"Is this the Judgment-class Honkai beast?" From several thousand meters in the air, Shun gazed down at the white dragon-shaped Honkai beast. The giant creature bore numerous wounds across its body, clear signs of prior combat, but down below, there was no longer any movement.
Had he arrived too late... even after slowing time? Before Shun could dwell on it further, the giant beast seemed to notice him. It let out a roar toward him, adjusting its posture and preparing for battle at any moment.
"Taixu Sword Form: Mountain Collapse!" Shun drew the gravity-capable long spear "Thousand Pounds" and hurled it toward the giant beast.
Sensing the immense threat from the spear, the beast furiously opened its bloody maw and unleashed an earth-shaking roar. With that roar, a powerful surge of energy erupted from within its body, forming a violent tornado. The tornado carried boundless force and majesty, sweeping toward the spear in an attempt to blow it away or destroy it.
But how could a spear named Thousand Pounds be so easily scattered? In merely an instant, the Thousand Pounds spear pinned the giant beast to the ground. Under the suppression of the gravity Authority, that Judgment-class Honkai beast was like a fish on the chopping block.
Shun descended slowly like a falling leaf, his footsteps light yet firm, as though each step carried an indescribable power. He gradually approached the massive monster, his gaze never leaving its colossal form. The beast sensed Shun's approach; its eyes flashed with fear and rage.
Though still pinned to the ground, it had not given up resistance. With a low, guttural roar, several wind blades hundreds of meters long formed rapidly. Like sharp swords, they carried a fierce momentum and slashed toward Shun. The wind blades whistled through the air with piercing shrieks. Their speed was extreme, they reached Shun in the blink of an eye.
Yet Shun offered no resistance and simply passed through the wind blades. Any attack that did not involve the Imaginary Space was utterly ineffective against him, accomplishing nothing.
He opened his palm and made a grasping motion. At the same moment, the Judgment-class Honkai beast's head was seized by an invisible force and instantly exploded, bursting like a watermelon.
Even so, Shun still felt this wasn't safe or reliable enough. He pulled out Thousand Pounds and thrust it toward the beast's corpse. The long spear swiftly pierced its body, accurately striking the core region where Honkai energy reacted most intensely. With a dull impact, the core was completely run through, ensuring the Judgment-class Honkai beast could never move or pose a threat again.
It died just like that? Shun could hardly believe it. A Judgment-class Honkai beast had died so easily? This was a Judgment-class Honkai beast, one whose strength was comparable to a Pseudo-Herrscher?
Or perhaps Authorities related to Herrschers were simply too much of a dimensional suppression against Honkai beasts that hadn't truly mastered any Authority? At this moment, Shun felt very much like the "Ten-Mile Slope Sword God."
He had still arrived too late. The battle here had already ended long ago. The Snow Lotus Squad had engaged in fierce combat with this Judgment-class Honkai beast, but ultimately they had failed. The outcome... should have been total annihilation.
Had Ana died just like that? Shun couldn't believe it, couldn't accept it. If Ana had truly died here, what meaning was left in everything he had done?
But immediately after, a sound from beneath the nearby ruins caught his attention. Shun hurriedly cleared away the debris and saw a woman a dying woman.
"You are?" She appeared to be a Valkyrie, though Shun was certain he had never seen her before. But the emblem on her clothing drew his notice.
It was the Snow Lotus Squad's insignia one he had seen on Ana.
"It's you... Ana's little boyfriend. Never thought the one who killed that beast would be you..."
"You know me?" Shun showed a surprised expression. Why did everyone in this world seem to know him?
"Should say the whole Snow Lotus Squad knows you. Just didn't expect you to have this kind of strength. Really like the male lead who drops from the sky in romance novels." Christina said jokingly.
"So it turns out I was broadcast live back then..." Shun was somewhat speechless, but he quickly turned to Christina and said: "You're dying."
"I know. Honkai energy erosion and all that I've been prepared for a long time." Facing death, Christina was remarkably calm.
"Can you tell me where Ana is? I need to find her." Even though he had mentally prepared for the possibility that Ana might have sacrificed herself, Shun still wanted to find her.
"Hahaha, don't make that mournful face. Your little girlfriend isn't dead yet. How could us old-timers bear to let the younger generation go die?"
With her last strength, Christina took out her communicator and handed it to Shun.
"See? I had Ana turn on her locator. Go find her there. That silly girl has been searching for you all along thought we didn't know."
"Thank you." Shun accepted Christina's kindness. The news that Ana was still alive was truly wonderful.
"Want me to help you to a cleaner spot?"
"Forget it. Right here is fine. One closing of the eyes and it's over anyway." In this final battle, the Snow Lotus Squad had used every piece of equipment and drug they had never dared to consider before even if they had truly defeated the Judgment-class Honkai beast.
The side effects from the overloaded gear and near life-burning drugs were enough to send them all off together.
"Alright." Shun listened and, since he still needed to go see Ana, simply helped Christina up, propped her against a rock to sit, then turned and left.
"Wait." Seeing Shun depart, Christina called out to him again.
"What is it?"
"Treat Ana well from now on. That silly girl definitely won't be able to leave you anymore. If I find out you treated her badly, I'll curse you to never reach heaven."
"I remember. So after I die, I'll definitely go to heaven." Shun nodded, offering his highest respects to this warrior who, in her final moments of life, had still fought against Honkai for humanity.
Was the battle over? Ana hadn't heard any new activity from the city center for a long time. Her communicator hadn't received any new messages either.
That meant the Snow Lotus Squad had been completely wiped out. No one had survived, so no one contacted her anymore.
She had become the Snow Lotus Squad's sole survivor... and a deserter...
An indescribable guilt and boundless sorrow surged over her like a tidal wave, tightly enveloping Ana. She felt as though her heart had been torn open with a massive gash, through which icy winds howled mercilessly, piercing the void. Every gust was like a sharp blade, stabbing at her soul, leaving her unable to breathe, unable to bear this crushing weight.
Sometimes, those who survive suffer more than the dead.