Snow fell in gentle waves across the barren garden. Trees frozen solid creaked in the ocean breeze, icy bark falling to the ground with each ripple and gust. The gentle tang of the sea filled the air. Five people were arranged around the footsteps of the Galaxy Elevator. Five that would decide the future of Asia.
A wall of ice sprung up between Mei and Ana. Two bunshin spectres burst out of the foggy gloom, moving to flank. A second later the wall cracked in two, Mei cutting it down and springing through the gap. Waves of frozen stalagmites rippled outward. The spectres leapt over the wave, stalagmites shooting higher. The pair were caught in the attack, pierced and disrupted. Temporary Honkai matrixes fragmented, the spectres turning shades of crimson before flickering away. Mei drew her blade in an iajutsu, lightning rolling forward from the motion, carving a path through the lethal wave. Three more spectres pulled away from her body, two flanking and one behind. The one behind leapt over the three Mei below, landing behind Ana and going for a sneak attack. A hemisphere of ice covered Ana's back. The blade bit in deep but could not penetrate. Ana waved her hands forward, two horizontal sickles of ice flying outward. Mei slid under the attack, the bunshin opting to spring over. Once past Mei kipped up and charged her enemy.
Tall columns of ice burst from the ground and obstructing movement. Mei weaved her way between the impediments before bull-rushing the last column, augmented strength shattering the translucent blue column into countless fragments. The two spectres moved into a pincer, Mei charging headlong. The wind picked up, air turning white as the snow was whipped into a frenzy. Snowflakes congealed into lethal chakram before homing in on Mei. Raikiri sung as it shattered each of the projectiles, lightning crackling along its edge before eating the icy chakram. The hemisphere surrounding Ana grew into a full sphere of dense ice.
'Oh, like that is going to stop me.'
Mei sheathed her blade, charged the weapon in scabbard and drew it in an iajutsu wide horizontal arc. Crackling lightning trailed behind the weapon, searing through the defensive sphere. The sheer power of the sweep whipped the air around Mei, sending the snowy flurries blasting away. The sphere was cut neatly in two, the twin bunshin spectres performing dual iajutsu forward thrusts. Both ghostly blades pierced through the gap and in search of their target. They stopped against something solid. A second later ice rushed up the blades and cocooned the two. No momentum was lost, Mei shifted to her spectramancy technique, blade humming as it slashed the barrier to shreds, the woman finishing the technique with a leap before dropping down atop the remnants of the barrier with descending blade. Ana was left wide open, four bunshin spectres manifesting and rushing from all sides. The Herrscher congealed rime over her body. Still the blades bit deep enough to harry the woman. With every strike Mei felt a resonance between her Herrscher power and that of her foe. A metallic ringing only she heard. Each blow was a strike closer to ending the misery of Coral City.
'Keep on the defensive. I'll melt you until nothing is left.'
Owl was fairing no better. Durandal's inhuman brute force complimented Kurikara's lightning quick strikes. Though both were loath to admit it, they worked exceedingly well as a team. The Herrscher conjured up gravitational vortices, trying to trap and crush his foes within. For Kurikara her augmented reflexes allowed her to recognise the beginnings of the shift in air density that preceded the gravitational mine. Durandal opted to simply power through the attack before it was able to pin her down. The three danced around each other atop the steps of the Galaxy Ladder. Owl dodged and wove between the pair, Durandal's quick, efficient stabs with her lance forcing him onto the back foot, Kurikara circling like a wolf and looking for openings. Whenever either pushed too closely he would send out a short-range pulse of gravity, knocking the duo back hard enough for either to lose their footing.
The pressure upon the man was clear to see. He was hemmed in with no chance to save Ana. The brief glances he could manage showed Mei slowly wearing down his lover. This pressure only kindled Owl's desperate need for power. He could feel the pressure inside his head building. Something was oozing its way into his mind and along with that awareness came further understanding of power. Owl held mastery over Gravity. One of the fundamental forces of existence was his play-toy. Yet he was fumbling. The injury to his back further hampered his movements and ability to counter
'I must save her.'
