At an altitude of 51,000 meters, Cecilia leaped from the Schicksal transport ship after receiving the coordinates. Inside the hollow at the top of the tornado, she saw the Pseudo Herrscher of Wind.
The Pseudo Herrscher of Wind noticed the outsider Cecilia as well. Realizing she had been tricked, she furiously flung out several razor-sharp wind blades.
Cecilia easily blocked them with Abyss Flower. Raising the enormous lance in her hand high, she hurled it at the Herrscher with all her strength, its flight accompanied by a shrieking whistle.
"Go, Abyss!"
The Pseudo Herrscher of Wind tried to use reversed airflow to create a barrier against the incoming lance, but the counterwind barrier was like paper before Abyss Flower's tip. From above, the Pseudo Herrscher of Wind was pierced clean through, her abdomen utterly annihilated by the lance.
The tornado dispersed after the Pseudo Herrscher of Wind died, and Cecilia, deprived of the airflow, fell toward the ground.
"Quick, catch me, Flower."
The white lance embedded in the earth suddenly flashed with dazzling green light. Thick vines spiraled upward, like a fairy-tale beanstalk reaching the clouds. Lying atop the vines, Cecilia's face flushed slightly.
"Phew, mission accomplished."
"Looks like it's good weather again today."
Watching Cecilia kill a Herrscher with effortless ease, using just one strike, everyone watching the movie from different places fell silent.
"Mom was that strong?" Kiana asked in surprise.
"It can no longer be called simply strong. She was completely unlike everyone else. Even the strongest A-Rank Valkyrie couldn't withstand a single attack from a Herrscher," Bronya analyzed. "Yet Cecilia, who appeared alongside Cheng Lixue, dealt with the Herrscher of Wind so easily."
"Should we say the Herrscher of Wind was too weak, or that Cecilia was too strong?"
"Cecilia is amazing!"
Bronya actually saw a trace of Kiana in Theresa's expression.
Watching herself shine so brilliantly in the movie, Cecilia felt a little embarrassed. She truly did not know how to fight, and Abyss Flower had clearly been a bedtime story she told little Bianka when Bianka was young.
It was about a golden-haired knight in the distant past who wielded a massive lance and embarked on a journey to save the world.
Cecilia's story had made little Bianka especially excited. Holding an umbrella and calling it Abyss Flower, she insisted on accompanying Cecilia to save the world.
"Honey, you're really strong. As expected of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie." Cecilia's face turned completely red at Ziegfried's teasing.
Cecilia's entrance had been built upon Cheng Lixue and Amber's failures.
As the bishop's secretary, Amber had fainted before even seeing the enemy. Cheng Lixue, the strongest A-Rank Valkyrie, had performed terribly and been pierced through the abdomen by a single move from the Herrscher of Flame.
By comparison, Cecilia, who had not been on the battlefield for a long time, had killed a Herrscher in a short time with one strike. The shock she brought was incomparable, and her relaxed appearance as she lay on the vines gave her the bearing of a true powerhouse.
The scene returned to Cheng Lixue. Her abdomen had been pierced by a high-temperature beam, and even standing was difficult. Every nerve and every cell around the wound felt as though it were being scorched.
The Pseudo Herrscher of Flame instantly appeared behind Cheng Lixue, intending to take her life while she had the chance.
Cheng Lixue gritted her teeth, grabbed the Pseudo Herrscher of Flame by the arm, and used all her strength to execute an over-the-shoulder throw. Raising her right leg high, she viciously kicked the Pseudo Herrscher of Flame in the abdomen, making her cough up blood.
"It's not over yet. Even without Ruoshui, I can rely on the Cunxin Fist my master taught me..."
Faced with Cheng Lixue's final counterattack, the Pseudo Herrscher of Flame flew into a rage.
The blazing flames became a sea of fire. Within them, two feathers drifted down slowly. A familiar figure in a trench coat picked up Cheng Lixue, and with a single step, the flames scattered as if they had met a formidable enemy.
Fu Hua gently laid the unconscious Cheng Lixue on the grass. The Pseudo Herrscher of Flame, who had been ignored all this time, angrily raised her hand. Flames engulfed Fu Hua and Cheng Lixue, seemingly setting the entire grassland ablaze.
With a wave of Fu Hua's hand, the flames were dispersed. She did it so casually that it was as if she were the true master of fire.
As Fu Hua emerged from the flames, her outfit had changed. The loose grayish-yellow trench coat had become a fitted white-and-red short robe, and her hair had turned white. Behind her, a Garuda bird made of flames let out a long cry.
"A very, very long time ago, I also encountered a Herrscher who controlled flames..."
