The Herta Magic Wand carried Herta 09 as it shot into the sky, soaring toward the vast heavens.
Before long, it descended upon the surface of Mars, where she caught sight of a group of grotesque-looking creatures. She could not help but murmur, "These strange-looking fellows are the Honkai Beasts Madam Herta mentioned?"
"Yes, Herta."
The Soul Gem at the tip of the Herta Magic Wand flickered as it spoke. "It is precisely because these Honkai Beast materials exist that Madam Herta can upgrade me—so that I may become the world's number one Herta Magic Wand 2.0!"
At that moment, the Honkai Beasts also noticed the disturbance. They turned their heads toward little Herta, confusion appearing in their expressions.
This is Herta?
The terrifying human who subdued and sealed the Will of Honkai? Yes... that must be her. That magic wand is the purest proof of identity.
But why has her body shrunk so much? Could it be that sealing the Will of Honkai consumed too much of her strength?
If that is the case, then do they perhaps have a chance...
The eyes of many Honkai Beasts began to flicker. Their destructive instincts gradually overtook their minds.
And just then, the demonic dragon Benares hurried forward ingratiatingly. "Great Madam Herta, your grand arrival caught me unprepared to receive you. That is my fault."
Little Herta swept her gaze over the colossal dragon before her. "I came to Mars for business. You're Benares?"
The dragon cried out in grievance, waving its massive claws. "Madam Herta, we were only apart for a short while—have you already forgotten your newly accepted mount?"
Little Herta blinked, thinking silently to herself:
This dragon feels a bit like a sycophant... But that makes sense. After all, that's Madam Herta. Naturally, her charm is peerless, enough to make even a Honkai Beast like Benares bow its head and shout loyalty.
Benares' true thoughts, however, were quite different.
Being Madam Herta's mount... that's truly wonderful!
Once I became her mount, I could justifiably command beings like Brahma and Maheśvara—those upper-tier Vipralopa-class Honkai Beasts.
The feeling of exercising the authority of a superior is unprecedentedly delightful.
And more importantly, I've already exercised it. Naturally, I know those Vipralopa-class Honkai Beasts now resent me deeply.
Thus, Benares was extremely worried that something had happened to Madam Herta's body, causing her to shrink into such a tiny form.
After some hesitation, Benares cautiously inquired whether there was something wrong with her condition.
Little Herta was about to speak.
However, at that very moment, one Honkai Beast could no longer suppress its ferocity and struck.
It was Garuda, the Judgment-class Honkai Beast once restrained by the tangible storm-hand of the combat-mode gaseous planet Ruanruan.
Its body, once torn apart by the gaseous planet, had fully regenerated within undying flames.
More importantly, from beginning to end it had been beaten down by the battle celestial body, the gaseous planet Ruanruan. It had never personally witnessed Herta's terror, and thus bore little reverence toward her. That was why it became the first Honkai Beast to attack.
"Die, you short human!" Garuda roared.
The scene caused the other Honkai Beasts' gazes to flicker, anticipation even rising within them.
Anticipation... that Herta had truly grown weak after sealing the Will of Honkai—so weak that she could no longer even wield her wand.
"Insolence!"
Benares roared at the sight, beating its dragon wings and preparing to charge forward.
At that very moment, another massive Judgment-class Honkai Beast that had never seen Herta act—Chiyou—stepped forward to confront Benares.
The situation was on the brink of exploding.
And Herta 09, who had rolled off the production line less than twenty-four system-hours ago, showed not the slightest trace of concern on her face.
What she displayed instead was eagerness—and even a hint of excitement.
She directly pulled out a weapon from beneath her skirt—a diamond hammer gifted to her by Madam Herta. It shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
In the next instant, little Herta leapt high into the air, spinning a full three hundred and sixty degrees before smashing toward the charging Garuda.
"Such a big diamond—I'll gift it to you!"
The Honkai Beasts were overjoyed at the sight.
As expected!
Herta's strength has been overconsumed—she can no longer swing her wand... and has switched to a diamond hammer instead!
But in the next moment, they witnessed Garuda—the notoriously hard-headed, self-proclaimed immortal Judgment-class Honkai Beast—take the initiative to meet the diamond hammer head-on with its skull.
Smack.
Garuda's head was flattened in an instant. Blood splattered, brains bursting apart.
Of course, even so, it did not die completely. It merely fell unconscious. Before losing consciousness, disbelief flashed through its mind:
Diamond is indeed extremely hard, but it shouldn't withstand impact like this. Why was the result of the collision my head being shattered by the diamond hammer?!
After Garuda collapsed, however, more Honkai Beasts did not retreat. Instead, they grew even more restless.
The Herta Magic Wand noticed this as well and spoke up.
