"..."
Although she felt something was off, Senti, who had just been forcibly knocked out of her Herrscher state by Ren, was still a bit confused. Looking at the familiar face not far away, she stood blankly in place, even forgetting the pain in her shoulder.
Her friend who she had spent day and night with, the person she felt deeply guilty towards, was standing in front of her again. For a moment, Senti was actually at a loss.
"Ki… Kiana?"
Getting up from the ground somewhat awkwardly, Senti wiped the rain from her face and walked forward hesitantly. She raised her hand, wanting to wave hello, but then felt that the current situation was a bit inappropriate.
"Hmm? Class Monitor, it seems you haven't forgotten me, I'm truly honored."
Just as Senti was feeling a bit conflicted, the girl opposite her took the initiative to speak. However, these words, when they reached Senti's ears, inexplicably caused a feeling of discomfort, as if she was being sarcastically mocked.
She looked at the girl with a smile on her face, but felt no warmth of reunion after a long separation. Instead, a chilling coldness surged into her heart.
"Kiana, you seem a bit… strange?" Suppressing the confusion in her heart, Senti looked at her with some doubt. The Kiana in her memory was a very cheerful and optimistic girl.
She was always happy when she was with friends, but the Kiana in front of her not only lacked the innocence of a girl, but was as prickly as a thorn bush, covered in barbs.
"Strange? I don't think so." Kiana, or rather, Ren who was possessing the K424 puppet, maintained a bizarre smile and slowly walked towards Senti from the storm.
A terrifying and oppressive aura surrounded them. Under Ren's conscious control, with each step he took, the surrounding atmosphere became heavier.
His movements were not fast, but they gave Senti an extremely strong sense of oppression. By the time he completely approached Senti, the tense atmosphere had reached its peak.
This was actually using some psychological manipulation techniques. After all, Senti was a genuine Herrscher of Sentience, naturally possessing resistance to the consciousness domain.
Ren was not confident that he could completely deceive her, so using some small tricks could greatly increase the probability of successfully fooling her.
"The feeling you give me is a bit off." As expected, even in such a tense atmosphere, Senti quickly broke free from the influence. However, due to the psychological offensive Ren had laid out in advance, she only felt confused and did not become suspicious.
"The Kiana in my memory never showed an expression like this, and her eyes weren't golden either…"
"Heh." Ren took another step forward, and the distance between the two was almost close enough to touch. The Herrscher aura on him became even stronger.
His golden pupils, with a profound mystery, stared deeply at Senti, as if trying to see through her heart. "Have you forgotten? The reason I became like this is precisely because of you, isn't it?"
"My dear… Class… Monitor."
The reason Fu Hua joined St. Freya in the first place was to monitor the condition of the Herrscher of the Void consciousness within Kiana on Otto's behalf. It could be said that initially, their identities were only that of test subject and observer.
However, in the years they spent together afterward, Fu Hua, who had been lonely for tens of thousands of years, was also attracted by the girl's optimism, and the two gradually became friends.
However, this friendship fell apart in the battle of Schicksal.
Kiana awakened as the Herrscher of the Void due to Otto's experiments, and Fu Hua was also killed by him. Everything that was once beautiful ultimately headed towards tragedy.
Senti's memories were inherited from Fu Hua, so she naturally knew the whole story, and this memory of her death was the most profound.
In a sense, Fu Hua did help Otto.
Realizing that what the other person was saying was true, Senti opened her mouth, but for a moment she couldn't say anything to refute. Senti, who completely regarded herself as Fu Hua,'s eyes dimmed, and a strong sense of guilt welled up in her heart.
She knew very well that the other person was right. Otto was the murderer, and her own participation could indeed be considered as being an accomplice. In other words, it was indeed herself who caused Kiana to become the Herrscher of the Void.
"You, as Otto's mole, watched me become the Herrscher of the Void with your own eyes, and now you're saying that I've become different?" The girl's voice was cold, questioning Senti.
"Ye-yes, I'm sorry, Kiana." Like a child who had made a mistake, Senti obediently lowered her head and apologized, and then couldn't help but explain, "Actually, I'm also a victim. The real culprit is that Otto guy. He not only hurt you, but also used me."
"After you became the Herrscher of the Void, that guy actually shot me! It's only now that I've awakened." She said angrily, and then comforted, "Don't worry, the first thing I did after waking up was to avenge both of us. I not only killed Otto once, but also turned Schicksal upside down."
"Look, after teaching that guy a lesson, I immediately came to find you."
However, facing Senti's explanation, Ren opposite her just shook his head. "It's too late. The mistakes you made are meaningless even if you make amends. We are no longer friends, but enemies."
"How could this be…" Senti still wanted to salvage the situation, but Ren didn't want to give her a chance to communicate. He raised his hand, and golden threads weaved out several Void Lances, aiming at Senti.
"Class Monitor, do you still remember the duty of a Valkyrie? To eliminate Honkai, to eliminate Herrschers." He laughed, "Look at the current me, I am a genuine Herrscher, so as a Valkyrie, what are you going to do?"
"Wait!"
Click.
The tips of the Void Lances shimmered with golden light. Accompanied by Ren's snap of his fingers, countless lances fell from the sky like a rainstorm. The cement-paved ground was immediately blasted into fragments. Amidst the flying gravel, Senti dodged away at the last moment.
Looking at Kiana floating in the air, she clenched her fists, her eyes filled with confusion.
Did she really have to kill Kiana?
Senti didn't think she would lose. In her full power state, she was most confident. She subconsciously thought from the perspective of a victor.
However, Ren would not give her any chance. If he wanted to deceive Senti, simply relying on dialogue was definitely not enough. If his strength could not suppress the other person, the unrestrained Senti would definitely not be a controllable target.
He and Kiana were preparing to go to Taixu Mountain to look for clues. Once Senti made a scene, it would definitely alarm Kiana. At that time, not only would things become troublesome, but the hard-won opportunity for the two of them to be together would also be disturbed.
Therefore, even if he had to use all his strength, he had to stop Senti.
"Fu Hua, you're still the same, thinking you have victory in your grasp." In the instant he used words to enrage the other person, Ren's figure disappeared, using teleportation. He hadn't mastered the Authority of Void, but by using the Theater's transfer ability, he could completely achieve the same effect.
When he reappeared, his target was right behind Senti. Ren's combat power, amplified by hundreds of puppets, was already completely different from before. Even Kevin would not be his opponent without entering the Mantra of Shamash state.
However, Fu Hua's combat experience granted Senti extremely strong reflexes. Although she didn't completely avoid Ren's attack, she minimized the impact by unloading force to the greatest extent.
"But this is not enough." Chuckling softly, the surrounding space showed a distorted state. The Star of Eden, mimicked by the Herrscher of Reason's authority, formed a black hole, and Senti, caught off guard by its interference, was directly kicked away by Ren.
Having been kicked twice in a row, Senti's temper finally flared up.
Clearly she had already apologized, clearly she was also a victim, why, why did she have to be blamed?
"It was my fault for not stopping you from becoming a Herrscher, but as a Fusion Warrior, I must defeat you." She gritted her teeth, and her Herrscher power was released without any restraint.
This was not the reserved state she was in when fighting Bronya, but a complete Herrscher, a complete Fu Hua.
In the storm-swept city, the second battle of this night also kicked off. As the only audience at the scene, Bronya witnessed the battle between true Herrschers for the first time.