"Do not dare insult the Schariac name!"
Strictly speaking, the woman before her hadn't used any particular tone when uttering the Schariac name. There was no respect, but neither was there contempt nor mockery. It was as if 'Schariac' was just 'Schariac.' Yet, this very neutrality deeply stung Eleanor's pride.
"Die!"
The tip of Abyss Flower was mere inches from the Immortal, yet she calmly shook her head. As she did, she shifted her body slightly, flicked her wrist, and her wide sleeve instantly enveloped the spear shaft.
With just that move, Eleanor could tell this person's martial skill was no less than her own... Alright, although she hated to admit it, this so-called "Immortal's" martial prowess far surpassed her own. Normally, having achieved the goal of probing the enemy, Eleanor would absolutely choose to strike and retreat, reassessing the battle plan based on the opponent's strength. But today...
For some reason, just seeing this "Immortal's" nonchalant demeanor ignited an inexplicable fire within her, driving her to press the attack relentlessly, disregarding everything else.
The Immortal retreated step by step, smoothly deflecting the force until Eleanor's momentum waned. Only then did she grasp the shaft of Abyss Flower.
"Seeking death!"
Eleanor's eyes widened, her face growing paler. Blood spurted anew from the unhealed wound on her palm, quickly flowing into the dark spear shaft—
"How dare someone try to snatch Abyss Flower!"
Faint green light emanated from the white spear. Tiny thorns sprouted from the gaps in the shaft. If things continued, perhaps the next moment the "Immortal's" right arm would be entangled and crushed by the rapidly growing thorns.
But it didn't happen. The "Immortal" had never intended to steal Abyss Flower. In the instant before the thorns fully emerged, she pushed forward forcefully.
Eleanor, focused solely on attacking, never anticipated such a swift counterattack. The sharp spear butt slammed deep into her abdomen, the immense force sending her flying backward.
"Attack!"
Blood and the command erupted from her throat simultaneously. Over twenty Valkyries lunged towards the Immortal, who still held her pushing stance.
Numerically, the Immortal was at an absolute disadvantage, yet she remained serenely composed. Her movements were actually swift, but the fluttering of her wide robes created an illusion of leisure, as if the twenty attacking A-rank Valkyries only saw billowing sleeves, unable to discern how she effortlessly evaded every attack, flowing like water out of their encirclement, slowly advancing towards Eleanor.
But that wasn't important. The Valkyries' attacks were merely a feint.
"Retreat!"
Eleanor clutched her abdomen. She knew this group couldn't hold the opponent for long. So, instead of instinctively using Abyss Flower to heal her wound, she allowed it to draw further upon her Schariac blood, fully unleashing the Divine Key's power.
The already packed and flattened drill ground instantly bloomed with hundreds of flowers. Thick cyan vines surged from the sea of blossoms, twisting and wrapping around the Immortal just as she was about to reach Eleanor, forming a green "ball" over ten yards in diameter.
Then, under her control, the barbed cyan vines writhed like tightly wound ropes, constricting inward.
"I told you, don't underestimate the Schariac family..." Eleanor released her battered right hand, wiped the blood trickling from her mouth, and finally began healing her abdominal wound.
"Is it... over? I thought she was supposed to be tough!" Eleanor heard a Valkyrie let out a sigh of relief, commenting lazily. Preoccupied with healing, she didn't catch who spoke. Honestly, she herself was puzzled. Why did this so-called "Immortal" just charge into the vine trap, not even struggling now?
What was she thinking?
Eleanor couldn't figure it out. Or had the opponent simply overestimated her own strength and underestimated the power of a Divine Key?
No!
The vines, which should have effortlessly crushed everything, suddenly stopped contracting. No blood seeped from the gaps between them. This was...
"Scatter!"
Eleanor's command came a fraction too late. She had barely taken half a step back when the vines, supposed to be as hard as steel, let out a strained groan. Slender fibers bulged outward, then exploded completely.
"Ah!"
Vine fragments flew everywhere. A wave of black and white energy followed close behind. The air filled with flying sand and stones, dimming the sky as if night had fallen, making it impossible to tell it was supposed to be the harshest afternoon sun.
Eleanor plunged Abyss Flower deep into the ground beneath her, yet she was still forced back relentlessly by the energy wave. At first, her ears filled with the startled cries of other Valkyries, but soon even those sounds were drowned out by the howling wind. She couldn't even open her eyes, couldn't draw a breath.
Her muscles gradually went slack; all she could do was wrap her arms around Abyss Flower's shaft in a final, futile resistance.
Finally, just before she suffocated, the powerful energy wave subsided. Eleanor blinked open her eyes dazedly. The surrounding light was heavy, like dusk. Fine, smoke-like dust hung thick in the air, obscuring the ground beyond arm's reach. She accidentally inhaled some and began coughing violently.
