Noticing that the core had shattered, Bella's expression changed drastically.
"Nicholas..."
Shub lay amid the ruins, looking at the blue specks of light in her palm. She slowly closed her eyes. At the brink of death, all she could think was that she had successfully avenged Salome.
Shigure Kira forced herself to her feet, staggering as she tried to completely destroy Benares's core. But Benares was nowhere to be seen.
"Must... stop it..."
"Damn it... my body already..."
Shigure Kira collapsed, her fate unknown.
"They were all warriors worthy of respect," Kevin said.
"Hmph. Not bad," Kalpas said.
"They... they all died?" Kitty said in disbelief.
"Bad Yaqing!" Elysia pointed at Yaqing indignantly. "Didn't you say this was a bright, uplifting story?!"
Yaqing glanced away.
Mobius, who loved watching trouble unfold, grabbed Yaqing by the forehead again and forcibly turned him back.
"Uh..."
"I guess we've wrapped filming too," Shub said.
"We have. No idea about Kirara, though."
Once the core cracked, Benares would revert to an emotionless Honkai Beast. She forced herself to return to Sirin's side. Crawling across the ground, Benares had none of the imposing presence she had when she first appeared.
"Queen... will be sad..."
Bella closed her eyes, and her core shattered as well.
"Bella!!!!"
The Eve of the Final Battle
Still immersed in the illusion, Sirin lay on the bed, hugging a Benares doll. Though she was a Herrscher meant to destroy the world, she had become intoxicated by humanity's beauty. She was lost.
Then, tears seeped from the Benares doll's eyes in Sirin's arms. It turned into purple light and vanished. Sirin panicked and tried to contact Bella, but all that answered her was Bella's final murmur.
"I'm sorry, Queen..."
"I can't keep my promise to stay by your side forever."
"Please don't be sad for me..."
Sirin panicked. She was afraid that her last friend would leave her too. But at that very moment, someone knocked on the door. Outside, Siegfried asked how she was doing. The instant she heard his voice, Sirin's rage ignited.
"This man..."
"He was the one who cut Bella's wings!"
"That's right! It must be! These insects tricked me. They used a happy life to deceive me, and then..."
"They took the chance to kill Bella!"
Sirin knelt on the bed as a Spear of the Void formed in her palm and shot out. Before Siegfried outside could react, a tremendous force slammed into his chest. As the world spun around him, he realized he had been blasted into the courtyard.
"Dear, you're back?"
Siegfried returned carrying a cake nearly half a person tall. He placed it on the table and looked at the excited Sirin and eager Bella. Cecilia handed cake to the children, and the happiness of his family filled his heart with joy.
"Here~"
Bella, ever the most polite, handed Siegfried a slice of cake.
"Thank you," Siegfried said, taking it.
"You're welcome~"
Bella scampered away, accepted another freshly cut slice from Cecilia, then sat beside Sirin. She nibbled at her cake while eagerly watching her own wrap-up scene.
Sirin floated in the air, staring coldly at Siegfried. Just as she raised her hand and prepared to kill him with the Spear of the Void, Cecilia lunged forward and saved him, urging Sirin to stop.
Cecilia's agile movements and calm demeanor made Sirin realize that Cecilia had never been hypnotized by the Feather of the Wind. Her mentality completely collapsed as she concluded that Cecilia had been deceiving her all along.
Just as their negotiations were about to break down, Walter suddenly appeared and briefly restrained Sirin. He helped up the injured and unconscious Siegfried, then left with Cecilia. Not far away, Walter realized that Siegfried was in trouble. If he died in the illusion, he would die in reality as well.
Cecilia also explained why she had not been controlled by the Feather of the Wind. Having frequently sparred with Fu Hua, she had developed resistance to illusions. Therefore, she knew that to leave the illusion, they had to obtain Sirin's permission.
"That's right."
Having broken free of Walter's control, Sirin pursued them again. She floated in the air, staring coldly at the three of them. Walter stood before the other two once more without the slightest hesitation and directly activated the Moonlight Throne.
"Walter isn't going to... sacrifice his life again, is he?" Sakura asked in a more tactful way.
"Probably not, right? How many times has this been already?" Pardo said uncertainly.
"Someone really does keep sacrificing his life," Kevin remarked.
"Mmh..."
"Mei, you're awake?" Kevin looked at Mei as she opened her bleary eyes.
"Is the movie not over yet... How long was I asleep?" Mei asked groggily.
"Not long. Less than half an hour," Kevin replied.
"Aunt, where's your big moment?" Kiana was already tired from watching. This movie was way too long. Lying in Mei's arms, she asked listlessly.
"Don't rush, don't rush," Theresa said. Though she told others not to rush, she was more anxious than anyone.
"Ha~" Little Knowledge silently stood up.
Fu Hua looked over at her in confusion.
Bronya stood up, took a blanket, and covered Himeko, who was drunkenly snoring in her sleep.
Walter reviewed his old plan. He had won the first round of his gamble, but in the second, he had no hope of winning. Having lost his physical body, once Sirin, who had obtained the Feather of the Wind, discovered him, he would be completely annihilated. So he had to find the right opportunity.
He notified Einstein to pilot Ahalato over and intended to find a chance to send the Siegfried couple out of the illusion. But Sirin's sudden attack interrupted his plan. To save Siegfried, he had no choice but to reveal himself.
