Choice

The enormous creature, resembling a white elephant, lay helplessly on the ground, its head shattered into pieces and all signs of Honkai Energy reaction gone.

The culprit that had chased Su Qing'an through half the city had become a harmless corpse.

"Emperor-class Honkai Beast Ganesha has been subdued. Logistics troops, please come and clean up."

"A-rank Valkyrie Hua has discovered a severely wounded Changkong City survivor. Medical personnel, prepare for surgery."

"What a mess. With injuries like these..."

The girl tucked the gray strands the wind had blown onto her cheek behind her ear, an exasperated expression appearing on her flawless jade-like face.

The boy who had laughed in the face of his destined death and fearlessly thrown a punch caused a trace of familiarity to flash through her blank memories.

There were no specific events, no detailed sense of time. The only thing she could feel in her heart was sadness.

It was a strange feeling, as if someone like him had once done the same thing in the distant past.

Had she once had a comrade who had acted the same way?

As she carefully sensed the inexplicable, abrupt sadness and familiarity, Hua did not feel that it was a bad thing. It was as if a fragment of bark had fallen into a furnace whose firewood was nearly burned away; everyone was happy that it could provide warmth for a little longer, while the furnace itself was grateful that it could continue burning for a while more.

Having clearly understood where he was injured, Hua carefully lifted the unconscious Su Qing'an with precise control of her strength, carrying him in her arms like a princess.

Although she could wait for the Logistics Department to arrive, given the boy's injuries, it would be safer for her to take him back to the Hyperion. With that much blood loss, his life would be in danger if he missed the golden window for rescue.

Without sparing a thought for the Emperor-class Honkai Beast's corpse on the ground, Hua carried the boy away from this ruined, desolate place.

At that moment, Raiden Mei saw Kiana, who had been grievously wounded by the Temple-class Honkai Beast, and under the shock to her heart, she once again transformed into a Herrscher beyond her control.

Changkong City was shrouded in thunder.

High above the sky, the Hyperion formally clashed with the Third Herrscher, Raiden Mei.

Fusion Core Armor: Crimson. Himeko stretched her entire body and began putting on the armor.

Based on an outdated Schicksal Valkyrie armor and equipped with the still-undergoing-testing "Nexus System," this special armor possessed two forms: a fully armed heavy-load form and a lightweight form designed for ease of movement.

In its lightweight form, the armor could conduct independent combat operations.

But if she wanted to unleash the true power of the "Nexus System," she had to connect it to a large power-supply device while in its fully armed form.

And at this moment, Murata Himeko had undoubtedly chosen the latter.

When powered by energy on the level of a battleship, its output would reach a level surpassing that of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. However, if it operated for too long, the armor itself would face the danger of overloading.

As a completely enhancement-focused system, the "Nexus System" contained almost no safety-oriented design. Consequently, the Far East Branch had also classified the system as a last-resort weapon.

Despite that, when facing the troublesome Herrscher, Murata Himeko activated the dangerous armor without hesitation.

Even if the price she had to pay was her own lifespan.

As a Valkyrie, dying on the battlefield while fighting the Honkai was nothing unusual.

She was the captain, and she had to take responsibility for everyone aboard the Hyperion. So naturally, confronting the Herrscher was something she had to do.

However, feeling the power swelling within her body to a level that made her sense danger, Murata Himeko let out a sigh.

I'm sorry, little one.

With personnel in short supply, not only was she unable to go find him herself, sending additional personnel was also impossible.

If you end up in hell, you can blame me for being irresponsible and reckless all you want.

Murata Himeko, twenty-five years old—a mere mortal who had burned away her life until now, with little lifespan left to cling to.

"All hands, level-one alert!"

She raised her weapon and issued a challenge to the lofty Herrscher that day.