"Little Herta, the way these Honkai Beasts are looking at you isn't quite right. It is time to use me, as Madam Herta instructed!"
Little Herta nodded seriously. "Alright. How do I use you?"
"You don't know how?"
"I haven't even been out of the factory for twenty-four system-hours! And Madam Herta didn't teach me inside the Stigmata space either!"
The Soul Gem at the tip of the Herta Magic Wand flickered with purple-black light.
"In that case, shout the incantation."
Little Herta looked surprised. "There's even an incantation?"
"Yes. The incantation is: O key that hides Herta's power, reveal your true strength before me. Herta 09, who has formed a contract with you, commands you—seal release! Once you recite it, you may wield my power."
Little Herta swept her gaze over the increasingly restless Honkai Beasts around her. She then looked at the diamond hammer Madam Herta had casually gifted her, and at the carefully crafted Herta Magic Wand in her hand.
In the end, she chose to use the power of the Herta Magic Wand and began reciting the incantation.
"O key that hides Herta's power..."
As the incantation was chanted, the Soul Gem at the wand's tip began flickering at an ever-increasing frequency. Soon, the gate of wisdom opened, the dimension of the Path of Erudition unfolded, and an unending stream of Path energy surfaced upon the Herta Magic Wand, activating the runes engraved upon it.
In that instant, the Honkai Beasts that had been preparing to erupt and kill little Herta felt their bodies seized by control once more—along with an overwhelming and terrifying pressure.
At that moment, all the Honkai Beasts understood.
Even though little Herta's body had shrunk, she could still wield the wand's power and command their life and death.
In that moment, fear of death arose within their hearts.
If their bodies had not been restrained, they would have already knelt and kowtowed before Herta.
At that moment, Herta 09's voice rang out clearly:
"What I didn't finish saying just now is this: I am not Madam Herta herself. I am merely a puppet she created. I came here only to accumulate more Honkai energy and produce more Honkai Beasts for sale.
"Aside from that, I was also tasked with testing the ferocity and beastly nature of the Honkai Beasts. And your attack on me just now has already proven that you are a group in need of re-education."
After speaking, little Herta turned her gaze toward the only Honkai Beast that had stood on her side—the demonic dragon, Benares.
"You were the only Honkai Beast who stood with me just now. You pass. You may continue serving as Madam Herta's chief mount."
Upon hearing this, Benares nodded repeatedly. "Being Madam Herta's mount is my honor."
Little Herta nodded and tossed a phone to Benares.
"Madam Herta asked me to give this to you. She said that since you're her mount, you should at least have some basic understanding of the universe—so you don't embarrass her when she takes you out in the future."
"Yes, yes, of course."
Benares hurriedly caught the phone. Upon turning it on, the top trending topic on the interastral network was about Herta.
The 83rd Seat of the Genius Society, Miss Herta, has reached commercial cooperation agreements with the Xianzhou Alliance, the Interastral Peace Corporation, and the Family. They are jointly developing a new product—Soul Gems—which are currently in urgent production...
After searching information about the Genius Society, the Xianzhou Alliance, the Interastral Peace Corporation, and even the Family, Benares was deeply shaken.
It finally understood just how terrifying Madam Herta truly was.
An existence capable of cooperating on equal footing with three superpowers of the cosmos.
Each of those three superpowers had influence spanning countless galaxies.
And more importantly, behind each of them stood Aeons—existences that completely surpassed the cognition of Honkai Beasts.
Even Madam Herta herself had been personally invited by an Aeon to join the Genius Society. And according to the interastral encyclopedia, she had joined less than a week ago.
Furthermore, according to the records, just one week ago Madam Herta had still been an ordinary human, unable even to shatter a single wall.
And now she could slaughter tens of millions of Honkai Beasts—even seal the Will of Honkai.
For a mortal to grow to such a state in less than a week was utterly terrifying.
By comparison, in this vast cosmos, Honkai... truly amounted to nothing.
No wonder the Will of Honkai had been sealed so easily by Madam Herta.
From now on, Benares must become even more loyal to Madam Herta.
For example, the orders of little Madam Herta must be executed thoroughly—carried out to the letter.
A bunch of ignorant Honkai Beasts dared to bare their fangs at little Madam Herta. They were asking to be erased.
Having fully realized that Honkai Beasts were insignificant in the grand scheme of the cosmos, Benares began ruthlessly suppressing the internal Honkai Beasts, faithfully carrying out little Herta's commands.
As for Herta 09, she remained on the Martian surface, having already set up the Honkai Furnace. She poured in vast quantities of crystal, then used the Herta Magic Wand to convert and inject massive amounts of Imaginary energy.
Thus, the Honkai Furnace began to rotate, continuously producing Honkai energy.
