There was just destruction and a whole platoon of Honkai Beasts surrounding the two in the centre; Raiden Mei, who had awakened the Conscience of the Herrscher of Thunder and Aikawa Ryu, who had taken a fatal blow for Mei, which had triggered her to awaken her Herrscher self. Now, all that the injured Kiana Kaslana could do was watched from the ground as the Herrscher of Thunder carried Ryu in her arms and hovered mid air.

Kiana: "Mei-Senpai... Ryu..." She muttered in an admittedly worried tone, but something else caught her attention. A small silver-haired girl, clutching onto her left arm was limping her way towards it. Kiana's eyes immediately widened as she recognized who it was. "Ame!"

Struggling her way to her feet, the Kaslana jogged towards the smaller Raiden, catching her before she could collapse. She gasped as she realized how injured her left arm it was to the point it was a bit numb.

Kiana: "You're hurt!"

Ame: "I-I'm fine... Kiana..." She coughed as she slowly looked up towards the Herrscher and slowly began to raise her right hand to her. "Oneechan...The Herrscher...!"

The Herrscher herself was just staring silently as the unconscious boy in her hands.

HoT: "𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒 𝕞𝕖𝕤𝕤. 𝔾𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕛𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕣𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕. ℝ𝕪𝕦! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕦𝕡 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤." She exclaimed she slowly tightened the grip on his body. "𝕀'𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖."

However, there was a loud crash of thunder before it began to rain heavily. The Herrscher's eyes slowly widened, not just from the sudden weather change, but from the rise of Honkai Energy. Her eyes snapped towards Ame as she could feel the rise of Honkai Energy coming from her, which meant...

HoT: "𝔸𝕞𝕖...!? 𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖...!" Before she could finish, a loud roar of an engine interrupted her as a massive shadow hovered over her. She looked up with a blank expression, seeing the Schicksal Hyperion hovering above her.

Kiana: "What the heck!?"

In the bridge of the Hyperion, Major Himeko stood, an excited smirk on her face as the main screen displayed live footage of the Herrscher.

Himeko: "So that's the Herrscher? A girl? Really? I'd thought it'd be scarier, with Death Rays, octo legs, slimy tentacles, super long tongues or something..."

Crewmate: "Major, you do have some sick fantasies with the Honkai..."

Himeko: "Yeah, because some idiot messed up my date!" However, the alarms in the Hyperion began to blare loudly. "What now!?"

Crewmate 2: "Picking up a second source of massive Honkai Energy. It's like a second Herrscher is awakening!"

Himeko: "What!? Where!?" Now that nearly sent the red-haired woman into a panic. The main screen in the Hyperion changed to display Kiana, holding the injured Ame, while the Honkai Energy was coming from the Raiden sibling. "That small girl is also a Herrscher? Tch... Since she's injured, we'll take her out before she can awaken! Full broadside! Hit the second Herrscher with everything we got! Light her up like a Christmas tree!"

Multiple armor plating along the underside of the Hyperion slid open, revealing a series of gattling guns along with two massive ship cannons rotating downwards, aiming towards Ame. Before they could fire, the Herrscher of Thunder immediately appeared in front of Ame and Kiana, a look of anger on her face.

Kiana: "Mei-Senpai!"

HoT: "𝕀𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕤! 𝔻𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝔻𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟'𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣!" She exclaimed, a burst of lightning erupting from her, creating a massive explosion of Honkai Energy that vaporized this portion of Nagazora, along with the Honkai Beasts that were surround it.

Himeko: "Quick! Maximum Power to the Shields!"

HoT: "𝔻𝕀𝔼." An eruption of lightning shot up from the explosion, creating a bright flash of light that engulfed the entirety of the Hyperion.

>Chapter 8: Battle Against Thunder<

Schicksal...
Far East Branch Assembly Hall...

"Hyperion has entered Honkai Corrupted Zone. Signal interference has severed comm link. We have received this video footage before the signal cut out."

Within this dark Assembly Hall, there was a massively long table with 11 chairs along each side and one larger chair at the very end of one of the sides. The table displayed the footage, showing off the Herrscher of Thunder.

Schicksal Member 1: "This girl... she's the Herrscher? Are the Honkai Beasts kneeling and submitting to her? I never knew the Herrscher could command these monsters..." Then the table displayed a distance image of Ame in Kiana's arms, but the aura she had around her made it clear that she was also a potential threat. "That second girl, could she possibly be a second Herrscher??"

Schicksal Member 2: "Impossible! Two Herrschers Awakening simultaneously!?"

Schicksal Member 3: "Unable to identify the Herrschers' identities. Too much interference."

Schicksal Member 4: "We must restore the comm. Link! We need better footage!"

Schicksal Member 5: "It's not just the Hyperion. All satellites above the city are down. One of the Herrschers may have unleashed an EM Pulse."

A 'hmph' was heard as on the end of the table where the head chair was, a girl who looked to be 12 physically, had white hair tied in a low side ponytail and bright blue. She wore a non-like outfit with a ud over her head as she was, instead of sitting on the chair, she sat on the table itself. She was none other than Theresa Apocalypse.

(Theresa Apocalypse)

(A/N: "Teri Teri!")

Theresa: "How interesting... Two new Herrschers have appeared after a 14-year hiatus... It appears the End of the World is coming."

Nagazora...

A massive puff of dark smoke rose into the sky as the Hyperion's hull was set to a serious blaze, the external armor of the massive battleship singed and crumbled. However, the blaze was slowly being put out, thanks to the heavy rain that Ame seemed to have been producing unintentionally.

"WARNING! External Armor Plating compromised. Power Generation down by 40%. Recommend immediate withdrawal."

