Bianca slammed heavily into the ground. Most of her armor was shattered, and wounds littered her skin, leaving her looking utterly tragic.
With her golden hair matted with blood and grime, she forced her body up, leaning on her lance to stand. Panting, she looked up at the high-and-mighty Herrscher of Void.
The Herrscher's purple hair drifted in the air. Beneath a sky ravaged by imaginary energy, she looked like a deity peering down at the mortal realm, her gaze fixed on Bianca from above.
This Herrscher of Void was stronger than the one in the Proper World.
The way she had just extravagantly squandered imaginary power and Honkai energy was beyond even the capabilities of the Proper World's Herrscher. Without Abyss Flower and unable to use the Holy Blade's power, Bianca had been defeated the moment they clashed.
But Bianca did not give up. In her life, the word "surrender" did not exist, just as there were no invincible enemies to her—even this Herrscher, who possessed power bordering on the divine.
As if reading the resolve in Bianca's eyes, the Herrscher of Void calmly raised her palm. Hundreds of portals expanded behind her, accompanied by those highly penetrative spears. A destructive torrent of energy gathered within the portals; in half a second, it would level Bianca and everything in the vicinity.
Whoosh!
The arrival of a light spear caused the Herrscher to pause. With a wave of her hand, the spear thrusting from behind was swallowed by a portal. She shifted her gaze to see a figure leaping into the air, a spear in each hand. Pinkish-purple blood trailed behind him like a blurred shadow, a monstrous silhouette leaping out of a pool of blood.
With a flick of her fingers, the portal fired the swallowed light spear back at the lunging Lin. He swung his own spears to shatter it, his trajectory unchanging as he charged the Herrscher!
The Herrscher's attention fell back onto Lin. Maintaining her posture, white spears fired from her side. From behind Lin, a light spear arrived even faster, shattering a white spear mid-air.
The Oath of Judah, left on the ground, was in its deployed state. One light spear after another flew out from it, colliding with the white spears fired by the Herrscher!
Lin closed the distance in a straight line. He thrust both spears simultaneously, colliding with the Herrscher's imaginary barrier!
Clang!
The barrier that even Bianca's full-power strike couldn't break was now being neutralized by the energy-suppressing ability of the spears. Lin moved with gritted teeth, thrusting the spears in with all his might!
However, the Herrscher of Void merely watched the spears about to pierce her body with indifference. She stepped back, and a portal appeared behind her.
Seeing this, Lin lunged forward with everything he had, thrusting the spears into the portal before it could close!
Squelch!
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out.
The Herrscher of Void floated dozens of meters away, arms crossed and completely unharmed. Her golden pupils, devoid of humanity, watched Lin quietly.
Lin remained in his thrusting posture.
The spears had pierced through his own abdomen from behind.
At the destination of the portal she used to relocate herself, she had opened a second portal, setting the other end right behind Lin.
He had been heavily wounded by his own attack.
Perhaps bored of the game, the Herrscher of Void gave a casual wave toward Lin. A giant, translucent blue hand slapped him with the back of its palm. He flew backward faster than he had come, smashing into the ground.
Boom!
They had lost.
Einstein watched everything with difficulty. She looked at the defeated Lin and Bianca on the ground, then up at the Herrscher of Void, who remained uninjured and showed no sign of fatigue.
Throughout the entire process, she had acted with ease, as if playing a game. Einstein saw no hope of winning.
Against a complete Herrscher who manipulated imaginary energy, even touching her was a pipe dream unless one could break her authority.
What do we do...
Will we die...
Will this world bubble be destroyed by her...
A massive fear gripped her heart. Einstein's legs felt like lead. she didn't even dare to have the thought of turning and running, as if her body had surrendered to that monster's power, waiting for the "blessing" of destruction to fall upon it.
Death...
Rita was doing her best to slay the constant surge of Honkai Beasts. No matter how many she killed, more monsters poured out of the portals. The defensive line was precarious, threatening to collapse at any second.
Death...
Just like that day in the Tenth Branch. In front of the Stargate, Elysia and the others held back the monsters while she racked her brain behind them to find a way to close it.
Death...
That ordinary soldier named Erwin, who had been dragged into a heartless conspiracy by her, dying a worthless death, slaughtered by his own kin.
Was she going to die too? Was this the punishment for her cowardly escape seven years ago?
Humans slaughtering dissenters, Herrschers bringing divine punishment.
Letting it end in death like this wouldn't be so bad.
At least compared to dying at the hands of humans...
"Doctor!"
A tiny figure tackled Einstein to the ground. A Knight-class Honkai Beast's wing, capable of cutting through steel, whistled past over her head!
The cold wind slapping her face jolted Einstein awake. She looked in astonishment at the tiny humanoid who had saved her. No. 3 rolled over and raised her gun, hitting the Knight-class beast and knocking it out of the sky.
"No. 3? Didn't I tell you all to stay hidden and not come out?"
No. 3 had equipped the armaments she had been provided with previously. With a serious face, she turned her large head toward Einstein and said, "Doctor, you said that the life of every puppet is unique, just like a human's. You are the one who gave us life in this world. So, now it is our turn."
The sound of synchronized footsteps appeared behind them. Einstein turned back in shock to see the Armed Puppets, all fully armed, picking up the weapons they had once thrown away.
"What... are you doing?"
"Executing the first command you gave us when we were born."
No. 3 raised her rifle and shouted solemnly at the overwhelming wave of Honkai Beasts, "All Armed Puppets, protect humanity immediately!"
The Armed Puppets charged toward the Honkai Beasts without hesitation, fighting monsters dozens or even hundreds of times their size. In just the first clash, over a dozen puppets were smashed to pieces. Even though parts of their bodies were made of Soulium, they couldn't withstand the sheer number of beasts.
Einstein's lips trembled. She watched the tiny puppets she had lived with for seven years charge one after another, vying to stand in front of her.
Death...
No...
The cowardice and fear in her eyes vanished in an instant. She gritted her teeth, stood up, and ran toward the rear.
She had to fight.
She had always fought for humanity, whether it was making weapons or Armed Puppets...
But now, she would do it for these Armed Puppets...
If there was anything that could stop the rampage of the Herrscher of Void's authority, there was only one possibility left.
The Stargate.