[How] was the whisper.
'If I knew then I would already have done so'
[Awaken] was the whisper.
'I already awakened as a Herrscher. What more can I do?'
Ozone washed over Owl. He risked a quick glance. A trail of lightning followed Mei's blade as she drove Ana further away and into the frozen gardens. Mei was simply too fast for Ana, each icy attack deftly dodged or deflected.
"Ana!" Owl desperately called out.
"Focus on your own self-preservation," Durandal advised as she sprinted forward.
Several rapid thrusts forced Owl into retreat. The final strike bit home, lance punching deep into his shoulder. The blow pined Owl against the outer wall of the Galaxy Ladder. The cybernetic shoulder groaned, mechatronic components twitching in protest, maintenance fluid leaking from the shattered shoulder blade and oozing down the wall.
Time slowed down as Kurikara's lightning haloed fist flew toward Owl's face. A blow intended to knock him unconscious. Yet Owl's eyes were not on his impending doom. He watched helplessly as Ana was further harassed and harried. She howled and flew into the air, Mei trailing lighting as she chased her into the skies. If he closed his eyes Owl could blot out the danger. Maybe this really was the end.
[Awaken]
The word thrummed through Owl's mind. Where before it was a whisper now it rumbled. A word beyond thought. This was not something Owl heard. It was something he felt in the very depths of his soul.
[Awaken]
Eyes shifted back to the fist about to strike. Owl would do whatever it took to protect Ana.
Whatever.
It.
Took.
[Serve]
Plates of solidified nitrogen and oxygen formed in front of Owl's face. Kurikara's hand struck them and bounced off. Kurikara leapt backward. Chasing her were hexagon plates of solidified nitrogen and oxygen. Owl's mind expanded further as his Herrscher control accelerated. With this power and awareness came a slow and insidious submission. Owl knew what was happening and didn't care. Only Ana mattered. The entire world was a weapon and he would wield it. He used sheets of gravity to create intense pressure and condense nitrogen and oxygen into physical states.
Light warped around Owl, a point of infinite darkness appearing above his shoulders. This took more focus and power. Owl warped space-time; gravity so intense that it forged a pseudo-primordial black hole. The lethal sphere flew at Durandal. Queen stepped in front, tower shield raised defensively. The black hole breached the shield, Phantom providing no protection as the projectile honed in on its target. Durandal was fast enough to shift to one side at the last moment. A lock of hair that trailed behind was touched by the black hole and immediately consumed. Durandal snagged her long blonde hair and wove it into a quick ponytail. A gravity tube enveloped the lance pinning Owl. With unnatural power he launched the projectile at Durandal. The Valkyrja possessed the reflexes to catch the weapon. The kinetic force behind the weapon still sent her flying into the mists.
Down to a single target, Owl directed the black hole at Kurikara. The woman was more lithe and faster than Durandal. She had no advanced equipment to rely on. But her Honkai and Herrscher assisted strength and speed made up the difference. The blot of darkness in the white storm chased Mei's defender relentlessly. There was nothing Kurikara could do to counter or stop the hungry darkness. Attack was the only option. The air boomed as she flew toward her foe at supersonic speed. Owl had not the physical integrity left to engage in melee combat. He conjured railgun gravity tubes, congealing ice within and launching the missiles. Kurikara weaved sheets of consumptive lightning outward, forming a destructive barrier.
Gravity pressed down hard. It caught both Kurikara, and Durandal as she flew out of the mists on her light-wings. 100x gravity weighed on the pair, slowly their inhuman movements and reaction time. The duo still moved faster than most human eyes. Owl casually lifted a hand and drew power from his Herrscher core. A miniscule point only metres from him flickered. If he could not strike the pair with the pint-point precision of his black holes then he would simply eradicate everything before him. Gravity ground down tighter and tighter. Fusion can be created in three ways. Magnetic confinement, inertial confinement and gravitational confinement.
