Houkai itself is not a disaster without rules.
This is something many who understand Houkai are aware of. Mei even found a way to inject the consciousness of an artificial intelligence into it using a special method when the Cocoon of Finality was cleansing the surface of the Previous Era.
This was the so-called Prometheus 17.
The purpose of this action was, firstly, to limit the Herrscher's authority in the future to be the same as in the Previous Era. Originally, the Honkai God's authority would change according to the development of civilization.
The second purpose was to leave a backdoor in the Honkai God, or rather, the Cocoon of Finality, a backdoor that could only be triggered by a special method.
Just as Mobius said when she committed suicide to see Prometheus 17, her consciousness, once mixed into the Honkai God, would be overwhelmed by its vastness, and her thoughts completely dispersed.
And this was far from the end; its true purpose was to pave the way for someone in the future.
When it is awakened by someone in the correct way, It can manipulate the authority of Houkai itself for a short period, but after this short period, It will also meet Its own death.
So, until that final moment arrives, the Honkai God is that pure consciousness, inflicting persecution on civilization, applying pressure to civilization, forcing them to evolve to a state where they can withstand Honkai Energy.
And just as the Herrscher of Binding was born in the Previous Era to counter the Honkai Energy technology developed by the Previous Era, the Honkai God in the current civilization will also try to destroy those existences that hinder life from moving in the direction of Houkai.
And in this era, Takatsuki is such an existence…
The Honkai God once tried to drive away Takatsuki by possessing Ais's body.
To the Honkai God, not only Takatsuki, but also Kevin, Fu Hua, and even Kiana, who are naturally born with Stigmata and have the bloodline of the Previous Era, are considered outsiders to this civilization.
However, what Takatsuki did greatly advanced the possibility of defeating Houkai through violence, and this was not what Houkai wanted to see.
So…
Takatsuki was attacked.
And the one who attacked him was none other than…
Fu Hua's body, which should still be in a deep sleep.
Standing on the sea, Takatsuki looked grimly at Fu Hua opposite him, whose body was enveloped in black aura.
The opponent suddenly awakened within St. Freya, smashed through a wall, and attacked Takatsuki, breaking a large section of St. Freya's floor with just one blow.
To ensure no one else was affected, Takatsuki immediately activated [Close at Hand Yet Worlds Apart] and brought her to the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
"Fu Hua, are you still conscious?"
Takatsuki tentatively asked Fu Hua opposite him. According to his memory, the Herrscher of Sentience at the beginning could still communicate, but because no one was clear about the situation, plus some reasons of the Herrscher of Sentience itself, led to what happened later.
But this Fu Hua in front of him…
"Dad, don't try anymore. Look at Aunt Fu Hua's aura."
Upon hearing Ai's words, Takatsuki focused his aura on his eyes, and instantly saw the solid black aura on Fu Hua's body extending upwards as if connected to the sky.
"What is this!?"
"Dad, if I'm not mistaken, Aunt Fu Hua's current state should be what you call the Honkai God possessing her for a proxy fight."
Takatsuki and Ai's conversation didn't last long before Fu Hua on the opposite side launched an attack on Takatsuki.
Under the Honkai God's proxy fight, every punch and kick from Fu Hua possessed immense destructive power, and the opponent seemed to have completely inherited everything Fu Hua knew. If one were to compare, it was a Fu Hua with all her attributes enhanced countless times.
The opponent stomped on the turbulent sea surface, and the power of Hamon spread from her feet, making her lower body incredibly stable. Then, she delivered an inch-punch towards Takatsuki.
Inch Fist: Sky Splitter!
Takatsuki mentally narrated for Fu Hua, and he also raised his fist, striking at Fu Hua from a distance.
And where the fist landed, space cracked like glass, and at the same time, an explosive sound emanated.
Crack!
A stronger impact struck towards Fu Hua. The two forces collided instantly, but the impact Takatsuki delivered was instantly pierced by Fu Hua's impact, striking Takatsuki's body.
"Ugh!"
