Amid Cecilia's ragged breaths and Jackal's terrified gaze—
Jörmungandr's lower body shattered, turning into dust in the air!
Jackal froze where she stood. Even when the upper half of her prized Honkai Beast crashed to the ground and spilled copious amounts of poisonous blood, she remained utterly unaware.
Just now...?
Only when Cecilia limped over to the serpent and thrust her lance through Jörmungandr's head did Jackal seem to snap out of a dream. In a hoarse voice, she asked:
"How did you do that?"
Cecilia said nothing.
She had come for revenge, not to waste words.
She pulled the lance from the serpent's skull, found another spot, and drove it in again and again, mechanically stabbing and withdrawing.
Once, twice, three times...
"Aaaahhh!!!" Jackal finally roared. "Schariac, you're finished!!! Honkai Beasts, all of you, give me—"
The fall of a red ball of light interrupted her furious shout. Once the dust it kicked up dispersed, a small blue figure wielding a greatsword stood between Cecilia and Jackal.
"This is... the Lord's puppet?!"
Jackal's voice rose in surprise and reverence.
Heaven is helping me!
She looked up toward the sky above the River Thames, where a blue locomotive flickered in and out of sight.
Schicksal must have been preparing to deploy an offensive weapon here, never expecting it to strike our Chariot of a Thousand Worlds instead!
Hahaha, how could Schicksal possibly know that this Divine Key contained a puppet of that great lord?!
By now, Jackal had been blinded by rage. Her heart was filled with hatred for Cecilia, and the sudden arrival of this aid made her shout excitedly, her eyes brimming with savagery.
"Even with only one percent of the Lord's power, it is enough to sweep Schicksal aside! Schariac, you're dead!!!"
Cecilia VS Kevin's Puppet
Cecilia gripped Black Abyss White Flower, her gaze solemn as she watched the puppet before her.
Though it was barely as tall as her slender waist and possessed an unusually frail frame that looked as though a slight push would make it sway back and forth, it gave her an invisible sense of pressure. It was as if some primordial beast stood before her, growling low as it displayed the bloodshed and slaughter of that ancient era.
The Saintess of Schicksal and the World Serpent puppet stood facing one another on the devastated riverbank. A cold wind swept in from the other end of the River Thames, passing through the puppet's blue coat and Cecilia's loose black battle armor.
Suddenly, the puppet moved. It raised its crimson greatsword, and undying flames surged upward as it charged at the woman with unstoppable momentum.
Cecilia shifted aside, evading the puppet's edge. Yet it turned without hesitation, raised its sword, leaped into the air, and slashed down at her from above!
The woman lightly tapped the ground with her jade-like feet, moving several times as she searched for an opening when the puppet's attacks had run their course or went wrong. Yet it seemed to ignore the laws of inertia. Every time Cecilia evaded a charge, it could immediately stop its body, halt the momentum of its swing, and then charge straight at her again!
It had no other techniques, so there was no such thing as an attack running its course. Its moves were primitive and full of openings, but every solution ultimately required facing it head-on first!
Boom!!!
Cecilia finally raised her lance horizontally and collided with the puppet head-on. Undying flames and dense mist crashed together, splitting the world into crimson and black!
"Cough—hah!"
Cecilia retreated half a step, while the puppet remained unmoving. Sweetness rose in her throat, but she did not dare relax for even a moment. Seizing the opening bought by that clash, she rotated her aching wrist and vanished from sight. When she reappeared, she was already above the puppet's head. Black Honkai Energy gathered at her spear tip and descended from the sky, aimed directly at the puppet's forehead!
Yet the puppet did not even look upward. When the spear tip reached a certain position, it merely raised its hand.
That was right, it merely raised its hand.
Clang!!
The spear tip struck the blade, sending up blazing sparks. The greatsword trembled, yet did not drop even slightly to disperse the force!
With sheer strength, the puppet forcibly withstood the strike that had instantly killed the Simulated Herrscher of Wind during the Second Honkai Outbreak!
