After hearing the information that there were two Herrschers on that island, both Theresa and Himeko immediately got ready to board the Hyperion airship.
In no time, Hyperion was already flying toward the Pacific Ocean. With them making use of Hyperion's maximum speed, they would arrive in a few minutes.
On the bridge, Theresa and Himeko could be seen looking at the map along with statistics around it. It was monitoring the Honkai energy that kept rising every second, and the other Honkai energy that was slowly rising too.
"Sirin... When did she wake up...?" Theresa muttered to herself.
She knew how strong the Herrscher of Void was - especially since she was one of the people who fought her during the Second Eruption. That's why she already prepared Judah and would use Zeroth Power the moment she saw HoV.
"AI-chan, make sure everything is prepared - cannon, railgun, everything. We need to be ready," Himeko said to the hologram AI of Hyperion.
"No problem! Everything is working at 100% and can be used immediately~" The AI immediately answered while saluting.
"Check again. We need everything now."
Then, turning toward Theresa, Himeko asked, "Should we call HQ for more backup?"
Hearing that, Theresa almost said yes - because two Herrschers were definitely too much for them. But for some reason, Theresa had a bad feeling. If she called her grandpa, something bad was going to happen.
"No. We should check what's going on there first. Also, knowing my grandpa, he definitely already knows about this."
Hearing that, Himeko felt weird because that wasn't how Theresa usually acted in emergency situations.
She always prioritized everyone's safety and would never choose something like this. But in the end, she stayed silent - Theresa always chose the correct decision.
"Don't worry. If the situation gets really bad, I'll instantly ask for backup. If needed, I'll make sure of everyone's safety with my own life," Theresa added.
After that, they focused more on monitoring the Honkai energy on the monitor.
But then suddenly, red lights began flashing as alarms blared across the entire deck.
"What happened?!" Himeko, who had been checking her battlesuit, immediately panicked and rushed to Theresa's side.
"Principal! The Honkai readings for the Herrscher of Void are spiking drastically!" one of the staff shouted as the monitor's graph shot upward.
"Put the thrusters on maximum! We need to arrive much faster!" Theresa ordered. But before she could continue, a massive explosion's shockwave hit - so powerful it rocked the entire Hyperion aircraft.
"Kyaaaaa!"
"Hold on!"
Crew members screamed as the aircraft shook violently. The shockwave lasted only a few seconds before silence returned.
"What just happened?" Himeko said, steadying herself.
Theresa just stared at the monitor, which now clearly showed one Herrscher's energy signature disappearing completely while the other slowly diminished after the explosion.
Meanwhile, on the destroyed island...
*BOOOOOM*
The recoil sent Kiana flying backward, her body carving a brutal path through the few remaining trees before slamming into the ground with a sickening THUD.
"Gahhh!?" Blood erupted from Kiana's mouth as the impact rattled her bones. Every injury from the fight flared up at once - the cuts, the bruises, the lingering effects of Miyuki's mist. Worst of all, firing that trump card attack had drained nearly all their energy, leaving her body utterly spent.
She lay there, staring at the blue sky above, but where the explosion had been, only a void-black emptiness remained, as if the blue color itself had been sucked in.
"[What the hell, Tuna?! You just burned through almost all our energy!]" Sora's voice echoed in their shared mind as Kiana gasped for air.
"Sorry... I kinda got carried away... hahhh... Hearing her talk about making Reina her slave just... pissed me off."
"[...Understandable. Now hurry - we need to leave before Schicksal arrives.]"
"[With what little energy we have left, we might manage one portal back to our apartment.]"
Kiana nodded weakly, trying to summon the strength to stand or even lift a finger to open a portal. Nothing worked. Her limbs felt like wet noodles - worse than after Reina's most brutal training sessions.
This was bad. Between the catastrophic explosion and their prolonged presence, Schicksal or other organizations would inevitably arrived on this location soon.
