Alicia is the True Golden Finger in Honkai!

The previous moment, a streak of light flashed by—

"Sorry, I'm a little late."

Gwen diverted a bit of power to help Raiden Mei, who was almost suffocating, catch her breath, and said in a low voice.

"You're... Gwen?"

Although Raiden Mei hadn't seen Gwen in this state before, just hearing his voice made her fear and unease disappear completely. All that remained was a worry that she hadn't yet confirmed the identity of the person before her.

"It's me."

Nodding gently, Gwen said in a voice that had deepened slightly:

"Mei, hurry and leave this place.

As for Kiana, leave her to me...

Otherwise, this Miss Herrscher of the Void won't let us go..."

As he spoke the last sentence, Gwen turned around and looked at the golden-eyed queen who had already lifted off the ground and was quietly floating in mid-air.

"Heh... You know my identity, yet you dare to speak such big words.

Who gave you the courage to disturb my reunion with my other half?"

Leaning casually in mid-air, the Herrscher of the Void spoke leisurely, but there wasn't a hint of leisure in her golden eyes. She stared at Gwen with immense pressure:

"Is it just because you look so inhuman?"

"Heh..."

Shaking his hand forcefully, Gwen, who was in his human-sized form after transforming, took an offensive stance:

"Why don't you just try and find out?"

Before his voice had even fallen, Gwen had already disappeared—

"..."

The Herrscher of the Void, who was about to say something more, widened her eyes slightly. The Herrscher core within her body surged with power, and a void gate swallowed her, making her disappear.

Almost the instant the Herrscher of the Void vanished, the tip of a gun, glowing with a faint light, fiercely shattered the void barrier around her and pierced the space she had just occupied.

Gwen, emitting a faint glow all over his body and charging at Mach speed, missed his attack. Without any hesitation, he quickly adjusted his posture and rushed towards the Herrscher of the Void high in the sky.

Almost simultaneously, a void gate appeared in his original position, attempting to swallow Gwen into the void space. Gwen dodged it by a hair's breadth.

However, this time, what awaited Gwen was not a void barrier that could be shattered with a single strike from the Spark Gun, but the Void Lance, which had the ability to cleave space—

Chapter 36: The Correct Way to Open the Herrscher of the Void

Crack!

Unsurprisingly, the Void Lance was directly shattered by the Spark Gun. However, Gwen's movement was slightly hindered by the Void Lance's obstruction. By the time he reached the Herrscher of the Void's location, she had already vanished without a trace.

"Hmph!"

With the flash of a void gate, the Herrscher of the Void reappeared in another location. Her golden eyes reflected the figure of Gwen, who was shining with a silver light, and she let out a cold snort.

Although the sudden appearance of a massive amount of Honkai energy had temporarily seized control of the body, the Herrscher of the Void's control over this body was not complete—

Kiana's mental state was still relatively normal, and her consciousness was currently fiercely resisting the Herrscher of the Void.

Moreover, this was not her original body after all. Without a period of adaptation, the limited Herrscher core within the body could not provide her with enough Honkai energy to squander. Without the assistance of other gems, it was difficult for the Herrscher of the Void to exert the same level of power as she had when she was a single core in the past.

However, these disadvantages were not enough to make the Herrscher of the Void retreat directly—

Even when facing these unfavorable circumstances, the Herrscher of the Void still possessed her authority as the Herrscher of the Void—

Even if she couldn't directly trap Gwen with infinite void corridors due to the limited source of Honkai energy, and couldn't summon a massive tide of Honkai Beasts, she could still use her powers without any hindrance—

At the very least, before the Queen's Honkai energy was depleted, it would be difficult for Gwen to harm her, who could flicker limitlessly.

However, depleting the Honkai energy of a legitimate Herrscher who hadn't exerted herself excessively would be like trying to reach the sky.

In contrast, although Gwen was constantly on the offensive, fully embodying "swift as the wind" and "burning like fire," chasing the Queen all over the place.