But she quickly remembered—she was still in battle, her opponent was still alive!
"Not good!"
Her reaction was too slow. By the time she covered her mouth, leaning on Abyss Flower and staggering to her feet, a golden longsword pierced through the air. It was so fast that Eleanor, an S-rank Valkyrie, only saw the dust before her suddenly tear apart before the gleaming golden tip was less than three finger-widths away.
Her eyes widened uncontrollably, pink pupils shrinking to near pinpricks. Then, fear forced her eyes shut—that was the extent of her reaction in this life-or-death moment.
Clang!
After a sharp metallic clash, Eleanor felt something graze her cheek. A cold touch and a faint sting spread across the side of her face. She quickly opened her eyes. The scene before her seemed frozen in time—
A dark figure had rushed to within five steps of her. The longsword had shattered into numerous fragments dancing in the air. A short golden spear tumbled amongst the debris. She knew exactly whose weapon that was—
"Kallen!"
The next moment, the familiar figure stood protectively before Eleanor, blocking the "Immortal's" punch with a person-high cross.
Dong—
Flesh met Soulium with the sound of clashing metal. A fist-shaped indent instantly appeared on Judah's Oath, even causing a bulge on the side facing Kallen.
The shockwave from the impact instantly cleared the thick dust around them. But the terrifying blow had been blocked.
"The Eleventh Divine Key..." The Immortal's bangs swayed slightly in the blast. Her eyes swept over the cross, finally resting on Kallen's snow-white hair and azure eyes.
"Kaslana... Not the Seventh Divine Key?"
"You..."
"Move aside!"
Kallen had just started to speak when Eleanor, behind her, pulled her aside and swung Abyss Flower in a counterattack. Of course, it had little effect. The Immortal still retreated half a step with ease, seemingly narrowly dodging the spear tip.
Eleanor wisely didn't press the attack. Leaning her weight on Abyss Flower, she coughed up a bit of blood and asked loudly:
"Who exactly are you! Why do you know so much about the Schariacs and Kaslanas!"
Judging their surnames by appearance was one thing, but the term "Divine Key," along with their specific numbers, was top-secret information even within Schicksal. Most people, even within the three great families, only knew names like Abyss Flower or Judgment of Shamash, considering them family "heirlooms."
Even Eleanor and Kallen themselves were only told of their true origins from an earlier era the moment they received their Divine Keys.
They knew little beyond that.
Furthermore, regarding the Seventh Divine Key, Judgment of Shamash, if Eleanor remembered correctly, it had been damaged ever since Kallen's father used it years ago and hadn't yet been repaired and returned to the Kaslana family. If this person truly knew the Schariacs and Kaslanas, she couldn't possibly be unaware of this. That left only one possibility...
The woman called Immortal took two steps back, creating a negligible distance between herself and the two S-rank Schicksal Valkyries.
She pursed her lips, the corners tilting slightly upward, then suddenly raised her hand.
The movement startled both Kallen and Eleanor. The unreasonably powerful energy wave from before hadn't fully dissipated; the world beyond a hundred meters was still shrouded in blurry dust.
The Immortal had simply raised her hands. Reaching back, right in front of the two S-rank Valkyries, she removed the hairpin holding her high ponytail, letting her hair cascade down.
Then, completely undefended, she rearranged her hair, parting the bangs that clustered on her right cheek evenly, revealing her full face. Only then did Eleanor and Kallen realize this so-called Immortal was merely a girl around their age... perhaps even looking a few years younger.
But... looking into those eyes, devoid of almost any emotion, the term "girl" felt highly questionable.
"Who... am... I... exactly?" she murmured calmly, yet with a hint of confusion. She closed her eyes, retied her long hair into a low ponytail, and, following the crystal-clear memory, gathered the overly long bangs to either side, braiding a small section at her left temple.
Countless sleepless nights, she had rewatched memories she couldn't forget, over and over. Five thousand years had erased everything that could be called her "personality," yet hadn't taken away a single shred of those long millennia of memories.
But perhaps that wasn't entirely bad...
At least, right now, her appearance was... exactly the same as when she first awoke in her memories.
"But... what was my original name?"
Forget it. It doesn't matter.
Better to use the name she'd been called for five thousand years—
"My name... is Phoenix."
As the words fell, she slowly opened her eyes. The original azure blue was replaced by vivid blood red. Then, flickering flames ignited around her, burning her dark grey hair stark white, tinged with a faint crimson hue. At her forehead and the tips of her hair, this crimson mark deepened until it became strikingly prominent.
"Tch! Playing god!" Eleanor roared, tucking Abyss Flower under her arm and charging forward first.
