NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 425: Showdown - Part 2
Kiana only remembered touching that black feather of Fenghuang Down, then her consciousness being dragged into a memory space. Upon waking, she saw Ren preparing to kill Fu Hua.
"Ren, what happened while I was unconscious?" Her gaze fell on the motionless pile of rubble. She sensed a clear killing intent, but the Fu Hua beneath the rocks seemed… off. She trusted the person beside her more.
Could it really be as the Class Monitor said? Did Ren and Fu Hua have prior contact?
Crack.
Before her thoughts could untangle, a thick fissure tore through the mountainside. A cascade of debris rained down, as if someone had ripped it open with brute force.
Simultaneously, the thunderous clouds above, drawn by some unseen force, began to swirl into a massive vortex that blotted out the sky. Immense amounts of Honkai energy poured into the swirling mass, funneling down towards the mountain and seeping into the cracks.
Kiana could feel it—all the Honkai energy in Taixu Mountain converging towards the center. This sensation was not unfamiliar.
"Kiana, be careful! That's not Fu Hua, it's the Herrscher occupying her body!"
At that moment, the real Fu Hua, her consciousness within the Fenghuang Down, finally connected with the outside world thanks to Kiana's awakening. Sensing her own aura within the mountain, she was briefly stunned before issuing a sharp warning.
"Class Monitor?" Fu Hua's voice brought Kiana a wave of relief. She looked towards the rubble with renewed vigilance. Her fear had been of a conflict between Ren and Fu Hua. Now that the figure in the rubble had been confirmed as an enemy, she simply needed to fight.
However, in her current state, fighting felt like a daunting task.
"Don't worry. If I'm not mistaken, this Herrscher is the Herrscher of Sentience. Her specialty is mental combat. If you're pulled into her mindscape, I can help you."
"But you must be careful. My body is that of a genetically modified MANTIS warrior. Even my physical abilities alone shouldn't be taken lightly. It's best to make her abandon the fight in the real world."
Taixu Mountain was currently shrouded in an illusion; everything Kiana saw was a battlefield crafted by the Herrscher of Sentience. However, it was fundamentally rooted in the real world, based on Taixu Mountain. To fully enter the mental plane, the Herrscher of Sentience would need to abandon close-quarters combat.
As Kiana discussed tactics with Fu Hua, the already fractured mountainside abruptly split apart. A third of Taixu Mountain was sheared off, followed by a searing white flash.
Before Kiana could react, her vision blurred. A shattering sound echoed, and when her sight returned, she was hundreds of meters away.
In mere minutes, the wounds Ren had inflicted on the mountain had completely healed. If not for the lingering traces of blood, there would be no sign of her injuries.
So this is the healing power of Fu Hua at her peak?
Kiana felt a surge of anxiety. She wasn't just worried about her own ability to fight, but also about Ren using that dark, overwhelming power again.
"Hehehehehe…" Perhaps it was the earlier near-instant defeat at Ren's hands, but Senti's laughter was unusually subdued, devoid of its usual arrogance.
Yet, even Kiana could sense that the Herrscher of Sentience was now far more dangerous.
"Absorbing Honkai energy has furthered the Honkai's corruption. Reasoning with her now will be even harder." Seeing the fully transformed Senti, Ren couldn't help but sigh internally. He didn't truly harbor much animosity towards Senti; otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to bring her to his side.
It was just that Senti's self-awareness had formed too recently. Though she possessed Fu Hua's memories, she lacked proper guidance. This led her to become not more mature, but more rebellious.
During this incident, Ren had already given her three chances. Even in his anger, he had repeatedly offered her the chance to leave and calm down. But Senti hadn't understood, interpreting his words as provocation. This had gradually eroded Ren's patience.
The Herrscher of Sentience was important to his plans, but Ren wasn't her babysitter, especially after learning about himself residing within Senti's mind.
Perhaps there had been a better solution at the time, but Ren wasn't omniscient. He didn't know what had transpired during his absence. All he could do was protect Kiana as best he could.
"Talking about being friends of the Immortal Phoenix… I thought you were really looking for Fu Hua. Now it seems your target was me all along." As if having come to a realization, Senti's voice grew even lower. The concern in her eyes, when directed at Kiana, vanished, replaced by a gnashing fury.
"And here I was, planning a grand stage for your reunion… when in reality, I was the only one in the dark!"
"Stage?" Kiana was utterly confused. She didn't even know when the Herrscher of Sentience had arrived at Taixu Mountain.
But Senti was clearly in no mood to explain. By abandoning Fu Hua's identity and accepting her existence as a Herrscher, she had already prepared for a fight to the death.
Her gaze locked onto Ren, the fear within intensifying.
"Your name is Ren, isn't it? I should have known. Otto sending me to find you… he had ulterior motives. You were in league with him all along, meticulously setting this trap, waiting for me to fall into it."
When she had caused chaos at Schicksal's base, Otto, to divert the blame, had told her Ren's name. He had intended to shift the trouble onto Ren, but Ren had used the K-423 puppet to deflect the attention.
Now, having absorbed massive amounts of Honkai energy, Senti's thoughts were increasingly influenced by the Honkai.
From her perspective, she had done nothing wrong, yet she was attacked. The growing sense of injustice made her believe that Kiana's "unconsciousness" was merely an excuse for Ren to act. They had exploited her affection for Kiana, attempting to eliminate her without a fight.
These negative emotions festered within Senti, becoming nourishment for the Honkai.
The red glow in Senti's eyes intensified, and coupled with the blood on her lips, she took on a frenzied look.
"So you can defeat me with brute force, can you? The real battle hasn't even begun!"
In an instant, the crimson lightning in the sky crashed down, painting the world in a blinding, bloody light. A hazy fog rapidly spread, consuming everything. Kiana's vision blurred, and when she could see again, Taixu Mountain was gone, replaced by jagged peaks pierced by towering swords.
A heavy miasma of death pervaded the air.
This was the endpoint of Taixu's Sword Qi.