpectedly, the man delivered himself to his door.
"Heh, you want the Judgement of Shamash? Here it is."
Waving the weapon in his hand, Siegfried smiled, his gaze carrying hidden determination.
He had always been secretly protecting Kiana.
If nothing unexpected happened, his reunion with Kiana should have been far in the future. But ever since last time, he had been forced to narrow his protection range.
That monstrous beast had been so close to Kiana then.
And with the Herrscher of Thunder lurking nearby, his worry for Kiana had climbed to the peak.
To be honest, he wasn't sure why that Herrscher dragged him into this as well, but he didn't think it was a bad thing.
"You, not bad." After a moment of silence, Kevin spoke calmly.
"The Judgment Of Shamash, I'll be taking it."
The instant his words fell, Kevin's figure vanished from Siegfried's sight. Before Siegfried could react, a fierce gust hit him in the face. Instinct honed from years of skirting death made him raise his arms to block.
Bang!
Siegfried, a knight of Schicksal with power equal to an S-class Valkyrie, was forcibly blown away!
He smashed through a wall of ruins, sprawling miserably in the rubble.
As expected, a monster!
"Judgement of Shamash."
The fiery red great sword in Kevin's hand gleamed like a tamed hound, radiant with brilliance.
Even though he already knew something of Kevin, seeing it now still shook him.
"Monster…" Mm, he dared not say it aloud.
"Congratulations, my lord. Only in your hands can the Judgement of Shamash bloom with its true brilliance."
Gray Serpent stepped forward to congratulate.
Weighing it, refamiliarizing himself with its heft, Kevin's gaze grew cold.
Herrscher of Domination, it was time to settle accounts.
····
"Eh?"
The Herrscher of Domination, still entangled with Kiana's group, suddenly froze, staring fixedly at one place.
It was where Siegfried was.
"That idiot actually got beaten? Isn't he supposed to be the Schicksal King or something?"
"Could it be fake?"
"Doesn't matter if it's fake, how do we deal with those others now?"
Long before, the Herrscher of Domination had sensed a few uninvited guests in the theater, but their focus was on Siegfried. As long as Siegfried was there, they weren't afraid the Herrscher of the Void wouldn't appear.
As for the others, they hadn't paid attention. But now… was it a tiger let loose among the sheeps?
"Why did they stop?"
"What happened over there?"
"What should we do now?"
The St. Freya group and Welt looked at each other.
Before they could act, a voice, cold yet wrapped in the raging flame of unextinguished fury, drifted from afar.
"Judgement of Shamash, unsheathe!"
Boom!!
"He has the same white hair as me." Kiana pointed at Kevin, standing atop the ice pillar, muttering.
Then she realized something was wrong.
"Judgement of Shamash… wasn't that in dumb old Dad's hands? How is it in his hands?!" Kiana widened her eyes, exclaiming.
"Now's not the time to think about that. Fall back, the situation's bad."
Himeko spoke as she dragged the three away from the battlefield.
When two powerful guys fight, people nearby are the first ones to suffer.
In ordinary eyes, a Valkyrie like Himeko was already strong enough. But only Himeko knew, the ones above her were true monsters.
The Judgement of Shamash.
Passed down by Schicksal and countless Valkyries' hands, its full release was a mutual-destruction move.
Even if it didn't kill you, the aftermath left you half-crippled.
Yet that man stood perfectly alright, as if he'd just strolled in his garden. Could such a monster really exist in this world?!
Rumble!
At that moment, the Herrscher of Domination, buried under ruins, emerged in unison, staring at Kevin in disbelief.
"This kind of power, impossible, this is impossible! How can someone like you exist in the world? What about physics? What about biology? Ah-!"
"Kill him, tear him apart!"
That one strike had directly cost them a hundred puppets.
Fact proved: even strengthened, the Herrscher of Domination could not compare to Kevin, especially Kevin who had regained the Judgement of Shamash.
Even if he was in a weakened period!
In his hand he held a Herrscher core.
Though similar to ordinary Herrscher cores, the Herrscher of Dominations' cores had vast energy differences.
"Not enough." Kevin's voice was faint, as though what he had just done was as natural as eating or drinking.
"We can't win, it's impossible no matter how you think about it. We should run."
One of the Herrscher of Domination spoke in fear.
"Run? Run where? This is our turf. If even this is breached, where else can we go?"
"Don't be afraid, he's only one. We still have so many, "
Their rabid barking continued.
Kevin's gaze swept over, pausing abruptly when it landed on Welt.
That dense Herrscher aura, and his earlier stance, this era truly was different.
Seeing Kevin focus on Welt, a Herrscher of Domination's eyes lit up. She sneaked behind him, scheming.
Others seized the chance to scurry into a corner, urging a companion.
…
"Don't you see we're about to be slaughtered? Why aren't you moving?!"
"…"
The timid girl said nothing, her eyes flicking between the wreckage carved by Kevin's Judgement of Shamash and the Herrscher before her.
Her attitude was clear.
"… If you strike now, you could definitely kill him. Your power is poison! As long as he's human, he has to breathe. And skin, if your poison touches him, we win!"
But Yuno still said nothing.
"You saw him absorb Honkai energy, didn't you? If you don't act, once he wipes us out, the next to die will be you and that Herrscher of Reason!"
Hearing the threat, her pupils trembled.
For some reason, she truly didn't want to act.
But she had seen Kevin absorb Honkai energy.
If, even if, it was just if, after he dealt with the Herrscher of Domination he targeted her, what could she do?
Seeing Yuno waver, the Herrscher of Domination prepared to press harder.
Just then… Space trembled!
Kevin's eyes narrowed, the Judgement of Shamash halting mid-air.
A familiar sense of danger surged in his heart.
Before he could figure it out, the next second,
Crack!
The sound of space shattering. Normally, space rupturing made no sound. That it did was because the nearby Honkai creations couldn't withstand the terrifying aura leaking out, and cracked apart.
Then, under countless shocked, stunned, disbelieving gazes, a towering figure slowly emerged from the space gate.
"Roooaaar, !!"
Its body had yet to appear, but the sound arrived first.
The rolling shockwave blasted the suspended Herrscher of Domination away, puppet bodies collapsing in piles.
A horrifying sight!
Godzilla's eyes glowed with excitement, staring at the dumbstruck Herrscher of Domination with glee.
Should've said earlier you had opened a door here!