Last Goodbye

She singled me out with a pointed finger. "I'll start with you... boy."

"Oh..."

The Herrscher of Void suddenly blinked in front of me, her eyes gleaming with malice as dimensional wormholes rippled around her, spears poised to strike. Just as she thrust one forward, Himeko intervened, her greatsword shimmering with flames as it slashed through the spear.

"Tch... Insect... Wait for your turn," the Herrscher of Void spat, vanishing in an instant.

Himeko chuckled, "I've been very impatient for a while, sugar~" She surged forward, her greatsword blazing with fiery intensity.

As the battle raged, I focused on defending Himeko, slicing through the spears aimed at her.

"Annoying!" Kiana hissed, her eyes darkening as she summoned black holes, raining spears from above. Himeko met them head-on, her flaming greatsword cutting through each one, causing fiery explosions.

The Herrscher of Void then produced a small cube, its surface shifting and expanding into an array of arrows. She aimed her palm at us, releasing the deadly barrage.

"Is that all a Herrscher can do?" Himeko taunted, her confidence unwavering as she lunged forward, her strikes a blur of fiery brilliance.

I struggled to keep up with their speed, the battlefield a whirlwind of flames, spears, and dimensional rifts. 

They're fast...

Himeko and the Herrscher of Void clashed with ferocious intensity. The Herrscher parried and struck with one arm while the other conjured dimensional wormholes, from which monstrous Honkai beasts emerged.

"Shin!"

"I got it!" I responded, leaping into action. My blade flashed as I met each beast head-on, cutting them down the moment they emerged from the wormholes.

"Get out of the way!" The Herrscher of Void blinked behind me, but Himeko, anticipating her move, swung her greatsword with precision. The Herrscher narrowly avoided the full strike, blinking away just in time but not without a small cut forming on her arm, blood trickling from the wound.

Her eyes widened as she noticed something. "Wait a minute... That battlesuit!"

Himeko smirked, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. "That looks painful... You're actually bleeding! I never expected a God to bleed."

"...Impossible...! I should have killed you a dozen times by now!"

"OH! I am so sorry! I can be rather sticky sometimes," Himeko taunted, pointing her greatsword toward the Herrscher.

"Insolent human!"

Himeko's smirk widened. "Don't you ever get tired of calling us insects or humans?" She sneered, "I've got a name, you know. Try to remember it when you go to hell and cry to your daddy..."

Himeko rushed forward and leaped, her greatsword blazing. "I'm MURATA HIMEKO!"

The battlefield erupted once more as the Herrscher and Himeko clashed, their intense struggle igniting the air around them.

Major Himeko... You're strong! Ack! I shouldn't be watching and standing around! I need to help her!

Greatsword clashed with a dreadful lance. Fire blazed and shadows danced.

Himeko swung her greatsword and bravely stood against the maelstrom of destruction.

"Curses...! You're nothing but an insect to me!"

The Herrscher's lance crackled with blasts of lightning, the air thick with the acrid scent of death. But Himeko's blazing greatsword swept through, whipping up a firestorm that reduced the attack to ashes.

The Herrscher's eyes widened as she noticed something. "That armor...! It's powered by a gem... My GEM!" Her frustration boiled over. "I'll rip you to shreds with everything I've got!"

Her face contorted in a twisted grimace as she directed all her fury towards Himeko, determined to annihilate the red-haired Valkyrie. In her blind rage, she failed to notice another pair of eyes watching her every move.

"Hmph... It seems you forgot that I have someone," Himeko said, glancing at me. I leaped onto Himeko's back, poised to strike.

The Herrscher blinked away again, but a blinding light suddenly illuminated the area where she reappeared.

She took the bait!

"Dr. Einstein! Now!" I shouted.

The secret weapon of Hyperion activated, its power unleashed with a fierce intensity.

"What... is this!?" The Herrscher clutched her head in agony as Honkai energy leaked from her shell. Bright rays of light erupted from every crack and orifice, the vast reservoir of Honkai within her body spraying out in searing waves of heat.

"My... My body!" she cried, her form beginning to tear apart under the onslaught.

Powerful photonic currents continued to bombard the Herrscher peeling her pinion from her wrecked body.

But then, with a final, furious glare, the Herrscher opened a wormhole behind her.

"She's escaping!" I shouted, rushing towards her but Himeko grabbed my arm, shaking her head.

"Let her go," she said, her voice firm and steady.

...

