The Paladin on the Infinite Tour.

"No, it's just...my sister just asked me. She said beating the Third Herrscher to the ground would turn the Third Herrscher back into a human."

[Oh~~~Hmm...she said that because she has experience? 】

[Yes]——Kiana replaced a piece of cardboard and replied.

(No, no, no, wait, wait!)

Alexia quickly raised her forehead: "Kiana, you said you knocked down the Third Herrscher before?"

"Ah? You can talk now? I was wondering if my talking would disturb you." Kiana threw the cardboard away, "Yes, I knocked down Mei like that once - it was the first time she and I When we met."

"The night I just transferred to Senba Academy, I participated in an incident caused by the Honkai Impact. I killed the culprit at that time, but right after that, I was attacked by Mei like that again because she looked so mysterious. She looked nagging, so I had a fight with her, and after knocking her down, Meiyi changed back."

"...Bishop, is there any theoretical support for this?"

[Only relying on your sister’s words, even I can’t determine the specific details. 】

Something sounded wrong in Otto's voice.

[However, even if it is true, it is only for the Third Herrscher who has not fully awakened. Now that the Third Herrscher has fully awakened, it may not be applicable, even if her original personality has not disappeared. It’s almost impossible to change it back]

"That is to say..."

[The most permanent method is to kill the Third Herrscher. You know that this is the most direct and straightforward method for everyone, and it is also the method with the least impact and the highest success rate]

[But it is not that there is no way to compromise - in fact, the third Herrscher is most likely a man-made Herrscher]

This sentence made both Exia and Kiana stunned for a moment.

Artificial?

"Bishop, what does this mean?"

[The cause still lies in the second collapse. After defeating the Second Herrscher that year, Destiny and Counter-Entropy respectively harvested multiple Herrscher cores. After negotiation, Counter-Entropy obtained the ownership of one of them, and that The Herrscher represented by the core of Herrscher Block is the Herrscher of Thunder]

[And the Third Herrscher you met this time is also the Herrscher of Thunder - do you think of anything? 】

Alexia held the personal terminal's hand slightly harder: "...Reverse entropy, deliberately caused the third collapse?"

[Although there is no reason or evidence, it is indeed a possibility.And if it is a man-made Herrscher, it will be different from a natural Herrscher, for example - you will not die immediately after taking out the Herrscher core]

"!"

Kiana's eyes suddenly lit up!

"Hey, what about the bishop! Does that mean Mei Yi can still be saved?"

[I cannot give any guarantee, I can only say that based on various signs and current situation, it should be like this - the key is, Exia, can you do it]

"What do you need me to do?"

[I don’t ask you to capture the Herrscher of Thunder alive. You can feel free to defeat her with the intention of killing her.But remember, the final blow must shatter the Herrscher's core, and then completely freeze the Herrscher's body, keeping it in a dying state.After that, I will ask Youlandel to join you and cure him through the power of the God’s Key: Black Abyss White Flower]

"...In other words, what I want to do remains the same, right?"

[Yes, what you have to do to kill the Herrscher has not changed - but, do you have a reason to turn the Herrscher of Thunder back into a human? 】

Otto asked the most important question to Exia.

reason.

Exia's mission is to defeat Honkai, kill Honkai, and destroy Herrscher.And since she is not related to Raiden Mei, is it really necessary for her to go through a big circle to turn a Herrscher back into a human just because of Kiana's request?

"I... try my best." Alexia gritted her teeth and said, "I will still regard killing the Herrscher as the first priority goal, and if I can completely suppress the Herrscher, then I will try to do what the bishop said, and if that doesn't work -"

Saving a Herrscher was not a difficulty in action for Ixia, but a difficulty in thought.

After all, the Herrscher is the enemy of mankind - that's what he was taught.

[Okay, I understand. Anyway, I will inform Youlandel and let her go to Changkong City. 】

[Don’t force yourself too much, Exia, you just need to do what you think is right.No matter what you do, it is meaningful and correct - you just need to believe so】

"Yes...thank you, Bishop."

After Exia said this, she hung up the personal terminal.

And the next moment-

"Yeah, I'm sorry! That... brother!"

Kiana suddenly lowered her head to him and apologized loudly.

22. I learned smarter this time

apologize.

Looking at Kiana who lowered her head to her, Alexia raised her forehead and said, "I'm not the one you should apologize to."

"Eh?"

"Are you apologizing for the fact that your actions caused me to let Herrscher go, and now I have to go the extra mile to help you save Herrscher, right?"

"Um......."

Kiana nodded.

She knew that her behavior was willful, and she also knew that Aixia did not do anything wrong, and she was the one who did the wrong thing.I just wanted to save Mei Yi and didn't want to see Mei Yi die. At that time, I didn't think too much about the consequences of letting Mei Yi go.

Now that I have calmed down and thought about it carefully, maybe it would have been more appropriate to tell Alexia to be more merciful at that time. She would definitely have the opportunity to say so.

"Then you stand still."

"Eh?"

Kiana couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then——

"boom!"

Grabbing Kiana's arm, Exia threw her over the shoulder with all her strength and threw her heavily to the floor!

