Deep within the Arctic Ocean, on the seabed.
After a flurry of evasive maneuvers to dodge the strange crimson lightning blades, Kevin and the others stared at "Raiden Mei," who now shielded Kali's main body. Their brows furrowed in unison.
As expected, an unforeseen complication had arisen.
And this time, the threat level was clearly extreme—far higher than anything they had faced before.
Putting aside everything else, "Raiden Mei's" absurd speed and... her ability to instantly paralyze a large number of Girl Dolls while momentarily stunning their entire group...
"Wait, what are they doing?"
On Kevin's side, Su's eyes snapped open, his face a mask of astonishment.
Before their eyes, Kali's main body, which "Raiden Mei" had been protecting, suddenly exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
Then...
"No! Stop them!"
Su, seemingly having seen through their plan, instantly sent a warning to all his comrades via their mental link.
In that moment, all seven Flame-Chaser-level combatants, including Kevin, charged toward "Raiden Mei's" position.
Sakura was the fastest, with Kevin a close second.
Aponia and Su deliberately fell back... They were the support units.
The two Elysias and Eden, who excelled in aquatic combat, formed an encirclement from the flanks.
Their coordination was flawless.
But...
BOOM!
A flash of crimson lightning erupted.
In an instant, "Raiden Mei," the focus of everyone's attention, first released and dissipated the strange long blade in her hand.
Then, the one-armed woman seemed to grasp something before instantly creating a vast distance between herself and them.
A growing sense of foreboding filled Kevin and the others.
With their keen eyesight, they had clearly seen what "Raiden Mei" had taken.
It was the slender, oval-shaped blood-red crystal that had been embedded like a vertical eye in the center of Kali's main body's forehead.
Most likely, that was Kali's Herrscher Core.
Evidently, Kali, as the Herrscher of Blood, could easily create a new physical body as long as her Honkai Energy reserves were sufficient, much like the Herrscher of Reason and the super-enhanced Herrscher of Death (Seele) had done in the past.
This raised a question.
Given the speed "Raiden Mei" had just displayed, if she were determined to escape with Kali's temporarily disembodied core, the seven of them would likely be unable to catch her.
Yet now, instead of retreating immediately, she had stopped at a distance, as if...
"She wants to turn around and kill us?"
Kevin, Su, and the others instantly considered this possibility.
So familiar... One could even say it felt nostalgic.
They weren't wrong.
At this moment...
"Let's retreat for now. We'll have plenty of time to deal with these heretics later."
The Bloody Core was clutched in the Herrscher of Thunder's hand. Kali, using her immense computational power and the Sesha Gene to transmit electrical signals, conveyed this message.
As she did, she guided her Herrscher Core to land on the Bloody Little Snake coiled around the Herrscher of Thunder's neck.
Instantly, a miniature, vertical, eye-shaped blood-red crystal appeared on the Bloody Little Snake's forehead, transforming it into Kali's new main body.
However...
"Why not kill them all here?" the Herrscher of Thunder responded.
Upon receiving her electrical signal...
"..."
Wait, you...
Are you in your right mind?
Quickly adapting to her snake form, Kali patiently explained, "Those heretics are all very strong. The only reason I could hold them off for so long was because they had other objectives."
"But now that they've seen through our delaying tactics, they should have no more reservations."
"So..."
"So you're weak and needed me to save you."
"..."
Kali wanted to curse.
Why is this newly born comrade such a reckless brute?
Still, she thought, considering she did just save me... Kali forced herself to patiently explain, "I've already prepared and perfected a world-ending plan. We just need to successfully retreat, and we'll be invincible..."
"Isn't it easier to just kill them all, then kill all of humanity?"
"..."
Kali felt so weary right now.
She suddenly felt like a mother dealing with a bratty child. This newly born comrade, wearing Raiden Mei's face, was brimming with an inexplicable, overblown confidence.
Kali knew that trying to reason with a novice Herrscher who clearly needed a harsh lesson in reality was a waste of effort.
Resigned, she had no choice but to play her trump card...
"Do you want the Exalted God to be completely disappointed in you?"
"!!!"
The Herrscher of Thunder's pupils trembled.
It's incredibly effective, Kali thought, feeling a wave of relief.
As expected of the Exalted God, his influence is immense,Kali marveled inwardly while continuing to transmit electrical signals. "You should be able to access Raiden Mei's memories."
"Recall them, then think carefully: how did the Exalted God handle things back then?"
"..."
The Herrscher of Thunder fell into deep thought.
After a moment...
"I understand." She tilted her head to look at the Bloody Little Snake on her shoulder. "I'll cooperate with you."
