Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"Ha!"

The Herrscher's purple katana clashed with Surtr, but the expected explosion didn't occur. Himeko hadn't used her full strength. 

As their blades met, she sidestepped, letting the 3rd Herrscher's momentum carry her forward. Then, she drove her knee into the Herrscher's abdomen—the same spot Mikael had injured. 

Although the surface wound had healed, the internal damage likely hadn't.

"Tch!"

As expected, the Herrscher didn't dare take the hit directly.

She twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the attack, then transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, attempting to escape—this woman, while seemingly weaker than Elysia and less skilled than Sakura, was far more experienced in close-quarters combat.

The Herrscher didn't want to prolong the fight.

Bang!

"What?!"

The lightning struck a semi-transparent crystal petal, unable to penetrate it. The crystal shattered, revealing the Herrscher, her head bleeding.

The shattered crystal reformed around her feet, sharp and cold, immobilizing her lower body.

"My crystals aren't that simple!"

Elysia's fist slammed into the Herrscher's abdomen with an explosive bang. The Herrscher was sent flying, crashing into the reinforced alloy wall, creating a human-shaped crater.

"Hmph!"

As she pulled her remaining arm free, Sakura's blade, radiating a chilling aura, flashed before her. She parried desperately, but with only one arm, she was no match for Sakura's two-handed grip, and she was slammed back into the wall.

She tried to counter with a knee strike, aiming for Sakura's waist. Airborne, Sakura had nowhere to dodge. But with a flick of her wrist, using the momentum of their clashing blades, she twisted her body mid-air.

Simultaneously, Himeko charged, Surtr held like a lance, flames erupting from the blade, its tip aimed at the 3rd Herrscher's heart.

The Herrscher instinctively tried to escape upwards, but a shadow fell upon her. Elysia had leaped into the air, Whisper of the Past held vertically, its bow encased in pink crystal, sharp and menacing, aimed at the Herrscher's head.

Sakura landed, Garo coated in frost, slashing at the Herrscher's injured abdomen, the wound from Elysia's earlier attack still bleeding.

Trapped, with nowhere to escape.

"Die!"

"It's over!"

"This ends now!"

The Herrscher's face twisted in rage, her features contorted—

"You're just ants!"

Facing death, she finally understood anger.

Dark purple lightning erupted, pushing the three attackers back.

"Thud… thud…"

The 3rd Herrscher landed, looking down at the three small humans, paralyzed by the lightning, and scoffed.

Just then, the ground trembled, the entire simulation training room shaking.

"What's happening?"

The three women didn't have time to think, but the Herrscher knew:

"Tch, it's about time. Looks like it's over there, too."

She reached towards the empty air before her, as if expecting a spatial rift to open, allowing her to reach the simulacrum, to retrieve the 1st Herrscher's core, to use the power of the Herrscher these humans "loved" to destroy them.

But nothing happened.

Her hand froze mid-air, her smirk fading, as if time itself had stopped.

Then, her face twisted in frustration.

"Heh, Sakura already told you!" Elysia struggled to her feet. "You can't use the 2nd Herrscher's core."

This was the crux of their plan—the 1st Herrscher's core was reusable, but the 2nd Herrscher's wasn't.

Even Elysia had only just learned this. Strange, how did Mobius know so much about Herrscher cores…?

"Impossible! Aaargh!"

The Herrscher stared at the unresponsive space, disbelief turning to rage. A golden light, the signature of the 2nd Herrscher's core, erupted from her chest—she began channeling Honkai energy into the core.

A tiny black dot appeared in the air, distorting the surrounding space, like a heavy ball placed on a stretched sheet.

It was a spatial singularity! The power of space!

Who said I couldn't use the 2nd Herrscher's core?! Who said that?! the 3rd Herrscher screamed inwardly.

But Elysia simply fired a crystal arrow, not even bothering to aim carefully. The arrow, drawn in by the singularity's gravity, struck it, and both exploded.

"Be warned, the fact that the 2nd Herrscher's core can't be directly used doesn't mean it's completely useless. If the Herrscher channels enough Honkai energy into it, she might be able to create spatial distortions. But given its limitations, I'm sure you can handle it."

Mobius had warned them about this.

"Are you done? Now it's my turn!"

Elysia shook her hand, dispelling the lingering lightning. As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished from the 3rd Herrscher's sight.

Bang!

Whisper of the Past clashed with the purple katana on the Herrscher's left. Pink crystals began to spread across the Herrscher's arm, but another tremor shook the room, making Elysia stumble, and the Herrscher retreated.

