Far East Demon's Den

Bang! Bang!

Two more dull thuds rang out.

Through the gaps between the Honkai Beasts, Fu Hua spotted a large one.

"Is that a Honkai Emperor? Kiana, this isn't something you or I can handle. Let's go. Our top priority right now is ensuring the survivor's safety."

Having identified the Honkai Emperor, Fu Hua spoke with a grave expression.

The two of them would be hard-pressed to deal with a Honkai Emperor. (But if Kiana and the survivor Xina were taken out of the equation, Fu Hua alone could settle it with one hand.)

Suddenly, Xina frowned. She vaguely sensed the sound of rushing wind beside her ears, while the already gloomy sky darkened even further.

When she looked up, she saw that an enormous battleship had appeared above the three of them at some point.

The massive vessel slowly descended, confronting the Honkai Emperor from afar.

"This is..." Xina's pupils shrank as her wandering gaze finally settled on the tall figure standing at the edge of the battleship.

That person carried a heavy sword so enormous it was frightening, then simply jumped straight down from the sky.

"That's great! It's Aunt Himeko!"

Once Kiana recognized the newcomer, she shouted excitedly.

"Huh!? Aunt? What kind of joke is that? Am I really that old?" The moment Himeko heard that infuriating word, "Aunt," from Kiana's mouth, her chest began to ache faintly. But with powerful enemies surrounding them, she decided to postpone teaching Kiana a lesson.

That was right. Himeko had led the Hyperion here to investigate the Honkai reaction points inside the city, only to run into the Honkai Emperor and Kiana's group by chance!

Leave.

Xina expressionlessly gave the Honkai Emperor an order.

A few seconds later, the Honkai Emperor that had been confronting the Hyperion from afar viciously smashed through several buildings before running off in another direction. The Honkai Beasts of every rank gathered around it also dispersed like a receding tide after losing their leader.

"Phew, they're all gone? Then it's your turn, Kiana!" Himeko put away her greatsword and turned to look at Kiana. The dangerous smile on her face frightened Kiana into quickly hiding behind Fu Hua, trying to use the class monitor's wall of sighs to shield herself from Himeko's wrath.

Did this child think I couldn't see her just because she hid behind Fu Hua?

"..." As Himeko watched Kiana play ostrich, the anger she had barely worked up inexplicably faded away again. She shifted her gaze to Xina and asked Fu Hua, "Fu Hua, is this the survivor you rescued?"

"Yes. She's been with Kiana the whole time."

"In that case, come with us and leave this place first!" Himeko swept her gaze over the devastated surroundings. Naturally, she could not leave a frail young girl like Xina all alone here, so she invited her aboard the Hyperion.

As Xina followed Himeko and the others into the Hyperion, she was stunned by its high-tech interior and futuristic facilities.

If there hadn't been so many people around, she really... wanted to touch everything...

Click—

Recognizing the identities of those approaching, the Hyperion's mechanical command room doors intelligently slid apart, revealing the secrets of the battleship's most vital section to Xina.

As the wondrous doors of the Hyperion slowly opened, it seemed as though they had also opened some bizarrely styled box.

The previously normal Kiana must have seen something she simply could not resist. In an instant, she became a woman of the wind, darting straight past Himeko and Fu Hua as she rushed forward, continuously shouting one person's name: "Mei! Mei! My Mei!"

Mei? Wasn't that the Third Herrscher the Impostor had mentioned? Why was she here too? Could it be...

"?!" Xina watched Kiana's lively, skipping steps, then looked at the unperturbed Himeko and Fu Hua beside her. Curious, she asked, "From the looks of it, you seem to be quite used to this... already?"

"Yes. I'm already used to how close they are." Himeko nodded, apparently agreeing wholeheartedly with Xina's assessment.

As Mei watched Kiana wriggle around in her arms, the helpless expression she had worn softened once more. She raised a hand and gently rubbed the head of the person in her embrace. "Welcome back, Kiana!"

After removing her cumbersome equipment, Himeko poured herself a glass of water from the dispenser. She handed it to Xina and asked the question she had wanted to ask.

"Miss, what is your name? Do you have any family left?"

