"Crack!"

The Sword in the Stone snapped in two.

After all, it was merely a product condensed from mental energy. After enduring such high-intensity combat, the Cosmic Juggernaut ultimately failed to last until the end.

Directly in front of Su.

A deep purple scythe was also bisected.

The one blocking his path was no longer the Herrscher of Reason, but the Sixth Herrscher · Herrscher of Death.

From the moment the Herrscher of Sentience began summoning various Herrschers until now, Su had successively defeated five opponents. In the fierce confrontation, although Su had tried his utmost to protect it, over ninety percent of the entire city had still been blasted into ruins.

In other words.

The number of surviving members within the Flame-Chasers…

Su didn't let his thoughts dwell on it.

To be precise, the current situation didn't allow him to think too deeply.

The Eighth Herrscher's power was even greater than imagined. Despite clearly not possessing the authorities of other Herrschers, it could perfectly mimic their techniques in the mental domain—

Wait!

"Mimicry…"

"So that's how it is."

Watching the Herrscher of Death before him dissipate into sand, Su finally understood how the Herrscher of Sentience had achieved this.

Before he had entered this city.

The Herrscher of Sentience hadn't created Herrschers to fight the other Fusion Soldiers.

Given the combat power displayed by these Herrschers, if it had done so earlier, the Flame-Chasers would have had no chance of holding out until he completed his fusion surgery.

But the opponent had insisted on waiting until all the Honkai Beasts were eliminated before starting to send out Herrschers to fight him one-on-one, even using techniques that were identical to his own knowledge of them…

The Eighth Herrscher's mental power was indeed formidable.

But its Honkai energy level was likely far less potent than that of other Herrschers — whether in terms of energy cap or Honkai energy recovery speed, it could only be considered mid-tier among Herrschers.

The most crucial point was.

The reason the opponent could use so many techniques exclusive to Herrschers… the problem lay with himself!

The Eighth Herrscher was prying into his memories!

It had used the Herrschers from his own impressions as templates to create the Herrscher-level combatants he had just faced!

As the Herrscher of Death fell.

Crimson flames danced amidst the ruins.

A woman, draped in a long black dress, slowly walked out from the ashes.

"Himeko…"

Looking at the familiar face before him.

Su understood more profoundly what his friend must have felt when facing all this — what he saw was merely an illusion; Kevin, who had truly faced the original and still raised his sword against her…

"If that's the case."

Su was no longer the person he once was.

The moment he became a Fusion Soldier, he had made the resolution that he must abandon something.

"Schii!"

Flames erupted in his hand!

Pitch-black, platinum, orange-red.

Honkai energy, bound by mental power, combined and reconfigured, gradually coalescing in Su's hand into a giant two-handed sword—

The Seventh Key of God · Key of Destruction · Might of An-Utu!

Searing high temperatures spread through the ruins. Waves of fire surged madly between the Herrscher of Flame and Su.

"Herrscher of Flame…"

At such a tense, confrontational moment, Su gently closed his eyes.

Since the opponent's understanding of the Herrscher of Flame came entirely from his memories, then—

"Swoosh!!"

Flame lances descended from the heavens!

Lances like a meteor shower of fire, streaking down from the sky as the Herrscher of Flame raised her arm — that was the divine judgment that had once turned Australia into a sea of fire!

Su was recalling Kevin's movements.

The strike with which Kevin had slain the Herrscher of Flame, the slash with which he had wielded An-Utu — all information about his friend flooded into his mind!

"Zzheng!!"

Bright light flowed along the blade's edge!

Draw sword, slash—

"An-Utu, unsheathed!"

"Boom!!!"

Light illuminated the entire world.

When Su reopened his eyes, the scene before him had changed to a somewhat familiar operating interface and display instruments.

"I'm back…"

The restraints binding his body detached one by one.

The door of the Observation Hub "kaboomed" open — Su, gently shaking his head, walked out of the metal chamber.

Around him…

Of the Fusion Soldiers who had also emerged from that space, a team totaling 27 people including Su, only a mere 3, himself included, had survived.

This ratio.

Considering the current state of the Flame-Chasers, it could probably still be considered "normal."

A survival rate of barely one-tenth meant that in the entire base, apart from a very few of the strongest Fusion Soldiers, all other personnel had perished in the battle against the Herrscher of Sentience.

"Herrscher of Sentience…"

"The Eighth Herrscher got away."

Spaxi's figure appeared before Su.

"From the looks of it."

"The opponent likely retreated because its Honkai energy was depleted."

"Unfortunately, its mental power is too strong. All traces were erased when it left, and we couldn't pursue it in time."

"Is that so…"

Hearing Spaxi's words, Su could only sigh with regret.

"It's alright."

Spaxi wore a rather strained smile — to be able to smile in the face of such a pyrrhic victory was already proof of his fortitude — and gently patted Su's shoulder.

"We at least know the Eighth Herrscher's weakness."

"Until it finds a way to deal with you, it probably won't attack again…"

"Teacher."

Spaxi hadn't finished speaking when Su interrupted him.

"Hm?"

"Your… wine flask, where is it?"

"…"

"Pfft!!!"

A greatsword pierced through Su's chest and abdomen.

However, the "Spaxi" who launched the attack wielding the "Might of An-Utu" showed no joy on his face. Compared to Su's body, which remained unharmed even after being impaled by An-Utu, a dark hole had appeared in the center of "Spaxi's" unattacked body.

Bones, muscles, meridians, blood — all tissues were directly vaporized by the ultra-high temperature.

The next second.

Spaxi's figure flickered and blurred like an old cathode-ray tube television.

His originally thin and tall form gradually transformed into a female image Su had never seen before: Ange.

"Wh… why?"

The Herrscher of Sentience asked, her face filled with disbelief.

This body of Spaxi was an image perfectly replicated from the information in the opponent's mind; the attack just now had indeed hit this human.

But why—

"So this is… the Eighth Herrscher's true form?"

Su didn't directly answer the opponent's question, but first deeply imprinted Ange's appearance into his memory.

"If you're asking about the injury…"

"This is the unique ability I awakened, [Karmic Retribution] — within my mental interference range, all attacks will be returned to the attacker themselves, giving them a taste of their own medicine."

Su's voice was incredibly calm.

"If you're asking how I saw through this illusion…"

"Herrscher."

"When I entered this space, the first thing I thought about was how to counter a Herrscher; and you, you copied all the past 'examples' I had searched for."

"Just now…"

"I merely embellished the image of my teacher slightly in the desired direction… that's all."