I've Risen, But Can't Kill With One Shot

In the Hyperion's communication room, Theresa Apocalypse, who possessed Kiana's same hair color and a child-like form, sat at the head of the table. The other seats were filled with holographic projections wearing masks; all of them were key figures from Schicksal's Far East Branch.

"The fifth squad is currently engaging a Herrscher. Murata Himeko, an A-rank Valkyrie alone, cannot defeat it," one masked man said. "We must contact headquarters immediately to dispatch an S-rank Valkyrie!"

"It will take at least 45 minutes for Schicksal headquarters to dispatch troops to Changkong City. Please, Lord Theresa, dispatch all forces from the Far East Branch to stall until headquarters' support arrives!" another masked man added.

"Are you guys trying to send my students to their deaths?!" Theresa slammed the table in anger. Though her small body held an unexpected authority, her emerald eyes swept dangerously across everyone present. Even though they knew it was just a holographic projection, everyone present fell silent.

"I am also on the Hyperion, and besides, there's an ace on the Hyperion!" Theresa softened her tone. The previously silent attendees in the meeting began to stir:

"Is that thing ready for deployment?!"

"After all, Lord Theresa is an S-rank Valkyrie, and the granddaughter of that esteemed person!"

Watching them, whether their intentions were genuine or feigned, begin to discuss, Theresa felt a surge of disgust. At the same time, she silently prayed for Murata Himeko, "You must win, Himeko!"

Watching the Hyperion descend, the Third Herrscher swung its lightning wings behind it, hovering above the Hyperion's bridge with a provocative smile. "Planning to face me head-on, pathetic insects."

"Thump... thump..." Footsteps echoed from the bridge as a graceful figure slowly walked across it. Murata Himeko was clad in crimson armor that accentuated her mature figure, making her even more alluring. Two metal pipes connected her to the Hyperion behind her. She dragged a greatsword taller than herself, her eyes covered by V-shaped metal armor, directly facing the Third Herrscher in mid-air.

"You court death, daring to draw a sword against me!" The Third Herrscher's face was filled with arrogance. It clenched its right hand into a claw, aiming at Murata Himeko standing on the bridge. Countless tiny electric snakes emerged from the void, converging like a thousand rivers flowing into the sea, all gathering in its hand. A basketball-sized sphere of lightning floated before its palm.

"Die!"

The Third Herrscher forcefully threw the sphere of lightning towards Murata Himeko. The air filled with a scorched smell, and the Hyperion's bridge was filled with silver electric snakes darting around. In the command center, the main screen in the center suddenly went black, and the lights flickered.

"This is bad, the electromagnetic field is too strong, all instruments are malfunctioning!"

"What about the NEXUS System?"

"The system is operating normally! It can be used!"

Facing the most terrifying ball lightning in nature, Murata Himeko remained unfazed. Although the Herrscher before her was indeed more powerful than any she had ever encountered, she believed in her own strength even more. Besides--

"Sorry, I'm not planning on dying before I find a good man!" Murata Himeko said with a smile, swinging her greatsword with both hands, directly slashing at the sphere of lightning that was already close.

"NEXUS System activated!"

"Molten Core Burst!"

"Szzz!" Murata Himeko's body also lit up with lightning, similar yet different to the Third Herrscher's. The greatsword mercilessly slashed down at the sphere of lightning, cleanly cutting it in half. The sphere of lightning, its balance disrupted, exploded violently, flames accompanied by smoke and dust erupting everywhere. Countless tiny electric sparks enveloped Murata Himeko.

"Oh? Quite capable, are we? Then I'll get serious!" The Third Herrscher watched Murata Himeko amidst the smoke and dust with a playful gaze. Its lightning wings behind it vibrated, and dense electric snakes reappeared in the void, converging behind its wings. This time, the scale was more than ten times larger than before.

