Sunset, silent.
With the help of numerous drones, the remaining individuals of the Herrscher of Domination were easily and thoroughly eliminated by the MANTISes.
Hua also received the last letter that Fu Li had entrusted to Mobius for her.
The remaining personnel were busy collecting the remains of the Herrscher of Domination, but regrettably, they did not find Fu Li's body.
---o---
Meanwhile, in a secret basement within The Deep End, Elysia stepped into the space carrying an unconscious Fu Li on her back.
"Hi, my dear Aponia, I've brought back the Mr. Li you wanted ♪"
"Ah, is that so? Thank you ever so much, Ellie."
Watching Fu Li being placed on the bed, his limbs firmly bound, a look of gentle pity flashed in Aponia's eyes.
"[Please] recover quickly."
"[Please] sleep well for a while longer, until you are fully restored."
After issuing two consecutive precepts, Aponia removed her hand from Fu Li's forehead. Feeling his heartbeat gradually stabilize, she let out a breath.
"Your turn, Ellie."
"Alright, alright, I know. Speaking of which, this is my first time digging into someone's heart, you know? The feeling is quite pleasant ♪"
Saying so, Elysia put on the Void Hand, Soul Probe and, without a moment's hesitation, reached into Fu Li's chest, extracting the final Core of Domination.
"With this, the last core is in hand. But Aponia, what was your purpose in having me save Li?"
"It's simple, Ellie," Aponia said with a light chuckle. "Li possesses an ability that none of you know about. I am willing to call it a 'cycle'."
"His life in this era should not end just like this. He needs to grow in each cycle, and what he needs to accomplish this time is to overcome the Herrscher consciousness."
"Overcome the Herrscher consciousness? Is this for the next time?" Elysia nodded thoughtfully. A flicker of envy crossed her eyes before she raised another question.
"By the way, Aponia, did you do something while I was away?"
"While I don't dislike naughty girls, I don't like being deceived either, you know ♪"
Aponia fell silent for a moment, considered it, and then nodded in admission.
"That's right. After all the high-end combat power was dispatched, I took the opportunity to place the entire MOTHs high command under my psychic control."
"But [please] rest assured, I did not do this for selfish reasons. It was merely to ensure that the plans Li arranged for the future could be implemented."
"I see." Elysia nodded, offering no opinion on the matter.
"Then, as my part of the bargain, you can promise me that if you are to release Li, it will only be after he has overcome the Herrscher consciousness, and..."
"He is to awaken after the Thirteenth Herrscher appears."
---o---
Two months later.
"Hua, are you sure you want to do this?"
Inside the laboratory, Mobius stopped what she was doing and looked at Hua.
At this moment, Hua was curled up in a chair, her lips pressed together and her fists clenched between her legs. She nodded heavily.
"Doctor, I know my brother asked you to look after my safety, but I really... I don't want to be as powerless as I was before."
"Is that so?"
Looking at Hua, Mobius sighed.
In this life, Li was her older brother, and in previous lives, he was her younger brother. By extension, Hua was also her younger sister.
Even if it was just out of love for Li, she would do her best to ensure Hua's safety.
"Alright, then. I'll go find Dr. MEI and get you a spot on the list."
"Thank you, Dr. Mobius."
"It's nothing, it's what I should do..."
Staring at the familiar experimental data before her, Mobius suddenly had the urge to pop some bubble wrap.
---o---
[With the death of the Herrscher of Domination, researchers began to actively seek countermeasures for the next Herrscher.]
[Following the success of the mass-produced Tenth Divine Key, researchers once again realized the importance of human potential.]
[The 'MANTIS' project was put back on the agenda.]
On an unknown day of an unknown month, in southern Australia.
A MOTHs unit was dispatched to a rare earth mining area on the outskirts of the city for a recapture mission.
This was supposed to be an ordinary mission, rated B-class in difficulty, with absolutely no possibility of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast appearing.
The soldiers participating in this battle were a hastily assembled team, drawn from different squads.
"Hey, hey, did you hear? We're equipped with Divine Keys for this mission."
"Yeah, look at this golden blade! It's so cool."
"I know, right? You know, Divine Keys can usually only be equipped by MANTISes."
"Hmph, just you wait. With this Divine Key, I can cut them all down by myself."
"Yeah! Hahaha."
[Field Test of the Tenth Divine Key] — without a doubt, this was the true purpose of the mission.
Therefore, when they were ordered to inject a mysterious drug distributed by headquarters, no one grew suspicious. Except for...
Listening to the boisterous and cheerful chatter of the soldiers in the cabin, Hua stared at the syringe filled with blue liquid and took a deep breath.
Without a doubt, they were all sacrificial pawns. But just as certainly, this was also an opportunity to gain power.
[Meta-Morph], a super-variant synthesis agent.
Perhaps Herrschers are not guilty, but the Honkai must be completely eliminated!
A flash of anger ignited in Hua's eyes as she unhesitatingly injected the liquid into her vein.
As the fluid entered her body, she felt nothing special, but Hua knew very well that the change had already begun.
Once the aircraft reached the designated location, the battle began immediately.
At first, the fight went smoothly. Wielding their Divine Keys, the soldiers were incredibly brave, reaping the lives of the beasts.
Until the appearance of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Ganesha.
"Dammit, what is this?! Somebody save me! Requesting support!"
"Give me your position, I'm on my way!"
"Why isn't the Divine Key working on it?!"
Cries of misery sounded through the headsets. Meanwhile, in a secret base.
"The assault team has engaged the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Ganesha. There are currently 5 casualties. No one has awakened the super-variant factor."
"Dr. MEI, in the hands of unawakened individuals, the Divine Keys are no different from ordinary weapons. We should prepare to arrange the next experiment, Doctor."
This was the observation of Dr. MEI's assistant. She said it without a hint of remorse.
However, Dr. MEI interrupted her.
"No, wait. That person's sister has not awakened yet."
"My intuition tells me she is very likely to succeed. The experiment is not over."
---o---
An Emperor-class Honkai Beast?
Staring at the monster rampaging below, Hua gripped her weapon tightly, not a trace of fear in her heart.
This creature that her brother and the Captain could have easily slaughtered was a complete nobody in the grand scheme of the Honkai, so...
For a thing like this to think it could kill her... it'll take you another twenty thousand years.