There’s a saying: if you endure for a moment, the wind and waves will calm down; but if you take a step back, the more you think about it, the angrier you get. The Herrscher of Ice, who had flown dozens of kilometers away from the Hyperion, felt something was off the more she thought about it.
“That Honkai beast born because of me—the Judgment-class one—was already taken down by that shorty. And just now, I was moving slower than usual. If that attack came at me again, even if I didn’t die, I’d be completely unable to fight. So… could it be that attack could only be used once?”
Realizing that Anti-Entropy and the others were at their last gasp, the Herrscher of Ice immediately turned around and charged back toward the Hyperion.
Meanwhile, in the lower levels of the Hyperion, Himeko Murata leaned against the railing outside the medical bay. People were constantly rushing past her, carrying the wounded.
She instinctively covered her own wound. The injury she’d gotten during the fight with the Herrscher was still bleeding, even now.
“This really has gotten out of hand, hasn’t it…”
(The somber tune of GGZ: Apocalypse plays softly)
No one answered her. Only the faint glow of the serum reflected off her scar-covered face.
Just then, the alarm on the Hyperion blared again. The Herrscher of Ice had turned back. The sirens pierced the ears of the crew like a sharp buzz, making the already chaotic corridor even more frantic.
But in Himeko’s eyes, the world remained calm.
“Alright. Time to step out and get some fresh air.”
She straightened up, took a step forward, and walked in the opposite direction of the crowd. In that moment, time seemed to pause, quiet and eternal.
Himeko understood: even if she didn’t go to fight now, Enoxia would find a way to stop the Herrscher of Ice. And she herself could continue to hang on, just a little longer.
Since she didn’t have to face that powerful enemy again… why was she still walking forward?
Maybe it was her responsibility as a Valkyrie. Maybe it was her responsibility as a teacher. Or maybe… she just wanted to choose her own ending.
“Kiana, Mei Raiden, plus Enoxia… Come to think of it, three Herrschers have already come from the class I teach. St. Freya Academy really is a place full of hidden talents.”
“They still have a long road ahead of them, don’t they?”
“…Good luck… to all of you…”
People holding weapons, people wrapped in bandages, people carrying the injured, people hauling parts—members of the Hyperion, members of the Far East Branch, members of Anti-Entropy—people Himeko knew, people she didn’t know—people who remembered Himeko, people who didn’t—all brushed past her, one by one.
“I really… want another drink…”
The elevator stopped. Himeko braved the biting wind and stepped onto the deck. About a hundred meters ahead of her stood the Herrscher of Ice.
“You again. Are you ready to welcome death?”
The Herrscher of Ice spoke while firing an ice spike over three meters long.
“Hah!”
Himeko cleaved the spike in half with her greatsword. But something immediately felt wrong.
The Herrscher’s lips curled upward. The split ice spike exploded, covering the surface of Vermilion Knight: Eclipse in a thin layer of frost. Himeko realized her body had frozen in place.
The Herrscher of Ice pointed a finger toward the sky. A massive ice sphere—over ten meters in diameter, like a meteor—plummeted downward, aimed straight at the immobilized Himeko.
“Bam!”
The ice sphere crashed onto the deck of the Hyperion, trapping Himeko—who had just barely regained mobility—inside a block of ice.
The Herrscher of Ice pressed her advantage. Behind her, six ice-blue wings of light stretched out, sharp as blades, and shredded the giant ice block.
After the wings returned to her back and everything went quiet, the Herrscher shattered the elevator doors with a single strike, preparing to enter the Hyperion’s interior.
“Fine. For a short-lived species, this level of resistance is already something to be grateful for.”
“Clang.”
A sound came from the shattered ice. A greatsword flew out, aimed straight at the Herrscher’s head.
“What?!”
The Herrscher of Ice raised three layers of ice walls in front of her, barely managing to block the crimson Godbane greatsword. She waved her right hand, shattering the ice walls and deflecting the sword away.
“Hah… hah… Just a dying struggle…”
She took a few steps back and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Just then, a figure slowly emerged from the icy mist. They pulled the greatsword from the ground and walked toward her, step by step.
(Nightglow begins to play, underscored by the sound of Himeko’s footsteps)
“Hah… hah… Your attacks are done, aren’t they? Now it’s my turn. No objections, I hope?”
Their eyes met. For some reason, a flicker of panic rose in the Herrscher’s heart.
“No way. That’s just… a final flicker before death!”
She swung her right arm down from above. Countless ice spikes rained down like drops of water.
By now, Himeko had completely abandoned defense. She swung her sword forward, shattering the ice spikes that blocked her way. The rest were left to cut her skin as they pleased.
“Kiana—when you wake up, you’ll find that everything has changed. You’ll see that this world isn’t beautiful anymore. Those ordinary, everyday moments… they won’t come back.”
Himeko leaped into the air, raising her greatsword above her head, and brought it down toward the Herrscher.
“But don’t give up. Never give up!”
The Herrscher of Ice raised her six wings of light to block the attack.
Himeko used that barrier to her advantage. The moment her greatsword made contact with the wings, she deliberately let up some force, letting herself bounce into the air. She spun 360 degrees and then struck down again from above. At that moment, her greatsword—no, her entire body—burned like a raging flame.
“Kiana—lift your head high and keep moving forward. Take this imperfect story… and turn it into the one you’ve always wanted!”
“Crash~”
The Herrscher’s defense collapsed. That raging, burning flame grew larger and larger in her eyes…
“Live on… Kiana…”
At last, the flame went out. Right in front of the Herrscher of Ice. Himeko’s body had no life left in it.
“Crack…”
The Godbane greatsword shattered. Himeko fell to the ground, a peaceful look on her face.
“This is… the last… lesson…”
Before the Herrscher of Ice could feel relieved, she realized something. That vial of serum had somehow been injected into her body.
“AAAAAAAGH!!!”
Falling apart, the Herrscher used her last remaining strength to fly as far away as possible. About a minute later, she lost consciousness and plunged toward the ground.
Meanwhile, Murata Himeko’s battered, broken body was completely corroded by the massive burst of Honkai energy the Herrscher had unleashed in her final moments. When the Herrscher’s movements finally ceased altogether, the only things left on the Hyperion’s deck were the shattered Godbane greatsword… and the still-glowing, radiating core of the Herrscher of Fire.
