18

Chapter 18

"Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, China's coastline, In a single day the pair slaughtered more Honkai Beasts than the entirety of Valkyries of Schicksal does in a year."

"I am more curious to know how on Earth he is wielding Death and Life. You can see him slaughter his way through things and then burst into white and blue and all the fish, grass, and trees are fixed up."

"Do you think he took the core out of that girl?"

"No. We are still getting Herrscher readings from the girl. Her power didn't drop down whatsoever. More like it feels like there are three cores of Death and Life by this point."

This was it… the longer this is happening…the less sense it makes… Even Otto and his genius could not grasp what he was seeing. Same with Anti-Entropy which has infiltrated the country and has been monitoring them as closely as they could.

Not that they could do it up close when these two kids have Gravity and Void abilities they can move from one side of the world to another in seconds it simply is impossible for them to keep a close eye!

Something they wanted to do! As at this moment OUT OF NOWHERE Raynold Westwood has something akin to a Divine Key class weapon and is wielding Death and Life alongside his Gravity! He just went from regular Herrscher into something utterly different!

Another pointless UN meeting ended with politics holding their heads.

While Otto was just looking at the pictures casually several times over. He was at a loss for how to respond to this…

Though his plan didn't change. No, it may be even easier to achieve.

'I do wonder if he could create a core of void for me?' He was certain that the boy is using the same method to create a core for himself and now he is making Herrscher cores as if they were consumables in a video game.

'For now, let's see if he can reproduce Core of Void. With K-423 next to him it's only a matter of time before he starts to master void and make void cores. Once I can confirm that…'

~~~

After returning home after having some fun around the world, the Kitten could not contain herself and asked him!

"Ray…how can you access Life and Death!?" Kiana lunged at him and started shaking him. Her eyes were digging into him she wanted to know!

"I studied Seele's stigmata." He said while starting to squeeze her nose.

"Oww…"

"You achieved all that…just by studying her stigmata!? I thought you don't like science!?"

"What does science have to do with studying?"

"..."

He said with an eye roll before lifting his finger and drawing a symbol in the air with Honkai energy. This instantly made the symbol glow in sinister and at the same time positive energy radiating at the same time.

It was weird, emitting a very weird feel to it!

"I studied the energy, the composition, and the intent behind it. Once all requirements have been met my core evolved and those two concepts have been added to me.

Though it's not Life and Death, it's simply a cycle of life. Once one masters the concept of dying is impossible. As you control the cycle of it." He said with a casual shrug before wild Honkai rushed into the glowing symbol and started to crystallise. Raynold used his energy reserves to refine it and soon enough another Core of Life and Death was created.

Kiana's eyes and Sirin who was watching through her host's eyes were shell-shocked to see this! This was nuts! Absurd! Bullshit!

This was a Herrscher core!

"Here, study this. You could use your understanding of Honkai and build a weapon with this. Your subspace lances with the attribute of death alongside the void would crush Honkai Beasts even faster." He handed over the crystal to the girl who was still staring at the thing as if it was some sort of weird stuff…

[Ask him for Gravity! Death and Life are okay but it's not as important as Gravity!]

Hearing Sirin nearly scream made her internally grimace. There is no need to go do that!

'Geez don't scream, you are quite literally in my head!'

[Just do it!]

'Fine.'

"Do you perhaps have means to make Gravity? It would match my Void far better than Death and Life?" Kiana said that as she was inspecting the crystal in her hands.

She was marvelling at the colouring of it.

"Hmm…haven't had a chance to make it. I don't think I have stigmata for it." Raynold said while stroking his chin. He was thinking about this for a bit.

What his Kitten said made a lot of sense. Void and Gravity are very compatible.

"I see… not that it matters a lot. This is enough as it is… Pretty sure no one else in this world got anything as I have now." Kiana said that with quite a smug voice she quite literally got a second Herrscher core!

"Good. In the meantime, I will play around and come up with some means to share our concepts. I want void powers as well."

Kiana nodded at him with a small smile that indeed put a smile on her face.

~~~

After that small trip around the world, weirdly enough their lives returned to how they were before.

Raynold started to train Bronya. Though the girl isn't that much of a fighter in a regular sense. To compensate for that he decided to make sure she learns Ki and then proceeds to train purely in energy use and manipulation.

While Seele in meantime was baffled to learn that her big brother has the very same powers as her and proceeds to teach her how to use them!!!

Without even realising it, over 5 months have passed and Raynold got a call from Cocolia…

"Ray, I got a lead for you."

"Hmm? What kind of lead?"

"A girl just awakened the Stigmata of Thunder. She has the potential to be the 5th Herrscher… that's if Bronya has not created a core."

Raynold's eyes for a second glinted. A core of elemental type. Now that's just perfect! Thunder no less!

