Cough, cough!
Suffocation. Agony. Exhaustion. Powerlessness.
The young man's body was like a tattered rag, crimson blood continuously seeping out of it.
He couldn't move at all. He could only barely turn his head to look around, and he could clearly feel himself growing weaker and weaker. In that instant, he realized death was about to descend upon him.
"Is this... how it ends..."
Chen Tianwu struggled desperately, trying to resist. His body, trapped beneath the rubble, attempted to move, but all it did was bring him even more pain, causing more blood to flow.
In the end, after exhausting the last of his strength, Chen Tianwu finally accepted reality and closed his eyes in despair.
Hnn!
But at that very moment, a beam of light shone down from above. Chen Tianwu lifted his head and saw that the stones above him had been moved aside.
And then he saw her.
A beautiful girl like an angel—or rather, like a saintess.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness! There's still someone alive!"
Ana said excitedly. Then, using the knight lance in her hand, she pried away more stones and, under Chen Tianwu's stunned gaze, removed everything pressing down on him.
"B-Big brother!"
At that moment, a familiar voice snapped Chen Tianwu back to his senses. He saw a cute little girl with tear-filled eyes staring at him, a broken Homu doll clutched in her hands.
"T-Tianwen!!"
Ignoring the injuries all over his body, Chen Tianwu pulled his sister tightly into his arms. A relieved smile appeared on this doting older brother's face. It didn't matter whether he lived or died. It didn't matter if the entire world died. But his little sister couldn't die.
After hearing Chen Tianwen say that she had also been saved by Ana, he looked at the girl with overwhelming gratitude. At the same time, a certain special emotion quietly sprouted in his heart.
At that moment, Ana finally let out a breath of relief.
She used her knight lance to support herself and took a short rest.
She hadn't expected Chen Tianwen's brother, Chen Tianwu, to really still be alive. There weren't many boys in this world who possessed Honkai resistance. Clearly, though, his resistance wasn't very high.
The purple patterns creeping up his neck made that obvious.
Chen Tianwu had ultimately been eroded by Honkai energy.
After hesitating for a moment, Ana took out a red vial from the storage module of her armor. A pained, reluctant expression flashed across her face, but in the end, she clenched her teeth and tossed it to Chen Tianwu.
"You've already been heavily corroded by Honkai energy. If this continues, you won't live much longer. Use this Honkai serum... it's very, very precious."
This was a medicine created from Lord Elias' Holy Blood. It could instantly cure Honkai corrosion in the body. It was practically a life-saving miracle drug for Valkyries.
Ana kept telling herself in her heart that this was to save someone, to fulfill the mission of a Valkyrie. Don't feel bad, don't feel bad. In half a year, I can receive another one.
"Th-Thank you..."
Chen Tianwu said gratefully.
"It's nothing. This area isn't safe. We should keep moving as soon as possible. Wuu... my serum..."
After hesitating for a moment, Ana still asked for the empty injection bottle back and sighed regretfully. She had always treated that vial as a protective charm before.
Chen Tianwu stared blankly at Ana's back. The young man felt as if he had fallen in love.
Just moments ago, beneath the ruins filled with nothing but pain and despair, he had been able to do nothing but wait helplessly for death.
Yet the hand this Schariac girl had extended toward him was a redemption he would remember for the rest of his life.
"Big brother, you're not allowed to let your imagination run wild."
"T-Tianwen?"
"Just by looking at your expression right now, I can tell what you're thinking. No way. Sister Ana is such a wonderful girl. My silly big brother isn't worthy of her. Just give up."
Chen Tianwen said with half-lidded eyes. Just look at Sister Ana—beautiful and strong, and our lifesaver too.
As for you, big brother, you don't even pass the most basic looks test. And you always have that gloomy face.
Do you really think you're worthy?
At most, you're worthy of a key!
If you dare to have improper thoughts about Sister Ana, don't blame your little sister for upholding justice over family ties.
Guh!
