After the Herrscher before him was pushed to the brink, Leo Ash looked at the Honkai Energy butterfly wings that appeared on her body and felt that something was off.
From the beginning of the fight until now, the frequency with which Leo Ash fought using mana was far higher than the frequency with which he used Honkai Energy.
Besides the fact that the mana-related Phantasmagoria was genuinely useful, another reason was that the Honkai Energy used by both sides on the battlefield was rather unstable.
Previously, Leo Ash hadn't given it much thought because the battle was too intense. It wasn't until he came to his senses now and glanced at the nearly breathless Dr. Magi that he realized he had overlooked this key figure.
Even now, the dark wings on the Herrscher of Death's body still showed fluctuations due to energy instability.
Even if the Herrscher of Death was a newborn Herrscher who didn't know how to use her authority...
Even if Yuno's inner resistance made it impossible for the Herrscher of Death to perfectly control this body...
But for a Herrscher, the technique of shaping Honkai Energy is basically a max-level skill they are born with.
The apostles under the God of Honkai not being proficient in energy condensation? Leo Ash wouldn't believe it himself.
But the fact before Leo Ash's eyes was that the dark wings the opponent unfurled in a fit of rage were indeed unstable.
If he combined this with the plot of the original story, then Leo Ash thought he probably knew what was happening to her.
In the original story, when Dr. Magi defected, he didn't just take the Gem of Serenity, but also the latest version of the HSN potent serum he had developed.
In the original manga, "Moon Shadow Arc," after Dr. Magi unilaterally injected the HSN serum into Kiana's body, Kiana's body did indeed become weaker.
And later, in order to stop the Gem of Serenity from absorbing the Honkai Energy emanating from the liquefied Honkai crystals, Kiana directly touched the gem, causing Sirin's awakening.
However, the awakened Sirin, despite possessing the authorities of both the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Death, claimed during her duel with Fu Hua that she could 'burn down half the city with the energy of this core'.
Keep in mind, the incredibly confident Sirin, in a place like Singapore with a total area of just over seven hundred square kilometers, only thought she could destroy half the city with the core of the Herrscher of Death...
For Sirin, who hated humanity, to hold back was absolutely impossible.
The possibility of the Gem of Serenity, which had been soaked in liquefied Honkai Energy crystals by Cocolia, being weak was also not very high.
Looking at it that way, the problem could only lie with Dr. Magi's shot of HSN serum.
Dr. Magi indirectly suppressed Kiana's body with the HSN serum, which was why Sirin, who had taken over Kiana's body, couldn't fully utilize the power of the two Herrschers.
In the end, even after equipping a Honkai Energy armor similar to [White Knight: Moonlight], Sirin was still one-shotted by Fu Hua...
What else could Leo Ash say, except that the HSN serum was ridiculously strong.
Case solved. The reason Dr. Magi wasn't blown to bits by Honkai Energy and the Herrscher of Death's performance was weaker than I expected was mainly because of this.
No wonder I felt like the Honkai Energy here was being suppressed by something. Now it seems the HSN serum he was carrying took effect.
But now, as time passes, the Honkai Energy-suppressing effect of the HSN serum will gradually disappear.
Crap. I came here to stall for time, but looking at it now, if I don't step it up, my time will be up.
Currently, the Honkai Energy on the battlefield is showing a certain degree of suppression, which means Dr. Magi's HSN serum was spilled on the ground, not injected into Yuno's body.
The effect of spilling it on the ground is limited. Once the serum evaporates, the enraged Herrscher of Death...
The moment he thought that the berserk Herrscher of Death before him would grow even stronger, Leo Ash moved instantly.
If he wanted to live, he had to hit her with that move before the serum completely evaporated.
"What's wrong, maggot."
The Herrscher of Death, floating in mid-air, had a twisted smile on her face.
"Why do I get the feeling you're in a bit of a hurry?"
"It's too late—to be in a hurry now!"
The moment she said this, the twisted smile on the girl's face became even more frantic.
"Go to hell!"
