Cecilia gripped Black Abyss White Flower, her expression grave as she stared at the puppet before her.
Though it barely reached her waist in height and possessed an unnaturally slender frame—so thin it seemed as though the slightest push would make it sway—it radiated an invisible pressure.
As if an ancient primordial beast were crouching before her.
As if it carried within it the blood-soaked slaughter of a bygone era.
The Saint of Schicksal and the World Serpent's puppet stood facing each other amid the devastated riverbank.
A chill wind swept in from across the Thames, passing through the puppet's blue coat and through Cecilia's flowing black battle armor alike.
Suddenly—
The puppet moved.
It raised its crimson greatsword. Eternal flames surged upward, and with unstoppable momentum it charged straight at her.
Cecilia's figure flickered, narrowly avoiding the blade's edge—
Yet without hesitation, the puppet spun, leapt skyward, and brought its sword crashing down from above!
Her jade-like feet tapped lightly against the ground as she shifted repeatedly, searching for an opening—for a moment where the puppet's move would overextend or falter.
But it was as if it defied inertia itself.
Every time Cecilia evaded, the puppet instantly halted its momentum, forcefully cutting short the natural continuation of its swing—then barreled toward her again without pause.
It possessed no varied techniques.
Thus, it had no technique to exhaust.
Its movements were crude, filled with obvious openings—yet every solution required facing it head-on first.
"Boom!!!"
At last, Cecilia braced her lance and collided directly with it.
Unextinguishable flame and dense black mist clashed violently, splitting the world into red and black.
"—Kh!"
Cecilia staggered half a step back.
The puppet did not budge.
A metallic taste rose in her throat, but she dared not relax. Using the force of the clash, she twisted her aching wrist and vanished from sight.
When she reappeared—
She was already above the puppet's head.
Black Honkai energy condensed at the tip of her lance as she plunged downward, aiming directly for its skull.
The puppet did not even glance upward.
When the lance descended to a certain height—
It simply raised its hand.
That was all.
"Clang!!"
Lance and blade collided, erupting in searing sparks. The greatsword trembled slightly—but did not yield an inch.
With sheer, overwhelming strength, the puppet forcibly withstood the very strike that had once instantaneously slain the Pseudo-Herrscher of Wind during the Second Honkai War.
Cecilia frowned.
There was no time to think.
Borrowing the rebound from the clash, she twisted her waist, spun midair, and landed behind the puppet. In less than two seconds, she thrust again with all her might.
"Ding—"
The puppet turned slowly and nudged its greatsword outward, easily intercepting the attack. This time, the sound of impact was softer.
Cecilia stumbled backward several steps, struggling to stabilize herself.
But the puppet began its counterattack.
The greatsword lifted, flames coiling around it as it charged once more.
She raised her lance to block. Her wrist screamed in pain again.
The puppet did not stop.
It leapt high, descending like a starving tiger pouncing upon prey.
Forced entirely on the defensive, Cecilia felt the crushing suppression through her weapon, aggravating her wounds further.
Yet she refused to yield.
At the instant their weapons clashed again, she twisted her grip, stepped forward, and closed the distance.
From the lance's tip, black mist erupted and surged toward the puppet.
"Tricks like this dare to show themselves before our Lord?!"
Jackal's mocking voice echoed from afar.
Cecilia's heart tightened as she watched the black fog envelop the puppet layer by layer.
But before she could breathe in relief—
Within the dense darkness, a scorching crimson flared.
In the blink of an eye, raging flames devoured the corrosive mist entirely.
Then the fire reversed direction.
It swept outward along the same path the mist had traveled—straight toward Cecilia.
She retreated rapidly, barely evading the inferno after several desperate dodges.
And once again—
The puppet raised its greatsword and charged just as it had at the beginning.
Cecilia's movements grew heavier.
Her foot had already been bitten by the Emperor-class Honkai beast earlier. The high-frequency evasions worsened the injury.
Finally, during one turn—
The puppet seized its opening.
The greatsword cleaved downward with incomparable pressure.
Cecilia could only raise her lance to intercept the blade's edge—
And was blasted more than ten meters away by the impact.
She hit the ground with a muffled groan, then forced herself upright, leaning against her lance as she panted.
Her eyes locked onto the small figure before her.
This opponent…
was terrifying.
Her instincts had not been wrong.
It was a primordial monster.
No techniques. No tricks.
Only Honkai-conjured flames and overwhelming physical strength—
And with just those two things, it crushed her outright.
At this rate…
There was no way she could win.
"You should be proud, Schariac," Jackal's voice rang out with excitement and arrogance. "This is a puppet of our World Serpent's Lord—one percent of his power! And Lord Kevin is someone who could stand against the Herrscher of the End!"
"To have fought this long against even one percent of Lord Kevin—you can boast about it for a lifetime!"
"Not to mention, foolish Schariac—you were bitten by Jörmungandr. Did you think I'd remove a serpent's natural venom glands when I modified it? Hahaha!"
"Give up! You have absolutely no reason to escape alive!"
Jackal threw her arms wide, her grin twisting wildly—as if Otto's "death" had already been forgotten.
"Hahaha! I can already imagine the glory awaiting me within World Serpent—slaying the Overseer of Schicksal and an S-rank Valkyrie in one stroke! World Serpent will welcome back our Lord and claim everything!"
She laughed ecstatically, every gesture brimming with the confidence of victory.
Save for the dust still clinging to her clothes.
Cecilia pressed her lips together.
Jackal was right.
Though something within her body suppressed Jörmungandr's venom, her mind still felt dizzy.
Fragments of past memories burst forth chaotically, interfering with her thoughts.
She was not yet fully the S-rank Valkyrie she once had been.
Even wielding a Divine Key, sustained combat at this level strained her to the brink.
After slaying Jörmungandr…
After hundreds of exchanges with this puppet…
She was exhausted in both body and soul.
Is this… really the end?
Am I truly… incapable of anything?
No.
No—
Cecilia tightened her grip on Black Abyss White Flower, enduring the vertigo brought by overuse of the Divine Key.
I cannot lose.
In the name of a Valkyrie—
In the name of Schicksal's Saint, Cecilia Schariac!
She slowly raised her lance.
Sealed memories began to thaw.
Her combat instincts as an S-rank Valkyrie gradually resurfaced. The myriad methods of wielding Black Abyss White Flower flooded her mind, forcing her to accept the chaotic torrent with utmost calm.
The warmth of those memories became fuel.
Fuel that ignited towering fury.
Her heart pounded in resonance with her burning will—
Like war drums resounding beneath a roaring western wind.
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