Chen Tianwu felt as if he had taken ten thousand points of critical damage. His own sister's blunt words nearly made him cough up blood. He instantly wilted.
Yeah... what the hell was he even worthy of?
...
"This is getting troublesome."
Ana frowned and looked behind her, realizing that the number of survivors was far greater than she had expected.
She had thought only a handful of people could survive the Honkai Eruption. Yet now, there were already more than thirty.
With their group growing so large, the risks would only increase if this continued. Fortunately, they were already very close to the evacuation point.
Ana gently bit her lower lip and looked at the ordinary people behind her who had placed their hope of survival entirely on her. At that moment, a powerful sense of mission filled her whole being, suppressing her fear.
Beneath her Valkyrie armor, the Schariac stigmata that had been imprinted on her back since birth—bearing the ideal of [Salvation]—was activating, gradually awakening.
"I'll lead everyone out! I can definitely do this. After all, I'm... one of Lord Elias' personal guard Valkyries!"
Ana gripped the blue-violet cape over her left shoulder. Printed upon it was the signet of [Deliverance], the symbol of her identity as one of Lord Elias' personal guard Valkyries.
After reaffirming her already unshakable faith, the girl tightened her grip on the knight lance in her hand.
At this moment, Ana felt deeply grateful. If it weren't for this pseudo-Divine Key capable of controlling wind and snow, she would never have been able to protect so many people until now.
The ability to control wind and snow might not sound powerful, but it was far from useless. Not only could it slow down Honkai Beasts, it could also obscure their vision. If Ana went all out, she could even freeze them in place.
Most importantly, though, Ana felt that she was extremely compatible with ice-type powers.
Recalling the Herrschers of the Previous Era who had recently joined St. Freya Academy, she couldn't help but think that if she were ever to become a Herrscher one day, she might become the Herrscher of Ice.
To be honest, she actually had a pretty good relationship with the Herrscher of Ice from the Previous Era. She often heard the latter complain about how miserable her first cycle had been—she had been born right in front of Lord Elias and Kalpas and hadn't even survived twenty seconds.
"Lord Elias, please bless Ana. Eli Gate."
The girl offered a devout prayer in her heart. Then she took a deep breath, adjusted her emotions, and led everyone onward.
Unfortunately, Ana was not a lucky girl like Kiana or the catlike prodigy. In fact, her luck had always been terrible. Just like Fu Hua, she was the type who hit hard pity every single time.
Howwwl—!
When they were only five hundred meters away from the evacuation point, they were finally discovered by Honkai Beasts.
And as if fate were mocking them, it was an Emperor-class wolf-type Honkai Beast.
"Hati?!"
Ana's expression changed drastically as she recognized the creature.
One of Fenrir's two sons in myth.
And in this world, there truly existed a Honkai Beast codenamed Fenrir—an existence at the Judgment-class level.
Just like in the legends, the wolf before her, Hati, was akin to its offspring.
The most fatal problem was that wolf-type Honkai Beasts, like real wolves, hunted in packs.
With a single howl from this Emperor-class beast, a massive number of Honkai Beasts were drawn in.
Among them was even the Judgment-class Honkai Beast known as Fenrir.
ROOOOAR—!
Howwwl—!
Hissssss—!
A colossal wolf dozens of meters tall, its entire body covered in gray Honkai armor, threw its head back and howled at the sky as if it could devour the sun and moon.
Just meeting its gaze was enough to nearly shatter one's will to fight.
Ana's face turned pale.
She knew this was absolutely not something she could contend with.
There was a very high chance she wouldn't even be able to escape.
Today... she might truly die in glorious sacrifice.
But she didn't know that the truth was different.
Because Ana Schariac had already been chosen by Honkai.
In the future, she would become an apostle of Honkai—a Herrscher.
How could she possibly die here?
The command this Fenrir had received from the Cocoon of Finality was to kill every other human present—except Ana.
Through such cruelty, fear and despair would be branded into the girl's heart.
All to pave the way for her eventual awakening as a Herrscher.
