"I want the Gilded Blood of Extinction."
Herta's words echoed across the entire Yongmei Star System, causing every Lord Ravager present to change expression.
Zephyro clenched his fists, fury blazing. "Herta, do you even know what you're saying? The Gilded Blood of Extinction is a divine gift bestowed by the Supreme Destroyer. Even to us Lord Ravagers, it is incomparably precious. And yet you dare to demand it with such outrageous greed."
Celenova could not help but speak. "Do you truly believe we would not launch a full-scale war?"
Phantylia's voice turned cold. "You are trampling upon us Lord Ravagers. You are trampling upon the dignity of the Destruction faction."
Asat Pramad adjusted his hat. "Herta, take back what you just said. Otherwise, this war—just as it was beginning to show signs of ending—will escalate once more..."
In truth, it was not only the Lord Ravagers who were incensed. Many of Herta's own reinforcements also felt that her proposed condition for ceasefire was excessive toward the Destruction faction.
What was the Gilded Blood of Extinction?
To a certain extent, it was Nanook's own blood. Such a thing was bestowed, in most cases, only upon the birth of a Lord Ravager. It was a gift of supreme rarity. The Lord Ravagers would never hand it over to an outsider.
And yet, at that very moment, in a higher dimension above the Yongmei Star System, Nanook lowered Their gaze.
"The Supreme Destroyer... it is the Great Lord Nanook."
"Herta, your words have angered the Supreme Destroyer."
When the Lord Ravagers sensed that familiar gaze descending from the heavens, they immediately realized that their Lord had intervened. Since the Supreme Destroyer had stepped in, Herta was as good as dead.
However, in the very next instant, something occurred that left every Lord Ravager utterly dumbfounded.
Nanook's lowered gaze settled upon Herta, and They spoke.
"Take it."
As the words fell, Nanook thought to Themselves:
Herta has broadened the limits of Preservation, even Abundance and Erudition. If I bestow this drop of Gilded Blood of Extinction, could she also broaden Destruction? It is an attempt. I hope it succeeds.
The moment Nanook finished this thought, They withdrew Their consciousness.
At the same time, before Herta, a drop of golden blood appeared—radiant and resplendent, surging with boundless, overwhelming energy of the Path of Destruction. Under normal circumstances... it would be enough to create a new Lord Ravager.
Herta gazed at the golden blood, a faint smile curving her lips.
It worked!
With the Gilded Blood of Extinction, combined with the Blood of Abundance, the Blood of a Genius, and the Mask of the Masked Fool given by Aha, she had now gathered the four crucial elements.
The plan to construct a Warp could finally be placed on the agenda. It would not be long before a Warp capable of bearing souls—and even the positive or negative emotions of an entire world—would come into existence.
Herta felt exhilarated.
Within her mind, Herman sensed the shift in her emotions and could not help but claim credit. "This is all thanks to me for providing the intelligence."
"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to you." Herta meant it sincerely. She truly believed that obtaining the Gilded Blood of Extinction this time was Herman's contribution.
The reason was simple. With his higher-dimensional perspective, Herman had provided intelligence regarding the exchanges between the Aeons, allowing her to learn that Erudition, Abundance, Preservation, and others stood on her side—precisely because she had broadened their Paths.
From this, she had drawn a conclusion. Aeons were not without desire. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that practicing and expanding their Paths was the only thing that truly mattered to Them.
That was why she had dared to request the Gilded Blood of Extinction.
And sure enough, Nanook of Destruction had responded.
As Herta reached this point in her thoughts, her mood grew even brighter. Even the way she looked at Herman became noticeably gentler.
Meanwhile, standing beside her, Ruan Mei was somewhat dazed.
What was happening?
Herta's irreverent demand for the Gilded Blood of Extinction had actually drawn the gaze of Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction. And more importantly... Nanook had truly given it.
Was the Aeon of Destruction truly so generous?
Or did They harbor some scheme regarding Herta?
Ruan Mei pondered inwardly, her brows knitting slightly.
At the same time, Jing Yuan of the Xianzhou, along with Diamond, Jade, Mikhail, and the others, were equally astonished.
Herta was a genius... and had just fought multiple Lord Ravagers of Destruction. She was undeniably an enemy of Destruction. Why, then, would Nanook hand over the Gilded Blood of Extinction to her?
