Olivia turned to face the swarm of flying honkai beasts descending upon them.
She raised her hands, and the air crackled as she prepared to fire spells
Once the silver-haired boy's wound was fully healed… Olivia, along with Bronya, had separated from the others to give them space while dealing with the Honkai Beasts in the background.
"Mei…."
Now 'seemingly' fine, Adam turned to Mei, his expression serious.
"Kiana isn't herself." He spoke in a casual tone- as if he wasn't worried in the least "...So don't hold back in harming her, we need to knock her out quickly."
He raised his arm, a purplish-black vortex manifesting and disappearing quickly
A katana remained in his hand after the vortex disappeared.
Gripping the Katana lightly, he handed it to her
"I…"
Mei hesitantly took the katana with trembling hands, holding it tightly.
"-I won't let you down, Adam!"
She nodded, taking a deep breath to steel herself.
She was still hesitant and confused…. but in this current situation, she needed to ignore anything else and….fight
"Good."
Adam gave her a small, reassuring smile before turning to face the possessed 'Kiana'.
Sirin, the Herrscher of the Void, hovered in the air, her golden, star-pupilled eyes shining.
"How pathetic of you, my other half."
A small, cold grin emerged on the usually cheerful face of Kiana
"So weak, so useless. But don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't suffer…"
She paused, motioning towards her own- or rather- Kiana's body
"-After I kill this worthless male human."
Grin widening, Sirin launched herself at Adam, a plethora of sub-space lances materializing in the air around her hands
The silver-haired boy quickly pushed the purplish-black haired girl behind him to protect her, drawing the sword he had already manifested in his other hand.
"Mei, stay back."
He said calmly, blue eyes staring at the figure of Kiana
"I'll….handle this"
Olivia and Bronya were holding back the countless honkai beasts- and Adam had to fight another Herrscher
….
Staring at the various sub-space lances that had already appeared close to him, he started thinking with [Thought Acceleration]
Actually, he knew he had to end this fight quickly.
Hyperion, with Himeko in tow, should already be on its way.
And he really had to force Sirin back inside Kiana.
Otherwise, convincing Himeko and Theresa- who had both lost important people to the 2nd Herrscher- would be near impossible as of now
….
"...."
Trusting his instinct, Adam activated [Gluttony]-
-A maelstrom of dark abyssal particles shot out from his palm, devouring the sub-space lances infused with spatial attribute that Sirin created with ease.
The lances slowed as they approached the dark vortex- before being absorbed into his body.
'Kiana's' golden eyes widened slightly at this unexpected development
Seizing her momentary surprise, Adam reached out with his magic, extending his control over the ground beneath Sirin.
Tendrils of rock and cement shot up, wrapping around her limbs and torso, pinning her in place.
"L-leave it to me!"
Mei, in a surprising bout of courage, darted forward with astonishing speed and agility.
She brought the pommel of her katana down hard against the side of the golden-eyed girl's abdomen, aiming for minimal yet maximum harm against the possessed 'Kaslana'.
"Hiss…."
The Herrscher of the Void let out a hiss of pain, her eyes flashing with anger.
She thrust her palm forward blindly, unleashing a 'Force Push' that sent Mei tumbling backwards.
Mei crashed to the ground hard, her katana clattering from her grip.
Then, 'Kiana' twirled her hand slightly, three sub-space lances appearing and launching towards the dark-purple-haired girl in an instant
Adam, seeing Mei in danger, rushed forward to intercept the incoming lance.
He dove past 'Kiana', positioning himself between the projectile and Mei.
Slash
One of Sirin's sub-space lance struck true, slicing cleanly through Adam's shoulder
"What's up with Herrschers and their obsession with cutting my arm?!"
He spoke out in frustration as his arm was once again severed.
Fortunately, he was fast enough to reposition Mei in a way the lances wouldn't strike her.
"Adam!"
Mei, regaining her senses from falling, shouted as she saw his arm drop to the ground
"Don't worry. Your other self already did this. One more time shouldn't matter."
Despite the pain of having his arm severed again, he still acted quickly.
He teleported to a safe distance with Mei in a princess carry with a singular arm
The world blurred around them as he teleported away, leaving 'Κiana' and the battlefield behind.
…..
Some distance away, Adam gently set the still-shocked and almost-tearful Mei down, giving her a comforting squeeze on her shoulder.
"Stay here." He gently ordered her "I'll handle the rest."
"N-no!"
The girl aggressively stuttered out this time, a firm look crossing her face
"I can fight-!"
"No"
The silver-haired boy raised his hand, interrupting here
"This world is more complicated than you think, Mei" He narrowed his eyes, looking up to the sky "We need to knock her out quickly- we don't have enough time. If we had, I would have spent time explaining- but we don't have that luxury now"
"B-but-!"
The boy shook his head, putting his hands in his pockets once again. That gesture silenced her
"This is your 'first' time coming in contact with Honkai….."
He shifted his eyes towards 'Kiana'
"You…have potential. But for now, you should stay here to watch and learn."
"...."
…..
"Pathetic…..Hiding away like an insect? As expected of a wretched human-"
Just as 'Kiana' was looking around for Adam and Mei to see where they had gone off to-
"Ah-!"
A sharp cry of pain escaped her as a kick slammed into her back.
"Y-you bastard!"
Staggering forward to her knees, she looked up behind her, glaring up at the boy who kicked her
"You cheating, cowardly, pathetic bastard!"
She stood, still glaring at him with disdain
"But as expected of a wretched human- attacking from behind like that-!"
Adam ignored her, his blue eyes narrowing as he focused his magic.
