Holy Spear: Bloom

On the front line against the Herrscher of Frost, everyone looked shocked as they watched its wounds rapidly heal and its power grow even stronger.

"Why can the wounds caused by Black Abyss White Flower heal so quickly? Why does the Herrscher of Frost have such powerful regenerative abilities?" Enoshia wondered while deflecting its attacks.

"Leaving aside the fact that a native Three-Core Herrscher has never appeared before, the Death Herrscher's core is inside Sirin's body. Even if it's still another Herrscher, it shouldn't have the ability to recover so quickly... Forget it. We have too little information. We should deal with it first. Those Schicksal people couldn't possibly have only one plan for dealing with a Herrscher, right?"

Although Walter Yang's support had completely nullified the original Herrscher of Rocks' ability to alter gravity, Shigure Kira, Shub, and Salome—the three weakest fighters—had already begun to struggle under the freezing blizzard, their movements growing sluggish.

The Frost Lantern had entered hunting mode. Without any red-circle warning and relying entirely on its own predictions, it nearly captured Shub and Salome, who were on the front line, several times.

Theresa and Cecilia exchanged glances and nodded.

Theresa controlled Judah. Several chains shot out and crisscrossed in midair, forming a large net that intercepted a massive number of Ice Spears. Taking advantage of the opening in the attack, Cecilia charged in from the flank once more with Black Abyss White Flower in hand.

Seeing this, the Herrscher of Frost continuously unleashed a rain of Ice Spears while drawing the five ice hairpins back to its side. With the Frost Sword Array formed, the Herrscher of Frost's defenses were greatly enhanced. It then activated Ice Gaze Lamp. Two Frost Lanterns landed and spun toward Cecilia like tops. Shigure Kira's bullets struck the Frost Lanterns, but it was like throwing eggs at a rock; they could not even slow them down.

Enoshia had encountered the Herrscher of Frost in the Abyss and on the battlefield before. The instant the ice landed, she knew what it intended to do. She immediately synchronized the situation here and the memories of her previous life with her avatars hidden in the network. With computational assistance, she could predict the ice's trajectory.

After obtaining the calculated results, Enoshia found the right angle and fired an arrow. One Frost Lantern not only veered from its intended trajectory, but also struck the other one precisely. A huge opening immediately appeared in front of the Herrscher of Frost. Siegfried and the others attacked together, creating another opportunity for Cecilia.

Cecilia seized the moment and closed the distance again. As she ran, she began murmuring:

"IchbindasSchwarzauchdasWei?,VordemBeginnundzwarnachderEnde."

(I am the black that devours everything, and the white that gives birth to everything; born before creation, existing after annihilation.)

As she whispered, Black Abyss White Flower began radiating an increasingly dazzling light.

"Black Abyss White Flower, First Rated Power—Holy Spear: Bloom!"

A blinding white beam shot out. With a crisp sound, the Falling Ice Sword Array of the Herrscher of Frost was instantly blown apart. Then its entire body was swallowed by holy light, and everyone instinctively closed their eyes.

As the blinding light faded, the Herrscher of Frost's entire body collapsed into the snow like a flower blown over by the wind. Petals wrapped around the vaguely humanoid mass, while the five ice hairpins were stuck haphazardly in the ground. It looked as though Cecilia had dealt it tremendous damage. Yet a closer look revealed that it had not a single wound anywhere on its body.

Seeing that the Herrscher had temporarily ceased all activity, Cecilia wiped the sweat from her forehead while panting heavily and smiled in relief. Under the gentle winter sunlight, the beads of sweat flying from her body became crystalline. One person and one scene formed a breathtaking picture. Set off by all these factors, Cecilia, who was already exceptionally charming, seemed even more radiant. Seeing her heroic figure, Siegfried and Shigure Kira could not help but lose themselves for a moment.

"Cough, cough." Cheng Lixue looked at Shigure Kira and shook her head while coughing forcefully twice. Only then did Shigure Kira realize that everyone had noticed her staring fixedly at Cecilia. She awkwardly turned her head away, though her expression remained intoxicated, and muttered softly:

"Lady Cecilia right now, she really..."

Looking at Shigure Kira's expression, Cheng Lixue pressed her right hand to her forehead and sighed helplessly. It was normal for the weaker Valkyries to admire Cecilia, Schicksal's only S-rank Valkyrie. She, Salome, and Shub all felt the same way toward Cecilia.

But as far as she knew, among the roughly five hundred B-rank and above Valkyries at headquarters and the European Branch, many held an attitude that went far beyond admiration. Like Shigure Kira, they felt as though they were fanatic fans meeting their long-awaited idol. That was why, when Shigure Kira had spread those rumors back then, none of the Valkyries who had been slandered had objected.

Of course, the Kaslana family and the Saniyat family had always been well matched. As the most outstanding young members of their respective families, with the bishop himself fanning the flames, Shigure Kira's rumors naturally had no effect in the end. But through this incident, Cheng Lixue became certain that if Cecilia ever stood against Bishop Otto one day, she would not even need to raise her arm and call out. Of the five hundred Valkyries at headquarters and the European Branch, more than half would directly choose to support her, by a conservative estimate. Fortunately, she had always been willing to obey Bishop Otto's orders. Otherwise, Schicksal might have faced the risk of splitting apart again.

"By the way, it seems Master once sparred with Lady Cecilia. I just wonder who won in the end... No, wait, why am I getting distracted on the battlefield?" Cheng Lixue pulled her thoughts back to reality and quickly surveyed her surroundings. Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong because of her distraction.

However, it was not only her. Shigure Kira, Nicholas, and Salome also seemed to have just returned from their wandering thoughts.

"Was it because this was everyone's first time facing a Herrscher, so their nerves had been stretched taut, and they relaxed after achieving a temporary victory?" Although this explanation seemed plausible, Cheng Lixue still found it strange that three A-rank Valkyries had simultaneously been distracted while facing a Herrscher.

Just as Cheng Lixue began focusing with all her might again, the flower bud flew into the air and opened once more. A freezing blizzard spread outward from it again.

"It not only destroyed the defenses, but also caused the Dual-Core Herrscher, which may have obtained some strange power, to shut down for more than a minute. When Leanna used her First Rated Power back then, she probably couldn't accomplish this."

Hovering high above and flapping her wings, Enoshia stroked her chin, gaining a new understanding of Cecilia's strength. Yet when the Herrscher of Frost recovered its combat capability once more, she chose to stand far away and watch. During that minute or so when it was shut down, Theresa had already reached its side with Judah skateboard mode activated.

The Herrscher of Frost controlled its ice hairpins and stabbed them toward Theresa. Theresa controlled Judah's chains and wrapped them around the ice hairpins. When it pulled the ice hairpins back to its side, Theresa released her strength, allowing herself to be dragged right in front of it.

Even with Theresa's height, she could reach out and touch the Herrscher of Frost's body from where she stood. Extreme cold instantly engulfed her. Every time she breathed, she felt as though her entire body was about to freeze solid, and even her consciousness began to blur.

The next step is the most crucial. As long as I can complete it, this crisis will be resolved. I absolutely cannot fall here!

Theresa forced herself to remain conscious through sheer willpower. After confirming once more that everyone else had retreated a hundred meters away, golden light erupted from Judah, and countless chains bound the Herrscher of Frost into a cocoon.

"Oath of Judas, Zeroth Rated Power—Divine Prayer Barrier!"