At that instant, Leo Ash could feel countless energy fluctuations suddenly appearing from the ground.
"You seem to enjoy playing those little tricks, don't you? Well then, can you still play your little tricks on me now!"
On the ground, countless vines formed from condensed Honkai Energy began to whip through the surrounding space chaotically.
And on these vines, Leo Ash even saw the withering black mist attached to their surface.
"I've figured it out now. As long as I think, I'll fall into your schemes."
"So—if I just stop thinking and let my authority run wild to attack, can you still predict my movements?"
Hearing the Herrscher of Death's words, Leo Ash, who was constantly dodging her attacks, truly felt that the problem had become even more serious.
It wasn't much, but she was actually starting to use her brain.
This kind of brainless area-of-effect attack, 'I don't care, I'm just going to bombard everything with Honkai Energy,' was, conversely, a sign that she was thinking.
I have to say, this move was a true counter to Leo Ash.
The areas where Leo Ash was inferior to the Herrscher were his energy intensity and total energy, which were far less than hers.
If he could overpower her in these two aspects, why would he need to think so much? He could just beat her down with brute force.
Now, she wasn't falling into his combat rhythm and was instead attacking by flipping the table.
Facing such an enemy, Leo Ash felt an immense headache.
Originally, getting close to the Herrscher of Death wasn't that difficult, but now...
Watching Leo Ash constantly rolling on the ground, the Herrscher of Death nodded in satisfaction.
Indeed, the fundamental reason she was bullied earlier wasn't because she was too weak, but because she hadn't found the right method.
And now, as she began to realize how powerful she truly was and started attacking the enemy with all her might, the enemy could no longer get close to her.
Thinking back now, the Herrscher of Death realized that although the opponent's ranged attacks were powerful, that kind of move that required charging was clearly unusable while frequently dodging.
As long as I maintain this distance, I can eventually wear him down—
"You son of a bitch, I'm pissed!"
Leo Ash, who was constantly rolling at this moment, directly cranked the Holy Shield mode's power to the maximum, frantically squeezing out all the Honkai Energy he could muster.
And at the same time, he activated the Magic Spear System, condensing a spear of light in his hand.
"No more dodging, I'm going all out with you right now!"
"Die!"
At that instant, the Herrscher of Death, who had been so arrogant just moments before, suddenly realized something.
Although she had constructed an Imaginary Barrier after creating distance, because she had focused all her power on attacking, the barrier she put up was clearly weaker than before.
However, the Herrscher of Death hadn't paid it any mind before because her dark wings gave her extremely high mobility.
But now, when Leo Ash instantly finished condensing the light spear and locked onto the Herrscher of Death in the air, the fear that had just been suppressed in her heart surged up again.
This spear certainly couldn't one-shot the Herrscher of Death.
But looking at the spear of light thrown by her opponent, she just felt that something was wrong!
However, this all happened in an instant, not giving the Herrscher of Death enough time to react perfectly.
By the time the magic spear had pierced through the weakened Imaginary Barrier, the Herrscher of Death was forced to react.
At this moment, the disadvantages caused by the Herrscher of Death's lack of combat experience and poor mental state appeared once again.
Due to her lack of combat experience and the fear rising in her heart, the Herrscher of Death's method of evading the spear of light was actually to dispel the dark wings that gave her mobility, causing herself to fall from the sky to change position.
To be honest, Leo Ash, seeing this, was truly a bit dumbfounded.
He had already prepared for a long and arduous battle, but his opponent...
She got so scared by a thrown spear that she didn't dare to fly anymore???
After the great battle between the Herrscher of Thunder and Siegfried, at least her aura was still at maximum.
But the Herrscher of Death... no, to be such a bully to the weak and fear the strong, can you even call yourself a Herrscher?
However, Leo Ash, who was frantically roasting the enemy in his mind, certainly wouldn't display his non-existent chivalry just because his opponent was being overly stupid.
They were enemies, locked in a deathmatch.
Now that the enemy had made a mistake, if he didn't seize the opportunity to press the attack, the System would probably mock his soul endlessly during his final moments if he ended up dead.