Fu Hua instantly appeared before the Pseudo Herrscher of Flame. She lightly placed her hand on the Herrscher's abdomen and braced herself with her right foot behind her. With a deafening boom, the earth around Fu Hua sank inward.
"Compared to her flames, what you control is nothing more than a feeble spark."
The Pseudo Herrscher of Flame was defeated.
"Class Monitor..."
Kiana did not scream or make a fuss, which made the straightforward Fu Hua wary.
"Class Monitor, every one of your appearances comes with feathers. Add in your transformed appearance and that firebird... could your character setting be some kind of bird demon?" Kiana asked curiously.
Fu Hua stiffened. Her fists stiffened.
"That's just a weapon!"
"Oh my, I never expected Hua to be so strong in the story. That's wonderful~" If anyone else had said it, it would have sounded sarcastic, but coming from Elysia, it sounded sincere instead.
"Fu Hua seemed to appear in the Previous Era records Ziegfried saw as well. Could she have survived from the Previous Era into the Current Era?" Mei pondered. "Then the Herrscher who controlled flames that she said she had encountered must have been the Herrscher of Flame from the Previous Era."
Yaqing curled his lips. This was why he hated watching movies with smart people. They guessed everything.
"She defeated a Herrscher with one punch. Cool." Unlike Mei, who was deep in thought, Kevin only thought it was cool.
After ending the battle, Fu Hua held Cheng Lixue. Listening to Lixue mutter about the enemy despite her severe injuries, Fu Hua told her not to worry. She had already used the Eighth Divine Key, Feather of the Wind, to take over the Herrscher's consciousness and make her sink into an illusion.
Within the Pseudo Herrscher of Flame's consciousness, she believed that she was already dead. Her soulless body was nothing more than a breathing corpse.
Just as Fu Hua was comforting Cheng Lixue, a familiar black hole appeared in midair. A large white hand extended from it, grabbed the Pseudo Herrscher of Flame by the cape, and pulled her back inside.
"That white hand belongs to the Second Herrscher!"
"Another new Divine Key has appeared. The Eighth Divine Key controls brain signals and governs consciousness. Each weapon is more terrifying and bizarre than the last," Mobius said.
"The ones that have appeared so far are Judah's Oath, Star of Eden, Judgement of Shamash mentioned by Einstein, and now Feather of the Wind and Ruoshui." Vill-V counted on her fingers. "Other than Ruoshui and Judgement of Shamash, which has not yet been used, every Divine Key is extremely terrifying."
"Wait, Vill-V, there's also the Abyss Flower in Cecilia's hands." Mei reminded her, "Did you forget? The lance beside Kevin in the fifty-thousand-year-old memory Ziegfried saw."
God Cannot Stop Me Either
The scene returned to Novosibirsk. Orange goggles smashed against the ground and shattered into several pieces. Black mist corroded Amber's arms, and just as she could no longer hold on and was about to collapse, a hand wrapped around her shoulder.
"Lord Otto? Why are you..."
Amber stared at the newcomer in surprise.
Otto extended his right hand, and a bright golden glow shone in his palm. The golden light continuously merged and split apart, swiftly forming a mimicry Abyss Flower. It dispersed the black mist around Amber, told her to return to headquarters for treatment, and stayed behind alone to have a chat with Miss Herrscher.
Otto's casual dispersal of the black mist frightened the Pseudo Herrscher of Death. Combined with Otto's smiling-tiger demeanor, when Otto approached her, Miss Herrscher actually took an instinctive step back.
Otto seemed quite skilled at placating little girls. He somehow pulled a HOMU doll from behind his back, drawing the Pseudo Herrscher of Death's attention. However, she could not fully control her power, and the moment her fingertips touched the doll, Honkai energy corroded it into black ash.
While the Pseudo Herrscher of Death panicked, Otto swiftly moved behind her and covered her eyes with his hand. As he continuously soothed her heart, he used mimicry Feather of the Wind to control Miss Herrscher's consciousness.
"Abyss Flower and Feather of the Wind... Otto could use two Divine Keys at once?" Vill-V quickly denied her own idea. "No, the color did not change. It still looks like a Divine Key, but it can transform into other Divine Keys."
"Doesn't that seem familiar?" Mei suddenly understood. "All of Otto's Divine Keys are very similar to the Herrscher of Reason's authority, while Kevin's Judgement of Shamash resembles the Herrscher of Flame. Then I suspect every Divine Key represents a type of Herrscher authority. Is that right?"
Mei looked at Yaqing, who nodded helplessly.
"Just as I thought." Mei adjusted her glasses and continued, "Reasonably speaking, Ruoshui represents the authority of a Herrscher of Water, Judah's Oath should represent a power of detection, Star of Eden is related to gravity, and Feather of the Wind is related to consciousness."
