Following the flash of lightning, the worker bees unleashed their final burst of light and heat—the chain nuclear explosion.
Amidst the intense shockwave, Bronya held onto Sin, who had collapsed from exhaustion, while Raiden Mei protected the unconscious Kiana. As the tremors gradually subsided, they managed to regroup.
"Sin, you did well."
Bronya wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, gently stroking her head as she examined the twisted and shattered hand, revealing exposed bones beneath torn flesh. She could only imagine how much it must have hurt.
With a tender gaze, Bronya administered anesthesia to Sin's injured arm before quietly sighing.
Despite her pale face, Sin instinctively nuzzled against Bronya's touch, offering a soft smile.
"Bronya, I'm okay. Don't worry about me."
"Yes, we'll fix this right away. Bronya promises," Bronya reassured her with a gentle smile, wiping away tears mixed with blood from Sin's cheeks, filled with affectionate concern.
Just then, Raiden Mei approached, carrying Kiana. Upon seeing Sin's severely damaged arm, her pupils contracted sharply.
"You..."
"She's fine, but what about this idiot paramecium?"
"It seems...she's just unconscious for now. However, forcibly stripping her of Herrscher powers is different from Ana's situation; it's hard to predict if there might be any lingering effects."
Raiden Mei tightened her grip around Kiana, feeling the weight of her limp body against her chest, and felt a pang in her heart.
Bronya sighed softly. "Let's retrieve the Herrscher of the Void first. As for Wendy and Seele—wait?! What?!"
She looked up at the sky filled with shimmering golden ripples.
"Get behind me!" Raiden Mei stepped forward, cradling Kiana protectively in one arm while unsheathing her sword with the other. Lightning crackled, splitting the ground beneath their feet.
From countless ripples above emerged numerous Subspace Lances, enveloping everyone below in a terrifying aura of Honkai Energy.
Then, like a torrential downpour, silver-white spears descended en masse.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the same time, deep within the shadows far away, the host, Pope, and Dean—the three dolls—looked at each other.
"...Where's the General?"
"I think I saw a black hole appear behind her, then something dragged her inside."
"Pretend nothing happened. Hopefully, she'll be alright."
"Agreed."
On the battlefield...
After relentless bombardment akin to a torrential downpour, the land for miles around lay devastated.
A girl clad in resplendent Phantom Armor cradled her unconscious friend and slowly lowered her blade. With eyes flickering with lightning, she gazed solemnly at the sky above.
There, Sirin's battered body, riddled with gaping holes and bearing long sword marks, held by the neck the Herrscher of a Thousand People—the very same General who had been forcibly dragged away moments ago.
"H-Highness... Your Majesty, I..."
"Crack!"
Expressionless, Sirin snapped the General's neck.
Immediately after, vast amounts of Honkai Energy surged from her shattered form into the now motionless doll that was the General's body.
Shortly, Sirin's perforated figure disintegrated into countless specks of light, vanishing without a trace.
Simultaneously, the General's body floated in mid-air, transforming—growing taller, curves becoming fuller—and sleek silver hair replaced the original golden locks.
Sirin had taken over the General's body, achieving rebirth unscathed.
"You cooperated admirably, and it's impressive you could harness this power too. However, can you share your feelings of futile despair, my other half?"
Sirin descended slowly until she stood before Raiden Mei and her companions, wearing a cold smile filled with blatant mockery.
Raiden Mei kept Kiana cradled in one arm while placing her other hand on her sword hilt, her voice icy. "I am not your 'other half.'"
"Really? But how come I remember that gemstone granting you this power used to be mine?"
Ignoring Bronya and Sin completely, Sirin reached directly for Raiden Mei.
Raiden Mei's gaze sharpened.
Zzzt...
BANG!
Lightning crackled as two Herrschers' Honkai Energy collided, shaking the earth and dispersing clouds overhead. Forced by the impact, Bronya had no choice but to retreat several miles, still holding onto Sin.
"Hmph! You think you can resist me using the very power stolen from me?" Sirin sneered disdainfully. With her patience reaching its limit, she held nothing back. As Raiden Mei countered with bursts of Honkai Energy, Sirin relentlessly extended her hand, inching closer to making contact.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Sirin caught a glimpse of golden light.
"Who else is there?!"
Maintaining pressure against Raiden Mei, Sirin unleashed a barrage of Subspace Lances with her free hand.
However, the fierce assault proved ineffective; instead, the golden glow accelerated towards Sirin's outstretched fingers at nearly the speed of light.
"Hm?"
Sensing danger, Sirin withdrew her hand just as an ancient golden sword, shimmering with radiant brilliance, thrust between her and Raiden Mei like a barrier separating them.
"One after another... You're all as irritating as flies!"
Sirin unleashed a palm strike imbued with boundless Honkai Energy, aiming to crush the golden sword before her with brute force and seize the gemstone from Raiden Mei's possession.
"Boom!"
Amidst a deafening roar, Sirin caught only a glimpse of ink-black sleeves before being forced back by an immense power. It took great effort for her to halt her retreat.
As she looked ahead again, she saw someone standing atop the golden sword—a figure clad in long, flowing robes adorned with elegant, antiquated patterns. Despite appearing delicate and frail, their posture was straight as a blade, solid as a mountain.
Looking up further revealed a face so exquisite it seemed painted from a scroll: eyebrows arching like verdant mountains, eyes serene and compassionate, holding within them the tranquility of a silent galaxy.
"It's you!" Sirin scowled, gritting her teeth.
Sirin would never forget this face—the one that had twice brought her the humiliation and terror of near-death experiences, even severing her connection to God. On Sirin's list of people she most wanted dead, Fu Hua was undoubtedly at the very top.
Fu Hua stood with hands clasped behind her back, long sleeves gently fluttering in the wind. As she faced Sirin, she glanced sideways to check on Raiden Mei and Kiana's condition.
"Are you two alright?"
"We're fine; you arrived just in time, Fu Hua-sensei." Raiden Mei sighed in relief.
In their energy clash against Sirin, they were clearly outmatched from the start. With Sirin having once controlled the power of lightning herself, there was no hope for victory in a contest of elemental domains either. If not for Fu Hua's timely intervention, Raiden Mei couldn't have guaranteed whether she could hold on any longer.
"You should go back first."
"Fu Hua-sensei, whoever emerged from Kiana isn't simple. Let's handle this together—we can't let her escape," Raiden Mei urged.
"No need, I already have strong reinforcements," Fu Hua replied calmly.
In the sky above, a beam of golden radiance pierced through space and descended next to the Xuanyuan Sword within the blink of an eye. The figure held a knight's lance and donned shining gold armor.
"Valkyrie Durandal, responding with Lord Bishop's orders!" declared the imposing warrior solemnly, leveling her long spear at Sirin as surging Honkai Energy soared high enough to rival even Sirin herself.
Zeke was crucial for the resurrection technology, and Kiana represented his greatest vulnerability. From Otto's perspective, safeguarding Kiana took precedence over unifying civilization.
Thus, he had assigned backup support to the Herrscher squad—though this contingent consisted of only one person, their might equaled that of thousands upon thousands of soldiers.
For this individual was none other than Durandal.
******
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