The night sky over Arc City was serene and profound. Under the cover of the city lights, a nimble figure darted like an arrow—
Kiana used the Herrscher of the Void's power to teleport to the rooftops, constantly advancing toward the tallest signal tower. Her body leaped from one building to the next, shuttling through the air.
Even though the Herrscher of the Void's personality was temporarily suppressed by Fu Hua, Kiana didn't dare use this power recklessly. The strain it placed on her body and the pressure it exerted on Fu Hua were far too great...
As she drew near the most imposing signal tower,
Kiana sensed the enemies around her increasing. Countless pre-deployed guard mechs completely blocked her path forward.
"Hmph! They're here?"
She summoned her trusty baseball bat and charged toward the mechs ahead: "I don't have time to play with you!"
Sliding along the zipline cables, the baseball bat in her hands whirled constantly, knocking away every incoming missile.
As she closed in on the mechs, she kicked off with both legs, launching herself into the air, dodging the latest volley of fire, and smashed one mech to pieces with a single strike from behind.
She didn't glance back even once, continuing her rush toward the signal tower.
She precisely evaded every missile explosion, while the baseball bat spun to block the machine-gun fire.
This was the first time Kiana's own combat ability was displayed perfectly.
She hadn't yet used the Herrscher of the Void's power.
During this period of training with Fu Hua, her personal strength had improved tremendously.
After breaking through the outer ring of guard mechs,
Kiana was locked onto by a Titan mech on the platform. In an instant, dozens of missiles launched, sealing off her path completely.
There was no way to retreat now.
One of Kiana's golden pupils flashed. The surrounding space froze instantly. She used the frozen missiles as stepping stones, hurled her baseball bat at the Titan mech, destroying it, and finally reached her destination—the very top of the signal tower.
"This is it. I have to disarm the bomb immediately."
She rushed toward the source of the strongest Honkai energy. The moment she got close, the Honkai energy storm blew her backward.
"Such powerful Honkai energy."
She endured the erosion of the Honkai energy, advancing step by step toward the core. Cracks appeared across her body from the erosion, and her armor shattered piece by piece, unable to withstand it.
One step...
Another step...
Finally, she grasped...
Kiana's hand closed around the core's control switch, trying to shut it down.
But the overloaded Honkai energy from the core relentlessly battered her consciousness. The Herrscher of the Void fought fiercely against Fu Hua's suppression.
The combined pain made it impossible for her to muster any strength.
Her armor was being stripped away...
The marks of Honkai erosion were spreading across her entire body.
...Was she too late?
"Kiana..."
That familiar, gentle voice suddenly rang in her ear.
"Himeko...?!!"
Kiana jolted awake, looking to the side. It was as if Himeko was right there, supporting her.
Kiana gritted her teeth: "That's right... I promised you. I would turn this imperfect story into the one we all hoped for."
She unleashed the full power of the Herrscher within her.
Her other pupil also turned golden.
"Ah...!!!"
The core was finally shut down, but the already overloaded core still teetered on the edge of explosion.
She could only push it toward the sky, fully embracing her Herrscher form. In that moment, her pupils shifted from gold to blue, and the Herrscher attire enveloped her body.
Under the gaze of the entire city's residents, she pushed the core upward like a meteor streaking across the sky, soaring higher and higher until her strength could no longer hold.
With a final effort, she hurled the core away, absorbing all the Honkai energy in the instant it exploded.
"This is... my promise..."
Confirming that she had protected the city, her consciousness gradually faded...
World Serpent's scheme quietly dissolved in that dazzling blaze.
No one knew what had happened... except Mei, who chased after the meteor's trajectory.
"Kiana...!"
As she ran, tears streamed down her face like a flood. Only she knew what Kiana was enduring at this moment. Only she knew how dangerous it was for Kiana right now...
Her gaze remained fixed on the figure falling from the sky—already unconscious, plummeting like a kite with its string cut.
"Kiana... wait for me. I will bring you back to everyone!"
She swung her blade. This was the only thing she could do now. By constantly breaking through the enemy's blockade, she could get closer to Kiana.
But at that moment,
Black Abyss White Flower stabbed into the ground.
The Tree of Life burst forth from the earth, catching the falling star, healing her wounds, and repairing her body.
"Kiana..."
Mei's crying voice rang out. She had broken through the final barrier and arrived here.
Now she was only inches away from Kiana...
Before she could get closer, a blue-glowing comet descended from the sky. At the spot where the light landed, a blonde Valkyrie stood between them.
