Under the relentless assault of flaming claws, the thick casing of ice trapping Benares was forcibly carved away.
Vanilla worked with such intensity that her movements blurred into shifting afterimages, eventually hollowing out a space large enough for three people to enter.
“Not bad.”
Watching Vanilla dig at that breakneck speed, Sienna walked over and patted her head.
She reached into her subspace, pulling out a Honkai Crystal to help the girl recover her strength.
“Meow~”
Munching on the crystal Sienna fed her, Vanilla affectionately rubbed her cheek against Sienna’s arm.
“She’s in pretty rough shape.”
Stepping inside, the trio was greeted by the sight of a massive, jagged scar tearing across Benares’s body.
After receiving the Pseudo-Core of Thunder from Sirin, the Judgment-class beast had become even more formidable than before.
Had she not been so intent on eliminating Shub-Niggurath and Kira Shigure—reverting from her human-like Lightning form back to her current dragon self—she never would have let two mere A-rank Valkyries discover the old wound left by the Might of An-Utu.
“Cecilia, can you treat her?”
After assessing Benares’s current state, Sienna turned to Cecilia, who had remained silent by her side.
To Sienna, Benares was a world boss from a game—the “Bella-dragon” who spent the entire story flying around only to get beaten up.
Once she took human form, she became Sirin’s loyal dragon-maid.
But after seeing Cecilia earlier, somberly collecting the mementos of her fallen comrades, Sienna knew the woman had to be hurting.
“I can.”
After a moment of quiet contemplation, Cecilia agreed.
The moment one became a Valkyrie, they had to steel themselves for the reality of sacrifice on the battlefield—both their own and their teammates’.
Having learned the true nature of the Second Eruption from Sienna, Cecilia could only sigh at the realization that even as an S-rank Valkyrie, she was nothing more than a pawn in Otto’s grand design.
Herself, her comrades, the Herrschers, and the Honkai Beasts—everyone was just a piece on a pre-calculated board.
Placing her hand against Benares’s hard, white skeletal armor, Cecilia began to channel her healing energy into the dragon’s broken frame.
“Here.”
To ensure Cecilia had enough energy to fully restore a Judgment-class beast, Sienna pulled out all the Honkai Crystals Vanilla had managed to scavenge in the Theater of Domination.
With the extra fuel, Cecilia’s healing accelerated.
The wound that would have normally taken over a decade to mend began to knit back together at a pace visible to the naked eye.
“Her physical injuries are healed. She just needs more Honkai Energy to wake up. However, the core Sirin gave her is shattered. Even when she wakes, she’ll just be a regular Judgment-class beast.” Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
While treating Benares, Cecilia had felt a splintered core that also seemed to reach out for help.
But repairing that would drain far too much energy.
Besides, if there was one thing Sienna wasn’t short on, it was Herrscher Cores.
“Better she stays asleep for now. It’d be a real headache if she woke up and just flew off.”
Even before getting a core, Benares had managed to carry a battered, swollen Sirin all the way to the moon.
If she bolted now, Sienna didn’t have any reliable way to drag her back down from the sky.
Not to mention, a beast of that magnitude flying around would immediately draw the attention of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
If that happened, Sienna would be lucky to find a few scraps of Soulium on the ground, let alone a dragon.
“If you ever want to see your Queen again, you’d better play nice.”
Sienna placed a Core of Dominance into Benares’s body, unsure if the beast would actually listen.
Cecilia and Cocolia were Sienna’s allies, bound by both friendship and mutual interest.
Vanilla was Sienna’s own creation, raised from scratch, so her loyalty was absolute.
But Benares—or Bella—lived only for Sirin.
If she refused to join the team, Sienna would have to resort to the “Law of the Jungle” inherent to the Herrscher of Dominance: the strong commanding the weak.
With three Herrschers on her side against one, they could easily crush her into submission, but that would make their future relationship…
awkward.
“Who are you?”
Following a flash of white light, the massive dragon’s body shrunk down into a young girl with blue hair.
As the Core of Dominance settled into her chest, the fragments of the shattered Lightning core fused with it, restoring the dragon’s sentience.
When she finally opened her eyes, she saw three strangers.
Their appearance and the sheer pressure of their Honkai Energy told her one thing: they were high-ranking beings, just like her.
“We are the Herrschers of Dominance who saved you. And now, you’re one of us.”
“Herrscher?”
Yet, her power still didn’t reach the heights of her Queen.
“We Herrschers of Dominance are a bit different from the others.”
Sirin may have been arrogant, but the power of a six-core Herrscher was something to envy.
Sienna knew that, individually, their power was currently only on par with the three pseudo-Herrschers Sirin had once commanded.
“Can you help me find my Queen?”
Her own state didn’t matter.
As long as she could see Sirin again, Bella would be satisfied.
“If you want to see her, you’ll have to follow our lead,” Sienna repeated.
“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
Having lived and died once already—defeated by human schemes—Bella was wary of being used again.
“Do you honestly think you have the strength to defeat the people who took down your Queen?”
“…No.”
In that final struggle, Bella hadn’t even been able to reach the heart of the battle.
Those powerful humans were beyond her.
Wait.
Now that she looked closer, one of the three women looked remarkably like the one with the holy spear.
But since they were all Herrschers now, she figured it had to be a coincidence.
“Do you know where Sirin is?”
“Not yet.”
“Then stay with us for now. It’s safer than being hunted by humans.”
“Fine.”
Having just woken up, Bella had no idea how much time had passed.
She couldn’t feel her Queen’s presence anywhere.
To avoid being intercepted by humans before she could find Sirin, she decided to stick with these self-proclaimed Herrschers of Dominance.
After all, they were all on the side of Honkai.
It wasn’t like they could all be traitors like the First Herrscher.