Siegfried hadn't experienced this mixture of pain and regeneration for a long time.
Specifically, it involved using "Judgement of Shamash" to scorch his own body while receiving treatment from "Black Abyss White Flower."
In reality, Siegfried and Cecilia had hardly fought together.
Both were high-end combatants of Schicksal, holding the title of "S-rank" in the database. Sending them both to handle a single Honkai outbreak was a significant waste.
So, typically, Siegfried and Cecilia operated separately, leading a group of lower-tier Valkyries around the world.
In truth, Siegfried and Cecilia preferred not to meet during their missions—whenever something required their joint effort, it was undoubtedly a particularly tricky and troublesome situation.
Thus, this tactic of using "Judgement of Shamash" to exchange life for combat power while replenishing vitality with "Black Abyss White Flower" was mainly showcased on the training ground.
Now, Siegfried once again felt the exhilaration of dominating the battlefield.
The white-haired man swung the "Cleaver of Shamash," repeatedly shattering the energy of the Herrscher of Thunder. After fighting for a while, Siegfried could even anticipate the Herrscher of Thunder's moves in advance, positioning his crimson blade to meet the Herrscher's attacks head-on.
The Herrscher of Thunder also attempted to change the situation. Leveraging her advantage in speed, she used agile maneuvers to threaten her opponents. However, the golden spear thrusting out from a diagonal direction always perfectly slowed her movements, buying Siegfried time to adjust his stance.
That was Luo Lin's protective attack.
Since the start of the battle, Luo Lin felt a steady stream of energy providing her with power from the stigmata on her back. More memory fragments surfaced in her mind, instinctively syncing her actions with Siegfried's, protecting the white-haired man's vulnerabilities like a practiced comrade-in-arms.
Together, they faced the relentless assaults of the Herrscher of Thunder. The powerful and swift slashes tore through the streets, scattering electric arcs that even sliced a nearby building into ruins.
Whether Siegfried or Luo Lin, facing the Herrscher of Thunder's outrageously powerful attacks alone would put them at a disadvantage. But together, they moved as one, like thoughts and actions intertwined, performing a deadly "duet" on the battlefield, perfectly forming a unified entity.
The Herrscher of Thunder grew increasingly agitated.
These two individuals had firmly restrained her here, forcing her to watch as the Raiden Mei gradually escaped into the distance, even rounding the corner of the street, disappearing completely from her sight...
The prey that was within her grasp was about to flee, how could she not be angry!
"Roar! Kurikara!" With the Herrscher of Thunder's roar, a huge crimson figure pierced through the clouds, crashing down towards Luo Lin and Siegfried.
Both of them moved in unison, flying backward. Luo Lin raised the Mimic Divine Key, white sword energy wrapping around the spear tip, creating a reinforced Honkai barrier that intercepted the incoming lightning.
But the next moment, Luo Lin's expression changed dramatically as she urgently shouted, "Sweeping attack! Get down!"
Upon hearing these words, Siegfried immediately bent down, only to see the plant barrier blocking the lightning shattered by a black shadow. The residual force of the attack flew over their heads, raining wooden debris and chunks of cement onto Luo Lin and Siegfried.
"Ahhh!!!"
The Herrscher of Thunder sat on her loyal mount, a red and black dragon, raising its head and emitting a terrifying roar.
Further away, the fleeing Raiden Mei stumbled upon hearing this roar. Fortunately, Griseo was by her side, hastily pulling her hand and dragging her behind a relatively intact wall.
The rushing airflow lifted Raiden Mei's hair, rustling like a flag.
"What's that?! A dragon-type companion Honkai beast?!" Siegfried widened his eyes, staring at the red dragon called "Kurikara" by the Herrscher of Thunder, feeling a strange sense of familiarity emanating from it.
Luo Lin's mouth twitched slightly. Seeing the Herrscher of Thunder attacking in the form of a game, she had guessed when the opponent would use this move—summoning Kurikara, reconstructed from Benares, to smash onto the battlefield with overwhelming momentum.
The Herrscher of Thunder leaned against the neck of the red dragon, holding a shining energy katana in one hand and patting Kurikara's neck with the other.
The dragon flapped its wings, carrying the Herrscher of Thunder upward, deeply inhaling.
"Rise!"
Of course, Luo Lin knew what would happen next. She drove the Mimic Black Abyss White Flower into the ground, exerting all her strength to output Honkai energy. Thick vines crazily grew, not only forming a barrier but also creating some structures to disperse electricity, at least reducing the burden on the plant barrier.
Seeing Luo Lin's vigilant appearance, Siegfried naturally wouldn't passively respond. He dismantled the "Cleaver of Shamash" into twin pistols and fired at the Herrscher of Thunder in the sky.
"Hmph!"
The Honkai energy barrier intercepted the hasty attacks from the white-haired man. Now it was Kurikara's turn to speak!
"Fire!!!"
A barrage of energy cannons, composed of white, red, and black, descended from the sky, ruthlessly bombarding the plant barrier created by Luo Lin. The collision produced a dazzling light that illuminated the entire block, causing even Raiden Mei, hiding behind a low wall nearby, to instinctively close her eyes.
Struggling hard, Luo Lin tried to squeeze out every bit of Honkai energy remaining in her body, inputting them into the Mimic Divine Key. She desperately repaired the barrier in front of her, but it was like a drop in the ocean.
"Crack."
After all, she wasn't Cecilia, and this wasn't the real Black Abyss White Flower.
Yes, if she said so, Luo Lin could accept her failure with peace of mind... right?
"Never! I'm here to change this imperfect world; how could I fall here!"
Siegfried stared blankly at everything in front of him. The fluctuating appearance of "Cecilia" exposed Luo Lin's true face inside, a black-haired, determined girl.
Sensing something, Luo Lin suddenly lowered her head, looking at her own blurred and distorted appearance. The disguise named "Cecilia" was already crumbling, and Siegfried must have seen the truth.
"Are you disappointed?" she asked.
"... How could I be?"
Siegfried grabbed the handle of the Mimic Divine Key and injected Honkai energy into it, receiving his support. The barrier in front of him stabilized, no longer emitting terrifying cracks.
In such a fierce and life-threatening situation, the white-haired man even showed a smile.
What Luo Lin didn't know was that Siegfried not only saw through the crumbling disguise but also saw a figure reflected in the light of the stigmata—a familiar, unmistakable white-haired woman embracing Luo Lin's neck, smiling and blinking at him.
"Cecilia..."
Not far away, within the Fenghuang Down, Fu Hua pinched the Divine Key, watching as a piece of quantum erosion dissipated into nothingness.
"Another success..."