The moment she discovered the Herrscher's true body, Katerina made a decisive move and unleashed Judah's blockade.
The Key of Binding—Oath of Judah—could, with sufficient Honkai energy, generate a Honkai-nullification field with a radius of one hundred meters. Once enveloped within it, even if one could still use Honkai energy, its effectiveness would be reduced to less than one-tenth.
However, it was a double-edged sword.
As a Valkyrie who relied on Honkai energy to enhance her physical abilities, Katerina was equally constrained by the field. Her entire body felt weak and drained of strength.
But Katerina was a member of the Kaslana family. Her bloodline granted her extraordinary physique and power. Even without Honkai energy, she still possessed the strength to fight. That was precisely why Otto had entrusted Judah to her.
When no one could use Honkai energy, the monstrous strength of the Kaslana bloodline would reveal its utterly unreasonable and terrifying nature.
And yet, a Herrscher—whose entire being was saturated with Honkai energy—should logically suffer even greater suppression.
Why, then, did the Herrscher before her show no reaction to Judah's barrier?
No. It was not that Planck showed no reaction to the barrier—
With a slight curl of her fingers, Katerina felt her entire body tremble.
What is this feeling? It was the first time Katerina had experienced something so eerily unnatural.
No... it isn't my body that's shaking. The entire world is trembling!
The instant she realized it, a massive dark-gold spear condensed in the sky and came crashing down, piercing through the Honkai-nullification barrier formed by Judah's chains from top to bottom. Amid the shrill sound of chains snapping apart, the barrier disintegrated.
The Honkai energy detector once again reported its reading.
"8115 HW."
Though the Honkai energy rapidly declined afterward, the peak value remained recorded.
Katerina knew the instrument in her hand had not malfunctioned.
"Eight thousand HW... What kind of monster is this...? Has Honkai energy become worthless now...?"
She glared at Planck as the Herrscher walked toward her step by step.
There was not the slightest emotional fluctuation on the Herrscher's face. Only cold detachment. Only bottomless darkness in her eyes, like an unfathomable abyss.
She resembled a machine manipulated by the Will of the Honkai. Katerina sensed no emotion from her whatsoever.
This was a genuine Herrscher. As recorded in the Previous Era—emotionless, knowing nothing but slaughter.
Welt... was he truly not a real Herrscher after all?
Such power—so overwhelming that mortals could never hope to reach it.
Katerina understood that the Herrscher before her had yet to reveal her full strength.
Because she appeared far too casual. As if merely taking a leisurely stroll.
When she launched her attacks, Katerina could not even sense killing intent.
It was as though she were simply carrying out routine cleaning duties.
If this Herrscher of Reason were to truly go all out, Katerina suspected she would not even survive a single exchange.
Though she knew the enemy was invincible, the word "despair" did not exist in the dictionary of an S-rank Valkyrie.
With a furious swing of Judah, Katerina split apart a row of incoming missiles. They detonated midair, and the shockwave swallowed her entire figure.
Missiles of the Previous Era were not so easily cleaved.
"Cough—cough—"
Through the thick smoke, Katerina's figure reemerged—her clothes torn, her body riddled with wounds.
The roar of artillery drew close once more.
Clutching Judah, Katerina rolled to her feet and dashed toward a gap in the assault, narrowly evading another barrage of missiles.
But that gap had been deliberately left by the Herrscher of Reason—a flaw intentionally exposed to lure her in.
Judah was an immensely powerful Divine Key, but it was not defensive equipment. Its chains could not completely block such dense artillery fire. Worse still, the pseudo black hole at her side continued to restrain her movements. Katerina felt her body heavy and sluggish, as though trapped in a mire, every motion delayed.
"Gah—!"
A high-energy thermal beam pierced through her defenses and struck her squarely in the back. A cry of pain escaped her lips.
Gritting her teeth, Katerina reached back and tore off the scalding Valkyrie Battlesuit plating from her back, discarding it to reveal blood-soaked flesh.
The remaining artillery gave her no chance to catch her breath. The cannon muzzles flared with searing energy. After a brief compression—
Bang!
Damn it, there's no time! Katerina cursed inwardly.
At that very moment, a young man stepped forward.
Raising a blue glass sphere in his left hand, he intercepted an attack powerful enough to level mountains.
"Star of Eden!"
The glass sphere in Welt's hand burst into radiant light. A purple-black singularity bloomed forth, devouring the dense artillery fire.
"Welt!"
A complicated expression surfaced in Katerina's eyes. Just moments ago, Schicksal's Valkyries had intended to detain him and send him to Schicksal Headquarters. And now—he stood before her without hesitation, protecting her.
"Katerina, fall back!"
Welt faced the Herrscher of Reason, his expression grave.
Within his mind, three hundred thousand voices—the souls he had gathered from the Berlin disaster—were nearly all urging him to flee.
But recalling Vill-V's final instructions before her departure, Welt still stepped forward without hesitation.
Yes. There were things only he could do.
It was the only thing he—who had received everyone's help—could do in return.
But...
The one before him was Planck.
Why?
Why?
Shouldn't the Herrscher of Reason be me?
Welt roared unwillingly, "Planck...! Do you still remember Tesla—and Einstein?!"
He seemed to hope that words might awaken her reason.
What answered him instead was a crushing—pseudo black hole.
It descended like a colossal mountain.
Welt gritted his teeth and forced the power within him into the Star of Eden.
Though the Star of Eden in his hand was more profound than the pseudo black hole constructed by the Herrscher of Reason, Welt had yet to fully comprehend its usage. Even his own Herrscher authority remained only partially understood.
Thus, the pseudo black hole he created was completely devoured by the one formed by the Herrscher of Reason—
Along with Welt himself.
Even at the final moment of his life, he was still concerned for others.
"Run, Katerina—"
But before a black hole, even sound could not escape.
Welt's figure vanished within the Herrscher of Reason's singularity.
Though she had not heard his voice, Katerina understood his intent.
"He bought me time... and I'm supposed to run?"
Had she grown so weak that a young man she had just met had to cover her retreat?
Since she had received this grace, she would repay it. She would protect Dr. Tesla, Dr. Einstein, and Joachim in his stead!
A heavy golden object slammed against the ground.
From her waist, Katerina drew a pair of pistols radiating crimson light.
The Seventh Divine Key—Key of Destruction—Judgment of Shamash!
In terms of raw destructive power, it ranked among the very greatest of all Divine Keys.
She raised both pistols above her head and pressed them together. At once, they began to deconstruct and recombine, coalescing into a blazing greatsword—
A colossal blade composed purely of searing flames.
Facing an unsolvable enemy, to protect the people behind her, she would unleash the Kaslana family's once-in-a-lifetime strike—
"Shamash... Assault!"