Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider! Chapter 172: Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider! [172]

The colossal corpse of the Deceiver Swarm King drifted like an asteroid in the void of space.

Even with most of its body devoured by a black hole, its remaining husk still lood impossibly large.

Yet this gigantic remnant had vanished from the universe without a trace!

Sora stared intently at the footage in front of him. Monts earlier, that enormous husk had still lingered in the cosmos.

But suddenly, from far away, a brilliant silver flash erupted. Its dazzling brilliance rivaled that of a supernova explosion.

When people reopened their eyes after the glare faded, the floating husk had disappeared completely.

Its blood and viscera remained drifting through space, but its massive form had simply vanished without a trace—as if evaporated from existence itself.

"Truly, nothing else changed at all?" Sora still couldn't comprehend how such a massive carcass could vanish without explanation.

"We analyzed that conspicuous silver flash just now," Hotaru reported urgently. "And quickly pinpointed its source. It should be not far from our current location."

A set of data appeared before Sora, and his eyes widened in surprise at the numbers displayed.

The calculated distance placed the origin of the flash sowhere between several thousand and twenty thousand kiloters.

"That close?!"

With such proximity, his spacecraft could reach it in under a minute.

A distance this short was practically face-to-face, making even Sora montarily stunned.

"Yes, this was calculated by several scholars present here, based on nurous paraters."

Tartaro was known to calm restless minds, which was why many scholars regularly ca here to relax. These scholars included mbers of the Intelligentsia Guild and prestigious galactic academies. They couldn't possibly have miscalculated this distance.

"So, it's already that close?" Titania's voice suddenly echoed in Sora's ear, equally surprised by the revelation.

Ever since she'd seen the earlier reports, Titania had been searching for this final missing Swarm King. She never imagined it had already arrived so nearby.

"You know what this thing is?" Hearing her speak, Sora imdiately stepped out of the room, eyes narrowing sharply.

"The Diabolical Swarm King," Titania replied straightforwardly.

"Diabolical Swarm King?!" Sora furrowed his brows, feeling vaguely familiar with that na. But where exactly have I heard it before…?

"The Diabolical Swarm King is Tazzyronth's own forelimb, directly spawned by Tazzyronth itself—a true Emanator," Titania continued grimly. "Precisely because it was bred from Tazzyronth's forelimb, its penetrating attacks are the strongest among all Tazzyronth's Emanators."

"Add to that its near-light-speed movents, and you get the nickna: the 'Assassin Swarm King.'"

The nickna "Diabolical" ca about because whenever it accelerated to sub-light speeds, countless illusions trailed in its wake.

Seeing these illusions ant one thing—your imminent descent into the netherworld.

That's how its na ca to be.

Hearing this, Sora instantly froze in place.

Wait a minute—what did she just say?

Tazzyronth?! Diabolical Swarm King?! This doesn't sound right at all!

"Hold it, stop right there!" Sora quickly interrupted Titania's explanation. "This Tazzyronth you ntioned…is it the sa one I'm thinking of?"

"What? You think there's a second being nad 'Tazzyronth' in this universe?"

The na Tazzyronth was practically synonymous with cosmic terror.

So worshipped it as a god for unleashing devastating disasters upon the entire universe.

Others avoided the na entirely, afraid even ntioning it would draw hostility.

Throughout the cosmos, finding another being called Tazzyronth would surely be impossible.

Titania's blunt reply instantly plunged Sora's heart straight to rock bottom.

So it really is your predecessor, huh!

Then what exactly was this current situation?

A new executive taking charge at the company, cleaning out the previous boss's old employees first?

Viewed like that, Titania actually seed quite career-driven! Sora couldn't help but marvel briefly at the thought.

"What are you smiling about?" Titania asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. Just rembering sothing pleasant."

Titania felt puzzled, but quickly realized this wasn't the first ti she'd seen Sora's inexplicable expressions.

Sure enough, an idiot remained an idiot. Certain people spent most of their ti acting foolishly; their rare monts of normalcy were simply anomalies.

Her earlier slight improvent in opinion toward Sora vanished completely.

But Sora soon discovered another blind spot.

"Wait a second—you just said the Diabolical Swarm King was personally spawned by Tazzyronth. Does that an…?"

"Correct, it's an Emanator." Titania repeated patiently, also issuing another reminder. "And that corpse just taken away by the Diabolical Swarm King is also an Emanator—the Deceiver Swarm King."

Sora's mind went montarily blank hearing those words.

Wait…how did the conversation suddenly jump to sothing so far beyond his understanding?

