Chương 84: The Hunt is On
Suddenly, a surge of Honkai energy burst from Shin, enveloping him in an ethereal aura. The ground around him seemed to tremble slightly, and the air grew heavy. His eyes glowed with newfound power as he stepped forward, his voice low but clear."I'm actually a Herrscher..."
The Herrscher of Blades
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As we landed smoothly on the ground, Kiana immediately took note of the mecha guards patrolling outside. We crouched low, peeking out from an alleyway.
"Looks like this won't be easy," Kiana muttered. "Let's lay low."
I smirked. "That's usually my line," I said as we moved carefully avoiding detection from the mechas.
As we continued forward, a mecha drone blocked our path, hovering steadily on the bridge. Fu Hua gestured toward the stairway.
"Take the stairs up to avoid detection."
We followed her suggestion, but once we reached the bridge, more mecha guards awaited, their sensors scanning the area.
"Tsk... We need a distraction," I said, eyeing the guards. "I'll keep them busy while you two follow the plan."
Kiana's eyes widened. "What? That's crazy! You'll get caught!"
"Trust Shin on this," Fu Hua reassured. "He's top-ranked in covert operations, remember?"
"Eh? This is the first time I've heard about that!" Kiana gasped. "Is Shin actually good at stalking?"
I shot her a look, rolling my eyes. "Quiet down, will you?"
With that, I leaped onto the bridge railing, summoning a circle of flaming swords that hovered menacingly in the air. "Strike." The blades shot forward, crashing into the mecha guards and triggering a series of explosions.
The noise drew the attention of nearby drones, and they locked onto my position.
"Perfect…" I muttered, summoning a flying sword to hover beside me. "Let's hope that they don't catch up." I hopped onto it, glancing back at Kiana and Fu Hua.
Good luck to you two.
They gave me a quick nod before slipping away, sticking to the shadows.
With a smirk, I urged the sword forward, darting through the air as the drones gave chase.
Meanwhile... from someone's perspective.
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Rita steadied herself, the weight of recent events pressing on her mind. She had been through countless missions, but none had ever unfolded quite like this.
The boy—once presumed dead and now a Herrscher—had chosen to save her life instead of succumbing to the destructive instincts she'd been warned about.
And then there was Kiana, the other Herrscher, desperately fighting against a deadly plot threatening Arc City.
Rita had thought of them both as her targets, yet now, they were something else entirely.
Kiana had been talking to someone, her voice quiet yet charged with emotion.
In the dim light of the safe house, Rita's thoughts drifted back to a moment she'd glimpsed.
Kiana had been talking to someone, her voice quiet yet charged with emotion. There was no one else around—was she speaking to herself? Or… could it have been to Shin?
She'd only caught fragments, the name "Master Shin" slipping through the silence. Rita had held herself still, careful not to give her presence away, curiosity gnawing at her.
She took a deep breath, a small smile curling her lips. "Well, Miss Kaslana… Master Shin… If it's a distraction you plan, I'll make use of it." She straightened, reaching for her communicator and flipping it on.
The line hummed with static before she heard a faint, familiar voice.
"Alvitr," she said quietly, stepping out of the shadows and leaping gracefully to the street below. She landed with a soft thud, already moving forward.
"Deputy?! You're alive!" Alvitr's relief was evident, her words rushing out. "We thought—Herrscher Kaslana saved us… but why would she?"
Rita paused, glancing up at the darkened sky as raindrops fell on her. "I wish I knew, Alvitr," she murmured.
"Deputy, I'm trying to get to HQ, but our comms are jammed," Alvitr's voice crackled faintly over the line.
Rita nodded, voice calm and reassuring. "Understood. Keep the squad safe—I'll rendezvous with you soon."
She clicked off the communicator, unsheathing her scythe as she slipped into the shadows of the street. Moving swiftly, she hugged the wall, her eyes narrowing as she spotted a patrolling mecha nearby.
"Pesky machines," she muttered, waiting until the mecha turned before she darted forward.
