[Begging for Monthly Tickets!!!]
St. Freya Academy
Kiana's body trembled.
As she stared at Himeko's face on the screen, her eyes instantly reddened.
"Himeko…"
"Kiana! Don't worry—Himeko-sensei will be fine, I'm sure of it!"
Raiden Mei held Kiana's slightly trembling hand, her voice gentle as she tried to comfort her.
Even as she said that,
Mei's heart was filled with anxiety.
Anyone could tell what Himeko was doing now.
No matter the cost—
no matter the method—
She was determined to bring her student back.
Kiana Kaslana.
The very next second—
Under the tense gaze of everyone watching the chat—
Himeko looked as though she were burning the last of her life away!
Lotus-red flames engulfed her entire body,
leaping into the eyes of every viewer!
With a shout—
She charged toward the Herrscher of the Void atop the platform!
Even the Herrscher of the Void
was momentarily shaken by Himeko's overwhelming presence!
"Don't get carried away!!"
Sirin grit her teeth.
With a wave of her hand, Honkai energy condensed and blasted toward the airborne Himeko!
In that instant—
Within the flickering flames—
Before Himeko's eyes,
figures flashed one after another.
The tsundere-looking Theresa.
"Himeko!"
The gentle Raiden Mei.
"Himeko!"
The ever-composed and mature Class President Fu Hua.
"Himeko."
Bronya, clutching her Homu plushie.
"Himeko…"
And finally—
The one she knew best.
The one she worried about the most.
That familiar young girl figure, always brimming with energy,
turning back toward Himeko with a bright smile—
"Auntie Himeko!"
"I'm going to become the strongest Valkyrie!"
Kiana…
She always seemed so sunny.
So cheerful.
But—
She really made people worry.
You have to take good care of yourself…
Himeko sighed softly in her heart.
That moment felt endlessly long—
yet also impossibly short.
In just a fleeting instant—
As memories flashed like scenes from a passing lantern show—
Himeko's body and mind, already eroded by Honkai energy,
grew only more resolute!
She clenched her teeth.
Even as her vision began to blur,
the resolve in her eyes did not waver in the slightest!
Violent flames erupted from the armor around Himeko!
This—
was the final power she could unleash!
Flame-shaped wings!
A blade meant to tear everything apart!
Murata Himeko!
Bearing bonds,
bearing love for Kiana—
She tore through the Herrscher of the Void's attack!
And descended from the heavens!!
!!!
In that instant—
Outside the screen—
The tears that had been welling in Kiana's eyes finally spilled over!
Within the chat—
Utter silence fell.
Anyone could see it—
Himeko was burning her very life
to reclaim the student she loved!
The Kiana she could never stop worrying about!
Giving everything she had!
Inside the academy—
Even Himeko herself, who had yet to experience these events,
felt her chest tighten as she watched.
Yet there was no surprise in her heart.
From the very beginning—
She had already known the choice she would make.
So… this really is something I'd do.
"Heh… I really look a mess."
She gave a self-mocking smile.
Bitterness lingered in it,
but her resolve had never been stronger.
Even if she had to choose again—
a hundred times, a thousand times—
Murata Himeko
would still make the same decision.
On the screen—
Carrying her final murmurs.
Carrying her final resolve—
Flames devoured everything!
That blade,
the embodiment of Himeko's unyielding will—
Split the space itself as it fell!!
And the last words Himeko spoke to Kiana
rang out at that very moment—
Echoing in the ears of everyone watching.
"Kiana!"
"Lift your head!"
"Keep moving forward!!"
Filled with Himeko's hopes for Kiana.
Filled with her attachment to this world.
Filled with—
"Go and turn this imperfect story—"
"Into the one you desire!!"
"Live on…"
"Kiana…"
Suddenly—
Beneath the flames surging skyward—
A sea of white light flooded the screen!
Everyone stared, unblinking.
As the white glow slowly faded—
Before the Herrscher of the Void—
Himeko's blade did not fully fall.
Instead, it deliberately veered aside.
As if every last ounce of strength had been drained from her body.
Now—
Himeko's eyes were vacant.
Her hair fell loosely as she faced the Herrscher of the Void—
Or rather,
faced Kiana's consciousness.
With barely any breath left, she whispered—
"So this is…"
"…the final lesson."
With the last fragments of her fading awareness,
Himeko seemed to want to embrace the Kiana before her.
The entire space felt as though it were collapsing!
Himeko's hand stopped in midair.
In that instant—
Before the screen—
Countless viewers felt their eyes burn red!
Some could no longer hold back their tears.
Himeko's slowly falling arms.
The shattered blade.
They told everyone everything.
Inside the dormitory—
Kiana was already sobbing uncontrollably.
The girl who never liked showing her vulnerability
now buried her face helplessly in Mei's arms, crying her heart out.
Beside her,
Bronya's eyes glistened with tears as well,
hugging her Homu plush tightly to her face.
On screen—
The world had fallen silent.
Behind the Herrscher of the Void's neck,
a syringe plunged in—
That was…
the Godslayer Spear.
And in that moment—
Otto's goal…
may well have been achieved.
Himeko—
traded her life
for a violent upheaval in Kiana's consciousness.
For the suppression of Sirin's will.
For her student to continue writing the ending of this story.
As space collapsed—
Himeko's figure slowly slid downward with the crumbling world—
Falling into the boundless void.
"When you're lost, look up at the stars."
"I'll be there—
lighting up the entire night for you."