"pain----"

"This is enough for me." Alexia looked down at Kiana, "In the final analysis, I will be distracted by your words. This also proves that I am not mature enough. We are both wrong. And you should apologize. It’s not just me. If the Herrscher of Thunder kills more people because of your actions, then you should apologize and atone for those people who were killed and their families.”

"......"

Lying on the ground and listening to these words in a daze, Kiana pursed her lips: "I...I know."

"Get up quickly if you know it. Kaslana's body isn't so fragile that she can't get up after being thrown over her shoulder, right?"

"Then you should be gentler..."

Kiana rolled over in pain and got up: "Then...shall we go find Mei now? The dragon in your hand said that your mental power was exhausted. Are you okay now? No. If so, will you take another break?"

"No, let's go now."

Alexia raised her personal terminal and shook the coordinates displayed on it.

That is where the Herrscher of Thunder is now, on the Sky Wall.According to the message attached to Otto, she had been staying there since she was repulsed by Exia more than an hour ago.

"I'll go alone. You stay here. I'll pick you up later."

"No, I also..."

"Crack."

Kiana wanted to say something else, but Alexia directly put his hand on her shoulder, and instantly froze all her hands and feet with ice shackles.

"Eh...Eh? It's so cold! What is this!"

"As you can see, shackles made of ice. Even if I tell you to stay still, you will follow me secretly, right? So I'll fix you here like this first, so that you won't have to run around later. Don’t worry, there will be no side effects. At most, you will just catch a cold or have a stomachache afterwards.”

As Alexia spoke, she came to the window and opened the window with the Soaring Holy Sword: "I will get it done as soon as possible, and I will also spread an ice barrier for you outside to prevent Honkaimon from coming in. Until then, please be patient. , Kiana——[code: flight].”

After saying that, Exia unfolded her wings of steel and flew out of the window!

"You-hey! Brother!"

Looking at the ice wall slowly rising outside, Kiana couldn't help but shout out.

——————————————————————————————

Long empty wall.

highest point.

Standing here overlooking the entire Changkong City below, the Herrscher of Thunder spread his hands and moved his body.

"Well, basically no problem."

The reason she's here is simple.

The Changkong Wall divides Changkong City into two, and its top is also the highest point of Changkong City. Here, you can absorb the Honkai energy of the two urban areas at the same time, replenish your previously lost power as quickly as possible, and even further improve it. own strength.

"Very good. If you have this power, the next time you face that human being...well!"

Before he could finish his triumphant soliloquy, the Herrscher of Thunder suddenly covered his head as if he suddenly had a headache.

"Damn it... don't get in the way! You coward, just watch from the sidelines until now!"

【————】

"Shut up! You coward!"

Thunder light erupted around him, and after forcing down another voice in his heart, the Herrscher of Thunder clutched his chest and took a few deep breaths.

"I can't stand it. It's obvious that she was the one who despaired first. She just wants to regain hope because she was helped once or twice... Naively!"

The hope that is given casually, and the hope that one day will leave, these two will inevitably bring greater despair!There is nothing more desperate in this world than taking someone to heaven, then turning around and kicking them into hell!

That coward-like self would never be able to bear such despair.

So it's up to her to crush this despair... no, crush this false hope. Instead of feeling the huge despair, the small despair is more acceptable, right?

"Shua—————!"

Suddenly, a burst of sound came from a distance.

The Herrscher of Thunder turned her eyes, and then a golden stream of light came into her field of vision, and then——

"boom----------!"

It really only took a moment, and an extremely violent impact suddenly erupted in front of the Herrscher of Thunder!The purple electromagnetic barrier continuously bursts out wisps of electric light under the pressure from the outside world!

(so close!)

The shocked Herrscher of Thunder then focused on the person who launched the attack on him, and looking at Exia who was pressing the electromagnetic barrier with the ice blade outside, a strong feeling of disgust suddenly rose from the depths of his heart. !

"Here we come, humans - don't think this time will be the same as before!"

"Om------------!"

Facing the Herrscher of Thunder's angry rebuke, Ixia ignored it at all. She placed her hand on the ice sword, and ice-blue light gathered on the sword——

"[Sword of Oath to Save the World (messiah·kaslana)]."

A blow from zero distance!

"Boom——————————!"

The extremely cold flash like a bombardment broke through the electromagnetic barrier in an instant!After freezing and smashing it, the next second it swallowed the Herrscher of Thunder who was close at hand!

(Varied--)

The Herrscher of Thunder only had time to flash through such thoughts before he was completely buried by the impact and sent flying!The fan-shaped iceberg rising from the ground directly froze her and part of the long sky wall in the ice!

"Crack!"

The sound of smashing followed.

The frozen long sky wall immediately broke into pieces along with the iceberg, creating a huge gap!Countless frozen rubble fell from high altitude to the ground!The Herrscher of Thunder's body was so frozen that it was covered in frost and fell simultaneously!

"asshole......"

Slowly breaking free from the frozen state, the Herrscher of Thunder suddenly burst out with dazzling thunder. Several unstable spherical lightnings instantly appeared behind him, and shot out a series of electromagnetic cannons like floating cannons, attacking all of them. To Exia!

however--

"——————!"

At the moment when they were about to touch Exia, all the electromagnetic guns seemed to be bent, deflecting their original shooting direction at a strange angle and flying past Exia!

(how come!?)

"It seems that even if you are given time to recover, you are nothing more than this."