"Why do you all stop my revenge!"
"If it weren't for you, why would my revenge fail!?"
"Only I can kill the black dragon with my own hands!"
"In that case, defeating you, who killed the black dragon, proves that I am stronger than the black dragon, right!"
"As long as I destroy this world, I will be the strongest!"
Listening to Ais, who was somewhat incoherent and forming her own logical loop, Takatsuki felt a bit speechless.
Putting everything else aside, why are the Herrscher personalities always so lacking in self-awareness?
Now it seems, Mei's Herrscher personality is unique.
Perhaps it's not a Herrscher personality? But like Veliona, an will within the Stigma?
But as for the Ais in front of him…
It seems this Herrscher personality has no self-awareness.
But it's true, just like the illusion of being able to destroy everything after a sudden power increase, Ais's memory had no clear understanding of Takatsuki's strength, the highest being able to defeat the black dragon, and that was only by relying on a weapon as a reference.
So after gaining the power that could be called "God" in this world, she felt that Takatsuki was insignificant, not even a fraction of her power.
Looking at the raving Ais in front of him, Takatsuki sighed.
Ais's emotions were usually rather detached, making it difficult for her to have significant emotional fluctuations.
Her Herrscher personality's emotions were a bit too… extreme.
Although they shared the same memories, they were completely different individuals.
Relying on intense emotional stimulation from others would likely make it very difficult to awaken her.
After all, the only thing that could cause significant emotional changes in Ais was hatred, but negative emotions themselves were nourishment for the Herrscher personality.
So, trying to awaken Ais through emotions would likely be very difficult. The only way to do it would be to subdue her by force.
Although he said that, it wasn't Takatsuki who made the first move, but Ais, who had already become the Herrscher of Wind.
The original pitch-black hurricane became even more violent under the authority of the Herrscher of Wind.
The power of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Wind was capable of creating destruction within a radius of several kilometers, and could continuously expand its range, much like a mobile fortress.
And that was only because the Previous Era's Herrscher of Wind lacked sufficient intelligence, merely wantonly squandering her power.
In Ais's hands, although she was raving, her tactics and combat power were far superior to the Previous Era's Herrscher of Wind, and certainly not comparable to the original Wendy from Honkai Impact 3rd.
Takatsuki subtly shifted his body, dodging Ais's sword slash.
A crack extending for hundreds of meters appeared beneath Ais's slash.
It was merely what could be called a normal attack, yet the sword qi it unleashed could cleave metal and shatter stone, effortlessly tearing the ground apart.
"Did you see that! This is my power! As long as I use this power…"
Ais's voice abruptly cut off.
Takatsuki rubbed his brow helplessly. It wasn't that Ais stopped halfway through her sentence; it was because Takatsuki had paused time.
This ability to directly manipulate time is almost invincible. Even against Houkai, aside from the houkai god, only the Finality could contend with it.
While not unbeatable, at least… the Herrscher of Wind doesn't possess this ability.
"Heaven's Stairway · White Snake, take out her Disc."
In the world where time had stopped, Takatsuki could freely manipulate Ais. Even if she gained power stronger than her original self, she could not resist the great power of time.
Defeating or killing Ais was simple, but subduing her without harming her…
Looking at the Disc in his hand, Takatsuki realized it seemed a bit troublesome.
Ais's state was different from Kiana's. Kiana's own memories and Sirin's memories were clearly separated into two Discs.
But Ais… only had one.
A person without a Stand would have another mental Disc extracted. At that time, Kiana had two memory Discs and one Stand Disc extracted. One of the memory Discs belonged to Sirin, and Takatsuki keeping it was equivalent to sealing Sirin.
But Ais only had two: one memory and one mental. This meant there was no way to separate that Herrscher personality.
"This is truly troublesome. Forget it, I'll send her back first."
Looking at Ais, who, in the stopped time, hadn't even realized her Disc had been extracted because time was paused, Takatsuki had no choice but to put the two Discs into his backpack.
"Ai-chan, do you have a way to help Ais return to normal?"
"Sorry, Dad, I don't have a way either, but Dad can try using Sera to command her."
Ai hadn't gone back to sleep after returning, but she couldn't help much now, just someone to chat with when bored.
However, most of the time, he still blocked Ai's perception, otherwise, her constant nagging would be too annoying.
Ai's suggestion was somewhat useful.
After returning, he extracted more than a dozen S-rank characters as base materials for ascending to Heaven, and also as a contingency.
However, most of these S-ranks were cards that could enhance his combat power, which was what he least lacked now.
The absolute command of Seilah was not bad.
Now, with his system level, he could equip one SS-rank and two S-rank character cards simultaneously.
"I'll go back and try it."
Although Sera's ability wasn't a permanent form, it could control the opponent's mind to a certain extent, and Takatsuki's power was far stronger than Ais's. Even if she became a Herrscher, Ais only gained authority, like a child with a hot weapon; although threatening, she herself was not inherently powerful.
But for now…
Looking at the black dragon beneath his feet.
In this world where time was stopped, even the symbiotic Emperor-class Honkai Beast was utterly powerless to resist.
"As for this thing…"
It would be best to just kill the Honkai Beast, but after some consideration, Takatsuki decided to spare the black dragon.
Although he thought Ais would probably want to kill this black dragon when she saw it, that was Ais's decision.
Takatsuki held Ais's body and canceled the time stop.
The moment the time stop was canceled, Ais fell into a coma, and the black dragon beneath her feet seemed to sense its master's abnormality. But just as it was about to try to shake Takatsuki off its back, a massive force suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slammed heavily onto its body.
"Roar!!"
The black dragon's body crashed heavily to the ground, letting out a mournful cry that echoed through the sky.
"It seems not all Honkai Beasts have the same intelligence as Beibei Dragon."
Takatsuki could tell that this black dragon only had basic instincts, unlike Beibei Dragon, which possessed sufficient intelligence.
But it didn't matter…
A vast Supreme King Haki erupted, targeting the black dragon. Under the baptism of Conqueror's Haki, even the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, driven only by instinct, began to feel fear.
And it was precisely this emotion that Takatsuki needed.
"Heaven's Stairway·Enigma!"