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"BOOM!!!"
As if the sky itself roared.
One wielded five times the energy of a Herrscher, while the other harnessed the pinnacle technique of Taixuan Sword Qi to command the immensely powerful Flame Key.
Their clash instantly altered both weather and terrain—one side frozen over amidst blizzards, the other scorched with molten earth and searing waves of heat.
And within this sea of lava lay the Inner City base.
"Such reckless abandon—typical Kiana." Bronya leaned back, feeling comfortably supported by her ergonomically designed black office chair as she squinted contentedly.
A sturdy anti-energy force field had been activated around the base's outer walls, shielding it from Honkai Energy, shockwaves, and extreme temperatures, ensuring its integrity remained unharmed.
Kiana likely didn't have the bandwidth to worry about the base's safety, but Bronya was different; she took her role as caretaker very seriously. With our home built so meticulously, just imagine how much rebuilding would cost! The mere thought breaks my heart! she lamented internally.
"Bronya, can she handle this?" Sin approached, frowning anxiously.
Despite their banterous nature, genuine concern for each other ran deep between them. Honestly, Sin couldn't help but worry about Kiana's well-being.
Without missing a beat, Bronya effortlessly pulled Sin into her embrace.
Ah, without her Homu plushie nearby, Sin's petite and soft body made for a decent substitute—quite comfortable to hold with a lovely feel.
At first startled, then bashful, Sin eventually nestled gently against Bronya, her smiling face radiating contentment—as if saying: Huh? Kiana? Who's that? Never mind, not important now.
Bronya calmly replied, "From a data perspective, our chances of victory are quite slim. But you're well aware of how tenacious she is. Keep watching closely; this is her first attempt at stepping out from under Zeke's protection. Unless she overcomes this hurdle, she'll never truly stand on her own. We must...trust her."
As she uttered those last words, Bronya unconsciously tightened her embrace. If even Sin felt worried, Bronya, who comprehended the full extent of the situation through data analysis, understood all too well the enormity of the challenge facing Kiana. In truth, it was Bronya herself who feared most that their friend might not endure.
Yet as she rightly stated, at this moment, all they could do was one thing—believe in Kiana, believe in that incredibly resilient Big Dummy whose willpower surpasses even her vitality!
"Boom!"
In midair, their clash ended with Sirin unyielding and Kiana crashing heavily into the ground.
Both the Void Arts and Bright-Dazzling Blade amplified combat power exponentially, but the inherent energy disparity was too great. With only one Herrscher's power at her disposal, Kiana couldn't gain any advantage in direct confrontation against Sirin.
Treading on molten rock, faint flames licking at her white armor, Kiana raised her two-meter-long Blade of Flame and gazed up at Sirin.
"You're truly monstrous—even with just five abilities. It's hard to imagine how the original Sirin, wielding six powers, could have been defeated."
"Is that all you've got for your last words?"
"Don't be so cold, okay? This is a rare chance to chat properly in the real world. Don't you have anything to say to me? For instance, I've tasted your resentment; reciprocally...can you sense my feelings towards Zeke, Sirin?"
"...Just die already!"
After a brief pause, Sirin summoned countless aetheric lances, which rained down like a torrential storm.
Rolling her eyes, Kiana bent her knees slightly, gathering strength.
"Don't act so annoyed! You felt my emotions, remember? That makes me pretty upset too, y'know!"
"Boom!"
A massive wave of fiery slashes shredded countless aetheric lances, tearing through the sky with immense heat and force, hurtling directly towards Sirin.
"Snap!"
With a casual flick of her fingers, space distorted before Sirin, causing the attack to pass harmlessly through, soaring futilely upwards.
Meanwhile, a hint of purple glimmered in Kiana's eyes as she vanished from sight instantaneously.
Just as Sirin evaded the slashing assault, before she could react further, Kiana reappeared right in front of her, swinging her long blade downward.
"Clang—"
Sirin effortlessly caught the edge with one hand. The terrifying power and searing heat generated by the swing posed no burden to her, but she still furrowed her brow slightly.
"That ring... Did that guy entrust you with the Key of Judgment? With your higher-dimensional perspective, combined with your prior experience using the Space Authority, can you now partially discern my manipulation of space?"
As Sirin observed the black ring on Kiana's left ring finger, ripples appeared in her eyes, followed by an intensifying surge of murderous intent, harnessing the boundless power accumulated from five abilities.
"Creak! Crrrk!"
The faint wail of metal caused Kiana's expression to shift subtly. To her dismay, fine cracks began forming on the flame-infused blade held firmly by Sirin's bare hands.
Facing Sirin's emotionless gaze, Kiana took a deep breath, causing the temperature of her blazing sword to soar even higher.
"Crushing a Divine Key with bare hands—now that's quite the joke!" Kiana laughed defiantly as the flames propelling her blade intensified, wrenching it free from Sirin's grasp amidst a screech of metal.