Mobius disdainfully curled her lips and silently leaned over the back of Yaqing's seat.
"I never expected even Herrschers to fear Otto. What a terrifying man," Kevin said. He hated the feeling of being toyed with in someone else's palm—except when it was Mei—so he did not like people of that kind.
"But in a world like Honkai, where humanity could perish at any time, leaders like him are indispensable," Su said objectively.
"I know," Kevin said.
Otto entered the Pseudo Herrscher of Death's consciousness space. The First Divine Key, Void Archives, transformed into Otto's childhood form, except all the exposed skin was pure black nothingness, including the featureless face.
"Not bad. You entered her consciousness so easily..." Void Archives was puzzled by what kind of creature the person before him was. She clearly possessed the Herrscher of Death's ability to decompose everything, yet her power was not even half that of the Herrscher of Death.
Void Archives asked whether they should explore her memories as before and take on the form of the person closest to her.
"Unfortunately, not this time."
Otto had already explored the Pseudo Herrscher of Death's memories with mimicry Feather of the Wind. She was neither a Herrscher nor a human, merely a puppet injected with Herrscher power. She could not revive Kallen either.
At that thought, Otto's formerly kind smile vanished completely. His expression turned ruthless as he thrust his hand through the Pseudo Herrscher's abdomen and forcibly tore out the Herrscher Gem.
"Then I can only study the Herrscher of Death's core myself and search for a way to revive Kallen."
Looking at the Herrscher Gem crushed in his palm, Otto realized that this Herrscher core was fake as well. Seeing the large white hand extend from the black hole, he understood that the Herrscher of Death's core was still with Sirin.
"Heh, have you come to retrieve this puppet?"
Otto sneered. Void Archives once again mimicked Judgement of Shamash. He joined the grips of the twin pistols together, and beneath the blazing flames lay Otto's long-frozen heart.
With one slash, Otto severed the giant white hand. Pointing the blade at the black hole, he declared war on Sirin as he looked at the Pseudo Herrscher of Death, who had lost all signs of life.
"No one can prevent my reunion with Kallen..."
"Not even a god!"
Otto was utterly serious at that moment, his eyes filled with ruthlessness and coldness.
"He's actually a devoted lover?!" Walter Yang's eyes widened in disbelief. A moment ago, he had been a great villain; now he had become a warrior fighting for love and challenging the gods.
"Although I hate the Otto in the story, I have to admit that he was genuinely cool at that moment!" Kevin said excitedly.
"I never expected Otto's combat power to be so terrifying, but..." Mei frowned as she watched his initial gentleness turn into coldness once he discovered he would not get what he wanted. He discarded her as casually as if she were not a life at all. "How realistic."
"So Otto's goal is to revive that woman named Kallen?" Su asked.
"Probably." Sakura sounded uncertain. "In reality, Otto and Kallen have been married for decades and are very loving, so if Kallen died in the story, it would make sense for Otto to become like this."
"Hmph, not bad."
"The First Divine Key..." Vill-V stared at the Divine Key, which seemed to possess self-awareness, and fell into thought.
"Something like an online personality consciousness?" Mobius looked at Yaqing.
Yaqing did not know how to explain it either.
"So imposing." Even Otto himself could not help sighing.
"Otto, I..." Kallen was stunned. She finally understood why Yaqing had not asked her to do voice acting. "I... died in the story?"
Otto put an arm around Kallen's shoulders and comforted her. "Don't worry, Kallen. Even if I have to overturn the laws of the world, I will definitely revive you."
"Pfft." Kallen smiled. "Otto, you're being so chuunibyou right now. Did you put yourself into the role?"
Before Kallen, Otto had never been the all-powerful ruler of Schicksal, but merely a shy great inventor.
"Judgement of Shamash, the Divine Key with the greatest destructive power."
The man's silhouette raised a flaming greatsword high.
"When its Zeroth Rated Power, {Shamash Unleashed}, is activated, the surging flames will burn both its wielder and their enemy to ashes."
A coffin was surrounded by white flowers.
"Over the past fifteen hundred years, twenty-three warriors of the Kaslana family have sacrificed their lives to protect humanity."
Ziegfried, whose consciousness was linked to Honkai Steel data, watched his Kaslana ancestors fight without sparing their lives until their final moments. He did not know what he felt as the Honkai Steel data continued downloading, but at last, he saw the battle against Finality on the moon.
"The Divine Key with the greatest destructive power..." Vill-V analyzed. "It looks like it was created specifically for combat."
Kevin's eyes were already shining.
Before you continue