Pufferfish: Hare is Cecilia?

"Judgment of Shamash—Unleashed!!"

Persona Siegfried raised the greatsword, Might of An-Utu, high. Manifesting the blue, beast-like traits of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Parvati after entering the Active Honkai Reaction state, he unleashed the full might of the greatsword in his grasp.

Deep crimson flames of destruction surged skyward.

The roiling crimson inferno possessed the overwhelming presence of a mythical giant's sword capable of slaying gods. As easily as wiping dust from glass, as Persona Siegfried swung Might of An-Utu, the endless barrage of golden spatial lances projected by the Herrscher of the Void was instantly obliterated by the terrifying flames of destruction. Even the purplish-black spatial wormholes were filled and incinerated by the crimson fire, forcefully destroying the exit points for the lances.

Staring at the approaching sword of deep crimson destructive flames, feeling the terrifying heat—like her deepest trauma made manifest—the Herrscher of the Void's petite form went utterly rigid.

Instinctively, she opened a spatial gate to a distant safe zone at maximum speed. Before the power of Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed could strike her, she promptly teleported, taking Benares with her, to a safe location behind Ren Amamiya and the others.

"That's... Siegfried Kaslana? N-No, impossible! How could Siegfried be here? And I clearly cut off one of his arms!!"

Appearing from the open spatial gate, the Herrscher of the Void instinctively leaned against Benares behind her. Her golden eyes fixed rigidly on Persona Siegfried standing before Ren Amamiya, her flawless, delicate face etched with disbelief and shock.

Gazing at Siegfried Kaslana, who stood before her in his peak Active Honkai Reaction state, just like during the Second Eruption, the Herrscher of the Void couldn't help but tremble violently.

She felt like buried memories had suddenly resurrected and were viciously attacking her. Being hunted down by a seemingly mindless, beast-like Siegfried wielding Might of An-Utu was undoubtedly one of the most humiliating memories of the Herrscher of the Void's existence.

Although she had cut off Siegfried's arm when she reawakened in her vessel years ago, that was mainly because Siegfried was holding back, concerned for the vessel's life.

Siegfried had indeed weakened compared to the past, but the Herrscher of the Void, having just reawakened her consciousness in the vessel, was undoubtedly even weaker than him at that time.

As long as she could gain control of the vessel, the Herrscher was fully confident she could kill Siegfried Kaslana in the real world. However, the current situation was drastically different from what she had envisioned... Siegfried had somehow returned to his peak Second Eruption state—and putting aside the fact that his severed arm was inexplicably restored.

The battlefield where she now faced Siegfried was her Palace as the Queen of the Void... the mental space connected to the Herrscher Core. Here, the Herrscher didn't have the vessel's life as a protective talisman.

Quite the opposite, if Siegfried were to erase her consciousness in this mental space, the vessel could gain complete control of the body, perhaps even usurp the authority of the Herrscher Core itself!!

A Siegfried restored to peak power, with no need to hold back... versus herself, far from her peak, possessing only the single Core of the Void... even if she seized the opportunity to reclaim the Gem of Conquest that appeared in this Palace, the Herrscher wasn't entirely confident she could defeat Siegfried. Realizing this, the Herrscher's expression turned incredibly grim.

Looks like Siegfried was slightly mistaken... Ren thought, looking up at the Herrscher of the Void in the sky, his brow furrowed beneath his white bird mask. Although the Herrscher of the Void definitely showed intense hatred upon seeing Persona Siegfried, she hasn't completely lost her composure.

The Herrscher's ability to manipulate space was too troublesome.

Setting aside the defense-piercing spatial lances, this method of instantly creating distance and escaping far away was incredibly difficult to predict and counter. Fortunately, the battle was confined to this Palace, at most the size of this snowfield.

If this were the real world, with her powers, she could probably go anywhere she pleased.

"Actually," Raiden Mei murmured, a cautious expression also appearing on her fair face, "after seeing Mr. Siegfried's Persona, she seems to have become more cautious... Is it because she knows his Persona poses a significant threat to her?" But alongside her wariness, she felt a small sigh of relief inwardly.

Since the Herrscher showed such strong apprehension and caution towards Persona Siegfried, it meant this Herrscher's strength wasn't as great as Mr. Siegfried's. Even estimating the Herrscher's power at its absolute peak, she probably still couldn't defeat Ren Amamiya, who defeated Siegfried himself.

Crackle—!!!

Just as Raiden Mei gently clenched her fist, a fierce fighting spirit welling up inside her, the Mighty Thunder Ring Ren had placed on her left ring finger suddenly erupted with brilliant purple lightning.

"This is... the ring, it turned into a katana?!"

As the purple lightning surged, Mei instantly felt a sudden weight in her left hand.

She subconsciously lowered her head, and then her amethyst eyes widened in astonishment. The spiral ring originally on her finger had now transformed into an ornate purple katana radiating an ultimate sense of majesty and pressure, like the incarnation of a thunder god, its hilt shaped like unfurled dragon wings.

It's different from when I held it. It takes the form of a katana in Acheron's hands... Perhaps this is the Mighty Thunder Ring's true form, Ren noted, turning his head at the sound of crackling lightning.

