Defeat

Soon, a panoramic view of ARC City came into Rita's sight. However, unlike the great Honkai disaster she had imagined, the city, while severely damaged, had not seen many casualties.

For a city where a Herrscher had just awakened, this was almost unimaginable.

"Could it be that the Herrscher of the Void was just a decoy?"

Uncertain of the situation, Rita decided to head toward her target—Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical—to investigate.

But when she arrived, she found the place empty. Though many staff members were present, the actual managers were nowhere to be found. Judging by the damage, the building had suffered more than most.

Since the managers weren't there, Rita refrained from making her presence known immediately. Instead, she quietly surveyed the area.

Soon, she discovered signs of intense fighting. Many of the buildings had collapsed or been damaged in unnatural ways.

"This power definitely couldn't be from just Honkai beasts and zombies."

Rita raised her eyebrows as she observed the crushed and deformed support pillars. She paused, closing her eyes.

In her mind, the battle began to unfold.

The cement had been pierced, and large amounts of rubble had mysteriously disappeared—as if sent to another dimension. The only one who could have done this was someone with the ability to manipulate space.

"So, the Herrscher of the Void awakened here?"

This discovery made Rita even more curious. Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical was just a pharmaceutical company. What could have happened here to make K423 lose control?

Just as she was about to investigate further, the Honkai energy detector she was carrying suddenly began sounding the alarm. Rita didn't look at it. Instead, she looked up at the sky. The bright golden flash had already revealed everything.

The Herrscher of the Void.

…

Swish—

A swift arrow flew past Ren's cheek, a strand of silver-white hair drifting slowly to the ground.

In the next second, more arrows rained down like a torrential downpour.

The golden pupils in Ren's eyes emitted a faint glow. He raised his hand lightly, and a light purple spatial rift opened, swallowing all the arrows flying toward him.

Then, another spatial rift appeared on the other side, aiming directly at the woman cloaked in black and red on the ground.

"Damn it!"

Raven cursed quietly, having failed her ambush. She quickly rolled off the rooftop where she had been hiding and moved to another platform.

In the spot she had just been, the arrows had pierced through the roof. If the people in the suburbs hadn't moved, many would have died because of her mistake.

"Human, why are you courting death?"

The girl's voice descended from the sky. Raven looked up, and saw a dense mass of Void Lances aimed directly at her.

Snap.

Accompanied by the sound of a snap, the dense mass of Void Lances began their bombardment, like air-to-ground missiles. Raven, caught in the middle of the attack, was completely unable to fight back. She could only flap her wings desperately, trying to escape.

Under the indiscriminate bombardment, the surrounding buildings crumbled like sponge cake.

Ren looked down at Raven on the ground, silently calculating her movements. After predicting her general direction, he pressed down with both hands. The remaining Void Lances didn't hold back—they began to attack without mercy.

Even though she uses fire, she's not Murata Himeko. Is she really thinking too highly of herself trying to fight the Herrscher of the Void?

After a dense barrage of attacks, the ground fell completely silent. Dust filled the air, covering everything. Ren, having seen so many action films, understood that when there's smoke, there's usually no injury. His opponent was probably preparing to ambush him.

So, he decided to ignore the rules. Once again, he created a large number of Void Lances, ready to plow through the ground.

"That damned Herrscher of the Void!"

Hidden in the dust, Raven struggled to hold on. Her plan had failed, and she could now feel the immense difference between herself and a Herrscher.

Her supply of arrows was almost gone, and her physical strength was waning. On top of that, the Herrscher of the Void had the advantage of high ground. Her defeat was inevitable.

Just as she was starting to worry about what would happen to the orphans in Nagazora City after her death, Raven suddenly noticed something. The Herrscher of the Void had actually been hit by an arrow, and it seemed to have struck a vital area.

"Humans, how dare you hurt me?" K424's face twisted with anger. She clutched her shoulder where the arrow had pierced, then retaliated by shooting out the remaining Void Lances.

However, after the injury, the Herrscher of the Void's condition had clearly worsened. Despite her efforts, all of the Void Lances missed, as Raven expertly evaded them with full-powered maneuvers.

Her aura is weakening... Raven, keenly aware of the changes in Honkai energy, felt a spark of hope in her previously despairing heart. She didn't attack immediately. Instead, she followed her original plan, launching attacks from various angles.

On the ground, Raven hadn't noticed Rita, who was observing from a distance.

At that moment, Rita had focused all of her attention on the Herrscher of the Void. The sudden turn of events had given her the opportunity to take down the Herrscher of the Void herself. She needed to be cautious to avoid any mistakes.

"Today is the day that I get my revenge."

Raven placed the final arrow on her bow, her ruby-like pupils reflecting the Herrscher's figure.

The past flashed through her mind. The arrow flew, striking its mark as if it were destined to do so. All of Raven's beliefs converged at this point. As the Herrscher's shocked face met her gaze, the arrow pierced through her chest.

"Feel the anger of an ordinary person."

Raven's voice echoed, almost as if declaring her victory. The Herrscher of the Void was no longer able to maintain flight and plummeted from the sky.

However, at this moment, a fiery red flame suddenly rose from the ground. A red-haired woman, wearing a mask, jumped into the air, and directly caught the Herrscher of the Void, who had already lost her power.

"Raven, it's time to retreat. Schicksal is already here." The woman shouted at the somewhat dazed Raven. Then, without stopping, she grabbed the weakened Herrscher of the Void, and fled into the distance.

And behind her, the ice-cold Rita, who had been chasing after them, was close behind. Her flight unit had already been destroyed by Himeko's ambush, so she couldn't catch up to the Herrscher of the Void.

"To dare grab people from Schicksal's grasp, it seems your World Serpent is quite brave."