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Chapter 241 – You Can’t Retire This Early!
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 15:00:15 +0000 UTC“Hmph, I’ve been waiting for you long enough!”
Murata Himeko gripped her crimson greatsword in both hands, taking a battle stance against the approaching Herrscher of the Void.
“Are you ready… to meet your death? ☆~”
Exuding the aura of a domineering queen, the Herrscher of the Void still kept her left hand behind her back while slowly extending her right hand toward Himeko.
“What—?”
Himeko’s body began moving forward against her will, dragged by an invisible force.
It was the power of space—like a gravitational pull that dragged everything toward the center.
Himeko’s expression darkened.
“Struggle as much as you can. It won’t matter.”
The Herrscher thrust her right hand forward, sending Himeko hurtling backward.
Her golden eyes brimmed with disdain and arrogance as her hand curled into a loose grip.
A massive perfect cube, dozens of meters wide and forged from Imaginary Energy, materialized in Himeko’s path.
Her small frame slammed into it like a meteor, the impact so great that even this construct of Imaginary Power cracked, fractures spreading like a spiderweb.
Matching cracks appeared along Himeko’s back.
Several more cubes appeared out of thin air, combining into a massive Rubik’s Cube-like structure.
The Herrscher snapped her fingers and the giant cube began to rotate, grinding Himeko within its shifting faces.
Then, with a flick of her slender hand the floating Subspace Spears behind her twisted into thin, flexible ribbons of Imaginary Power.
From every angle, they sliced at the cube that imprisoned Himeko.
“Colonel Himeko!”
“Captain!”
“Teacher Himeko!”
Voices full of worry echoed through every part of the Hyperion.
The Valkyries hadn’t entered the Imaginary Space themselves—they were watching the battle unfold through the ship’s satellite feeds.
The Herrscher of the Void, of course, showed no mercy in response to their cries.
If anything, they seemed to amuse her.
Her raised right arm was like a sovereign’s decree.
Two more Subspace Spears swept through the air, transforming into bands of golden light that pierced the cube from bottom to top.
Finally, the Herrscher pointed skyward with her index finger, then brought it down sharply.
The golden ribbons twisted together into a spiral spear and smashed the purple-black cube to pieces.
The orange-gold energy flowed back to her side, reforming into the Subspace Spears once more.
“So that’s all you’ve got? Hmph~”
Her golden eyes still glimmered with the same scorn and pride.
Hands clasped behind her back, the queen of the void began walking toward the Hyperion.
The air surged forward like razor-sharp blades, glinting coldly in the shifting light—murder in every breath.
But then—
‘Whoosh!’
A sharp arrow sliced through the air from afar, closing the distance in a blink.
It was an arrow from the Vermilion Knight’s arsenal—lethal intent radiating from its crimson shaft as it streaked toward the Herrscher.
In that instant, her eyes snapped wide open.
The Subspace Spears twisted into a spiral, an almost impossible form with both elasticity and defense.
The clang of metal rang out again and again, sparks erupting with every collision.
The spiral spear flattened into a plane, then warped into a portal, swallowing the arrow—only to fire it out again from her front.
“Tch!”
Annoyed, the Herrscher turned her gaze toward the smoke-covered deck.
Himeko’s once-bright crimson hair had lost its luster, her Vermilion Knight armor was reduced to its bare core, and she was covered in grievous wounds.
“Is… that all you’ve got left?”
Her vision blurred. Her breaths were ragged. Her face was pale.
Strands of disheveled hair clung to her cheek.
Blood streamed from the gaps in her armor.
Strange crimson Honkai patterns crawled across her skin—signs that her body had reached the brink of collapse.
But in her hands, she still held the Godsbane greatsword, forcing herself forward one step at a time.
And in her own golden eyes, the flames only burned fiercer.
“Now… it’s my turn. No objections, right?”
“Hahahaha!”
The Herrscher of the Void threw back her head and laughed, one hand covering her face.
Her golden eyes, still full of disdain, cast a sidelong glance at Himeko.
“Die.”
Dozens of portals bloomed around the Vermilion Knight, each birthing a Subspace Spear dripping with murderous intent, all locked on her.
Himeko’s gaze didn’t waver.