"Whew... That's more like it!" Kali finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She immediately began issuing orders. "First, let's leave this chaotic place."
"After that, I need to know exactly what you're capable of. Based on that information, I'll fine-tune the next phase of the plan."
"I'll even prepare more contingency measures..."
This time, the Herrscher of Thunder didn't respond.
She just stared deeply at the seven figures rapidly approaching them in the distance, memorizing each of their faces.
Then...
BOOM!
Another incredibly violent explosion erupted.
The Herrscher of Thunder transformed back into a streak of crimson lightning and vanished into the distance.
Kevin and the others couldn't catch up at all.
They were bewildered. Why had the faint sense of familiarity they'd just felt suddenly vanished without a trace?
"Why are all the Herrschers these days 'avoiding combat'?"
Kevin and Sim Su, who had closed her eyes again, couldn't help but silently grumble the same thought.
Honestly, this was incredibly difficult to handle.
In the past, the Herrschers these "old-timers" faced, including Sim Kevin who was responsible for MEI's personal protection, were all "nightmarish in their abilities."
With the exception of the unique Herrscher of Dominance, every other Herrscher acted with extreme, almost theatrical, flamboyance.
They would either spend a week incinerating the entire Australian Continent or just summon a pseudo-black hole to wipe the Mu Continent off the map in one go.
Back then, the MANTIS soldiers only had to focus on how to "fight the boss."
But now, including the Fourth Herrscher who had already been defeated, these Herrschers preferred to play dirty and use cunning tactics.
In comparison, Seele, who had created the "Serene Miniature Garden" in Central Europe, was actually the most high-profile of the recent ones.
And that's why she was defeated.
Ugh...
In short, just as MEI had said, Herrschers who acted like "superpowered criminals with high intelligence" were undoubtedly the most troublesome.
They would only clash with their high-level combatants when they deemed it absolutely necessary.
Otherwise, they spent their time scheming against the billions of ordinary people.
"Why are they all just like that person (Ling Ke)?"
Meanwhile...
Inside the temporary shelter near the Newborn World Serpent Headquarters.
The vaccine to neutralize the special virus secretly deployed by Otto had been successfully developed.
As for MEI, after confirming the battlefield's sudden changes and new developments, she immediately took action.
She took over the task of tracking the hostile target.
Currently, the target's Honkai Energy levels had not yet decreased.
With this in mind, MEI had Kevin and the others coordinate while Prometheus used the Void Archives to open spatial gates ahead of the target's path, using coordinates provided by surveillance satellites. They intended to surround and intercept.
Clearly, she was trying to outpace the Herrscher of Thunder.
Theoretically, ignoring all external factors, the speed of arriving at a destination through a spatial gate over a long distance should be effectively infinite.
Unfortunately...
BOOM!
The speed of the crimson lightning storm was simply too astonishing.
Its sheer speed was so immense that even Prometheus, repeatedly activating "Mimicry: Cosmic Juggernaut," couldn't catch it.
Often, by the time a teleportation gate opened, before MEI's team could even pass through, the crimson lightning had already vanished into the distance.
Frustrated...
"Continue coordinating with the surveillance satellites to lock onto the Third Herrscher and Raiden Mei's positions."
"Prometheus, don't lose them."
"Roger!" came the synchronized reply from numerous Girl Dolls.
After issuing these commands, MEI entered a specific laboratory.
Inside, the prototype armor for the "Key of Blankness," which she had previously secured, was stored.
The armor was unfinished and hadn't been optimized.
However...
Relying on the Void Archives' mimicry function still leaves us a step behind, MEI thought. It seems I'll have to use the Authority of the Herrscher of the Void after all.
Besides, I'll need it to retrieve the Cosmic Juggernaut anyway.
With this thought, MEI slowly lowered her gaze to the black box she held in her hands.
Inside, three Herrscher Cores were sealed.
Reason, Void, and Death.
"According to Kevin and Gray Serpent, in the long-vanished Old Days (the Previous Era), Multi-Core Herrschers once existed."
MEI turned to the unfinished prototype armor of the Key of Blankness. "The armor I've developed allows the wearer to temporarily wield a Herrscher's Authority while continuously drawing energy from Imaginary Space."
Clearly, she had a very bold idea.
"The path of a Pathstrider, while offering a higher ceiling, doesn't grant rapid growth without a sudden epiphany."
"Today, at the Third Herrscher's hiding place, Kevin discovered more of those strange... eggs."
"It's highly likely that time is what we lack most right now."
MEI whispered, "I must attempt to fully master the Power of a Multi-Core Herrscher."
"To eliminate the Third Herrscher, currently protected by Raiden Mei, this is the only way."