Cecilia frowned, but she had no time to think further. Using the force transmitted through her spear tip, she twisted at the waist and turned, landing behind the puppet. Less than two seconds later, she thrust again with all her strength!
Cling—
The puppet slowly turned, pushed its greatsword forward, and blocked Cecilia's attack. This time, the collision between their weapons was far softer.
The woman staggered back several steps, struggling to steady her unstable footing. But the puppet began its counterattack then, lifting its greatsword and charging toward Cecilia with flames wrapped around it!
She raised her lance to block it, and the shock sent fresh pain through her wrist. Yet the puppet's attack did not stop. It leaped into the air and slashed down again like a starving tiger pouncing on prey. Cecilia could only defend passively as the oppressive force from the weapon worsened her injuries once more.
But the woman did not give up. The instant after this clash, she fiercely twisted her wrist and stepped forward, closing the distance to the puppet. Then black mist began spreading from the spear tip, rapidly sweeping toward it!
"Such a petty trick, and you dare show off before the Lord?!"
Jackal's mocking voice came from afar. Cecilia looked forward tensely and saw the black mist rapidly spread, wrapping the puppet layer by layer.
But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, scorching crimson light suddenly flared within the layers of black mist. In the blink of an eye, crimson flames rolled forth, burning away the corrosive black fog!
Then the flames curled back, following a path opposite to that of the black mist as they lunged straight at Cecilia!
The woman quickly retreated, dodging several times before finally evading the fiery assault. By then, the puppet had raised its greatsword again and charged at her with the same opening attack as before!
Cecilia dodged with difficulty, her movements gradually growing heavier. Her foot had already been bitten by that Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and the frequent evasions only worsened the injuries to her legs and feet.
In the end, the puppet found an opening as she turned. Its greatsword slashed out fiercely, carrying incomparable pressure!
The woman only had time to turn her lance and block the blade's edge before the enormous impact sent her flying more than ten meters away!
The woman fell to the ground with a muffled groan, then quickly rose again. Leaning on her lance as she panted, she stared fixedly at that small figure.
This opponent before her... was truly terrifying...
Her earlier feeling had not been wrong in the slightest. It was a primordial beast. It had no techniques and no tricks, using only flames condensed from Honkai Energy and overwhelming strength, yet those two things alone utterly crushed her.
At this rate... there was no way she could defeat it...
"You have every reason to be proud, Schariac," Jackal's excited and arrogant voice came from afar. "This is the puppet of the World Serpent Lord. It possesses one percent of the Lord's power, and Lord Kevin is someone who could even hold back the Herrscher of Finality. To fight one percent of the Lord for so long is enough for you to take pride in for the rest of your life."
"Besides, foolish Schariac, you were bitten by Jörmungandr. Snakes naturally possess venom glands. Why would I have removed them when modifying it? Hahahaha!"
"Give up struggling, Schariac! You have no reason left to escape death here!"
The woman spread her arms, the corners of her mouth curling up madly as though she had forgotten the displeasure of Otto's "death."
"Hahaha! I can already imagine the praise World Serpent will give me, and the power I'll gain from the double honor of killing Schicksal's Overseer and an S-rank Valkyrie! World Serpent will welcome back the Lord and win everything!"
Jackal laughed wildly, as though everything had gone exactly as she wished.
Every gesture she made resembled that of a victor, except for the bit of dirt still staining her clothes.
Cecilia lightly pressed her lips together.
Jackal was right. Though something unknown inside her body was suppressing Jörmungandr's venom, her mind was still growing foggy.
Memories from the past also erupted into chaos at that moment, interfering with her thoughts.
She was not yet completely the S-rank Valkyrie she had once been. Even wielding a Divine Key, it was difficult for her to sustain the fight.
After killing Jörmungandr and enduring these hundreds of exchanges, she was already exhausted in both body and mind.
Was this really all there was?
I really am... incapable of doing anything...
No... I can't...
Cecilia tightened her grip around Black Abyss White Flower, forcefully suppressing the dizziness caused by overusing the Divine Key.
I cannot lose... in the name of a Valkyrie...
