Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 176 Herrscher of the Void

Just to reiterate, the rest of this volume will be told from the captain's perspective; Kiana and the others will probably appear much later.

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After obtaining the finished product of the God-Slaying Spear from Tesla, Himeko Murata told the two of them to take refuge first, as she had something else to do there.

After sending Tesla and the captain away, Himeko Murata followed the instructions of Yuuto to the deepest part of the laboratory, where the latest generation of Valkyrie armor was stored.

Along the way, Himeko looked at the Valkyrie armor marked as Godslayer Armor and couldn't help but marvel at the depth of Schicksal's power. She stopped in front of the armor at the deepest part of the tower.

According to Yu Duchen, the armor in front of him is the origin of all Valkyrie armor, originally a set of armor excavated from the ruins of a previous civilization.

It is said that the Herrscher core can be directly embedded into the armor, thereby granting the user Herrscher-level power. Otto also developed the first generation of Valkyrie armor based on this armor. As research into this armor deepened, the performance of Valkyrie armor was also upgraded.

Currently, apart from the fourth-generation Valkyrie armor codenamed Godslayer Armor, which is available to a very small number of people, the mass-produced version has been updated to the third generation.

This armor was repaired and modified by Otto, making it also the fourth-generation Valkyrie armor. While its performance was improved, its core functions could still be used.

This means that as long as they have a Herrscher Core, Himeko Murata can activate this armor and go to the battlefield to support everyone.

Fortunately, this armor itself already had a Herrscher core embedded in it. Perhaps Otto forgot to remove it when he was testing the armor's performance, or perhaps Otto deliberately guided Himeko Murata to wear this armor before going to the battlefield.

Regardless of the circumstances, Himeko Murata had no choice at this point. After confirming Yuuto's stance, Himeko Murata did not hesitate to have him open the protective compartment storing the armor.

Himeko Murata took a deep breath and strode firmly into the protective chamber. As the mechanical arm fitted Himeko with the armor components one by one, the Herrscher core called the Plague Gem on her chest began to function. The next second, Himeko Murata fell into a coma.

When Himeko Murata opened her eyes, she had already arrived at the depths of her own heart. What she needed to do now was to take control of this power before her body was completely eroded by the Plague Gem.

So she started running, and with her came her three inner demons. Only by defeating these three inner demons could Himeko Murata fully master the power of the Plague Gem.

It must be said that these three inner demons are indeed difficult to deal with, because they directly point to the most vulnerable and selfish aspect of Himeko Murata's heart—Himeko Murata wants to live, she is afraid of death, and she is also afraid of fighting.

But she had already made up her mind. If she backed down at this point, not only would others despise her, but even Himeko Murata herself would look down on herself. However, her poor Honkai energy adaptability ultimately held her back.

No matter how ambitious or determined she was, she was still unable to defeat her inner demons before the plague gem completely eroded her.

Fortunately, after a period of effort, Yu Duchen finally broke through the defenses of the Plague Gem and entered Himeko Murata's inner world, giving her decisive help.

Accompanied by the white vapor released from the warehouse door and the ear-piercing sound of the door opening, Himeko Murata, who was already fully equipped, slowly walked out of the warehouse door.

After taking the Godfall Sword, a weapon crafted for her by Otto, Himeko Murata silently thanked the exhausted Yuto Dust before setting off for the most dangerous battlefield not far away.

When Himeko Murata arrived, she witnessed Theresa's defeat. Just as the Herrscher of the Void was about to deliver the fatal blow, Himeko Murata intervened.

"Ping!"

That was the sound of the Godfall Sword colliding with the Spear of Subspace. Just at this critical moment, Himeko Murata finally arrived.

"Himeko!" Theresa exclaimed happily, "I knew you were alright!"

However, due to her excessive excitement, Theresa aggravated her previous wound, and in pain, she knelt on the ground once again.

"Theresa, you take Bronya away first, I'll take care of things here!"

"I understand. Be careful!"

After saying that, Theresa helped Bronya leave. Although she didn't know what had happened to Himeko Murata, she was certain that Bronya now had the strength to challenge the Herrscher of the Void. This was something Theresa had observed during their brief exchange.

