With speed that surpassed the limits of human visual response.
Nagami snatched the communicator from Bronya's small, delicate ear in a flash—so fast that her pupils contracted in shock.
"Moshi moshi~ Hello there, Aunty. Now's really not the time for you to butt in, y'know~"
Nagami, now back in his regular form after temporarily borrowing power, spoke with his usual playful tone.
It felt amazing not to have to stay on constant alert anymore.
"I don't care who you are or what kind of organization is behind you, if you dare lay a finger on Bronya—" Cocolia's voice rang out, sharp and firm, but the boy's crisp voice cut her off mid-threat.
"And what exactly do you think you can do?" His voice was calm, but his words carried the weight of an undeniable truth.
Cocolia herself knew it.
Based on what Nagami had just shown, she was completely powerless to stop him.
"Mother Cocolia, it's fine. This is my own decision." Bronya's voice remained as flat and emotionless as ever.
Her pale gray eyes stared calmly at the communicator now in Nagami's hand, like an undisturbed sea under a cloudy sky.
"No matter what, I've already lost Seele. I can't let you disappear from my side too!"
"I'm gonna puke." Nagami made a face like he'd just swallowed something rotten and raised his voice.
"You? A woman who used her own daughter for experiments? You think you have the right to say that?"
"Goodbye—and I mean forever!"
With a squeeze of his hand, the communicator was crushed to pieces.
When Nagami disliked someone, he had zero interest in further conversation.
"Well then, Bronya, if you've made your decision, shall we—"
But before he could finish, her pale gray eyes suddenly flared with a demonic red light.
Crimson markings extended across her left cheek, spreading like living veins.
Nagami stopped mid-sentence and broke into a bitter, incredulous laugh.
"The Valkyrie System emergency override initiated. Highest-level command input. Switching to remote control mode. Target confirmed."
The cold, mechanical voice echoed without emotion.
At the same time, Bronya's armor began to transform, giving off an even more futuristic vibe.
Black and red circuitry-like patterns spread across her suit, sharply contrasting with her snowy white skin.
[Honkai Corruption Detected—"Herrscher Core Override."]
Behind her, the Heavy Bunny 19C floated upward, raising its steel arms now equipped with a plasma cannon.
Power surged and built at the barrel's tip.
As Bronya calmly extended a slender finger at her target, the weapon fired directly at the black-haired boy.
"Nagami!" From behind, Mei's panicked voice rang out.
Nagami glanced back.
She was sprinting toward him, her long, elegant legs cutting through the dust in graceful arcs.
"I'm fine, Mei. Stay back—this area's dangerous."
The fact that Nagami still had the presence of mind to admire Mei's legs was proof enough: he didn't see the attack as a threat at all.
He'd fought and defeated Herrscher Mei before, overwhelming her with ease—even with a malnourished Herrscher core.
This kind of attack was nothing to him.
Nagami didn't even bother dodging.
His eyes simply narrowed, and in the next instant, a violent gale erupted around him, twisting like a tornado.
Surging Honkai energy roared outward, automatically forming a dense energy barrier in front of him.
'BOOM!'
A thunderous explosion shook the ground.
The blast from the plasma cannon collided with the energy shield, unleashing a shockwave of scorching flames and Honkai-charged wind, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
Using the blast as cover, Bronya—still under Cocolia's control—jumped onto Heavy Bunny's shoulder and retreated swiftly.
Simultaneously, four modular components detached from the mech's massive frame.
After undergoing high-speed mechanical transformations, they reassembled into four small floating turrets, hovering protectively in front of her.
"Cluster bombardment—fire!"
Beams of concentrated electricity surged from the turrets, lighting up the battlefield.
Without hesitation, they unleashed a barrage on Nagami's position.
The deafening booms echoed as lasers sliced across the land.
The ground cracked and split under the pressure, with waves of heat and dust rippling through the air like a storm of shrapnel.
"…That's it?" From within the rising smoke, Nagami stepped forward, unharmed.
A glowing six-pointed star rotated beneath his feet, emitting a soft yet eerie purple light.
