The pseudo-Herrscher, Yuno, awoke from her daze. Her pupils contracted as she gazed blankly at the sky, taking several seconds to come to her senses.
"Ugh... it hurts!"
A few drops of crimson "tears" squeezed out of Yuno's eyes, the venom sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the already exploded wreckage, emitting a dreadful hissing sound.
She remembered what had happened earlier: a gray-haired girl breaking through numerous obstacles to deliver a powerful punch to the pseudo-Herrscher, nearly killing her.
Then, the gray-haired girl used some kind of technique. After a dazzling golden light, she transformed into a different figure, wearing clothes reminiscent of ancient China, with flames burning between her fists and feet.
The temperature of these flames far exceeded that of the mechs seen before. No matter how Yuno tried to counter them, she couldn't stop their burning, causing the pseudo-Herrscher to scream in agony.
However, Jingwei didn't care about Yuno's screams. In the illusion constructed by "Fenghuang Down," she relentlessly struck Yuno, hoping to completely erase her consciousness as she had done with "Agata, the Pseudo-Herrscher of Flames" before.
However, Agata at the time was actually a newly created consciousness manipulated by Sirin using the power of the Herrscher, with little experience or memory. Fu Hua easily extinguished this new consciousness with just one glance.
But Yuno was different. Before becoming a pseudo-Herrscher, she had been a human for over a dozen years, although her life had not been very comfortable—bullied by classmates, despised by family—perfectly fitting the tragic background of a chosen one of Honkai.
In comparison, she harbored more thoughts of destroying the world and a strong desire to survive.
Fu Hua failed to immediately extinguish Yuno's consciousness. And with this delay, her body had already run to the previous location of the Honkai energy storage tank.
The vines around the pseudo-Herrscher raised high, piercing straight into a Honkai energy storage tank. With a grating sound, the vibrant purple Honkai energy was extracted by the branches and absorbed into Yuno's body.
"Heh..."
The pseudo-Herrscher let out a low growl, her near-shattered body filled with energy, stabilizing. But how could a mere tank of Honkai energy satisfy her?
Thus, the vines danced, heavily striking the surrounding storage tanks!
Honkai energy gushed out from the cracks in the storage tanks, and the pseudo-Herrscher's body stood firm in the surge of energy, even opening her arms to embrace the Honkai energy.
More and more Honkai energy gathered together. Coupled with the pseudo-Herrscher's presence, quantitative changes led to qualitative changes!
The purple energy surged, coalescing and violently shaking, triggering a terrifying explosion. Not only did it blast out a terrifying hole straight to the ground, but it also briefly opened the door to the imaginary space!
Supported by the imaginary space, the density of Honkai energy increased exponentially. In an instant, Honkai energy poured out of this hole like a volcanic eruption, temporarily staining the sky of Nagazora City purple!
Immediately afterward, this Honkai energy spread out, sweeping everything around like a storm!
At the center of the Honkai eruption, the pseudo-Herrscher faced the scourge of the Honkai energy torrent. Under such intense Honkai energy influence, her consciousness broke free from the constraints of "Fenghuang Down," and she reopened her eyes.
"I... I'm still alive!"
Yuno gasped for breath, lowering her head and stroking her body.
The energy within the pseudo-Herrscher's body was particularly abundant. She waved her hand, summoning her vineswhich were now covered with a layer of white shells, with faint purple patterns on them, resembling Honkai beasts.
Several white Honkai beasts were born from the air, silently guarding around the pseudo-Herrscher.
Yuno touched the transformed vines with some surprise, a smile gradually appearing on her lips.
"Damn humans, I'm coming for revenge!"
---
What does it feel like to experience a Honkai Eruption?
For Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya, perhaps this was the first time they had experienced a Honkai eruption up close without being controlled by a Herrscher consciousness.
Thanks to their strong resistance to Honkai energy, the two quasi-Herrschers and one Herrscher prototype were not in mortal danger. They felt as if they had suddenly taken a breath of air, sensing a powerful scent they had never smelled before.
Bronya coughed uncomfortably a few times, pressing her temples and blinking her eyes hard.
"What are you up to again?" a weak voice sounded in Kiana's ear. Kiana covered her chest with her hands in surprise and asked, "Sister Sirin? Are you awake?"
"How could I not wake up with such a big commotion outside?" Sirin used Kiana's eyes to observe the surroundings. After a few seconds, she sighed, "Why do you always run to places with high Honkai concentration?"
"I can't control it..." Kiana replied awkwardly.
Sirin glanced at Raiden Mei beside her and said, "I'll continue to sleep and suppress the impulse to destroy the world... I hope you don't stay here too long."
Luo Lin looked around and found that even small purple Honkai energy fragments had condensed in the air, although they were small, floating like dust in the air, twinkling with tiny spots of light.
Senti suddenly spoke up: "Pay attention to Raiden Mei's condition. The Honkai concentration is extremely high now, which may provide an opportunity for the Herrscher consciousness!"
"You're right!"
Luo Lin turned her head and saw Raiden Mei frowning while swaying unsteadily, and needing to hold onto cover to stay on her feet.
In the high-density Honkai environment, her power had been enhanced, and Raiden Mei had to invest most of her energy in resisting this dangerous consciousness.
The Herrscher consciousness shouted fanatically, "Do you feel it? That call! It represents power! As long as you accept it, the authority of the world will fall into your hands!"
Raiden Mei pursed her lips. The Herrscher consciousness was not wrong. She did feel something watching her, calling out to her.
The girl even had a premonition that as long as she accepted the invitation, she could even bring all the surrounding Honkai energy under her control.
"But... I refuse."
The gaze from the depths of the void left disappointedly, disappearing without a trace.
Raiden Mei breathed a sigh of relief, watching the figure rushing towards her not far away. Luo Lin had returned to her original appearance from the pink fairy miss and hurried to Raiden Mei's side.
Kiana, who was standing beside her, supported her arm and asked with concern, "Mei, are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine, actually..." Raiden Mei patted the white furball's hand. "By the way, is this a Honkai eruption now?"
Luo Lin happened to hear her question and nodded, "Yes, Nagazora City is experiencing a Honkai outbreak, but the intensity... the intensity might not be particularly high."
"Not very high?"
Kiana looked at the flickering purple dots in the air, her mouth agape.
"Indeed, not very high."
Fu Hua walked over at some point, her expression not looking very good. "Luo Lin, I need your help— the pseudo-Herrscher ran away, and I couldn't kill her."
"Ah?! What about your 'Fenghuang Down'?"
"Just a little bit short..."
"This..."