CHAPTER 470: SURNAMES? THEY MEAN NOTHING TO ME

ROOOOAR—

"So you’ve come?"

Durandal’s gaze hardened. The next moment, she leaped high into the air as enormous dragon claws slammed into the tower where she had just been standing, obliterating the hundred-meter spire in an instant.

"Now that you’ve run into me, your rampage ends here, companion beast of the Second Herrscher!"

Durandal’s body tumbled through the air as she descended, carving a massive hole in the cloud of dust kicked up by the tower’s destruction.

Her speed was so great that Benares had no time to react. It was clearly more than just a freefall; she was using the gamma particle accelerator of her Dea Anchora battlesuit.

The trail of blue light she left in the air was the best proof.

SCREEEEE—

A sharp shriek of metal on metal filled the air. The tip of Abyss Flower sank a hand’s breadth into the keratinous plate on the back of Benares’s claw, but could go no further.

"Hah!"

Using her downward momentum, Durandal flipped her body, her sharp heels scraping a shower of sparks against the dragon’s gray scales.

Pivoting around the spear’s shaft, she spun into the air once more and kicked Benares in the face as it leaned in to unleash its breath attack.

CRACK!

The moment of impact, intricate, curling golden patterns bloomed across Durandal’s entire leg. The sudden burst of power sent the hundred-meter-tall dragon flying.

The tip of Abyss Flower scraped free from the dragon’s claw. Before she even hit the ground, Durandal flicked her wrist, using the spear to swat the chipped fragments of keratin back at Benares.

ROAR!

Benares’s massive body tumbled twice across the Floating Airport, skidding back a full kilometer before it finally came to a stop. It scrambled to its feet, folded its wings, lowered its body, and leaned its head forward, letting out a continuous low growl in Durandal’s direction.

Clearly, Benares had gotten the worst of that first exchange. It had also caught a familiar scent from the woman and her weapon. Though it was now a mindless beast, it seemed to be forcefully suppressing its instincts, preparing to gather its strength before launching its next attack.

"Scared? Too bad. Now it’s my turn to attack!"

Durandal had no intention of giving it the chance. The distance between them provided ample room for a charge, and with the propulsion of gamma particles, it would take but the blink of an eye.

"King!"

A streak of blue light flashed across the ground. Durandal appeared directly above Benares’s head.

The greatsword of her Astral Harness, King, descended along with her raised leg, smashing the dragon’s head deep into the alloy armor plating of the Floating Airport’s surface.

ROAR!

This time, Benares was truly enraged. The last vestige of reason evaporated. It spread its sun-blotting wings and, with a single powerful flap, sent dust and debris flying everywhere.

Durandal initially tried to brace against the oncoming gale, lowering her body and holding Abyss Flower in a reverse grip with her arms crossed in front of her. But she only held for two breaths before being forced to retreat, tumbling back to her original position.

ROAR, ROAR, ROAR, ROAR!

Benares’s claws dug into the ground as it tried to pull its head free, but to no avail. It quickly tried another method—it began to beat its wings furiously. The alloy plates of the Floating Airport groaned under the sudden lift, bending upward until they finally snapped.

A section of armor plating roughly half the size of the Hyperion was now wedged under Benares’s head. The sight was almost comically beautiful, but unfortunately, Durandal wasn’t in a laughing mood. Against the powerful, clashing air currents, she was doing well just to anchor herself in place with Abyss Flower.

Lugging such a huge, heavy object was clearly uncomfortable for Benares. It swung its long neck wildly, a dozen times in a row, until the armor plate was finally flung off by inertia.

"Tch."

Durandal instinctively ducked. The thick plate, like a giant millstone, swept over her head, spinning and grinding the tower, warehouses, railguns, and a few assembling Valkyrie squads behind her into dust, leaving only a field of rubble.

"Dammit!"

Durandal’s eyes reddened, but Benares gave her no time for anger. Its neck swelled rapidly, and a torrent of lightning-laced frost erupted from its mouth, reaching her in an instant—

"Queen!"

In the nick of time, the massive Astral Harness, Queen, materialized, its greatshield blocking the attack in front of Bianka. Like a small island in a raging river, it stubbornly split the furious frost breath.

