You wouldn't want them to be bullied, would you?

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"As long as we get our message out, it doesn't matter if we die in the Theater of Domination—that's what you're thinking right now, isn't it?"

"it is a pity……"

"Since we possess the authority of the 'Herrscher of Knowledge,' how can you guarantee that we didn't intentionally release your communication device?"

“The written word about mechanical equipment can also serve as a carrier of authority.”

The dolls continuously released "meme pollution" and, coupled with their manipulative words, severely influenced Maria's thinking.

Influenced by this, Maria instantly flew into a rage, rushed to a doll, grabbed its head, and crushed it.

"You guys—you deserve to die!!!"

"Hehehe—we won't die, and you won't die either, because..."

The dolls surrounded Maria, their seductive words coming from all directions. While enraging Maria, they also relentlessly eroded her mind: "You will soon become our 'weapon' to help us defeat all the Herrschers!"

"you……"

Maria's eyes were bloodshot, and as if she had lost her mind, she frantically bombarded one doll after another.

Unfortunately, this was exactly the puppets' scheme.

All the puppets besieging Maria are "puppets," and as Maria continues to kill the "puppets," the corruption Maria suffers will become more and more severe, eventually turning her into a "divine weapon" completely under the control of the puppets.

Given the strength Maria is displaying at this moment, unless a particular Herrscher has a special Herrscher power, most Herrschers would find it difficult to defeat her.

Even Bella, one of the multi-core Herrschers, might not be able to defeat Maria at this moment.

Aside from Sirin and Angelin, among the existing Herrschers, perhaps only the "Herrscher of Metal" can suppress and kill Maria.

However, there are no more "Herrschers of Metal" in the world, only magical girls who can control metal, namely "Nina," the daughter Qiu Bi adopted some time ago.

Although the developments so far have completely deviated from the dolls' predetermined trajectory, they are still within the dolls' control.

Not only did he gain control of three Herrscher powers at once, but he also gained control of humanity's top combat force, which can almost be described as a huge gain.

The puppets knew nothing about "Yingjie".

……

Academy City.

Angelia and Bianca waited anxiously.

Before long, Cecilia arrived in a hurry with Cheng Lixue and Li Sushang, and asked Angelia about the current situation.

Upon learning that Maria and Kiana had been out of contact for a long time, and that Aurora, Agatha, and Annie had also disappeared for a long time, Cecilia's brows were filled with anxiety and worry.

Cecilia really wanted to go straight into the baby store to find out what was going on, but Angelia, Bianca, Cheng Lixue, and Li Sushang all tried their best to dissuade Cecilia from entering the baby store rashly.

After a moment of stalemate, the door of the baby supplies store suddenly shattered, and a beam of golden light shot out from it, vaguely resembling a spear.

The golden light slanted across the dark sky, standing out like a lighthouse on the coast.

In an instant, people in Academy City all looked in the direction of the baby supplies store, and some even rushed to the store directly.

Cecilia and the others weren't paying attention there; their eyes were fixed on the entrance to the baby supplies store.

The entrance to the baby supplies store seemed to connect to another space, where only endless darkness could be glimpsed.

The next second, Kiana and An suddenly flew backward, but were caught by Bianca and Cheng Lixue with quick reflexes.

Aurora and Agatha followed closely behind, but everyone's attention was focused on An and Kiana, so no one caught Aurora and Agatha, causing them to roll around on the ground a few times.

"Kiana, are you okay?"

Cecilia anxiously checked Kiana's body, and only after confirming that Kiana was not injured did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Before Cecilia could press Kiana about her past experiences, Kiana anxiously cried out, "Mom, Aunt Maria is still in the Theater of Domination! Hurry..."

Before the words were even finished, the darkness in front of the baby supplies store vanished in an instant, leaving insufficient space for people to pass through.

Kiana stared blankly at the scene, her mind going completely blank.

"The power of the Void Sword Qi—Chaotic Thunder!"

Li Sushang used her finger as a sword, suddenly slashing towards the darkness at the entrance of the baby supplies store.

The solidified sword energy rushed into the darkness, but it vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

"how come……"

Li Sushang stared at this scene in disbelief. Before she could launch another attack, a communication device suddenly flew out from the darkness, which had shrunk to the size of a fist.

Cecilia reacted quickly and caught the communication device.

After Cecilia caught the communication device, the baby store returned to normal, as if the golden light that had shattered the store door and the darkness that had filled the entrance were just an illusion.

Chapter 355 Maria's Message

"This is... Maria's communication device?"

Cecilia quickly recognized the communication device and prepared to activate it to check if any clues had been left behind.

Before Cecilia could actually activate the communication device, a soft and ethereal voice quietly drifted into her ears.

“Cecilia, please do not use that communication device.”

These words seemed to possess a special magic, causing Cecilia to subconsciously comply and abandon the idea of ​​activating the communication device.

