Herrscher of Dominance in Honkai, starting with the abduction of Kiana

After knocking Durandal down, Ren's expression remained unchanged.

With five cores now at his command, connecting to Kiana's mindscape had become a breeze. Defeating Durandal wasn't difficult. He had only knocked her down, after all. Neither of them had used their trump cards yet.

If Ren unleashed the full power of all five cores, he could easily obliterate ARC City. But that wasn't his goal. His purpose wasn't simply to take Kiana away, nor was it to kill Bianka. No, it was all about making a statement—a performance to announce the arrival of The Obsidian Concord.

And in this grand spectacle, The Obsidian Concord couldn't afford to appear too weak. If he did, no one would take him seriously. But if he showed too much power, the major forces would be quick to target him—especially a certain insidious blond man, who was surely watching this battle.

That man might very well decide to target The Obsidian Concord next.

Ren had to appear strong enough, but not strong enough to become the enemy of the entire world. As for evaluating his combat abilities, Durandal was the best reference.

Therefore, this battle had to be intense enough while still being within his control, which was also why he had chosen the Herrscher of Flame's powers as his core. The abilities of fire, not to mention anything else, were truly spectacular. They were perfect for showing off.

As for the deep affection he had shown for Kiana, it was simply a signal to others that he had a weakness. For someone like Otto, who was cunning and manipulative, a powerful enemy wasn't terrifying. As long as they had a weakness, he could trick even a god.

But, in reality, Kiana was just a weapon, a tool. Everything that he was doing was simply to make his weapon even sharper.

"I won't be swayed by emotions," Ren muttered, then added, "Absolutely." (Yeah, yeah, we get it, Ren.)

After repeatedly confirming that there weren't any emotional vulnerabilities, Ren turned his gaze to the ground again. Bianka, who had been knocked down by that single strike, had crashed through an entire building, but that level of impact was only a minor injury for Durandal.

Just as Ren was watching, a deep blue star flickered faintly. In the next moment, it took on a human form.

Durandal, now wielding two lances, appeared before him. She tore through the scorching heat waves, launching an attack at Ren.

Such a straightforward strike wasn't difficult to block. Although Ren was holding the greatsword with just one hand, its massive size allowed for a wide attack range. He easily parried her assault.

Flames erupted as their weapons clashed, and both of them quickly retreated.

But something caught Ren's attention. Durandal seemed slightly distracted during the clash. Her brow was furrowed deeply, as if she were struggling with something.

"Bishop Otto, I'm a warrior. I should be obtaining victory through a fair duel."

「But she is a Herrscher. In our fight against the Honkai, only by using any means necessary can we achieve victory.」

Ren didn't hear their conversation. As he continued his duel with Bianka, he also had to manage his puppets, making sure there weren't any issues.

Aside from the puppets engaged with Schicksal and Kalpas, who was negotiating with Mei, the rest had been dispatched to assist in evacuating civilians. They were tools in his larger plan to promote The Obsidian Concord, and it would be a waste for them to perish by his hands.

After her conversation with Otto, Durandal took a deep breath. Though she didn't agree with Otto's unscrupulous methods, she wasn't someone who would stubbornly cling to her ideals. With a determined look at Ren, now hovering in the sky, she charged once more.

This time, however, she didn't plan on relying on close combat. Hler's Serenity shot out like a beam of light. As a specialized weapon for God-Killer armours, even if it was thrown, it would automatically return.

"Awaken, glorious defender."

Once again, she summoned two [autonomous phantom spirits].

The combat power of [King] and [Queen] would skyrocket when they worked together.

However, this still wasn't a major threat for Ren.

He wasn't someone who only knew how to wield a greatsword.

The Herrscher of Flame's power was rooted in the control of molecular movements— a force so tied to the laws of physics that it could obliterate any human force.

It wasn't because of lack of strength that Ren hadn't gone further, but rather, his own limited imagination and difficulty in expressing it.

He had chosen to unleash his power through flames, but the potential went far beyond that.

As long as the temperature around him was high enough, it was enough to destroy all energy attacks.

The only exception? The unfathomable energy of the Honkai.

The phantom spirits' attacks rained down on him. But Ren didn't even bother to block.

At this temperature, their strikes became distorted, almost unreal.

However, Durandal seemed to have already anticipated this. As the phantom spirits turned into particles of light and disappeared, she had, at some point, already gotten within five meters of Ren.

It was simply a superficial bait.

The five-meter distance was covered in an instant, and their figures crossed.

Durandal was still maintaining her thrusting motion, but blood was now trickling from the corner of her mouth. A long gash had appeared on her Dea Anchora armour, and there were also traces of high-temperature burns.

Indeed, it had only been a superficial bait.

As a qualified Herrscher of Thousands, Ren liked this kind of "you think I'm on the first level, but I'm actually on the fifth level" play.

Unless it was due to his own emotional instability, he would never place himself in danger.

Durandal, who had been ambushed by Ren, covered her wound as she panted heavily. A look of guilt appeared in her deep blue eyes.

No! That's not right!

In an instant, Ren had sensed the danger, and by the time he had reacted, Black Abyss White Flower was already right in front of him. And, what was even worse was that Black Abyss White Flower wasn't aiming for him, but for the Kiana that he was holding.

Thud—

The flaming greatsword fell from the sky. Scorching blood splattered, falling on Kiana's face. In the final moment of Black Abyss White Flower's attack, Ren had used his own body to block the attack for Kiana.

That's your little sister! How could you do that?

Or had she already anticipated that Ren would block the attack?

However, looking at Durandal's expression, it seemed she had simply been following someone's orders.

The sharp lance had almost pierced through Ren's chest, making him look horrifying.

Fortunately, it was just a fatal injury. Although he hadn't anticipated that Bianka would actually do it, it wasn't a big deal. He still had the Gem of Serenity. He should use this injury to break the other party's resolve.

"Are these the methods that a Schicksal Valkyrie would use? Truly…" Half of his lung had been pierced through. It was incredibly difficult for Ren to speak. The power of Black Abyss White Flower was still damaging his body, preventing the wound from healing.

The constantly flowing blood gradually began to solidify under the intense heat, looking horrifying. However, with a Herrscher's physical abilities, this kind of injury wouldn't easily kill him.

It was just that the Gem of Serenity was constantly repairing his injuries automatically, forcing him to use a portion of his energy to suppress it.

He panted for a long time, even making Bianka think that he was going to die like that.

"Truly… spectacular."

Durandal's expression was complicated. She could naturally hear the mockery in Ren's voice, but she couldn't retort. This method of taking a hostage went against her beliefs. In reality, she was just testing him out. She hadn't expected him to suffer such a severe injury.

But, they were enemies. Ren's suffering hadn't disrupted her thoughts.

What neither of them had noticed was that Kiana, who had been in a deep coma, was now trembling slightly. A look of pain was on her face.