"Two Emanators?"

"No, five. Ah, wait—not anymore. Now it's down to four."

Sora's breathing ca to an abrupt halt.

What kind of impossible scenario was this? Five Emanators appearing at once… Even the strongest galactic factions might not withstand this kind of force.

"However, you can relax. They all seem to be weakened at the mont."

Finally, Titania offered a sliver of good news.

Sora instantly released a sigh of relief. Good—at least he finally heard sothing positive.

If they were all weakened, perhaps he might stand a chance!

He had taken out the Deceiver Swarm King instantly with a single punch. Maybe he could also eliminate the other four just as quickly, one punch at a ti!

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Titania imdiately dampened his optimism. "You only succeeded because the Deceiver Swarm King was severely weakened. The others won't be so easy."

If the Deceiver Swarm King had been at full strength, its hallucinogenic powder could easily envelop regions spanning entire light-years.

But this ti, it had just awoken nearby and rushed directly over, leaving insufficient ti to fully restore itself.

The other Emanators slowly approaching were a different story altogether.

Titania quickly detailed the specific parts of Tazzyronth each Swarm King represented:

The Diabolical Swarm King—forelimb.

The Starcrusher Swarm King—exoskeleton.

The Afterglow Swarm King—flesh.

The Deceiver Swarm King—insectoid illusions.

The Calamity Swarm King—insectoid amalgamation.

Each represented specialized organs or traits, each overwhelmingly potent in a specific aspect.

Individually, only the Diabolical, Starcrusher, and Afterglow Swarm Kings could rival other Aeons' Emanators.

Yet combined, they once rampaged unopposed throughout the universe.

The Deceiver Swarm King had rely suffered misfortune: awakening too close and too soon, it had been killed by Sora during its vulnerable period.

But the others were steadily advancing, gradually regaining their strength.

Their threat vastly exceeded the Deceiver's!

Hearing Titania's analysis, Sora unconsciously furrowed his brows.

From her explanation, the gravity of the situation was painfully clear.

A sudden thought entered his mind:

Could the Deceiver Swarm King's nearby awakening be related to Tartaro itself?

Could it even be the cause of Tartaro's mysterious appearance in the universe?

After all, if Sora rembered correctly, Fuli, the Rembrance Aeon, was supposedly born during a similar insectoid calamity.

But Sora quickly shook off these speculations.

These supre threats were approaching the planet right now.

Once here, they would likely return to their peak forms.

Then, everything would be in peril!

No, not rely peril—all would face total annihilation!

With four top-level Emanators descending simultaneously, not only Tartaro but this entire star system would suffer catastrophic devastation.

Understanding clearly the inevitable outco, Sora sighed deeply:

"What a pain."

This hard-earned vacation had beco a disaster yet again.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid now?" Titania's voice asked softly by his ear.

Sora couldn't discern Titania's current emotional state. But judging by her calm tone, perhaps it wasn't far from his own feelings right now.

Afraid?

"Of course I'm scared," Sora frankly admitted.

Previously, just facing a revived Serus alone had already put him through imnse hardship.

And now, four resurrected Emanators at once?

Just thinking about it terrified him to the bone!

"Hmph. What's there to be afraid of? In situations like these, if I act, the entire battlefield flips instantly!"

"Then why don't you act?" Sora asked, genuinely curious about what counterasures Titania could possibly offer.

"You've already seen what happens when I intervene."

If she made her move, every person on this planet would instantly beco replicas—her personal army.

Honestly speaking, she should've done it long ago. But now, sohow, she hesitated endlessly, unable to make up her mind.

She was squandering her precious final monts here!

But, for so inexplicable reason, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

Perhaps because of recent events?

Or had her thoughts changed sohow?

Titania didn't understand herself, but it didn't stop her from pushing bla elsewhere.

"I don't want to fight you first before facing those bastards outside," she finally said.

"If that happened, wouldn't those ugly bugs reap the fruits of victory instead? Just imagining that outco irritates ."

"Hahaha! Who would've thought you'd have such a competitive streak?"

"And without , you'd probably be in no better shape!"

"Then, how about cooperating?"

As soon as Sora spoke these words, silence briefly enveloped the space around him.

Titania could hardly believe what she'd just heard.

Did Sora actually just propose cooperating with her?

Had the sun risen from the west today? Or had Qlipoth's hamr smashed into his skull?

Otherwise, how could he possibly say sothing like that?

"You sure you want to cooperate with ?"

Sora nodded firmly, reaffirming his statent.