Crewmate: "We can't afford taking another hit like that." She explained to the red-haired major, who gritted her teeth in frustration.

Himeko: "This little brat has no idea how expensive it is to fix this boat." Taking her captain's jacket, she threw it off to the side. "Activate Nuclear Reactors No. 5 and 6. Maintain furnace output. Switch to reserve power! Bring us down to the Herrschers' altitude in 2 minutes! Gotta deal with this brat face to face!"

Crewmate: "Wait! You're not going to use 'that' are you?" She followed the red-head out of the bridge, a look of concern on her expression. Himeko only waved off her worry.

Himeko: "Like we have the luxury of other options..." As she walked ahead, she began to strip down, removing each piece of clothing on her person one by one. "If I had to take off my clothes, someone is definitely going down in flames. XO*, you take the helm!" She dashed off, only wearing her stockings now.

Crewmate: " Aye, aye, sir!"

"Power Switch success. Vessel is now on reserve power. Prepare for Descent!"

Schicksal...
Far East Branch Assembly Hall...

Schicksal Member 1: "Valkyrie Squad 5 currently engaged with one of the Herrschers. We need to contact HQ and request S-Rank Valkyries for support."

Schicksal Member 2: "ETA for troops dispatched from HQ is about 45 minutes. We must stall the Herrschers at all cost."

Schicksal Member 3: "Theresa-Sama, please give the order for total mobilization of the Far East Branch."

Theresa: "Now is not the time." They all looked to the short woman. "We know nothing about either of these Herrschers. Hasty decisions might result in unnecessary losses. Have faith in Major Himeko and the Elites of the Far East Branch aboard the Hyperion. The Hyperion carries a Trump Card of its own as well."

Schicksal Member 4: "Could it be the exoskeleton system designed to improve Valkyrie combat capabilities? Isn't that thing still in development?"

Schicksal Member 5: "Is it even ready for combat?"

Schicksal Member 6: "That system may give us a chance against these Herrschers." As the members in the Assembly Hall continued to discuss the situation, Theresa remained silent, watching the only footage they had on the Table's screen.

Theresa's thoughts: "Everything rests on your shoulders..."

Nagazora...

As the Herrscher of Thunder floated high above the damaged Hyperion, she would glance down towards Ame and Kiana. She noticed the Kaslana watching over the silver haired Raiden, who had fallen unconscious once again, causing the storm that was currently happening to cease. Before she could say anything however, she felt a spike of Nuclear energy and looked back to the Hyperion, spotting Himeko walk out onto the deck, wearing a skin tight body suit with armor pieces, a long cable connected to a connector on the Hyperion and a massive sword in her right hand.

HoT: "𝕀𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕥! ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣!?" She pointed her left hand to her, holding onto Ryu with her right as a ball of lightning charged within her palm. "𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤!"

A massive beam of raw Honkai Energy and lightning blasted from her palm, aimed straight at Himeko as he gritted her teeth and held up her blade.

Himeko: "Sorry, I won't go down like this. Not until I find myself a really nice guy! Nexus System Activated!" The connector that housed the cord connected to her back began to pump energy into her suit rapidly. "Nuclear Burst Slash!!!"

Raising her blade above her head, she slashed downwards, slicing the Herrscher's beam right in half and forcing the attack to miss her and miss the Bridge of the Hyperion.

A loud battle cry roared from Himeko as the Herrscher only gritted her teeth, not believing any mere mortal could block her godly abilities. However, it seems like she was right.

"WARNING! Fusion Reactor overheating. Shutdown in 10 Seconds."

Himeko: "Shut up! Keep the damned thing running! I don't care how you do it!" She yelled in frustration, with the Herrscher only smirking in amusement.

HoT: "𝔸𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖. 𝕀 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕀'𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕖. 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣." However, her eyes widened, feeling a hand grasp onto her left arm, slowly lowering it. It was Ryu.

Ryu: "M-Mei... Stop..."

HoT: "ℍ𝕞𝕞, 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖? 𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕂𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕒. ℕ𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖." It seemed as if the Herrscher's power was too great, that she was going to win the battle easily. However, that all changed the moment Ryu rose his hand up and grasped her Herrscher Wing, clutching it tightly. "𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘? 𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕒 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕘𝕠𝕕?"

Ryu: "Stop... talking nonsense..."

She gasped as he gripped the wing tighter, his hand beginning to bleed just from the raw Honkai Energy. It was more impressive since he was a male, who were proven to not have as strong Honkai Resistance as the females. But he was completely fine... Actually no, he was radiating a strong energy. It, not only was Honkai Energy, but had a sense of darkness and it seemed as if it was consuming her own energy. It was like the Abyss. This meant one thing...

HoT: "𝕎-𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥!? 𝕀-𝕀𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖... 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕓𝕖...!" Her eyes widened as she stared at the male, who slowly rose his head, revealing his eyes to have changed. They were gold originally, but now were red with golden pupils. A burst of black flames erupted from his hand as the Herrscher wing began to crack and crumble. The Thunderous Herrscher couldn't believe her eyes...

Ryu: "Bring... Her... Back. Bring back Mei, Herrscher!"

With one yank, the Herrscher's wing shattered into pieces and dissolved into nothing as she could feel her power wavering and her conscious fading away. At this point, Ryu had fallen unconscious once again as she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.

HoT's thoughts: "𝕋𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕡𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖... 𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤, 𝔸𝕓𝕪𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕝 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 ℝ𝕪𝕦! 𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜!"

With the Herrscher Stigmata vanishing from Mei's body, the battle was over. Himeko could only watch as the two teenagers in the air floated together, within each other's embrace.

Himeko: "Well I'll be damned..."

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