As Theresa watched Leo Ash, she saw not only the bruise on his chest but also the numerous cuts all over his body.
Although Leo Ash himself had controlled the force when he cut his own skin and muscle, avoiding the bone, to the onlooking Theresa, the wounds endlessly seeping blood were already terrifying.
*This child... why does he fight with such reckless abandon!!!*
She didn't know who he had just been fighting, but these injuries—aren't they incredibly serious!
"Matriarch, I don't know what you're thinking, but I think..."
Pointing behind him at Chiyou, which had started moving again, Leo Ash said with a deadpan expression.
"I think we should go. Chiyou... seems to have gotten even angrier because of that last attack of yours."
"Tch, this thing is such a pain."
Looking at the giant Honkai Beast before her, Theresa was only now realizing just how troublesome this creature was.
For the Theresa who could take down an Emperor-class beast in her first battle, the Theresa of today—who had decades of combat experience and a Divine Key—was obviously far stronger than her past self.
And yet, without releasing the Zeroth Power, her last attack had been almost at full strength.
As a result, not only did Chiyou have the power to instantly counterattack after being hit, but now that the dust had settled, it was charging at them again as if it had never been attacked at all.
At this moment, Theresa could even use her superhuman dynamic vision to clearly see the state of Chiyou's wound.
Her attack just now had relied on her monstrous strength and the Oath of Judah's special ability to weaken Honkai Energy. After weakening the Honkai Energy near the point of impact, she had directly shattered its defenses.
But now, the pierced wound on Chiyou was clearly absorbing everything it could from its surroundings.
After absorbing most of what it could and converting it into Honkai Energy, the wound had already been partially repaired.
At its current recovery speed, it would probably only take a minute or two for Chiyou to heal completely.
Furthermore, while Chiyou clearly lacked the intelligence of something like Benares to 'wield Herrscher authority', the supposedly unintelligent beast had somehow avoided absorbing the ground beneath its feet.
If it had absorbed the ground, it would have lost its means of pursuing Leo Ash and the others, temporarily turning itself into a giant living target.
Coupled with the fact that Theresa's attack had truly hurt it, it had now become wary of its surroundings.
In other words, without someone to coordinate with, Theresa's tactic of jumping on its head to deploy her Divine Grace Field was likely impossible to execute.
"Let's go, we'll rendezvous with everyone first!"
Throwing out the Oath of Judah, Theresa grabbed Leo Ash and jumped on top of it, beginning to speed away from Chiyou's side.
But...
"Matriarch, a little to the left."
The moment they landed on Judah, Leo Ash spoke urgently to Theresa.
"I can feel the Honkai Energy intensity behind us suddenly skyrocketing."
"Huh?"
Theresa, who was controlling Judah, and Leo Ash, who had sensed the danger, both looked back at the same time and saw...
—a sight that neither of them ever wanted to see.
Previously, the Chiyou that pursued them had been controlled by Ji Lin.
And at that time, although Ji Lin had been corrupted, her subconscious still didn't want to harm Leo Ash and the others.
For that reason, Chiyou had only chased them.
But now, Ji Lin had given her Stigmata and power to Leo Ash, and her own soul had scattered.
With no one left to restrain it, Chiyou was, of course, gradually revealing the true nature of an ancient beast of calamity.
In their eyes, Chiyou was still charging forward as before, but that wasn't the main point.
The main point was—what in the world was that energy gathering in Chiyou's mouth!!!
"An... energy cannon????"
Looking at the magenta beam in Chiyou's mouth, even the battle-hardened Theresa felt a headache coming on.
Just moments ago, Theresa was only worried about how to get close to Chiyou to activate her Divine Grace Field.
But now, she felt she couldn't afford to be so ambitious.
She herself could handle an energy cannon like that; it would be troublesome, at most.
But Leo Ash was already seriously injured by her.
If Leo Ash were so much as grazed by one of those energy blasts at a time like this, she felt that even if he survived, he'd be permanently disabled.
"Aaargh, you're so annoying, you big oaf—I'll make you pay for this later!"
After letting out that frustrated cry, Theresa poured Honkai Energy into Judah, trying to make the Divine Key go even faster.
As for Leo Ash, who was watching Chiyou, he truly felt that it wasn't just his face that was cold anymore; his heart was about to freeze over.
Because Theresa had to focus on controlling Judah, she hadn't looked closely at the state of the beam in Chiyou's mouth.
