Xin Yu watched as the completely inhuman corpse turned to ash, vanishing before his eyes. He reached out, trying to catch a handful of dust from the wind, but even that wisp slipped through his fingers.
Only an empty palm remained, having grasped nothing, retained nothing.
"...Are you okay?"
Bronya looked at Xin Yu, who stood frozen like a block of wood, hand outstretched.
Earlier, when she saw a Honkai Beast resembling a large canine running towards them from a distance, she hadn't thought much of it. But when the loudspeaker carried by the creature crackled to life, Bronya realized something was wrong with it.
It... still retained some human characteristics.
The moment Xin Yu saw that unique Honkai Beast, he had put Bronya down and approached the creature, which had collapsed motionless on the ground.
For the first time, Bronya saw sadness on his face.
That sadness deepened immensely when he drew his blade and severed the Honkai Beast's head.
"...He was my disciple. We didn't know each other for long. Even his apprenticeship was very hasty, and my acceptance of him was just as impulsive. We haphazardly formed a master-disciple relationship, and I casually taught him some things I could teach."
"During our time together these past days, he gave me a feeling of finally being remembered in this world, of finally having a place that could be called home."
"I actually don't know if his cooking tasted good or not. After all, I can't taste what the food is like. But somehow, when eating those dishes, I always felt a warmth spread from my stomach to my heart."
"My home is gone, reduced to rubble. That was my only dwelling in this world."
"My disciple is dead, turned into a monster. He was the person I was closest to in this world."
"In less than a day, I'm back to having nothing."
Xin Yu seemed to be answering Bronya, yet also talking to himself. When he finished speaking, the sadness vanished from his face, and he reverted to the same silence and emptiness he displayed when using the power of Nihility.
Xin Yu picked Bronya up again. Without another word, he headed towards the location indicated by the loudspeaker's message.
Bronya held onto Xin Yu just as before, but he felt different. If previously she felt like she was holding a person, now Bronya felt as if she were holding a corpse – devoid of warmth, blood flow, and breath.
"Lady Cocolia! Near the Third Herrscher, the girl from the Kaslana family whom we lured away earlier has engaged the target!"
"Lady Cocolia! The Third Herrscher's combat drive has significantly weakened! Her attack intensity is also much lower than before, as if unwilling to strike the girl heavily!"
"...Maintain surveillance. New Titan units will arrive shortly... Any results regarding Bronya?"
"Apologies, Lady Cocolia. Because our surveillance network was primarily focused on the Third Herrscher, deployment in other parts of the city is minimal. We haven't found any trace of Bronya."
"If we were to divert some surveillance assets from the Third Herrscher..."
"No. Unnecessary."
"But..."
"No buts. Dismissed."
After giving the order, Cocolia slumped back into her seat, her body somewhat limp.
She recalled her time at the orphanage with the children. Those were truly warm days.
She genuinely saw Bronya and the others as her own children. She truly loved them.
But to defeat the Honkai, any sacrifice was necessary.
Since Cocolia could accept an entire city dying due to her plan, she also had to accept sacrificing her own daughter for the plan.
"I'm sorry, Bronya. I'm so sorry..."
Xin Yu reached the hidden corner in the sewer at top speed and brought the children out.
He told them to follow him closely; he would escort them, along with Bronya, out of the city.
Considering the children's stamina might not hold up for such a long trek, Xin Yu forcibly welded together a large flatbed cart from scrapped car parts. The children sat on the cart, pulled by him alone as he hurried towards the city outskirts.
Whenever they encountered extremely rough terrain, he would use telekinesis to forcibly lift the cart a short distance to avoid obstacles.
As Xin Yu journeyed, suddenly, extremely loud thunderclaps echoed from the sky.
The highly abnormal thunder made Xin Yu stop and look up warily.
He had heard thunder in the distance earlier, but it was far away, so Xin Yu hadn't paid attention, focusing instead on getting the children out of the city as quickly as possible.
But now, the thunder was extremely close, right overhead. It could no longer be ignored.
Suddenly, someone fell from the sky – a white-haired young girl.
It was... Kiana!
Xin Yu told the children on the cart to take Bronya and hide in a nearby building, then leaped up to catch Kiana as she fell.
"Mei..."
Smoke rose from Kiana's body, her clothes were torn in multiple places, and the exposed skin wasn't the fair complexion one might expect, but charred black.
Kiana's consciousness was already fading. Only after being caught did she react, turning her gaze towards the person who had caught her.