Moreover, she didn't really leave like that. Tesla, who had just successfully met with Einstein, brought Theresa good news: Hyperion had arrived.

Furthermore, she brought with her a Herrscher prototype with human consciousness. Putting aside the less-than-ideal news, the Hyperion's arrival means the Moon Throne system is fully assembled. All they need to do is fire a shot at the Herrscher of the Void to strip away all the Honkai energy from her. Without the Honkai energy to sustain her, she will naturally return to slumber, and Kiana's consciousness will awaken.

Therefore, in the next battle, Himeko Murata only needed to make sure she could hold out until the Hyperion reached the designated location. As Theresa had predicted, after she returned to the Hyperion with Bronya, Himeko Murata continued to entangle with the Herrscher of the Void.

Furthermore, due to the Plague Gem, Himeko Murata, who can unleash the power of the Herrscher of Flame, is currently the only being capable of truly harming the Herrscher of the Void. Therefore, the Herrscher of the Void has been much more restrained in her battles with her.

Thus, the Hyperion successfully arrived. After a brief communication with Himeko Murata, accompanied by a command, the energy beam from the Moon Throne grazed Himeko Murata's body and successfully struck the Herrscher of the Void.

The Herrscher of the Void then felt the Honkai energy within her body disintegrating uncontrollably. In order to ensure that she could continue to control the body, the Herrscher of the Void fled.

The battle ended as the Herrscher of the Void fled to the Imaginary Dimension, but the immediate problem was that the Herrscher of the Void would certainly not give up so easily.

Especially after finding the same Plague Gem that belongs to her, the Herrscher of the Void will inevitably make a comeback.

However, due to her severe injuries, the Herrscher of the Void needs to recuperate in the Imaginary Space. And since there is currently no way to resolve the issue of the Moon Throne, the Imaginary Space is the safest place.

Even if the Herrscher of the Void really wants to seize the Plague Gem, she won't actually appear in the real world. She will definitely try her best to pull Himeko Murata into the Imaginary Dimension to deal with her.

Of course, Himeko Murata understood this principle as well. At this moment, she was standing in the corridor watching the hurried crew members pass by her. Some of them were her former students, while others were Valkyries who had been transferred from headquarters, just like herself.

But they all have one thing in common: they are all members of this ship, and also its most trustworthy companions. For this, Himeko Murata will burn herself to protect these companions to the death.

only…

"Forehead!"

Himeko Murata secretly clutched her injured waist, then gently wiped away the blood that had spilled from the corner of her mouth. Looking at the bloodstains on her hands, she smiled helplessly.

"It seems this has really blown up!"

Just then, the captain arrived at Himeko Murata's side. Upon realizing that someone had come to her, Himeko Murata subconsciously put her bloodstained hand behind her back.

"So, what are your thoughts after seeing my ship? Would you like to tell me?"

"Perhaps. To be honest, even now I still can't believe that His Excellency the Bishop would do such a thing."

"Yes! No matter how you look at it, it's unimaginable. After all, he is the Archbishop of Schicksal, one of the few people in this world who are solely dedicated to eliminating the Honkai. He strives to maintain the balance of the world and often personally visits various branches to comfort the Valkyries fighting on the front lines. Even in the regions directly under Schicksal's jurisdiction, people praise him highly. Yet, this very person actively triggered a Great Honkai, and even the Herrscher this time was caused by him."

"So I can't understand why such a good person would do something so inhumane."

“Everyone has two faces, and I’m no exception. Perhaps Otto wanted to achieve something through this method, but he shouldn’t have chosen the method that we find most intolerable.”

"If the target this time wasn't your student Kiana, would you still be acting like this?"

"I think I will, because this has crossed my bottom line, so I will find a way to stop it no matter who the target is. And it's time to reveal your true identity, Captain?"

The air fell silent. The captain never expected that Himeko Murata would reveal his identity at this moment.

"...How did you guess that?"

"First of all, Schicksal's air fleet is fixed and won't be formed so quickly just because of the Far East Branch's betrayal. Secondly, you are too familiar with the structure here. Just now, Tesla communicated with me and said that you didn't seem like it was your first time visiting the Hyperion. You know, the Hyperion has been with the Far East Branch since its construction, and the people at headquarters have hardly had any opportunity to come into contact with it. Moreover, the Hyperion was renovated recently, and there are some parts of its internal structure that even I am not familiar with. How do you know all this?"

