Herrscher of Death

After confirming your relationship with the two of them, your daily life did not change much—training, feeding Pardo, and perhaps going on dates with Vill-V and Pardo on rest days.

You had thought some sort of love triangle drama would unfold, but the two got along quite well.

Vill-V, one of the people involved, said that if Elysia joined in, she would not even get any soup. She might as well ally with Pardo and resist the outside enemy together.

In response, you told Vill-V that Elysia was a Herrscher. Vill-V said she did not care, but Elysia strongly condemned this.

The peaceful days passed one by one.

Eight months later, the Sixth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Death—descended.

Two Herrschers had appeared in succession within a single year. This fact sounded an alarm for the world.

When would the next Herrscher appear? How many more Herrschers needed to be defeated? Did humanity still have a future?

No one knew but you.

The Herrscher of Death symbolized silent death. Her abilities were creation and decay, and she could control the rate of apoptosis in living cells.

Because of your squad's outstanding performance in the previous Herrscher suppression battles, Flame Chasers assigned you to serve as the first squad once again.

"What is it, Kevin?" Before the battle, Mei saw that Kevin did not look well and stepped forward to ask with concern.

Seeing the woman he loved, Kevin smiled and explained, "It's nothing, Mei. When I woke up this morning, my right shoulder felt sore, as if something were pressing down on it."

"Hmm? Do you want me to examine it for you?" Mei asked worriedly.

"I had it checked. The doctor did not find anything unusual. Maybe I've just been under too much pressure lately." Moved by Mei's concern, Kevin spoke softly.

"Mm. I'll wait for you to come back." With that, Mei stepped forward and hugged Kevin.

"Mm. I'll come back safely."

The members of Squad Five entered the city where the Herrscher had descended, but the situation before them could only be described as bizarre.

Everything in the bustling city appeared as normal, yet there was not a single person in sight anywhere. There were not even any zombies or Honkai Beasts.

"Attention, Squad Five. The Herrscher of Death releases a black mist. Any living creature touched by it will die. Exercise extreme caution."

Listening to the voice in their earpieces, the squad members understood one fact—the city likely did not contain a single living person.

Kevin moved his stiff right shoulder and pressed his earpiece. "Same old strategy. I'll take the lead. Everyone else provides covering fire."

"Understood!" everyone replied.

Without Honkai Beasts or zombies getting in their way, they advanced unimpeded. A city devoid of humans radiated an eerie atmosphere that urged them to quicken their pace. Soon, they arrived at the area with the highest concentration of Honkai Energy, took defensive measures, and prepared to face the Herrscher of Death.

"Target located. Open fire!" Having found the Herrscher of Death, Himiko gave the order. Everyone immediately drew their weapons and fired at her.

The Herrscher of Death raised her head. There was no emotion in her eyes. Black mist symbolizing death rose behind her, swirling around her body and blocking the bullets before drifting toward the squad.

"The enemy is attacking! Dodge!"

The squad scattered, evading the black mist.

"Damn it, this can't go on." Kevin took a deep breath, steeled himself, and charged forward with his greatsword.

He raised the greatsword above his head, then swung it with all his strength. The blade cleaved through everything in its path, actually carving an opening through the airtight black mist surrounding the Herrscher.

Seeing that her black mist attack had failed, the Herrscher recalled it. Countless strands of black mist gathered in the Herrscher of Death's hand, eventually condensing into a scythe.

Clang! The greatsword collided with the scythe, and the two began to exchange blows.

But the Herrscher of Death had clearly received no training. She actually fell into a disadvantage against Kevin.

Kevin also drew upon the potential of the Kaslana bloodline, wielding his greatsword with tremendous force.

Realizing that she had no advantage in close combat, the Herrscher quickly retreated while releasing deadly black mist to hinder everyone.

Seeing that the Herrscher intended to flee, Kevin pursued her, and the others followed after them.

Kevin chased the Herrscher of Death all the way out of the city.

Seeing that she could not shake Kevin off, the Herrscher of Death stopped and prepared for a desperate fight with him.

But Kevin, bearing the Kaslana bloodline, was like a god descending to earth. The Herrscher of Death barely held on beneath his storm-like assault.

Slash! Seizing an opening, Kevin knocked the Herrscher of Death's scythe from her hand with one strike. Then he raised his greatsword, preparing to kill the Herrscher.

"W-Woo... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I never meant to kill anyone. I can't control my own power."

Seeing the girl before him suddenly regain her humanity and burst into tears, Kevin hesitated.

"Hahaha, go..." Seeing Kevin hesitate, the Herrscher of Death suddenly lunged forward, preparing to fully unleash her authority.

"Look over here." Suddenly, a spine-chilling voice rang out. Immediately after, the Herrscher of Death felt as though something had landed on her.

Then the Herrscher of Death's head exploded like a watermelon, and the body beneath it toppled backward.

Kevin wiped the brain matter stuck to his face and stood there blankly.

What was that voice? The thought circled through Kevin's mind, troubling him.

"Kevin successfully killed the Herrscher! Logistics team, begin recovery at once!" When the others arrived and saw the Herrscher's corpse beside Kevin, they could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. They congratulated Kevin while beginning the recovery of the Herrscher's body.

Kevin did not say a word in response to their praise. Yoshikage Kira looked at Kevin, surrounded by the others, stepped forward to pat him on the shoulder, then left.

Sheer Heart Attack, Killer Queen's Second Bomb: a single-shot bomb tank launched from the back of Killer Queen's left hand. It could automatically track an enemy's body temperature and attack, exploding when it approached its target.

Looking at the tiny bomb tank on his left hand, Yoshikage Kira silently put it away.

The battle was won.

The Herrscher of Death could not rise again.