"Waaah... I'm sorry, Elias! This time the trouble really is huge! Everyone in the academy..."
Theresa came running back in a panic, accompanied by Cecilia and Himeko, both with grim expressions.
The looks on their faces were as if they had just woken from a nightmare.
At the same time, Elias could hear chaotic noise spreading throughout the academy. He took a deep breath, already having mentally simulated the absolute worst-case scenario.
"Don't tell me it's not just the Herrschers from the Previous Era?"
"Yes. Even the pseudo-Herrschers have had their authorities taken. Everyone is in complete chaos right now," Cecilia said, clenching her hands as she nodded with difficulty.
"Including the pseudo-Herrschers, the number of authorities that have been taken has already exceeded 3,217! And most of the surviving students... are the Herrschers of a Thousand from the Previous Era."
Himeko pressed a hand to her forehead as she delivered the shocking news.
Even Elias fell momentarily speechless. This meant that the Herrschers of Ten Thousand of this era had already gathered all Herrscher authorities except Finality and Origin.
Their combat strength had undoubtedly surged to its peak. At least ten thousand Herrschers, each possessing complete authorities, were lurking in the shadows of dimensions, watching this world like predators.
A crisis of this magnitude was comparable only to the final battle against Finality.
From a certain perspective, the Herrschers of Ten Thousand were even more troublesome than the Herrscher of Finality.
The latter would at least face you head-on.
But unless they were absolutely certain of victory, the Herrschers of Ten Thousand would never show themselves before Elias and the others.
"Tch... troublesome. Himeko, Cecilia—you two go stabilize the Herrschers in the academy who've had their authorities taken. ...It's a bit inappropriate, but Senti, you go help them too."
"Huh? Me doing that?"
The Herrscher of Sentience widened her eyes in surprise.
"That's right. I know it doesn't suit your personality, but your authority is necessary. It might be a bit reckless, but I'll allow you to use your power to calm everyone. Negative emotions... will also become strength for the Herrschers of Ten Thousand."
Elias clearly remembered this setting from his past life.
"O-okay... if it's your request, Elias..."
The Herrscher of Sentience scratched her head, but ultimately followed along. After all, as someone who controlled consciousness, no one in the world was more suited to "comforting" people than her.
And...
(I hope I won't need to use this move... but just in case, Senti, you're my trump card this time.)
Elias narrowed his eyes slightly. Using the worst-case scenario as a model, he had already begun laying out his plans.
However...
(If things really develop into the worst situation I'm imagining, then we're still missing a crucial piece to win this. Let's just hope the Herrschers of Ten Thousand aren't that clever... because finding that piece would be harder than searching for a needle in the ocean—no, ten thousand times harder.)
For now, the only good news was that no one in the Current Era had died because of the Herrschers of Ten Thousand yet.
Although compared to the Herrscher of a Thousand in the original timeline, their numbers had increased by at least tenfold, those destined to become Herrschers would still become Herrschers regardless.
Back in his previous life, the game had only provided identity data for twelve of the thousand Herrschers, which had once made Elias lament how incomplete the design was.
If you were going to create them, you should at least flesh out all of their identities. How could just twelve be enough?
However, during his time in a parallel world, Elias had once defeated the Herrscher of a Thousand and had World Serpent compile a complete list of them.
For someone like Elias—who possessed hypermnesia like Hua—memorizing the identities of 1,001 individuals was trivial. It was far easier than remembering the tragedies of an entire era.
Originally, Elias had planned to use that list to protect them as soon as they appeared.
But now, that plan had clearly fallen apart.
"Let me think... what other characteristics do these things have? Oh right. Compared to the Previous Era, where Herrscher Cores were directly implanted into humans to create Herrschers, the Herrschers of Ten Thousand in this era use puppets to house the Cores. Then they replicate the negative emotions of the Core's compatible host as their consciousness."
These puppets were essentially extensions of those hosts, who were people with darker tendencies and stronger negative emotions. Under the influence of the puppets, those emotions would be further amplified.
This would generate even more negativity, which served as power for the puppets—allowing them to continuously regenerate.
"Strictly speaking, the Herrschers of Ten Thousand aren't human at all. They're just puppets that plagiarize human thoughts, imitate human behavior, and are controlled by the Honkai. But precisely because of that, they don't have true hearts—and will never betray the Honkai."
Elias couldn't help but chuckle. The Honkai really had gone to great lengths—just to prevent another Herrscher from standing on humanity's side, it had resorted to creating puppets and stuffing them with Cores.
"But that also makes things simpler. As long as we extract the Herrscher Cores from the puppets, the chosen hosts will gradually return to normal... though in the end, we'll still have to eliminate all the Herrschers of Ten Thousand to stop them from reviving."
Elias organized the available information in his mind.
Suddenly—
Clack... clack... clack...
A black-and-gold puppet appeared inside the dormitory.
"Oh? So there's actually a poor soul in this academy who got chosen too. But I didn't expect you to deliver yourself right to our doorstep. Since you're here, go ahead—how do you want to die?"
The puppet's joints clicked as it spoke.
But before it could say anything more, in the very next instant, countless killing intents locked onto it.
What had been a warm, harmonious Valkyrie dorm just a moment ago had turned into a frigid hell filled with murderous intent.
"Waaah, scary, scary. You guys are terrifying~"
The Herrscher of Ten Thousand who had come to St. Freya raised both hands in surrender, even doing so cautiously.