The air around Sirin began to shimmer and distort, compressing around her. The Herrscher of the Void started to choke and gag as the oxygen was forcibly removed from her immediate vicinity.
"Glrk... gag... w-what... are you doing?!"
'Kiana' gasped out, clawing at her throat as she struggled to breathe.
"I wasn't expecting this to work….."
Her face turned red, then purple as she slowly suffocated.
"But I suppose you're only a half-baked Herrscher now..."
Adam walked towards her, his steps slow but inexorable.
"-After all, true Herrschers don't need to breathe oxygen."
As he drew closer, he raised his hand, and with a sharp chopping motion, struck Sirin's neck.
The blow was precise and powerful, rendering the Herrscher of the Void unconscious.
Thud
Once Kiana's body dropped to the ground, he immediately stopped draining the air from her lungs so she wouldn't die.
This seemed a bit... brutal, but it was necessary given that he had to deal with the Herrscher of the Void, as quickly as possible, without permanently harming Kiana.
"...."
He looked up to the sky, irises flashing a brilliant blue while his sclera turned pitch black
"Indeed….They're coming…."
Adam turned his head towards Olivia and Bronya-
And seeing as they defeated all the honkai beasts, Adam walked towards them, motioning for Mei to come too
…
..
.
Near Nagazora City, in an aerial battleship that was rushing towards the city at high speed.
"How long will it take to reach Nagazora City?"
A mature, red-haired woman asked the adjutant beside her.
"Report!" She saluted, "It will take approximately fifteen minutes to reach the city of Nagazora."
"Fifteen minutes?"
Himeko paused, before nodding
"Then I should…. probably get ready, too"
She handed over the task of commanding the warship to her adjutant, and left the command room.
….
Outside the command room, a petite white-haired girl dressed in a nun's outfit was already waiting for her.
Although she looks like just a young child, the huge golden cross standing behind her clearly reveals her extraordinary identity.
"You really made me wait for a long time, Himeko!"
Theresa Apocalypse crossed her arms under her nonexistent chest, huffing lightly
"...I didn't expect that you would also participate in this mission."
Himeko sighed, patting her head lightly
….
After being picked up by her adjutant on Hyperion, she discovered that the leader of the Far East branch of Shickshal was also on board the ship.
"Of course. This time, the mission is to capture the Third Herrscher alive."
The white haired little girl nonchalantly slapped the hand that was patting her away from her head
"It would be a bit difficult to rely on just that fifth squad of yours- right, Himeko?"
Theresa's face turned serious, her chest puffing in pride
"Besides, if you want to capture the Herrscher alive, my Judas is obviously the most reliable helper!"
As the Key of Binding- the Divine Key from the previous era that was made from the core of the Herrscher of Binding- this cross that possesses the power to restrain Honkai energy is indeed an indispensable force in the capture operation of a Herrscher
"Also, call me Principal when not in private!"
The white haired girl dressed in black nun's clothes stared at her with a small, cute frown
"Yes, yes, yes…"
The red-haired woman perfunctorily agreed
"Though… I haven't seen an actual Herrscher yet." She chuckled, shaking her head "Or rather, with your experience on the 2nd Honkai eruption, you are the only person on this ship who has seen one, right?"
Himeko smiled, teasing her
The last major Honkai Eruption occurred more than a decade ago.
"…I'm not the only one." Theresa shook her head. "There's also another one."
"Hmm?" She narrowed her eyes "Who else…?"
Before Himeko could finish her words, another woman appeared at the end of the corridor.
She had short gray hair, and blue eyes
As soon as she came over, she said:
"Principal, we will soon arrive in Nagazora City. Please prepare for battle as soon as possible."
The person who came was Fu Hua.
She had already put on a black Valkyrie armor and was ready to go into battle at any time.
Although she is nominally only an A-rank Valkyrie…. Himeko, who has sparred with her several times, knows that this woman is far from being as simple as she appears.
-At least, Fu Hua's strength was far above that of herself, who was also an A-rank Valkyrie.
"This can be considered as the full deployment of St. Freya's elite troops, right?" Himeko exasperatedly shook her head. "Is it really necessary to mobilize so many troops?"
"Himeko, this is a Herrscher we're talking about."
Theresa hopped on the chair, bringing up an electronic panel
"In fact, beyond the Herrscher, there's also something…. abnormal."
Frowning, the white haired girl turned around, showing the holographic panel
"What…?"
Himeko's eyes widened
-There, on the honkai filter in the map, were two dots that eclipsed everything else
800-1000HW for the Herrscher
And….. 200-400-556-899-122-420-690 HW
It was a…constantly fluctuating number?
"Why wasn't I informed of this?"
She frowned.
In the sensors of St.Freya Academy, at the time that they had detected the Eruption, only one Herrscher-level reaction had been detected
"Major…" Fu Hua pushed the bridge of her glasses "At first… we simply thought that it was the companion honkai beast of the Herrscher."
Every Herrscher is born with a corresponding Judgement level honkai beast. That was common knowledge, which was verified by the 2nd Herrscher's birth
That's why a major Honkai eruption was so dangerous.
In addition to dealing with the Herrscher themselves, they also had to deal with countless hordes of honkai beasts….Along with a judgment level honkai beast- which typically takes an S-level valkyrie to defeat
"Yep" Theresa nodded, "But judging from the-"
Beep
Theresa's explanation was interrupted by a loud beep from the electronic panel
"...Eh?"
The short, white-haired girl froze, staring at the panel
"They both….disappeared!?"
…
..
.
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A/N:
What are y'all's opinions on Honkai Impact 3rd- as a game?
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