"What the hell is wrong with her? Why did she suddenly start attacking us without any warning?"
While doing her utmost to hold back Angelia's storm-like assault, Shigure Kira anxiously called out to the Herrscher of Fire Kiana and Raiden Mei for answers.
She was utterly bewildered. She had no idea why this fight had even started.
After exchanging only a few moves with Shigure Kira, Angelia sharply realized that this Shigure Kira's individual combat ability surpassed even Theresa when relying on the Oath of Judah's weapon advantage.
She possessed standard S-rank Valkyrie-level strength.
However, an ordinary S-rank Valkyrie was still far from being Angelia's opponent.
Angelia wielded more than a thousand abilities. Though none of them rivaled the raw authority of other Herrschers in sheer power, their advantage lay in flexibility—allowing her to combine them into countless deadly chains of attacks.
In an instant, thick, ink-black mist spread outward from Angelia, rapidly engulfing the entire battlefield.
Immediately after, an invisible mental shock surged silently through the fog like a hidden undercurrent, slamming straight into Shigure Kira.
A violent headache exploded in her mind. Her consciousness blurred, and her body fell into a brief, uncontrollable dizziness.
Seizing the opportunity, Angelia swiftly created a clone.
The clone transformed into Cecilia's appearance and rushed toward Shigure Kira with a fierce attack.
Just as Shigure Kira barely recovered from her dizziness, she suddenly saw Cecilia emerge from the mist. Before she could even clearly identify the figure, her battle instincts took over. She instinctively raised her twin guns and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
The crisp gunshots tore through the fog as the Cecilia clone was struck and slowly collapsed toward her.
Only then did Shigure Kira finally see clearly—the "girl" before her was none other than Lady Cecilia, the person she admired and cherished most.
Her pupils shrank violently. It felt as though an invisible hand had seized her heart. She froze for a split second and cried out instinctively, "Lady Cecilia!"
At that critical moment, Angelia appeared behind Shigure Kira like a phantom and launched a merciless sneak attack.
"Miss Kira!!" Raiden Mei cried out in alarm, attempting to rush forward, but everything happened too quickly. Before she could even take a step, it was already over.
Shigure Kira was struck heavily and sent crashing directly into the open passage of the Phantasmal Library's fairy-tale world.
"That's another one dealt with," Angelia murmured.
Immediately afterward, a layer of condensed "nitrogen armor," several centimeters thick, rapidly formed over her right arm. She raised it and steadily blocked Raiden Mei's fierce lightning strike.
"Is this really all you've got? Ever since coming to this world, you haven't trained seriously. You've been busy playing house with your little band. What a waste of the authorities you carry."
In Angelia's eyes, the Herrscher of Fire Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Seele had been neglecting their true responsibilities, happily indulging in their childish band game every single day.
She had never once found playing in a band enjoyable.
Raiden Mei clenched her teeth, unwillingness flashing in her eyes. "The other me... I'm counting on you."
The moment her words fell, her entire aura underwent a drastic transformation.
The gentle warmth she once carried vanished without a trace. In its place emerged a cold, oppressive presence. Her eyes glowed with indifferent danger.
Countless strands of purple lightning converged wildly around her, as though ready to tear the very space apart.
At that moment, a familiar melody began to echo—the Raiden Mei impression theme, "Song of the Honkai World."
"A sorrowful smile stained with blood, your fading warmth slipping away, swallowed by the vortex of noise... In this crumbling world, on the day when starlight disappears, gently offering up the body... Crimson moonlight shines upon bloodstained streets, the wailing songstress sings, sweet dreams linger in memory until the end..."
Under the intense and tragic BGM, the Herrscher of Thunder seemed like a protagonist exploding with power. Her aura continued to surge higher and higher.
Angelia's expression grew serious.
Both she and the Herrscher of Thunder were Complete Herrschers now. They had never fought before and had no clear measure of each other's strength.
She had already roughly gauged the power of Raiden Mei in her normal state, the Herrscher of Fire Kiana, and Seele.
But the true strength of the Herrscher of Sentience—and of Dark Seele in her Herrscher of Thunder state—remained unknown to her.
A flicker of anger passed through the Herrscher of Thunder's eyes as the pressure of her lightning intensified. "That's enough, Angelia."
Angelia smiled faintly, excitement glowing red in her eyes. "I've always been curious about your strength."
With that, she shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow and launched a ferocious assault.
The Herrscher of Thunder responded without hesitation.
Their figures blurred across the stage, colliding at speeds impossible for the human eye to follow. Each clash detonated with thunderous booms, as if the entire stage might shatter under the violent impact.
"Mei, I'll help you!"
The Herrscher of Fire Kiana would never stand by idly.
Fighting spirit blazed in her eyes as she joined the fierce battle without hesitation.
In the audience, the spectators were left dumbfounded by the scene of what could only be described as gods clashing.
With their limited dynamic vision, they could not discern any details of the fight. All they saw were flashes of lightning and surging flames, waves of powerful shockwaves triggering explosion after explosion. The blinding light was so intense that it hurt their eyes, forcing many to squint or shut them entirely.
As the battle approached its climax, Angelia deliberately exposed a flaw, pretending to be overwhelmed, and flew into the fairy-tale world's passage.
"Don't think you can run!"
The heated Herrscher of Thunder immediately pursued her inside.
A sly glint flickered in Angelia's eyes. She sealed the fairy-tale world's passage.
Then she opened another passage and stepped back onto the stage.
Now only she and the Herrscher of Fire Kiana remained.
"What did you do to them?!" The flames around the Herrscher of Fire Kiana surged violently with her fury, scorching heat pressing toward Angelia as anxiety and rage filled her voice.
Angelia remained calm, a faint smile lingering at her lips. "There's no need to be so nervous. They're perfectly safe. From the beginning, my only goal has been to gather all authorities and become the Herrscher of Finality."
As she spoke, she studied the Herrscher of Fire Kiana with interest, as though watching an entertaining performance, her gaze capturing every subtle change in Kiana's expression.
"You want to connect to our authorities—but why?" The Herrscher of Fire Kiana frowned deeply, confusion and vigilance filling her eyes.
Angelia's lips curved upward into a mysterious smile. She began circling Kiana slowly, each step landing like a beat against Kiana's heart, exuding invisible pressure.
"Connecting to the authorities is merely a convenient step. My true objective is you—Kiana Kaslana."
"?"
The Herrscher of Fire Kiana was puzzled.
What did she mean?
"Do you know?" Angelia stopped walking and unfolded the Theater of Domination. "To become the Herrscher of Finality, two conditions must be fulfilled: gathering all Herrscher authorities—and possessing the identity of Kiana Kaslana."
"As for whether this Kiana Kaslana is the real Kiana Kaslana or a counterfeit Kiana Kaslana... that part isn't important."
Shock flooded the Herrscher of Fire Kiana's face as she stared at Angelia in disbelief.
"Y-You... you're planning to impersonate me?" Her voice trembled, filled with incredulity.