This Is Destiny

So, was there anything wrong with him saying he was Welt?

Durandal was starting to not want to talk to him anymore.

That terrifying talent, enough to make one question the world itself, seemed far stronger to her than any Herrscher Authority.

She was certain that even without a Herrscher's power, Shi Hen would one day become someone far surpassing the Anti-Entropy Leader.

But why was someone so powerful so obsessed with impersonating others?

"What exactly is your purpose in triggering a Honkai eruption in a place like this?"

While maintaining her assault, Durandal questioned him.

"If I said it was an accident, would you believe me?"

Shi Hen asked.

His and Raven's target had only been the relic. They had not wanted to attract Schicksal's attention.

The Valkyrie said nothing, but put more force into her fists.

Clearly, she did not accept that answer.

"I think we could sit down and talk this out peacefully. There's no need to keep fighting like this."

Dodging the girl's heavy punch, Shi Hen made a suggestion.

The mission to obtain the relic had already been completed. World Serpent would not pay Shi Hen overtime for continuing this fight, and might even dock his bonus.

"Sure. You surrender first, and I guarantee you'll be perfectly safe until you arrive at Schicksal HQ."

Durandal shot back.

"Hey, hey, hey. You were the ones who attacked first, okay? I was even thinking of inviting you to Anti-Entropy as a guest. I can guarantee your safety too, and I can even send you back in one piece."

Shi Hen strongly condemned such shameless behavior.

"You're not from Anti-Entropy at all!"

Durandal retorted.

Who used a fake name and then gave the name of their own organization's leader?

"Even if I'm not from Anti-Entropy... no, I am Anti-Entropy's leader. If I say I'll keep you safe, I won't let a single hair on your head be harmed."

Nearly falling for the girl's trick, Shi Hen hurriedly changed his tune.

Then Shi Hen added, "By the way, you don't have hair loss, do you?"

Given this strongest Valkyrie's training regimen, he was worried about her hair volume.

Durandal: "..."

The girl's attack speed increased by 30%.

It seemed that question was destined to go unanswered.

Shi Hen clicked his tongue regretfully.

Suddenly, spotting a straight punch from the Valkyrie, Shi Hen smiled. "Young Valkyrie, you've repeated that move."

He had seen that move four minutes ago.

She was out of tricks.

Sighing inwardly, Shi Hen met her with the same straight punch.

But at the instant they made contact, Durandal suddenly changed her fist into a claw. After grabbing Shi Hen's arm, she swiftly spun around and threw the youth viciously forward with all her strength.

It was a throwing technique that even borrowed the force of Shi Hen's own punch.

Huh?

Feeling himself being flung off the deck, Shi Hen could not help but feel dazed.

That fool from the Kaslana family had actually tricked him with such underhanded tactics?

This Is Schicksal

His body shot through the air at high speed, wind howling past his ears, yet Shi Hen was not worried in the slightest.

It was only this much. He merely needed to use a little strength to get back—

Before the thought could finish, Shi Hen saw a white figure leap from the battleship right behind him.

Boom!

The thrusters on her back ignited fiercely. Durandal's already incredible speed rose to another level, and she almost instantly caught up with Shi Hen, who had flown out ahead of her.

"Got you!"

Grabbing Shi Hen's wrist, Durandal spoke with a serious expression.

"At a time like this, you should smile."

Shi Hen kindly advised her.

Her strategic objective had been achieved, yet the girl still wore a stern face, as if he owed her a battleship.

Uh... perhaps he really did owe her a battleship.

Looking at the Hover Battleship above them, billowing black smoke, Shi Hen could not help feeling guilty.

Well, about as much as a fingernail's worth.

Schicksal's equipment quality was truly worrying.

Shi Hen felt he had absolutely nothing to do with the battleship's destruction, and strongly condemned Schicksal's logistics department for such shoddy construction.

"I won't let you leave!"

Ignoring Shi Hen's nonsense, Durandal spoke gravely.

Whether it was causing such a severe Honkai eruption or nearly destroying the Blade of Immortality's battleship, she had no reason to let him leave.

"Don't make it sound like I abandoned you after having my way with you."

Crushing pain radiated from the wrist gripped by the girl, yet Shi Hen still had the mood to tease her.

"..."

A barely noticeable blush rose to Durandal's cheeks, and her attacks became even fiercer.

This violent maniac was destined to stay single for life!

Cursing inwardly, Shi Hen struck back at the Valkyrie.

Their bodies accelerated toward the ground under gravity's pull, but their midair clash remained incomparably fierce, with no sign of stopping.

