At this moment, Durandal suddenly let go of the Black Abyss White Flower in her hand, and in the instant her opponent was caught off guard, she tightly grabbed the sharp blade.
As blood dripped down, her right knee had already fiercely slammed into the opponent's abdomen.
Memory Van let out a muffled groan and retreated, raising his head to look at that determined face.
"What I miss is the senior who would risk his life for others," Durandal panted, "not a cold-blooded counterfeit like you."
Memory Van wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes suddenly became sharp.
In the next second, Memory Van's figure suddenly disappeared.
Immediately after, Durandal felt a gust of fierce wind coming from behind.
She barely twisted her body, only to discover that this move was just a feint.
The real killing blow came from the other side.
And this time, she had no way to avoid it.
"It's over."
The moment Memory Van's voice rang out, Durandal clearly felt death approaching.
At that critical moment, a fiery red feather suddenly appeared, blocking the fatal blow.
Then, Durandal suddenly felt the bubble universe within her body begin to stir violently.
Countless starlights surged from within her, forming brilliant golden armor that covered her whole body.
"Interesting." Memory Van revealed a surprised expression for the first time. "You're actually able to control the power of the bubble universe?"
But his answer came in the form of Durandal's full-powered strike.
"Stars, gather here!"
"This blow, pierces through the cosmos!"
Knowing full well the power gap between them, Durandal decided to go all out from the start, hoping to catch him off guard.
However, facing Durandal's fierce attack, Memory Van suddenly sneered, and the purple light in his eyes flared.
"Now this is getting interesting."
With those words, Memory Van's entire aura exploded, and he swung his long sword to meet the golden radiance head-on.
A dazzling flash of light erupted, illuminating the entire cathedral like it was daytime.
Once the white light faded, everyone finally saw the scene before them.
Although on the surface, the clash between the two seemed evenly matched, judging by the heavy breathing and trembling body, Durandal was still slightly inferior.
Seeing this, people in the real world began to panic.
Because to them, if even Durandal couldn't defeat Dark Van, then Otto's plan might truly be unstoppable.
What was even more despairing was that, facing the steadily advancing Dark Van, Durandal already had no strength left to resist.
Then, the screen dimmed.
Followed by the cold voice of Memory Van.
"This time, it's truly over."
When the scene lit up again, only Memory Van remained in the cathedral, along with… the Black Abyss White Flower stuck in the ground.
———
Seeing this, countless netizens in the real world cried out sincerely, [Mihoyo, you're not human!!!]
[I swear, Mihoyo really can't live unless they stab someone!]
[Waaahh, Durandal!! How am I supposed to live without you!]
[Even though everything points to Durandal being out of the story, if you think about it, Mihoyo didn't explicitly show her being killed, so there's still a sliver of hope…]
[Bro above might be onto something. So what kind of hope are we talking about?]
[Maybe Durandal was just knocked out by Dark Van? Or maybe trapped somehow… okay, I can't make up any more, Mihoyo, I have class at 8 AM! Give me back my Durandal!!!]
———
While netizens were fervently discussing, the scene shifted to Ivana's side.
As the trump card Teresa placed great hope in, the duo of Ivana and Van did not disappoint, they were the first to break through the defenses and arrive at Saint 537 Cathedral.
However, when they arrived, they found that someone had already been waiting there for a long time.
That person was none other than Cheng Lixue, who had been awakened by Memory Van not long ago.
Feeling the overwhelming Honkai energy within Cheng Lixue, Ivana was momentarily stunned.
She simply couldn't understand, how could someone like Cheng Lixue, who hated the Honkai like a sworn enemy, become a Herrscher?
After all, according to Van's memories, when Cheng Lixue was five, her mother died because of the Honkai.
But now, such a person who had a blood-deep hatred for the Honkai had actually become a Herrscher?
At the same time, while Ivana was shocked that Cheng Lixue had become a Herrscher, Cheng Lixue was also stunned by Ivana's appearance.
Because on Ivana's body, Cheng Lixue not only saw the shadow of her master.
Though Cheng Lixue appeared calm on the surface, her heart was already a raging storm.
'So it turns out… Master and Grandmaster's relationship had already developed to this point, huh~'
'And to think I used to worry about Master's aloof personality. Now it seems it was all unnecessary.'
While Cheng Lixue's brain was spinning, Ivana was also communicating with Van in her mind.
"Old man, by seniority, Cheng Lixue should be your grand-disciple. Are we sure we want to fight her?"
"How about you come out and say a few words? Maybe she'll let us pass for your sake?"
To this, Van expressed that he wanted to, but couldn't.
After all, from Cheng Lixue's perspective, the other Van was the real one, and he himself was just Feather Dust.
"So, from the looks of it, we can't avoid this battle with Cheng Lixue?" Ivana shrugged.
Van was silent for a moment, then said, "Based on the current situation, yes."
Having made up her mind, Ivana didn't hesitate any longer. She immediately took her stance, ready for a swift battle.
With that, the atmosphere on both sides instantly turned tense.
Just then, Kiana also arrived.
In a sense, Kiana's arrival disrupted the delicate balance between the two sides.
After understanding the situation from Ivana's mouth, Kiana also realized that this battle was inevitable.
Just as the fight was about to break out, a familiar yet cold voice came from not far away.
"That's enough, Lixue. Stand down."
Everyone turned their heads upon hearing the voice and saw Memory Van walking out from the shadows, holding the Black Abyss White Flower.
Seeing this, Kiana's pupils instantly shrank.
Though she'd only met Durandal a few times, for some reason, Kiana felt a hard-to-explain connection to her.
And now, upon realizing that something might have happened to Durandal, that vague emotion became even stronger.
"Where's Durandal? What did you do to her!" Kiana couldn't help but shout.
To this, Memory Van replied with a cold sneer, "Just sent her to where she's supposed to be."
This answer instantly enraged Kiana, and made countless netizens wail in despair.
But in the next second, the story took a turn.
Because at the moment Memory Van said this, Kiana heard Van's voice in her mind.
"Calm down, Kiana. Don't let his words provoke you," Van said. "Have you forgotten? I left Feather Dust beacons on all of you."
Upon hearing this, Kiana's eyes lit up.
"Van, you mean..."
"Yes," Van replied firmly. "In my perception, the signal from the beacon on Durandal is weak, but it still exists."
Upon hearing this, Kiana finally looked a bit relieved.
But then, another question suddenly arose in her mind, just when did Van plant a Feather Dust beacon on Durandal?
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