Honkai Fusion Bombs were the highest level of Honkai technology that the world—let alone Schicksal—possessed.
While they may not have been as advanced as the artificial Stigmata developed by Schicksal, their offensive power was overwhelming.
Capable of damaging and eliminating even Herrschers, they were humanity’s ace in the hole, with the sole exceptions being S-rank Valkyries and Divine Keys.
And therefore, they contained an immense amount of Honkai energy.
Metric tons, really.
Enough that any self-respecting Herrscher would be able to sense the magnitude of Honkai energy barreling toward them at beyond Mach speeds.
Fu Hua, who had invented the Taixuan Sword forms and taught the cultivation techniques of the Taixuan Sword Qi, also possessed a keen perception of all Honkai-related phenomena.
The Taixuan Sword Qi, after all, originated from Project SWARA, which used auditory hypnosis and mental conditioning to alter the human nervous system.
It forced the human body to adapt to and manipulate Honkai energy without a traditional Stigma.
Because the full SWARA process was too dangerous for normal people, Fu Hua stripped down the science.
She integrated the concepts of traditional Chinese martial arts, internal energy (Qi), and philosophy.
She renamed this new fusion the Taixuan Sword Qi.
Instead of relying on internal energy stores—a traditional dantian—this martial art taught the human body to view the entire world as its dantian, drawing seemingly limitless energy directly from the external environment.
Theresa’s manual override system had been activated.
Otto Apocalypse had forced his darling granddaughter, through physiological suggestion and mental control, to vacate the area.
A few hours had passed, and with Siegfried thoroughly chastised, Cecilia barely recovered, and Fu Hua now back in her mind and filled with loving, platonic concern that confused Seiya…
Sirin, who had fully calmed down, was the first to detect the maelstrom of fissile bombs heading toward them.
“Brother!
Get back!”
She shouted, gently pushing Seiya onto the snow and enveloping him in a golden barrier using her Void energy.
Everyone tensed.
Fu Hua extended her senses using her Inner Sword Heart to gauge the extent of the Honkai energy pulsing toward them, and her face hardened.
Using her flames, she too formed a cocoon around Seiya.
Her first instinctive reaction was not to defend herself, but to protect him, subtly influenced by Sirin’s memories.
Her Garuda form had now been fully activated in order to ensure that the shield of flame possessed as much power as she could provide.
Seiya, understanding the assignment, used the partial Authority of Death to maximize his regeneration while dulling his pain receptors and senses.
He trusted Sirin with all his heart, and while he was sure that her barrier combined with Fu Hua’s would hold, he wasn’t stupid enough to take the risk.
Unlike needless self-sacrifice that would essentially guarantee his death, he chose to play it safe.
It was more saintly behavior than one might assume at first glance.
Sirin would go on a rampage if he died, annihilating humanity to the best of her berserker capabilities.
Seiya was no fool.
He realized that the best thing he could do to ensure humanity’s survival in the war against the Honkai was keep himself alive.
The others were Herrschers, MANTISes, and S-rank Valkyries.
They could doubtlessly defend themselves.
Unlike the original timeline, where Sirin was vulnerable, emotionally exhausted, and possessed only the Core of the Void, here she held every Gem except the Gem of Serenity, which she had given to Seiya.
More importantly, here she had someone she was driven to protect.
Cecilia, Welt, and Siegfried all minded their own defenses.
Welt and Cecilia used the Star of Eden and Black Abyss White Flower to form a shielded sphere around themselves, working together for a brief moment.
Welt extended his barrier to include Siegfried as well, causing gratitude to blossom across his face and admiration to fill his wife’s.
To Welt, it was only second nature.
The missiles continued to descend as the barriers solidified and strengthened themselves through the boundless Honkai energy Sirin provided.
Honkai energy burst forth in waves to supplement the defenses everyone had constructed.
Though, in particular, most of Sirin’s focus was devoted to an all-encompassing worry for her brother.
Fu Hua believed this wouldn’t be enough.
Therefore, she decided to burn her memories and unleash Taixuan Sword God: Taixuan Eminence, amplifying its power through Fenghuang Down.
The pinnacle and fifth aspect of the Taixuan Sword Qi.
This ultimate attack required no physical sword.
It permeated all space, existing everywhere at once.
The user condensed ambient energy to strike directly into the deepest layers of an opponent’s consciousness, ignoring physical armor and reducing the target to nothingness from the inside out.
That, combined with centuries upon centuries of condensed memories being erased every second, transformed the ultimate sword art of the world’s greatest martial artist into a strike capable of dealing unignorable damage even to Finality herself.
A giant, unstoppable blade of radiant energy—glowing sword qi—manifested in the heavens.
A majestic blade of pure energy formed in the sky, rending apart space and sound around it.
During the attack sequence, the surroundings were overtaken by cascading sword motifs and geometric fields of light, completely stripping the environment of its ordinary form.
The Immortal Phoenix sacrificed all of her memories…
Except for the ones involving Seiya.
Looking back at him as the edges of her memories burned to ashes, she smiled with a radiant expression.
Seiya’s eyes widened.
He realized what was happening…
But he did nothing to stop it.
Ultimately, pragmatically, Fu Hua wouldn’t die from this.
And Cecilia and Sirin would live.
Not to mention himself.
His heart wept for Fu Hua, however.
The kindness within him had been cultivated through years of raising Sirin.
Faced with a beautiful girl sacrificing herself for his sake…
What man’s heart wouldn’t be moved?
Especially one with a bleeding heart like Seiya’s—someone whom Otto himself had recognized as a saint equal to Kallen.
The ultimate sword art of the Taixuan Sword Qi cleaved through the Honkai Fusion Bombs, its higher-dimensional cutting ability neutralizing the explosion that would have otherwise engulfed the land.
Fu Hua, the elegant and serene immortal who never raised her voice, now cried out as the edges of her mind burned away.
For the first time in centuries, the Red Kite Immortal felt fear.
Not fear for death, not fear for failure.
But fear of forgetting.
But the Fenghuang of Vicissitude refused to back down.
Otto stood frozen as Taixuan Sword God: Taixuan Eminence cleaved through and destroyed his missiles.
“…Taixuan Sword God: Taixuan Eminence!”
The gray-haired immortal shouted, her ethereal beauty being highlighted by the golden embers igniting beside her with the Qi motifs.
And the heavens and the earth were set aflame as the the Twelfth Rank of the Thirteen Flame-chasers set her mind and memory ablaze.
…Did you miss me~?
Enjoy the chapter~