Finality or Dominance?

「All Hyperion personnel, please proceed immediately to the designated shelter cabins!」

Piercing alarms blared throughout the ship. Urged on by the frantic broadcasts, figures dashed towards the shelters. Amidst the crowd, the four individuals locked in confrontation stood like reefs against the tide.

Although the Hyperion was currently the most advanced battleship-class vessel, in a battle involving Herrscher-level combatants, a battleship was little more than paper-mâché.

Clearly, Li Sushang hadn't lied. Her target was only Kiana. She made no move to stop anyone else, whether they were taking shelter or attempting to flee.

Once all non-essential personnel had evacuated, the battle entered its second phase.

BOOM!

The thick hull plating shattered with a roar, followed by two blurry streaks of light. Crimson Flamescion fire swept across the sky, while golden Taixuan Sword Qi crisscrossed like flawless ice.

Quickly, the surrounding air temperature skyrocketed. If the ordinary crew hadn't evacuated, casualties would have likely occurred from this exchange alone.

Even so, the battle remained fiercely contested. Theresa, initially prepared to fight alongside Kiana with her cross, could only watch anxiously.

"It's no use. Their speed is just too fast. The drone targeting systems can't lock onto them," Bronya beside her felt equally frustrated. Although she knew Kiana's current strength far surpassed her own, truly grasping the gap between them still brought an unavoidable sense of deep powerlessness.

"Then let's prioritize securing the Hyperion," Theresa decided. Since they couldn't immediately join the fight, finding an opportunity to break through was the next best option. However, the Schicksal fleet had completely surrounded them, making retreat nearly impossible.

As the two strategized, the aerial battle between Kiana and Li Sushang intensified. They tacitly moved away from the ship, shifting the battlefield thousands of meters higher.

Pale clouds drifted intermittently, obscuring the fighters, with only high-speed streaks of light revealing their positions. Suddenly, a thick bank of fog swept in with the wind, instantly causing the combatants to lose sight of each other.

"Hm?"

Li Sushang, standing on her flying sword, raised an eyebrow, scanning her surroundings warily. Just as she prepared to use her heightened senses to locate Kiana, the space behind her suddenly warped. The next second, blazing flames completely engulfed her.

Is it over?

Clearly not. At the heart of the inferno, Li Sushang, single-handedly wielding her fragrant sword, grunted, successfully blocking the burning greatsword. But as Kiana relentlessly pressed her advantage, the scales of victory tipped further.

"You've lost! Take the Schicksal forces and leave!"

However, Li Sushang merely smiled, saying cryptically, "Although Grandmaster established the rule long ago that those who fall to darkness must be slain, throughout the millennia, people still choose that path. Some seek greater power, some strive to surpass themselves, and others... merely for the sake of love."

"I didn't understand before, but now... I think I understand him a little."

Kiana frowned, retorting, "What do you mean?"

"Complimenting you," Li Sushang replied. "To reach your current level in just a few months... even I wouldn't necessarily surpass that. It seems what he said back then was true; getting close to me probably was just to learn my Taixuan Sword Eminence."

"There was no 'falling to darkness,' just someone already occupying his heart."

The girl's expression was complex, a hint of jealousy hidden within her eyes as she met Kiana's gaze. But she concealed it well, quickly transforming it into pure battle intent.

"Who are you referring to when you say 'him'?"

The riddles left Kiana utterly confused, but Li Sushang just smiled, showing no intention of answering. Seeing her lack of cooperation, Kiana saw no reason to hold back further. Pressing down with both hands, the searing greatsword nearly touched the other girl's cheek.

"I'll say it again. You can't take us. Leave now if you know what's good for you."

"Is that so?" Li Sushang countered. "Do you remember the final move I used the last time we fought?"

The last time? Kiana's heart jolted. She instantly recalled the sky-obscuring sword strike above ARC City.

She snapped her head up, realizing belatedly that the thick clouds were gradually dispersing. And within them, the glint of a golden sword edge was already becoming visible.

「Taixuan Sword Qi: God!」

---||---

"Principal, her strength likely surpasses the normal S-rank category. Since she said Otto sent her, don't you know anything?" Bronya asked urgently.

"Grand... Otto said Schicksal currently only has three S-ranks. How would I know where this one suddenly popped up?" Theresa paced anxiously. "But she called herself Li Sushang. Maybe I can find information related to her when I get back."

Theresa was frantic. She was an S-rank herself and had improved significantly in recent months, yet every time a real fight broke out, she found herself completely unable to help.

More importantly, ever since the Hyperion was attacked, she'd had a persistent feeling of unease. While she didn't know Li Sushang, she knew Otto. If he was truly determined to capture them, he wouldn't send just one person.

Putting aside everything else, Durandal, Schicksal's strongest known Valkyrie, hadn't appeared yet. If Otto wasn't confident Li Sushang could handle all three of them, it meant Durandal must be occupied with an even more troublesome task.

"Perhaps we should contact Mr. Welt first," Bronya suggested calmly, offering a viable plan. But before she could act, her own communicator rang.

Looking at the caller ID, she saw it was indeed Welt.

"Finally got through..." The two sighed in relief as they answered. But before Welt could speak, intense electromagnetic interference flooded the frequency.

Zzzzzzt.

"Mr. Welt, we're surrounded by Schicksal off the western coast of Europe..." Bronya tried to convey their situation, but the intermittent signal seemed unresponsive. She could only barely make out Welt's distorted voice.

"Traitor within Anti-Entropy... Hyperion just bait... Schicksal released false news of Kiana's capture... to lure Ren out..."

Just as the words faded, the communication cut off completely. Both finally understood: Li Sushang's appearance wasn't truly about capturing them, but merely stalling for time.

And the surrounding fleet wasn't just preventing their escape; it was also blocking their contact with the outside world.

"So everything's back to square one," Bronya deduced. "Otto used Li Sushang to trap us here, while Schicksal releases fake news of Kiana's capture. If Ren's true target is Kiana, he might be forced to reveal himself."

Theresa added, "But in reality, Schicksal has already set a trap, likely including Durandal... Once Ren falls into it, the remaining Herrscher of Dominance puppets will lose control. The world might truly descend into chaos then."

Before she finished speaking, a sudden jolt ran through both of them, as if something terrible was about to happen.

The next second, they simultaneously looked towards Central Europe, nearly a thousand kilometers away.

Visually, they saw nothing. But at that moment, Honkai Energy monitoring agencies worldwide stared dumbfounded as their instruments—designed to measure energy levels tens of times greater than a standard Herrscher's—were violently overloaded and destroyed by an immense Honkai energy signal.

"Is this... Has the Finality arrived?"

Some uninformed scholars muttered amongst themselves. Only Otto, the architect of the trap, silently drew a sharp breath.

"Not Finality," he thought grimly. "Dominance."