Ryan always employed unique psychological counseling techniques. For instance, in Japan, when comforting Kevin, who was bewildered transitioning from school life to the battlefield, Ryan simply beat him to a pulp. He then told him, "Since you've chosen this path, you're still far from experiencing true despair."
Later, the therapy proved remarkably effective. Kevin's last vestiges of immaturity were physically eradicated, transforming him into a qualified warrior.
Treating Sakura was just as straightforward: the same prescription applied.
In the desolate desert outside the Fifth Research Institute, dry sandstorms swept by, gently rustling their hair.
Sakura remained somewhat confused. She didn't understand why this man had summoned her, especially given his undeniably menacing presence.
"Do you know, a truly strong individual disregards the opinions of others." Ryan calmly stroked his sword hilt, entirely ignoring the furtive glances from behind them.
Those guards and intelligence agents stared in bewildered silence at the desert, utterly perplexed by whatever madness these two were contemplating.
"You wish to test the power I've acquired?" Sakura's senses sharpened. She knew Ryan well enough to understand he never engaged in meaningless actions.
"That's merely one of my objectives. It's also to give the higher-ups a preliminary understanding of my capabilities, to prevent their overconfidence from leading to foolish missteps. But, more importantly, I intend to teach you a lesson."
"What lesson?"
"You'll only comprehend it once we've fought." Ryan spoke enigmatically, slowly drawing Crimson Blaze. "Draw your sword. Regardless of the fight, I will not hold back."
He's serious?
As a professional assassin, even with all her doubts, Sakura's muscles instinctively tensed. The moment her blade left its sheath, a phantom pain shot through her skin.
Ryan was utterly serious, just as he was when facing Kalpas.
The boiling battle intent seemed to superheat the air. Sakura felt that the 'lesson' no longer mattered, because this man was always proficient at delivering his explanations.
How close can I get to him now?
This question flashed in her mind, intertwining with the lingering fear she'd felt during their initial meeting, causing her wrist to subtly twist. Her thumb flicked.
Clang—
The cold Sakura sprang from its sheath, its sound mingling with a distant thud. An indescribable force surged through her wrist.
Clang!!!
The explosive clang of blades sent dust flying. Sakura's pupils constricted, reflecting the distant, still-undissipated pale circle, the lightning-fast man before her, and two straight gashes carved into the ground.
She had been sent flying dozens of meters, yet…
I blocked it!?
The man was still terrifying, but no longer possessed a god-like oppressive force. She saw purple lightning flash, a phantom image darting to the side. She instinctively took a step forward, two-handing her sword and striking back.
Clang!
Sparks exploded. The force from her wrist sent her flying once more. Several thoughts raced through her mind.
He's stronger than me, but I can see him, and I can retaliate. Is this the power of a 『MANTIS』?
Sakura felt the profound emotional surge brought by this newfound Power. In the face of this sensation, any words seemed pale and powerless. She deftly spun in mid-air, feeling the crescent-shaped arc of lightning brush past her, then, two-handing her sword, slashed upwards.
Cold Cherry!
『Honkai Energy』 surged forth, transforming into a dense ice fog, then everything within a hundred meters froze solid. This single, devastating slash had conjured an impossible ice mountain from nothing.
Sand and dust were frozen solid within it. Ryan dared not confront it head-on. He transformed into a blur of lightning, dashing hundreds of meters away, then looked up at the girl standing on the 'mountaintop' with one foot.
Her expression was devoid of emotion, an icy mist clinging to her like a shroud, yet it evoked a familiar feeling within him.
"The aura of a powerful individual. This feels right."
Ryan offered a gentle smile. He sensed a strong affinity with Sakura. As fellow technical warriors, he yearned to learn from her to confront humanoid 『Herrschers』.
With a subtle twist of his wrist, Ryan advanced, flashing like lightning, his trajectory impossible to pinpoint in the flickering light.
The light pulsed several times, and he was already standing before her. A circular lightning arc lingered in the air, and the ice mountain beneath Sakura's feet split cleanly in two.
Whoosh—
Like a collapsing peak, Sakura landed gracefully on the ground, her eyes instantly locking onto a blurry figure. She spun and slashed backwards without hesitation.
Gyaku Kesagiri!
