Himeko's thin clothes danced in the wind. June in Attica should be hot, a typical seaside summer, yet even the flames of Surtr couldn't dispel the bone-chilling cold, only keeping the temperature barely above freezing.
This ice and snow... this isn't June.
Did the Earth flip? Is Attica in the Southern Hemisphere now?
No, this is the newly born Herrscher, the Fifth Herrscher's power.
"Captain Himeko." A masked man in black stood behind her, Seele beside him.
"Good work, Immer." There was no time for pleasantries. They both focused on the girl before them.
The girl lowered her head, seemingly burdened by the icy crown. She trembled, covering her icy blue eyes, then let out a piercing shriek.
Clouds obscured the rising sun. Frost spread across the landscape, coating the ruins in thick ice. Rubble transformed into crystal palaces in an instant.
"Get behind me! Now!" Himeko plunged Surtr into the ice, the flames forming a protective wall. The frost surged forward, unable to penetrate the flames, flowing around it.
But that was just the first wave.
Fine snowflakes drifted down, burning to black embers before reaching Himeko.
Thick tendrils of Honkai energy, like black ribbons, danced in the air, penetrating the fire wall. Purple markings spread across Himeko's body, the skin on her left arm turning to ash, revealing the hardening flesh beneath.
"This is bad... I'm being turned into a Honkai zombie!"
A sharp pain in her waist. A cool liquid surged through her veins. The purple markings vanished, the hardened skin returning to normal.
"The serum? Chrysalis is that well-funded?"
"Personal stash." Immer quickly injected Kosma, Seele, and then himself. "Good thing I made some extra cash, or we'd all be zombies by now..."
As Himeko spoke, a massive icicle pierced the fire wall.
"Ha!" Himeko swung Surtr, shattering the icicle into a shower of crystals, which evaporated in the heat.
She swept the blade across the uneven ice, then, with a twist of her waist, spun Surtr around her.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The impacts shattered layers of ice barriers. The nascent Herrscher retreated, and Himeko pressed her attack.
The flames intensified, the blade doubling in length. Himeko leaped into the air, Surtr held high, the crimson light painting the sky and the ice below a bloody red.
"Flames—" She twisted mid-air, the twenty-meter blade cleaving the clouds and the wind.
For a brief moment, the morning sun broke through.
"Consume!" The descending flames filled the Herrscher's icy blue eyes, but the blue only intensified.
"Impressive... but not enough... I have... awakened!"
Just as Surtr's flames were about to strike, the Herrscher turned her head, gazing into the distant fog.
Boom! A massive explosion erupted, a shockwave of fire and smoke sweeping outwards. The ruins at the epicenter vanished, leaving only scorched earth.
But the scorched earth was quickly covered in ice.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
"Can't even lift Surtr anymore..." Himeko's chest heaved. Her strength drained, she knelt on one knee.
Her hand still gripped Surtr's hilt, a few embers flickering like a dying candle.
"Ugh..." Her hair fell loose, her hand freezing against the ice.
"Too late..." She'd unleashed her full power, but the sensation from the blade told her—she'd missed.
The fog thickened. The footsteps were clear, but the ice-covered feet seemed to appear out of nowhere.
She slowly raised her gaze, finally understanding why she couldn't lift her blade—
The twenty-meter flames, along with Surtr itself, were frozen solid. Within the crystal-clear ice, the embers still flickered.
She looked up, meeting the Herrscher's icy gaze.
The Herrscher raised her hand, frost coalescing into an icicle.
"Tch..." Himeko smiled.
"?" A chorus of chirping echoed behind her. The Herrscher finally understood Himeko's smile. Reflected in her amber eyes were green lightning snakes.
She quickly turned, the icicle morphing into a shield as a wave of lightning surged forward.
But ice conducts electricity.
The lightning flowed across the ice, converging at a single point, piercing the shield.
The Fifth Herrscher didn't understand. The point of impact was far from her body, harmless.
The arc struck the frozen flames, triggering a massive explosion.
"Cough!" Himeko rolled across the ground, then slowly stood, easily lifting Surtr—or what was left of it. Half the blade was gone.
"So, you finally decided to join the party..." She wiped the blood from her lip, glancing at the green figure beside her.
"Tch, you're pathetic. Can't even handle a nascent Herrscher." Mobius said flatly.
Elysia had asked her to protect Seele, but the girl was safe. Better to save this nosy woman...
Annoying! If she died, Mikael would be crying in her lab again!
The thought irritated Mobius.
Why was the First Herrscher secretly a crybaby?
"Cough..." Himeko raised her hand, wanting Mobius's help, but too proud to ask. "So, my dear Dr. Mobius, what's your brilliant plan?"
Mobius's cheek twitched. Looking at the enraged figure emerging from the smoke, she gave a pragmatic answer. "Run! What are you waiting for?!"
"That's... that's your plan?"
"Are you running or not?!"
Before Himeko could react, Mobius dragged her away.