Then, Cecilia turned around and looked in the direction from which the sound came, only to see Aponia, Mebius, and Qianjie walking slowly and gracefully towards her.

I don't know who was in charge of the team arrangements, but they just had to put the three people who least get along together...

If they hadn't known how important this matter was, Aponia, Mebius, and Thousand Calamities would have already started arguing, and might even have come to blows.

"Aponia, what brings you here? Hope nothing's happened at the apartment building."

"After that golden light tore through the night sky, Alicia sent us over to check the situation, in case we needed our help," Aponia explained calmly. "The apartment building is safe; Alicia, Sakura, and Velvet will protect it."

Upon hearing this, Cecilia nodded, then pressed on, "Aponia, what did you mean by that? Is there something wrong with Maria's communication device?"

"Yes. If my perception is correct..."

Aponia paused briefly, let out a soft sigh, and then continued in a low voice, "Miss Maria must have encountered a 'Herrscher of Knowledge,' to the point that this communication device has become a vessel for the Herrscher of Knowledge's powers."

"The Herald of Knowledge?! No, impossible... That's clearly the Herald of Domination, yet Anna, Aurora, and Agatha don't possess the Herald Core of the Herald of Knowledge."

Kiana was the first to deny it.

Aponia frowned slightly and took Maria's communication device from Cecilia's hand.

"My senses are correct; this has indeed become the vessel for the 'Herrscher of Consciousness'... Please stay away from me; I will activate this communication device."

Aponia whispered instructions to the others.

Having lived in Academy City for some time, the heroes had long since adapted to modern life and naturally knew how to use communication devices.

Qianjie snorted coldly and silently moved away from Aponia.

Mebius looked with great interest at the communication device in Aponia's hand, keeping a distance of only two or three meters.

Aponia sighed softly and then activated the communication device.

As a "psychic" fusion warrior, she can ignore these "meme contaminations" emanating through certain objects or words.

That is why Aponia volunteered to activate the communication device alone.

Aponia believes that the Herrscher who has descended this time is the "Herrscher of Consciousness," and that it distorts the cognition of others through "meme pollution," making them believe that the Herrscher who has descended this time is the "Herrscher of Domination," rather than the "Herrscher of Consciousness."

However, Kiana and the other girls insisted that the other party was the "Herrscher of Domination," their attitude was very firm, and they seemed to be unwilling to listen to other people's sophistry.

To change Kiana and the other girls' perceptions, it is necessary to check Maria's communication device.

Since Maria went to such great lengths to send out the communication device, it must contain crucial information.

Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Aponia easily erased the "meme contamination" from the communication device and carefully examined the crucial information left behind by Maria.

Maria's last message was brief.

"Beware of the Herrscher—that's a dual-core Herrscher, the Herrscher of Domination and the Herrscher of Knowledge!"

That single, brief sentence plunged Aponia into a long silence.

Mebius walked to Aponia's side with a puzzled look and stared at the contents of the communication device.

"A Herrscher who descends in the form of a dual-core Herrscher? Interesting..."

Mebius narrowed his eyes, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, already harboring the idea of ​​studying the Herrscher who had descended this time.

The current civilization is different from the previous civilization.

The latter is filled with the threat and pressure of world destruction, putting everyone under high pressure. Not to mention conducting research at will, everything must serve the purpose of "saving the world."

The former does not have this pressure. Putting aside Qiu Bi, who has the ability of "contract", Angelin alone is enough to allow human civilization to safely pass the final test of "collapse".

Under such comfortable conditions, Mebius would naturally choose things that interest him as research targets, such as the dual-core Herrscher that has descended this time, or Delta who can devour Honkai Beasts.

"Cecilia, can you tell us what just happened?"

As Aponia spoke, she didn't forget to hand the communication device to Cecilia.

Cecilia nodded, then took the communication device from Aponia and began to recount what had just happened.

When they learned that the Herrscher powers of the "Herrscher of Domination" who had descended this time were completely different from those of the previous generation of civilization, Aponia and Mebius showed a little surprise, but it was also within their expectations.

Since learning that the Fifth Herrscher is not the "Herrscher of Ice" but the "Herrscher of Metal," the Heroes realized that the development trend of modern civilization would inevitably lean towards the unknown.

However, one thing is certain: the future of modern civilization will inevitably be that "humanity will ultimately triumph over the Honkai."

"Is this baby store the 'entrance' to the theater?"

Mebius asked a question and then gracefully walked towards the baby supplies store.

Aponia moved gracefully, closely following in Möbius's footsteps.

“Aponia, Mebius, Thousand Calamities, wait a moment—we’ll go into the Dominion Theater with you.”

Cecilia called out to Mebius, Aponia, and Qianjie to stop, then whispered instructions to Angelia and her daughters before leading Li Sushang and Cheng Lixue to quickly follow behind Aponia and Mebius.

A sinister smile played on Möbius's lips as he walked into the baby store first.

however……

Nothing happened.