But Leo Ash, having practiced the Edge of Taixu, had a much clearer perception of Honkai Energy.
He could sense that although the energy in Chiyou's mouth looked like a single condensed beam, it wasn't fully converged. It was separated.
In other words...
—This wasn't a linear attack, it was a wide-area, spread-shot map-clearing attack!
*I've had enough.*
*Could the Chiyou from the original story really use such a bizarre attack???*
*It was just a background piece, a background piece that was easily suppressed in the original story!*
*Ah, I can't take it anymore.*
*Otto takes the lead in raising Honkai to resurrect a Herrscher, Cocolia takes the lead in creating Honkai to guide a Herrscher's awakening, and now World Serpent has released a Judgment-class Honkai Beast for their plan.*
*Dammit, why have all the high-ranking leaders of humanity's anti-Honkai factions defected to become traitors for the Honkai side?*
"Leo Ash, hold on tight, I'm speeding up!"
"No, it's no use, no matter how fast we go, it's useless, so...!"
Theresa's eyes sharpened as she threw Leo Ash off the cross.
Then, with a light tap of her foot, she leaped into the air, grabbing Judah's chains and slamming it heavily onto the ground.
After releasing its Zeroth Power, the Oath of Judah, like other Divine Keys, needed a two-hour recharge before its ultimate skill could be used again.
In other words, if Theresa used the Divine Grace Field here, it would not only weaken her and Leo Ash's life signs but also waste her strongest trump card for nothing.
After throwing Leo Ash away, Theresa could basically ensure he wouldn't be hit by Chiyou's beam.
And in these fourteen years, Theresa, who had been constantly honing her skills, had long since developed a simplified version of the Divine Grace Field, different from the complete one.
Releasing a portion of the Oath of Judah's power, a gilded golden light instantly appeared around Theresa.
But unlike fourteen years ago, the countless giant, gilded gears did not appear around her.
As the light faded, only a single, giant gilded gear remained before Theresa.
But in her eyes, this one move—was enough to block Chiyou's attack.
At the instant the beam was fired, it split into countless light projectiles, hurtling toward Theresa's position.
But under the power of the small Divine Grace Field, the moment these projectiles touched the barrier, they were neutralized by the Oath of Judah.
However, although she blocked Chiyou's attack with this move, it didn't mean Theresa was unscathed.
The Divine Grace Field was a double-edged sword for its user, and for an artificial human like Theresa with Honkai Beast genes, the damage from it was even greater.
Even though the Divine Grace Field she had just unleashed was a simplified version she had developed herself, the toll and damage it took on her were not to be underestimated.
Fortunately, this attack from Chiyou didn't seem to be a regular move it could use at will.
Judging by how Chiyou stopped in its tracks after attacking, it still needed some time to charge up and fire.
"Leo Ash—"
Turning to look at Leo Ash, whom she had thrown away, Theresa suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
Leo Ash himself was fine.
And Fu Hua, Mei, and Bronya, who had contacted Theresa earlier, had also appeared on the battlefield.
Although, as the Headmaster, Theresa really didn't want her students to face such a terrifying Honkai Beast, but...
—now that the situation was out of control, she clearly couldn't afford to be so sentimental.
"Class Rep Fu Hua."
After communicating with Kiana and the others through her neural chip, Bronya spoke to the people beside her.
"Big Sister Kiana and Big Sister Yuno said that after they get the S-rank Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse to a safe location, they will return here."
"Is that so, but..."
*Even if those two come back now, what can they do?*
Honestly, the current Fu Hua really didn't want the two unstable bombs, Kiana and Yuno, to return to this battlefield.
Mei, beside her, was not showing any serious problems at the moment; otherwise, she would have chosen to send Mei back to the Hyperion as well.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of holding back trump cards.
*Even if I unleash the Moon Wheel armor, can I solve the problem now?*
One-Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter poses a certain threat to ordinary Honkai Beasts and even Herrschers.
The problem is, while Chiyou doesn't have the Imaginary Shield that every Herrscher has, its body is enormous, and its hide is thick.
If I can't destroy its heart, its power source, in one blow, then even if I injure it, it can quickly repair the damage by devouring its surroundings.
As for our side's combat power, even if the reinforcements Theresa mentioned is Siegfried, our firepower is only enough for one attack.