"[Should I call Bella? No... that'd make things worse. She's too massive to hide...]" Sora cycled through escape options, acutely aware through their shared body that Kiana had absolutely nothing left to give.
Fortunately, before Sora could resort to summoning Bella, a crack suddenly appeared in the air before them.
Starting as a tiny fissure, it rapidly expanded and spreading until...
PRANK!
The space shattered like glass, revealing the shimmering expanse of the Zero Dimension. And stepping through it -
"Reina!" Kiana's exhausted face lit up instantly. Forgetting her battered state, she immediately tried to push herself up.
"[Took her long enough...]" Sora muttered, relief evident in her mental voice.
"Ehhhh!!!" Kiana's legs gave out the moment she stood, sending her swaying face-first toward the ground. "Not the face!!"
thud
Instead of hard ground, she collided with something soft - and the familiar scent told her exactly whose arms had caught her.
"Congratulations, Kiana and Sora. You both managed to finish the last training," Reina said softly, gently brushing Kiana's hair.
"[...Huh? The last training?]" Sora immediately caught the wording.
Ever since they began training with Reina, she had mentioned their current training regimen was nearly complete. Kiana had been overjoyed at the thought of escaping those torturous sessions - failing to notice Reina's phrasing about it only being for their current abilities. When they gain new power or Herrscher core that would mean more training.
After enduring four increasingly brutal trials that pushed even the Herrscher of Void to her limits, they reached the fifth and final test - one Reina had postponed, saying it needed preparation. Originally planning to create a low-tier primal beast as their final opponent, Miyuki's timely appearance had provided the perfect substitute.
"Wait what? You mean I'm finally not gonna train anymore??" Kiana's face lit up as she stared at Reina.
"Yeah. So you can get your reward now if you want~"
"Hell yeahhhh!!" Kiana screamed joyfully, hugging Reina tighter and shamelessly nuzzling into her chest.
"[Kiana! Enough! We need to leave NOW!]" Sora's mental shout echoed through their shared consciousness. But Kiana didn't respond.
"Zzzzz....."
A soft snore was the only reply. Kiana had completely passed out mid-hug.
"Fufufu... She's already asleep," Reina giggled, effortlessly scooping Kiana up in a princess carry.
"W-Wait! Don't just carry me suddenly like that!" Sora immediately took control of their shared body, their eyes flashing yellow as the Herrscher persona surfaced.
"Hmm? Do you want to walk, Sora?" Reina teased.
Though her healing powers had already healed Kiana's physical injuries the moment she hugged her, but unfortunately Reina can't heal mental exhaustion.
Of course Sora as herrsher of void doesn't have that issue as she is technically not human and just the personalities of honkai core.
"I never said I wanted to walk! And I'm tired too, so... I'm sleeping!" With a huff, Sora nuzzled into Reina's chest and deliberately closed her eyes.
Within seconds, soft breathing sounds reached Reina's ears - Sora had fallen asleep too.
"~~~"
A gentle smile played on Reina's lips as she watched them sleep peacefully.
"So cute~" She pressed a light kiss to Kiana's forehead while simultaneously casting a protective barrier around them - ensuring nothing would disturb their rest.
Then her expression shifted.
The soft warmth vanished as she surveyed the devastation surrounding them - the shattered remnants of the island, the destruction of Kiana and Miyuki's battle etched into the landscape. The air itself felt heavy with the lingering Honkai energy, thick and potent after two Herrschers had unleashed their full power here.
In another direction, she could see in the distance a giant battleship coming this way at really fast speed. She calculated they would arrive in 37 seconds.
"Hyperion huh... not gonna lie that's really cool battleship especially that moonlight throne cannon is really cool."
"But unfortunately at this point in time Theresa still has grandfather issues so we shouldn't get involved with them yet."
A burst of wind appeared as six dark wings materialized from behind her back.