With precise movements, she slashed through its back, pulling it down as it sparked and sputtered. One swift stomp crushed its head, silencing it.
"Looks like I'll have to stay low," she murmured, glancing around to ensure the coast was clear.
Keeping to the shadows, Rita melted into the darkness, slipping through the streets like a phantom.
Rita stopped in her tracks, trying her comms once more. Silence. The HQ was still out of reach.
With a sigh, she prepared to leave a message instead. Pressing a button on her device, she spoke clearly, her voice steady. "Operation Artemis. Recipient: Durandal. Sender: Rita Rossweisse."
A few moments passed as she recorded her report, detailing the mission's current status. When she finished, she paused, her thoughts drifting.
"If I can't contact Master Durandal, perhaps Miss Kaslana and Master Shin would be more inclined to accept my invitation…"
Meanwhile from someone's perspective
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At the Heliopolis Biomedical Park, Raven tapped impatiently on her console as an incoming call flashed across the screen.
What's our progress?" the voice on the other end demanded. "The secret of Heliopolis has been compromised, and the experiment's timeline is dwindling. We're running out of options."
Raven let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I've deployed all our forces already. What more do you expect? This isn't magic—we can't just wave a wand and make these problems vanish."
A cold, flat voice cut through her words. "Then stop them."
Raven scoffed, crossing her arms as she leaned back against a console, her expression edged with irritation.
"Stop them? Sure, because that'll be easy. You could unleash ten times the number of monsters we have, and it wouldn't slow those two down. Do you know what the Herrscher of the Void did during the 2nd Honkai War? Armies fell like leaves in a storm, wiped out by her alone."
She paused, voice dropping. "And now, there's that boy—he can slice through anything."
The voice on the other end remained unphased.
"I reviewed the footage from the site an hour ago. The girl didn't show full Herrscher powers; she's likely just begun to tap into them. Don't let your past cloud your judgment, Raven. My intel suggests this 'Void Queen' dealt a blow to Schicksal's HQ but was ultimately taken down within hours… by the Herrscher of Blade."
"There were three S-Rank Valkyries stationed there," the voice continued, unyielding. "Rita Rossweisse was one of them. You've faced her before, haven't you? And, let's be honest—if she was that skilled, our trap wouldn't have taken her down so easily. This 'nascent Herrscher' might not be as powerful as you feared."
Raven's jaw tightened. " 'Might not be'? Your intel's slipping if you believe that. Rumor has it that Schicksal's Overseer has been creating some kind of secret weapon."
"Otto?" The voice scoffed dismissively. "He's just a coward hiding behind his Valkyries. Are you going to tell me next that he made a retiring Valkyrie wear a miracle battlesuit and take down a Herrscher?"
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Your sense of humor is so comforting."
"Listen closely, Raven. We've invested years in Project: STIGMA. A crowded city under curfew, and limited evacuation routes—it's the ideal scenario, one we won't get again. Our sire is watching. This city is where humanity's future begins. There's no turning back."
Raven fell silent, her hood casting shadows over her face as the weight of those words settled. Finally, she exhaled, her tone resigned.
"As the Serpent wills."
Meanwhile... from Shin's perspective...
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"Seriously? They sent an Aesir Baldr after me?" I muttered, landing on the highway and gripping my demon sword.
I didn't have time for this, but they'd given me no choice.
The sword flared to life, engulfed in a fierce purple flame, and I thrust it into the ground.
"Looks like I'll need your help again, Master," I murmured. "Arise... Hokushin Mei!"
A wave of purple flames circled around me and the Aesir Baldr, startling the machine as the flames tightened around us. Then, through the blaze, she appeared—Hokushin Mei, gripping a blade identical to mine, her presence solid and commanding.
"Distract them."
She nodded, steady and focused, before shifting into a combat stance. Without another word, I summoned a flying sword beneath my feet and lifted off into the air.
I have a bad feeling about this now that they bring out the big guns.
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