Theresa breaks the defense, Siegfried uses the Judgment of Shamash to shatter its heart, and Teacher Himeko, connected to the Nexus System, can follow up with the Hyperion's main cannon.
The firepower seems sufficient, but the problem is...
—will the plan go as smoothly as we think?
"Leo Ash, you..."
Mei, who had just arrived on the scene, saw Leo Ash's battered appearance and said with great concern.
"You're covered in blood!"
"Ah, it's a minor injury."
Leo Ash glanced back at Chiyou and said to Mei.
"I'm a Schicksal knight, don't worry about a small injury like this."
*After all, if we don't deal with Chiyou, I'll probably just die instantly later.*
*The value of a ten-pull... is truly terrifying.*
"Second Lieutenant Leo Ash."
After sizing up Leo Ash's injuries, Fu Hua said to him.
"You've already done enough. What comes next—"
"You're not going to tell me to leave the battlefield, are you?"
Looking up at the behemoth before them, Leo Ash asked with a sneer.
"Run now? Where could we possibly run to?"
"But if you stay here now..."
Looking at the gauntlets on Leo Ash's fists, Fu Hua said in annoyance.
"Against a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, what use is a B-rank knight like you staying here?"
As Leo Ash's gaze drifted to Mei and Bronya, Fu Hua quickly added.
"As a Herrscher, Mei has more than enough strength, and as an intelligence analyst, Bronya is far more useful on the field right now than you are."
"Yeah, well said. But..."
His gaze lingering on Mei, Leo Ash said faintly.
"It's also an undeniable fact that Mei can't perfectly control the Herrscher's power."
"Even so, she's far more reliable than you, who has expended a great deal of energy and is already covered in wounds!"
Sensing Leo Ash's intentions, Fu Hua said to him with a cold face.
"For this Jiuyou operation, I am the captain designated by high command!"
"Second Lieutenant Leo Ash, are you trying to disobey a superior officer's order!"
"Oh, not at all. It's just..."
Glancing at Theresa in the distance, Leo Ash shrugged helplessly.
"Though I haven't renounced my surname, I am indeed a member of the Apocalypse family now."
"You want me to watch the Matriarch fight to the death here while I turn tail and run? Ha, I think in Lord Bishop Otto's eyes, that would be an unforgivable betrayal."
"I told you, I'm very afraid of death, and it's precisely because of that that I can't leave this place."
Upon hearing Leo Ash's words, Fu Hua fell silent.
Logically, Otto, being a smart man, would of course know that a B-rank knight like Leo Ash would be useless against a Judgment-class beast.
The problem was, Otto had never been a rational person.
As someone who had known Otto for a long time, Fu Hua felt that—Leo Ash's words were not without reason.
Theresa was one of the people Otto cared about most. If she were to die on the battlefield for such a reason, the probability of Otto going berserk was very high.
And when Otto, the king of the underworld, goes mad, the entire world suffers with him.
Even if Leo Ash didn't die fighting Chiyou, he could very well be purged by Otto in the future.
But then again, Fu Hua wasn't naive enough to actually believe that 'Leo Ash was afraid of death.'
He was clearly looking for an opportunity to earn merit, and if he could stay on the scene now and even find a chance to counterattack Chiyou, Leo Ash would obviously gain even more merit.
And with more merit, Leo Ash could naturally obtain a higher military rank and better equipment, making it easier for him to seek revenge against the Honkai.
Looking at it this way, driving Leo Ash away was already an impossible task.
*Sigh, what a headache. What should I do now?*
"Leo Ash."
Looking at the reluctant Leo Ash, Mei asked him softly.
"Do you have a way to defeat the enemy? If you don't, then you're just staying here for nothing."
Seeing the worried expression on Mei's face, Leo Ash gently patted her shoulder.
"Of course I do, but—I need you to lend me your power."
...
On the other side, after catching her breath for a few seconds, Theresa forced herself to ignore the searing pain in her body and move again.
At the same time, she heard footsteps approaching.
"...Isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to be here right now?"
"Ha, I saw Kiana pushing a wheelchair all the way out of here. What do I have to be afraid of at a time like this?"
Arriving at Theresa's side, Siegfried, who had already drawn his twin guns, spoke to his old friend with great confidence.
"I'll cover you with Skyfire. You rush in and give it a good hard hit."
"Hah, that's the plan, but... will it really succeed?"
Recalling the scene she had just witnessed, Theresa said with a hint of helplessness.
