Alright, but... Elysia was well aware.
If even she, standing guard at the defense line right now, gave up, then absolutely no one else could stop the Fourth Herrscher.
At the very worst!
She could just ask her dear Kiana for help...
They'd already agreed on that beforehand.
It's just.
Before coming, she'd declared so confidently that she could handle it herself.
Even if Miss Heavenly Punishment showed up again, it wasn't like she couldn't put up a fight.
After all, raw numbers don't decide everything.
Right?
But if she just gave up the moment she encountered the even more overpowered Fourth Herrscher, wouldn't that be the most blatant, speed-of-light self-slap in the face?
She had to at least give it a try!
Even if her attacks felt like 'scratching an itch'!
She refused to believe it. She couldn't let herself be intimidated.
But before that, she needed to control the impact caused by the Fourth Herrscher's descent.
So!
"Hiya~"
"Come play at my place~"
Elysia, holding the Whispers of the Past bow, elegantly drew the string and loosed an arrow into the heavens.
Instantly, layer upon layer of pink crystal, honeycomb-like, transformed into an inverted semi-dome, enveloping the surrounding dozens of miles entirely.
In that instant.
The inside was sealed off from the outside.
And one could see!
The churning winds and clouds outside calmed somewhat, as if the root of the calamity had been severed, reluctantly losing their power.
But inside...
Due to the sealed, isolated space, the environment and everything within became more prone to spiraling out of control, harder for any natural balance to self-regulate, making the internal turmoil even more violent.
The wind shrieked.
The atmosphere was chaotic, turbulent, and agitated.
And it didn't stop there.
The clouds were thick, pitch-black, churned and piled up like a vortex. Even the nearby seawater surged upwards against its nature, like a water spout, roaring and raging.
Rain seemed imminent.
But the water gathered mid-air, forming a strange spectacle.
Precisely because the pink barrier sealed everything in, it was like a trapped beast constantly battering against its confines, becoming even fiercer because of it.
Air pressure was completely haywire.
High in some places, low in others, thin here, oppressive there.
The clouds' friction generated plasma, flowing like rivers of lightning.
Sparks flew everywhere in the gloomy vista.
Even the mud, the flowing earth, seemed to hiss and roar, squirming as if alive, restless.
Elysia wiped her face, flicking the seawater from her hand. She immediately used her authority to create a barrier around herself, separating her from the outside.
Because right now, danger lurked everywhere.
Everything was hazardous. The pressure was immense!
"This is really too much, this intensity..."
Even the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment wasn't this absurd.
And... this Herrscher certainly knew how to put on a show.
Elysia was absolutely certain of that.
Because a less 'creative' one would just blow some wind. Her true authority was manipulating all manner of fluids, even creating ideal fluids.
Looking at the current situation...
Good grief...
Shouldn't it be her who had the Fourth Herrscher surrounded? Why did it feel like she was the one surrounded?
Was she really going to have to call for her dear wife's help already?
The thought of retreat crept into her mind once more.
At that moment.
The Herrscher of Streaming Winds had fully manifested.
She hovered high in the sky, backed by dark, heavy clouds.
Her emerald eyes blazed like bright lanterns.
The luminous wings on her sides unfurled like blades of light, imposing and formidable.
The Fourth Herrscher raised her hand slightly.
In an instant.
The world fell into a dead silence.
The wind froze, the rain stagnated.
All fluids ceased their motion, presenting an eerily static state.
Plasma, flowing water, earth, the atmosphere...
Everything, everything was dead still.
Some forms were spherical, some spiral, some frozen mid-meander, some shattered into fragments.
Elysia got a clear look.
The Fourth Herrscher had medium-length hair, black strands with green highlights underneath.
Her figure was slender, well-developed.
Her form was graceful and lithe, like a swift, with beautiful curves.
She wore no shoes.
Her delicate, pretty feet were adorned with unique green patterns that spread upwards, like embroidery, accentuating them.
They shared the same origin as the green patterns on her forearms.
Mysterious, alluring, pure yet hiding a hint of seduction, exceedingly pleasing to the eye.
But that didn't seem to be the main point.
Elysia noticed immediately.
"She looks so much like Wendy..."
This Herrscher was also a natural Herrscher created by the Honkai.
Just like the previous Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment.
The Honkai hadn't chosen any human; it had chosen to create anew.
It seemed the Honkai was quite fond of this face too. No Wendy in New Zealand? Fine, I'll just make a Wendy.
Anyway, one less human being coerced wasn't a bad thing from Elysia's perspective.
"...Wendy?"
The Herrscher of Streaming Winds stared at Elysia for a moment before finally speaking.
"I like that name. From now on, I'll be called Wendy."
She was very casual as she continued.
"Where is Finality? You are no match for me. Let Finality come."
Huh?
Elysia's eyes lit up.
Sure enough, this Herrscher had some degree of self-awareness, she could be reasoned with.
Having spent considerable time with Miss Heavenly Punishment, Elysia had gained some insight into how to handle these 'sisters'.
It was good that she could communicate.
If she could communicate... then she could give it a shot.
"My sister," she started, trying to establish familiarity first.
"What mission did the Honkai give you? Is it also to defeat my lady?"
"Correct."
The Herrscher of Streaming Winds didn't mind talking with Elysia.
After all, she seemed urgent on the surface, but actually appeared a bit... sluggish.
Almost like someone who'd been reluctantly assigned a task, lazy by nature, not wanting to 'work,' but forced into it, so she just dragged her feet.
Before, the surroundings were full of murderous intent.
But after she descended, that feeling wasn't as strong.
She was following her own whims.
"The God told me that the greatest obstacle to civilization's destruction is Finality, that traitor. No matter how much damage is done before that, it is meaningless."
"Only after completing the primary task, eliminating Finality, can the Honkai proceed."
"Therefore, not just me, but all subsequent Herrschers will prioritize Finality as their primary target. No matter where they descend, it will be so."
The Herrscher of Streaming Winds relayed this matter-of-factly.
Elysia nodded, then suddenly said, "But even if you can defeat me, defeat everyone in this world, you still couldn't possibly be a match for my lady."
To put it bluntly.
Miss Heavenly Punishment was probably the Herrscher with the best chance of defeating Kiana.
Because when she descended, Kiana wasn't as terrifyingly powerful as she was now.
And even then, Miss Heavenly Punishment was captured alive by Kiana.
Yes!
You, the Herrscher of Streaming Winds, overpower the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment.
But that actually means you have less chance of winning than the previous Third Herrscher did.
You have to realize!
Kiana's utterly unreasonable growth rate is like exploiting a glitch! Can your Honkai even keep up?
Aren't you, the Fourth Herrscher, just the result of the Honkai 'inflating the stats'?
Are you sure your Honkai isn't just sending you all to your deaths?
"I know."
The Herrscher of Streaming Winds said calmly.
"But it doesn't matter."
"Huh?" Elysia was taken aback.
"So I plan to seek out that traitor Finality at my own pace."
The Herrscher of Streaming Winds spoke with an air of breezy indifference.
"When the time comes, winning is fine, losing is fine, dying is just dying. If I get to wander around a bit, I break even."
--+--
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