As the scarlet light on the tip of Yae Sakura's tachi, 'Danying', lit up... Shigure Kira didn't just stand there waiting for her doom. If Yae Sakura's attack were to land on her, even a Honkai Beast would have a hard time withstanding such a full-power blow... let alone a zombified Shigure Kira...
"......" Without hesitation, Shigure Kira forcefully pulled out the Holy Relic [Abyss Flower] that had been inserted into the Honkai Beast's head, providing it with life force...
As [Abyss Flower] was pulled out, the Honkai Beast's body, which had been glowing with an ice-blue light, suddenly stiffened. The Honkai energy crystal embedded in its head also dimmed... Without a supply of life force, it re-entered a state of death...
"Aaargh!!" The two of them roared simultaneously, their cold figures reflected in each other's eyes.
The tachi, surrounded by sakura petals, thrust forward fiercely, while the holy lance, gleaming with white light, also thrust out... Lance versus tachi...
"Boom!!" The collision of different energies created a sound like a clap of thunder on a cloudy summer day... A blinding light, accompanied by a deafening roar, flashed in mid-air...
"Ugh..." After the final blow exploded, a figure was thrown out like a broken doll. The figure fell onto the snowy ground... even tumbling a few times from the lack of momentum before coming to a stop...
At the same time, a white object spun and landed on the ground, sticking into it at an angle... It was the Holy Relic [Abyss Flower].
"You lose..." Standing on the head of the motionless Honkai Beast, Yae Sakura was like a legendary hero who had slain a dragon in a bloody battle. Her golden eyes calmly watched 'Shigure Kira', who had fallen onto the snowy ground, as she spoke...
"......" Shigure Kira's ice-blue eyes stared silently at the ceiling of the cavern. A purplish-red wound was visible on her fair chest... Her heart had been pierced by Yae Sakura's strike... Although the head is the most important part for a Honkai Zombie... without a heart, even a Honkai Zombie's body could not continue to function... It would die...
"....Do you have any last words?" Theresa sighed softly. To think that a once-respected A-Rank Valkyrie had ended up in this inhuman state... Theresa felt a sense of sorrow, as if seeing her own potential fate...
"...Be careful.... of [God]..." Shigure Kira said intermittently, looking at the wary Theresa who dared not get too close, and gave a bitter smile. But her voice was a little quiet, so Theresa didn't hear clearly...
"......" After a silent glance at Theresa and the fallen 'Shigure Kira', Yae Sakura said nothing more... The pair of fox ears on her flying sakura-colored hair disappeared again, and her once-golden eyes returned to their previous gentle, azure blue...
With the thought of 'I'll leave the rest to Principal Theresa...', Yae Sakura jumped down from the Honkai Beast's head. As she landed steadily and was about to sheathe her tachi 'Danying'... the crimson blade of 'Danying' suddenly shattered...
The crimson blade shattered completely... The blade turned into fragments and fell to the ground... leaving Yae Sakura, who hadn't reacted, stunned for a moment...
'Things of the past will eventually fade away...' Yae Sakura finally smiled helplessly, putting the handle of the blade into her pocket... She quickly walked towards the person she had been worried about....
"...Cough... Lady Cecilia..." Shigure Kira murmured, a tear suddenly gathering in her eye... It flowed slowly down from her eye and finally turned into ice... Her breath also slowly faded away...
"This is such a cruel ending..." Himeko said softly, dragging her Sunfire Greatsword, having witnessed a former 'hero' end up in this state and then die so quietly...
"This is the battle against the Honkai... Kiana, this is the goal you most want to achieve, 'A-Rank Valkyrie'. Even in the final moments of their lives, they will not forget their mission," Theresa said gravely, looking at Kiana who had approached.
"......" Kiana, who was usually cheerful and carefree, was speechless. For some reason, watching this scene filled her with a faint sadness and a strange sense of familiarity...
"Roar!" A massive figure suddenly charged at them unexpectedly... Theresa and the others subconsciously dodged, but after dodging, they realized that it had no intention of attacking... Its intention was to snatch Shigure Kira...
"Shouldn't this Honkai Beast be dead already?" Kiana looked in disbelief at the giant Honkai Beast that had suddenly 'come back to life'. Its ferocious, dragon-like head had its massive ice-blue mouth clamped down on the snow where Shigure Kira had been lying...
"Bronya detects that the target has entered a near-death state... The Honkai Beast is about to die. This is just its last gasp..." Bronya said with a blank expression.
"No... Theresa, the Honkai Beast swallowed Shigure Kira's body..." Himeko watched as the Honkai Beast, with its mouth open, began to exhaust its last strength and slowly close its giant jaws... Himeko could even see Shigure Kira through the gap in its jaws...
"Roar!!~" The ice-blue beast let out one last soft roar... It raised its head and slowly sank back into the crack in the earth...
"Principal..." Himeko looked at Theresa, who had stopped her, with some confusion... Why didn't she let her retrieve 'Shigure Kira's' body?
"Let it be... this is the best outcome..." Theresa said with a sigh. "If we bring 'her' body back, do you think it will ultimately be buried in a grave?"
"....That's true..." Himeko replied with understanding. Given the group of perverts at St. Freya High School, they probably wouldn't leave even a corpse alone...
"Sigh~ I really owe Li Xuan for this one..." Theresa turned around and looked at Yae Sakura taking care of the still-unconscious Li Xuan not far away, feeling a sense of lingering fear.
If 'Shigure Kira' had really managed to stab her own stupid white-haired furball, Theresa's hands would turn cold just thinking about the outcome...
"Right... Bronya, please help me send a message to St. Freya High School and ask the support team to come and meet us... Also, bring medical personnel... We have someone seriously injured here who needs treatment..." Theresa instructed Bronya. After all, all the communication equipment for the team was kept with Bronya...
"Yes... I understand, Principal Theresa..." Bronya nodded in acknowledgement. She immediately took out a device and began to compose a message requesting St. Freya High School to dispatch a team to meet them...
"Well~ Mission complete! It's a blessing that no major incidents were triggered~ Let's pack up. Everyone, go back and get a good rest for a couple of days~" Theresa stretched and said in a relaxed tone.
"Thud~" Suddenly, the sound of someone falling came from behind Theresa...
"Eh? Himeko, what's wrong?...." Theresa turned around and saw Murata Himeko lying on the snow, not getting up... She reached out her hand in confusion...
"Don't scare me..." Theresa's small hand trembled as it touched Murata Himeko's body... "So hot!..." Himeko's body temperature was abnormally high... which startled Theresa...
"No...." Theresa forcefully turned Himeko's body over. She tore open Himeko's clothes, revealing half of her large, fair breasts that made Theresa green with envy... and then she saw the color of the skin on the side of Himeko's chest... it was a grayish color...
"Zombification?!....." Theresa cried out in panic...
At the same time... 'Shigure Kira', held in the mouth of the ice-dragon-like Honkai Beast, was once again frozen in a layer of ice, forming an ice crystal... The last trace of life in her body was sealed and preserved...
Beneath the abyss... the young girl quietly awaits her chance to awaken after the end... and the arrival of a new world...
(End of this chapter)