Supernova Slash

"Oh, right! Don't you want to see what new modifications the Research Department made to Absolute Shadow?" Kiana asked curiously, gazing at the long case Sheng Jiu was carrying.

"Oh, yeah. Let's have a look."

Sheng Jiu set the case on a nearby locker and opened it.

Absolute Shadow was no worse for wear than it had been a few hours ago, but there was now a small button beside its hilt.

"What's this button for?" Sheng Jiu lifted Absolute Shadow and found it felt a little heavier than he remembered.

"Come on, let's go test it out on the training field."

Theresa quickly led everyone to the training field, where she brought up a giant hologram of a Paladin-type Honkai Beast. "Hey, Sheng Jiu, give it a try."

"Not a chance—oh, sorry, Principal. Are you serious? You want me to take on a Paladin this huge all by myself? You've got way too much faith in me."

"Judah—"

"Fine, I'll give it a try..." Sheng Jiu swallowed nervously and gripped Absolute Shadow as he took his place across from the Paladin.

"Roar!" The holographic Honkai Beast let out a roar and charged forward on the mount beneath it.

Sheng Jiu spread his legs and pressed the button on the hilt. To his surprise, Absolute Shadow's blade split apart, and a faint blue light seeped from the gap, accompanied by a sound like a turbine spinning at top speed.

"Huh? What's this?" Sheng Jiu stared in surprise at Absolute Shadow as it gradually turned blue in his hands.

"Thud! Thud!" The heavy footsteps rang out, and the distance between them had shrunk to less than two hundred meters.

"Why do I feel like my body's going limp?" A sense of weakness suddenly spread from Sheng Jiu's right arm, the one gripping Absolute Shadow, throughout his entire body. "It seems like this thing is charging up? Whatever, let's try it!" Sheng Jiu swung Absolute Shadow at the rapidly approaching Honkai Beast!

"Whoosh!" A tremendous rush of air burst outward from Sheng Jiu, followed by a massive shock wave.

A blue blade of energy burst from the gap in the blade and shot toward the Honkai Beast at high speed. Just before reaching the Paladin's mount, it split without warning into three smaller blades of energy, which slashed toward the beast.

The blades of energy shot straight through the hologram. The projected Honkai Beast froze in place, and a second later, a huge explosion engulfed it. When the dust from the blast cleared, the hologram had vanished, leaving a massive crater in the training field's grass.

"Oh my gosh, that destructive power is terrifying! That's... almost on the level of a Divine Key, isn't it?" Yae Sakura asked Bronya, still shaken.

"Bronya thinks that slash just now was more powerful than a tank shell."

"Huh? Sheng Jiu, are you okay?!" Sheng Jiu collapsed to the ground. Theresa was the first to rush over.

"...I'm fine... That thing's way too powerful. After that attack just now, I suddenly felt completely drained." With Theresa's help, Sheng Jiu slowly got back to his feet.

Heavy Trooper Bunny appeared beside Sheng Jiu and picked up Absolute Shadow, scanning it carefully. "Bronya understands now. The Research Department installed a Honkai Energy absorber on Absolute Shadow."

"With this device, when the user presses the button, it uses the Honkai Energy in the user's body as a power source and charges the energy field around the blade. That lets it launch a blade of energy that splits apart to attack enemies. What a finely crafted weapon."

"I feel like I've seen that kind of attack somewhere before." Sheng Jiu rested his chin in his hand and fell into thought.

Two seconds later, Bronya suddenly realized what it was. She and Sheng Jiu called out the name in unison: "Alahato!"

"I remember now! The katana Alahato used in the movie could launch a similar attack!"

"This time, Bronya agrees with idiot Sheng Jiu. In the movie, Alahato used that very attack to defeat the final boss."

"Then let's call this attack 'Supernova Slash'! That's what they called it in the movie, too!"

"Bronya agrees with idiot Sheng Jiu's suggestion!"

"Hey, look!" Yae Sakura examined the button on Absolute Shadow's hilt. "It's a multi-stage button. It has five settings, and Sheng Jiu's attack just now was only on the third setting!"

"If I felt completely drained after just the third setting, the fifth one will suck me dry!" Sheng Jiu said with a rueful smile, looking at the black button.

"And the fifth setting will likely unleash terrifying power," Theresa added with absolute certainty.