Hoshino waited.
Memento's power had indeed not disappointed her. It suppressed the Herrscher of the Void so thoroughly that she could not advance even an inch. But this time, Hoshino deliberately tried to drag things out longer, giving people enough time to react.
That was right. Immortal Fu Hua had once set foot upon this land, and Durandal had descended upon Kazimierz, raising a wall of flame along its border.
But none of that was enough.
One was a matter of scale; the other, a matter of time.
Only now could incomparable power truly be unleashed upon this land. If the previous battles had been theoretical tests at the Manhattan Laboratory, then this one was perhaps that thunderous blast which had echoed over the Alamogordo Desert in New Mexico—the mushroom cloud of destruction sweeping over everything, turning miles of sand and stone into glass in an instant, while scientists fell to their knees in tears and cried that they were sinners of history.
The effects were simply incomparable.
Hoshino had previously considered remaining hidden. The greatest reason was that, without a sufficiently powerful external threat, Terra's scattered forces would rapidly unite and charge at her again and again.
The world was at peace because of her, but that approach was simply... too unbearable. Hoshino preferred loafing around in Lungmen and teasing the little dragon girl.
Now, there was a world boss.
All problems were suddenly resolved.
The world needed Yae Sakura. It needed overwhelming individual power, because there would be an endless stream of [external enemies].
"Oh?"
The Herrscher of the Void noticed that the lowly insect below had actually lost focus. That ghostlike surprise assault vanished. Hoshino gently drew her blade, returned it to its sheath, and assumed an iaijutsu stance, poised to strike.
"It's time to end this,