Because without Elias needing to act at all, swords, scythes, lances, floating cannons, fists, and more were already pressed against its neck.
"Damn Herrscher of Ten Thousand—how dare you show yourself!"
"Since you're here, don't even think about leaving!"
"Someone tie her up and bring her to my lab table!"
"Hurry up and give our authorities back!"
Surrounded by the killing intent of the girls, if this puppet dared to resist in the slightest, it would be reduced to nothing in an instant—not even scraps would remain.
"Ahem... don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. I'm here on behalf of 'us' to negotiate with you. Or... you could say I'm inviting you to visit 'our' home."
The Herrscher of Ten Thousand's puppet rotated its head once before pulling out an invitation. But Elias didn't even glance at it—he directly sliced it into pieces with a blade of ideal fluid.
"Y-you're too much!"
"Heh. Who would follow your pace? The first rule when dealing with the Herrschers of Ten Thousand is to not listen to a single word you say. After all, you're just a bunch of trash who love pouring salt on people's wounds."
Elias casually swirled a golden goblet filled with wine in one hand while holding Elysia in his lap with the other.
There was none of his earlier seriousness—only lofty disdain, as if he were looking at an ant.
"Rita, cut off her arms and legs first."
"Yes, Lord Elias."
"W-wait, wait, wait?! Isn't that a bit too much right from the start? I'm just here to pass along a message for the others! Aren't you supposed to spare envoys in battle?! No, no—don't cut off my arms and legs—aaah!"
The Herrscher of Ten Thousand panicked and tried to flee, but the elegant maid had already swung her scythe toward its limbs.
As expected, the puppet immediately activated multiple Herrscher authorities.
An electromagnetic shield of the Herrscher of Thunder, an ideal fluid barrier of the Herrscher of Wind, an imaginary shield of the Herrscher of the Void, and more.
Such defenses could withstand even a fissile bomb.
However...
"Is that all? Not very impressive~"
Rita's eyes glowed with a wine-red light. Demon horns sprouted from her head, wings spread from her back, and a tail extended behind her. Already naturally alluring, she now exuded an even more dangerous charm.
"Eh? M-my head suddenly feels dizzy..."
The Herrscher of Ten Thousand staggered as if drunk.
The multiple shields it had just deployed dissipated instantly, and under the cold flash of the scythe, its limbs were effortlessly severed.
Having become a Spina Astera wielder and a Vipralopa-class psychic-type MANTIS, dealing with a mere puppet was trivial for Rita.
Soon after, the dismembered Herrscher of Ten Thousand was grabbed by the head and dragged before Elias like a grotesque ornament, placed directly on the coffee table.
"Now we can talk. What? You think that just because you've gathered a large number of Herrscher authorities, you can defeat me? That invitation earlier—was it meant to lure me into a trap? Trying to draw me into your Theater of Domination?"
Elias' heterochromatic eyes stared coldly at the puppet.
"...Th-the Theater of Domination? What Theater of Domination? I-I-I don't know anything."
The puppet stammered, unwilling to meet his gaze, rotating its head to face the ceiling instead.
"Hmph! Still lying in front of Little Elias—anyone can tell you're bluffing! Hurry up and spill everything you know, and give our authorities back!"
Kiana slapped the puppet without hesitation, knocking its eyepiece off in the process.
"Tch! Then kill me! I'm just a shell anyway. My mind, my will—they've already merged with my companions, merged with the Honkai!"
"As long as even one 'me' exists, I won't fail, and I won't die. So give up—'we' are everywhere. 'We' are humanity's ideal form. Victory will belong to 'us' in the end!"
The puppet's expression turned crazed as the Honkai energy within its body surged violently, its Core entering overload.
"Listen well—no matter the cost, the Honkai will triumph over humanity!!"
"Trying to self-destruct? Not happening."
Elias snapped his fingers.
A radiant golden barrier instantly enveloped the Herrscher of Ten Thousand, draining every last trace of Honkai energy from its body. The self-destruction was forcibly halted.
"Th-this is... the Elysion Pedion..."
"If you want to die, fine—but don't wreck my home. Mobius, dissect it."
"Hehe~ I've been waiting for you to say that, little lab rat."
Mobius' eyes gleamed as she licked her lips.
From somewhere, she produced a soulium scalpel, and with a dangerously excited smile that struck fear into the Herrscher of Ten Thousand, she began dissecting the puppet cleanly and efficiently.
Before long, Mobius extracted a pale golden Core of Domination from the puppet's body and handed it to Elias.
"Good. Now that we have a Herrscher Core, it's time to attack the Theater of Domination. This time, we can slaughter to our hearts' content."
Even if this Herrscher of Ten Thousand hadn't come to invite them, Elias would have gone to the Theater of Domination anyway. As he looked at the Core of Domination rapidly dissipating in his hand, he paid it no mind.
Because the moment he touched it, he had already used the authority of the Herrscher of the Void to infiltrate it and locate the coordinates of the Theater of Domination's separate dimension.
"Good! It's been too peaceful lately. Time to stretch a bit," Kevin said, cracking his knuckles.
"Hahaha! That's right—I'll burn them all to ashes!" Kalpas was already itching for battle.
"Kevin, Kalpas—don't fight me for this," Fu Hua said with sharp eyes.