Rita Under Siege
Damn… this gas is eating away at my Honkai energy…
Rita sliced a mech cleanly in half with her scythe, earning herself a single gasp of breath—
but she could feel her strength draining by the second.
This specialized gas… whatever Jackal had created…
was dissolving the Honkai energy within the Valkyries' bodies.
And without Honkai energy boosting them, Valkyries were little different from ordinary humans.
Against specialized mechs?
A nightmare.
Her squad was faltering.
The enemy was overwhelming in number.
And as commander—
Rita felt every failure like a blade.
"Even in such an open environment, the diffusion rate is perfect.
Ahahaha—
I truly outdid myself this time!"
Jackal's manic laughter echoed through the battlefield.
She was delighted with her own work—
the modified HSN-B64 gas, a tailored weapon meant to cripple Valkyries from the inside.
"Don't get complacent," Raven warned, slicing down an approaching mech.
"One of those kids has extremely strange abilities. We still have to—"
"Relax," Jackal waved her off.
"No matter how strange their abilities, in this gas they're powerless."
Raven frowned.
Something about this situation felt wrong.
That girl earlier… the one who punched the Herrscher…
She was dangerous.
Jackal, of course, never listened.
A Change in the Wind
FWOOSH—!!!
A violent gale erupted out of nowhere.
The poisonous mist scattered instantly.
Even the mechs staggered under the sheer force of the wind.
"What the—?!
Where did this STUPID wind come from?!"
Jackal's voice cracked with rage.
"Go!
Break through! Now!"
Rita didn't hesitate.
This was their only chance.
Even weakened, the Valkyries rushed into the thinnest part of the mech formation—
and with the wind disrupting the mechs' sensors and stability,
they managed to break out of the encirclement.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
But Jackal was livid.
"My beautiful trap—RUINED by WEATHER?!
I don't accept this! I REFUSE!"
If her failure were due to a simple mistake, she could swallow her pride.
But losing to a gust of wind?
Never.
Unless—
Unless it wasn't weather.
The "Wind" Appears
"You seem… dissatisfied."
A cold voice drifted from above.
Jackal's heart lurched.
A girl stood atop a streetlight—
green hair, green eyes, floating gently like the breeze itself.
"You… who are you?"
Jackal was stunned.
She hadn't noticed anyone else hiding nearby.
The girl smiled lazily.
"Me? Nothing important.
But that wind?
That was Wendy~"
Wendy.
Skyward Sovereign.
Fourth Herrscher.
Raven's blood ran cold.
She recognized the aura—
the oppressive, divine, suffocating pressure—
The Fourth Herrscher herself.
Jackal sensed nothing but a girl with attitude.
Raven sensed death.
Wendy continued cheerfully:
"Your stinky gas was annoying.
So I blew it away.
You looked unhappy about it~"
"Y-you—!
Grab her! Catch that brat!"
Jackal, oblivious, ordered the remaining mechs forward.
"Wait—Jackal—!!!"
Too late.
FWOOM!!!
A single wave of wind
reduced the incoming mech squad to metallic confetti.
No explosions.
No struggle.
They simply came apart—cleanly, effortlessly.
Jackal and Raven stared at the pile of scrap metal.
Impossible—
NO ONE can do that with JUST WIND—
Raven seized Jackal by the arm.
"Run."
"But—!"
"RUN!"
They bolted down the deserted streets, not daring to look back.
Jackal's legs trembled.
"What… What IS that girl?!
How is she so strong?!"
She had thought Kiana's Herrscher form was terrifying.
But this?
This was absurd.
One gesture—
and her most advanced mechs crumbled like toys.
A monster…
She's a monster…!
Wendy's Question
Wendy appeared ahead of them, perched on a giant billboard like a lazy cat.
"Don't run~
Wendy just wants to ask something."
Jackal and Raven skidded to a stop.
They knew they wouldn't escape her.
"…What do you want to ask?" Raven said through gritted teeth.
"Mm."
Wendy tilted her head innocently.
"Why isn't this city selling ice cream anymore?
Where did all the humans go?"
Jackal: "?"
Raven: "?"
Of all the questions they expected—
This was NOT one of them.
Is… is she actually a Herrscher?
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