The Herrscher of the Void's domain expanded rapidly, enveloping almost the entire surrounding area.
As the other Kiana snapped her fingers, the spaces affected by the time fracture all collapsed.
Faced with such a large-scale attack, the original Kiana, who had intended to hide among the puppets, frowned slightly and was forced to reveal herself again.
"To be able to perfectly fuse the powers of Space and Flames in such a short time… to be honest, I'm a little jealous of your talent."
"Then move aside. I don't necessarily have to be your enemy."
Kiana glanced at the theater not far behind the other Kiana, her mood growing agitated.
She had discovered earlier that although the theater of Domination didn't look far, it had been forcibly dragged into reality from the Imaginary Space by Ren. Its spatial coordinates were extremely unstable.
Even with the power of the Herrscher of the Void, it was difficult to accurately pinpoint the theater's real-world anchor point.
To reach it, she had to break through the other Kiana's spatial lock.
"That won't do. His orders are absolute. Unless you step over my dead body, don't even think about it."
Seeing the other Kiana's do-or-die stance, Kiana couldn't help but fall silent. She looked at her counterpart, her eyes filled with incomprehension. "You… is it really necessary to go this far?"
As if guessing Kiana's thoughts, the other Kiana gave a carefree smile, shrugging her shoulders with feigned helplessness. "What can I do? My life belongs to him, after all."
"..."
This appearance, contrary to expectations, piqued Kiana's curiosity.
But before she could speak, a strong palpitation suddenly surged from her heart. Without thinking, she instantly teleported away from her original position.
When she reappeared, she discovered that a pitch-black space had materialized where she had just been.
"This is… the ability I just used?"
She suddenly raised her head to look at the other Kiana, only to find her counterpart staring back with a hateful expression.
"Oh my, what a pity. I was hoping to catch you off guard."
Evidently, her opponent was indeed using the Herrscher of the Void's ability. More importantly, with every use of the ability by her opponent, her own Honkai energy would decrease by a fraction.
Although the amount was almost negligible given her reserves, it was still a portion that vanished into thin air.
"Those invisible threads? No, that's not right. I shouldn't have touched them, unless…"
"Hmph? You figured it out so quickly?" The other Kiana gazed at Kiana with a wide smile and explained, "Whether it's the spiderwebs, the puppets, or even the black threads you so desperately avoided, they were all just a smokescreen. The real domination began the moment you arrived in this fragmented field."
As her voice fell, the other Kiana wiggled her index finger, and the surrounding space, which Kiana had just destroyed, was restored once more. At the same time, Kiana felt a large chunk of her own Honkai energy being consumed.
"Not only can it steal the opponent's abilities, but even the cost is paid by the opponent. Is this what Domination is?"
"Very clever~ This is the authority granted to a jester serving the Dominator. It's just that with his power, he basically never needs to use it. But against an enemy of the same level, this ability is practically a dimensional-crushing attack."
.....
While they talked, their clash never ceased.
Kiana tried to teleport for a close-quarters assault, but she was easily kept at a distance every time.
A melee fighter versus a ranged fighter was already a difficult matchup, and now she was being kited indefinitely. Back and forth, the only things left on the scene were their two figures, constantly flashing and crossing paths.
To a normal person, their battle would look like a severely lagging movie; in a flash and a leap, their positions were already indistinguishable.
"So this is the power of the Herrscher of the Void? It's certainly convenient." The other Kiana taunted while dodging, "But such high-intensity teleportation must be quite draining on your stamina and Honkai energy. I, on the other hand, don't feel a thing. As for you…"
The girl didn't reply, but her increasingly heavy breathing showed that her stamina was depleting at an extreme rate.
It wasn't just stamina; the high-intensity battle and the double consumption of energy were placing an immense burden on her Honkai energy and spirit.
Even if she could forcibly freeze the surrounding space-time with her spatial abilities, it wouldn't affect her opponent.
Without a doubt, if the battle continued like this, she would only be worn down bit by bit.
"The powers of the Void and Flames have both been stolen. It's unrealistic to rely on Herrscher powers to defeat her." Sweat soaked Kiana's forehead, plastering her silver hair to her face in a disheveled manner.
However, unlike what the other Kiana might have guessed, Kiana had not fallen into despair. On the contrary, her mind was incredibly clear.
The continuous fighting was not a headless rush but a series of probing tests.
"Although she said the cost of using my abilities is entirely on me, based on the tests just now, the Honkai energy consumption isn't perfectly equal. This means that when she uses my abilities, she is also paying some kind of price."
Peeking through the strands of her hair, Kiana secretly glanced at the other Kiana. Her opponent still wore a breezy and unconcerned expression, but Kiana noticed a slight sluggishness in her movements.
"The authority of Domination isn't without a price. Perhaps for Ren, this price is negligible, but my opponent isn't a true Herrscher. She's just a Valkyrie who has mastered the Herrscher's authority. My consumption is certainly immense, but hers is definitely not low either—she's just toughing it out."
"But it's meaningless to keep this up. I need something… something that can lock her down, something that can change the tide of battle, something that hasn't been stolen by her yet."
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Kiana's face.
"Class Monitor, it looks like I'll have to use what you taught me this time."
[Edge of Taixuan!]
An unavoidable, space-ignoring, and uncopyable ultimate technique that could turn the tables in an instant.
Golden light dripped from the edge of the blade as the Herrscher's authority was completely replaced by her mental domain. Under the reflection of the blazing sun, the girl raised the sharp blade high.
"Taixuan Sword Ki, Divine Form (God)!!"
"This is…?" Just as the other Kiana was about to copy the ability, she stopped her actions. She looked up at the sky, her vision completely filled by a colossal, heaven-piercing sword.
The golden longsword dominated the sky, bestowing absolute destruction and death.
Realizing what was happening, the other Kiana slowly lowered her hands. Watching the girl in the distance raising the giant sword, a faint smile graced her lips.
"How dazzling."
The sword fell, and the other Kiana slowly closed her eyes.
Death drew near. Boundless spiritual energy instantly destroyed everything in the vicinity, leaving only absolute tranquility.