Phoenix's lips twitched, mirroring the scene from moments ago. But this time, she didn't bother with the elaborate retreat and deflection. Instead, with pinpoint accuracy, she sidestepped and gripped the tip of Abyss Flower, effortlessly halting Eleanor's thrust.
Then, before Eleanor could react, Phoenix twisted her wrist, fingers tightening. The next moment, Abyss Flower's double-layered spearhead exploded into countless fragments, leaving only half the shaft gripped in Eleanor's disbelieving hand.
She tried to retreat, but the inertia from her forward thrust hadn't dissipated. Pulling back now was impossible. Of course, against another opponent, her speed and reflexes might have allowed it.
Unfortunately, she now faced "the strongest 'human' in the world at this moment"!
Phoenix lifted her left knee, striking Eleanor's wrist perfectly. Pain forced Eleanor to release the broken spear shaft. Almost simultaneously, Azure Empyrea twisted her hips slightly and kicked Eleanor squarely in the abdomen, sending her flying.
"Eleanor!"
Azure Empyrea completely ignored Kallen's cry. Without even looking, as her foot retracted, she tapped the broken Abyss Flower shaft. Her right hand caught it neatly. Raising it overhead, with a casual flick, she batted away dozens of golden short spears hurtling towards her.
Clang—
The next instant, countless golden chains wrapped around her limbs. But again, with a simple twist of her wrist, the chains—usually invincible against Honkai Beasts two or three times her size—shattered into pieces.
Staring at the dissolving chain fragments for several breaths, Azure Empyrea slowly turned to face Kallen, who was frantically helping Eleanor up. Her breathing perfectly steady, she spoke:
"Is this the level of Schicksal's so-called S-rank Valkyries? Kaslana and Schariac, yet unable to activate even a tenth of their Divine Keys' power? Then again, for the Honkai of this era, perhaps this level of strength is sufficient to be called S-rank."
But after saying this, she quickly shook her head:
"Do you two truly understand what the weapons you wield signify?"
Before the two young Valkyries could speak, she stated plainly:
"Divine Keys are indeed inanimate objects, but..." Phoenix's gaze momentarily drifted, as if recalling a past utterly unrelated to her present self. She shook her head again: "Forget it. You only need to know that from the moment these two weapons were created, they existed for the purpose of 'protection.' If you don't know what protection means, if you don't know what you truly want to protect, then naturally, you cannot unleash their true power."
"I..." Kallen opened her mouth blankly. Just as she was about to speak, Eleanor pushed her aside.
Clutching her reopened abdominal wound, Eleanor pushed herself up with one hand, struggling to stand:
"Kaslanas are always so dramatic! And you, stop playing god... Don't underestimate... a Schariac!"
In the blink of an eye, her eyes too turned blood red. Her long hair floated without wind, the faint pink fading rapidly, deepening into silver-grey. As for the wound on her stomach, it had already healed instantly.
"This is..."
Only then did a flicker of expression cross Phoenix's face—like surprise, but limited to a mere twitch of her brow.
"Able to activate the Stigmata he left behind already? A pity. It's far too lacking."
Phoenix shook her head, looking strangely at both Kallen and Eleanor simultaneously—or rather, one eye fixed on each.
"You two, think carefully. What is the meaning of your fight? What is it that you truly wish to protect..."
Pink feathers drifted down from the sky, seemingly out of nowhere. Accompanied by Phoenix's soft words, Eleanor, who had been aggressively preparing to attack just a moment before, didn't last a second before her head lolled and she collapsed.
Kallen didn't hold out much longer either. Her already confused gaze lost all focus, and she gradually slumped to the ground.
...
On a hillside not far from the Ming camp, Kevin and Su had been standing for quite some time. The dust cloud obscuring all light naturally couldn't block their vision.
From their perspective, the entire Ming main camp, along with dozens of smaller surrounding camps, no longer existed—meaning tents, stockades, everything had been blown far away by the earlier energy wave. The formerly undulating grassland was now flatter than the packed drill ground.
"As expected... The so-called Immortal Phoenix is Hua."
Despite the statement, Su's tone held no fluctuation. There was nothing surprising about it. As for the various possibilities it implied, they had already anticipated them yesterday, thanks to the corpse of that strange entity.
Kevin certainly heard Su, but he didn't seem inclined to reply. Or perhaps he already had:
"Let's go."
He didn't turn away, but took a step forward. Su understood: Kevin intended to use this opportunity to confront Hua directly.
Naturally, Su had no objections. If they waited until Hua returned to Mount Taixuan, seeing her again would require considerably more effort.
But Kevin had only taken two steps when he stopped again.
Su opened his eyes a slit. He saw a blond man rushing straight into the swirling dust cloud at a speed impossible for a normal human.
"That's..."