Blinding, thick arcs of lightning lashed against the shield like whips. The ambient charge in the air made the hairs of Bianka’s ponytail stand on end.

It wasn’t her style to take a beating without retaliating, but for some reason, Durandal held back, simply continuing to channel Honkai energy into her Astral Harness, tanking Benares’s breath attack.

Only by standing very close could one hear her nonsensical counting:

"One hundred and twenty-three, one hundred and twenty-four, one hundred and twenty-five... Still not here?"

As she muttered in confusion, countless green vines burst forth from beneath the Floating Airport. One moment, the seemingly invincible Benares was rampaging; the next, it was tightly bound by a mass of vines, each over ten meters in diameter.

It struggled to raise its head, apparently still trying to attack, but with a mere flick of Durandal’s eyes, more, smaller vines shot into the gaps, binding its neck even tighter. Some wrapped around its jaws, clamping them shut.

"An altitude of over eleven thousand meters, and it took a total of one hundred and twenty-five seconds? The average speed still didn’t break one hundred meters per second, but that’s a significant improvement."

The frigid stratospheric air rushed in through the gap in the shields, forming a thin layer of frost on Durandal’s body. But with a soft humph, the Honkai energy coating her evaporated it. The lingering steam didn’t dissipate completely, making her figure appear hazy.

A thought occurred to her, and a satisfied smile finally graced her lips. "I forgot. I also have to account for the fifteen hundred meters from the Mediterranean seabed to sea level. With that, the average speed is right around one hundred meters per second. Considering it’s working entirely against gravity, that’s fast enough."

The White Flower of Abyss Flower symbolized the Authority of Life, but it couldn’t create something from nothing. Or perhaps its power as a Divine Key was incomplete. At least in Durandal’s hands, it couldn’t make plants take root in the cold metal plating of the Floating Airport.

Durandal had summoned these vines from the very beginning. It was just that they had to grow all the way from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, arriving a full one hundred and twenty-five seconds after the battle had started.

If one were to look south from the European continent, they would probably see a clear image of these massive vines coiled together to form a true world tree... a true world tree.

Catching her breath, Durandal floated high into the air. As she slowly raised her right palm, the void behind her suddenly turned as black as ink, heavier than the darkest night sky, yet dotted with the faint light of distant stars. A particularly brilliant purple star shone at its very center.

The next moment, a sharp spear point replaced the purple light, followed by a shaft thousands of meters long.

"It’s over. Abyss Flower, Final Form!"

"Wait, Bianka."

Just as the spear was about to descend unstoppably, to wipe Benares from existence, a familiar voice echoed directly in Durandal’s mind.

"Overseer?"

"Don’t actually kill Benares. It’s still useful for the plan to come. You know what to do, don’t you, Bianka?"

A muscle in Durandal’s cheek twitched. With a hint of reluctance, she asked, "I understand, but I need a reason, Overseer."

"Didn’t I just tell you? It’s still useful for the plan to come. Any other questions?"

"No, sir."

Durandal let out a long sigh. As she slowly lowered her hands, everything behind her—the illusion of the black sky and the colossal Abyss Flower—faded away.

WHOOSH—

In a blur, a massive dark shadow shot past her. The displaced air sent her tumbling through the sky. Turning her head, her gaze caught only the fading engine trails of the Hyperion.

"Overseer, just what are you thinking?"

---||---

"Huff... huff... Terrifying. Is that Durandal’s true strength?"

Theresa pressed a hand to her flat chest.

She had just piloted the Hyperion through an inertia drift, slipping through the gap in the Floating Airport’s shield just as it was about to close, only to witness the scene of Durandal about to execute Benares.

How much time had passed? To defeat a Judgement-class Honkai Beast so easily? Not even Cecilia was that monstrous at her age.

It wasn’t as if Theresa had never worked with the new "Schicksal’s Strongest Valkyrie" before. She had even been Durandal’s commanding officer once. But this was the first time she had seen Durandal fight with her full strength. After all, ordinary Honkai Beasts couldn’t push her to her limit.