"Maybe I just have a naturally good sense of direction?"

"Then let's talk about your identity. Although the Far East Branch has officially betrayed Schicksal, Bishop Otto has not revoked Schicksal's authority. So after sending you and Tesla away, I secretly investigated the equipment in that laboratory. There is no captain or captain substitute in Schicksal headquarters who has the same appearance as you. So... who exactly are you?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say. Or even if I did, you probably wouldn't believe me."

"What do you mean?"

“I am indeed the captain, and the ship I command is the Hyperion that you are familiar with.”

"!"

Himeko Murata looked at the captain in surprise, then everything went black and she lost consciousness.

The captain sighed, supporting Himeko Murata's body. To be honest, he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. Just now, the captain had taken advantage of Himeko's carelessness and knocked her unconscious. Perhaps because she was already seriously injured, the captain had only struck Himeko on the neck before she passed out.

The captain glanced around and, taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to him, first removed the Plague Gem from his armor, then retrieved the Godslayer Spear from the storage compartment on his thigh.

After carefully placing the two items away, the captain then called for someone to take Himeko Murata to the infirmary.

After leaving the infirmary, he asked the Herrscher of Knowledge to use her powers to make the others mistake the captain for Himeko Murata.

The captain made his way into the elevator without any obstacles, while Benares was already above the Hyperion.

It swooped down, grabbed a turret, and threw it toward the bridge. The captain, who had just arrived at the bridge by elevator, smiled slightly, then took out the Heavenly Fire Judgment sword and cleaved the turret in two.

Of course, in the eyes of others, the Judgment of Heavenly Fire is also the Godslayer Sword that matches the armor worn by Himeko Murata—Crimson Knight: Eclipse. The powerful airflow instantly blew Benares away through the glass window of the bridge.

The captain stepped forward and kicked Benares to the ground again. Just as the captain was about to strike Benares with his sword, he was teleported into the imaginary space.

Do you think you can escape?

The Herrscher of the Void slowly descended from the heights, her arrogant gaze fixed on the Captain without joy or sorrow.

"Oh? I didn't expect it wasn't that woman who came. Who are you then?"

Yes, when they were teleported to the imaginary space, the captain had the Herrscher of Knowledge revoke her abilities, since there was no need to hide anything further here.

"I'm so sorry! Himeko couldn't come because of health reasons."

"Hmph! It doesn't matter. Anyway, I can sense that gem on you. It's not too late to kill those people she cherishes after I've dealt with you."

After speaking, the Herrscher of the Void gestured, and the Captain felt his body uncontrollably fly towards her. Then, a crystal rose up in front of the Captain, and he crashed headfirst into it.

Immediately afterwards, two more crystals split off from the sides of the crystal, sandwiching the captain in the middle to form a large crystal. With a snap of the fingers of the Herrscher of the Void, the large crystal instantly split into four parts and began to rotate and rub against each other.

Finally, the Herrscher of the Void slashed downwards with her index finger, and the Void Spear behind her instantly transformed into two ribbons, shattering the crystal.

After glancing at the lifeless ruins, the Herrscher of the Void snorted coldly and turned to leave. Suddenly, a burst of fire struck from behind her.

Fortunately, the Herrscher of the Void reacted quickly and opened a portal to redirect the attack. The captain emerged from the ruins completely unharmed.

"I must say, your attacks are really... weak and ineffective!"

In reality, this was a lie. Although the captain's body had indeed evolved, resulting in a significant improvement in physical attributes, it had not yet reached the level of a Herrscher. Therefore, the attack just now had already severely injured the captain. The reason he appeared unharmed was simply because the Herrscher of Knowledge made the Herrscher of the Void believe that the captain was unharmed. However, now the Herrscher of the Void also knew the captain's identity.

"Hmph, hehehe, I never expected you to be a traitor too. This is truly... Fine, let me ask you, are you willing to become my servant? Let us destroy this filthy world together!"

"I'm sorry, but I refuse! There are two other people waiting for me to rescue them!"

"Ha! Since that's how it is, then you might as well die!"