In the Hyperion's communications room, Theresa Apocalypse, a petite girl with the same hair color as Kiana, sat upright in the main seat. Every other seat was occupied by masked holographic projections. Everyone present was a key figure in Schicksal's Far East Branch.
"The Fifth Squad is fighting the Herrscher. Murata Himeko alone, an A-rank Valkyrie, cannot defeat a Herrscher," a masked man said. "We must contact headquarters and have them dispatch an S-rank Valkyrie immediately!"
"It will take at least forty-five minutes for the troops from Schicksal Headquarters to reach Changkong City. Please, Lady Theresa, deploy all forces from the Far East Branch. We must hold out until headquarters' reinforcements arrive!" another masked man said.
"You people want my students to go die?!" Theresa slammed the table in fury. Her small body radiated an unexpected authority as her jade-green eyes swept dangerously over everyone present. Though they knew they were only holographic projections, everyone fell silent.
"I'm aboard the Hyperion as well. Besides, the Hyperion has one trump card!" Theresa softened her tone, and the previously silent attendees began stirring again.
"That thing can be put into use already?!"
"After all, Lady Theresa is an S-rank Valkyrie herself—and that person's granddaughter!"
Watching everyone begin discussing matters, whether sincerely or hypocritically, Theresa felt a wave of disgust rise within her. At the same time, she silently prayed for Murata Himeko. You have to win, Himeko!
As the Hyperion descended, the Third Herrscher spread the lightning wings behind her back and hovered above the Hyperion's bridge, wearing a provocative smile. "So you've decided to face me head-on, pathetic insects."
"Tap... tap..." Footsteps sounded across the bridge as a graceful figure slowly walked forward. Crimson armor covered Murata Himeko's body, accentuating her mature figure even further. Two metal conduits behind her connected her to the Hyperion. She dragged a massive greatsword as tall as a person in one hand, while V-shaped metal armor covered her eyes. She faced the Third Herrscher in midair.
"You dare raise a blade against me? You truly don't know your place!" The Third Herrscher wore an arrogant expression as she curled her right hand into a claw and aimed it at Murata Himeko on the bridge. Countless tiny lightning serpents emerged from the void, converging in her palm like rivers flowing into the sea. A ball of lightning the size of a basketball floated before her hand.
"Die!"
The Third Herrscher hurled the ball of lightning toward Murata Himeko. The air filled with a scorched smell, while silver lightning serpents darted across the Hyperion's bridge. Inside the command room, the central display suddenly went black, and the lights flickered erratically.
"This is bad! The electromagnetic field is too strong—all instruments have failed!"
"What about the NEXUS System?"
"The system is functioning normally. It can still be used!"
Facing the most terrifying phenomenon in nature, Murata Himeko did not move in the slightest. The Herrscher before her was indeed stronger than any enemy she had ever faced, but she trusted her own strength even more. Besides—
"Sorry, but I don't plan on dying before I find a good man!" Murata Himeko said with a smile, swinging her greatsword with both hands and slashing directly at the lightning ball before her.
"NEXUS System activated!"
"Molten Core Burst!"
"Bzzz!" Lightning similar to, yet different from, the Third Herrscher's lit up around Murata Himeko. Her greatsword descended mercilessly, cleanly splitting the lightning ball in two. With its balance destroyed, the ball of lightning exploded violently. Flames and smoke surged forth as countless tiny arcs of electricity engulfed Murata Himeko.
"Oh? You're pretty capable. Then I'd better get serious now!" The Third Herrscher looked mockingly at Murata Himeko within the smoke. Her lightning wings trembled, and dense lightning serpents appeared in the void once more, gathering behind those wings. This time, however, their scale was more than ten times greater than before.
Murata Himeko swung her greatsword forcefully, and the fierce wind from her blade dispersed the smoke and the small lightning serpents surrounding her. She stared gravely at the differently sized lightning balls floating behind the Third Herrscher, but her words remained unyielding.