In the name of Schicksal's Saintess, Cecilia Schariac!
The woman slowly raised her lance. Sealed memories gradually broke through the ice, and her combat prowess as an S-rank Valkyrie steadily returned. Every method of using Black Abyss White Flower flooded into her mind, forcing her to receive that chaotic, jumbled information with the calmest emotions possible.
Yet those warm memories had become fuel, igniting towering fury. Her pounding heart resonated intensely with her present desire, like the thunderous beat of war drums amid a fierce western wind!
I Am the Black That Devours All
Otto stood before the projection, watching the battle between woman and puppet with great interest.
"One percent of Kevin is already comparable to an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal. That truly makes me anxious."
Though he said so, not a trace of fear appeared on the man's face. On the contrary... he seemed somewhat eager to try.
"Guess how much longer little Cecilia can last, Amber? Or are you betting that she'll win it all?"
"Th-this..."
Amber lightly pressed her lips together, watched Cecilia continuously retreat, and shook her head.
"Lady Cecilia... does not seem capable of resisting any longer."
"So you think she'll lose soon, then?"
Otto glanced at Amber, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Then I'll bet on her winning. The wager... how about two months' worth of Schicksal paperwork? If I win, you'll handle all the documents from every continent for the next two months."
But even if I don't lose, Lord Otto, you won't honestly stay in the office and properly deal with those approvals.
The goggle-wearing girl grumbled inwardly. She did not immediately respond, instead looking at the projection with a heart full of doubt.
"But why do you..."
Seem so confident?
Could it be... that you left something for Lady Cecilia?
"No, Amber. At that point in time, I had no opportunity to leave Cecilia any backup plan," Otto said, seeing through her thoughts. "But did you notice? Although Kevin's puppet looks formidable and has forced Cecilia back step by step, it has never actually managed to take Cecilia's life."
"They are now in a battle of attrition. Whoever runs out of strength first will die."
"But Lady Cecilia..." seemed unable to outlast him either?
"Amber, when looking at a problem, you must grasp its essence. Think about it: why are Kevin's puppet and Cecilia fighting a battle of attrition? It can only mean one thing—this puppet cannot directly defeat our Saintess of Schicksal."
Otto raised his right hand. Golden light danced at his fingertips, obscuring his view of Kevin's puppet.
"In other words, the puppet cannot unleash enough power to defeat Cecilia in a single strike."
"And because the puppet possesses a mechanical mind, it does not have all those roundabout schemes of pretending to be weak. If it does not use explosive power when it should, choosing instead to entangle itself with its opponent, that can only mean one thing—its materials or operational system cannot support explosive attacks."
"And Cecilia happens to be wielding a Honkai Energy weapon forged from divine authority."
The golden light suddenly vanished. The man swung his arm as though grasping something in his hand.
"So long as our Saintess seizes the right moment and unleashes Black Abyss White Flower's true power, she can destroy the puppet's control core and turn the tables in a desperate counterattack."
The slaughter between puppet and Saintess continued. Flames and mist intertwined, forming a world of black and red.
Cecilia evaded another charge from the puppet, understanding flashing through her eyes.
At some unknown moment, a mass of mist had appeared behind her. It slowly rotated, as though something mysterious were hidden within.
Clang—
Black Abyss Hundred Flowers collided with the crimson greatsword once more. At the same time, an exquisite smile appeared on the woman's lips.
"Open."
The mist behind her suddenly scattered, shrouding the entire battlefield as though it could blot out the heavens. The puppet ignited blazing flames, intending to burn away the darkness as before. The fog did indeed recede, but it did so like curtains being drawn back one after another.
The puppet frowned. Flames rippled outward from its body layer after layer, driving away the fog.
"Is this... your limit?"
Cecilia's voice suddenly rang out, weak yet brimming with confidence.
"Your attacks are very monotonous. Your strength is immense, yet every strike remains astonishingly consistent. When I summoned black mist that filled the sky, you could only use flames to disperse it quickly, but with steady output."
She tilted her head and smiled, as though mocking something.
Before you continue