The blade was wreathed in an ethereal ice fog. When blade met blade, the frozen ice melted amidst the crackling lightning, the clash of energies unleashing a powerful light that illuminated two rapidly moving afterimages.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Stabs, deflections, mighty slashes, continuous strikes.
A dense curtain of blade light formed a relentless torrent. Cold Cherry and Crimson Blaze clashed and parried, then intertwined again. The speed of their swordsmanship had already surpassed the limits of human perception.
Extremely fast, and intelligently utilizing Soulium weapons to compensate for any insufficient energy.
Ryan moved fluidly forward, his sword an extension of his body, literally carving a path through the storm of blades. He saw Sakura leap back several meters, crouching low to the ground. Without hesitation, she immediately leaned to the side.
Bang!
With a sharp thud, the girl darted like an arrow before him, her gleaming longsword aimed straight for his forehead. He had already leaned aside, pointing his sword forward with one hand.
Point Sword.
With a crisp 'Ding!', the sword tip precisely met the forward section of the longsword, causing the incredibly swift thrust to graze harmlessly over his head. Then, his left hand, hidden under his ribs, clawed towards the girl's chest.
Touch of Death.
No hesitation, no holding back, yet his palm only met a hard surface.
Sakura, unable to retrieve her parried longsword, decisively took a step forward, using her sword hilt as a makeshift shield, blocking it against her chest. Then, she circled to the side, her longsword drawing a wide semicircle above her head.
Her footwork was intricate and intersecting. Ryan's gaze shifted sideways, observing the arc left by the blade and the frozen air in its wake.
Extremely fast energy accumulation. Is this her signature trait?
Ryan narrowed his eyes, his left foot digging firmly into the ground. He simultaneously spun, channeling his entire strength through his waist, bringing his sword down in a powerful arc.
Bartitsu!
Boom…
There was no longer the sharp clang of blades. Before the sword and blade even connected, the raw energy had already distorted the air around them. White and purple light intertwined, compressed, and finally roared!
BOOM!!
A brilliant beam of light exploded between them, forming a dazzling column. Like a hot knife through butter, it carved a seemingly bottomless chasm into the earth.
Sakura rolled out of the light column, her body sparkling with residual electric arcs. She tumbled several times before using her longsword to finally halt her momentum. Her purple eyes still held a hint of bewilderment.
This energy isn't significantly stronger than mine, yet the sheer destructive power is utterly incomparable.
Her mind replayed the image again and again. Ryan's lightning blade had shattered her own energy. Only through personal experience could she truly grasp the meaning of "overwhelming force."
Merely controlling 『Honkai Energy』 was just the baseline. That man could directly influence physical phenomena.
Is this the 『Herrscher』 Authority?
Sakura was perhaps the first among the astonished to find an answer. Even with an equivalent amount of 『Honkai Energy』, the intensity was simply beyond comparison. To contend with this kind of adversary, one either overwhelms them with sheer numbers, or—
One must possess complete mastery over this energy, through skill and experience, thereby far surpassing the original Honkai Beast.
Sakura watched Ryan emerge from the buried column of light, her heart calm as still water. She now perceived him as a true 『Herrscher』—an enemy demanding she transcend her limits to defeat.
"Yes, that's the feeling, Sakura."
Ryan glanced at the bewildered onlookers in the distance, then lightly shook his straight sword. He had another objective: to prepare Sakura for battling 『Herrschers』.
At least in close combat, no 『Herrscher』 was stronger than him.
Crimson Blaze slowly pointed towards the overcast sky, then, his eyes widened.
Lightning.
Crack…
A pillar of lightning descended from the sky, striking the ground with a thunderous roar, completely engulfing the girl.
An afterimage? So fast!
Ryan crouched, looking up slightly, witnessing a spinning pink figure descending from the sky, and hearing the distinct roar of a longsword leaving its sheath.
Bang!
The moon-ice wheel slammed into the ground, also engulfing Ryan's body, but with a flicker of light, he instantly evaded it, ducking and seeing ice rapidly spread from his calves.
Pushing Soulium weapons to their limit.
Ryan didn't dwell on it. As he dodged, he gripped his sword with both hands and slashed forward, only to see a massive ice spear suddenly solidify before him.