"Looks like I interrupted her spellcasting? I should apologize when I get the chance... No, no! We’re enemies now, what am I thinking?"

She pressed her hands onto the command console, letting the cold metal seep into her palms, then lightly patted her cheeks. Theresa felt herself refocus.

"Reporting, Principal! The Hyperion has breached the third section of the HQ Floating Airport! Major Himeko and Dr. Tesla have cleared out the mech squadron that boarded the Hyperion. Awaiting further orders!"

"Maintain high-speed maneuvers and evade Schicksal’s anti-air fire! Scanners, detect all Honkai energy signatures within the Floating Airport exceeding 1000 HW."

"Understood!"

Under Ai-chan’s coordination, multiple directives were carried out simultaneously. Theresa pondered for a second, then quickly asked, "Ai-chan, can you contact Mei and Bronya?"

"Uh... Negative. No response."

After about ten seconds, Ai-chan’s holographic projection shook her head slightly.

"As I thought..."

Theresa held her large head in her hands. She was worried, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

And this also gave them an opportunity—

"The bomb in Mei’s heart is a hidden signal transmitter. That means we can use a specific receiver to quickly pinpoint her location. It was originally a failsafe the Academy put in place in case Mei went berserk. I never thought... Ai-chan, locate Mei now!"

"Understood... Uh, found her! In the Helheim sector! Wait! Principal! The highest intensity Honkai energy signature is also there... No, to be precise, Mei’s location and the highest intensity Honkai signature overlap perfectly!"

"What about the other signatures over 1000 HW? Ai-chan, mark them all on the map."

"There are too many locations over 1000 HW. Even using 2000 HW as the threshold, there are still over twenty..."

Looking at the holographic map dotted with red points, Theresa clenched her jaw again, her fist lightly rapping the console.

Was Mei with Kiana? Or had the bomb been removed from Mei and deliberately placed near Kiana as bait? Or was the bait not Mei, but the high-intensity signature? If that signature wasn’t Kiana, then which of the many other signatures was she?

Sweat beaded on Theresa’s forehead. As the sole and absolute commander, she had to once again make a decision with lightning speed and take responsibility for all its potential consequences.

This was no longer a simple binary choice.

Last time, she could rely on a rush of hot-blooded impulse to make a quick decision. But this time, there were too many possibilities, too many options.

She couldn’t just pick one based on a feeling; she had to make a decision based on calm analysis in the shortest possible time.

But... how could she possibly analyze all this in time?! The Hyperion couldn’t stay in the Floating Airport for long. The dense firepower here could shoot it down at any moment.

Suddenly, the sound of the hatch opening came from behind her. Theresa didn’t even need to turn to know that Himeko and Dr. Tesla had returned from their mission.

Normally, she should turn and offer a word of encouragement, or at least some pleasantries. But their return was also a prompt, urging her to make a decision.

She took a deep breath, gradually calming her mind, and finally found the key to the problem—confirming Kiana’s location.

The only clue to Mei’s location was the signal from the bomb in her heart.

Even if it had been removed and used as bait, they had to follow that lead to find her. But what about Kiana? With so many Herrscher-level Honkai energy signatures, how could they determine which one belonged to the Second Herrscher?

"Theresa, leave Kiana to me."

Theresa turned in surprise to the person who had spoken so calmly.

"I left a feather from the Eighth Divine Key, Fenghuang Down, inside Kiana. My connection to that feather has now been severed. There is only one person in the world who can do that."

"My grandfather? No... Michael?"

"Yes. The mimicked Divine Keys of the Void Archives cannot suppress the power of a true Divine Key. Only the genuine authority of a Herrscher can."

"Herrscher authority?! Just what is Michael—"

A smile suddenly spread across Fu Hua’s lips. Her mouth opened and closed silently, but Theresa’s eyes widened as if she had just heard something utterly unbelievable.

"I can use Fenghuang Down to quickly gather information and find Kiana’s location. By the way, I also left feathers inside Mei and Bronya. Mei’s location matches the signal from the bomb. Bronya is about two small floating islands south of that position."

"Is that so? I understand. Thank you, Hua... Azure Empyrea."

