Inside the assessment space.
Kiana was running fast.
Within the familiar St. Freya Academy, she scrambled about just to evade the pursuit of the Herrscher of the Void behind her.
She just had to hold on for ten minutes!
She wasn't stupid; she knew the Herrscher was furious right now and was likely intending to kill her.
And her current self was far from being the Herrscher's match!
"Why don't you face me directly, cute little kitten? This world was constructed by me, so where could you possibly run?"
From behind, Kiana heard the arrogant voice of the Herrscher of the Void.
It was like a cat wanting to torment a mouse before catching it, deliberately giving hope, and then, at the very moment the mouse was about to escape, ruthlessly biting its neck and killing it.
The Herrscher of the Void maintained a moderate distance, occasionally opening a wound on Kiana, then leisurely mocking her from mid-air.
Kiana panted heavily, her lungs feeling as if they were on fire, like a thousand needles pricking her lung lobes; she was almost unable to catch her breath.
She couldn't stop, she didn't even have time to take an extra breath.
She kept taking mechanical steps, not even knowing where she was running.
She couldn't feel her legs anymore; only the blood seeping from the dense wounds on her body and the sharp pain served as a reminder.
She absolutely could not stop!
"—Ugh!"
Kiana swallowed hard, her head spinning, a sign that she was about to faint.
In fact, having to dodge the Herrscher of the Void's attacks while simultaneously looking for a way out, with her attention highly focused and her blood and Honkai Energy rushing to her brain and legs, was truly exhausting.
It was a very desperate feeling.
Knowing clearly that there was no escape, yet still having to stall for time.
"There is still plenty of game time left, you can't escape. Show me the courage you had when you faced me last time!" The Herrscher of the Void's tone was laced with the fury of being deceived by Kiana last time; she hated betrayal and deception most of all.
Kiana bit her lip and didn't speak, instead twisting violently to the side to dodge a Spear of the Void aimed at her shoulder.
"Boom!"
The Spear of the Void, burning with rage, smashed into the reinforced gate of St. Freya, piercing right through it as if slicing through a potato.
A Valkyrie's body was not as hard as that gate; if it pierced flesh, it would definitely leave a massive hole!
Kiana wanted to escape the Academy and run outside to stall for time.
But unexpectedly, just as her hand reached out past the wreckage of the Academy's gate, a patch of stagnant space subsequently enveloped her fingertips.
Kiana was unable to move; the space in front of her seemed to be locked, having reached the edge of the world where no one could escape.
This was a dead end!
The Herrscher of the Void had not constructed the world outside the Academy!
Kiana was startled, blocked at the door. She turned and saw the Herrscher of the Void following slowly, blocking her retreat.
Now, she had no way back.
Only five minutes had passed, only half the time. Bronya hadn't decrypted the device yet.
Kiana knew she couldn't retreat. She coughed painfully and spat out blood.
"You can... try... to kill me. At worst, we die together."
"You think I wouldn't dare?"
The Herrscher of the Void's eyes narrowed, cold and ruthless like a collapsing snow mountain. She waved her right hand.
Space-Time Oscillation!
The space around Kiana was locked by her, and time seemed to pause like Shuhu.
In the constructed Academy, the breeze stopped swaying, the sunlight lost its warmth, and even breathing became difficult for Kiana.
In the next second, Kiana floated up. Her strength vanished as if caught by an invisible giant hand, suspended before the Herrscher of the Void.
Before a Herrscher, a set of Stigmata, an A-Rank Valkyrie?
These were all useless resistances.
Her delicate, slender neck was grabbed by the golden-eyed woman. Her legs dangled in the air, losing support.
"How cute," the Herrscher of the Void whispered in Kiana's ear. "I won't kill you. I'll make you fall into despair. The things you fear most will appear before your eyes over and over again."
"You claim not to care about your parents, so I'll go catch Siegfried and then kill him."
"And those friends of yours, I'll kill them all, one by one!"
"And your lies about Sirin's other side—how laughable. I am the true Sirin. You are just an experimental subject."
Despite saying this, the Herrscher of the Void couldn't help but get angry when she saw the mocking smile on Kiana's face.
"I lied to you before... cough cough... but the last sentence was true. We are both Sirin... it's just that you chose the dark side, and I represent the side of Sirin's hope. You know this is true, you just don't want to accept reality."
