As we exited the lab, Kiana suddenly stopped in her tracks.
We all turned to her.
"Inside that lab... that dog-face mentioned something," she began, her voice steady but cold.
"Aside from making vaccines to awaken stigmata in people, they're planning a Honkai disaster big enough to activate them across the whole city."
Mei stepped forward, concern rising in her eyes.
"Did they say when or where? Even if we destroy this lab, we can't stop the disaster unless we know their next move..."
"Unless..." I muttered, my gaze narrowing.
A sleek figure stepped out from the shadows—her every move precise, graceful, and almost unnaturally composed. She wore a new battlesuit, the elegant silver and black gleaming under the ruined lab's lights.
"I know where it is," came Rita's voice—calm, like she had been waiting for the right time.
"Looks like Miss Kaslana is doing well. I'm relieved."
Mei instantly reacted. In a blink, her katana was unsheathed, and she stepped in front of Kiana protectively.
"Don't even think about taking her away from me!"
"Calm down, Miss Raiden," Rita said, unfazed.
"I told you—we're on the same side in this city. I have no interest in capturing her. Only in stopping the World Serpent."
Mei didn't lower her blade, but she listened.
"About their plan to create an Honkai disaster—there's more. This city has been monitoring energy levels closely. Anything causing large-scale Honkai reactions is easily flagged..."
She paused, eyes narrowing behind her visor.
"Except the ones that were cleared to enter. Ones that passed inspection legally—like giant vehicles powered by Honkai energy."
"Your ship... right?"
Rita nodded.
"EOS. It was perfect for them. They took the engine and placed it on the city's central signal tower. It's high enough for maximum energy dispersion. All they need to do is remove the safety seals, let the engine run past overload—"
"And it becomes an Honkai bomb..." Mei whispered. "A detonation big enough to activate stigmata across the city."
"And we'd take the blame and no one would believe we didn't plan it."
"We can't stay here any longer," Kiana said as she was preparing to rush, but I stopped her.
"You're right..." tightening my grip on my blade. "But it looks like they're not going to let us leave just yet."
A low, unnatural growl echoed through the corridor—followed by a tremor that shook the ground beneath us.
Then, from the misted, flickering shadows ahead—
A towering figure emerged. Its massive silhouette blocked our path forward, black wings glistening under the dim light, and a translucent carapace glowing with sickening violet veins.
"Wait... What the hell...!?" Kiana gasped.
"Shin just killed it!"
But there it was.
The same monstrous beast—its form eerily familiar—standing tall again. It let out a screech, its claws slicing through the air, hunger, and hatred burning in its glowing eyes.
It had returned.
And it was stronger than before.
"Miss Kaslana, do you remember what you once told me?" Rita stepped forward calmly, her gaze fixed on the towering beast ahead.
"'Making an escape is nothing compared to saving a city.'"
She turned, the corners of her lips curling into a soft smile.
"I'll distract it. You go stop the bomb."
Kiana hesitated, her hands tightening into fists.
"...Okay..."
"Thank you for saving me that time," Rita added as she walked ahead.
"I suppose this makes us even."
Without waiting for a reply, she leaped forward—her form a blur as she struck the creature with rapid, precise movements, dancing between its claws and retaliating in kind.
Kiana and Mei exchanged a glance and took off toward the tower, their footsteps echoing down the steel corridors.
Meanwhile, I stayed behind.
Rita noticed instantly.
"Oh? Master Shin?" Her voice carried a teasing lilt.
"Are you staying... for me?"
I didn't answer right away.
Instead, I stepped forward beside her, closing my eyes as I exhaled. The metallic hum of my blade echoed as I drew it slowly.
"Rita..." I muttered, opening my eyes—sharp and calm.
"You really don't know how to express gratitude... but..."
In an instant, I disappeared from view—
A blink.
A flash.
The air cracked with energy.
The beast screeched as slashes carved deep across its body, each strike landing with surgical precision. A heartbeat later, the monster ignited from within, crumbling to glowing ashes before it could even realize it was dead.
I lowered my blade, sliding it back into the sheath with a soft click.
"...It's one of your charms as the maid."
Secretive and Cool.
Rita blinked—momentarily stunned.
Then her eyes softened, and for the first time in a long while, she let out a genuine smile.
"Fufu... That's not very fair, Master Shin."
Meanwhile, from Mei and Kiana's perspective...
The wind howled as the streets thinned into open space near the tower's base. Steel and silence surrounded them—until a sudden explosion shattered the uneasy calm.
A nearby mecha erupted in fire and shrapnel, the blastwave slamming into them. Mei was thrown back with a grunt, her back scraping against the concrete. Kiana skidded to a stop, coughing through the smoke.
A dark figure emerged from the wreckage, stepping into the firelight.
"Here we meet again..."
The voice was low, cool, and venom-laced.
It was Raven.
"No one will stand in my way this time."
Kiana turned sharply.
"Mei-senpai!"
"I'm fine, Kiana," Mei winced, holding her side.
"Don't let me distract you from your mission."
Kiana nodded and gently helped her down, her expression hardening.
The wind caught her cloak—gray and ragged—like the wings of a bird of prey.
"Move it! It's not too late to stop this! Your plans won't save anyone! You're just... murdering them!" Raven's mask of calm cracked, sorrow flashing across her face.
"You?" Her voice trembled, her hands balled into fists.
"You, who caused the Second Eruption? You, the worst genocidal monster in human history? A fiend?! You dare accuse us of murder?!"
Her eyes burned with fury now.
"Have you heard the cries of the infected? The widows left behind? The children forced to pick up guns, and robbed of innocence... You have not! You're deaf to the weeping and the howling... and the gnashing of teeth!"
A pause. Pain flickered in Raven's gaze.