The ice spear, ten meters long, materialized out of thin air. Ryan and his sword seemed incredibly small beside it, but upon touching its tip, the ice spear instantly froze.
Thunderclash.
A roaring plasma ball erupted at the point of contact. Beneath the rampant electric arcs, the seemingly unbreakable ice spear immediately exploded into a shower of ice shards. However, an afterimage pierced through the icy mist.
With 『Honkai Energy』 covering her body to resist the residual electricity, Sakura crouched, feeling the sensation of a longsword narrowly missing her hair, then suddenly slashed at Ryan's legs.
Whoosh—
A wave of air rushed forward a hundred meters. She lowered her head, instinctively locking onto Ryan, who had just leaped into the air. Her wrist flicked, reversing her grip on the longsword.
Time seemed to freeze in her consciousness. A kind of barrier appeared to form within a ten-meter radius, leaving only the sword in her hand and the person leaping above. She focused her 『Honkai Energy』, driving her body to maximum speed.
Frozen Naraka.
Leaping, swinging the sword—no single description could capture this extreme velocity. More than ten pale, cold streaks flashed simultaneously, and at the very same moment, more than ten purple streaks retaliated.
Boltstorm. Consecutive Slash!
Ryan had long anticipated the feint followed by the decisive strike. He had pre-charged his power, meeting fast blade with fast blade.
Clang, clang, clang, clang…
Energy and blades intertwined in an instant. Exploding electric arcs left hundreds of sword marks on the ground. In close-quarters combat, Ryan's sword speed was undeniably unrivaled.
A brilliant flash of blade light appeared and vanished. Sakura felt both hands go numb. Her reaction was a split second too slow, and she saw the crimson longsword raised once more, the piercing sound of a thousand birds chirping erupting beside her ear.
Ryan plunged from his leap, using the force of his descent to hurl the ten-meter-long lightning spear with all his might.
Thunderfall Crystal Spear!
There was no time to react. The desert fell silent for a split second, then a violent lightning storm erupted.
Rumble—
The distant onlookers instinctively covered their ears. Their high-speed camera lenses exploded, and even their muscles trembled uncontrollably.
Residual electricity crawled across a hundred-meter radius. Then, a cracked ice orb emerged, only to quickly shatter, flinging the girl within.
Sakura didn't bother to congratulate herself on her quick thinking. She clutched her sword with both hands, instinctively slashing forward.
Clink.
Crimson Blaze spun into the air. Her suddenly constricted purple pupils reflected the straight sword.
Not good, I was tricked.
She tried desperately to turn, but midway, she froze. A lightning-fast hand had pierced her defense, pressing firmly against her pale neck.
"Sakura, I win." Ryan leaned forward, his wrist pressed against the girl's neck. Even a 『MANTIS』 couldn't survive without a head.
Sakura instinctively gripped her sword, her waist twitching, as if to sever Ryan's hand. After a moment, she released the hilt in frustration, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Indeed, your power still far surpasses mine."
She wasn't naive. Although Ryan hadn't held back, it felt more like he was testing his own limits.
This man wasn't just proficient in close combat. Against an assassin like her, if he truly desired a decisive victory, he could have effortlessly tormented her from a distance. There had been no need to engage in her most skilled domain.
In other words, even in terms of raw 'skill,' she had been bested.
"I'm merely more proficient with my current abilities. Once you fully master Yaksha's power, the outcome is still uncertain." Ryan slowly lowered his hand, a satisfied smile gracing his face.
As expected of a Flame-Chaser burdened with the title of 'Flicker.' Once she fully grasps this power and integrates her techniques, her combat prowess in the Previous Era will undoubtedly be first-tier.
These words greatly comforted Sakura. She suddenly realized that she might have set her goals too high.
Before, she would have been instantly eliminated by this man. Now, she could fight him on somewhat equal terms. This was the surge of emotion brought by Power, as if she could finally seize control of fate.
"It seems this lesson requires no further words from me." Ryan raised his hand. Under the electromagnetic force, Crimson Blaze, which had flown into the air, gracefully fell into his palm. With a brilliant flash, it was sheathed with a resonant clang.
Facing the distant gazes filled with fear and disgust, the man's tone was resolute.
"As long as I gain the power to protect Rin, what does it matter if the whole world despises me?!"