The air thundered above. Ana hurtled down and slammed into the frozen ground. Mei landed atop her, knee driving spittle and blood from veiled mouth, hand pressed against her chest.
Time was glassy as Owl compressed the point the matter hovering before him, the temperature of the system, increased rapidly. The particles of air had no room to move, to escape, to break free. They could only collide against each other in tighter and tighter rebounds. In barely a second the particles had no room to move whatsoever. The energy of the system reached a critical mass. Gravity could be used to satisfy the Lawson criterion. But in such a small system it would be incredibly brief. That was all Owl needed. He did not need to destroy the entire city. Merely the two girls troubling him still. By now Kurikara and Durandal were five metres from Owl. The perfect distance. He conjured up a wall of protective gravity about himself and overtop Ana, though it begrudgingly protected Mei too. The system tipped over a final edge. In that briefest of moments, the miniscule point glowed like a newborn sun. It achieved nuclear fusion before the process immediately collapsed.
A fusion explosion rocked the city of Coral.
Multiple Bunshin spectres flanked from behind trees, Mei pouring Honkai energy into their temporary matrix forms. Ana spread her arms wide, summoning icy lances high overhead before raining death upon her foes. Some spectres were struck and shattered. Others weaved or blocked the assault. Mei led her endless army. The air froze in waves, forming icy vertical planes arrayed one after another. Mei drew her blade up to her shoulder, incandescent with Honkai energy and sprung forward, spearing each barrier one after another. The shattered monomolecular planes hung in mid air before reorientating and launching a 360-degree assault. Mei lifted her weapon up to her chest, arms outstretched, running her left hand along the blade and drawing forth Herrscher power from her core. Barely contained crimson lightning coursed over the katana. Fingers reached the blades tip. Fury was let loose. A crackling crimson wave radiated outward, consuming ice, snow and mist. With the final crackle Mei continued her relentless onslaught. Violence was all she wove in the deadly dance. Ana did her best to dodge between strikes, dropping icy spears from on high to block the blows, icy sickles launched from desperate hands, glacial walls blocking bunshin spectres where they sprung up from the foggy depths.
A heavy blow breached Ana's rime armour. With that contact Mei felt the singing resonance of the Herrscher, Core and the Imaginary Tree. A connection that spiralled out in mind bending fractals that led to everywhere, nowhere, everything, the fundament of reality and a horizon beyond mortal sight.
'I've found you.'
During their melee Mei had conserved her Herrscher power, preferring to rely on the nigh limitless Honkai energy that spilled from her Core of Domination. Now she had more than enough to finish the deed.
She was fast.
Too fast for Ana.
Mei had been 'trotting' earlier. Now she 'sprinted'. Mere flickers, snapshots of her silhouette as she closed distance. Ana knew the danger and let out a shriek. She flew into the air. Mei was beside her, Raikiri held in her left hand, katana swung in a wide vertical arc. Ana withdrew, arms held wide to avoid the attack. The air crackled, Raikiri disappeared, Domain of Castigation appearing in Mei's right hand. It pierced Ana's left forearm between ulna and radius. Mei gestured with her free hand, launching the katana at the ground with railgun force. Ana screamed as she flew downward, body hitting the ground with the force needed to eject all air from her lungs. She was pinned to the ground with the blade driven deep into stone. Then Mei landed atop her, knee in her gut, one hand clutching Ana's forehead and driving it into the ground. Her other hand pressed against Ana's chest. Blood and spittle splashed Mei's face. Her concentration was maintained. She breached the connection between her Herrscher core and Ana's. The tenuous thread Ana held she began to twist and warp.
Light seared everything. Air liquid luminance. Mei flicked her eyes up. The ground was glass. Smoke rose up where monuments and trees once stood. Gaps in the city fifty metres deep gave glimpses to the superstructure and Level below. Other patches glowed with incredible heat, the air liquid fire as temperatures exceeded thousands of degrees.
