"Overseer Otto!" Durandal's senses sharpened as she realized Otto's Soulium body no longer held any life. Her expression darkened as she noticed faint bruises on his corpse.
The hardness of Soulium was legendary. Cuts from sharp weapons were understandable, but Otto's cause of death was clearly blunt force trauma. The sheer power required to do such damage was terrifying.
"Who are you?" Bianka's voice was steady, though she felt an unspoken threat as she looked at the girl before her. A familiar face, but one that sent chills down her spine.
The Godsbane Armor's lance, Hler's Serenity, materialized in her hands. The spear tip glinted ominously, casting a cold light.
Despite the weapon pointed at her, the Herrscher of Sentience showed no fear. In fact, she almost seemed eager, her eyes alight with excitement. "I remember you, Durandal—Otto's number one lackey. Not bad in terms of strength, but your judgment of character is terrible. You chose to help a guy like Otto?"
"Identify yourself," Bianka demanded, unfazed, her tone cold.
"Don't want to chat? No problem. Anyway, that Otto guy is already dead by my hands. Once I take care of you, there will be no one left in Schicksal to stand in my way."
The smile on the Herrscher of Sentience's face grew increasingly manic. She provocatively flexed her right hand, still stained with blood, as surging Honkai energy emanated from her body, forming a black aura.
"I won't let you leave so easily." Watching the unrestrained Herrscher of Sentience, Durandal's expression was grim. The energy level she exuded even surpassed her own. The last time she faced such an enemy was against the Herrscher of Flame, Ren, in ARC City.
"Then you can try, bite me!"
After a brief exchange, the atmosphere at the scene became so tense it was almost tangible. Durandal dared not hesitate any longer and launched the first attack.
Azure particle streams erupted from behind her armor, the powerful thrust granting her hypersonic mobility. In an instant, the lance reached the Herrscher of Sentience's chest.
However, the supersonic thrust didn't meet the expected resistance. What remained in place was merely an afterimage left by the Herrscher of Sentience's high-speed movement.
"Decent speed." The voice came from behind Durandal. Her expression tightened, and she swiftly adjusted her stance, using her arm to shield her neck.
A muffled collision echoed. The Godsbane Armor's vambrace, researched by Schicksal for years, shattered into fragments after just one impact. Before she could recover, the Herrscher of Sentience changed her attack again, a whip-like leg strike, accompanied by a sonic boom, aimed at her side.
Fortunately, as a top-tier Valkyrie, Durandal's adaptability was exceptional. The propulsion device on the Moon Piercer Armor's waist surged, allowing her to execute an almost 90-degree turn.
Evading the Herrscher of Sentience's attack, her own powerful leg, propelled by the pulse stream, landed a kick on the other's flat chest.
Neither side gained an advantage in the brief exchange, but Durandal dared not be careless. The opponent took her kick to the chest as if nothing happened, while her own armor shattered after taking a single blow.
The opponent's strength was superior to hers.
"Compared to Otto, that escape artist, you barely qualify as an opponent." The Herrscher of Sentience brushed dust off her chest, her tone laced with appreciation. But as her words fell, both figures vanished again.
The entire floor instantly devolved into a battlefield. The probing was over; the real fight had begun.
Boom!
Violent explosions erupted one after another. The Herrscher of Sentience, wielding Fu Hua's full power at her peak, was indeed formidable, but taking down Durandal was also no easy task. The only thing suffering damage was likely the Schicksal tower that Otto had painstakingly built.
「Area A is under attack! All stationed Valkyrie units, provide immediate support!」
Piercing alarms echoed throughout Schicksal base. The stationed mech units and Valkyrie squads completely sealed off the core area. However, these supporting Valkyries had limited strength, unable even to sense the enemy's location, and could only focus on protecting and evacuating personnel.
"It's the Overseer's Tower!" Alvitr, who had just finished examining Bernice, also arrived at the scene. Her reconnaissance abilities were strong, and she quickly tapped into Schicksal's surveillance system. Using the few remaining functioning cameras, she located Durandal fighting the Herrscher of Sentience.
The hypersonic movements surpassed the capture range of human dynamic vision. Even with high-speed cameras, these Valkyries could only see streaks of afterimages.
"Durandal is fighting the enemy, we…" Before she could finish speaking, the midsection of the Overseer's Tower suddenly erupted in an explosion far exceeding the previous ones.
The battered building structure could no longer withstand the strain, breaking in half at the waist, plummeting down towards the Valkyrie squad below.