"It's gonna be a waste if I just leave this honkai energy around~"
Slowly flying up, her six dark wings started glowing purple, the light enveloping her entire wings. Then they began absorbing all the honkai energy around the destroyed island - even the Herrscher of Lust's remaining energy.
While doing that, she also repaired the destruction in the sky where Kiana had literally absorbed all the color. Using her creation power, she recreated the blue sky and clouds, fixing everything until it was back to normal in no time.
"Nice~ blue sky is always so beautiful." Reina nodded in satisfaction after seeing the blue sky again.
She planned to absorb the honkai energy and then leave with Kiana back to the apartment where Mei and Yuna were waiting. It was also the perfect time to explain to them who she was, who Kiana and Sora were, and what honkai really was.
"Huh? They're faster than my calculation?" She suddenly looked toward the side.
Reina turned her head and saw the massive Hyperion looming in the sky, its shadow stretching across the ruined island.
"Huh... It's way bigger than the game version I remember," she muttered to herself, watching the battleship's imposing silhouette.
Meanwhile inside Hyperion's bridge, the atmosphere was completely different. A heavy silence filled the air as everyone stared at their monitors, not daring to speak. Theresa was the first to move, slamming the zoom button until the screen focused sharply on the sight.
"Six wings?"
"A girl with wings?"
"What is that? A new Herrscher?"
Whispers broke out across the bridge as the crew tried to process what they were seeing. The monitors clearly showed a black-winged figure floating effortlessly in the air, those wings actively sucking in all the surrounding Honkai energy while simultaneously repairing the torn sky right before their eyes. None of this matched any known Herrscher behavior they'd seen before.
"Principal, do you have any idea what kind of Herrscher that is?" Himeko asked urgently.
"I... don't know. I've never seen anything like that before." Even for Theresa, who had lived almost 50 years, this winged entity was completely unknown.
"Principal! That... creature is trying to absorb all the Honkai energy scattered around!" a crew member suddenly shouted.
"Check everything! Search Schicksal's database for any records of this winged girl. Activate our defensive systems and raise all shields immediately!" Theresa ordered.
"Principal..." Himeko's voice lowered as she pointed at the screen. "Did you see who she's carrying?"
Everyone had been so focused on the wings that they hadn't noticed Reina was holding someone - someone Theresa recognized instantly.
"What...? That's impossible! Kiana?! Why is she there? Where's Siegfried?!" Theresa's breath caught the moment she saw the familiar white-haired girl - the same child she used to play with, the one Cecilia had entrusted to her care.
Without another word, Theresa bolted from the bridge, sprinting toward the lift to reach the upper deck.
Theresa burst onto the deck, her boots pounding against the metal surface as she sprinted toward the launch platform. Her eyes never left Reina's distant figure - nor the sleeping Kiana cradled in her arms.
"KIANA!"
She ran with everything she had, the massive Oath of Judah rattling against her back with each stride. When she reached the deck's edge, she skidded to a stop - this distance was too far for any attack to reach.
Seeing the winged woman in person was entirely different from the monitors. The oppressive aura radiating from Reina made Theresa's instincts scream in warning. With every pulse of absorbed Honkai energy, the air grew heavier, thicker - until even breathing felt difficult.
'Can I even win this...?' The doubt flashed through Theresa's mind for just an instant before she crushed it. It didn't matter. She'd save Kiana even if it killed her.
Slamming Judah onto the deck, she activated the Divine Key. Twelve golden spears materialized behind her, their tips humming with barely-contained energy.
Theresa stood ready, twelve golden spears hovering behind her as she waited for the winged woman's next move. But Reina simply stared blankly at her, making no aggressive motions even as the last traces of Honkai energy finished being absorbed.
Then suddenly Reina raised her index finger to her lips in a clear "shhh" gesture - and vanished into thin air with Kiana still cradled in her arms. The space where they'd been floating shimmered briefly before returning to normal, leaving Theresa alone on the deck with her weapons still primed.