At this moment, the Herrscher of Death, who had just landed on the ground, suddenly saw Leo Ash do something very strange.
Although the previous Leo Ash was ruthless when he fought, the overall impression she had of him was still at the level of an 'unfeeling berserker'.
But now, watching Leo Ash condense a Honkai Energy blade and slash himself with it, causing blood to stream from his body, the Herrscher of Death was completely stunned.
The current Leo Ash, in her eyes, had clearly evolved from an 'unfeeling berserker' to a 'mad dog that even attacks itself when it goes crazy'.
But, in the next instant, the Herrscher of Death regretted it.
Falling from a great height was already a bad move. As the enemy charged towards her, she actually got distracted by his incomprehensible actions.
On the battlefield, this was clearly a grave mistake.
Unfortunately, the Herrscher of Death probably wouldn't get a chance to make up for her mistake.
At this moment, Leo Ash, who had cut his own muscles, let the flowing blood wrap around his entire body.
And as a large amount of blood flowed out, Leo Ash's complexion also began to turn incredibly pale.
However, at the same time, the Herrscher of Death's complexion also began to turn incredibly pale.
Leo Ash's face was pale because he had lost too much blood.
But the Herrscher of Death's face was pale because—she was scared again.
The now terrified Herrscher of Death had already abandoned her chaotic attack pattern and was frantically trying to block Leo Ash's advance with Honkai Energy vines.
But after that blood wrapped around Leo Ash's body, this knight, covered in blood, actually 'melted' the vines without even swinging his fist.
This blood—damn it, his blood can suppress Honkai Energy?!
Realizing this, the Herrscher of Death, with extreme viciousness, condensed a huge energy ball of black mist and shot it straight at Leo Ash.
"Heh, a desperate gamble, huh."
Leo Ash, who had attached the Phantasmagoria to his mana shield, now directly withstood the enemy's attack, which had been weakened by the Phantasmagoria, by relying on the blood wrapped around him.
Although he could feel the flesh that came into contact with the black mist constantly decaying, at the same time, he had obtained what he wanted—distance.
The threat the Herrscher of Death posed to him, aside from the special nature of her authority, was all based on her Honkai Energy intensity and attack range.
In a close-quarters fight, it was impossible for her to defeat Leo Ash.
From the very beginning, Leo Ash had been striving to close the distance between himself and the Herrscher of Death.
And now, he was certain that the Herrscher of Death, weakened by the HSN serum and with her will to fight diminished, was no longer an unbeatable opponent.
Looking at the now extremely flustered girl before him, a thought emerged in Leo Ash's mind.
I can win.
As long as I land this blow, I can definitely win.
"So—"
At that instant, Leo Ash looked at the enemy before him who no longer had time to retreat and swung his right fist, which had long been wrapped in a large amount of holy blood.
"Herrscher of Death, you will fall to this punch."
"Holy Blood..."
"—Destructive Punch!"
When this punch struck the girl's body, she immediately spat out a mouthful of blood from the heavy blow.
And at the same time, Leo Ash's strike, mixed with Schariac Holy Blood, successfully and violently blasted the Schariac Holy Blood he had temporarily converted through Valkyrie Fragments into the Herrscher of Death's body.
As the holy blood erupted within the Herrscher of Death's body, the power of the Herrscher Core was suppressed.
The next moment, Leo Ash looked at Yuno, whose eyes had suddenly become clear, and let the extremely savage smile on his face fade.
"Sen... pai?"
"Yuno, although I'd like to say welcome back, right now..."
At this moment, Leo Ash looked at the girl whose body was continuously exploding from within and said to Yuno helplessly.
"You should go back to sleep for now."
The moment she heard this, Yuno felt an intense pain coming from her body.
However, after he pulled her into his embrace...
—All the pain instantly vanished.
Honestly, when you're beating someone up, don't say such gentle things.
If you do...
Someone like me, who almost made a huge mistake again, doesn't deserve to hear them.
....