"Xin Yu, run!"
"Too late."
A calm voice sounded. Kiana saw the Herrscher of Thunder had appeared nearby不知何时 (bù zhī hé shí - lit. don't know what time -> sometime/不知 = don't know, 何 = what, 时 = time -> appeared at some unknown point), faint sparks of electricity still swirling around her, her expression as proud and indifferent as ever.
"Raiden Mei..."
Xin Yu recognized the Herrscher of Thunder before him.
"No! She's not Mei! Give me back my Mei!"
Kiana seemed to want to struggle up and continue fighting, but her injuries left her with little strength. She could only flail in Xin Yu's arms for a few moments, like a fish pulled from the sea.
"I am indeed not that coward. I am the ruler of lightning, the apostle of Honkai. I will exterminate humanity, cleanse all you filthy ants."
"If you wish to save humanity, wish to awaken the coward slumbering deep within my body, then try to kill me."
"I grant you the qualification to challenge me."
Looking at the proud Herrscher of Thunder, Xin Yu carried Kiana aside, handing her over to the children hiding in the building. Seeing Kiana still trying to struggle back to her feet, Xin Yu gripped his long blade and said:
"I will bring her back."
Kiana froze.
Xin Yu said no more, simply returning to the street to face the Herrscher of Thunder, who hadn't spoken or launched a sneak attack since appearing.
"Have you finished saying your last words?" the Herrscher of Thunder asked, seemingly politely.
"Mn." Xin Yu responded.
"Then, shall we begin?"
Bronya watched the scene outside with a strange expression. Why was the Herrscher of Thunder being so patient? When Bronya arrived with the Titans, the Herrscher hadn't even spoken, just immediately unleashed devastating lightning.
Why was she now acting respectful towards her opponent, even displaying considerable patience?
"Let's take this to the sky."
Xin Yu slowly floated upwards, slowly at first, then accelerating rapidly skyward within seconds.
The Herrscher of Thunder merely glanced impassively at the children, Kiana, and Bronya in the building before also rising from the ground, closely pursuing Xin Yu.
They stood facing each other high in the sky. After staring at each other for a few seconds, both vanished simultaneously, reappearing directly in front of the other.
The Herrscher of Thunder attacked Xin Yu with the power of lightning, but as the bolts approached Xin Yu, they inexplicably vanished.
Xin Yu, in turn, swung his long blade, unleashing slashes of gray-white blade energy – the power of Nihility.
Realizing that energy attacks seemed ineffective against Xin Yu, the Herrscher of Thunder nimbly dodged the blade strikes, then abandoned her ranged attacks. She rapidly closed the distance to Xin Yu and slammed down a fist that looked deceptively powerless.
The punch broke the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.
Xin Yu showed no intention of dodging, meeting the fist directly with his long blade.
The clash of blade and fist produced a dull, resounding echo.
"You don't know how to use a sword," the Herrscher of Thunder suddenly stated as they locked strength.
"Mn, I certainly don't."
"...That's a pity. I, however, am very skilled with a blade."
With that, a long sword formed of lightning suddenly materialized in the Herrscher of Thunder's hand, which she brought down fiercely towards Xin Yu.
But being ultimately composed of energy, the lightning blade inexplicably dissipated just before contacting Xin Yu.
"If pure energy won't work, then... how about trying this?"
The Herrscher of Thunder knew that all abilities have a limit. If it came down to a contest of raw power output, she, as a Herrscher, could definitely crush the human before her. But that wouldn't be interesting.
So, she raised her hand again. Numerous metal objects from below swiftly flew upwards. Under intense electromagnetic constraint and shaping, a long metal sword was forged.
Swords clashed. After blocking a strike from the Herrscher of Thunder with his own blade, Xin Yu had no time to react before her next attack arrived immediately. The relentless barrage of slashes forced Xin Yu onto the defensive.
As he hastily parried, a huge opening appeared, obvious even to a novice.
Naturally, the Herrscher of Thunder didn't miss this chance. After Xin Yu barely blocked an extremely powerful slash, she released her grip on her sword and delivered a forceful kick.
The powerful kick sent Xin Yu flying backward until he crashed into a tall building and finally stopped.
The Herrscher of Thunder slowly floated into the building, watching Xin Yu extract himself from the wall, coughing up fragments of internal organs.
"Still functional?"
"Yes."
"Then let's continue!"
The sound of clashing blades once again echoed through the air.