In that moment, even someone as shrewd as the Divine Foresight General Jing Yuan and the head of the Strategic Investment Department, Diamond, found themselves at a loss.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Lord Ravagers stared at the drop of golden blood floating before Herta. What filled their hearts was no longer mere confusion, but a profound sense of helpless bewilderment.
Their blank, dazed expressions seemed to say:
We were ready to fight to the death... so why has His Majesty surrendered first?!
Why give something so noble to the genius Herta?
The Gilded Blood of Extinction was something even a Lord Ravager could receive only a single drop of. To obtain more depended entirely on fate.
Silence.
In that instant, every Lord Ravager fell into deep silence.
After a long while, Celenova was the first to figure something out.
Perhaps she was not the only one who valued Herta. Even their Aeon, Nanook, held her in high regard.
If that guess was true, then one day in the future, Herta might become their colleague.
With that thought, Celenova said nothing. She merely gave Herta a long, meaningful look, then silently led all Antimatter Legion away, departing the Yongmei Star System through the star rails.
Phantylia cast a deep glance at Herta, then at the golden blood personally bestowed by the Supreme Destroyer. Grinding her teeth, she uttered softly, "Impressive."
The next moment, her entire form transformed into heliobus flames, drifting into the star rails and vanishing at great speed.
"Miss Herta," Asat Pramad said with a light chuckle, removing his hat and bowing slightly. "The Gilded Blood of Extinction is not so easy to research. Perhaps one day, we shall become colleagues."
In the next instant, his figure disappeared without a trace.
Zephyro spoke last. "Herta, I will remember your name. We will meet again in the future. And when that time comes—if you have not developed any truly formidable technology—then await Destruction's descent."
With those words, his figure vanished as well.
The forces of Destruction withdrew in their entirety.
This scene caused the still-unrevived Will of Abundance's Emanator, Shuhu, to glare in fury, inwardly cursing.
Damn it. How could Nanook hand the Gilded Blood of Extinction to a genius? Aren't They afraid that someone like Herta will dissect Their blood completely and uncover the secrets of an Aeon?
And those Lord Ravagers—each boasting of destroying countless worlds—yet when faced with Herta, they all turned spineless, unable even to fight properly.
Damn it. Truly damn it!
At this moment, Shuhu burned with rage and twisted fury to the extreme.
In the next instant, something even more despairing occurred for him.
Jing Yuan, General of the Xianzhou, had already activated the Spiritus, launching an assault against the Borisin fleet—and even against the demonic stars.
This is bad!
No, they must escape this star system. If they are all wiped out, then when I revive in the future, I will have no subordinates left!
The moment this thought formed, Shuhu transmitted retreat orders remotely to the Borisin fleet, as well as to the Ketu Mirage and Rahu.
Upon hearing the transmission, the Borisin fleet commanders all revealed expressions on the verge of tears.
Shuhu, you bastard—why didn't you say so earlier?!
The blade of the Luofu's mighty Spiritus was already descending before their eyes. There was no way to evade it.
Damn it... we're finished!
After confirming that escape was impossible, the Borisin fleet unleashed full firepower toward Jing Yuan, hoping to inflict at least some injury upon him.
Jing Yuan sensed this immediately. His gaze remained utterly calm. The reason was simple—he did not believe that these Borisin fleets, even firing at full strength, could truly harm him.
However, eliminating them one by one would be inefficient. And besides, he was no longer young. Excessive exertion was ill-advised.
Better to have the Xianzhou Cloud Knights strike together.
Having reached this thought, Jing Yuan let out a commanding shout.
"Cloud Knight fleet, heed my order. Coordinate with the Spiritus and sweep away these Borisin fiends before us."
"Yes, General!"
"Luofu Cloud Knights, attack!"
One star skiff after another shot forth from the Xianzhou Luofu, circling the Spiritus as they charged toward the Borisin fleet.
"Damn it, no sense of honor... You could defeat us alone, yet you still bring the entire Cloud Knight army. The Xianzhou General is truly despicable!"
The Borisin captains cursed furiously.
But that was all they could do.
Before long, they were annihilated under the joint assault of the Cloud Knights and the Spiritus.
The scene resembled heavenly thunder troops descending upon the mortal world—sweeping through the entire Borisin fleet with unstoppable force, reducing evil to ashes.
