42. Anna (Roshiyen-Only Edition) / 43. Blazing Reed: Hey! I'm Dead-Just Kidding

"Quick, summon your big fox! Let's give chase!"

This was the first time Mei had ever seen Raven so out of control, even though she had been quite calm before.

"She still retains some rationality, but she's afraid of me!"

The Raven's voice betrayed anxiety. "I know this guy too well. Anna's behavior means..."

Something must have happened before!

Chapter 42 Anna (Rakan Limited Edition)

"There's quite a commotion over there, Durandal."

"Mei Raiden is probably going all out. According to Bishop Otto, she is Herrscher has already 'ascended'. Although I'm not quite sure what 'ascending' means, I imagine she should be stronger than a normal Herrscher."

"Then, is Lady Durandal confident that she can subdue her?"

"If I only use Radiant Knight: Bright Knight: Excelsis, I'm afraid I can only be evenly matched with her, but if I switch to Star Armor, I should be able to slightly outclass her."

"Of course, since we're taking off-field factors into account, if I had the paintings Little Xi gave me, defeating her wouldn't be difficult."

"As expected of Durandal."

Rita turned on the communication device that had suddenly started vibrating, and then her expression changed.

"What's wrong, Rita?"

"We've encountered a problem with the Immortal Blade." Rita frowned. "Durandal, along the way, you shouldn't have sensed any aura of the birth of a Judgment-class or Emperor-class Honkai Beast, right?"

"Of course not. If I had, I would have taken care of it long ago."

"That's because the Herrscher of Ice didn't give birth to Companion Honkai Beast, but instead, a relatively rare Companion Honkai Beast appeared."

"These Honkai Beast with their extreme cold power are very troublesome. When they gather together, they create a favorable fighting environment for themselves. The Immortal Blade may be lacking a blade that can break through."

"I see..." Durandal glanced at Ice Herrscher and Mei, who were already chasing each other in the distance, and said, "Then go back and provide support. I'll keep an eye on things here."

"It looks like they're about to start making official contact, it's time for me to lend them a hand..."

"Is your fox any good at all? How come you haven't caught up with it after chasing it for so long?!"

"Flying is definitely faster than running, especially in such extreme environments. Even if Hi-maru wanted to jump, he'd have to be careful not to hit his head..."

On the ground, the giant fox hung far behind Anna. Although the distance between them did not decrease, it was definitely not something that could be easily shaken off.

"Tsk, I have a bad feeling... Anna ran away as soon as she saw me, that's so strange, what's inside that icicle on her back...?"

Raven's eyes showed some impatience. According to her worst-case scenario, Flame Willow would at most be severely injured and then frozen, but judging from Anna's expression, if that ice shard was Flame Willow...

Did Anna accidentally go too far? That's why she had to carry Flame Willow with her at all times to ensure her survival?

Raven subconsciously avoided thinking in the most terrifying direction. On one hand, she subconsciously rejected such a possibility, and on the other hand, she simply couldn't imagine under what circumstances even a newly awakened Herrscher of Ice could kill Flame Willow.

This is a false premise. Given Flame Willow's abilities and Raven's reasonable suspicion, even Durandal might not be able to kill her easily, let alone a Herrscher has just awakened.

Through the thick layer of ice, the Raven had no way of sensing what was inside the ice shard, let alone trying to see it. In other words, to truly confirm what was inside the ice shard, it would have to be opened, or at least the outer layer of black ice would have to be broken...

"Gentlemen, it seems you need some Schicksal assistance?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar communicator rang in Raven's pocket.

"You are... Durandal?"

Raven was naturally familiar with this voice, after all, the beginning of the change in her relationship with Flame Willow was when Durandal chased her.

"That's right, I saw you move around, it seemed like you were chasing her, but it looks like you can't catch her?"

"I'm right in front of her now, and I can intercept her in advance if you need."

"Of course, thank you, Durandal."

The Raven answered hastily.

"It's alright. After all, we're allies now."

As the words fell, a pillar of fire shot into the sky in front of the three of them, and Durandal, who had been waiting for a long time, blocked Anna's path.

Durandal, clad in golden Star Armor, floated in the air, flames already burning on the two golden spears in her hands.

Anna stopped abruptly. Putting aside whether she could recognize Durandal, the other party's aura alone made her an enemy not to be trifled with.

At this moment, Raven and Mei, who had arrived from not far away, surrounded Anna from different directions, blocking her in the middle.

"——"

Before them, Anna let out another indistinct shriek. Herrscherization seemed to have stripped her of her ability to speak, or rather, her words seemed to be distorted by that layer of ice.

The Raven stared at her, as if trying to see her expression through the layer of black ice.

"Let's weaken her power first. She doesn't seem to be able to communicate at all right now... Raven, you play it by ear."

"Don't worry, I'm better than you at seizing opportunities."

Raven attached the Imaginary Interferometer to the launcher in his sleeve, and his figure instantly transformed into a red mist, hiding beneath the thunder and golden flames.

Instantly, energy fluctuations from different sources began to clash and collide with each other. The black ice and flames constantly neutralized each other, and occasionally an ice wall would rise up to block Mei's downward slashes.

In terms of pure strength, Anna is definitely not capable of taking on two opponents at once, but unfortunately, this place is now her home turf, with residual energy overflowing from the Imaginary Singularity everywhere.

For a time, thanks to her advantage of not having to worry about energy consumption, Anna was able to barely maintain the situation by only defending and not attacking.

However, the gap in raw power could not be bridged in the end, and Durandal soon discovered a way to break the deadlock.

Instead of retaliating, she focused on protecting the ice spike behind her... What was that? Her power core? No, Herrscher Core shouldn't be visible outside the body...

