Fighting a Herrscher with a human body sounds like a fantasy, akin to throwing an egg at a rock or an ant attempting to stop a carriage, in the hearts of countless people.
...But it is not entirely impossible.
Lin had multiple records of solo subjugation of Herrschers. Although not every attempt was successful, every one was sufficiently shocking.
Now that Kevin surpassed Lin in sheer strength, he naturally possessed the ability to subjugate a Herrscher. Furthermore, the girl was merely an incomplete Herrscher, lacking her Herrscher Core and possessing less than one percent of her Authority.
The only uncertainty was that the girl might wield weapons from the previous civilization.
The most unique aspect of the Herrscher of Reason was that her Authority embodied the idea of "stronger the opponent, stronger the power." She only needed to analyze the structure of any technology humanity possessed to perfectly replicate it.
The girl was the last Herrscher of Previous Civilization. Towards the end of that civilization, their technology had reached its peak, which consequently led to the Herrscher of Reason using their own technological might to destroy them.
In terms of technological prowess, the Previous Civilization, which had utilized Soulium to its limit, undoubtedly far surpassed the current Fire Moth.
"Clang!"
In just one exchange, Kevin's weapon was cleanly sliced in half. It wasn't an issue of material or point of impact, but purely the crushing superiority of the cutting technology used by the opponent's weapon.
Kevin's gun in his other hand fired repeatedly. A shield, appearing like water ripples, materialized in front of the girl. The kinetic energy of the bullets vanished Soon after passing through the shield, dropping uselessly to the ground.
Kevin retreated cautiously. He instinctively pulled out another sword. This sword used the same technology as the cold-emitting blade in Sakura hand, but before he could strike, a path of ice instantly extended from beneath the girl's feet.
Helplessly, Kevin and Kosma could only dodge.
Faster and more convenient technology. She didn't even need to replicate more destructive weapons; the standard-issue equipment of the Previous Civilization's Falling Star was enough to give them a severe headache.
However, the girl made no further moves after forcing them back. She stood rooted to the spot, quietly watching them, as if asking with her eyes: "Are you going to move aside?"
But how could Kevin and the others possibly trust a Herrscher? The highly anthropomorphic behavior and cunning personality of the Sixth Herrscher were deeply engraved in their minds. And her brutality, the atrocities committed by killing countless civilians, were sufficient to prove that humanity should not harbor even a shred of expectation for a Herrscher.
They were merely monsters in human guise.
Now, allowing the girl to obtain the Core of the Herrscher of Reason, coupled with her knowledge of Previous Civilization technology, would give her a destructive power far exceeding any Herrscher of current civilization. It would be like handing her the detonation button and waiting for her to blow humanity up.
"Can't you give up resisting and let us monitor you! If you truly are an exception among Herrschers, then I believe humanity will accept you, even if it takes time..."
Kosma, uncharacteristically, let his emotions burst forth. He did not possess Kevin's extreme distrust of the Honkai; he held true to his own principles.
Good and evil were separate, non-negotiable.
Regardless of the Honkai, all he saw was that the girl had not committed evil. She had befriended him, even eating cheap instant noodles with him in her room.
She had contributed to the subjugation of the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. Now, she was pleading with them to allow her to help humanity.
Should he believe her?
He didn't know himself, so he wished to let time provide the answer.
Since the girl had not harmed humanity in these few months, then they should monitor her. One year, ten years, fifty years... Even if she lived her entire life under human surveillance, though lacking freedom, this was the best way for humanity and her to coexist.
The naive him sought a win-win solution.
"Kosma." Kevin frowned. He wanted to reprimand Kosma, but seeing his resolute expression, he swallowed the severity that was on the tip of his tongue.
He was also curious about what the girl would do.
But regardless, he was ready for combat.
"...The Starlight's vessels are hovering outside Earth. Their presence could summon other alien civilizations at any time. When that happens, humanity may face an enemy far more terrifying than the Honkai." The girl sighed, and the weapon in her hand vanished. "And humanity is fundamentally powerless to resist the Starlight. The assimilation they seek is the erosion of individuality, a 'contamination' that merges all into a whole."
"They are merely another form of the Honkai. The reason they haven't attacked humanity yet is that they want to assimilate humanity with the least loss possible. Once the concept of humanity disappears, the Honkai will cease as well, and they won't have to deal with it."
She looked at Kevin: "Those Emperor-class Honkai Beasts are just ordinary Starlight individuals, and their numbers are meaningless to them."
"Those Emperor-class Honkai Beasts..."
Kevin, with the girl's subtle prompting, gradually understood the origin of those clearly abnormal Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.
"As soon as they decide to attack humanity, the Starlight individuals lurking in the human world will begin a large-scale assault. The number of Starlight in the Shenzhou region alone is no less than a thousand."
A thousand Emperor-class Honkai Beasts appearing simultaneously in Shenzhou. Even if these Emperor-class Honkai Beasts were far weaker than typical High-Tier Honkai Beasts, they still surpassed the level of Lesser Honkai Beasts and would cause devastating damage to human society.
"Even if humanity survives the Starlight's initial attack, they will send a signal to the Planetary-class Honkai Beast in the Centaurus star system, drawing it to the solar system. At that point, humanity will be completely unable to resist."
"Only if I retrieve the Herrscher Core and fully replicate the Previous Civilization's most powerful weapon can I destroy the Starlight collective consciousness outside Earth."
When the Starlight disclosed the information about the Planetary-class Honkai Beast to humanity, they had already prepared a threat as a contingency.
To be assimilated, or to be destroyed?
So, humanity's fate rested upon a Herrscher?
"...I cannot trust a Herrscher."
"I also know that humanity cannot trust a Herrscher, but I hope I can become an example..." The girl smiled easily. "If a 'special' Herrscher like me is born after I'm gone, please take good care of her then."
Kevin said coldly, "You are not leaving here."
"You cannot stop me."
"You know what I'm talking about."
"…" The girl abruptly fell silent.
Kevin had already noticed that her abilities were weakened to a pitiful degree. Earlier, she had replicated at least three Previous Civilization technologies, but each time, she dissolved the previous one before replicating the new one.
This meant she could not maintain a large number of complex technologies simultaneously.
This explained why she didn't simply replicate a Previous Civilization flying device to leave, but rather resorted to using the transport plane.
With a limitation... came a solution.
However, he also failed to notice the cunning flash in the girl's clear eyes.