A few minutes later...

Our earpieces crackled to life. "The Herrscher has escaped into the Imaginary Space," Dr. Tesla's voice came through. "We dealt massive damage, but she managed to escape."

Dr. Einstein's voice followed, more composed but urgent. "Perhaps firing the weapon was premature. All intel personnel, evacuate immediately. Commence withdrawal now."

Himeko's Point of View, The Hyperion Lower Deck Passageways

Himeko leaned against the railings outside the medical bay, the chaotic scene unfolding around her. Medics and soldiers hurried past, carrying the wounded. She pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to stanch the bleeding.

"I guess I did a number on myself," she muttered, glancing down at the blood seeping through her fingers. The serum glistened on her skin, reflecting the harsh lighting and her scarred face.

Suddenly, the piercing alarm blared, adding to the frenzy in the corridors. Yet, to Himeko, everything seemed oddly peaceful.

"Alright, time for a breather," she said to herself, straightening up and walking in the opposite direction of the rushing crew. Time felt like it had slowed to a crawl.

She observed the people around her—soldiers, medics, wounded personnel wrapped in bandages, and damage control specialists—crew members of the Hyperion, people from the Far East Branch, and members of AE.

Familiar faces and strangers alike moved past her without a word.

"Everyone never grows up... but I really like it here," she whispered, a soft smile playing on her lips. "We probably still have a long way to go... right?"

As the chaos continued around her, Himeko's smile grew wistful. "I'd kill for another can of beer," she thought to herself.

"I've got it."

A young boy's voice said as Himeko turned around. He was carrying two cans of beer.

"Shin?"

"Major Himeko, where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"Major Himeko... I'm still waiting for that promotional rank."

Himeko's eyes widened and she laughed. "Oh right... I forgot...." Himeko paused and smiled as she walked toward him. "Shin, I've hereby declare that you have been promoted... to S-Rank."

"What's with that lame speech." I grinned. "Here, If that's the case, why don't we celebrate it with a beer."

"Oh? But you're still a minor."

"So that you know, I'm the same age as Kiana."

"Pfft~ You remember your age?"

"Of course...!"

Shin turned around, placing two cans of beer on a small table before opening them. It took him a moment to open the second one, but he managed, handing it to Himeko.

"Major Himeko, This... is for my promotion," he said.

Himeko nodded gratefully as they clinked their cans together and took a sip of the beer.

"Ahh~ That hits the spot," Himeko sighed contentedly.

"Yeah... It did," Shin agreed, a smile tugging at his lips.

Suddenly, Himeko felt her eyes grow heavy, fatigue catching up to her all at once. "Shin...?" she murmured, her voice trailing off.

"Shin... What did you... do...?" Himeko's voice wavered as she slowly wobbled, eventually passing out. I caught her before she could fall.

Carefully, I located the serum hidden on her left leg, then gently laid her down against the wall for support.

"In the end... You'll do things your own way," Tsurugi's voice echoed through me. "You put four pills on her beer that the Research Houkai Team gave you."

(A/N: Chapter 55) In a flashback, I stood before Enma from the Research Houkai Team as she handed me a bottle of pills.

"What are these?" I asked, inspecting the bottle.

"They'll boost your Houkai energy," Enma explained. "It's still a test, but I'm sure it'll work just fine! Just be careful not to take too many; you might pass out!"

With a nod of understanding, I accepted the pill and swallowed it, feeling the effects immediately.

Woah...?! My body suddenly feels very smooth!

I offered Enma a smile before entering the elevator.

Back in the present, I didn't respond to Tsurugi, instead turning away silently.

"Tsurugi... Am I going to die?" I asked.

Tsurugi didn't respond, instead scoffing softly. "At least you'll get to meet your brother."

"What a roast," I muttered, trying to mask my anxiety.

In the end, Shin... Your choice is very selfish. You chose to sacrifice yourself instead of that old hag who is about to die.

As if you're changing someone's fate. As if you're changing a story that was originally from a script.

With a heavy heart, I made my way to the elevator, the weight of my decision pressing down on me. Stepping inside, I pressed the button, the doors sliding shut with a finality that echoed my own inner conflict.

Suddenly, the alarm blared louder and louder, the urgency of the situation filling the air. "Unidentified heat signature approaching from aft at 4200 km/h!" the operator's voice crackled through the speaker. "1000m... 800m... 500m... Wait! Target confirmed on monitors! Benares!"