"Hmph, I've been waiting for you."
Himeko's muscles tensed. The crimson greatsword traced several ripples in the air before finally pointing directly at the Herrscher of the Void.
"Are you ready to embrace death?"
The Herrscher of the Void coldly extended a hand. A powerful spatial force, like an invisible giant hand, seized Himeko's body and instantly pulled her in front of the Herrscher. Having learned her lesson from their last encounter, the Herrscher of the Void did not dare to be arrogant this time, unleashing her full power from the very beginning.
"Struggle as much as you can."
With a push from her seemingly slender arm, Himeko's body was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut.
The Herrscher of the Void's eyes shimmered with power, pushing her Herrscher abilities to their absolute limit. A purple wall materialized behind Himeko, followed by purple cubes appearing from all directions. They collided with one another, trapping Himeko within.
With a light snap of her fingers, countless sharp lances wove like ribbons, slicing past the purple cube one after another. Finally, all the ribbons converged, shattering the cube that encased Himeko!
"Is that all you've got?"
Gazing at the ruined ground, the Herrscher of the Void sneered dismissively. Just as she was about to turn and leave, a whistling sound, like the reaper's death knell, rang in her ear.
The Herrscher of the Void's heart leaped in alarm. In the instant she turned her head, she opened a portal in front of her, sending the incoming sub-blade that was flying at her face to a spot behind her, where it embedded itself deep into a wall with tremendous force.
"Heh... hah..."
Himeko, looking battered and with many parts of her armor broken and scattered, slowly emerged from the crater in the ruins. Her red hair was disheveled, and fine crimson lines had appeared all over her body. As time passed, the erosion from the Gem of Pestilence grew more severe, and even her eyes were gradually turning the color of a Herrscher's.
But she no longer cared about any of that.
"Is your turn... over? Now it's mine. Any objections?!"
"Hehe, die!"
The killing intent in the Herrscher of the Void's heart intensified. Countless spatial rifts opened around Himeko, and Subspace Lances rained down upon her like a storm.
Himeko's face showed no trace of panic. She silently activated the Vermilion Knight's amplification mode. The sub-blade she had thrown instantly flew back, breaking down into individual components and re-equipping themselves onto her body.
"Kiana, when you wake up, you will find this world is no longer beautiful."
Crimson flames engulfed the entire Godfall Sword as limitless power erupted from the Vermilion Knight armor.
"Those ordinary days will be gone, never to return."
With a powerful swing of her sword, the immense force of the crimson flames instantly incinerated all the Subspace Lances around her.
"But, don't give up. Never, ever give up."
"Don't you get carried away!" the Herrscher of the Void screamed in fury, launching cubes formed from Herrscher energy straight at Himeko.
But how could Himeko, who was now burning away her very own life, be stopped?
Like a fearless hero, she burned her life force, charging forward without hesitation. Every attack was futile against her. Even as her body was covered in wounds, nothing could halt her advance by even a single step.
Himeko leaped high, like a meteor falling from the heavens, raising the greatsword high above her head and bringing it down upon the Herrscher of the Void.
The Herrscher of the Void focused all her power into a single point. A black drill seemed poised to pierce the very sky as it clashed with the fiery meteor. An immense power erupted in an instant!
In that moment, the world before Himeko's eyes turned pure white.
The figures of Theresa, Fu Hua, Bronya, and Mei flashed before her eyes, one by one. Their smiles and voices were as lively and adorable as she remembered.
And of course, at the very end, there was the one figure that she cared for the most.
"Aunt Himeko, I'm going to become the strongest Valkyrie!"
"...HRAAAAAH!!!"
The fragments of memory stimulated Himeko's brain. She could no longer feel any pain. The Vermilion Knight armor unleashed two hundred percent of its power. The overloaded energy ran wild, and flames enveloped her body like a pair of wings.
Having completely unleashed her power, Himeko easily broke through the layer of darkness. Like a volcanic meteor, she brought her sword down viciously upon the Herrscher of the Void.
"Kiana, raise your head and keep moving forward!"
"Go and turn this imperfect story into the one you wish for!"
The meteor crashed to the earth. A terrifying blast of energy erupted, shaking the entire Imaginary Space to the point of collapse!
And within the white light that engulfed the entire space, a weak voice could be heard.
"Live on... Kiana."
The white light gradually faded. The Herrscher of the Void sat on the ground, staring blankly at the woman before her who seemed to have burned herself to cinders. Behind her, the Godfall Sword had ultimately stopped short of striking her body, shattering into pieces from the overloaded eruption of power.
"This is... the final... lesson."
Himeko seemed to have lost all her strength. She fell limply toward the Herrscher of the Void, as if, at the very end of her life, she wanted one last embrace with the girl who called her 'Auntie'.
"You!"
But the Herrscher of the Void was not Kiana. After snapping back to reality, she shoved Himeko away in a fit of rage and shame.
But the corners of Himeko's lips curled into a faint smile.
The Herrscher of the Void's eyes shot wide open. She seemed to have realized something.
But it was too late.
The syringe containing the God-Slaying Spear had already been plunged into her body.
The pale blue serum flooded into the Herrscher of the Void's system. To her horror, she could feel the Honkai energy within her receding like a tide. She was unwilling, she was furious, but she was powerless to stop it.
Because this was an opportunity that Himeko had bought with her very own life.
As the Herrscher of the Void faded, the Imaginary Space began to crumble.
Himeko closed her eyes, looking as if she had fallen asleep. Her body, like a light feather, fell from the blue sky, finally descending into the deepest, boundless expanse.
With that, the video ended.
...
...
Silence. Complete silence.
Aside from the sound of stifled sobs and choked gasps, almost no one could speak.
Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were already streaming tears.
Even Theresa was secretly wiping her eyes away, only managing to hold back from crying out loud for the sake of maintaining her dignity as the Principal.
Fu Hua let out a deep sigh. Even though she had witnessed countless partings of life and death, she was still moved and saddened by this.
The more emotional Tesla also had red-rimmed eyes. In Himeko, she seemed to see a reflection of Welt Joyce. They were the same kind of people—people who would sacrifice themselves for others.
People like that...
She truly hated them the most!