"Your plan is perfect, but you forgot one thing…"

"Śeṣa."

The floor of the simulation training room buckled, the five-meter-thick reinforced metal warping like rubber, a large hole appearing as something pushed from below.

Śeṣa's massive head emerged, filling a third of the room. As its body followed, black mud oozed from the gaps in its scales, quickly turning into a raging torrent.

"Elysia, protect Sakura!"

Himeko shielded the two girls.

Without waiting for a response, she channeled Honkai energy into Surtr. The flames on the blade flared, expanding and solidifying, transforming into a ten-meter-long flaming greatsword.

"That's what that traitor used!"

The 3rd Herrscher remembered. In Nagazora, Mikael had used Surtr to create a hundred-meter-long flaming sword. Their clash had scorched half the city.

But this human's fire sword was much smaller. It couldn't even reach her. What good was it?

Himeko, though tall, looked like an ant wielding a sword several times her size…

But the fire sword wasn't aimed at the 3rd Herrscher. It was aimed at the black mud!

Boom!

Half of the hill-like base bulged outwards, metal twisting and earth crumbling, before a massive explosion leveled half of the headquarters, including the simulation training room. It was as if someone had sliced the hill in half and smashed one side into the ground.

The protective dome of pink crystals shattered. Elysia encased the injured Himeko in crystal, watching as her burns healed, then pushed her into Sakura's arms.

"Take care of the Captain. I'll handle the Herrscher!"

She grabbed the broken Surtr, chasing after the Herrscher, who was now riding on Śeṣa.

But after a few steps, she stumbled, nearly falling. She clutched her head, her eyes unfocused—she'd heard a voice calling her name: "Elysia…"

She couldn't tell whose voice it was, or where it came from.

It was like a sudden auditory hallucination, but Elysia chose to believe it was real.

"He's alive… he's alive… yes! The Herrscher core!"

Sakura, seeing her pause, thought she was injured, but Elysia suddenly ran, faster than before, disappearing from sight.

The Herrscher wasn't actually fleeing.

The wound on her abdomen was slowly healing. She didn't believe those ants could pose a threat now that she had retrieved the 1st Herrscher's core. She was simply going to reclaim the traitor's gem.

Śeṣa emerged from the silo, placing its head before her and spitting out the blue gem.

"Tch, useless, just like that traitor. Can't even do this one simple thing…"

Whoosh!

The Herrscher tilted her head slightly as a crystal arrow exploded against Śeṣa, leaving a bloody wound.

"Give me back Mikael's core!"

Elysia stood before her.

"Give it back? Why do you think it belongs to you?"

She sidestepped the broken Surtr, grabbing Elysia's wrist, twisting her body, and punching her in the abdomen.

"Here's what I'll give you back!"

Elysia's body doubled over, but in the Herrscher's peripheral vision, another pink figure appeared behind her.

"You fell for it!"

The Elysia before her shimmered, transforming into pink crystal, then exploding into dust, momentarily immobilizing the Herrscher.

The real Elysia appeared behind her, catching the falling Surtr. Flames erupted from the broken blade, growing rapidly, transforming into a hundred-meter-long flaming greatsword.

"Impossible! How?!"

How could she possess such power?!

Śeṣa's pain finally registered, but before it could cry out, its emerald eyes turned crimson as flames engulfed them.

The greatsword cleaved Śeṣa in two, then, in a smooth arc, sliced towards the Herrscher.

The movement was so fast that the grass at Elysia's feet hadn't even begun to burn before the massive blade changed direction, striking the 3rd Herrscher, who couldn't react in time.

The Herrscher's body was engulfed in flames. As she flew backwards, trying to regain control, a pink light flashed behind her, and a sharp pain pierced her back—she'd crashed into a crystal pillar Elysia had created.

The cold crystals wrapped around her limbs, holding her fast. Elysia drew her bow, the crystal arrow growing more and more refined, its edges sharper and sharper…

"Now it's really over!"

Only then did the 3rd Herrscher's mind begin to function again.

How much time had passed? It felt like she'd been defeated instantly, without even a chance to use her powers.

No, she was a Herrscher! She couldn't be defeated so easily!

Lightning crackled, shattering the crystal restraints. The Herrscher, unleashing her full power, teleported before Elysia, her purple blade grazing Elysia's neck, lightning coursing through her body.

But then everything stopped, all movement frozen, time itself ceasing to exist.

"Elysia… Elysia…"

A voice echoed in her mind, growing louder, more urgent, more excited… and clearer.

It was Mikael's voice—Elysia thought.

Everything turned white, and she felt herself falling.

Falling towards… where…?