Twin plasma lances from polar directions hissed in a flanking strike. Mei flipped up and pirouetted around the attack, using the hand pressed against Ana's chest as a pivot point. Owl walked out of the radiant devastation. Four plasma lances manifested at cardinal points and blitzed Mei.
Throughout the entire day Coral city had been subject to all manner of sonorous thrum, crackle, boom and sonic detonation. They had torn eardrums, pulped flesh and reduced buildings to rubble. All those great cacophonous sounds were mere infants in comparison to the THUNDERCLAP that caressed everything around the remains of the Galaxy Ladder. Crimson lightning crawled out of the misty depths and along the ruined floor. The lightning found it's mistress and danced over her form happily. A tall figure stood in a half-crouch atop Ana, arms stretched out as though commanding allies on either side. A black half-skirt hung over her left thigh, both limbs covered in white tights ending in black and red boots. Her right arm to the shoulder was shrouded in gleaming red samurai armour, torso in a white tunic with black and red highlights. Twin horns, transition from black to red at their tips, sprouted from her brow. Long blue-black hair streamed out behind her. Four Key of Castigation wielded by black and red yugake shattered the plasma spears. The figure slowly drew itself to full heigh. No matter the individual; human, Honkai, Herrscher, MANTIS or even [GOD]. All would shiver when sight beheld the woman. The Herrscher of Thunder in her majesty stood upon the battlefield. The four Keys withdrew, two beneath her arms, two above. The Herrscher gave the impression of an Ashura, six-armed Demon Gods sent forth to battle evil and smite corruption from the land.
The Herrscher of Thunder opened her eyes, irises a lightning lavender, pupils ringed in white, small points of light winking in and out within those lavender depths. The Herrscher took a step forward, boot pressing down on the Domain of Sanction where it pinned Ana to the ground, driving it down to the hilt in the dirt, caring not as Ana squealed in agony. The twisting energy of the Herrscher of Thunder continued to disrupt Ana's powers, though it had yet to seal the Herrscher of Ice. The Herrscher of Thunder held a hand out, one of the Key of Castigation drawn to hand, yugake disappearing.
"I suppose you're the next insect to deal with," she observed with a partial smirk.
The primordial black hole passed by the Herrscher's ear. She had moved only just enough to avoid it. Even a millimetre more and flesh would been consumed. When the projectile returned the Herrscher similarly slid to one side only enough to just avoid it. Owl lifted his arms, fingers spread wide, face an angry rictus. What remained of the ground surrounding the Galaxy Ladder heaved and groaned. Gravity inverted, chunks of glassy soil, stone and steel superstructure beneath were torn apart and lifted upward. The area became a hovering boulder field of heavy objects.
"Kiana wasn't even a Herrscher and could achieve more."
The Herrscher danced between the obstructions, lightning crackling behind her. Several nearby boulders compressed, turning red hot under the intense pressure as their mass was deformed. Then they detonated, spraying the area with molten stone. The Herrscher didn't bother with somatic gestures. Hunks of metal she launched at railgun electromagnetic velocities to intercept the superheated materials. In a second, she burst free of the debris field, eyeing Owl where he hovered imperiously above it all. Gravity grabbed her; the whole area blanketed in an intense pressure. The hovering objects crashed down, many punching through the superstructure and onto the level below. 10. 20. 30. 50. 80. The gravity continued to only rise. It proved no impediment. The Herrscher honed in on her target, katana at the ready and mercy lacking in her eyes. Gravity twisted into a cyclonic vortex. Gas within the vortex, now super-heated, was compressed until it turned plasma. Further plasma lances congealed around the Herrscher and swarmed their target. Each Key of Castigation radiated an intense electromagnetic field, disrupting the plasma and collapsing the spears.
Owl was within striking distance when a spark caught the Herrscher of Thunder's eyes. Time dilated as she accelerated her mind to assess the situation. Gravity was warping around the object, even light starting to ripple and distort slightly.
'This must be the same as before. Let him drain his reserves. It poses no threat to me. Sadly not enough time to strike him before detonation.'