"My name is Xina. As for my family... um..." Xina thought for a moment before finally shaking her head with a bitter smile. "Setting aside that guy who left my mother and me when I was born, now... I'm the only one left."

"Wuwuwu, living alone... you must have suffered a lot."

Kiana took Xina's hands in hers, and what seemed like tears flickered in her eyes.

She had lost her mother at a young age, while Xina had never had a father. Of course, she understood how difficult it was to live with such an important piece missing.

"Uh, actually, it's fine. Living by myself... is actually pretty comfortable."

Xina expressionlessly told a lie that even she did not believe. If anyone had failed to hear the tremor and hesitation in her voice, they might actually have thought she was telling the truth.

Bronya, who had been sitting in a chair and observing them all this time, spoke as well.

"Bronya used to be alone too, so Bronya knows that feeling is not pleasant. But don't worry. Everything will get better."

"..." Xina lowered her head without saying a word, her fists clenched so tightly that even her knuckles had turned faintly white.

Damn it, why are you acting like this in front of me? Are you pitying me? I'm a Herrscher. I... I don't need your pity!

Feeling humiliated, Xina was both ashamed and enraged. She wanted to openly reveal her identity and then destroy this battleship called the Hyperion.

Then, she would swagger away beneath the astonished, shocked, and fearful gazes of these people who kept talking to themselves.

But... for some reason, when the words of confession reached her lips, Xina silently swallowed them again.

Because she could feel the sincerity of Kiana and the others' emotions.

They were not humiliating her. They were caring for her in the way humans cared for one another.

Yes, caring...

As a human, she had barely ever received such a laughable thing from anyone. Yet after becoming a powerful Herrscher, all these things she no longer needed had begun appearing one after another.

What a tremendous irony.

For some reason, Xina suddenly felt restless, and even the frozen Honkai energy inside her began to stir uneasily.

"Major Himeko! Honkai energy readings are surging! A suspected Herrscher is approaching us!"

"Wow, even two S-Rank Valkyries couldn't hold the Herrscher back? Then we really hit the jackpot this time. Full Ship Level 1 Combat Deployment! Move quickly toward the reaction point! We'll buy the S-Rank Valkyries some time!" Himeko immediately issued her combat orders.

"Fu Hua, take over command. Leave the task of holding off the Herrscher to me!"

With a troubled sigh, Himeko changed back into the armor she had only removed a short while ago. Under everyone's trusting gazes, she carried her greatsword over her shoulder and confidently walked onto the deck.

"Um... Herrschers are supposed to be really strong, right? Major Himeko won't be in danger, will she?" Xina poked Kiana beside her, though her gaze kept circling around Mei.

Something felt a little off, but... one thing was certain: Mei really was a fellow Herrscher.

"Hey, don't worry. Aunt Himeko is an A-Rank Elite of the Far East Branch, and one of the Far East Branch's Two Aces!" Kiana said with a determined expression.

From Kiana's confident words, Xina could see just how much faith she had in Himeko.

"Oh? Two Aces? Who's the other ace?" Xina asked again.

"Of course it's our Far East Branch's Minister, the S-Rank Valkyrie Theresa!" Mei watched Kiana with a smile and added, "This time, aside from Principal Theresa, an S-Rank Valkyrie from Destiny Headquarters has also joined the mission."

S-Rank? And there were two of them!

At those terrifying words, Xina's mouth visibly twitched.

She remembered the Impostor saying that the overwhelmingly powerful Second Herrscher had been held back by Schicksal's S-Rank Valkyrie Cecilia before being blown to death.

According to the combat power conversion formula, the Five-Authority Second Herrscher was slightly stronger than an S-Rank Valkyrie, while she, Xina, was merely a weak, pitiful, helpless Dual-Authority Herrscher.

Five was greater than two, so an S-Rank Valkyrie was definitely stronger than she was.

More importantly, there was more than one S-Rank Valkyrie here this time. There were two. Rounding it off... if she recklessly jumped around, she would be one hundred percent doomed.

At that moment, Xina felt immensely fortunate that she had wisely chosen to leave after creating a target to draw away the firepower.

"Look, Aunt Himeko has already engaged the 'Herrscher'!" Kiana lay across the table, pointing excitedly at the image displayed on the floating screen.