"Everyone, don't look back. Run!"
Ana clenched her cape tightly.
Was she afraid? Of course she was.
Right now, she wanted nothing more than to turn and flee.
But she couldn't do that.
One preserved life existed for the sake of staking it someday.
She was a Valkyrie of St. Freya Academy.
A member of the Schariac family, who took [Salvation] as their guiding principle.
A warrior who fought for all that was beautiful.
If she ran now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
"Sister Ana, what about you?"
"I'll buy you time. Run in the direction we were heading. In five hundred meters, you'll be safe."
As she spoke, Ana sliced open her palm.
She let her not-so-pure Holy Blood stain the body of her lance red. In doing so, her lethality against Honkai Beasts increased.
At the same time, whenever any Honkai Beast tried to approach, she flung droplets of Holy Blood at them.
Although her Holy Blood was far inferior to that of Lord Elias, Durandal, or Cecilia, it was still enough to instinctively terrify low-tier Honkai Beasts.
"Sister Ana, let's escape together!"
"Yes, Miss Ana, you can't let anything happen to you!"
"There must still be hope!"
The people Ana had saved did not wish to abandon her and flee alone at this critical moment.
But as ordinary humans, they did not understand Honkai.
They did not understand the terror of a Judgment-class Honkai Beast—this was a disaster capable of destroying an entire nation on its own.
"No! Don't stay here! Otherwise we'll all die! Run! Hurry! I can't hold out for long!"
Ana shouted, shattering their unrealistic hopes.
At a time like this, the survival of everyone was already impossible.
She had resolved herself to sacrifice.
Though the purity of the Holy Blood within her body was not high, if she released it all at once, she might be able to eliminate the other Honkai Beasts and even severely wound this Judgment-class giant wolf.
The price would simply be bleeding out to death.
Ana had heard that Lord Elias had done such things countless times in the Previous Era.
The admiration she held for the white-haired boy compelled her to make the same choice.
However...
ROOOOAR—!
"W-What?!"
Ana might not lack resolve, but she had still underestimated the strength of a Judgment-class Honkai Beast.
Moreover, Fenrir was a Honkai Beast renowned for its speed.
Her eyes could barely keep track of its movements.
Under such circumstances, she wouldn't even have the chance to release her Holy Blood before being killed.
And under Fenrir's command, the surrounding Honkai Beasts surged forward as well.
In the next moment, everyone would be torn apart and slaughtered.
Unable to stop it, despair filled Ana's eyes.
Someone... someone please save us... Lord Elias!
Instinctively, the girl cried out in her heart.
And in the very next second—
Her call was answered.
A miracle descended into the depths of despair, suppressing all hopelessness in an instant.
Elias appeared in front of Ana.
"World-Cleansing Divine Thunder—descend!"
The authority of the Herrscher of Thunder activated.
From the storm-choked sky, golden lightning crashed down, piercing and annihilating every Honkai Beast present.
The entire process did not even take half a second.
As for Fenrir, Elias gave it special attention.
Golden lightning spread across its body. The Judgment-class Honkai Beast let out a scream of agony as every strand of its genetic structure was destroyed.
"Hmph. A Judgment-class? You're nothing more than feed."
With a cold snort, Elias hurled the colossal wolf into the air.
The Heaven Devourer Honkai Beast showed no courtesy as it swallowed Fenrir whole.
Even so, that amount was barely enough to wedge between its teeth.
"Phew... Are you alright, Ana?"
Elias turned to look at the girl behind him.
The courage and resolve she had shown moments ago had vanished.
Tears shimmered in Ana's eyes, her fragile expression tugging at the heart.
"Lord Elias..."
"Mm. You did well. As expected of my personal guard. Leave the rest to me."
Elias raised a hand and gently patted Ana's head.
In an instant, an incomparable sense of safety flooded her entire being.
It was as if she had finally crossed through the deepest hell and arrived in heaven.
There was nothing left to fear.
In the next second, Ana instinctively made a bold move.