A thunderclap came in the Herrscher's wake. She landed amidst the glassy ruins. One hand she held aloft, fingers spread wide as though warding off a strike. A second thunderclap followed. Kurikara by the Herrscher's side, fingers interlaced with her free hand, the other held aloft and mirroring the motion. The fusion explosion turned everything white. The Herrscher of Thunder and Kurikara interwove their power and projected an intense electromagnetic shield. The storm of destruction washed over them. The moment it had passed Mei dropped the shield, unconcerned by the searing heat latent in the air and radiant in the surviving ground. Her eyes flicked to one side.
"Tsk."
Durandal stood nearby, King and Queen flanking and projecting their own shield.
"Pity. Still, she took her time getting back. Must really like that lance."
Mei felt the twist in her mind. Someone interfering with her Herrscher power. Instantly her attention was upon Ana. Owl stood protectively beside her. With a final flick of fingers, he flung the Domain of Sanction upward at hypersonic speed. With Ana intact hand he hauled the injured woman to her feet. The pair leant against each other. They were both at their limits.
'Just a little push and I can seal them both.'
Black snow and ash descended. Mei kept a tight electromagnetic field about her body. Enough to obliterate anything just before it came into contact. She had no intention of dirtying herself. She took a measured step toward her foes. Owl's head lifted up. He didn't look surprised. Mei had exceeded all his expectations thus far. Surviving a fusion explosion at near point-blank without so much as a hair out of place was perfectly reasonable. Instead, he grabbed Ana and flew backward. The pair landed at the remains of the Galaxy Ladder stairwell. Somehow the structure was mostly intact, though the doors were bowed and glass melted from the intense heat.
Durandal, Kurikara and Mei approached as one. Gravity was inverted, a constant pulse radiating outward from Owl, scouring the ground of debris, the air free of black snowflakes and ash. Mei and Durandal leant into the heavy pressure. They approached, one heavy step after another, inexorable as the gathering storms outside. The pair slowly ascended the stairwell leading to the Galaxy Ladder.
"You have to go now, Ana," Owl muttered from between gritted teeth.
The Herrscher hovered silently behind him.
Owl clenched a cybernetic fist. Even as he unclenched small components and pieces tumbled down from curled digits. His body was beginning to fail him. As a newborn Herrscher he was no longer in danger of the Honkai energy that Ana radiated. But this did nothing for the incredible forces being wielded by all sides. Mei and Durandal could only stand to be so close due to Mei's projected EM field. Worse still the Honkai only bonded with biological components. The cybernetics that comprised 70% of Owl's body were in no way enhanced by the powers of a Herrscher. All the damage thus sustained took its toll.
"Please, Ana, you must run," Owl growled, "I cannot hold them back much longer."
"DON'T. GO."
Everyone looked up. The Herrscher of Ice had been a rabid beast since manifesting. All its actions had been that of an animal. Attack. Defend. Withdraw. Howl. The once bright intelligence of Ana Schariac consumed. What remained a mindless monstrosity that wore her flesh.
"Ana," Owl whispered reverently.
"My Lady…" Kurikara queried.
"Wait."
Mei withdrew a touch. She summoned the Domain of Sanction to hand. Courtesy had long since passed. She took control of Durandal comms and spoke directly into her earpiece.
[Wait for an opportunity. Let them talk. Drop guard. Cannot waste the chance]
Durandal gave the barest of nods.
'And now we see if this melodrama pays off.'
"You have to go, Ana."
"Please. Tianwu. I'm. Sorry."
It was like ice melting. Her face in shades of midnight dribbled away, revealing Ana's pale skin, white hair and deep blue eyes. Owl didn't take his eyes from the enemy. But his shoulders settled just a little.
"Can you. Forgive. Me?"
Ana floated a little closer and hugged Owl from behind.
"You did nothing wrong. The Honkai did this. They always do this."
"But your sister."
"My sister?"
With each passing moment the Herrscher of Ice melted. With each passing moment the woman that was Ana Schariac bloomed like a snow lotus once more. Mei clenched her hands in readiness.