Mei stared in shock: "You're... Valkyrie Durandal?"
Durandal said, "Nice to meet you, Raiden Mei."
Mei recognized her.
The wielder of the Divine Key Black Abyss White Flower, Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie.
As a Valkyrie herself, Mei knew Durandal's reputation and battle record well.
Her legend was passed down by word of mouth within Schicksal.
Even against such an opponent, Mei had to fight.
Durandal spoke again: "I have orders to take Kiana Kaslana."
Mei took a deep breath and gripped her weapon: "No way! Leave Kiana here!"
Durandal replied directly: "Then let strength decide."
However...
The gap in strength between the two was like heaven and earth. Within three moves, Mei was already defeated.
"It's over, Raiden Mei. You have no chance of winning."
Mei struggled to support herself: "It's not... over yet... I won't hand Kiana over to you..."
"Impressive resolve," Durandal praised, then continued: "But the you right now lacks the power to match that will."
She turned, carrying Kiana, and leaped upward, vanishing into the sky like a flash of light.
Before Mei could react, the light in her vision had disappeared into the distance, leaving her alone on an empty street.
Mei desperately chased after them, exerting every ounce of strength in the hazy night.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could never catch the trail of that light.
After running who-knows-how-long, Mei finally collapsed from exhaustion.
She could only clutch Kiana's leftover jacket and cry: "I couldn't do anything..."
Her body trembled uncontrollably. Regret, unwillingness, self-blame—all emotions erupted at once.
Durandal's casual actions and words felt like a blade lodged in her heart, making it hard to breathe.
Every recollection weighed heavier on her mind—
She had just watched the most important person to her be taken away so effortlessly.
But Mei couldn't stop thinking of Kiana.
The peaceful days at St. Freya Academy felt like only yesterday.
Yet in the blink of an eye, she had become the Queen of Honkai, wearing a ferocious smile.
Now, after finally reuniting, she watched helplessly as Durandal took her away.
Everything had changed—only she remained the same: the weak girl left behind.
She understood that Kiana was drifting farther and farther away from her.
Seeing this, the audience could no longer hold back.
They erupted in curses: "Damn director, screw you! You love torturing my Tuna, and now you're even torturing Mei!"
"Mei! How heartbroken must Mei be—watching her Kiana get taken away again and again, powerless to help her when she's hurt. F*** you, dog director! Can you at least act like a human?!"
"I can't take it anymore. My heart hurts. I just thought Kiana was finally going to be okay, but she nearly died to protect the city. I thought Mei could be with her properly, and now she's been taken again."
"Where's the director!! Where's that dog director?! I'm going to kill him today. Why treat my Mei like this?!"
"Kalpas!! I want to kill that dog director right now. I'll mortgage my house and loan you money to tip you—just kill him!"
"Wuwuwu, Mei is suffering so much. Losing her again and again, and so powerless. It really feels like she can't do anything."
"I understand Mei so well—only able to watch the person she loves most be taken away. That heartbroken feeling... I really want to kill the director."
"..."
More and more people online joined the cursing.
The official fan group was flooded with messages until it exploded.
Kalpas's own fan group was also spammed—everyone begging him to kill Hessian, just finish off that dog director.
Meanwhile,
in the Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company lounge,
Kalpas was extremely furious, eyes blazing, killing intent radiating as he stared at Hessian, teetering on the edge of acting.
If this were anywhere else, he would have charged without hesitation.
But... the situation was different now.
All the actors were here, including Elysia.
He didn't want Elysia to witness bloodshed, nor did he want Mei and the others to see anything too gruesome.
So he stood up, voice ice-cold, suppressing his rage as he said to Hessian: "Come outside with me. I have something to say to you."
Hessian rolled his eyes: "You think I'm stupid? I know you want to stab me—why would I go outside with you?"
Kalpas: "..."
Kalpas: "I advise you to come outside with me."
He was on the verge of exploding.
Hessian ignored him and called out to Elysia: "Wife! Someone here wants to hit your husband."
Elysia looked over curiously.
Kalpas's momentum instantly deflated. He waved his hand: "No, I just wanted to ask him why he's doing this to Mei."
Elysia said gently: "Everyone in the company should treat each other like family. Fighting isn't good."
Kalpas nodded repeatedly: "Mm, I know."
Elysia also patted Mei's head comfortingly: "Don't worry. He promised me he'd give you and Kiana a good ending."
