The moment Himeko's attack was about to land, the Herrscher's figure vanished like a ghost—whoosh—gone in an instant.
"Save your strength. Do you really think you can harm me in this world of consciousness?"
The Herrscher's mocking voice echoed all around. "You're nothing but a failure!"
"You're right…"
Himeko actually smiled, her expression not discouraged in the least, but instead growing more excited…
"My heart is indeed fragile. After meeting so many people, experiencing so many things, I'm like someone riddled with holes, full of flaws. That's just how it is."
She tilted her head back slightly, a unique light gleaming in her eyes. "But… I won't give up. I won't give up until I'm truly dead."
She tightened her grip on the greatsword in her hands. "The light of the stars comes from the sun. Even the tiniest spark can blaze into a sea of fire."
"It's true I once accomplished nothing. But why cling so stubbornly to the past? The road lies beneath my feet. Moving forward is the only path I have!"
As she spoke, Himeko leveled her blade and shouted, "And another thing! This is my world. Who gave you the right to stand here and judge? Show yourself!"
No sooner had Himeko's words fallen than the golden butterfly, as if receiving some command, swiftly flew into her body and vanished.
At the same moment, the Herrscher's figure materialized.
To its surprise, the Herrscher found it could no longer disperse its consciousness as it had before, stirring a thread of unease within it.
But it quickly steadied itself and sneered, "Fine. Then I'll play with you properly."
Before the words faded, the Herrscher's form shifted instantly, becoming an exact mirror of Himeko.
Wielding an identical greatsword, wreathed in black flames, it looked both eerie and dangerous.
The two "Himekos" clashed in an instant, employing identical movesets as they plunged into a fierce duel.
Greatswords met in violent strikes, spraying showers of sparks. The gusts of wind they raised howled past, fanning the surrounding flames that roared and crackled as if cheering on the battle.
"Give up. You can't win against me," the Herrscher snarled amidst their clash. "If this drags on any longer, I will succeed in devouring everything you are…"
"Oh really?" Himeko shot back defiantly. "Well, you just reminded me of something."
With that, she unleashed a powerful overhead slash. The opposing Herrscher mimicked the move to block.
Using the force of the recoil, the two separated instantly.
Himeko slowly began ascending a staircase formed of flames, step by step, climbing toward the sky.
The Herrscher dismissed its greatsword, a triumphant smile spreading across its face as it mocked, "What's this? Giving up on yourself already?"
"Ah… no one has ever seen a sight like this before…"
Himeko sighed softly high in the air, the flames beneath her feet roaring and whistling.
She stood there, a queen of fire.
"You should consider yourself lucky," Himeko's voice resonated through the sky.
At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened, as if something enormous was blotting out the heavens…
If one looked closely, it was a burning ship, plummeting rapidly toward the Herrscher's location!
"??"
The Herrscher's eyes widened in utter disbelief. "What is this?!"
It tried to summon a similar power to counter, only to find it impossible—as if bound by some force.
"This… is probably from my childhood self. An absurd idea…"
Himeko said with a laugh. "You might be able to realize anything you desire within a dream…"
"But human hope and dreams—these are things you will never understand."
As Himeko's words fell, the shadow swiftly engulfed the Herrscher.
"How can this be…" The Herrscher's voice was filled with despair. "My plan was perfect… Why…"
Before it could finish, the ship crashed down… Amidst a tremendous impact and an explosion of fire, the Herrscher lost all strength and means, utterly consumed by the flames.
The inferno raged wildly, as if intent on incinerating everything.
And within these flames, someone was reborn anew.
…
The fire burned and burned. Himeko opened her eyes.
She remembered everything from the dream with perfect clarity.
The ice that had surrounded her had long since melted, leaving only a pool of water.
The blaring alarms and flashing red lights didn't feel grating or harsh to her senses as they once had. Instead, they held a strange, long-lost familiarity.
After many days, she, Himeko, had finally returned to the world of the living…
Himeko slowly looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers slightly, savoring the long-absent sensation of touch.
To her delight, she found she could still manipulate fire to some degree. It felt truly miraculous.
But soon… robots closed in from all sides, surrounding her completely.
Himeko did not resist.
And the robots, seemingly under orders, made no move to harm her.
…
They remained in this standoff until Vill-V arrived.
The one currently in control of Vill-V's body was "The Expert."
Seeing this, Himeko quickly offered a brief explanation, assuring her that she was now safe and posed no threat to the base.
"Alright, alright. I'll inform Mobius and the others. You'll stay in the detention cell for now," "The Expert" Vill-V said with a casual wave, seeming largely indifferent to the matter.
"Can I see Miss Aponia?" Himeko asked, looking at Vill-V.
"Hmm…?""The Expert" Vill-V regarded Himeko curiously. "How do you know her?"
"She helped me. I'm grateful to her," Himeko answered earnestly.
"Wait here. She'll come," "The Expert" said, clearly not wanting to waste any more time.
Truthfully, she was only interested in whether Himeko could wield Judgement of Shamash's Fire more effectively now.
As for everything else, it wasn't her concern.
…
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