The activation of the Moonlight Throne caused Sirin immense pain and also opened a connection between the illusion and reality. Walter told Cecilia to leave with Siegfried while he stayed behind to deal with Sirin.
"Walter... I never thought I'd see you again."
As they were leaving, Siegfried woke up.
"That's great..."
"Goodbye... Siegfried."
Black-red energy gathered in Walter's hand. He would risk his life to continue the battle on the moon.
"Now Yang should finally be wrapping up." Unlike Einstein's wrap-up, Tesla had grown used to Walter Yang's fate. She even suspected Walter Yang would pop out of some unknown scene later on.
"Yang's vitality truly is remarkable." Einstein took a sip of coffee and said, "I even suspect that everyone in Anti-Entropy could leave the stage, and Yang would still be alive. Is that the benefit of being a partner?"
Joyce joked, "If I'd known, I would have personally gone to negotiate with that young director. I wouldn't have ended up as background scenery."
Walter Yang said, "I didn't rig anything. When Yaqing gave me the script, that was already the character setting. I only adjusted a few details."
"Oh~" Einstein raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Including the details of dancing together?"
"Uh..." Walter fell silent.
At the bottom of the Tower of Babylon, Siegfried and Cecilia woke from the illusion. The moment they opened their eyes, they saw Theresa waiting nearby.
The scene shifted to Einstein inside Ahalato. She analyzed Sirin and explained the current situation to the audience. The Moonlight Throne had not completely stripped Sirin of her Honkai energy as expected, but it had weakened her connection to the Herrscher core.
"Hold on, Ahalato."
"And... Joachim!"
Inside the illusion, Walter Yang fell before Sirin once again. Just as Sirin prepared to deliver the killing blow, her expression suddenly changed. She sensed the power within her dissipating. In reality, Ahalato had successfully stripped away one Herrscher core.
The Spear of the Void pierced Walter's chest. Sirin snorted coldly, woke from the illusion, and smashed Ahalato to pieces with a powerful punch. Standing atop the steel wreckage, Sirin was about to kill Einstein when a golden chain shot toward her, dodging the incoming vines.
"Cecilia, you came too..."
Sirin looked sadly at the three warriors holding their respective Divine Keys, especially Cecilia. Seeing Cecilia assume a fighting stance completely broke Sirin's heart. Just as Cecilia was about to say something, Sirin's power erupted.
When they opened their eyes again, the two found themselves in a new space.
In reality, only Theresa remained.
"Just as expected, Walter died again. Sakura, want to make a bet? I bet he won't be written out that easily," Pardo said leisurely.
"No, I'm betting he won't be written out just like that either." Sakura could also sense that it would not be so simple.
"When someone is killed, they die," Kalpas snorted coldly.
"Unfortunately, that applies to everyone except Walter Yang," Kevin said with a smile.
The Demon Who Seeks Revenge Against Honkai
"Judah's Oath, Zeroth Rated Power, activate!"
After Theresa's firm, forceful declaration, the screen cut to one of Otto's memories. In the Schicksal archives, he had looked up records left by the previous civilization. The Herrscher of Binding was a typical "anti-Herrscher." Within her barrier, all Honkai energy would be nullified.
Warriors implanted with Honkai Beast genes would die within a minute of entering the barrier. Ordinary soldiers would also die when their bioelectricity disappeared. Any weapon with an electronic system would be unusable within the barrier.
It was precisely the existence of this "anti-Herrscher" that led Dr. Mei to propose the concept of the Collapse Consciousness.
"That's way too targeted against people," Pardo complained.
"Because humanity mastered the ability to use Honkai energy, a Herrscher capable of nullifying all Honkai energy was born. Isn't that reasonable?" Mei counted on her fingers. "Senior Mobius, so you really don't think there could be a Herrscher capable of forcibly controlling nuclear bombs?"
Mobius gripped the armrest tightly, an ominous premonition rising in her heart. Was she really going to have to wear that "tacky" pink dress? But getting Snakey to admit defeat was simply impossible.
"Hmph."
Mobius saw Elysia's sparkling eyes, snorted, and turned away.
"I'm getting more and more curious about how powerful the Previous Civilization was. I wonder how they solved it." The Previous Civilization held immense appeal for Kevin.
Theresa let out a soft breath. Judah fully unfolded, and countless golden gears appeared in the sky. Dark golden chains wrapped around Sirin. Under the power of binding, Sirin's strength faded. Even her Herrscher attire could no longer remain stable, reverting to the white experimental robe she had worn at the beginning.
But Theresa, who possessed Honkai Beast genes in her body, suffered even more than Sirin. The Honkai Beast genes and human genes repelled each other, making her feel as though her body were about to split apart. Even standing was difficult.
Theresa's flashback began. At Schicksal headquarters several days earlier, Otto had repeatedly tried to dissuade her, but she too had things she wished to protect.
Theresa threw the chain-like spear in her hand at Sirin. But because of the pain wracking her body, it did not pierce Sirin's heart. Instead, it pierced her thigh.
Having lost her Herrscher powers, Sirin once again felt powerless. This familiar pain stirred her darkest memories. She murmured the names of her former companions, and at last, she seemed to see Bella again.
Bella opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Sirin understood.
Theresa forced herself over to Sirin and raised the chain spear in her hand. She did not want to kill this girl, but to protect Cecilia and the people of this era, she could only raise the blade.
"I'm sorry..." Theresa said.
Before you continue