Bronya looked at Himeko, clad in her full battle armor, standing protectively before her. An overwhelming sense of security washed over her heart.
It was as if, so long as Teacher Himeko was here, no harm could possibly befall her.
"You did very well, Bronya," Himeko said without turning her head, her greatsword held firmly in hand.
"Hurry back to the Hyperion. Leave this to me."
Flames spread through the darkness.
Like a spark setting a prairie ablaze, like the first light of dawn.
Himeko charged into the horde of Honkai Beasts, swinging her greatsword and turning every beast within her sight to ash!
Her blood was boiling. Her body had never felt so light, and power surged from within her as if it were endless.
The power granted by this Vermilion Knight armor was far beyond Himeko's imagination.
But she also knew that this would be her final battle. Win or lose, her body would collapse after this fight.
So, for now at least, let her have one last glorious battle!
---o---
At that moment, Dr. Tesla's image appeared on the screen, communicating with Himeko.
"The number of enemies is still increasing... What the hell? Even for a Herrscher, this is just cheating, isn't it?"
"Dr. Tesla, are you back on the Hyperion? Huff... I'll hold the enemy off. Get the wounded back to the ship, quickly!" Himeko shouted as she fought against the Honkai Beasts.
"Can the Hyperion even take off?!"
"The portside armor has been stripped, the power room took a direct hit, and the shock absorption system is damaged. It'll take time to restore flight capabilities. At the current conversion rate..." Tesla reported.
"Cut the details, just tell me how much time you need!"
"Three minutes! Hold on for three more minutes, and we can get away from Schicksal!"
"Got it!"
Gazing at the ever-increasing number of Honkai Beasts and zombies on the deck, Himeko took a deep breath and shut off the communication link.
Flames ignited all over her body.
While this armor granted her invincible power, it was also dragging her, step by step, into the abyss of hell.
After slaying an unknown number of Honkai Beasts, the dense swarm before her finally began to thin.
Himeko planted her greatsword into the ground, about to catch her breath, when a cold glint of light flared up from behind.
Himeko reacted instantly, dodging the sword-wielding zombie's attack with a nimble turn before gripping her greatsword and plunging it into the creature's chest.
"Huff... Huff..."
Himeko gasped for air, great beads of sweat rolling down from her forehead. But before they could even hit the ground, they were evaporated by the extreme heat.
The next moment, a mocking and cruel voice echoed in her ears.
"Oh my, you actually blocked it? The show won't be very good if you don't follow the script, you know."
The pitch-black sky was violently torn asunder. The Herrscher's figure, accompanied by a wild dance of lightning, descended from the heavens.
"Kiana..."
Looking at the face that was identical to the girl in her memories, Himeko couldn't help but whisper.
"I've finally found you," the Herrscher of the Void said, walking down from the sky step by step, like a noble god descending into the mortal realm.
"The order is a bit off, but no matter. I'll start by killing you."
"Hmph, I've been waiting for you, you bastard Herrscher. Now give Kiana's body back!"
Himeko snorted coldly, immediately grabbing her greatsword and charging toward the Herrscher of the Void.
No more words were needed between them. Battle was the best sermon.
"An ant dares to challenge a god?"
The Herrscher of the Void sneered. With a wave of her hand, countless lances fell from the void.
Himeko remained calm and composed, doing her best to dodge the attacks before leaping high into the air. The crimson flames illuminated half the sky, turning it as bright as day!
The Herrscher's expression didn't change. She raised a hand, summoning her most proficient technique—spatial confinement.
However, to her surprise, the crimson flames were like the demonic fire of armageddon. Her spatial lock was shattered in an instant.
The Herrscher of the Void was stunned. She wanted to escape, but it was already too late.
The greatsword slammed heavily into her. At the last possible moment, she could only manifest a shield with her powers to block the strike.
"Argh!"
In the end, the Herrscher of the Void was sent flying. A few drops of blood trickled down from a wound on her arm.
"What? That armor?"
"Heh... So, gods can bleed and get hurt after all?" Himeko laughed with disdain.
"You... Why won't you just die!" The Herrscher of the Void's face darkened instantly, and a thick killing intent spread throughout the entire space.
"Sorry. I've always been a bit stubborn."
"Damned human!"
"You keep saying 'human, human.' Don't you get tired of it? I have a name. Remember it. The one you are about to face is—Murata Himeko!"
---o---
The two clashed once again. The intersection of sword and lance, the overlap of light and shadow.
The warrior brandished her greatsword, raising a blade of rebellion against the god in the sky!
"Why... You're just a human..."
The Herrscher of the Void grew more frantic as she fought. She felt that this human before her was impossibly tenacious. Her body was clearly on the verge of collapse, yet she simply wouldn't die.
Finally, the Herrscher of the Void was completely enraged.
"If that's how it's going to be, then I'll use all my power to tear you to shreds!"
For the first time, this apostle of a god unleashed her full power.
The atmosphere trembled, and space itself wailed. Everything around her distorted with the eruption of her power!
But, as she focused all her attention on the person before her, she failed to notice a pair of eyes that had been watching her from behind all along.
"System control, ready. Output control, ready. Trajectory control, ready."
"Target, locked. Distance error, adjustment complete."
"Major Himeko, we will not waste the opportunity you've created for us."
"—Fire."
Einstein calmly pressed the button.
In the next instant, a colossal beam of energy poured from the cannon's muzzle, enveloping the Herrscher's body in a torrential downpour of light.
The ultimate weapon hidden on the Hyperion had, at this moment, unleashed its full power against the Herrscher.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The Herrscher of the Void's agonizing scream echoed throughout the space.
The immense Honkai energy she had accumulated vanished in that brief instant.
No, to be precise, it was converted into something else.
It became intense light, it became heat, it became gas, dissipating from her body.
Her very body was being torn apart.
This was Anti-Entropy's ultimate weapon, the most powerful Honkai energy conversion device on Earth—
The Moonlight Throne!
The torrent of photons gradually faded as its energy source was depleted. The Herrscher of the Void was grievously wounded, but she was not dead. She managed to tear open a portal to Imaginary Space and escape.
With that, the video ended.