"Whoa, what's happening?"
"What's wrong with Lady Hua? Why is she suddenly about to initiate an artificial Honkai cascade?!"
"I don't know! Let's get out of here!"
The sudden turn of events made everyone, who had just begun to relax, tense up once more. Watching the unexpected conflict erupt, they were thrown into a momentary panic.
However, facing Hua who was preparing to unleash her power, Fu Li merely sighed, meeting her gaze without a shred of fear.
"I'm sorry, Hua. This is the only way."
"No, you know very well I don't need an apology! All I need is—"
Before Hua could finish her sentence, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck.
Behind her, a light blue syringe had somehow been inserted into her neck and was now slowly injecting its contents into her body.
What is this...
Almost instantly, Hua's consciousness grew hazy. The dragon wings that had just sprouted drooped powerlessly, and she fell into a familiar embrace.
"I'm sorry... Hua. This is my mission."
What damn mission? I won't allow it...
The drug's effects continued to spread. Hua felt herself being passed into another pair of gentle arms.
She wanted to reach out, to touch him, but she couldn't even move a single finger.
"Aponia, I'm counting on you. Take her back."
"Alright. I understand. Take care, Li."
No! Give Li... back to me!
[You leaned on your spear, watching the airship filled with MANTISes depart, leaving you alone on the moon.]
[You turned back and looked at the wound on the Herrscher of the End's body, which was continuously repairing itself.]
"Hah, so this is it... the final attempt?"
For the first time, I'm not passively accepting death.
Fu Li picked up his spear and, looking at the wound, charged into it without a second thought.
[You have entered the body of the Herrscher of the End. Achievement Unlocked: 'First Experience'.]
"Is this... the heart of the Herrscher of the End?"
Inside the Herrscher, Fu Li stared at the enormous, beating heart before him, his understanding of the Honkai once again completely refreshed.
This level of Honkai energy intensity... was this truly something humanity could defeat?
In these depths where no one had ever reached, Fu Li took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the spear.
His comrades had already left. Now, he had nothing left to hold him back.
His encounters, his time together, his bonds with them had forged the person he was today. And he would use his own power to fight for a tomorrow for them.
If anyone was best suited to be sacrificed for the path ahead, it was undoubtedly him—a person who could simulate endlessly, a person who did not fear death.
After all, the pain only lasts for a little while.
The pitch-black tip of the spear glinted with a cold light, like a spark of fire in this dark space.
It seemed insignificant, but it was Fu Li's only hope right now.
God granted me a chalice, to fill with hatred as fine wine, the all-destroying King of Corruption.
God granted me puppets, ignoring form and number, a thousand faces for a thousand souls, the phantom King of Domination.
He brandished the black spear, within which two gems emanating a strange light were embedded, blending two completely different authorities as it accumulated power.
Raising his arm, Fu Li gathered all the energy in his body and plunged the spear toward the Herrscher's heart.
The surging energy tore through the void, carrying with it the resolve of one facing certain death.
Tender flesh was torn open. The spear tip sank into the heart, and black, corrosive patterns rapidly spread outwards.
However, just as a sliver of hope began to rise in Fu Li's heart, the black patterns stopped spreading.
"No, no, no! How can this be!"
Fu Li gritted his teeth and once again poured all his strength into channeling Honkai energy into the spear.
But no matter how immense the output of Honkai energy was, the Honkai energy within the Herrscher of the End seemed to always be one step ahead, completely suppressing the spreading power of Corruption.
God wouldn't lie. Otto's experience already proved that.
Just as he, a human, wouldn't care about the thoughts of an ant, would he? Would he feel enmity towards an ant?
So, if that's confirmed, then the problem lies elsewhere.
What was the meaning behind God's final action? Was he mocking me? Or was what God gave not an answer, but a... revelation?
In moments of desperation, the human mind always becomes exceptionally active. In less than a second, several theories formed in Fu Li's mind.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration ignited. He became aware of his own situation.
He was constantly absorbing... constantly devouring the surrounding Honkai energy, assimilating it into his own power, and then injecting it into the Herrscher's heart.
Absorb... Devour... Assimilate...
Indeed, the authorities of a Herrscher were powerful, but his own innate ability was not weak either.
In a flash, a crazy idea took shape.
Just as the 'Rin' version of the Herrscher of Corruption wanted to corrupt him, why couldn't he corrupt the Herrscher of the End?
Perhaps the authority of Corruption alone was not enough. But what if he added his own trait of devouring, and then used the authority of Domination to control the power of Corruption?
"Hah, there's no path of retreat. What's there to be afraid of?"
Fu Li turned his head, took one last look at the closing wound, and cracked a smile, instantly reversing the flow of his power.
[Through God's revelation, you have chosen a path of madness.]
[To slay a dragon, one must first obtain the power of a dragon.]
[You have corrupted a portion of the Herrscher of the End's flesh. You have devoured a portion of the Herrscher of the End's flesh. You have obtained the awakened genes of the Herrscher of the End. You are attempting to Dominate it.]
[The awakened genes of the Herrscher of the End are too powerful. Although you have successfully devoured them, you are unable to Dominate them.]
[You have bought humanity an additional 24 hours of survival time.]
[You have died due to your inability to Dominate the power of the Herrscher of the End.]
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the hidden talent 'Trace Bloodline of the End (Unawakened)'.]
[Trace Bloodline of the End: A diluted bloodline obtained through the failure to Dominate. It grants you a minuscule portion of the Herrscher of the End's power (less than that of a Herrscher), but it raises your life-form hierarchy.]
[Note: A person with this talent has an extremely small probability of awakening as the Herrscher of the End.]
In the utter darkness, Fu Li could clearly feel his own flesh and blood disintegrating inch by inch, yet he was laughing with wild abandon.
He had failed, yet he had also succeeded.
The failure was that this era was now utterly beyond saving. But the success was that he had seen hope.
Though this glimmer of hope was so faint, it was also so precious.
"Hah... Let me do one last thing for you... even if it might just be for my own peace of mind..."
His tattered dragon wings beat weakly. Fu Li held his broken spear and, with blood-stained fingers, pried out the Gem of Corruption embedded within it.
He was a man of his word. He would not let that little girl be trapped in endless darkness again.
"Goodbye... Dr. MEI will send someone to bring you away."
The threads of [Domination] dissipated. Thin black tendrils spread from Fu Li's fingertips as a black core was tossed out, landing in the lunar sand.
The wound closed. Corruption landed on the moon.
Local Backup 1, Off-site Backup 1.
Off-site Backup 1 → Off-site Backup 0.