["Commence attack!"
With Archbishop Otto's command, countless missiles traced arcs across the sky. Then, like raindrops, they fell upon the Siberian plains.
An hour of bombardment completely emptied all of Schicksal's heavy artillery stockpiles, transforming the entire Siberian plain into a sea of flames. Afterwards, Archbishop Otto ordered the assault teams to advance and search for the location of the Second Herrscher. Though fifty thousand Honkai beasts still remained scattered across Siberia, they could no longer hinder the Valkyries' progress. The squad led by Siegfried soon encountered the Judgment-class Honkai beast, Dragon Maid Benares. The raging ball of lightning gathering above carried an aura capable of annihilating everything in its path. "All units, fall back!"
"Scatter! Now!"
Siegfried raised the Might of An-Utu, standing ready to face Benares' attack. ...
Atop Babylon Tower, Sirin sat cross-legged, watching the Valkyries exterminate the Honkai beasts with amusement. To her, these beasts were nothing more than disposable creations she could summon at will. Just as she prepared to take further action, she suddenly realized someone had slipped behind her—a squad of Valkyries led by Otto had already reached the battlefield. Only then did Sirin understand: those Valkyries below were merely decoys meant to divert her attention.]
[Silver Wolf]: "Damn, just three people facing the boss head-on!"
[Pardofelis]: "Yeah! I wonder if Hua can really take on a Herrscher with six Cores."
[Mobius]: "Little white mouse, you'll be the one to test the true strength of a six-Core Herrscher!"
The Flame-Chasers didn't hold an optimistic view of their combat capabilities. With six Cores inside her, who knew how much power Sirin could unleash? The achievements of the Herrschers from the Previous Era were still fresh in their memories.
[Facing the overconfident and bloated pufferfish that was Sirin, Fu Hua declared that she alone would be enough—the other two didn't need to intervene. Sirin, still brimming with arrogance even as Fu Hua stood ready, sneered that Fu Hua had grown complacent just from defeating a mere puppet!
Cheng Lixue watched her master engage the Herrscher in single combat, unable to suppress her worry. Shouldn't we help Master? Otto, however, appeared utterly confident. She alone is sufficient. "Old friend, within the domain of Fenghuang Down, you can wield your strongest power."
"When that strength lost for 500 years returns to you—"
"You will become the most powerful person in this world."]
[Kiana]: "I never thought Class Monitor was this strong!"
Kiana and the others stared at Fu Hua with curiosity, as if examining some rare specimen. Fu Hua had originally planned to leave immediately after her true strength was exposed—only to be blocked by S-rank Valkyrie Durandal and the launch platform right at the academy. Unable to escape, she could only endure their scrutinizing gazes.
[Mobius]: "Why does the little white mouse need Fenghuang Down to restore her strength? And her physical condition..."
[Fu Hua]: "Uh..."
[In the next instant, Fu Hua struck—but Sirin didn't even bat an eye. She erected a barrier of Imaginary Space before her, convinced that no human attack could penetrate a Herrscher's defense.
Soon, however, her body would record this mistake firsthand. What loomed before her was... hundreds... thousands... tens of thousands of fists forming... a wall of punches... No—it was a storm of fists! Only then did Sirin realize: Imaginary barriers were not flawless. She was struck—countless fists pummeled her body relentlessly. Acting on instinct, Sirin unleashed the most lethal ability at close range—the Black Mist of Death. "Get away from me!"
Within this mist, all things would corrode into nothingness— Yet it could never erode the flames burning upon Fu Hua's fists—flames that had endured for five thousand years.
Inch! Strength! Shatter! Heaven!]
[Kosma]: "...Cool!"
[Pardofelis]: "No way! Under Hua's hands, a six-Core Herrscher can't even fight back!"
[Mobius]: "How weak..."
[Vill-V]: "Truly pathetic."
[Mei]: "She hasn't displayed even a fraction of a Herrscher's true power."
[Sakura]: "Don't let your guard down. What if the Herrscher suddenly awakens?"
[Theresa]: "If this is weak, what kind of monsters did you guys fight in the Previous Era?!"
[Blade]: "Boring. Even the Black Mist of Death cannot grant me oblivion."
Blade observed how the so-called all-corrosive mist failed to so much as scratch Fu Hua and knew it wouldn't bring him the eternal rest he sought either.
["Lixue, lend me Ruoshui."
Fu Hua took the sword and leapt down from the tower, launching her assault against Sirin as she plummeted. Sirin, still reeling from Fu Hua's bewildering combo that somehow spared her brain, struggled to rise from the ground, her mind struggling to process what had just happened. "I... lost?!
How is this possible?!"
Sirin watched as Fu Hua descended like a meteor. She hurled several wind blades toward her, carving deep gashes into Babylon Tower—
Yet Fu Hua dodged every single one. In an instant, Fu Hua landed on the ground, her blade pointed directly at Sirin. As Sirin stared at her figure, a familiar yet detestable sensation overwhelmed her heart. It was something she had felt every single day before becoming a Herrscher—
—The feeling of fear. "Y-You... stay away from me!!"
Trembling in boundless terror, Sirin summoned surging flames to encircle herself. "Flames three times stronger than Agata's... With this... I should be able to stop her advance... right?"
Sirin thought desperately as she watched Fu Hua lost in recollection. Fu Hua closed her eyes—yet what appeared before her was still the scenery from fifty thousand years ago. It was an oath she had carried for fifty millennia. Every time she closed her eyes during those years, she would contemplate how to battle those Herrschers. Death, Wind, Flame, Void—no matter which one it was, she had long since devised a way to counter them.
Taixu Sword Form—Sword Manifestation: Swift Swallow!
Even the Flame Herrscher's defenses were torn apart as effortlessly as paper—
With a single thrust, Fu Hua's blade pierced clean through the Herrscher's abdomen, leaving Sirin frozen in shock.]
[Hua]: "Captain..."
[Mobius]: "This is the first time I've seen a Herrscher so utterly incompetent at wielding their own Authority."
[Herrscher of the Void]: "Human! What did you say?! Once I recover, I'll reduce all of you to ashes!"
[Vill-V]: "A Herrscher who performs worse than Divine Keys should just quit.
In this battle—never mind Hua's fifty thousand years of progress—you haven't even mastered basic proficiency with a single Authority, let alone achieved seamless integration."
[Sakura]: "From what I recall, none of the Authorities of Void, Death, Wind or Flame were ever this weak."
[Kalpas]: "HAHAHAHA! Recruit! Your martial prowess has grown this formidable?! Come! Fight me! Burn everything to cinders—until death do us part!"
[Hua]: "Huh? Me? Fight you? I don't have my outside self's strength right now..."
[March 7th]: "Since the Herrscher has been defeated... when will Mr. Yang be resurrected?"
[Honkai: Star Rail - Welt]: "Uh... I should be appearing soon?"