The Crimson Oni... Or Rather, Rin?

In an instant, the light in Yae Sakura's eyes vanished. The pink fox ears atop her head drooped listlessly, and all vitality seemed to leave her.

"Miss Shrine Maiden?"

Gwen asked softly.

"I'm sorry. I lost my composure..."

Her eyes felt slightly sore, yet no tears fell. Yae Sakura's voice had become somewhat hoarse, but she still tried to speak as calmly as possible.

"I should be the one apologizing... Miss Yae Sakura."

Gwen said softly, his voice carrying a hint of remorse.

"No, I should be thanking you."

Shaking her head, Yae Sakura no longer had her previous coldness and wariness. She looked fragile and helpless.

"Thank you for telling me where Kallen is. Thank you for letting me know that, even after five hundred years, there are still people moving forward because of her inspiration..."

Perhaps realizing that she was not in a very good state, Yae Sakura hurriedly continued.

"Did you mean that you can completely resolve Hiyori Maru?"

"I've never tried it before, so I can't be certain. But it's worth trying."

Gwen gently shook his head. He did not give an absolutely certain answer, yet his words carried an air that inspired trust.

"Mm... Forgive my presumption, Mr. Gwen, but that person who was fighting over there earlier... the one floating in midair... was he also one of the Schicksal people you mentioned?"

Hearing this, Yae Sakura pondered for a moment before continuing her question.

"Unfortunately, that was me."

Gwen answered with a smile.

"I see..."

Hearing that, Yae Sakura gained confidence in Gwen's strength. Even if they failed and Hiyori Maru controlled her again, it would not cause much destruction.

"The, what do you need me to do?"

The only pillar supporting her heart had died more than five hundred years ago. Now that an opportunity to end it all lay before her, Yae Sakura no longer wished to continue living through the nightmare that had tormented her for over five centuries. She chose to accept Gwen's help.

"If Miss Yae Sakura doesn't mind, please wait here for a moment."

Seeing Yae Sakura cooperate so readily, Gwen let out a breath of relief. If he really had to fight Yae Sakura first, it was not that he could not win. He was simply afraid Hiyori Maru might pull some trick.

"Alright."

Yae Sakura nodded and stood where she was, filled with anticipation for the nightmare that had plagued her for five hundred years to finally end.

Amid brilliant light like a river of stars, Gwen completed his transformation, taking on a form that carried a faintly sacred aura. Yet compared to a god, he looked more like a warrior.

"Please don't be nervous. This is merely a necessary measure to prevent Hiyori Maru from causing greater trouble."

As he spoke to Yae Sakura, the Nexus Armaments on Gwen's arms lit up, and he swiftly deployed the Meta Field.

Though its range and intensity had dropped to a rather worrying degree compared to when Nexus had been with him in Kozukuri Town, it was still enough for the sealed Hiyori Maru.

Then, just as the light of the Meta Field had descended halfway, Yae Sakura, who had seemed highly cooperative throughout her conversation with Gwen, suddenly began to change—

Dark crimson Honkai Energy abruptly enveloped Yae Sakura's body. Her formerly clear eyes were replaced by dark red, and the shrine maiden robes that were damaged in several places gained an additional bewitching air.

Behind Yae Sakura, an evil, demonic shadow appeared, its entire body shrouded in dark crimson mist and radiating an ominous presence—

With her mind overly relaxed, Yae Sakura was unsurprisingly controlled when Hiyori Maru suddenly erupted.

"Watch out!"

A cry of alarm reached Gwen's ears, but that was all the help Yae Sakura could offer.

Having temporarily seized control of the body while Yae Sakura's mind was relaxed, Hiyori Maru did not hesitate in the slightest. She stepped forward, her figure shooting toward Gwen as she charged at the one who had deployed the Meta Field.

The cursed blade at her waist, likewise stained with an ominous glow, had already left its sheath. Held in Yae Sakura's hand under Hiyori Maru's control, it stabbed fiercely toward Gwen.

It was not that Hiyori Maru did not want to escape. But compared to being hunted by the person in front of her and then blocked by a crowd, she felt it would be better to deal with this person first.

Moreover, Hiyori Maru had reason to believe that even if this person could use equipment to destroy another Simulated Herrscher and level an entire school, without that equipment now, her blade would definitely pierce straight through him.

Once that happened, whatever he wanted to do would become meaningless.

However, just as "Yae Sakura" arrived before Gwen with a savage smile that ruined her beauty, about to drive the cursed blade in her hand into his body, she discovered that Gwen had no intention of dodging. A bad feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

The next moment, just as Hiyori Maru had expected, the cursed blade in her hand, wreathed in an ominous glow, was violently smashed out of her control—

The light on the Nexus Armament around Gwen's arm faded, concealing its achievement and its name.

Before Hiyori Maru could recover from the pain in her hands and her shock, Gwen firmly restrained her amid a dizzying whirl of motion—

Although Valkyries were combat forces specialized against Honkai, and the dangerous enemies commonly encountered in Honkai were massive Honkai Beasts, that did not mean Valkyrie training lacked hand-to-hand combat techniques.

Perhaps he was far inferior to the Old Immortal in martial arts, but it was more than enough to handle a Hiyori Maru blinded by hatred.

And so, Yae Sakura... or rather, Hiyori Maru, entered another world in such a miserable state...

"Ha... It seems my dear friend had another trick up his sleeve."

At Schicksal Headquarters, Otto watched the footage transmitted by satellite and revealed a cheerful smile.

For Gwen's mission this time, Otto had been paying attention from beginning to end.

After all, Gwen's importance to Otto now had even surpassed Kiana's.