"—Damn it, you think you can still deceive me?!!"
Infuriated, the Herrscher of the Void tightened her grip. Her fingertips dug into Kiana's neck, as if she wanted to strangle her to death.
Kiana could no longer feel even a faint breath.
Floating, dizziness, suffocation... death drew closer and closer, a step away from the abyss.
Kiana's vision blurred. In the flashes of her life passing before her eyes, she vaguely saw her mother's kind face, heard Siegfried's teachings, and remembered Theresa's instructions.
Past friendships—Mei, Bronya, Yunduo—their smiles were fading away.
Past care—Himeko finishing her drink and turning away, Theresa shaking her head and walking into the distance, and the Class Monitor looking at her with a helpless expression.
Why does it have to be like this?
Every time, it's like this!
It's all my fault for being too weak, for being unable to do anything.
If only I were stronger than the Herrscher of the Void, things wouldn't have come to this... Outside the Assessment Space.
The many Valkyries who were watching earlier were now silent.
More than half of them looked away, unable to bear the sight.
On the screen, Kiana was being held by the neck by the Herrscher of the Void, seemingly about to be strangled to death.
Everyone could see the veins bulging on her neck, the pain of being unable to breathe while suspended in mid-air, and her pupils gradually dilating.
This was a precursor to death!
This way of dying was too painful and cruel; it shouldn't be happening.
This was just an exam. Although realism was emphasized and 100% pain would be felt, nothing like this had ever happened before.
When a candidate couldn't hold on, or when the examiner felt it was enough, the assessment could be stopped.
Being strangled to death, even as a punishment for skipping class... was too cruel.
"This is too much. Compared to instant death, experiencing the process of dying like this will leave mental trauma."
"Yeah, is Principal Theresa really Kiana's aunt and not her enemy?"
"We know you're impartial, but don't treat Kiana-chan like this."
"So cruel. Even if it's death, it's the worst kind. I'd rather be eaten by a Honkai Beast than suffocate."
Theresa heard the discussions of the Valkyrie candidates, but she had no time to be angry about being misunderstood.
"Is it ready yet? Kiana is about to reach her limit."
"Ten more seconds..." Bronya said quickly, her fingertips dancing frantically as she decrypted the device to enter the Assessment Space.
Everyone present—except Rita—Mei, Fu Hua... everyone was anxious.
Seeing Kiana about to give in, who knew what madness the Herrscher of the Void would commit?
The two of them were bound together; if one died, both would die.
Rita, however, narrowed her eyes, weighing the pros and cons of the Herrscher of the Void's death.
From one perspective, the benefits definitely outweighed the drawbacks.
But if Yunduo, an unstable factor, blamed Schicksal and took out her anger on them, the consequences would be more than she could handle.
Before Rita could reach a conclusion, Bronya's countdown grew louder.
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"..."
"3!"
"2!"
"I've opened the channel! Only one other person is allowed to link to the device!"
Hearing Bronya's call, and with everyone instinctively gesturing toward her, Yunduo decisively picked up the virtual link device and connected her consciousness.
Her consciousness felt a wave of dizziness, and her eyes shone brightly.
There seemed to be a membrane blocking Yunduo's entry.
But with a flash of fire, she ruthlessly pierced through that membrane.
Since it's the Herrscher of the Void, I'll use that to deal with her... "See? No one can help you here. You're still so weak. When your father abandoned you, you were powerless. When your mother died because of your birth, you were powerless. Now that I have you by the neck, you're still powerless."
The Herrscher of the Void spoke softly, her expression filled with uncontrollable joy.
There is a price to pay for betraying and deceiving her!
"Liars should just die!" she said, her hand holding Kiana trembling slightly from anger and resentment.
"You... cough cough... you're blinded by hatred. You said... there are still many beautiful things in this world. You lied to me."
Kiana coughed weakly and spoke in a faint voice.
The sound was so quiet, barely louder than a needle dropping on the floor.
But the Herrscher of the Void heard it. She became even more enraged, her fingers spasming as she lost all reason.
Tick, tock! Tick, tock!
Kiana's eyelids gradually closed, and blood dripped from her limp body.
At the very last moment before she closed her eyes.