Theresa took a long breath and turned to Himeko.

"The plan is as follows. Dr. Tesla, except for one squadron of mechs to guard the Hyperion, you and Himeko will lead the rest toward Mei’s location. Bronya should be further south. If possible, I’d like you to..."

"Yeah, yeah, got it! We’ll bring both your girls back!"

Tesla waved a hand and stormed off the bridge. This time, even Einstein didn’t react in time, only offering Theresa an apologetic smile.

Theresa had no time for sentiment. She quickly turned to Einstein and Fu Hua.

"Azure Empyrea, I’ll leave Kiana to you. Dr. Einstein, please coordinate with Ai-chan to organize the Hyperion’s defense. I will act as a mobile support force, ready to assist anyone at any time."

Himeko nodded and chased after Tesla.

"No need to be so polite. Then... I wish you success."

After speaking each word deliberately, Fu Hua closed her eyes. Her figure flickered and dissipated, leaving only a few crimson feathers that withered as they fell.

---||---

"Hm? You’re actually curious about the battle outside?"

Otto stood beside the massive life-support capsule. The girl inside was still asleep, but his gaze was fixed on Michael, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in the distance.

Michael watched the battle outside in silence. He wasn’t curious, just a little wistful.

"I never thought that girl could bring out the power of Abyss Flower to such an extent."

"She is of the Schariac bloodline, after all. The bloodline most compatible with Abyss Flower."

Otto rested his chin on his fist and said nonchalantly, "Of course, her talent is also astounding. To be able to draw out so much of the weapon’s potential despite rarely using it... She is simply the strongest user of Abyss Flower I have ever seen."

He had, of course, seen many users of Abyss Flower: his sister Eleanor, his adopted daughter Otto-Vera, Reanna Brigantia, Cecilia Schariac, and of course, himself. Some had Schariac blood, others didn’t.

But without a doubt, none of them could surpass the current Bianka in her ability to wield Abyss Flower. After all, she wasn’t just a "Schariac," but a Kaslana as well.

Although the Kaslana and Schariac families had a long history of intermarriage, under past technological conditions, the probability of a Kaslana-Schariac hybrid activating the advantageous genes of both bloodlines was incredibly small.

The main factor was Bianka’s own exceptional talent.

Her genes were so perfect they were practically a work of art.

Otto had only interfered slightly during her Soulium treatment, which was merely icing on the cake.

"A small correction. In terms of wielding Abyss Flower, she is only the second strongest user you’ve ever seen."

"Oh?"

Otto’s eyebrow arched. He stared at Michael’s back for a full three seconds before it dawned on him.

"I see. You were the first user of Abyss Flower, weren’t you? As expected of Michael Schariac."

"No, you’ve made two mistakes. First, my name is just Michael. Surnames? Whether it’s Schariac or Zaych... they mean nothing to me. Second..."

Michael reached out, his fingertip gently touching the reflection of the pink in his pupil on the window.

"I wasn’t the first user of Abyss Flower. I was the second."

"Is that so..."

A smirk played on Otto’s lips. Though it was just a few words, Otto felt he had learned a great deal.

Zaych what? It was hard not to think of the girl Rita had taken away earlier, Bronya Zaychik. What was the connection between her and Michael?

He claimed surnames meant nothing to him, yet he remembered the cumbersome name "Zaychik" so clearly that it came out instinctively.

Of course, that was just a pleasant surprise. The real prize was... Otto thought he knew what Michael was planning.

He still didn’t know who the first user of Abyss Flower was.

The knowledge within the Void Archives was too vast and jumbled, with no index or search system—a deliberate design choice, it seemed. Finding the relevant record in a short time was nearly impossible.

But he still understood what Michael was planning, because the expression he had just shown—that irreparable sorrow, that stubborn resolve to see things through—was all too familiar to Otto.

That feeling... it was exactly the same as Otto’s own...

No wonder he hated Michael so much... Now, even setting aside everything that had happened five hundred years ago, he still felt such a deep revulsion for this person.

After all, who would like a madman with the exact same goal as themselves? Especially when that madman held unstoppable power.