The heavy structure, like a falling meteor, cast a shadow of death over their heads.
"King!" Just as the squad was about to be annihilated, a towering blue phantom abruptly collided with the falling tower. It was the Moon Piercer Armor's exclusive Phantasm.
Under the Phantasm's impact, the severed tower section crashed into the deserted plaza area. The terrifying kinetic energy caused the entire Sky Island to sink several meters.
The Valkyries were out of danger, but Durandal, having been distracted to save them, had given the Herrscher of Sentience an opening.
Bang!
Instantly, searing pain erupted from her abdomen. Caught off guard, she was sent crashing into the ground like a broken doll.
"Puh." The ground cratered upon impact. The girl's beautiful golden hair was stained crimson. Durandal coughed up a mouthful of blood, feeling as if her internal organs had been churned to pulp.
Even so, she didn't retreat. Enduring the ravaged state of her body, she clashed with the Herrscher of Sentience once more.
However, even at her peak, she was still somewhat inferior to the Herrscher of Sentience. Now, heavily injured, how could she possibly be a match?
Soon, she fell into a disadvantage, the injuries on her body worsening rapidly.
"Surrender, you are no match for me. But I have no need to kill you. As long as you step aside, I'll spare your life." With victory assured, the Herrscher of Sentience slowed her pace, speaking in a teasing tone.
"I have no need for your pity. Defending Schicksal is my duty."
"Tsk, I really hate you types, always spouting about duty and mission, you're like this, and the past me was like this too. But what was the ultimate outcome? Played like fools by that Otto, even killed by him. Is that the ending you desire?"
Memories of Fu Hua flashed through her mind, and the Herrscher of Sentience's expression darkened.
"I do not fight for the Overseer, but for myself." Reaching up to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, Durandal raised her lance again. The power of Star Rail was repairing her body, but such extreme combat could not be sustained for long.
"You're all fools. Since you refuse to step aside, then die." Losing patience, the Herrscher of Sentience stopped holding back. The Fenghuang Down in her hand multiplied and fractured, forming countless fluttering black feathers.
In Durandal's widened eyes, the black feathers transformed into countless blades. These were the Xuanyuan Swords, once wielded by Fu Hua, each one a Divine Key.
And now, hovering around her, were countless blades beyond counting.
"Die!"
Tai Xuan Sword Qi solidified into substance, instantly piercing through Durandal and her Godkiller Armor, the dense blades tearing through the earth, and after cleaving the ground, detonated with a deafening explosion.
Each Xuanyuan Sword was manufactured from a Core of the Domination Authorities from the Previous Era. Although what Fu Hua released were merely projections, such concentrated destruction still tore a massive rift in Schicksal base.
For Schicksal, whose base was a Sky Island, this was essentially fatal. Parts of the building structure completely collapsed, plummeting towards the ground. The entire base was showing signs of disintegration.
Fortunately, the base had emergency measures in place, barely maintaining the overall structure, but the resulting economic loss, even for the wealthy Schicksal, would be difficult to bear.
"Haha, even if that Otto bastard isn't dead, seeing his most prized lackey killed and his base collapsing, he'd probably cry his heart out in pain, right?" On the top of the remaining tower section, the Herrscher of Sentience laughed contentedly.
She watched the Valkyries desperately fighting the fires, listening to the terrified screams of the personnel, her heart filled with triumph.
But as the thrill of revenge faded, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.
Sitting alone on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking her masterpiece, she had successfully avenged herself against Otto. But now, what should she do next?
Kill those ordinary Valkyries? These weaklings were meaningless to kill.
Seek out powerful opponents? But even Durandal had died by her hands.
Soon, losing interest, the Herrscher of Sentience fell into boredom.
She looked at the feather in her hand, feeling somewhat listless.
"Fenghuang Down, you say I should be happy, that there should be many things to do after being resurrected, but I've clearly completed my revenge, so why am I still not happy?"
「...」
No response.
"Strange, weren't you two just arguing in my head? Why is neither of you willing to talk now?"
"Hey, whichever 'me' it is, come out and chat with me."
Unfortunately, Ren, who was busy concealing Durandal's aura, had no time to pay her any attention, while the Superego consciousness, built from Fu Hua's memories, was also forced into silence.
In the end, only the Herrscher of Sentience, talking to herself, grew increasingly bored.
Until Otto, having completed his body replacement, appeared before her once again.