Invisible barriers, woven from immense Honkai energy, pulsed gently around him like a protective cocoon.
His violet eyes met the distant crimson glow of Bronya's.
Even separated by over a hundred meters, their gaze alone sent a chill down the spine.
Cocolia could feel it too—there was something deeply unnatural about those eyes of his.
But there was no time to investigate.
Without hesitation, she forced Bronya to turn and flee.
"Just in time to deal with this while I'm at it." Nagami's starter skill was his only cheat-like ability, but it was actually one of the most basic perks around.
With enough effort and practice, anyone could master it—nothing like the divine blessings that heroes enjoyed.
Still, even if it wasn't powerful, it was perfect for a newbie spider.
As for Nagami's high-level Wind God's Speed skill, it was originally copied from somewhere else.
In the D world, system restrictions prevented its use, but now those constraints had vanished.
The only thing holding him back in this crumbling world was his lack of energy.
Such a powerful skill without the system's magical energy support could only last a few seconds on Nagami's meager level-20 mana.
And it wasn't just Wind God's Speed—Nagami had analyzed plenty of advanced skills in the spider world, but he'd always been short on "blue juice" to actually cast them.
But now? Things had changed completely!
Cracks, like a spiderweb, spread out from beneath his feet.
With a sharp crack in the air, Nagami's figure vanished like a ghost.
"What?!" Cocolia, who was remotely controlling Bronya, let out an involuntary gasp as her eyes widened.
"Over here~" The red-eyed, expressionless loli instantly turned her head to look behind, only to find a fierce flame swirling atop a crimson magic circle.
"Another lava?!"
The next instant, flames burst forth—not just a ball of flame, but a pillar of searing heat.
Still, this attack didn't pack the same overwhelming punch as the last lavaball now it's just a flameball; Nagami wasn't trying to kill Bronya.
Heavy-armored Bunny shielded the girl in its embrace, but was instantly engulfed by the flames.
With a deafening boom, the massive steel beast was hurled backward, its armor charred and scorched where the fireball had struck.
"Let's go for another one."
With his Alpha Stigma, Nagami could easily see that the deliberately weakened blast hadn't done enough. Sparks of wild electricity began to crackle around him.
Under Cocolia's stunned gaze, a surge of violet-red lightning erupted from Nagami's body, gathering in his hand like a raging storm.
With a roar, he unleashed it—a snake of thunder that twisted and lunged through the air.
Schicksal had developed the space-time fracture system through Sirin, and while it wasn't on par with a Herrscher's full might, it was still impressive.
But Nagami didn't care about any of that.
If he could analyze it with his Alpha Stigma and it ran on Honkai energy, he could steal it for free.
One glance was enough to master it!
The Third Herrscher's power was nowhere near too complex for Nagami to decode.
A harsh, buzzing sound filled the air, like a swarm of bees beating their wings all at once.
Brilliant purple lightning surged forward, striking directly at Heavy-armored Bunny.
The machine's sleek metal exterior blackened under the crackling discharge, its steel body twisting and warping.
Quantum weapons took heavy damage, and the impact of the lightning spear sent the girl in its arms flying.
Bronya wasn't spared either—flickering blue-purple electricity scorched her armor, causing warning alarms to blare.
"System warning: Unit damaged. Energy output insufficient. Warning!"
A mechanical voice sounded as the girl's body crashed to the ground, the high-voltage arcs crackling around her.
She couldn't move anymore.
In an instant, Nagami reappeared at her side.
He casually tossed out a few healing spells before extending his right hand and pressing it gently against Bronya's smooth forehead.
Her eyes snapped wide open as a six-pointed star began to spin in his gaze—pure and crystalline, like glass, glowing with a soft violet light.
A matching magic circle shimmered above Bronya's head.
"Analysis!" As the seconds ticked by, the intricate design of the chip embedded in Bronya's mind unfolded clearly before Nagami's eyes.
A smirk curled his lips as faint electric currents danced across his outstretched palm, snaking into Bronya's brain.
"Let's begin the operation."