"Yes, it was over."
A faint smile hung on "Yu Luo's" lips as he stepped back, putting as much distance between them as possible. He began to chant, crossing his hands before his chest as electricity flickered between them and projected a third pair of black-and-white swords.
"Crane wings lacking, heart and skill reach Mount Tai; heart and skill cross the Yellow River, named to part from heaven, two heroes share one fate."
Having finished the chant quickly, the Third Herrscher's sword fiercely pierced "Yu Luo's" body. However, it did not pierce his throat, because "Yu Luo" had successfully seen through the strike with Eye of the Mind (True) at the last moment. He shifted slightly, causing her thrust to miss its mark. The sword buried itself deep in his left shoulder, but no blood flowed out, because "Yu Luo's" body was now made of magical energy.
"Ah! That hurt!" Yu Luo, who had felt as though he were watching a 3D movie inside his mind, suddenly felt a piercing pain and cried out, "Why am I the one suffering when you're the one fighting?!"
"We're good brothers, aren't we? I throw the punches, you take the hits. Isn't that perfectly normal?"
Outside, the Third Herrscher had failed to strike "Yu Luo's" vital point with her sword and immediately sensed trouble. She tried to pull back her sword and widen the distance, but "Yu Luo" laughed loudly. Rather than retreating, he rushed forward and wrapped both arms around the Third Herrscher.
"You think you can run after showing off? Get offline!"
"Crane Wing Triple Strike!"
The black-and-white short swords in "Yu Luo's" hands crossed as they slashed at the lightning wings right before him, but the sturdy wings blocked the attack, leaving them locked in a stalemate.
"A mere human cannot possibly tear apart a god's wings!" The Third Herrscher was still talking tough, but four sword shadows came flying in from afar. They were the two pairs of black-and-white swords that had been knocked away earlier, slicing through the air with howling winds and striking heavily against the Third Herrscher's nearly shattered lightning wings.
With a crisp "ding" like shattering crystal, the lightning wings on the Third Herrscher's back, already close to breaking after being blasted by Broken Phantasm, finally gave out. They turned into fragments that scattered through the air, and the Third Herrscher could no longer support her body as she fell from the sky.
"To think I lost to you. Remember this—I will return!"
"Yu Luo" stepped forward, caught the unconscious Mei Raiden, and descended into the ruins. Kiana and Bronya were still lying unconscious on the ground, and the barrier that had protected them earlier had vanished along with the Third Herrscher's consciousness.
"Yu Luo" placed Mei Raiden beside the other three and said to Yu Luo in his mind, "Did you learn that? A true expert has everything under control during a battle. Just crushing the enemy with brute force won't do."
"Don't think I didn't see how you nearly screwed it up yourself!"
"Ahahaha, just a tiny mistake. Even Li Guapi makes mistakes. It's perfectly normal for me to make one too, so don't worry about it." The system laughed awkwardly, trying to make Yu Luo forget that near disaster.
"Anyway, I'll take the price first. I won't help you next time." As soon as the system finished speaking, Yu Luo felt himself regain control of his body. At the same time, his body, which had been transformed into magical energy, returned to normal. The agonizing pain from the tears all over his body suddenly flooded his mind. Caught completely unprepared, Yu Luo fainted before he could even cry out.
Only the system's notification sounded faintly by his ears. "Ding! Unauthorized operation. Warning issued once. Deducting 300 Saint Quartz!"
"Ding. Insufficient Saint Quartz. Converting deduction to permission revocation. Deducting 2 Saint Quartz. Heroic Spirit Card attribute bonus effect removed."
"Ding. Master's Mystic Code System erased."
"Ding. Compensation: Command Spell System unlocked early."
On the Hyperion's bridge, Theresa and Murata Himeko were the only two people on the battlefield who remained conscious. Watching the Third Herrscher born from the Third Honkai be defeated by a man, Theresa said somewhat unwillingly:
"This Honkai outbreak happened too suddenly. Not bringing Judah was a mistake!"
"Cough, cough..." Murata Himeko coughed twice and leaned against the gunport behind her. Looking at the four people lying amid the ruins, she asked Theresa, "Principal, what should we do with them?"