"I… I… I cannot blame your for running. I once did. I knew you were here. I knew for the longest time. But I did not have the courage to speak to you. If I had then we could have been honest with one another. It is no-one's fault but the Honkai."
Ana leant close into Owl.
"You have. Always looked out for. Me. Even. In the shadows. You watched over me."
Owl nodded his head. Mei didn't like the look of concentration and resolve he held. Things could turn quickly against them. The last she needed was for the two Herrscher to find the mental fortitude to conquer and control their powers in concert.
"You love. Me. Don't you?"
Owl swallowed.
Ana withdrew a step, hands resting affectionately on Owls' shoulders. Her face was now wholly human. The expression she wore was complex. Someone sandwiched between difficult choices. Consternation furrowed her brow.
'The beast is no more. Ana is now in complete control.'
"Thank you. Tianwu. Owl. The boy who survived. You lived for me. You fought for me. You even love me. I think you would even die for me."
"I would."
The hand projecting through the chest held a glossy earthen brown stone. There was little blood on the limb. The body was nearly all prosthetic so little tissue remained in the chest cavity. Nobody could disguise their surprise. Owl didn't draw any breath. His eyes fell to the white gloved hand that pushed out from his sternum. The gravity wave ended. A thunderclap echoed around the stairs. Mei had thrust her katana through the hole in Owl, arm up to the elbow in his chest. Where Ana once hovered was a glacial clone, katana clear through its body, both hands gripping the blade tightly. Four Key of Sanction flickered into reality, spearing over Mei's shoulder and toward their foe. Each time they struck Ana. Each time Ana blinked backward, leaving a glacial clone to grab the weapons with their body and restrain it.
Time slowed down. Ana's look was triumphant. Her glacial blue eyes. Not pale rose-coloured eyes. They mocked everyone.
'The Honkai won. Not even the Schariac Honkai resistance could last forever. Something is different. With her mind in control, she would be more powerful. Yet this is not a force increase in power. More akin to a force multiplier. The scenario is just like Oto-sama's notes on the Second Imp—'
"Attack! Use everything!"
No hesitation. Kurikara lifted both hands and projected a torrent of crimson lightning. The Herrscher of Ice dodged between the raking attacks, gesturing and sending columns of frosty stalagmites rushing toward the Honkai beast. Kurikara had no option but to withdraw. Simultaneous to the other attacks, Durandal summoned both phantoms and hurled her lance forward. The weapon stopped centimetres from Ana's head, trapped within a column of pure glacial ice. King and Queen appeared on either side, King with an overhead chop, Queen trying to sandwich the Herrscher against her shield. The air flashed, both phantom paralysed within icy prisons. Durandal was overhead, dropping with hands clenched in a hammerfist, Godslayer battlesuit at peak output.
All this happened within three seconds. It was still too long. Ana pressed the Core of Gravity against her chest, let it sink beneath her flesh and bond to the core within.
Durandal stopped 10 cm above Ana. She could move no further. Her body was fixed in place by invisible hands. That same force grabbed and hurled her at the steps, body bouncing several times before she spun herself in mid-air and landed in a composed crouch. Blood fell from a broken nose.
Ana Schariac, the Herrscher of Ice.
No.
More than the Herrscher of Ice, more than Herrscher of Gravity, it flew several metres into the air. Wearing a midnight blue shawl over perfect white hair, body clad in cloth of darkest blue, arms and legs in white, she looked every part a regal majesty ready to pass judgement on those beneath her. Two rods of silver metal manifested behind her, quicksilver candles with flames of glittering ice, imagery a perversion of sacred Schicksal relics, the pair chained to her back.
"Thank-you, Tianwu," was Ana's low, deceptive utterance. "You did save me."
Crimson lightning haloed Mei. The five glacial clones holding herself and weaponry in place vapourised. In response Ana flicked a single finger.