"What are the details?"

"The girl is an Heiress of a big corporation in the Far East. Her father is looking for means to seal it away or…do something else… Like to make her into a proper Herrscher on humanity's side.

This is up to you. What do you want to do?"

For a moment he thought about it. Having a connection in the Far East sounds not bad. When he goes on holiday there he would have proper guides.

"I accept. This might give me more insights into Stigmatas, I have hit a dead end only with Seele's Stigmata."

"Good. Because I am quite certain that he would have contacted you in the not that far future. You have left quite an impression on the people of the Far East."

"Good to hear that my training doesn't go unnoticed," Raynold said with a sage tone.

Cocolia nearly choked on her saliva when she heard that. The training he says… the kid regularly is 'raiding' for Honkai Beasts in recent months. It's cleaning not training by this point.

She didn't even ask how on earth he could copy Seele's powers. She is simply afraid that he would say something absurd.

"It didn't, you made Schicksal look bad in the Far East. They have quite a presence there."

*Snort*

"It should be obvious. Nothing is superior to hard work. Regardless, I will wait for this rich guy to arrive."

"Yes, do that, in the meantime I will be watching for more people with Stigmatas."

"Thanks."

After saying that he pocketed his phone and proceeded to eat his food.

It's dinner after all.

"Who was it? Someone has another Stigmata?" Kiana asked with a curious look.

"Stigmata of Thunder. Some rich guy's daughter awakened this stigmata, I will be checking her over."

For a bit, the white-haired girl frowned. Another female…

"Oh? I didn't think you were even doing medical things as well." A girl said from Kiana's side this was Rita Rossweisse. The girl is top of her class and she ends up helping Kiana from time to time with some of the homework.

One could say she was able to become friendly enough.

"It's not medical, more like suppression of the wild Honkai until she is strong enough to surpass it with her power." Raynold quite easily explained. This girl… is interesting… for some reason, it reminds him of…maids?

Professional, with impressive etiquette…he never met someone like that before.

"Interesting… Never heard anything like that before. How can someone overcome the Honkai energy inside of it?" She asked with a curious tone.

This was where Raynold wanted to brag. Is it because the girl reminds him of maids?

"It's because Raynold and the rest of us have overpowered the will of honkai energy inside of us. It started with him doing it while the rest of us were able to do it with his help." Kiana explained as she put herself between those two. Well, she was there already but now she put her face there.

The white-haired girl realised that this honey-blonde girl has a certain weird effect on him. This way she is trying to have certain boundaries between them.

"Interesting…any specific way such a thing is possible?" Her red eyes curiously dig into him.

"My honest opinion on this is that his will was stronger?" Kiana answered instead.

"I just trained and trained until I got something. There is no special stuff behind it." Raynold said that while rolling his eyes at them.

They sound as if he used a technique or something like that. He didn't because he could not. You can't use a technique if you don't have specific fuel to power it.

"I see… I find it quite interesting. Do you mind training me in this as well?" She asked him with a smile that made him hard to resist.

"...Maybe once I have more time." He was able to resist it

His words made Kiana sigh in relief. She didn't expect the girl to ask that out of blue!

[She is not a regular human girl. Her Honkai levels are above the usual ones. She should be from the cultist group.]

'There are more and more people from that place in the city!'

[Indeed. It is only going to get more and more of them in this place. Though you should not worry about them using regular means to threaten us. No, they are cowards so they will use underhanded tactics.]

Sirin said with disgust. She was worried about this situation as well. Who knows what kind of methods they will use to get close to Raynold?

'Let them come! I will send them backpacking!'

For the second she got quite serious.

"I understand. I will wait until then." Rita said with another smile which made Raynold nod at her.

~~~

"How did it go?" Fu Hua asked the Valkyrie under her command.

"I learned a few interesting things," Rita said with a small smile.

"Oh?"

"First, another person woke up with a Herrscher Stigmata. It's Stigmata of Thunder. And second, he may have the means to overwhelm the Will of Honkai."

"Impossible!"

How can someone overwhelm the Will of Honkai!? How much sheer will one need to have to pull something like that!?

"Impossible or not, he is a Herrscher and he made another two people and possibly another two in the not so distant future into Herrschers," Rita said with a small frown.

She is trying to understand this as well. All things point that he has the means to manipulate and overcome Honkai… the thing is…How?

"...Hmmm…I would like to see how good he is at martial arts."

Fu Hua said that while fixing her glasses. Her instincts are pointing at martial arts and their use. How or what she still needs to see with her own eyes.

"Very well. From my understanding of him. He would like to spar with you." Rita said with a smile before pointing out something crucial.

"Yes… Though he still needs to add more height…"

"Doubt it will be an issue." Fu Hua said while shaking her head.