However, corresponding to the fierce offense was a huge consumption—

Even though Gwen's energy consumption to maintain his transformed state was much lower than when he was in his giant form, However, whether it was maintaining Mach speed movement or resisting the Void Lances that could come from any direction, it caused Gwen's transformation time to decrease rapidly—

High-speed combat of the speed type consumed Tsuburaya's budget during the filming of tokusatsu dramas, but in actual combat, it consumed Gwen's energy and stamina.

Fortunately, as a Fusion Warrior, Gwen, compared to a normal human host, not only had stamina far beyond normal human limits but also a considerable reserve of Honkai energy, and his physical condition was quite good. He was far from the point of sacrificing his life.

However, even so, this situation, where he seemed to have the upper hand but was actually helpless against the Queen, made Gwen frown deeply—

If it really came down to a war of attrition like this, he would be the one to collapse first.

As for countermeasures to break through the Herrscher of the Void's authority, Gwen wasn't without them—

Meta Field, a discontinuous spacetime barrier generated by phase folding, perhaps the Queen could break through it quickly with her spatial authority.

However, when facing an unfamiliar subspace, the Queen might not be able to escape immediately.

And with just one chance, Gwen could win the battle.

However, the problem was that deploying the Meta Field required some time, and that time was enough for the Queen to teleport away and escape several times—

Although the battle had only lasted a little over a minute, the two individuals, having clashed countless times, had gained a considerable understanding of each other, knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses intimately—

The Queen had a clear grasp of Gwen's combat power, knowing that most of his beam attacks and his sharp Spark Gun could penetrate her imaginary barrier.

Meanwhile, the Queen, who only possessed the Herrscher authority and lacked sufficient Honkai energy to waste, was unable to break through the defenses of Gwen, who moved at super-high speeds.

Therefore, the Queen completely avoided direct combat, determined to wear Gwen down—

She dodged all of Gwen's attacks, showing no intention of engaging directly, only continuously launching Void Lances to deplete Gwen's energy.

Gwen, in turn, had gained a direct understanding of how troublesome the Queen, who wielded spatial authority, was—

The Queen was simply too good at running. Even while moving at Mach speed the entire time, Gwen couldn't touch her. He was always just a hair's breadth away. Gwen even felt the tip of his weapon brush against her body, only for her to escape through an imaginary gate at the last moment before the fight concluded—

The Queen had also attempted to trap Gwen within an imaginary space to fight him on her home turf. However, Gwen, whose light was ignited by Nexus and who could deploy the Meta Field, was quite sensitive to spatial fluctuations and didn't fall for it.

For a time, the battle reached a stalemate, with neither side able to gain an advantage, engaging in a war of attrition as the Queen had intended.

However, despite having the upper hand in the battle, the Queen felt no sense of ease—

Although she had narrowly dodged Gwen's lunging Spark Gun time and again and hadn't been hit by his occasional beam attacks, the constant sense of impending death made the Queen grit her teeth in hatred towards this detestable human—

She vowed to cut this detestable human into a thousand pieces once she recovered her Conquering Thunder from her other half and stabilized her condition after he was exhausted.

With that thought, stimulated by a sudden sense of crisis, the Queen abruptly turned her head, dodging the Particle Feather Gwen had fired while using his turn to conceal his hand movements. Her figure vanished the next moment.

In response, ten Void Lances shot out towards Gwen's surroundings.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amidst a series of crisp metallic clashes, Gwen swept his Spark Gun, shattering several of the unavoidable Void Lances.

However, Gwen, who was expending a massive amount of energy and whose bat-wing-shaped energy core was already beginning to flicker, couldn't completely evade the remaining Void Lances. One Void Lance, fired at a tricky angle, struck him in the back.

"Heh..."

Sensing her attack had landed, the Queen's golden eyes brightened slightly, and a cruel curve formed on her lips.

"Gwen!"

Below, Raiden Mei, who had witnessed this scene, couldn't help but exclaim—

It wasn't that Raiden Mei hadn't heeded Gwen's advice to stay away from the battlefield.

It was just that the Queen, who effectively held the initiative on the battlefield, had kept the battleground close to Raiden Mei, so she could retrieve her Conquering Thunder immediately after the fight and completely suppress the restless consciousness within her body.