"Once our plan succeeds, humanity will no longer need to fear you... or what you represent."
Kiana grits her teeth, cocking her pistols with a click.
"Move it. I won't say it again."
Without another word, Kiana charged forward.
Gunfire erupted. Steel met flame.
Kiana's dual pistols flared with blazing energy rounds while Raven weaved between them, feathers of flame and sharp-edged kunai flying in return. Their battle illuminated the desolate city in a frenzy of motion.
Kiana slid across the ground, narrowly dodging a fiery spear of Raven's aura, then countered with a pair of focused shots aimed at Raven's exposed shoulder.
Raven growled, flipping through the air and retaliating with a spin-kick that Kiana barely blocked with her pistols crossed.
The clash ended in silence.
Smoke coiled around their feet, illuminated only by the flickering flames of destroyed machinery. Victory had been claimed—but it was not celebrated.
Raven stood there, trembling, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth. She looked up at Kiana, her face twisted between pain and bitter pride.
"Go on..." she rasped.
"Do it... Herrscher of the Void... kill me... just like how you've been killing us... all this time."
Kiana stared at her. Not as an enemy. Not even as a symbol of resistance.
But as a girl. A victim. Just like her.
They were the same age. But Raven's eyes were old—etched with loss, haunted by war, hollowed by choices no one her age should've made.
Kiana holstered her pistols.
No vengeance. No final strike. Just silence.
Raven's lips twisted into a cruel smile as she stumbled back.
"...Our experiment has begun... You cannot stop it, no matter what you do. I've delayed you long enough with this fight."
She raised her hand with the last of her strength.
"I win."
A blast of smoke engulfed the street.
"Wait—!"
But when it cleared, she was gone.
Gone into the choking shadows of the war-torn city.
Kiana growled softly under her breath.
"...I can't believe I'm running out of time when I'm this close...!"
She dropped to a knee, gasping. Her body, battered and worn, screamed in protest. Her soul trembled. This wasn't just exhaustion—this was everything she'd been holding in finally breaking through.
"Kiana."
The voice echoed in her mind.
"You must unleash your Herrscher powers."
"Fu Hua...? What did you just say?"
"Use your Void powers. It's the only way we make it on time. You know it too."
"I know your plan... And I know it's the only one that works. But... I'm hardly strong enough..."
"You're strong enough to hold your persona in check."
Fu Hua's voice was calm. Sure. Warm.
"And Shin is here. He won't let you lose control. I've realized you were right all along—we can't keep running from our past."
"Those we've lost... they're gone. They won't see the world we build. But the ones still living? They will. They'll see the hope you brought. The strength you gave. The world you protected."
Kiana turned to Mei.
Their eyes met.
And in that silence... so many words were shared.
Fear. Regret. Love. Hope.
Mei's lips trembled. She took a step forward—but she already knew.
Kiana had made her decision.
There was no turning back.
Kiana gave her a smile—gentle, yet firm. Her hands clenched. Power crackled beneath her skin. She closed her eyes.
Inside, the cold darkness of the Void stirred. And standing at its edge, was Fu Hua. Calm and unflinching. Her arms folded. A small smile on her face.
"Go and do what must be done."
Light filled Kiana's vision.
Not cold. Not cruel.
But warm.
It filled her hands, her soul, her heart.
Her eyes opened—glowing with golden fire, streaked with violet void. Her hair rose slightly as power surged through her veins.
The Herrscher had awakened.
But this time... she stood with Kiana.
"Thank you... Class President."
And then—with a burst of Herrscher power that shattered the sound barrier—
Kiana Kaslana launched toward the heart of the city.
She had become an arrow—pure, blinding light streaking across the neon-lit skyline of Arc City, cutting through the night like destiny itself.
Meanwhile, from Shin's perspective—
I caught up to Mei just as she struggled to stay on her feet. Her breaths came in sharp, shallow gasps. Dust clung to her hair, and her knuckles were scraped from the earlier blast.
"Where's Kiana?"
She didn't respond right away.
Her shoulders shook faintly—was it exhaustion? Or something deeper gnawing inside?
Finally, her voice came, low and unsteady.
"She's already gone."
She looked off into the distance, where the skyline shimmered under Honkai-tainted moonlight.
"She's heading toward the signal tower. Using her Herrscher powers... fully unleashed."
My chest tightened. I clenched my fists hard enough that my nails bit into my palms.
"She went alone...?"
Mei turned toward me, slowly. Her eyes shimmered—not with tears, but with a fragile kind of pain. The kind that came from knowing someone and still being unable to stop them.
"She didn't want us to follow."
A pause.
"But you... you might still catch her."
I locked eyes with her. In the silence between us, I searched for something—doubt, hesitation, fear.
Instead... I found trust.
She believed in me.
All of her.
I nodded slowly, already turning to go.
But I stopped. Just once.
"Mei-senpai..."
My voice was quiet—cracked slightly from everything I was holding in.
"Before I go, can I say something?"
She looked at me. Waiting.
I didn't breathe. I just... said it.
"I like Kiana."
Not just as a friend.
Not just as someone who's fought beside me.
Not as a comrade or a hero.
"I like her... as a girl. As the person she is. And maybe... maybe I've waited too long to say it."
Mei's expression didn't change right away.
But her eyes softened.
And that silence—that moment—was enough.
Without another word, I turned and ran. The city roared around me, but my focus was clear.
I would find her.
And this time—she wouldn't be alone.
I summoned my blade, its edge humming with honkai resonance. Without hesitation, I stepped onto it, planting my feet with precision.
With a surge of will, the blade lifted—hovering beneath me like a loyal steed answering its master's call.
Guided by the trail of honkai energy Kiana left in her wake.
I was getting closer.
And I wouldn't stop until I reached her.