Murata Himeko swung her greatsword forcefully, the strong sword wind dispersing the smoke and the small electric snakes surrounding her. Her face was solemn as she looked at the large and small spheres of lightning floating behind the Third Herrscher, but her mouth refused to yield:

"I have plenty more capabilities, I just don't know if you can see them all."

"Heh, sharp-tongued insect, be utterly destroyed under the lightning!" The Third Herrscher merely sneered at Himeko's defiance, spreading its arms. All the spheres of lightning behind its lightning wings shot towards Murata Himeko, drawing thousands of silver-white trajectories in the air, like a torrential downpour.

"NEXUS System, four times output!" Facing the storm of lightning spheres, Murata Himeko increased the NEXUS System's output to the current maximum. A violent tearing sensation spread through her body, every cell stinging. Even Murata Himeko's resilient nerves almost fainted.

"Hyaa!" Murata Himeko rapidly swung her greatsword with both hands, drawing beautiful sword marks that wove into a dense, impenetrable sword net, precisely slicing each sphere of lightning in half. The rumbling explosions were incessant, and the rising smoke was immediately dispersed by the fierce sword wind.

"Let's see how long you can last!" The Third Herrscher was displeased. Its lightning wings behind it vibrated forcefully, and more electric light converged behind it, forming spheres of lightning of various sizes, which rained down on the struggling Murata Himeko.

"Damn it, my body can't take it anymore!" In this high-intensity battle, Murata Himeko could clearly feel her physical condition worsening. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, not just from the impact of dozens of explosions, but more so because her body could no longer withstand the power of the NEXUS System.

"Can't hold on anymore, little bug?" The Third Herrscher looked at Murata Himeko, whose sword swings were slowing and who could no longer lift her greatsword. It laughed heartily towards the sky with queenly grace, grabbing two spheres of lightning in its hands once more and smashing them towards Murata Himeko.

"I'm bored, die!"

"I haven't even gotten serious yet!" Murata Himeko retorted defiantly, but her physical condition was too dire. Standing like this was already a strain on her. She could only prop herself up with her greatsword, her broken body silently awaiting the arrival of the spheres of lightning.

"You know, every villain's defeat begins with not finishing the job and talking too much." A familiar male voice suddenly sounded behind the Third Herrscher. The Third Herrscher withdrew its control over the spheres of lightning and turned around in shock. On the ruins of a building, a blood-stained young man stood there.

Yu Luo wore a black denim jacket, his left hand weakly supporting his hat, his right hand trembling as he raised his revolver, aiming at the Third Herrscher in mid-air. His face was deathly pale from excessive blood loss.

"What do you think you're doing?! You'll die from blood loss like this!" The Third Herrscher shouted furiously. "I already promised her, once these insects are dealt with, I'll heal you. Get out of here and stay put!"

"But if I do that, Mei won't ever come back, right?" Yu Luo said calmly. Although his voice was weak, it reached the Third Herrscher floating in mid-air clearly. "So, get out of Mei's body and give Mei back to me!"

"With your broken body, what can you possibly do?!"

"I have to try, right? If I don't even dare to try, what's the difference between me and a salted fish." Yu Luo's words floated lightly as a silver Noble Phantasm Card merged into his body – the only three-star Noble Phantasm Card, [Dragon Vein].

"Bad Beat (Thunderer)!"

The world slowed down in Yu Luo's eyes. Although his vision was darkening from blood loss, Yu Luo forced himself to stay alert, carefully observing the pair of purple, semi-transparent lightning wings behind the Third Herrscher.

The Third Herrscher occupied Raiden Mei's body. The weaknesses of the body were ignored by Yu Luo. The only remaining option was the pair of lightning wings behind the Third Herrscher, which could control lightning. Yu Luo had watched very clearly from behind when it was toying with Murata Himeko earlier.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Yu Luo fired three shots almost simultaneously with determination. The energy bullets floated unstably in the air, approaching the Third Herrscher's lightning wings from three completely different yet unstoppable angles, hitting them simultaneously.

"Crack crack..." The sound of shattering echoed through the air, clearly reaching Yu Luo's ears.