With the sword torn from Sirin's hand, Kiana seized the opportunity to retreat back to solid ground.
Hovering in midair, Sirin flipped her palm and noticed a small wound inflicted by Kiana's sword, swiftly healing at an astonishing rate and regenerating completely within moments.
"The game ends here. Die now and return this power to me."
Sirin raised both hands, sealing the space around Kiana. Even if she could see what was coming, without mastery over space, escape was impossible against frozen surroundings.
Unstoppable wind blades merged with blizzards capable of freezing all matter above them. With a swift motion, Sirin unleashed these dual forces of destruction in concert.
Before the attack reached Kiana, the lava beneath her feet had already solidified, and the flames engulfing her diminished, giving off a feeble impression akin to a flickering candle in the wind.
Kiana stood rooted, her smile gradually fading away.
"You certainly don't go down easily. But did you think this was a one-on-one fight? Mei, help me out here!"
Whoosh!
Before she'd even finished her plea for assistance, lightning struck before Kiana from atop the distant wall.
Raiden Mei stood poised with her sword drawn, knees bent, electricity crackling at the tip of her blade.
"Ultimate Move: Unthinking Slash!"
Zzzt!
Amidst deafening thunder, a swift strike severed the wind blades and ice hurtling toward them.
But Sirin remained unfazed—what good would a single momentary interruption do? Her assault persisted relentlessly!
The unceasing blizzard continued to advance, closing in on the pair standing side by side.
In the next instant, bullets flew towards Sirin from afar.
"Godslayer bullets again? Did you really think the same trick would work twice?"
Sirin relinquished her hold over space around Kiana, causing it to distort and shatter the incoming specialized projectiles.
Meanwhile, Kiana and Raiden Mei had positioned themselves back-to-back, each holding their swords diagonally aloft as flames and lightning merged behind them.
"Mei!"
"I know, let's do this together, Kiana."
Years of deep affection and tacit understanding required no further words between them. Nearly simultaneously, they swung their swords.
"Boom!"
The expanding flames and dancing lightning converged under their blades, forming an immensely destructive aura that shattered through wind and snow to charge straight at Sirin.
Simultaneously, from behind the tall walls, artillery fire, Godslayer bullets, spears imbued with temporal power, and various other deadly attacks followed close behind.
"A combined assault, huh? Do you really think physical attacks can harm me, Herrscher of the Void?" Sirin sneered, spreading her arms wide as she warped the space around her.
As she claimed, no matter how powerful these assaults were, unless they interfered with space like Welt's pseudo-black-hole ability or bypassed spatial barriers altogether like Fu Hua's psychic attacks, they held no significance against the Herrscher of the Void.
Yet when the fiery blade struck her, even the Godslayer bullets pierced her body—come on, Kiana wields the Key of Judgment, and Anti-Entropy's scientific prowess is nothing to scoff at. With the Herrscher of the Void's obvious advantage over space manipulation, how could anyone not be prepared?
With a grim expression, Sirin restored her battered and perforated form.
"You...have truly angered me! Benares!"
Summoning her most powerful and dependable subordinate, Sirin watched as multiple streaks of light shot from within the towering walls to strike various parts of Benares's body.
"ROAR!"
Despite the onslaught, Benares charged relentlessly toward their Queen without retreating or evading.
However, Wendy and others had already climbed onto her, unleashing continuous blows that visibly damaged her form.
"GRRR!!"
Benares let out a deafening roar, swiftly twisting and soaring through the air in an attempt to shake off the clinging insects. But from the distant base, millions of worker bees firing Dawn cannons halted her movements.
"BOOM!!!"
"Bella! Damn you all to hell!"
Witnessing the fall of both her subordinate and friend, Benares, Sirin's fury surged anew despite knowing she would be unharmed.
Before Sirin could retaliate, Kiana and Raiden Mei appeared simultaneously on either side, their crossed blades of flame and lightning bearing down heavily upon her.
The anger on Sirin's face vanished instantly.
As the two long swords pierced her body, Sirin remained unfazed, simply grabbing Kiana and Raiden Mei by the wrists.
"I anticipated you'd use this Divine Key forged from the Gem of Haste against me. But I didn't expect you to be utterly foolish enough to bring Raiden Mei right before me... Bella, have some fun with them while I retrieve my powers." Sirin spoke coldly, her lips curling into a satisfied smirk.
"Roar!"
The plummeting great dragon responded with a thunderous cry and unfurled its massive wings, effortlessly soaring back into the sky like a shooting star, straight towards the base's towering walls.
Kiana and Raiden Mei's expressions shifted as they tried desperately to free their wrists from Sirin's grip, but neither could overpower her—as if completely caught off guard by this turn of events.
In the next instant, all three vanished into the sky.