"Th-This is... my power? Impossible! How can you possess such a thing?! The Black Box should have been destroyed by me ages ago!!!"
Seeing the tachi in Evan's hand and sensing the corrosive power within it—identical to its own—Higokumaru let out a roar of disbelief.
"Fate works in mysterious ways."
The moment Evan's words fell, he suddenly erupted with a speed that shattered human limits. It was a velocity so extreme that the terrified Higokumaru couldn't react at all. By the time the fox spirit came to its senses, the tachi had already plunged into its massive body.
Feeling its power draining away, feeling the helplessness of meeting its natural predator, Higokumaru realized that in just this single breath, it had gone from victor to vanquished—a defeat from which there was no recovery.
A Valkyrie's strength depends not only on her weapons and equipment but also on her innate adaptability to Honkai energy. Those with higher adaptability can withstand more energy, converting it through weapons, battlesuits, or stigmata into offensive power, propulsion, or temporary physical enhancement.
But the human body has limits. Recklessly using Honkai energy to strengthen oneself risks bodily collapse. Even five hundred years ago, Kallen Kaslana, hailed as the most outstanding Valkyrie in history, would have seen her combat power drastically reduced without a suitable weapon.
Using berserk Honkai energy to boost physical stats is equivalent to gambling one's entire future on a few brief minutes of combat. Without restraint, the aftermath could range from total paralysis to immediate death.
Before this moment, Higokumaru never imagined Evan would be so decisive.
Shock and regret quickly faded. As its power drained, Higokumaru began to understand its fate. Memories of the past began to flash through its mind like a revolving lantern.
Why did I end up like this?
In the Previous Era, I was judged as the Herrscher of Corruption despite never having done anything wrong. Humans locked me away. Even after losing my freedom, I was willing to accept the failsafe that would kill me before I could commit any evil. Yet, the humans couldn't rest easy—they chose to kill me anyway, just to be sure.
To humans, regardless of the past, the existence of a Herrscher itself seems to be a mistake—something that must be ruthlessly eradicated.
My body died, but my soul remained. I finally awakened my true Herrscher abilities and launched my revenge against all of humanity. Yet, I was still defeated, sealed into the Black Box by the most brilliant scientist of the Previous Era.
The purpose of the Black Box was not just to seal me, but to smelt my soul and my Herrscher Core into a new weapon—a Divine Key.
That is the collective name for the ultimate anti-Honkai weapons created by the humans of the Previous Era using the Cores of defeated Herrschers.
Through thousands of years of loneliness, the Black Box never defeated me. Five hundred years ago, I even destroyed it. So why has such a weapon appeared now?
This man from St. Freya Academy mentioned the word "Karma."
Humans wanted to kill me, and in the Previous Era, they succeeded in destroying my body, leaving me a wandering ghost without a vessel. Now, I can only cling to the body of a fox-type Honkai Beast. I killed many in the Previous Era, and in this era, I controlled Yae Sakura to slaughter an entire village.
Creating hatred, then exacting revenge. A cycle of retribution.
This is probably what Karma is.
Now, have I finally reached the ultimate result—death?
I'm a little unwilling to accept it. In the beginning, even after becoming a Herrscher, I never thought of hurting anyone. The first ones to become villains were the humans.
After all these years, has someone who would stop at nothing to kill me finally appeared... and succeeded?
Dragging him into this space was a mistake.
The giant fox closed its eyes. The loss of power made it impossible to maintain its physical form. It began to turn illusory, as if it would vanish completely in the next moment, its soul scattering into nothingness.
Beside it, Yae Sakura, who existed in a symbiotic state with Higokumaru, watched everything unfold. She did not stop Evan. Even though Evan killing Higokumaru meant killing her as well, Yae Sakura had already accepted it.
She had lost the meaning to live long ago.
Her sister was dead. Kallen was dead. All memories of Yae Village had been thoroughly destroyed on the day she slaughtered the villagers.
Whether as a Pseudo-Herrscher or a Herrscher, she would never be accepted by humanity. Back then, Kallen had risked her life to seal her. Now, another person was risking everything to kill her.
Watching this scene, seeing the complex expressions mirrored on both Higokumaru and Yae Sakura's faces, Kallen couldn't help but want to do something.
Yae Sakura has such a tragic past... then what about Higokumaru?
In stories of abusers and victims, how does the abuser become who they are? Perhaps, in the beginning, they were victims too?
Kallen opened her mouth, but no words came out.
It wasn't that she accepted this seemingly inevitable outcome, but rather that she chose to trust Evan.
Whether it was a Divine Key meant to fight the Honkai, or swords and spears made for killing, such weapons were merely tools. Once, on that stage that had imprisoned her, a similar deadly weapon had appeared in Evan's hand. But he hadn't used it for destruction; he used it for salvation.
Evan had used that weapon to save her back then. Now, was he really going to kill Higokumaru and Yae Sakura?
Kallen didn't think so.
This world, which had always made crushing beauty and happiness its primary mission, seemed to finally hear the girl's inner voice.
Or perhaps, this world had already begun to change the moment an outsider broke in.
Kallen had personally experienced one such change. Now, she was about to witness a second.
Higokumaru's figure wasn't scattering; it was shrinking. The giant fox, originally ten meters tall, gradually transformed into a tiny humanoid figure, only about thirty centimeters high.
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