At the very instant the Void Trotter's burning giant blade was about to cleave him in two...
A bolt of incredibly solid purple lightning appeared out of thin air and crashed down between Astro and the Trotter with a roar!
The violent energy exploded instantly, forming a circular shockwave that not only forcibly knocked the Trotter's giant blade aside...
But also directly sent several Void Plunderers, who had just flooded in through the doorway, flying backward.
They slammed into the corridor walls, bursting into chaotic energy particles!
As the lightning slightly faded, a brand-new figure took Astro's original position, standing there steadily.
It was a tall, upright youth with swift and efficient movements.
He wore a sharp uniform of dark and silver, outlining the distinct lines of a young man's physique.
With short, neat white hair, his gaze was locked firmly on the enemies ahead.
It was exactly the appearance of Arlan, the steady and reliable head of the Security Department from Honkai: Star Rail!
"This... is me?"
A voice with the clear quality of a youth came from Arlan's mouth, filled with unbelievable surprise.
The Trotter recovered from the shock of being pushed back and let out an even more furious roar.
It viewed this newly appeared lightning boy, who radiated a strong threat, as its primary target and began to gather destructive energy once more.
Arlan snapped back to his senses, the intense sense of crisis causing him to instantly suppress all distracting thoughts.
He felt the powerful energy flowing through his body and the even clearer connection to that game interface in his mind.
Right now, he was Arlan!
"You're asking for death!"
He barked out, carrying the sharp spirit of a youth.
With a sudden stomp of his foot, his body transformed into a streak of racing purple electricity.
He proactively charged toward the massive Trotter!
His fist swung out, carrying an indomitable will of destruction!
A condensed ball of lightning exploded at the tip of his fist like a miniature thunderstorm, slamming hard into the Trotter's thick breastplate!
Lightning burst forth, and the Trotter let out a pained neigh.
Its massive body was forcibly blasted backward, its chest scorched black!
Astro (Arlan version) pressed the advantage.
Lightning condensed into an even more violent form between his hands, and the name of a familiar Skill surfaced in his mind.
"Shackled... Prison!"
The attack slammed into the Trotter and the surrounding Void Rangers, completely swallowing them in a destructive thunderstorm!
After Astro, transformed into the young Arlan, threw out this hearty blow...
Although he felt the mental weakness returning, an unprecedented sense of excitement also welled up within him.
"Holy crap, this cheat ability... seems a bit badass?!"
Astro (Arlan version) looked at the corridor cleared by the thunderstorm.
And at the remains of the Trotter dissipating on the ground, feeling the energy in his body that was mostly consumed but still surging, his heart was filled with excitement.
He shook his numbed arm, feeling that it wasn't safe here and preparing to slip away.
However, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of that Herta Puppet still standing quietly with its eyes closed by the side of the corridor.
A thought suddenly popped up: Just now, when I touched Arlan, the icon lit up.
Now, while no one's around, why not try touching that little puppet?
What if... what if it can light up an icon too?
That's Herta! Even if it's just a four-star puppet, maybe touching it could activate something?
It's better than nothing!
Thinking of this, Astro quickly rushed in front of that small, doll-like puppet that looked like a pretty boy.
Looking at that expressionless, beautiful face, he felt a bit guilty.
"Pardon me, pardon me, just one touch..."
He muttered randomly, reached out a finger, and quickly and lightly... touched the puppet's short hair.
Almost the instant he touched it, in the game interface in his mind...
The gray icon representing 'Herta Puppet (4-Star • Erudition)' suddenly flickered.
Then it lit up steadily! It turned into a usable, colored state!
It lit up! It really lit up!
Astro felt a burst of wild joy in his heart.
He had already experienced Arlan's power; he wondered what this Herta Puppet could bring?
He looked at the loli-like puppet icon that had lit up in the interface.
An extremely bold thought popped up uncontrollably:
If I transform into this little Herta... what would it feel like?
Once this thought appeared, it grew like wild grass. Anyway, there's no one around, it's not like trying will kill me!
He concentrated his mind and poked hard at that newly lit icon.
He only felt his field of vision drop a bit. Looking down, what met his eyes were a pair of fair, slender puppet hands.
He was wearing that exquisite purple dress.
He instinctively touched his face; the touch was smooth and delicate, and his hair had turned into soft brown.
Holy crap! I really turned into a little Herta?!
With a slight thought, he tried to sense the power contained within this body.
It was a feeling completely different from Arlan's violent destruction.
Thinking of little Herta's big hammer, he instinctively raised his hand and made a grasping motion.
A giant hammer, almost as tall as his current loli body, flashed into existence and was steadily held by his seemingly slender little hand.
The hammerhead was a complex mechanical structure, with a large, perfectly cut blue diamond-like crystal embedded in its core.
This scene full of contrast—a small and cute loli carrying a high-tech giant hammer taller than herself—made Astro himself dazed for a moment.
He remembered the lines for Herta's Ultimate Skill in the game.
Unable to help himself, he blurted out with the voice of his current body:
"What are you looking at? This big diamond is for you!"
Before his voice even faded, he was already dragging that giant hammer, taking small strides with his short legs as he charged toward the direction where there was movement in the corridor!
The power belonging to the Path of Erudition was flowing within him.
It allowed him to clearly perceive several energy sources filled with destructive desire not far ahead—they were roaming Void Rangers!
Beating people up with Arlan's power just now was very satisfying.
But now, he wanted to see just how powerful a single strike from this Herta Puppet could be!
He hadn't run far before rounding a corner and indeed seeing three Void Plunderers damaging the corridor walls.
"Hey! You ugly monsters!"
Astro (Herta version) shouted, successfully attracting their attention.
The Plunderers turned around, their gazes locking onto this tiny tot dragging a giant hammer and running over aggressively.
Astro didn't care if they were confused; he took a deep breath.
He poured the energy in his body frantically into the giant hammer in his hand!
The diamond on the hammerhead flashed with blue light, and a terrifying chill instantly spread out.
"This big diamond is for you!"
He shouted in a feminine voice, swinging that massive mechanical hammer with all his might and smashing it down toward the three Void Rangers!
The moment the giant hammer hit the ground, a huge shockwave composed of pure ice elements rapidly spread forward in a fan shape!
Wherever it passed, the ground was instantly covered in a thick layer of ice.
The three Void Plunderers didn't have time to react before being completely swallowed by this freezing ice explosion!
Their bodies rapidly froze and stiffened under the extreme low temperature.
Then, with a series of "crack" sounds, they shattered into countless ice shards, flying in all directions!
A one-hit clear!
"...Holy crap."
Astro (Herta version) looked at the frozen scene before him and couldn't help but curse using Herta's voice.
This Herta Puppet's area-of-effect mob-clearing ability... is simply exhilarating!