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The Herrscher of Stars began to collapse like a fallen star, his body imploding. A terrifying gravity welled up from him, twisting space itself. Kilometers away, Honkai beasts and mechs were yanked off their feet, struggling to stay upright.
He intended to become a black hole and swallow Whitebeard whole, dragging them both to oblivion.
"Try to run, if you can!" the Herrscher of Stars laughed maniacally. In this state, even the Herrscher of the End would have no escape. He was sure his opponent was doomed.
"Run?" Whitebeard sneered without a second thought. "I'm Whitebeard. If I die, I die fighting. I don't run. And with the sort of strength you've got, you think you can make me run? Time to show you real power."
His muscles tightened like coiled steel. No matter how monstrous the pull, nothing would budge him. Tremors of force gathered in his hands until space itself started to splinter like glass, cracking and reforming under the strain.
"Heavenquake!" he roared, fists clasped, and slammed forward.
Cracks screamed through the void, spidering outward. The quantum sea shuddered under that single, dreadful blow.
"No way. How can a mere human be this strong?" The Herrscher of Stars' voice faltered as fissures crawled across his form. Whitebeard's strike tore into his black-hole transformation and broke it apart. The Herrscher shattered, piece by piece.
He was dead.
Whitebeard allowed himself a small, satisfied grin. Clearly, he was stronger than that pompous Garp after all.
A thunderous sound rolled across the battlefield. Garp, in his Titan form, was punishing the Herrschers of Wind and Thunder with theatrical brutality.
The Titan didn't just command lightning—he could harness wind too. The Wind and Thunder Herrschers' attacks barely scratched him; if anything, they fed his power. Their bodies, no match for Garp's, were being ground into the dirt.
"Dammit—wasted tens of thousands of crystals." Garp glanced at Whitebeard in the distance and sighed. "Edward is getting stronger. Can't stall any longer. Time to finish the fight."
He drew his gaze back to the two struggling Herrschers. A grin spread across his face, and the sight chilled them to the bone.
"Armament Haki—form armor!" Massive, obsidian gauntlets of Haki slid over his enormous hands. They were like chunks of nothingness—black, lightless—but their presence sent a cold shiver down the spine.
He used no fancy techniques. His fists were his weapon. Whatever your move, one punch from him would end it.
Garp's approach felt almost ancient in its simplicity: no matter how many spells you cast, one overwhelming force would break them all. Under that brutal power, the two Herrschers couldn't hold out three seconds. In an instant, they were reduced to ash.
Meanwhile, Kiana and Sirin were locked in their own fierce duel a little way off.
"I didn't expect you to use the Herrscher of the Void so well," Sirin said after forcing Kiana back. "You've surprised me."
"I've still got a lot to show you," Kiana shot back, darting in for another strike.
Compared to the larger clashes, their duel was almost discreet. They flitted through the void, spearing and dodging with subspace lances. Attack after attack folded and reflected off rotating fields of displaced space.
Hundreds of subspace spears threaded the air between them.
"You won't beat me like this," Sirin said with a smile. "We draw from the same power, but I siphon Honkai. My energy regenerates—eventually you'll fail."
She was right. Sirin's connection to the Will of Honkai allowed fast recovery.
Kiana, on the other hand, was visibly flagging. The strain of wielding such power had worn her down—her breaths came in ragged pulls. At this rate, defeat was only a matter of time.
"You're right. I can't beat you alone," Kiana admitted, smiling at Sirin. "But, Sirin, I've got allies."
"Allies?" The word made Sirin pause. For a beat, she looked stunned—her allies were gone.
Kiana seized the moment and opened a spatial gate above Sirin.
Sirin tried to step back, but a figure blasted through the portal: a blade wreathed in flames, slicing through space itself. Sirin couldn't dodge in time. The fiery sword cleaved into her chest and sent her hurtling toward the ground.
"Damn it! Don't get cocky!" Sirin roared, steadying herself and pouring out everything she had left.
"Die!" Kiana's subspace spears shifted, becoming ribbon-like blades—soft as fabric, sharp as swords. They tore through space toward Kiana and her allies. Anyone caught in them would be shredded to fragments.
Another spatial gate silently opened behind Sirin.
Just as the blades snarled toward Kiana, they froze midair and shattered apart.
Sirin watched, incredulous, as the sword protruding through her chest dissipated. She felt her strength ebbing away.
"You lose, Sirin," Kiana said softly as she stepped in front of her. Raiden Mei appeared behind them and stood silently on the side, her expression unreadable.
"Have I… lost?" Sirin murmured to herself. There was a strange peace in her voice now. Maybe this was for the best. Maybe now she could go find them.
"We didn't intend to kill you," Kiana said.
The words stunned Sirin into silence. "Why? Why not kill me? I don't want your pity. You damned humans don't deserve to live. As long as I'm alive I'll keep destroying you. So kill me now!" Tears streaked down her face; the edge of her voice had a pleading tone she hadn't meant to show.
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