The sound of the wind swayed, as if flames were rising into the air.
The surrounding space fluctuated unnaturally, twisting and blurring.
A spark spread from a corner, then burned rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Temperature—the scorching heat forced the dying Kiana to open her eyes once more with difficulty.
So warm, such a warm feeling.
The next moment!
"CRASH!!!"
The Herrscher of the Void's Space-Time Oscillation was shattered!
Like the sound of glass breaking, a red light flashed, and a greatsword slashed toward the unsettled Herrscher of the Void!
"Who?!"
The Herrscher of the Void exclaimed in surprise. She quickly dropped Kiana and used her Space Core to narrowly dodge the attack.
Phase Shuttle!
The fiery greatsword plunged into the Academy's teaching building, slicing off half of it.
It was as smooth as cutting through a block of tofu.
Half of the massive building collapsed under the strike of the greatsword.
This powerful aura was something even she found troublesome.
This was her own Herrscher Space that she had carved out within the Assessment Space. Logically, no one should be able to enter.
Unless that person possessed power greater than her own!
"Long time no see, Herrscher of the Void."
A red light flashed.
A woman clad in the Crimson Knight armor held a greatsword, her eyes burning like fire as if a red lotus had ignited within them.
This was the Crimson Knight manifested by Yunduo.
To think that after seeing Himeko save Kiana in the Challenge Space, this Character Card could be used so soon.
"You are—the one from that space? How is that possible?"
"Wasn't that space fake?!!"
Seeing this, the Herrscher of the Void was completely stunned, as if she had lost her voice; even her tone lost its elegance.
She naturally remembered the woman before her.
The Herrscher of the Void had only awakened twice, and one of those times was when Himeko defeated her.
She didn't believe this was real!
But as the Crimson Knight transformed from Yunduo stood before her, feeling that thermal energy, the Herrscher of the Void had to admit it.
This woman had the strength to defeat her!
"Dammit, it's all fake. You all betrayed me, you wretched humans."
Instantly, the Herrscher of the Void's eyes turned blood-red, and fury surged through her mind.
"Go to hell!"
She roared, fully utilizing her Authority to summon the Void Realm's descent!
Golden ripples gathered slowly around the Herrscher of the Void, the center of each ripple surging with a black-hole-like vortex.
Tearing through space, restructuring energy—it was filled with the aura of destruction!
With a snap of her fingers, the gathered energy poured out rapidly within a single second!
A God's Wrath that no human could withstand surged from the heavens like an ocean tide!
Faced with such an attack, Crimson Knight's voice reached the ears of the Herrscher of the Void.
"It was you who chose the side of evil, not evil that chose you. You had the chance to seek the light just like Kiana, yet time and again you fell into the traps you set for yourself."
"Spare me your self-righteousness!"
"It's impossible for a person's existence to be sustained by malice alone."
After speaking, Yunduo helplessly raised her sword and began to block the Herrscher of the Void's attacks.
Having tried to persuade her to this extent, it seemed she wouldn't listen.
As expected, the best way to communicate with a bratty child is to give them a beating first!
"In that case, there's nothing left to say."
"Do you know the Will of Fire?"
Crimson Knight's palm tightened, and the greatsword symbolizing eternal burning was held horizontally before her!
Heavenly Cinder: Calamity Flame!
The greatsword that destroys everything released a terrifying radiance!
"Blazing Flames—"
"Burn Away!!!"
Sword light and firelight merged, and the scorching flames exploded violently the moment they touched the Void Realm.
A white light shone from between the two, turning everything in the world into a colorless white.
Collapsing space, splashing dust, the scorching greatsword, the endlessly burning flames, and the incredulous look in the eyes of the Herrscher of the Void.
Everything lost its original color, and the assessment space was filled with fine cracks.
Nothing could be seen anymore.
Until the Herrscher of the Void knelt weakly on the ground and heard the sound of a sword cutting through the air.
A crimson greatsword was pressed against her forehead.
The flames on the blade ignited a strand of her hair.
"You lost, Herrscher of the Void."
Looking at the Crimson Knight holding the greatsword against the Herrscher of the Void's forehead,
The many Valkyries outside the assessment space were shocked, looking incredulously at Himeko standing in place.
Even Rita narrowed her eyes at the sight.
-------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!