"The combined attack of Skyfire and Judah is strong, no doubt, but Chiyou's defense and regeneration far exceed that of the dragon back then."
"Even if both are Judgment-class, the power gap is ridiculously large. If we act recklessly and exhaust the Zeroth Power of both Divine Keys, then..."
"Wow, you've gotten so cautious since becoming a teacher."
Looking at the hesitant Theresa, Siegfried sighed helplessly.
"I understand your determination to protect your students, but the problem is—right now, we have no other choice but to go all in."
"If we keep hesitating and wait for that big guy to recover, our chances of victory will only get smaller."
"If we fail, Chiyou might not be able to kill us, but the civilians in Shenzhou will suffer, and our juniors in Schicksal will suffer. At a time like this—what are you being so wishy-washy for!"
"You're right."
Taking a deep breath, Theresa suddenly relaxed and revealed a smile.
"Honestly, being wishy-washy was never my style."
"I've been overthinking so much after listening to grandpa's words, but the thing is—I was never good at thinking about all this nonsense anyway. At a time like this, thinking more is useless. I should just smash its head in with Judah!"
"Headmaster, and... Mr. Kaslana."
Bronya, who had floated over to the two, suddenly spoke.
"Actually, if you two have a way to defeat Chiyou, then Bronya has a suggestion."
"Just now, Bronya used the survey system to scan the surrounding Honkai Energy distribution and discovered something."
Lightly tapping on a holographic screen that appeared in the air, Bronya pointed to a specific spot on Chiyou's body and said to them.
"The speed at which this part of Chiyou absorbs Honkai Energy is significantly faster than other parts. Moreover, the Honkai Energy intensity in this area is also much stronger than elsewhere."
"If Bronya is not mistaken, Chiyou's power source should be located here."
"If you two wish to stop Chiyou's movements, it would be best to attack this spot directly."
Upon hearing Bronya's words, the two looked at each other and saw a flicker of joy in each other's eyes.
Although they had already decided on an attack plan, having someone point out a weak spot versus not having one were two completely different things.
Now that Bronya had identified Chiyou's weakness, their confidence in victory naturally increased.
"Well done, Bronya!"
"It is what Bronya should do, but..."
After a moment of hesitation, Bronya steeled herself and said to Theresa.
"Bronya hopes that the Headmaster will record Bronya's contribution."
"Bronya wants to be promoted to a higher-ranking Valkyrie more quickly."
"You..."
Upon hearing Bronya's words, Theresa instantly thought of someone.
Then, she said in annoyance.
"I will, of course, report this contribution truthfully, but don't you go learning from that Leo Ash kid. He's always thinking about climbing the ladder, charge, charge, charge—charge that fast and you'll only die faster when the time comes!"
"This... has nothing to do with Brother Leo."
"Alright, Theresa, now is not the time for this."
Interrupting their conversation, Siegfried said to Bronya.
"Little girl, you're much more likable than that mother of yours."
"...Bronya will atone for Mother Cocolia's sins."
After saying this, Bronya summoned Project Bunny in front of them, directing it to Theresa's side.
"If the Headmaster intends to charge towards that position, Project Bunny may be of assistance."
"Mmm... I understand!"
After a brief moment of thought, Theresa said directly to Bronya.
"Throw me towards that position!"
"Bronya understands."
As soon as Bronya finished speaking, she immediately manipulated Project Bunny, using its mechanical arms to launch Theresa directly towards Chiyou's core.
As she rocketed through the air, Theresa could see the terrifying light once again appearing in Chiyou's mouth.
"You bastard, just... stop!"
Reaching her target, Theresa activated the Divine Grace Field in mid-air.
If it were the old Theresa, perhaps the moment she activated the Divine Grace Field, she would have become as frail as an ordinary girl.
But the Theresa of today was different from her past self.
Because of Cecilia's death in the Second Eruption, a thought had surfaced in Theresa's mind countless times.
*If I had been more proficient in using the Divine Grace Field to defeat Sirin back then, would Cecilia still have died?*
She didn't know the answer to that question, but Theresa, who had been plagued by it, knew one thing very clearly.
She never wanted to see someone she cared about get hurt because of her own powerlessness again.
It was for this reason that Theresa had relentlessly trained herself, making her body more accustomed to the Divine Grace Field.
And now, having released the Divine Grace Field, Theresa could clearly see the muscles on Chiyou's exterior being continuously dissolved.