She looked straight into the deepest part of those golden eyes and spoke gently—
“Kiana… when you wake up, everything will have changed.”
At those words, the Herrscher’s expression twisted with rage, and the spears shot forth like bullets from a gun.
“You’ll find the world is no longer beautiful… and the simple, peaceful days will never return. But… don’t give up. Never give up.”
Blazing fire and searing wind erupted from Godsbane’s blade, shattering the spears in a single swing.
“Don’t you dare… get carried away!”
The Herrscher of the Void’s expression twisted into an ugly scowl.
She yanked her hand sharply backward, pulling into existence a rectangular frame formed of jagged Honkai-energy crystal spires.
With a flick of her fingers, the crystalline lances shattered the sound barrier in an instant, leaving behind a trail of white mist as the air itself broke from the force.
The crimson knight met the oncoming rain of Honkai arrows with her greatsword, now ablaze with roaring scarlet flames.
The world erupted.
A deafening roar shook heaven and earth, shockwaves tearing through the air, scattering steel shards pulverized by the blast.
Smoke billowed in wild, choking clouds.
Through the haze, the blazing figure of Himeko burst forth like a streak of molten light, soaring toward the sky.
She raised her greatsword high—burning like molten rock drawn straight from the heart of a volcano.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
For the first time, a faint flicker of panic flashed across the Herrscher’s face.
Two lances of subspace light, bright orange-gold, shot toward the streak of fire in a desperate attempt to stop it.
The blade cleaved through the first.
But a glancing strike from the second left a thin wound along Himeko’s side, blood seeping out in slow, hot rivulets.
Using the rebound’s force, she twisted midair, spinning like a raging cyclone.
The Godsbane’s edge screamed as it tore through the air.
“Kiana! Lift your head—and keep moving forward! You can stil end this story the way you want!”
The crimson warrior’s roar rang out.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!”
The Herrscher’s golden eyes burned like molten lava, her face contorted in rage.
Power surged from her hands a pure Imaginary Space energy—forming a colossal spiral of purple-black light.
The surrounding space twisted and rippled under its weight. It was killing intent made solid, condensed into a blade that could cut through worlds.
Feeling that terrible pressure, the gentle light in Himeko’s gaze toward Kiana faded.
In its place—only cold, razor-sharp resolve.
Her body ached. Every muscle screamed, every joint throbbed. She was exhausted.
But…
Her blood boiled, magma in her veins.
The scorching air burned her lungs as she pushed herself beyond her limits, unleashing the full power of the Gem of Serenity—even if it meant burning her body to ash.
The Gem’s fire was consuming her—but she didn’t care.
The Godsbane came crashing down.
With this flame—nothing shall stand!
Then—Himeko’s eyes went wide.
Her roar died in her throat.
The Gem’s searing power… was retreating? Flowing back?
A voice—familiar beyond belief echoed in her ears.
“I don’t recall my retirement being this early.”
“What!?”
It wasn’t just Himeko.
Everyone aboard the Hyperion froze. Even the Herrscher of the Void below stopped in her tracks.
Flowing crimson hair like a dancing flame spilled down her back, scattering sparks in the air.
A dress like a blooming rose of fire clung to her figure, enhancing her striking beauty.
But it was the face, she looks exactly the same as Himeko’s—that left everyone stunned.
“You’re not getting away with retiring this soon~”
Her teasing tone carried an odd undercurrent of pride.
Himeko looked down at the massive spiral of purple-black Imaginary power. She was still smiling.
“...Unleash…”
The sword in her hands erupted in molten-gold flames, blazing high into the sky.
“What!? That’s—”
Recognition flashed in the Herrscher’s eyes.
Memories of the Second Eruption surged—memories of a man wielding the Judgement of Shamash, cutting her down.
A nightmare returned.
A wave of raw, primal fear surged within her.
And then, her premonition came true.
“Judgement of Shamash!!”
A searing, gold-hot brilliance exploded forth.
The fire surged like a tidal wave, condensed into a blade that could devour the world.
The torrent burned away the spiral of Imaginary energy as if it were paper, surging straight toward the Herrscher.
She barely had time to open a portal before the blaze engulfed her.
Himeko could only stare, her mind a mess of confusion.
Was she dreaming?
Or… had she already died?
