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Chapter 208 — C-Section?!
🕑 Added 2025-07-28 15:04:14 +0000 UTC"Alright, alright—you'll understand everything eventually."
Just like any single mom only realizes how hard parenting is after her kid starts acting out.
"But for now… let me lend a hand."
The six-pointed stars in Nagami's eyes gleamed with a pure violet light as he cast a glance toward the distant, sky-darkening colossus.
The once-calm ocean had turned into a raging maelstrom under Chiyou's movements.
Violent gusts howled like crashing rivers, and the sound of shattering waves echoed like crumbling mountains.
Durandal's assault was effortlessly parried by Chiyou.
Even just a swing of its two massive tails launched torrents of ocean spray in every direction.
Tens of thousands of tons of seawater were split apart by the beast's sheer force.
Through the Alpha Stigma eyes's unique perspective, it was as if the entire world had been smeared with a thick layer of violet-black paint.
Invisible to the naked eye, a sea of Honkai energy surged toward Chiyou like a raging tide.
That energy was splitting into two streams.
One merged with Chiyou itself, making the glowing circuit-like lines across its body flash ever more intensely.
That's why Chiyou hadn't moved too aggressively yet—it was still mid-transformation, overloaded with Honkai energy and needing time to digest it all.
The other stream flowed into Ji Lin inside Chiyou, where her jet-black Herrscher armor was already forming.
The birth of the early Herrscher of Domination was drawing near.
If this hadn't been orchestrated by the Honkai Will itself—if Nagami were dealing with a normal Herrscher awakening
—He might have been able to intercept and hijack the energy, just like he did with the Third Herrscher.
But this time? He got no chance to do it.
In the game's storyline, Otto had encountered the Honkai Will again.
After gaining rare data from the "S.A.V.E" project, Otto finally formed a clearer, more accurate understanding of what the Honkai Will was.
If the Imaginary Tree was the vast cosmos, then the Honkai Will might be nothing more than a galaxy—or even just a solar system.
It couldn't change the laws of the world.
It couldn't inject its power into apostle-level Herrschers.
It wasn't omnipotent.
Unable to break the world's rules, and with Nagami having already cheated by taking early action, the Honkai Will had only one option left: pour all of its power into boosting Chiyou and accelerating the birth of a stronger Herrscher.
But modifying Ji Lin like this?
That was something only the Will itself could do.
It was a personal move from the Honkai Will.
And that meant...
It would also be under pressure from the world's rules.
Otto might not have access to the Honkai Will data from the "S.A.V.E," but let's not forget—
Nagami once made part of the Honkai Will his simp.
He had insight—not into its biology, no, that's not quite it but into its mode of existence, its operational logic.
Thanks to his Alpha Stigma eyes, he could see everything clearly.
And with Otto's centuries of research into the Will, they had reached a conclusion:
Under the weight of world law, the Will likely couldn't multitask anymore.
It had to put all its threads, all its processing power, into strengthening Chiyou and awakening Ji Lin.
Right now, both were too powerful.
The Honkai energy levels at this moment? They were beyond five digits.
So it was safe to assume the Will was operating at full capacity, doing nothing else but enhancing Chiyou and Ji Lin.
And that, ironically, created a golden opportunity.
It's common knowledge that when a human host in deep despair is exposed to high concentrations of Honkai energy, they can awaken as Herrschers.
During that transformation, the host typically connects directly with the Honkai Will.
In that state, with their hearts overflowing with negative emotions, they become vulnerable—easily overtaken by the Will.
Very few human minds can resist that kind of corruption.
But now? With the Will too busy to interfere, this was the perfect time to attempt Herrscherization—potentially with zero risk of mental takeover.
A dark, writhing shadow unfolded as Nagami reached inside and pulled out a sealed container—the Stone of Origin.
After fully deciphering Kurumi's shadow dimension, Nagami had finally unlocked a protagonist's essential power: Inventory Space!
With a flash of bluish light, the storage device created by his Herrscher of Reason abilities dissolved into glowing particles.
He carefully placed the lotus-blooming Fenghuang Down on top of the Stone of Origin, letting their cores touch.
"Apocalypse Virus... in the name of the King, I command you—"
As Nagami gave the order through sheer will, the Stone of Origin burst into a brilliant violet glow.
Its crystalline bands shimmered like stardust, and the air was filled with the soft, echoing hum of the void.
It was the sound of the Apocalypse Virus responding to its King.
That dazzling purple light flowed from the Origin Stone and surged into Fenghuang Down's Herrscher core.