Hearing this, many people in the lounge—who had been planning to kick Hessian a few times after Kalpas stabbed him—temporarily suppressed those thoughts.
Hessian gave Elysia a thumbs-up: "As expected, only my wife's words work. Truly the big boss. Now I can write the plot with peace of mind."
"..."
A bad premonition rose in everyone present.
This dog... Director He, is he planning to cause more trouble?
But there was no time for them to think further—the drama continued.
Durandal was taking Kiana away.
The matter was far from over.
Rita led her team and stormed Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, but unfortunately, World Serpent had already fully withdrawn. After contacting Durandal to report the situation, she also left.
Meanwhile, World Serpent began to stir again.
Jackal reported to Kevin: "Lord, Durandal has taken the Herrscher of the Void. We've tracked her destination to North Africa—a dead city destroyed by Honkai."
"Regarding that location, over the past two years there have been over a dozen anomalous Honkai energy spikes. We happen to be very familiar with this reaction."
"That uninhabited city is the testing ground for the Second Divine Key."
Kevin replied in his usual cold, concise manner: "Set out. We still have much to do."
Jackal quickly added: "One more thing. Fifteen minutes and thirty-six seconds ago, after contact with the unstable Eos engine, Kiana Kaslana, for the first time, manifested the Herrscher of the Void's form of her own volition."
"Although her Honkai energy index is still far from Sirin's, her metamorphosis can be considered to have begun."
"Should we include her in—"
Kevin answered: "I will handle her affairs myself."
"Understood."
The TV screen switched again.
Back to Kiana's side.
"Where am I... what happened... my body... feels so heavy."
She couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't smell, couldn't touch anything.
As if surrounded by endless darkness, only her heavy body kept sinking.
Kiana struggled with all her might to escape, but the more she fought, the deeper she sank—like drowning, suffocating her.
She wanted to shout, to call for help, but no matter how she screamed, there was no response—not even her own voice reached her ears.
Finally, she saw a beam of light—a ray shooting up from the depths of the abyss. Kiana desperately moved toward it.
As the light grew brighter, Kiana's senses gradually returned.
At that moment, she seemed to hear a faint voice calling her name.
"Kiana... Kiana..."
The gentle voice whispered familiar syllables. Kiana knew—it was Mei's voice.
When she had almost exhausted all her strength, Kiana finally touched the entrance of the light.
In an instant, the information pouring from the light freed her from the boundless darkness.
However... just as she felt joy, the scene before her dealt an even heavier blow.
The entire city had become a sea of flames—everything burned, everything destroyed...
"What is this... Mei... Mei... where are you!"
The bustling Arc City crumbled amid roaring flames. Smoke and cries filled the world.
Kiana searched desperately for Mei's figure among the burning ruins, but all she saw was hopeless tragedy.
She couldn't believe her eyes—because in her memory, she had pushed that disastrous bomb into the cosmos.
So why was the city destroyed?
Kiana questioned herself, her gaze frantically searching for the source of the disaster.
Until her eyes fixed on her own trembling hands.
Her own hands—
The hands of the Herrscher of the Void.
This broke her: "No... it's not like this! Mei... believe me! I clearly already... No... it's not... it's not!!"
"Mei!!"
She woke up with a start, gasping heavily. Realizing it was a nightmare, she murmured instinctively: "Just a nightmare... thank goodness."
But the next moment she became alert—this was clearly an unfamiliar environment.
"You're awake."
Kiana followed the voice: "You're... Durandal?"
Durandal was reading a book nearby and answered: "Yes, it's me."
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Kiana realized she was in a heavily guarded, sealed room.
She had already guessed what happened.
She quickly asked: "What about Arc City? And... where is Mei?"
Durandal replied: "The crisis there has been resolved. No civilians were harmed. The Valkyries are cleaning up the aftermath. Raiden Mei has reunited with her companions and left Arc City."
Hearing that Mei was safe, Kiana felt somewhat relieved.
Durandal continued: "You are currently in Schicksal's North Africa experimental base. Aside from that, is there anything else you want to ask?"
"..."
Kiana looked at her silently for a long time before speaking: "Durandal... I've long anticipated that one day I would face you."
Durandal said: "Since you're mentally prepared, what comes next will be much simpler. If there are no other questions, lie still. You need proper rest right now."
The other party showed no hostility, but that only made Kiana more unable to relax her guard.
Though she tried to appear calm, Kiana knew perfectly well that her current situation was the worst possible outcome.