Slowly, he clenched his right fist, a faint golden glow emanating from it.

"Didn't you say those insects are your enemies? Then we might as well work together," he declared his intent plainly. "I want to safely evacuate everyone on this planet. Until that's done, we'll cooperate temporarily."

"After I get everyone safely to a secure location, we'll have our final death match."

"What do you think?"

Considering Titania had sohow slipped into his transformation process, Sora decided cooperating would be the safest option for now, to avoid unexpected mishaps.

"Aren't you afraid I'll convert you ahead of ti?" Titania questioned skeptically.

"If you convert , does that an you won't die yourself?"

Those other Swarm Kings were still lurking around hungrily nearby.

If Titania ended their cooperation prematurely, those Swarm Kings would just tear her apart too.

This cooperation seed quite fair to both parties involved.

Yet Titania remained sowhat puzzled.

"Weren't you just saying how scared you were?"

If you're afraid, why cooperate with an enemy like ?

"Exactly because I'm scared—I need to find a safe place."

Sora rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "If I know this place is dangerous and still stick around, wouldn't that make an idiot?"

It was such a straightforward response that Titania montarily choked on his words. But soon enough, amusent overtook her.

"Interesting. Very interesting," she laughed softly to herself.

He'd actually offered cooperation for such a simple reason…

"So, are you going to accept or not?" Sora pressed impatiently.

"Then allow to properly exploit you," Titania replied decisively.

As her words fell, rays of golden radiance converged within Sora's [Fullbottle].

Imdiately after, a strange item appeared in Sora's hand.

What is this…?

Millions of kiloters away from Tartaro, behind a massive, desolate planet, a grisly tearing echoed through the emptiness.

Rip—Crunch—Squish!

Armor splitting, flesh tearing, chewing—each sound adding further horror to this isolated place.

Behind this lifeless planet, a silver-bodied insect viciously ripped and devoured the enormous carcass in front of it.

Compared to the giant corpse, its own body appeared slender, even a bit weak.

This was the Diabolical Swarm King—the sa insect that had dragged away the Deceiver's remains.

Now here, it continuously consud the leftover corpse.

Its slender form gradually filled out, faint patterns erging across its silver carapace.

As these markings appeared, the Diabolical Swarm King montarily vanished from view—then reappeared just as quickly.

By devouring the Deceiver Swarm King's flesh, it had obtained its abilities.

Tiny nozzles now dotted its body, granting it new power derived from cannibalizing its brethren.

At the level of Emanators, even insectoid minds vastly exceeded normal intelligence.

Not all Swarm Kings were as foolishly suicidal as the Deceiver; as Tazzyronth's forelimb, the Diabolical Swarm King preferred waiting quietly in the shadows.

It had once used this sa tactic to annihilate an entire clan of ancient Taotie beasts.

Those enormous, insatiable creatures couldn't even scratch it. After massacring their entire race, the Diabolical Swarm King had remained completely unscathed.

Precisely for this reason, it had carefully observed its current enemy's capabilities from afar.

In doing so, it obtained valuable information.

And now, it had successfully secured the Deceiver's remains, a crucial nourishnt to accelerate its own recovery.

As it continued gnawing on torn flesh, its tiny eyes narrowed, observing Tartaro from a distance.

Patiently awaiting activity on that planet, it continued restoring its strength.

Although such waiting was tedious, it could patiently shadow that planet for decades, even centuries.

Gradually, the Deceiver's corpse disappeared inside its body. Though rely one-fifth remained, it still granted the Diabolical Swarm King a third of its peak strength.

Its sickle-like forelimbs now shimred with an icy-white brilliance.

Those were crystallized pincers powerful enough to pierce Qlipoth's Amber Wall.

But on the Diabolical Swarm King, representing Tazzyronth's forelimb, they appeared as suprely sharp, curved blades.

Even though I'm not fully restored yet, it's already enough to kill that man…

An image of Sora from days earlier flashed vividly in the insect's mind.

With its current power, it could easily slice the Sora of back then in half at the waist.

This is the confidence that cos with restored strength!

Next, it rely had to wait for its prey to lower his guard, lurking silently nearby for the perfect chance.

Unexpectedly, that chance soon appeared!

The entire Tartaro began a large-scale planetary evacuation.

Starships ford long, orderly lines, stretching through space like a shimring silver dragon.

Departing from Tartaro, they moved toward safer regions of the cosmos.

Seeing this, the Diabolical Swarm King knew its opportunity had arrived!

Silently, it blended into the void around it, following closely behind.