"But as a thank-you gift, you'll die here."
With a wave of her hand, Sirin's clothes instantly transformed into the White Comet armor she once wore.
"Indeed, this form allows me to wield more Honkai energy. It was worth memorizing the armor's structure back then."
"..."
Seeing this, Fu Hua had long wanted to ask:
Is this even logical? How does the Herrscher of Death have the powers of the Herrscher of Reason?
But in the end, Fu Hua chalked it all up to the omnipotent Honkai energy.
"Stunned? Hehe, die now."
Sirin made a gun gesture with her hand, aiming at Fu Hua.
"Bang!"
As the word left her lips, a black mist formed into a spear-like shape and shot toward Fu Hua.
Fu Hua dodged the attack.
The building struck by the spear was instantly disintegrated.
"You dodged? How about this?"
With another wave of her hand, the surroundings turned pitch black, enveloping both Fu Hua and Sirin in thick, dark mist.
Facing the 360-degree attack, Fu Hua took a deep breath and stood her ground.
She stepped forward with her left foot, bent her right leg, raised her left palm in front of her, and clenched her right fist at her waist.
"Inch Strike: Thunderbolt."
With a single punch, the thick black mist was instantly dispersed.
Seeing this, Sirin was stunned.
What the hell? She just punched away the manifestation of my Herrscher of Death powers?
Sirin had expected Fu Hua to be strong, but not this strong!
But seeing Fu Hua's grounded stance, Sirin was certain she couldn't fly.
So, she leaped backward, soaring into the air.
Looking down at Fu Hua, who was stuck on the rooftop, Sirin's confidence swelled again.
"Ant, how will you fight me without the ability to fly? From up here, I can wear you down to death."
As she spoke, the wings on her Valkyrie armor unfolded.
Countless golden dots appeared on the wings, quickly transforming into beams of light that rained down on Fu Hua.
Facing the barrage of lasers, Fu Hua showed no fear. She simply stood in place, repeating her earlier stance.
But this time, the aura around her was different.
Since Fu Hua was now at her peak, she didn't need any external tools. Her body itself was her greatest weapon.
"It's time to end this. Inch Strike: Heaven's Wrath!"
With a single punch, an overwhelming force surged toward Sirin.
The punch shattered all the lasers and struck Sirin squarely in the abdomen.
In that moment, Sirin's eyes were filled with disbelief before she finally lost consciousness.
The Serenity Gem fell from her grasp, and Sirin plummeted from the sky.
Fu Hua quickly caught Sirin with one hand and pocketed the Serenity Gem with the other.
This level of Honkai energy corrosion was nothing to her.
"Mission complete. I'm heading back."
Carrying Kiana on her back, Fu Hua returned to St. Freya Academy.
...
Seeing herself holding Mei by the throat with one hand, Kiana was horrified.
"No, don't hurt Mei!"
With a scream, Kiana jolted awake.
She found herself sitting on a large white bed, unsure of how she got there.
Seeing Kiana awake, Mei, who had been sitting beside her, immediately hugged her.
"Kiana, I'm so glad you're okay."
"Mei? So, what happened to me?"
Feeling Mei's embrace, Kiana felt a sense of relief.
Then she asked why she was lying here.
"You went on a mission with Class Rep, got injured, and passed out. Class Rep carried you back. You're so careless, Kiana. If it weren't for Class Rep, I don't even want to think about what could've happened."
At this point, Mei couldn't help but scold Kiana.
This time, it was a good thing they had multiple people on the mission. Otherwise, with Kiana's carelessness, she might not have made it back.
Hearing this, Kiana scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly.
Although she didn't remember much, her stomach hurt, likely from being ambushed. So, Kiana believed Fu Hua hadn't lied to them.
"Mei, I'm so hungry."
"I knew you'd say that. Here, I made you some chicken soup."
Mei handed Kiana a thermos.
Kiana eagerly opened it, steam rising from the hot soup inside.
But Kiana didn't care about the heat. She grabbed a spoon and started devouring the soup.
The temperature didn't bother her at all.
"Mmm, this is delicious. Even better than the food at the banquet. You're amazing, Mei."
After finishing, Kiana didn't forget to praise Mei.
But beneath her cheerful exterior, Kiana was preoccupied with something.
What was that dream about? I've had it multiple times now. I've never had recurring dreams before.
...
"Blah blah blah, how much longer until my part in the script? My butt's going numb!"
Wendy, stationed at a Schicksal branch in the middle of the ocean, complained to the sky.
If it weren't for pretending to be disabled, she wouldn't be in this situation.
Sitting in a wheelchair for so long, she almost forgot she wasn't actually disabled.
"And... I feel like I can actually use the power of this gem now."
Looking at the whirlwind forming in her palm, Wendy muttered to herself.
Wow, I'm really the chosen Herrscher.
Beep beep beep—!
Wendy's communicator rang. Without hesitation, she answered it.
A young girl's urgent voice came through.
"Wendy, Wendy, get ready over there. Don't mess this up. Kiana and the others are coming tomorrow. Don't let Anti-Entropy capture you and extract the gem!"
"Don't worry, Principal. I'm not the useless character in the script. Right now, I'm an S-rank Valkyrie."
"Hmm, Wendy, be honest with me. Has the Herrscher's power gone to your head?"
Seeing her proud student suddenly so arrogant, Theresa suspected the Herrscher's power had clouded her judgment.
Or perhaps, since the gem was taken from the arrogant Sirin, every host who inherited it also inherited her inflated ego.
"Not at all. I won't be like Sirin. In the script, she was so arrogant, never learning her lesson no matter how many times she was beaten."