Seeing that it was about time for her to intervene, Fu Hua's red feathers flashed before Kiana's eyes, materializing her figure.
"What you just experienced wasn't a dream. The Herrscher of the Void was trying to take over your body and tempt you. If I hadn't intervened, you would have been taken over again."
As Fu Hua finished speaking, Kiana stared at her intently.
"You! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Otto?"
Kiana shouted, tears streaming down her face.
If it weren't for Fu Hua, many things wouldn't have happened.
"...I was wrong about that. But I'm already dead now. Or rather, my body is dead. While carrying out the plan with Otto, we had a disagreement.
In the end, he killed my body. But at the last moment, I managed to preserve my consciousness using Fenghuang Down."
"Heh, serves you right, making deals with the devil."
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Kiana spoke with a tone of schadenfreude.
But Fu Hua didn't get angry. She simply watched Kiana quietly.
When Kiana's emotions had stabilized somewhat, Fu Hua spoke again. "Kiana, you're being hunted by Schicksal. The safest option is to return to Theresa and the others. It's too dangerous out here."
"Return? Can I even return? Go back and hurt Mei and the others again? And the person they care about is Kiana, not me. I'm just a thief, stealing her name and her identity."
She couldn't go back. She had hurt Mei and the others. Even if they didn't care, she couldn't ignore it.
What if she lost control again? Who would she lose next time?
Last time, it was Himeko-sensei. Who would it be next?
"Kiana..."
Honestly, Fu Hua's heart ached for her.
Her growth was so painful to witness.
Roar—!
As the two spoke, several roars pierced the sky.
On the overpass, a group of Honkai beasts appeared, including a Honkai Emperor.
All of them were targeting Kiana.
"Damn it, why won't they stop!"
Seeing the Honkai beasts, Kiana grabbed her baseball bat and charged at them.
But she soon realized that for every Honkai beast she killed, another would take its place.
It was like they were endless.
"Kiana, don't worry about these. Just run. These are all summoned by the Herrscher of the Void to drain your energy and consume you."
"Heh, consume me? So what? Even if I stole Kiana's name, I was still acknowledged by my father. That makes me a member of the Kaslana family.
And the Kaslana family never lets Honkai beasts harm civilians. So even if I die here, I won't run."
Kiana outright refused Fu Hua's suggestion to flee.
Instead, she charged at the endless horde of Honkai beasts.
One, two, three, four... By the end, Kiana had lost count of how many she had killed.
When she was completely exhausted, Kiana thought of a solution.
She picked up a gun and pointed it at her chin.
"Class Monitor, since you still have some power left, please take care of the remaining Honkai beasts after I die."
Kiana had made up her mind. Since these Honkai beasts were summoned by the Herrscher of the Void to deal with her, her death would solve everything.
This way, she could die meaningfully, without failing anyone.
Even in her final moments, she would uphold the pride of the Kaslana family.
With that, Kiana pulled the trigger.
Fu Hua's heart raced.
She didn't know if things would play out like in the original story, where Kiana would recall her past and strengthen her resolve. She even considered using Fenghuang Down to create an illusion and cheat.
As she prepared to pull the trigger, Kiana thought of many things.
Mei's cooking, Bronya always beating her at games, Theresa often knocking (敲) her head, and Himeko-sensei, who had died because of her.
"Kiana, when you wake up again, you'll find that the world is no longer beautiful. But don't give up. Lift your head and keep moving forward. Turn this imperfect world into the one you wish to see."
Remembering Himeko's words, Kiana's resolve wavered.
Fu Hua knew it was her turn now.
Once Kiana had solidified her resolve, it was up to Fu Hua to help her make the final decision.
With a shattering sound, Kiana looked up in confusion.
She saw a fiery red figure slowly walking toward her.
The figure was so familiar, so nostalgic.
"Kiana, now is not the time to give up. Do you remember what you once said? You wanted to become the strongest S-rank Valkyrie, to fight for all that is beautiful in the world."
At that moment, Kiana felt someone take her hands.
It was Fu Hua.
"I... I can't let Himeko-sensei down. I want to create the world she wished for. I want to turn all that is imperfect into something beautiful. I will fight for all that is beautiful."
At that moment, Kiana truly understood her own feelings. She was no longer bound by her past or struggling about her identity.
And at that moment, Kiana stopped resisting the Herrscher's power and instead accepted it.
If Mei could use the power of a Herrscher, so could she.
In an instant, Kiana, now wielding a portion of the Herrscher of the Void's power, underwent a transformation. This was the power of Herrscher armor.
"Now, it's time for a new battle."
Using the power of space, Kiana swiftly dealt with the Honkai beasts and prevented more from appearing.
"It seems you've finally understood your own heart, Kiana."
"Class Monitor, I have you to thank for that. Now, let's go and eliminate all the Honkai beasts in this city."
Kiana knew the illusion had been created by Fu Hua, but the words were undoubtedly something Himeko-sensei would have said.
So, Kiana no longer held Fu Hua's past actions against her.
The past no longer mattered. All she wanted now was to fulfill the promise she had made to Himeko-sensei: to turn this imperfect world into the one she wished to see.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Bronya and the others had arrived at the Eye of the Deep.