"Bring them all back!" Theresa made the decision after a brief moment of thought. Himeko froze, then asked uncertainly, "But that girl still has... inside her body..."
"But the Third Herrscher's will has already been driven back, hasn't it?" Theresa narrowed her eyes like a cute little fox. "As long as she can retain her human consciousness, she will be an indispensable force in our fight against the Honkai."
"Himeko, go back to the ship and receive treatment first. I don't want you dying here." Theresa turned to Murata Himeko and said, "Don't tell anyone about this battle. Just say they're survivors from Changkong City."
Murata Himeko watched Theresa's petite body leap directly from the bridge, two or three hundred meters above the ground. She could only sigh deeply, open the bridge door, and drag her battered body back to the command room.
Inside the command room, the operators had witnessed scenes resembling a nuclear explosion one moment, been tossed about by violent shockwaves the next, and then seen the pitch-black sky and a ferocious lightning dragon. Having lost contact with the outside, they could only silently pray that Theresa and Murata Himeko would win the battle.
When they saw Murata Himeko return to the command room covered in injuries, they swarmed around her. Even the normally composed adjutant stood beside her with an excited expression and anxiously asked, "Major Himeko, where is Principal Theresa? Why hasn't she returned yet?"
"After we defeated the Third Herrscher, that little squirt found several survivors. She'll be back with them soon." Murata Himeko leaned her body against the adjutant and said, "I'm going for treatment first. Ask that little squirt for the details."
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. The massive floating battleship Hyperion sailed above a sea of clouds. Inside the ship, a young girl with long silver hair sat behind a desk, her entire petite body hidden by it, with only half her head barely visible.
On the desk, the files of Yu Luo and the other three floated before her. Murata Himeko sat on the sofa in front of the desk with her legs, wrapped in black stockings, crossed. She reported, "We were unable to find any information on the man who ultimately defeated the Third Herrscher and is suspected of possessing Stigmata powers."
"Oh?" Theresa gripped the edge of the desk with one hand, struggling to raise her head above it, while using her other hand to flip through the files on the four people. Just as Murata Himeko had said, Yu Luo's page contained only a photograph and his gender. Even his name was represented by three large question marks.
"How strange. Men have extremely poor Honkai Energy adaptability, which is why women are trained to fight the Honkai. Logically, Stigmata shouldn't be able to appear on men." Murata Himeko swung her long legs as she spoke to Theresa.
"Have you determined what Stigmata he possesses?" Theresa strained to raise her head toward Murata Himeko. Seemingly deciding that this was too tiring, she simply jumped onto the desk.
Murata Himeko scratched her cheek and said in confusion, "His Stigmata appeared on the back of his right hand, unlike the usual locations. After comparison, the Schicksal headquarters database did have records of it, but they're classified SS-level. Only the Archbishop has the authority to access them."
"Grandfather..." When Murata Himeko mentioned the Archbishop of Schicksal, Theresa's gaze went vacant for a moment. Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned past Yu Luo's page and looked at the one detailing Mei Raiden.
"So the Third Herrscher is this little girl? That's really hard to believe. Wait... she's the daughter of Ryoma Raiden, president of ME Corp?!" Theresa was slightly surprised, while Murata Himeko, seated on the sofa, gave a mischievous smile.
"That ME Corp controlled by our greatest enemy, Anti-Entropy. I found it unbelievable too when I first saw it."
"Mm..." Theresa made an absent-minded sound and continued reading the files. "Bronya Zaychik, formerly a member of a mercenary organization, later suspected to have been taken in by Anti-Entropy..."
"She must be the member Anti-Entropy sent to recover the Third Herrscher. I was wondering why they would let the Third Herrscher awaken in Changkong City." Theresa cutely tapped her little head. "But why would a recovery agent be traveling with them? Could she have defected?"
Completely unaware that she had guessed correctly, Theresa looked at the last person's file. The person in the photograph gradually overlapped with a small figure from her memories, and Theresa's gaze became gentle and nostalgic.
"It's been a long time, K... Kiana Kaslana."
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