Though he had considerable faith in Gwen's strength, his opponent was still the Simulated Herrscher who had made Theresa suffer a defeat, so Otto paid it a little more attention—

Otto only wanted to test Gwen's actual combat capability and prepare for his promotion. He did not want his number one tool to lose his life.

And just as Otto had expected, a mere Simulated Herrscher had almost caused Gwen no trouble at all.

However, just as Otto was about to turn off the satellite feed, Gwen's actions drew his attention to a figure that seemed completely out of place in the surroundings—

Because of the shooting angle, Otto could not clearly see the other party's appearance.

But judging from Gwen's actions, Otto could not help but feel curious.

Then Otto saw Gwen deploy the Meta Field, and with a flash of light, both figures disappeared.

"Did he open an Imaginary Space?"

Otto gently rubbed his chin as he began considering the abilities Gwen had displayed.

"Doesn't seem like it...

It looks more like his own special ability...

Heh... How interesting..."

Limited to remotely captured satellite footage, Otto was unable to deduce anything useful.

Otto did not feel the slightest anger over Gwen so openly holding something back.

On the contrary, if Gwen were like Otto's other old friend and still failed to leave any backup measures even after knowing exactly what kind of person Otto was, Otto would find that strange.

After all, there were far too few people as simple and unpretentious as that old friend.

Thinking this, Otto dialed a contact marked "Old Friend."

"What is it, Otto?"

The call was answered quickly, and a calm voice came from the other end.

"My dear old friend, don't be so cold..."

Compared to Fu Hua's calmness, Otto's tone was far more enthusiastic—if exaggerated.

"Get to the point. I'm very busy here."

Although there were no survivors in the Honkai-affected area because of the Simulated Herrscher's poison, the Valkyries of the Far East Branch were still overwhelmed with work.

Although she had the Feather of Dust to provide cover, Fu Hua did not want to chat idly with Otto at a time like this.

"Alright, I do have a small matter that needs my old friend's help."

Otto showed no embarrassment as he said with a smile.

"I'll send you an address. It's within the restricted area. Go investigate whether there is anything unusual there. You don't need to do much.

Mm... Just investigate it.

Take care with protection. Although that Simulated Herrscher has already been destroyed, the poisonous mist will not disperse so easily."

Though thinking it was perfectly normal for Gwen to hold something back, it was also perfectly reasonable for Otto to investigate a little, right?

"Alright, I understand."

With that response, Fu Hua directly ended the call.

"The surprises you bring me truly never end, my friend."

As he said this, Otto's gaze returned to the screen.

At that moment, it was empty. There was only a stretch of ruins covered by faint poisonous mist...

"You little bastard..."

Behind Gwen and "Yae Sakura," who were tightly entangled, the bewitching fox shadow bared its teeth, its blood-red eyes glaring viciously at Gwen.

"How does this place feel? Would you be willing to fill out an experiment form for me?"

Black mist continuously surged from the restrained Yae Sakura toward Gwen. Yet Gwen, whose body glimmered faintly with light, ignored it completely and even had the leisure to tease Hiyori Maru.

Now that they were inside the Meta Field, Gwen had much more room to spare. As long as he dragged things out for a little longer, the Meta Field's energy absorption effect would drain Hiyori Maru's pitifully small energy reserves, at least by the standards of a conventional Herrscher.

When that time came, dealing with her would become much easier.

"Die!"

Perhaps Gwen's words had angered her, or perhaps she had seen that simple black mist attacks were ineffective. Hiyori Maru made a new move—

The black mist that had originally rushed toward Gwen all changed direction and poured into the enormous fox shadow's body, causing it to rapidly solidify until it even gained a physical form.

"A last struggle?"

Looking at the giant fox, far uglier and more ferocious than the fluffy red-and-white fox from the game, Gwen muttered softly. The moment it extended its claws, he acted. His left hand still restrained Yae Sakura's body, while his right hand was raised high as blazing light gathered.

Boom!

The next instant, as Gwen swung his right arm, a golden Lightning Spear shot forth. It instantly crossed the short distance between them and collided with Hiyori Maru's raised claw.

Then, without the slightest surprise, the claw that collided with the Lightning Spear was pierced through and shattered inch by inch.

After shattering Hiyori Maru's claw, Gwen's Lightning Spear did not lose momentum. It pierced through Hiyori Maru's massive body as well, leaving behind a sizable transparent hole.

Black-red mist spread out from that hole, but it did not drift far before dissipating. After losing a portion of itself, it became part of what sustained this field.

Within these ancient ruins, Gwen held the beautiful shrine maiden with her damaged robes in one arm as he faced the vicious beast he had severely wounded with one hand. It truly created a somewhat epic scene.

However, in the next moment, Gwen's right hand, the one that had thrown the Lightning Spear, suddenly pressed down and seized a pale, bonelessly soft hand—

"Feigning weakness to lure the enemy, then striking east while attacking west. It seems you haven't spent these years in vain, Hiyori Maru."

Lowering his head to meet those eyes glowing with a bewitching light, Gwen said with a soft laugh.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Hiyori Maru, whose scheme had been exposed, was about to say something when Gwen continued.

"Or should I say... Ling?"

"..."

In an instant, Hiyori Maru swallowed back the long string of curses she had prepared.

Yet an aura even more terrifying than the demonic fox suddenly erupted from "Yae Sakura." The malice and evil that rushed toward Gwen nearly made him think of Dark Luciel, resurrected through wicked thoughts—

Of course, it was merely a similarity in aura.

"Do not mention that name!"

An incredibly shrill voice came from "Yae Sakura," overflowing with hatred and malice.

"I am a Herrscher!

I am the apocalypse!

I will make the humans who imprisoned me and killed me pay a painful price!