Enduring the attack with Armament Haki, Takatsuki looked at Fu Hua in surprise. Her attack was too exaggerated. The attack he just used was derived from Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, combined with other energies.
Although it was just a punch, the destructive power it caused could even destroy an island with a single punch.
"Fu Hua, with the Honkai God as her backing, is too strong…"
Just like Otto's analogy, if the Imaginary Tree was the ocean, then the Honkai God was a strait.
But no matter how small a strait is, drowning a person is very simple.
The current Honkai God's output was limited by Fu Hua's body; otherwise, Takatsuki would have been crushed in one encounter.
And Takatsuki couldn't truly go all out and kill Fu Hua.
After erasing his injuries with a grand lie, Takatsuki looked at Fu Hua, who was rushing towards him, and extended his palm.
"Za Warudo!"
The colors of heaven and earth were swallowed, and the entire world turned gray and white.
"Time stop is indeed useful."
Although he shouted Za Warudo, Takatsuki wasn't using a time stop of just a few seconds, but an SS-rank character card, which allowed for virtually infinite time stop.
"Good thing I drew such a character."
Otherwise, dealing with Fu Hua would be really troublesome, after all, he couldn't actually kill her, and whether he could kill her was another matter entirely.
Takatsuki felt that with the Honkai God's blessing, it would be normal for Fu Hua to kill him.
Not to mention, the opponent might immediately use a Honkai God version of Taixuan Sword God without regard for martial ethics.
It could directly shatter continents.
For now, he would seal Fu Hua first, and then go back home to ask the shut-in deity for ideas.
Just as Takatsuki approached Fu Hua, Ai's voice suddenly rang out.
"Dad, be careful!"
Takatsuki's heart skipped a beat, but it was too late to dodge.
A small fist imprinted on his chest, but the power that erupted from it pierced through Takatsuki's body and forcibly split the nearly four thousand meters of deep seawater, and Takatsuki was directly smashed onto the seabed.
He widened his eyes, feeling the dampness beneath him. The seabed had not recovered due to the time stop, and he didn't have many injuries on his body; the only injury was from the impact on the seabed.
"Just now… I died once!?"
The effect of the Dog Talisman allows for immunity to fatal attacks and keeps the body's functions at their peak.
The reason Takatsuki was not injured was because, under the Dog Talisman's judgment, that punch could have directly killed Takatsuki, so it directly negated that attack.
But the other impact force from that punch blew Takatsuki away, smashing him onto the seabed.
"No! Why can Fu Hua move in a time stop?!"
The surrounding seawater not falling meant that the time stop was still in effect, yet Fu Hua seemed completely unaffected as she rushed towards Takatsuki.
"Dad! I know! The Honkai God must have authority similar to time. Although she can't actively use it, she can cancel your time stop."
Time, huh…
Takatsuki recalled the players' speculations before his transmigration, speculating that the Herrscher of the End's authority was time, but the main story hadn't reached that point yet.
"Then what do we do about this!?"
Facing Fu Hua's attacks, Takatsuki could only passively respond, constantly dodging, but her every punch and kick was incredibly powerful.
She even released Diver Down to attack him.
"Dad, there's only one way now!"
"What way!?"
"Go to another world!"
"?"
"Take Aunt Fu Hua with you. The Honkai God's power cannot extend to other worlds. As long as you sever Aunt Fu Hua's connection with the Honkai God, she will recover, but I'm not sure what she'll recover into."
"Then there's no other way! The situation can only be handled like this now! Let's do it!"
Activating [Close at Hand Yet Worlds Apart] and Godspeed, he quickly escaped Fu Hua's attack range and flew into mid-air. Takatsuki canceled the time stop effect, as the time stop was constantly consuming his internal energy.
And as the seawater surged in, Fu Hua, enveloped in black aura, broke through the sea surface and rushed towards Takatsuki.
But this time, Takatsuki did not evade again, but instead, with a shift of his body, grabbed Fu Hua's shoulder.
"Then, the second journey begins."