"Trash! If you dare take one more step forward, prepare to be completely atomized!"
Hearing the voice from behind, the man's steps abruptly halted. He then took another step forward before slowly turning his head, chuckling, "Trash? Are you talking about me?"
Though a smile still played on his lips, the man's eyes were filled with rage. A scorching blue light shot out from his eyes, and the glowing marks on his skin gave him a more terrifying demeanor.
Mei, no, at this moment, she should be called the Queen of Thunder.
Wisps of lightning coiled around her, like subjects paying homage to their queen. Her proud gaze slowly swept over Bronya and Higokumaru, taking in their injuries, and a hint of killing intent filled the Queen of Thunder's purple eyes.
"Even if they're just friends of that coward, they're not for trash like you to bully."
Her fair, slender fingers slowly extended. The previously chaotic lightning behind the Herrscher coalesced into a half-pair of lightning wings, and an astonishingly murderous aura swept out.
"Hahaha! If I don't get serious, I'm really being underestimated." Holding a hand to his forehead, the man laughed heartily. "Daughter of Raiden Ryoma, use your life to remember the price of making a fool of the First Herrscher!"
"Tch! Turn into atoms for me, trash!"
The Queen of Thunder pointed, and a spear of lightning that pierced the heavens descended upon the man who called himself the First Herrscher, causing countless bolts of lightning to instantly burst forth.
Although the strange feeling from her heart told her she only had five minutes, to deal with this kind of trash, taking more than three minutes would be an insult to her.
Amidst the dazzling lightning, a slightly charred hand suddenly shot out. Pitch-black spheres began to appear, countering the sky-filling thunder.
A battle between Herrschers had officially begun!
...
On the other side of St. Freya, in Theresa's exclusive training room, a tall and a short white-haired figure were engaged in fierce combat.
Alright, it was actually the Principal giving her niece special training while also venting her recent frustrations.
Bang!
A sweep of her lance sent Kiana staggering back several steps. Theresa frowned as she watched Kiana take a while to regain her balance. Although she had been quite hands-off with Kiana for a while, the girl's self-discipline was too poor. That little brat Ming Yu would probably be eligible for an S-rank evaluation soon.
Glancing guiltily at Theresa, Kiana subconsciously took half a step back, but then quickly moved closer to Theresa, complaining, "Theresa! Is this really effective? I feel like training with Ming Yu is better..."
"Of course it's effective, this is guidance from an S-rank Valkyrie! And don't mention that brat in front of me!"
Pinching Kiana's cheek, the Principal said puffing her cheeks. If it weren't for that guy causing so much trouble, would she be this upset?
And the Inverse Feather Squad... She shouldn't have agreed to let him become a Valkyrie in the first place. She should have just made him repeat a grade, preferably one he could never graduate from!
As her mind wandered with these thoughts, Theresa's grip unconsciously tightened.
"Ow~ It hurts, it hurts~"
Mumbling incoherently, Kiana looked at Theresa with puppy-dog eyes.
Suddenly, the Principal's brow furrowed slightly. Forgetting to punish her niece for her slip of the tongue, she quickly opened her communications.
Seeing the glaring red text on the screen, Theresa's frown deepened.
Rubbing her slightly sore cheek, Kiana quietly circled around behind Theresa, gently standing on her tiptoes, her eyes unable to resist peeking at the screen.
Glancing at Kiana's slightly raised tiptoes, Theresa felt a surge of anger. Was she deliberately mocking her height?
But there was no time to care about that now. Her expression darkened, and Theresa immediately made a decision.
"Don't look! Someone claiming to be the First Herrscher has infiltrated St. Freya and is trying to capture Mei. We're going to the armory right now. I need to get Judah."
Closing the communication screen, Theresa grabbed Kiana's wrist and started to head out. What the Principal didn't say was that the bomb planted in Mei's body had also been activated, proving that she had already used the Herrscher's power. The situation was more dangerous than she had imagined.
"Huh? Then let's hurry!"
Hearing that Mei might be in trouble, Kiana became anxious. Using her long-legged advantage, she overtook Theresa, pulling the Principal towards the armory instead.
But before they had taken more than a few steps, a sudden red communication message forcefully halted their steps.
Looking at the figure that appeared on the screen, Theresa was taken aback and couldn't help but cry out, "Archbishop?!"
"The underground area of the central cathedral has been breached. Theresa, I order you to go there immediately! The things stored there must not fall into enemy hands."
Without any pleasantries, the Overseer issued his order the moment the communication connected, his usually lazy voice tinged with a hint of urgency.
"But, my student has been captured by the intruder..."
Hearing the Overseer's command, Theresa frowned. Although she could understand the Lord Overseer's judgment on the priority of the two matters, she couldn't just leave her student.
"That little matter? Just let the little white-haired girl next to you handle it."
The Lord Overseer said nonchalantly, as if he were just discussing a few extra clouds in the sky.
Looking at the eager Kiana beside her, Theresa's frown deepened even more, and she retorted, "But, the intruder is very likely the First Herrscher..."
"The First Herrscher, don't kid me, that guy..." The Lord Overseer's tone held a hint of mockery. "Never mind, you don't need to worry about it. As long as she's wearing that battlesuit you gave her, there won't be a problem. Besides, if you calculate the time, that boy named Ming Yu should be arriving soon."
Looking suspiciously at the White Comet battlesuit Kiana was wearing, Theresa finally nodded in agreement. Although she was a bit worried the Overseer had discovered something, she didn't have time to think too much about it now.
Meanwhile, at Schicksal Headquarters, looking at the disconnected communication, the Lord Overseer fell into deep thought.
If that visitor from another world is fast enough, it seems there won't be a chance to test the White Knight this time. Missing this opportunity, it will be difficult to find such a good chance again...
...
St. Freya, dormitory area.
"Trash is trash after all!"
Stomping the man firmly under her foot, the Queen of Thunder said with a look of disdain. Although it had almost taken more than three minutes, she had ultimately suppressed her opponent.
"Prepare to be atomized!"
Lightly raising her right hand, a dazzling ball of lightning slowly appeared in the Third Herrscher's hand. The deafening sound of thunder was incessant, all of it indicating the danger of this bolt of lightning.
A contemptuous smile curved her lips, and the Queen of Thunder was just about to throw the lightning ball. But in the next moment, a throb from her heart made her body jolt, and the wings of lightning behind her instantly dissipated.
Upon detecting the Herrscher using stronger power, the bomb buried in her heart also strengthened its restraint, forcibly shortening the time limit.
Sensing the Third Herrscher's power weakening, the man let out a ferocious laugh. With a jolt of Honkai Energy, he sent the Queen of Thunder flying.
Watching the Third Herrscher clutch her chest in pain, the man slowly stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and said with a chuckle, "Although I don't know why, you look really weak right now."
"Pay for the crime of mocking me with your life!"
Laughing loudly, the man raised his right hand high. Pitch-black spheres slowly appeared, and surging Honkai Energy once again poured out from his body.
Whoosh!
A sharp sound of wind breaking cut through the air from above. A pitch-black shadow, wrapped in the momentum of a landslide, crashed heavily onto the ground, stirring up countless clouds of dust.
"Cough, cough, cough! What is this..."
Waving his hand to disperse the dust, the man's gaze was drawn to the sudden object. He only saw a black longsword, nearly half-buried in the ground. Its constantly vibrating body still emitted clear, ringing sounds.