ALL NOVEL Chapter 206: Burning Life Away
"Herrscher of the Void."
"World Serpent."
With MOTH gone, only Kiana and Raven remained, locked in a tense standoff.
For Raven, Kiana was the cause of her family's destruction, the one who had plunged her back into the abyss just as she had finally clawed her way to a better life. It was a grudge that couldn't be easily forgiven.
For Kiana, World Serpent's actions in ARC City were an unforgivable sin. Ren's mother, Griseo… they were all victims of World Serpent's machinations. Not to mention the countless ordinary people who had died in their experiments, in the Honkai eruptions they had triggered.
As Raven aimed her pistol, Kiana summoned a spear of Honkai energy. Sora, having just escaped MOTH's grasp, watched in horror.
"Teacher! Kiana is our friend! She saved us!" She tugged at Raven's cloak, but Raven didn't react.
Sora then ran to Kiana, pleading. "Kiana! She's our teacher! She's not a bad person!"
"Sora, get back here!" Raven panicked. Intel suggested the Herrscher of the Void was highly unstable. Though the children, as incomplete Stigmata carriers, possessed a degree of Honkai resistance, a Herrscher was still a force of destruction.
As Kiana, heeding Sora's plea, began to lower her weapon, Raven, misinterpreting the gesture as a threat, fired.
Kiana instinctively shielded Sora, taking the bullet in her arm. Blood splattered.
"Teacher! What are you doing?!" Sora cried, her eyes wide with disbelief. The other children, alerted by the gunshot, arrived just in time to witness Raven's attack.
But Raven's eyes hardened. Kiana was injured, separated from the children. This was her chance.
She drew the Staff of Hades, activating it once more. Invisible waves pulsed outwards, disrupting Kiana's Herrscher core.
Unlike other Herrschers, Kiana possessed two cores. The disruption not only weakened her, but destabilized her.
Dark spatial rifts flickered in the air, the Herrscher's instincts fighting against the interference. The Honkai energy, which Kiana had struggled to suppress after Mei took the Gem of Conquest, surged, threatening to overwhelm her.
Cracks appeared in the surrounding support pillars. Realizing the danger, Kiana, clutching her wounded arm, jumped from the rooftop, unwilling to risk harming the children.
Raven followed, leaving the children staring after them in confusion.
When Delta, returning from a scavenging run, arrived, the children flocked to her, seeking reassurance.
"Delta, Teacher and Kiana are fighting! Can you stop them?"
Delta sighed inwardly. These kids were more handful than the ones at the orphanage. Everything fell on her shoulders. But she didn't refuse. A sense of responsibility settled over her. She was the "big sister" now.
As Delta left to find them, the children relaxed, some already speculating about what gifts their teacher would bring on her next visit.
None of them noticed the bloodshot eyes watching them from the shadows.
…
The sounds of collapsing buildings echoed through the ruined city. Weakened by the Staff of Hades, and facing Raven wielding the Seven Thunders of Retribution, Kiana could only flee.
Her condition was unstable. If she unleashed her full power, it would endanger everyone around her. Her hesitation hampered her ability to fight back.
Raven, unaware of this, pressed her advantage. This was the perfect opportunity to capture the Herrscher of the Void. The spatial rifts appearing around Kiana, a side effect of the Staff of Hades's disruption, were misinterpreted as signs of an impending loss of control, further fueling Raven's determination.
"You can't escape." Seeing Kiana gaining distance, Raven raised the Seven Thunders, now in sniper rifle mode. Electromagnetic energy crackled around the metal bullet as she aimed at Kiana's back.
Crackle.
The electromagnetic sniper rifle fired silently. By the time Kiana realized the danger, it was too late.
The bullet tore through flesh, a dull thud echoing in her ears.
She stared at the gray-haired boy who had shielded her, frozen in place.
Ren winced. He had almost been too late.
He glanced at the bullet lodged in his chest, calmly extracting it. The wound sizzled as he cauterized it with a burst of heat. If not for the greatsword he had summoned to absorb the initial impact, the damage would have been far worse.
"Ren…"
He exhaled, ignoring Kiana, turning to face the approaching Raven.
"A World Serpent operative dares to show her face here?"
Raven didn't respond, her mind racing. Another Herrscher? What was going on in Nagazora? Were they breeding like Honkai beasts?
And the heat radiating from Ren… she recognized him now. The Herrscher of Flames, the one who had turned ARC City into an inferno.
She also noticed the fissures on his body, the telltale signs of an impending loss of control.
World Serpent's database contained detailed records of the Herrscher of Flames' destructive potential, and his inherent instability. A volatile Herrscher of the Void, coupled with a Herrscher of Flames on the verge of detonation… even Raven felt a chill.
"Guided by the Serpent, nothing can stop our advance. It's rather curious, though. Such a small city, and yet so many Herrschers. I wonder what Schicksal is up to." Despite her bravado, Raven felt a flicker of unease.
After the battle in ARC City, everyone knew Schicksal had captured the Herrscher of Flames. His presence here spoke volumes. But World Serpent's reinforcements were still a day away. She had to stall.
"Really? World Serpent is quite confident, it seems." The temperature around Ren spiked as he summoned his flaming greatsword, preparing for battle. Raven was here for Kiana. He had to drive her away.
But as he readied himself, Kiana grabbed his cloak, shaking her head.
"Ren, don't. Your body… you can't fight anymore."
Unlike Kiana, whose suffering stemmed from the three cores overwhelming her, Ren's decline was a consequence of his dwindling lifespan. Using Honkai energy accelerated the process, an irreversible consequence.
Every battle now was a gamble, a piece of his life burned away.
Feeling the girl's plea, Ren fell silent.