"There's plenty more I'm capable of. I just don't know whether you'll get to see it all."
"Heh. Sharp-tongued little insect. Be utterly destroyed beneath lightning!" The Third Herrscher merely sneered at Himeko's defiance. Spreading her hands, she sent all the densely packed lightning balls behind her wings shooting toward Murata Himeko. They streaked through the air in countless silver-white trails, like a torrential downpour.
"NEXUS System, fourfold output!" Facing the storm-like barrage of lightning balls, Murata Himeko raised the NEXUS System's output to the highest limit she could currently withstand. A violent tearing pain came from within her body. Every cell screamed in agony, and even Murata Himeko's resilient nerves nearly made her pass out.
"Hyaa!" Murata Himeko rapidly danced her greatsword with both hands, carving beautiful trails through the air and weaving them into an impenetrable sword net. She precisely cleaved each lightning ball in half. Explosions roared without end, and the smoke they produced was blown away the instant it rose by the violent wind of her blade.
"Let's see how much longer you can hold on!" The Third Herrscher was deeply dissatisfied. Her lightning wings shook fiercely, gathering even more electricity behind her and forming more lightning balls of varying sizes, which crashed down toward the struggling Murata Himeko.
"Damn it, my body can't take much more!" In this high-intensity battle, Murata Himeko could clearly feel her physical condition worsening. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. It was not merely from the shockwaves of dozens of explosions; her body was increasingly unable to endure the power brought by the NEXUS System.
"Can't hold on anymore, little insect?" Seeing Murata Himeko's sword swings grow slower and slower, until she could no longer even lift her greatsword, the Third Herrscher threw back her head and laughed with regal arrogance. She formed two more lightning balls in her hands and hurled them at Murata Himeko.
"I'm bored of playing. Go die!"
"I haven't gotten serious yet!" Murata Himeko stubbornly replied, but her physical condition was now terrible. Simply remaining standing was already damaging her. She could only use her greatsword to support her battered body and quietly wait for the lightning balls to strike.
"You know, every villain's downfall starts with not finishing the job and talking too much." A familiar male voice suddenly sounded behind the Third Herrscher. She released her control over the lightning balls and turned around in shock. On the ruins of a building stood a blood-covered young man.
Yu Luo wore a black denim outfit. His left hand weakly held onto his hat, while his right hand trembled as he raised a revolver and aimed it at the Third Herrscher in midair. His face was deathly pale from excessive blood loss.
"What are you trying to do?! You'll bleed to death like this!" the Third Herrscher shouted angrily. "I already promised her that once I dealt with these insects, I'd heal you. Get out of the way and stay there!"
"But if that happens, Mei will never come back, right?" Yu Luo spoke calmly. Though his voice was weak, it clearly reached the Third Herrscher floating in the air. "So get out of Mei's body and give Mei back to me!"
"With that broken body of yours, what can you possibly do?!"
"I have to try. If you don't even dare to try, how are you any different from a salted fish?" Yu Luo's light words rang out as a silver Noble Phantasm Card entered his body. It was the only three-star Noble Phantasm Card, [Dragon Vein].
"Bad Beat (Thunderer)!"
The world in Yu Luo's eyes slowed down. Though his vision darkened from excessive blood loss, Yu Luo still forced himself to focus and carefully observed the pair of semi-transparent purple lightning wings behind the Third Herrscher.
The Third Herrscher had taken over Mei Raiden's body, so Yu Luo disregarded the body's weak points. That left only the lightning wings behind the Third Herrscher, the ones capable of controlling lightning. Yu Luo had watched them very clearly from behind while she toyed with Murata Himeko earlier.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Yu Luo fired three shots with unwavering resolve, almost simultaneously. The energy bullets drifted unpredictably through the air, striking the Third Herrscher's lightning wings from three completely different yet impossible-to-block angles at nearly the same time.
"Crack... crack..." The sound of shattering rang out from the sky and clearly reached Yu Luo's ears.
Before you continue