With the virus's help, a soul that would normally take much longer to fully form was now racing toward completion.
Nagami's six-pointed purple pupils rotated slowly along with the magical circles around him.
Using the power of the Void King, he catalyzed the soul's birth and with the Apocalypse Virus as his scalpel, he began the "extraction" process.
Emmm…
Think of it this way:
Nagami was now the lead surgeon performing a C-section.
The "mother" was a combination of Fu Hua's body, her consciousness, and Fenghuang Down.
And the "baby" being delivered?
A certain adorable little Herrscher of Sentience.
...That analogy should be simple enough to get, right?
But really, using the power of the Void like this… it was probably more accurate to say—
"And now... this is the stage where the Herrscher becomes Fu Hua."
Nagami's lips curled into a faint smile as brilliant azure light suddenly erupted from his outstretched palm.
The six-pointed stars spinning in his pupils began to accelerate—the Alpha Stigma's power pushed to its absolute limit.
The glowing blue particles transformed into shapes that resembled both lotus petals and feathers—identical to the Eighth Divine Key, resting on the Origin Stone.
"That's... Fenghuang Down?!"
Watching Nagami's bizarre actions, Fu Hua had been in a constant state of bewilderment, but now she was completely stunned.
He had just reproduced Fenghuang Down right in front of her eyes.
She'd already experienced one round of "binding play" with a replica of Judah that Nagami recreated.
So she knew he had the ability to replicate Divine Keys thanks to his identity as the Herrscher of Reason.
But this was still outrageous!
How long had he even had contact with Fenghuang Down?
"If I were trying to recreate it from scratch, it would definitely take time. But since I've got the original on hand, copying it is pretty simple."
Nagami gently supported the replicated Divine Key in his hand, speaking calmly to reassure Fu Hua.
His Alpha Stigma had indeed grown stronger with time, but it still wasn't at the point where he could fully understand the inner structure of Fenghuang Down just by glancing at it.
Still, copying something wasn't the same as creating it from nothing—it was more like tracing a drawing rather than sketching it freehand.
"Fenghuang Down, Power Output Level One—Initiate!"
A torrent of Honkai energy surged through his body, and the replica Fenghuang Down in his hand blazed with a bright crimson glow.
"Wait—what are you doing?!"
Red feathers slowly drifted through the air, and as soon as Fu Hua realized Nagami was using Fenghuang Down on her.
She immediately raised her hand, grabbing his palm in alarm.
"Relax. I just made a copy of your memories—about 50,000 years' worth, buried deep in your mind."
Scarlet feathers floated mid-air before dissolving into crimson light, flowing into the original Fenghuang Down's core—toward the pristine, untouched soul forming inside.
Sure, most of that 50,000 years had been spent in stasis or sleep, and the actual usable memory might only span a few thousand years—but that was more than enough.
Even if the Will of Honkai managed to spare a thread of its power to try corrupting the newborn Herrscher of Sentience, these feathers carried something it couldn't overwrite—Fu Hua's will.
They held the soul of "Hua," the fusion warrior who had fought against Honkai; the spirit of the "Red Kite Immortal" who had guarded Shenzhou for centuries; and the quiet, resolute strength of the Fu Hua standing here today.
These memories would be inherited by the new Herrscher, infused directly into her core.
So congratulations, Honkai—you've just created another double agent.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Fu Hua's mind was swirling with questions she couldn't shake, like storm clouds gathering overhead.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't interrupt the surgeon mid-operation—unless you want to lose the baby!"
Nagami snapped irritably like an overworked doctor.
Fu Hua, who had just begun forming the stance for her taixuan technique, exhaled slowly, calming herself.
One day, she would make Nagami pay for all this cryptic nonsense.
———————————————————————
On the other side a powerful magnetic field stirred up a biting wind, whipping through a girl's light-green hair like a flowing river and carrying a fresh, floral scent through the air.
Her skill revealed that the Hyperion was within range.
A breathtaking smile bloomed across her pale face.
After all, the Herrscher being born today... wouldn't be the only one on their side.
She already held the Gem of Plague in her hands—ready and waiting.
The Hyperion was almost here!
Its captain—or rather, now its vice-captain—
Murata Himeko!
One of the best possible vessels for the Herrscher of Flamescion.
C.C. had gotten the gem from Otto long ago, but back then, she hadn't had a safe way to bring about Himeko's Herrscher awakening.
Not that there wasn't any way—just that all of them were far too risky.
So she hesitated.
But now, the opportunity had delivered itself straight to her doorstep!