A flicker of understanding crossed his eyes. Compared to its previous form, this katana undoubtedly fit the definition of a weapon much better. Just as Ren had expected, when the Mighty Thunder Ring returned to the hand of Raiden Mei, its former Palace ruler, it indeed unleashed a power vastly different from usual.

Even just looking, Ren could intuitively feel the immense power contained within the purple katana, and Mei's own aura, which had intensified dramatically just by holding it. Giving the Mighty Thunder Ring to Mei to use was definitely the right move.

"Hare, can you detect the spatial fluctuations when the Herrscher moves? Track or interfere with her teleportation ability?" Ren asked.

The Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed ultimate was incredibly powerful, but its cost was also immense.

Even with Jizo Mitama: Etched Form helping restore SP, Ren still couldn't have Persona Siegfried use Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed consecutively.

After silently directing Higokumaru (within Jizo Mitama) to focus all of Jizo Mitama: Etched Form's enhancement effects onto SP recovery speed, about ten seconds passed before Persona Siegfried finally recovered enough to use Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed at full power again.

Sensing that the greatsword was ready to be unleashed again, Ren felt a sense of calm.

He didn't immediately choose to hit the Herrscher point-blank with another Unleashed, but instead turned slightly towards Armored Hare beside him and asked. Unleashing the ultimate wasn't difficult; the real difficulty lay in hitting the Herrscher, who could teleport anywhere and was as slippery as an eel.

Among all the teammates present, only Hare possessed the ability to open spatial portals and teleport using her own power, holding the potential to break the stalemate.

"Interference would be difficult," Armored Hare pondered for a moment, facing Ren's question.

Then she pressed her pink lips, visible below the mask, and replied softly, "The Herrscher isn't some inanimate object; she's a formidable enemy who would react immediately... but just predicting her teleportation destination shouldn't be a problem."

"Being able to predict her teleport location is more than enough!" Confirming that Hare could predict the Herrscher's teleport destination, Ren felt much more confident, a slight smile touching his lips.

As long as he knew where she would appear, he could freely unleash Persona Siegfried's Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed. There's nothing one blast of Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed can't solve. If there is, then just hit them with another!

The crimson dragon Benares, circling high above, was the first to break the stalemate. Letting out a deafening roar, she then spat several massive fireballs towards Ren and the others on the ground.

"Let's get back into the fight, Kurikara!" Raiden Mei declared, wielding the purple katana forged from her own Treasure and Will seed, instantly seeming to revert to the cold, haughty Queen of Thunder.

With Mei's loud summons, purple lightning gathered intensely in the sky, forming into the shape of a colossal demonic dragon amidst world-rending thunder.

The crimson dragon Kurikara emerged from the lightning. Just like Benares, it opened its cavernous mouth towards its opponent and unleashed a scorching blast of fiery breath.

The fiery breath launched by Persona Kurikara radiated extreme heat, easily detonating the fireballs shot by the crimson dragon Benares, and continued onwards towards the Herrscher and Benares with undiminished force.

Kurikara's power has increased... is it because of this katana? Mei thought, summoning Persona Kurikara once again. She clearly felt both her own power and Kurikara's had significantly increased. She couldn't help but look down, closely examining the beautiful purple katana the ring had transformed into.

"Joker needs to maintain Persona Siegfried, so leave Kurikara's healing to me," Armored Hare said, moving closer to Persona Kurikara. She extended her hand forward, and a soft, pure white light bloomed. The white glow symbolizing life enveloped Kurikara's injured body, restoring the damage Kurikara had sustained earlier.

While healing Kurikara, Armored Hare kept her gaze fixed on the Herrscher of the Void in the sky, ready to predict the coordinates of her spatial gate teleportation at any moment.

"Seele will help too!" Seele hurried over. "I'm still not very good at it, but Seele should be able to help!"

Watching Armored Hare heal Persona Kurikara, Seele—who had previously received guidance from Hare herself in the Kaslana Palace and had also received silent support from Dark Seele, successfully learning a healing skill—joined in.

A soft glow emanated from Seele's small white hands, and as she joined the healing effort, Kurikara's recovery speed noticeably quickened.

That woman... the Herrscher of the Void thought, her delicate brows furrowing deeply. Hare herself remained hidden within the opaque purple dream shield, and her dream projection,

Armored Hare, was heavily armored, with even her face concealed by a mask, revealing only her delicate chin. Therefore, it wasn't until Armored Hare channeled the healing power of creation towards Kurikara that the Herrscher felt a vague sense of familiarity from her.

Although her face is covered by a mask, her figure feels somehow familiar... The more she looked at Hare, the more she resembled Cecilia. But Cecilia should be dead...

Realizing the possibility that Hare was Cecilia wasn't zero, the Herrscher's heart wavered, and she began to feel a different kind of fear. Part of her hoped Hare was Cecilia, still alive in this world. Yet, another part desperately hoped she wasn't, because Hare clearly intended to defeat her, to take away her very existence.

If Hare really was Cecilia... that would hurt too much...

"Perfect chance—Judgment of Shamash, Unleashed!!!"

Just as the Herrscher was caught in turmoil over Hare's true identity, Ren seized the opening created by her hesitation and wavering, decisively commanding Persona Siegfried to unleash the overwhelmingly powerful Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed once more.