Although the speed at which the Divine Grace Field dissolved its body was a bit slow due to Chiyou's immense power, if this continued—
"▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇!!!"
However, at that moment, Chiyou, which should have been firing its energy cannon, suddenly aborted its action.
Chiyou was indeed an unintelligent beast, but when faced with a mortal crisis, its survival instinct made it decide in an instant.
Abandon the original attack, and...
—swat this damn bug away!
Wielding its sharp claws, Chiyou swiped at the mid-air Theresa.
But even Chiyou's terrifying claws were almost instantly melted away by the power of the Divine Grace Field.
If it weren't for the fact that Theresa had no footing in mid-air, and the wind generated by Chiyou's swipe was incredibly powerful, Theresa might have actually been able to cripple most of Chiyou's combat ability with the Divine Grace Field.
However, Chiyou's desperate struggle still had an effect.
Theresa, in mid-air, was once again sent flying by the gale from Chiyou's claw.
"Siegfried—seize the opportunity!"
"Heh, I know."
Watching Theresa being knocked away, Siegfried had already assembled the Judgment of Shamash, aiming the greatsword, burning with raging flames, at Chiyou's wound.
"Judgment of Shamash..."
"—Unleashed!"
Condensing his Honkai Energy to its limit, Siegfried swung the sword at Chiyou's body from a distance.
As the heavenly flames erupted, Siegfried instantly felt an excruciating burning pain, as if his own body was being incinerated.
But facing this pain, Siegfried only felt that he had long grown accustomed to it.
In fact, because his body had been repaired, Siegfried felt that the burning sensation was significantly weaker than the last time he used Skyfire in Nagazora City.
*Good, in that case... I should still have some strength left to retreat.*
After completing this strike, Siegfried used the greatsword as a support, forcing his body to stay upright.
In his eyes, Chiyou's core had been exposed to the air by Theresa's attack, and the Key of Destruction, with its Zeroth Power activated, could naturally destroy it.
Although the process was difficult, in Siegfried's eyes, everything would end with this strike of his.
But, as Siegfried looked up, he realized...
"What?!"
His assumption was slightly off.
The Judgment of Shamash, as the Key of Destruction, could incinerate an entire city with its strongest attack, Judgment of Shamash Unleashed.
And Chiyou's exposed core, after being eroded by the flames, had already shown terrifying cracks.
But at that moment, Siegfried saw a flash of purple light from Chiyou's core.
This wasn't a hallucination caused by his severe internal injuries; this flash of purple light was undoubtedly...
—the lightning of the Third Herrscher!
"This is impossible! Mei was just behind me... wait, what is this?!"
After the lightning had neutralized a portion of the Judgment of Shamash's power, Siegfried could finally see what lay behind it.
Chiyou was a powerful Honkai Beast that strengthened itself by absorbing the power of its surroundings.
It couldn't absorb the Divine Grace Field from the Oath of Judah.
It didn't have time to absorb the powerful attack from the Judgment of Shamash.
But at this moment, none of them knew that within Chiyou's body, there was another Herrscher Core.
Raven had fallen unconscious after entering Chiyou, and the Seven Thunders of Retribution in her hand, having never used its Zeroth Power, still contained an almost full amount of energy.
Chiyou, having absorbed the core power of this Divine Key, now naturally possessed the strength to contend with the Judgment of Shamash.
Chiyou's core, which should have been torn apart by Judgment of Shamash Unleashed, was protected by the Seven Thunders of Retribution, naturally avoiding the fate of instant destruction.
Although the blow had still heavily wounded Chiyou, but...
—looking bitterly at the giant beast roaring in terror, Siegfried helplessly realized that they had now lost their strongest means of attack.
*Dammit, to have come this far, only to be outplayed by a single move.*
*Now, are we going to...*
Just as Siegfried began frantically thinking of a countermeasure, he suddenly heard the crackling sound of electricity from behind him.
This sound, could it be—
"Mei, wait!"
"Hmm???"
Behind him, the person wreathed in lightning was not Mei, as he had imagined.
In Siegfried's eyes, Leo Ash, walking towards him and Chiyou, had a power flowing through him that was not his own.
This purple lightning coiling around him was undoubtedly the power of the Third Herrscher.
*Young man Leo Ash, you actually chose to touch this power willingly.*
*Are you...*
*...really as desperate for revenge against the Honkai as Theresa said, to the point of throwing your life away?*
....