"What? You don't actually think he's gained the upper hand, do you?"

At this moment, a voice that Raiden Mei was not entirely unfamiliar with sounded in her ear.

Chapter 37: Herrscher of Thunder: Heard Someone's Stealing the Spotlight?

However, this time, the voice wasn't just saying things Raiden Mei didn't want to hear, but rather mocking her:

"Think about it, in your sword duels, how many times did you completely suppress your opponent but failed to land a decisive blow, only to end up losing?"

"You mean..."

Raiden Mei, instantly recalling her duel with her father, was slightly taken aback and understood the other's meaning.

"What, the truth is right before your eyes, but you still dare not open them to see?"

The voice, filled with mockery, sounded in Raiden Mei's ear again, making her completely abandon the idea of self-deception and forcing her to face the current reality.

"What, your lover is in grave danger, and you're just going to stand here and watch until he's completely defeated, and then let that Herrscher of the Void take your life?"

Sensing that Raiden Mei was no longer evading the truth, the voice continued to question her in her mind.

"I..."

Immense pressure instantly fell upon Raiden Mei, causing the girl's shoulders to droop slightly, as if her entire spirit had been drained—

While Raiden Mei was conversing with that familiar voice, the battle between Gwen and the Queen had not ceased. Instead, it had become even more intense due to the Queen's increased efforts—

How dare the dignified Herrscher of the Void be suppressed by a mere human for so long? If she didn't retaliate, she would be unworthy of being the Herrscher of the Void!

Spatial rifts appeared all around Gwen, and Void Lances shot towards various parts of his body.

Faced with the suddenly intensified offensive, Gwen's pressure increased dramatically, his energy consumption surged, and the energy core on his chest flickered even more rapidly. Gwen felt waves of irresistible fatigue wash over him.

As his condition continued to decline, Gwen's defense became increasingly difficult, and more and more Void Lances left wounds on his body.

Even though Gwen's blood had transformed into something like golden particles after his transformation, the constantly increasing number of wounds on his body still caused Raiden Mei's heart to clench.

"What, are you really just willing to watch like this..."

Sensing Raiden Mei's emotions, the voice continued to ask.

However, although there was still a hint of mockery in the voice, there was also a trace of dissatisfaction:

"Doing nothing?"

"But what can I do?"

As if pushed to her limit by the voice, Raiden Mei questioned loudly in her mind, venting her fear and self-reproach.

Precisely because she understood her own weakness, Raiden Mei knew even more clearly that she was truly incapable of doing anything in the face of the current battlefield.

"Let me handle it. Leave everything to me."

That voice made no attempt to hide its ambition:

"What you can't do, I can."

"Impossible!"

Raiden Mei refused without hesitation:

"Gwen did all this to prevent me from becoming a Herrscher!"

Although the other party hadn't stated it explicitly, Raiden Mei, who had already vaguely sensed the surging power within her body, guessed what the other party intended to do—

To this, Raiden Mei's only answer was refusal.

"And then you'll just stand by and watch him die, and become a pair of ill-fated lovers together?"

The voice questioned with a hint of exasperation.

Normally, if she were repeatedly described like this with Gwen, Raiden Mei might have argued back.

But at this moment, Raiden Mei had no intention of caring about such trivial matters—

"Even so, I absolutely cannot let you act recklessly and render everything Gwen has done meaningless."

Raiden Mei's reply was quite firm.

"Who do you think you are, you idiot?"

Hearing Raiden Mei's words, the voice felt a sense of relief at the determination of the girl who had nearly collapsed from the bullying around her just a few months ago.

However, as the being who had been with Raiden Mei the longest, she understood how important that scarred figure was to Raiden Mei. She knew very well that if she truly allowed the other party to die here, then even if she were released later and killed that white-haired person, this coward would likely have no will to live properly...

Therefore, the voice berated her:

"The Honkai energy has been absorbed by that woman. Even if you become a Herrscher, it's questionable whether you'll have enough Honkai energy to evolve. And you're still worried about the problems causing the Honkai here?"

"I..."