The Galaxy Ladder stood an impressive 1800 metres tall. Artificial gravity buoys built at regular intervals helped maintained the structure whilst it was terrestrially weighted. Once above the atmosphere it would be able to counterpose the pull of gravity. At the 1-kilometre mark was an observational level built for future tourists interested in ascending partway up the ladder to enjoy the phenomenal view.
Light warped. Air congealed on a fixed point. A gravity well 100 times Earth normal shattered the observation level. The lifetime of the gravity well was barely a second. Enough to devastate the area. The surviving wreckage was flung outward before being forcibly flung by gravity impulse towards Coral City far below.
The senses of the Herrscher of Thunder are heightened beyond anything even a Valkyrja can hone. Mei saw the glint of light, the panes of heavy glass, steel girders and building infrastructure plunging from the sky at near supersonic speed.
There was a choice to be made. The Herrscher of Ice was open. She could end the woman here and now.
The alternative was more palatable. Mei flew as fast as she body would let her. She snatched Kurikara a second before the supersonic rubble slammed into the island. The kinetic energy of each impact punched chasms down from third down to ground level. Sonic pulses rippled outward, tearing through buildings, shattering infrastructure and compromising city structural stability. Mei tried to dodge the pieces of falling sky, each impact jostling her as she retreated, hugging the ground as best she could. An unseen chunk of wreckage fell. At the last second Mei raised an EM field to try deflect the impact. The Herrscher and Kurikara were smashed through to the second floor of Coral City. The duo struck the ground with enough force to send them tumbling close to one hundred metres before coming to rest against an abandoned and frost-riddled café.
"That. Hurt. A. Lot." Kurikara managed.
Mei's eyes were fixed on the heavens. It wasn't over. Not by any shot.
The ominous steely groan chilled blood. Kurikara was immediately beside Mei and eyeing their surroundings wearily. The heavy thump of a new arrival did nothing to warm Mei's mood. Durandal was further bloodied and bruised. The way she cradled her left arm hinted at a likely fracture. Still she stood tall and proud. Mei was more irritated at how the Valkyrja had managed to locate her more than her survival. The sound of warping metal is something nobody should ever hear. A horrid mix of ear-piercing shriek and deep sonorous rumble that reverberated in the belly. The structural stability of Coral City bowed under the kinetic onslaught the Herrscher high above rained down below.
"In the building!" Mei barked.
They withdrew. Once inside Mei started drawing in as much Herrscher and Honkai energy as she could manage. It would take precious seconds that she did not have.
"Buy me time," Mei ordered.
Durandal didn't ask. She withdrew into the building and held up both hands.
"King! Queen!"
The twin phantoms manifested, Queen with her shield held proudly forward, King with his bare fist already projected. The steel groan reached the huddling survivors first. Then the wave of destruction. Whole sections off the Third Level came crashing down. A kilometre-wide segment slammed down upon the café. King and Queen projected a defensive field, pressing against incalculable tonnes. The strain upon the Godslayer battlesuit was apparent. Small pieces of the breastplate cracked, pale light leaking out from within. Still Durandal stood defiant, channelling her own prodigious power and leaping forward. It would have seemed impossible to any human. For even a Valkyrja it was lunacy. Still Durandal threw herself forward and made to hold back the pressure of collapsing superstructure. Glimmering fractures where soulium circuitry was unable to repair in real-time crept up the arms and legs. The Valkyrja struggled and fought back.
Those brief seconds were all the Herrscher of Thunder needed. She threw her hands wide and manifested her Herrscher birthright. Crimson lightning filled the air. Mei drew so heavily on her core that her vision swam. She suffused their immediate surroundings with Herrscher energy. Electromagnetically grabbed every piece of metal she could and folded a tight cocoon around them. As her final act she poured her power into the physical structure of the metal, reinforcing its chemical bonds against the intense kinetic power being heaped upon them. In this moment a Honkai fusion missile would not leave a scratch upon the hyper-reinforced and tempered metal barrier.
On and on the sky fell, Mei the only point of calm as the world collapsed around them.