The Seventh Honkai Eruption

The Seventh Herrscher appeared so quickly… After being rejected by me, would the Honkai immediately seek another host, or wait a while before creating another Herrscher?

Lee didn't know. She wasn't the Honkai's architect. Lost in thought, she arrived at the recreation area with Hua.

The place was bustling. The Australian branch had just received a batch of new recruits. Even in the noisy crowd, Hua spotted the familiar red hair instantly.

"Lee, the captain is over there."

Hua was a bit nervous. Taking a deep breath, she approached Himeko, accompanied by Lee.

"Hua! How are you today?" Seeing Lee beside Hua, Himeko smiled, reaching out to pat Hua's head. "You two are still so close."

Himiko's friendly demeanor boosted Hua's confidence. She made up her mind.

"Captain, I want to—"

But just then, the unexpected happened.

Lee suddenly lunged forward, drawing a dagger from her waist and slashing Himeko's arm!

Blood sprayed onto Hua's stunned face. Screams and chaos erupted in the recreation area.

"Lee, what—what are you doing?!"

[Energy +90,000]

Ignoring Hua's cry, Lee continued her assault, plunging the dagger into Himeko's chest and kicking her away. She quickly drew her pistol and aimed—

"Lee, stop!!"

Seeing Lee about to finish off the fallen Himeko, Hua instinctively lunged forward, grabbing Lee's arms, preventing her from firing.

"Are you crazy?! That's the captain!!"

"Let me go, Hua!" Lee struggled fiercely, her expression filled with an unfamiliar urgency and anxiety. "She's not Himeko anymore. She's a Herrscher!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?! The captain was just talking to me! How could she be a Herrscher?!"

While Lee was entangled with Hua, the others finally reacted. Some rushed towards Lee, attempting to subdue the suddenly violent "madwoman." Others ran to Himeko's side to check on her.

But to their astonishment, despite the slashed arm and the dagger in her chest, Himeko calmly stood up.

"So this is humanity's former strongest hero. Impressive… If you weren't injured, you might have actually succeeded."

As everyone watched in disbelief, Himeko straightened up. The dagger, which should have been lodged in her heart, had melted into slag.

Flames flickered across her wounded arm, the wound healing instantly.

Himeko gave Lee her usual cheerful smile, then raised her hand towards them.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Hua, look out!!!"

In the next instant, searing flames engulfed the base.

…

When Hua opened her eyes, she couldn't see the sky. Though the buildings above the base were gone, thick black smoke from the raging fire obscured everything.

The smell of burning filled the air, accompanied by the crackling of flames and faint screams.

What happened?

…Right, Lee attacked the captain. She said the captain was a Herrscher. I stopped Lee, and then the captain attacked. Flames rushed towards me, and Lee pushed me down—

Lee?!

Remembering the last thing she saw before losing consciousness, Hua's mind snapped into focus.

She frantically tried to sit up, searching for Lee, but then she realized Lee was right there, lying on top of her.

"Lee…?" Hua struggled to sit up, whispering Lee's name, hoping for a response, but there was only silence.

Lee was shielding her, her back severely burned. Hua could smell the faint scent of charred flesh.

In that final moment, Lee had pushed her out of the path of the captain's attack, but a Herrscher's attack wasn't so easily avoided. Lee had shielded her with her own body…

Why? Lee had taught her that human bodies were incredibly fragile against Herrschers, easily destroyed. Though for some reason, the captain hadn't finished them off. If she had, both she and Lee would have been incinerated, even with Lee's protection.

Lee knew this… so why did she do such a pointless thing?

Hua looked at the devastation around her. Everything was burning, yet her heart felt frozen.

It's all ruined.

Lee was right. The captain had become a Herrscher… If Hua hadn't stopped her, would things have been different?

But it was too late. Everyone was dead, and Lee… Lee was dead because of her!

Hua trembled, overwhelmed by fear and guilt, unsure what to do—

"…Ugh…"

Suddenly, she heard a faint groan from Lee, so soft she thought she'd imagined it.

But it gave her a purpose.

If Lee was still alive, there was still hope. The entire base was ablaze. To survive, they had to escape.

I need to save everyone… at least I have to save Lee!

If crying for help would bring rescuers, Hua would scream at the top of her lungs. But the base was in ruins, and she, protected by Lee, might be the only one still capable of moving.

Hua tried to get up, but fearing she might aggravate Lee's injuries, she carefully slid out from under her.

Seeing Lee lying unconscious, tears streamed down Hua's face, a mixture of grief and guilt.

Everything had changed so quickly. In just a few minutes, her life had been completely rewritten.

But regardless, there was only one thing she could do.

"I'm sorry, Lee… It'll be alright. You'll be alright…"