The Honkai concentration on Mars began to soar once more, and more Honkai Beasts were born.
Of course, newly born Judgment-class—and even Vipralopa-class—Honkai Beasts often believed the heavens were first and they second. Each one was overconfident, eager to accomplish some grand undertaking.
At such times, Benares—and the Judgment-class and Vipralopa-class Honkai Beasts that had already been disciplined by Benares—would step in to suppress them, teaching them who truly ruled this land.
As for Herta 09, she remained stationed on Mars, maintaining the operation of the Honkai Furnace while also serving as The Herta's eyes—monitoring the experimental site on Mars to prevent any unforeseen accidents.
...
On The Blue, inside Herta's dormitory.
The Herta shifted her thoughts and, following the connection of the Stigmata, sensed the situation of Herta 09 on Mars.
She could not help but think to herself.
'Well done, little Herta 09. You've successfully set up the Honkai Furnace and further demonstrated your strength, making the Honkai Beasts recognize that Herta reigns supreme on Mars.'
'However, the incantation the Herta Magic Wand came up with is rather abstract. What do you mean, "O key that hides Herta's power"? That's so embarrassingly chuuni...'
At that moment, Herman suddenly spoke up, teasing her.
"The Herta, that's where you're wrong. Not long ago, when you obtained the Herta Magic Wand in the Simulated Laboratory and used it against those simulated Honkai Beasts, you were just as happy as a child—reciting all sorts of magical incantations like a magical girl straight out of a television show."
"By the way, I still have video recordings from that time. Want to watch them?"
"Stop. Let's discuss proper business instead," The Herta coughed lightly and abruptly changed the topic. "Have you already contacted the Xianzhou Alliance, the Interastral Peace Corporation, and the Family to ask whether they're willing to purchase Honkai Beasts as a type of pet?"
"Of course."
Herman nodded slightly, revealing a peculiar expression.
"Jade from the Strategic Investment Department of the Interastral Peace Corporation is very interested. She believes Honkai Beasts possess enormous physiques—one could even call them towering and mighty—and could serve as powerful guardians for forces of Preservation stationed in various regions."
"So Jade intends to purchase a batch. Of course, the prerequisite is that once acquired, her side must be able to control those Honkai Beasts."
The Herta was momentarily stunned.
"To let Honkai Beasts—who are born with highly corrosive traits toward living beings—become embodiments of Preservation across countless worlds... That Miss Jade truly has imagination."
Herman smiled at this.
"And you, The Herta, can make Miss Jade's vision a reality, can't you? After all, eliminating the innate corrosive genes of Honkai Beasts toward humans and all life has long been one of your research projects."
"Naturally. After all, I am Herta."
The Herta continued calmly:
"In fact, during the time little Herta was working on Mars, I haven't been idle either. I've already developed technology to eradicate the biological corrosive genes of Honkai Beasts. I've even uploaded this technology into the Stigmata space."
"Before long, little Herta 09 should be able to learn it—and even modify the genes of the Honkai Beasts on Mars, removing their innate corrosive traits."
The Herta paused, then asked,
"By the way, aside from the Interastral Peace Corporation, do the Xianzhou Alliance and the Family have purchase intentions?"
Herman smiled faintly.
"The general Yao Guang of the Xianzhou Yuque originally had no intention of purchasing. After all, while they are not like the Galaxy Rangers fighting for justice across the cosmos, they still walk a righteous path... and were unwilling to enslave an entire race."
"Originally unwilling—so later they agreed," The Herta said, gazing at Herman with interest. "How did you persuade them?"
"Very simple. I told them that Honkai Beasts are born with corrosive traits toward living beings—much like the Voidrangers of the Antimatter Legion. They are innately evil, driven by the most primitive destructive impulses."
Herman paused before continuing.
"But Herta possesses—and is willing to sell—the means to control them. As long as Credits are paid, the Xianzhou Alliance can deploy them on the battlefield, making them fight for justice and righteousness."
"Controlling evil criminals to fight for justice—was that narrative enough to make the Xianzhou Alliance's general change his mind and place an order?"
"If only it were that simple," Herman shook his head. "To convince the Xianzhou, evidence was necessary. So I sent them your research report on Honkai Beasts and asked Yao Guang to use the Fortune Hexagram and even the Matrix of Prescience to determine whether Honkai Beasts were truly evil."
"Only after a round of calculations did Yao Guang finally agree to loosen her stance and purchase a batch of Honkai Beasts."
"And by the way—especially the Vanquishing General of the Xianzhou Yaoqing. After learning that Honkai Beasts are innately evil, she placed a massive order for Honkai Beast war pets, preparing to wage a grand battle against the Borisin!"