When judging someone's true strength, the assessment must be comprehensive: energy control, weapon capability, armor performance, physical condition, Honkai energy reserves, combat will, experience… even luck.
Every one of these is a crucial factor in determining how powerful a person really is.
And as the thirteen remaining top-tier assets of the Previous Era, the Fusion Warriors excel in all of them.
Yet Nagami had crushed them effortlessly like scolding unruly children.
That overwhelming difference came from knowledge.
Their levels simply weren't comparable.
If two sides differ in how deeply they can manipulate Honkai energy at the microscopic scale…
Their combat power will differ by astronomical orders of magnitude.
So the deciding factor is not the nature of their powers.
Victory hinges on one thing above all:
Knowledge—understanding it, and being able to use it.
Fortunately, the Many Herrscher seems to inherit a certain common trait shared among Herrschers here:
They're basically illiterate.
Hard to believe, right?
But after Nagami tapped into the Fusion Warriors' memory archives via the Herrscher of Sentience authority and witnessing fifty thousand years of human history and the final battle…
Well—
Let's just say that during her extermination of civilization, the Final Herrscher back then never used anything beyond what the Previous Era could comprehend.
To emphasize:
Having knowledge ≠ knowing how to use it.
A perfect example?
In the proper timeline, on the moon Sirin obtained the four Herrscher cores and a massive archive of Previous Era technological knowledge.
All of it was stored neatly in her mind.
She could recite it like a walking library.
But she understood none of it.
Study it? Hardly.
Knowing her personality, she probably never even skimmed the table of contents—might not have finished reading the title page.
So yes: a special kind of "educated illiterate."
———————————————————————
Elysian Realm
One week had passed since the battle that was ended in an instant.
Even warriors designated as civilization-level assets could not help but yield to Nagami's power—nearly equal to the Final Herrscher's.
Some volunteered…
Others "volunteered" to participate in his memory-core enhancement experiments.
Using knowledge deciphered by the Alpha Stigma's eyes, Nagami discovered a method:
By applying a specialized program that channels a being's soul through their memory core, he could create Honkai-style Memory Devices based on the Fusion Warriors themselves.
Unfortunately, because Kevin and Hua are still alive in the physical world, their memory cores cannot unleash full power.
Otherwise… they would probably collapse like exhausted veterans drained dry by a younger generation borrowing too much of their strength.
Since these experiments involve the soul, the technical precision is insane.
Nagami even added a special bonus effect:
To fulfill his deal with them he embedded a memory-repair protocol directly into the memory cores.
Unlike Dr. Mei SO-1129 simulation system who can observe neural/memory activity into this realm, Nagami can directly observe its conciseness through his Alpha Stigma Eyes.
Naturally, his system far surpasses her data-driven approximations.
At this rate, all soul restoration will be completed in roughly three years.
Each enhanced core takes Nagami one full day of intense work to finish.
———————————————————————
World Serpent — Shrine Hall
Inside the grand, gold-lit palace deep beneath the altar of World Serpent—
Kevin stood with his arms crossed, white hair brushing the wall behind him.
His expression was… complicated, to say the least… as he watched a golden-haired girl and a black-haired boy step out of the Elysian Realm with fingers intertwined.
"So," Kevin asked slowly, "Is that 'special memory core' of yours done?"
Nagami exhaled dramatically.
"Of course."
Nagami exhaled softly as if letting go of the last bit of tension.
He stretched lazily and tilted his head slightly toward Lumine, giving her easier access to fix his hair.
With a lighter, almost rhythmic step, he headed out of the golden palace.
"I told you, this deal won't cost the Thirteen Heroes anything. In fact, I can upgrade their memory cores to do this."
This magnificent palace was the data center of the SO-1129 simulation system or what they called Elysian Realm, hiding the etheric anchor that supported this entire bubble universe.
Because it was part of the Realm's system, Elysia and the others could appear here—but none of them could take even one step beyond its doors.
Until now.
Nagami raised his hand, and eight memory cores materialized from the void: ice-blue, pink, gold, dark red, ash gray, sakura pink, deep green, and crimson.
They floated before him like futuristic flash drives, sparkling with a dazzling glow.
Six held the core memory of the Fusion Warriors.
Two contained only power.
[Ego]
[Infinity]
As Nagami pressed the buttons on the pink and green cores, a low proclamation thundered from a distant dimension.
The memory cores dissolved into pure information—countless data streams weaving themselves into physical form.
"Whew~! I can't believe I get to leave this place early! I swear, my body was starting to mold!"
Elysia stretched her toned figure lavishly, showing off every perfect curve. "Amazing, amazing! As expected of Nagami~ Choosing to trust you was clearly the right call!"
Her elegant voice had a mischievous lilt as she wrapped an affectionate arm around his shoulder.
Yes, Nagami's power was unquestionable, but Elysia had already read him well.
He was someone whose emotions were thin, nearly always operating on cold logic.
As long as she didn't cross a certain line, he simply wouldn't mind her teasing.
So Elysia continued to dance fearlessly along the edge of that line.
But then—
The warmth now circling her waist made her entire expression freeze.
…???