As for the two demonic stars, they were frantically pursued by Ruanruan in combat form and the sun. In the end, they were forced to abandon the vast majority of their stellar mass, fleeing in miserable disarray until they reached the star rails—where they executed a spatial jump and escaped the battlefield.
Shuhu sensed that his two precious demonic stars had successfully fled and could not help but think with relief.
Though the Borisin fleet has been completely destroyed, at least the demonic stars escaped.
If I truly revive in the future, I will still have powerful subordinates.
Fortunately... fortunately.
As Shuhu consoled himself, he noticed Herta's sharp gaze turning toward him.
"This war was triggered by you, Shuhu..." Herta said coldly. "You will not have another chance to revive."
Shuhu sneered. "Ridiculous. I will always find an opportunity."
Herta chuckled. "Not with me around. At the very least, the will attached to this Vitalized Blood of Abundance will soon be erased by the experiment I am about to conduct."
A sense of foreboding rose within Shuhu.
Through clenched teeth, he demanded, "What experiment are you planning?"
"An experiment to fuse the Vitalized Blood of Abundance with the Gilded Blood of Extinction."
"Fuse it... with the Gilded Blood of Extinction?"
Shuhu froze, then swallowed hard.
Gulp.
"Are you insane? If I merge with the Gilded Blood of Extinction, my Vitalized Blood of Abundance will be destroyed almost immediately!"
"So what? As long as the experiment succeeds."
Shuhu ground his teeth in fury. "This isn't an experiment. You're trying to erase my will completely."
"The thinking of a mediocre mind."
Herta let out a cold laugh.
Once the Gilded Blood of Extinction fuses with the Vitalized Blood of Abundance, combined with the Blood of a Genius and the mask... the Warp can be created.
And once this newborn dimension is forged, I will be able to contain the emotions of all living beings across the universe—both positive and negative.
I could even use those emotions and fantasies to cultivate another miracle: the Devil Tree.
Furthermore, I could shape various emotion-based lifeforms from that power—use them as fuel to construct a true Soul Society capable of housing souls.
And once such a Soul Society exists, the Honkai universe will finally possess a world where souls can continue to exist after death.
That will be the most powerful counterattack against Nihility.
I wonder what expression the Aeon of Nihility will show then.
In that moment, countless thoughts surged through Herta's mind.
Dozens of seconds later, she returned to her senses and spoke seriously within her heart to Herman.
'The four essential elements are gathered. I'll leave matters outside to you. I'm entering the Simulated Laboratory to begin the Warp engineering project.'
"Understood. Leave the outside to me," Herman agreed without hesitation.
In the span of a blink, Herta's consciousness shifted.
When Herman opened his eyes, he gazed upon the utterly devastated Yongmei Star System.
Turning his head, he offered Ruan Mei an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry. It was I who brought the Vitalized Blood of Abundance. If not for that, this world would not have been reduced to such ruin."
Ruan Mei shook her head gently. "It is not your fault."
"How could it not be? It is clearly my mistake. The Yongmei Star System is now riddled with spatial rifts and shattered celestial fragments. It is no longer suitable for life. Why don't you come with me to The Blue? We can live there together and continue researching the Simulated Universe."
Ruan Mei fell into thought for a moment before replying seriously.
"Although the Yongmei Star System appears devastated, it can actually recover."
"In truth, I have fully bio-engineered the entire star system. It possesses self-regenerative properties like a living organism. It will not even require an Amber Era to return to its original state."
"However... I do find your proposal appealing. I can go to The Blue and conduct research with you. Just... do not come to resent me for being too cruel in my biological experiments."
"How could I?" Herman shook his head. "I may resent many, but never you. The laboratory doors on The Blue will always remain open for you."
A subtle light flickered within Ruan Mei's eyes.
In truth, she had secluded herself in the Yongmei Star System because her parents—and even the research institute they belonged to—believed her biological research methods were too extreme. They feared contact with her.
That was why she had left her homeland and hidden herself here.
And just now, Herman's words—"never resent"—were the most beautiful she had ever heard.
A thought quietly arose within her heart.
Perhaps in this vast cosmos, Herta—the fellow genius—is truly my kind.
Someone who can accept my scientific philosophy.
And there was something else.
In that fleeting instant earlier, Herta's aura had shifted. The one who had spoken that sentence... was the Second Herta.
As this realization dawned upon her, the way Ruan Mei looked at Herman gradually changed.