『 "Hehehe… humans." The contemptuous voice of the Second Herrscher drifted from up ahead. "To think you could fight me for so long. Your strength seems even greater than that nun's."
"Hmph, thanks for the compliment." Siegfried wiped the blood from his mouth. "The moment we clashed, I regretted it."
He looked solemnly at the Second Herrscher in the sky. "I'm afraid even if Theresa and I teamed up, we still wouldn't be your match."
"You certainly have self-awareness, human. If you're willing to beg for mercy, I might just let you off the hook~"
"Thank you for your kindness, beautiful lady." As Siegfried spoke, the Judgment of Shamash in his hand began to change. Several fiery red, circular data streams appeared at the hilt of the sword.
"But, I have already made up my mind."
The blade of Shamash grew increasingly hot, its color shifting from orange-yellow to a deep, glowing crimson.
"To protect the one I love most! I am willing to offer my own life!" 』
『 ....』
〘Aha〙: To protect the one I love most, I shall launch one badass attack!
〘Mobius〙: Why is every single Kaslana a pure-love warrior? Vill-V, when you designed Shamash, did you not include any unusual settings?
〘Vill-V〙: No way. The only Divine Key with a backdoor is Griseo's Oath of Judah. To take care of Griseo, I just added a bunch of random, chaotic functions.
〘Raven〙: Then how do you explain my Divine Key suddenly turning into a slingshot right in the middle of a fight?
〘Vill-V〙: Hehe, that's called a surprise~
〘Raven〙: I call it a heart attack!
....
『 Siegfried fully unleashed the power of Shamash, yet this was still not the limit. Its energy was still surging.
Sirin looked down at the giant flaming sword and screamed, "Why! Why does that sword possess such power?!"
"Go to hell with your questions!" Siegfried raised Shamash with both hands, the blade roaring with raging flames.
"SHAMASH, AN-UTU—!" 』
『 ....』
〘Kevin〙: Hmm… lacking in power.
〘Stelle〙: Flaming Lance! Charge!
〘Silver Wolf〙: I was wondering why the deja vu was so strong. So this is why.
....
『 Subsequently, the screen was completely consumed by the flames of Shamash, followed by the familiar black screen. 』
『 ....』
〘Belle〙: Familiar.
〘Hanabi〙: Without this black screen, I'd feel itchy.
....
『 Theresa and Kiana finally arrived at the scene. But by this time, O-23 was completely devastated. In front of them was a massive, still-burning crater of fire, and Siegfried was nowhere to be found.
"We're finally close to O-23. Wait, that person is… Siegfried!"
"How was this massive flaming crater created?"
"This was caused by releasing the power of the Judgment of Shamash." Theresa looked at the crater before her with a heavy heart, then slapped her thigh hard. "Damn it! That idiot, in the end, he still did it…"
By the end of her sentence, Theresa was already on the verge of tears.
"How can this be… If he used the Judgment of Shamash, my stupid dad would die." Kiana muttered in disbelief, but the crater before her coldly spoke of the harsh reality: Siegfried had indeed unleashed Shamash.
"Lady Theresa, please be careful. There are still powerful Honkai energy reactions around you."
The operator's emergency communication reached Theresa's ears.
Hearing this, Kiana scanned the surroundings. When she looked at the bottom of the crater, she cried out in surprise, "Wait! In the center of the crater, there's still a Honkai Beast! This Honkai Beast actually managed to survive the flames."
"Is it a minion of the Second Herrscher? Hmph, don't think you can block our path!"
The two leaped into the crater and engaged Benares in battle. However, they did not manage to destroy it. Benares seized a gap in their attacks, flapped its wings, and flew away. 』
『 ....』
〘Herrscher of the Void〙: Bella…
....
『 "Damn it, that Honkai Beast got away!" Kiana said angrily, watching the retreating Benares.
"There's no time to worry about it! The Second Herrscher must have headed towards the 'Tower'. We must stop her before she gets there! We absolutely cannot let Siegfried's sacrifice be in vain!" Theresa's tone was extremely anxious. "Even though that guy is a pervert, a playboy, and a massive idiot, he still shouldn't die here. Damn it!" 』
『 ....』
〘Siegfried〙: Oh my, look at that. Our little Theresa is almost crying.
〘Theresa Apocalypse〙: Hmph! I was only worried that if you died, there would be no one to take care of Cecilia and Kiana.
....
『 "Theresa… she actually cares this much about Dad." Kiana thought to herself as she watched Theresa tear up over Siegfried.
Right at that moment, an extremely gentle voice—one that Kiana had never heard before—came from Theresa's communicator.
"Theresa, I didn't expect you to care so much about my dear husband~" 』
『 ....』
〘Siegfried〙: Cecilia…
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Is this Mom's voice?
〘Mei〙: She sounds like a very gentle person.
〘March 7th〙: Indeed, it gives off a similar feeling to Himeko-jie's voice.
....
『 "This voice! It's Cecilia! Have you already arrived in Siberia?" Theresa asked in shock.
"Lady Cecilia!" After calling out, Kiana murmured in a voice only she could hear, "Is… is this Mom's voice?"
"Yes, fortunately I arrived just in time to save my dear husband."
"Is Siegfried still alive?!" Hearing this, Theresa immediately asked about Siegfried's condition.
"He's not out of danger yet. After all, half of his body is burned." After saying this, Cecilia let out a soft chuckle and continued, "I will do my best to heal him. You two head over to the 'Tower' first. Once I've treated him, I'll catch up immediately."
"Heal wounds caused by the Judgment of Shamash? Don't tell me you used the Abyss Flower? But your body!"
"You worry too much, Theresa~ It's fine, really." With that, Cecilia cut off the communication. 』
『 ....』
〘Honkai · Welt〙: This second 'really' sounds more like she was saying it to herself.
〘Siegfried〙: The power of the Abyss Flower was still too much of a strain for Cecilia back then.
....
『 "Cecilia, Cecilia. So, this is what Mom's voice sounds like. This is the first time I've ever heard it." Kiana thought, her heart racing with excitement.
"That's right! If we go to the 'Tower', doesn't that mean I can meet Mom?!"
"I… I have never met Mom before."
Theresa looked at the disconnected communicator and sighed deeply, saying in disappointment, "Sigh, what a failure! In the end, I still couldn't stop Cecilia from coming to the battlefield."
"Theresa, you've been trying to stop Cecilia from coming to the battlefield. Why is that?" Kiana asked curiously.
"Cecilia… although she is the strongest Valkyrie, she has been recovering ever since she gave birth to her daughter. If she joins the battle…"
Hearing this, Kiana seemed to realize something.
(That's right, the voice in the dream said that Mom would die in the Second Honkai War.)
(No! I absolutely cannot let Mom die here! Even if this is just a virtual data space, I won't allow it!) 』
『 ....』