Durandal completely distrusted him and wanted to seize every opportunity to arrest someone as dangerous as Shi Hen.

And Shi Hen... the other side had come knocking. Even if he wanted to run, he could not get away.

Though the environment was unsuitable, the intensity of their battle was no less than it had been aboard the battleship. Every punch and kick aimed to cripple the other's ability to move.

As for the danger of falling from such a height, they had both stopped acting human already. Who cared about that?

Several hundred meters vanished in an instant. Just before hitting the ground, they exchanged another blow, then separated and smashed into the earth, blasting out two enormous craters.

"Surrender. You have nowhere left to run."

With a wave of her hand, Durandal scattered the rising dust and issued her declaration.

Without the battleship holding her back, she could now use her power without restraint.

"I should return those exact words to you."

Rubbing the wrist the girl had painfully gripped, Shi Hen swung out a kick and sent a Honkai Beast charging at him flying more than ten meters away.

They had landed right in the middle of a pack of Honkai Beasts.

However, to both him and Durandal, these Honkai Beasts were little different from ants.

"This is my final warning. I don't want to kill you."

Speaking solemnly, Durandal's blue eyes welled with a faint golden light.

"You mean that as long as you want to, you can kill me anytime!?"

Standing atop a Honkai Beast's head, Shi Hen shouted arrogantly. His white robes fluttered loudly in the wind.

At this moment, in this scene, he felt that he ought to be holding a folding fan.

"..."

Durandal did not respond to Shi Hen's provocation, but the gold in her eyes suddenly blazed, like two burning suns.

Sensing the girl's aura surge dramatically, Shi Hen fell silent as well.

Coach, I want to report someone for cheating!

We agreed to fight using only our own power, but you thick-browed brute suddenly erupted with your inner cosmos?

"Surrender." Durandal gave her final warning. "I still can't control this power freely. I don't want to accidentally kill you."

Though their battle had been fierce, she had not sensed any killing intent from him. It was as though he had come all this way only to fight her.

"Ha ha ha!" Shi Hen covered his mask and laughed wildly. "Young Valkyrie, what makes you think that was my full strength?

I am the man who inherited Welt's name!"

As his words fell, two brilliant yet cool white lights lit up in Shi Hen's eye sockets, like tranquil silver moons in the night sky.

At this moment, the power of the Stigmata within Shi Hen had been fully unleashed.

More than half a year was enough time for the youth to train a Stigmata to max level.

Hearing Shi Hen still refuse to forget his Welt title, Durandal pressed her lips together but did not refute him.

Her legs bent slightly. The next second, the girl's body shot out like a shell leaving a cannon, leaving a golden streak across the ground.

Without hesitation, Shi Hen likewise charged at the Valkyrie at a speed that broke the sound barrier.

Boom!

Their bodies collided violently halfway, erupting with a thunderous crash ten times more terrifying than before. Their power spread outward as rings of shockwaves, destroying everything in their path with impartial force. Even the massive Honkai Beasts were ground into powder without exception.

When two people standing at the pinnacle of this world's power unleashed their strength without reservation, even watching the battle came at a steep price.

Inside the bridge, the Valkyries who remained there watched the two fight from the sky to the ground through the screens. Their already numb expressions changed once again.

So even a Hover Battleship, forged from Schicksal's highest technology, was not qualified to serve as their stage?

So humans really could unleash such terrifying power through their own strength—and there was more than one of them!

Looking toward the side of the projection screen, the Valkyries could clearly see the energy level marked by the shipboard AI:

2000 HW!

Their Hover Battleship's output was not even 1000 HW.

For a moment, everyone felt their already shattered worldview crumble even further.

They had already held Durandal's strength in extremely high regard, but now it seemed that all her previous opponents had simply been too weak, leaving Lady Durandal with no room to display her power.

Watching the blurred image on the screen, Rita could not help but feel a few doubts arise in her heart.

Faced with a Durandal like this, was she truly qualified to protect her?

After returning from the Quantum Sea, she had known Durandal had become very strong, but this was the first time she had seen her use her full power.

And even a Durandal like this still could not achieve victory.

Though she could not clearly see their battle, judging from the energy levels marked by the AI, Durandal was only 200 HW higher than her opponent. That was far from any real advantage.

Moreover, she knew very well that using the power of a World Bubble placed an enormous burden on Durandal's body.

Bearing the burden of an entire world was never power that could be used lightly.

She did not know Shi Hen's condition, so she had to prepare herself to take over the battle if Durandal was defeated.

Biting her lip, Rita made up her mind.

But before that, there was one more thing she needed to do.