Could this be the medium she uses to absorb the surrounding energy?

Durandal released a wisp of flame from the tip of her spear, attempting to casually brush past and obtain the ice shard.

However, Anna quickly reacted and condensed ice crystals to block the attack, even though the flames wouldn't have harmed her otherwise.

A glint flashed in Durandal's eyes; she had completely understood everything.

"Mei Raiden, attract her attention."

"Durandal said in a low voice."

Before she could think about what the other person meant, Mei instinctively reached out and summoned several bolts of lightning, trying to bind Anna to the spot.

Undoubtedly, this move had no effect on Anna, but it created an opportunity for Durandal.

"Stars, gather here—"

The golden giant bow was instantly drawn, and with javelins as arrows, an attack like a golden meteor flew in front of Anna in an instant.

But the attack didn't target Anna; instead, it targeted the ice spikes behind her.

"Don't want--"

This time, for some reason, the three of them understood what Anna was trying to say.

Without hesitation, she stepped in front of the attack herself.

The golden flames instantly expanded and exploded, unleashing a devastating burst of energy that spread outwards.

The effect of this attack was very obvious. Although it is unclear why Anna took the blow for the icicles, the result showed that their operation was successful.

The black ice covering Anna's veil had been shattered, revealing her lifeless eyes beneath.

I've seen too many of those kinds Raven eyes; they mostly come from people whose hearts are ashen.

In an instant, the Raven's unease reached its peak.

With an incredulous expression, she looked at the ice spikes that Anna was protecting behind her.

In the aftershocks of the energy, the outer protective layer of the icicles was shattered, and through the solid ice, the Raven saw a familiar golden glint.

But...

If what you get inside the ice crystal is indeed Flame Willow...

Why is it that now that the ice shards have been shattered, none of the many people present, even Durandal who possesses the Black Abyss White Flower, could sense a glimmer of life?

It was only then that the Raven belatedly realized why the icicle looked so strange, and what it resembled.

According to the customs of Schicksal, the shape of this icicle...

It's practically like a...

Coffin.

Chapter 43 Flame Willow: Hey! I'm dead, I was just pretending.

A moment of tranquility descended upon the scene.

Both Durandal, and Raven, whose Imaginary Interferometer was ready to be used, were momentarily stunned.

Durandal had considered the possibility that the missing Flame Willow might be here, but like Raven, she ruled out the possibility that Flame Willow was dead without hesitation, even more resolutely than Raven.

There's no other reason than that Durandal herself had personally experienced how troublesome Flame Willow was. Although Anna had become the Herrscher of Ice, even now, after awakening for so long, Anna's strength was still just so-so to Durandal.

She had absolutely no idea that Anna could kill Flame Willow, a possibility akin to Rita being single-handedly killed by Stan even when she was prepared.

However, she also clearly saw the lifeless figure within the icicle.

"Anna! Tell me, what's with those Reed?!"

Raven's eyes had turned bloodshot, and she gripped the Imaginary Interferometer tightly in her hand. This high-precision technology was currently undergoing unimaginable stress testing.

Anna's lifeless eyes revealed a sorrowful expression, but this sorrow was extremely faint, just like the consciousness within her body that was about to be overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry, Raven, I'm so sorry..."

"It was my inability to control myself; it was my weakness that killed her..."

"Kill me... I have no face to face you, to face the children..."

"You?!"

"Reed is right, you're a coward!"

Hearing Anna's somewhat self-deprecating words, Raven became even more furious, wishing he could rush up and slap her twice.

"You did something like that, and then you just wanted to die without a word, huh? You two go to the underworld together, leaving me outside to burn paper money for you? Don't even think about it!"

"The Reed saved you not so that you would seek death!"

The Imaginary Interferometer in Raven's hand had already been mounted on an arrow, which was then swiftly shot from the bowstring and flew straight toward Anna's body.

Even at this point, perhaps due to her mercenary muscle memory, Raven remained calm, a stark contrast to her chaotic state of mind.

Flame Willow has been dead for no more than an hour, and Anna has preserved her very well. If we save Flame Willow now and have Durandal heal her with the Black Abyss White Flower...

It has to be said that this is an ideal possibility, but whether it is to try to revive the already dead Flame Willow, or just to check on Flame Willow's condition, or even to bury her, Anna must be defeated first.

Anna showed no intention of dodging the incoming attack; in fact, her very consciousness was seeking death.

However... the decrease in the main consciousness's will to survive means that the Herrscher consciousness will regain control of the body.

An ice wall, like a cage, rose from the ground, quickly blocking the Imaginary Interferometer physically. At the same time, the pitch-black ice, like a leech, began to spread back towards Anna's face.

Oh no...

Durandal knew something was wrong. Otto had once told her that extreme emotions could give people the opportunity to transcend the control of the Honkai Will, just like Anna had already fallen into the state of Herrscherization, but still stubbornly protected this corpse.

She definitely didn't kill Flame Willow intentionally; the most likely explanation is that it was an accident, which is why she kept running away or avoiding battle.

However, extreme emotions are also a double-edged sword. Just like when Kiana first arrived at the Sky, although she suppressed the Herrscher consciousness, she also suffered from a very serious mental illness and was on the verge of collapse at any time.

So... when Anna is truly forced to confront this reality with no way to avoid it, will she be overwhelmed by intense guilt and remorse and lose control?

The answer is undoubtedly yes. The people here know Anna very well. Her weaknesses or vulnerabilities will become sharp swords aimed at them at this moment.

"That's about it."

Flame Willow suddenly stood up.

"Although Rock Herrscher has not yet appeared, we can't wait any longer."

"If Anna's consciousness is completely suppressed now, it will be difficult to pull her out of it later."