Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

In fact, Cecilia's biggest worry after learning that Anna had been corrupted was that she would lose her mind and carry out an inhumane massacre in the city center. When she heard that the World Serpent had controlled Anna, she was actually somewhat relieved, because at least Anna hadn't caused a major disaster, and she still had a little hope of redemption.

But now it seems the World Serpent's suppression was utterly meaningless. Anna had frozen herself with her last vestiges of human consciousness, giving the city's inhabitants time for a large-scale evacuation. This was Anna's final obsession as a human, perhaps because of her gentleness, perhaps because she possessed the Holy Blood gene, or perhaps because she still harbored love for the human world. In any case, even now, she has not succumbed to the will of the Honkai God.

Cecilia's Black Abyss was drawn, and a deep chant echoed—it was German. Anna's usually indifferent face finally showed a hint of emotion. She abandoned her attempt to extract the Soul Steel and had to keep a close eye on Cecilia. She sensed a sudden increase in Cecilia's danger level; after evolving into a Herrscher, her intuition far surpassed that of humans, perhaps even bestowed upon her by "God" himself.

But God told her that the pure white married woman in front of her was serious, and when she got serious, even the Herrscher had to be afraid of her!

The crisp sound of ice colliding with ice was the sound of countless ice crystals being moved like wind chimes, but behind the melodious tune lay a terrifying killing intent! The princess in a formal dress approached the saintess in tight-fitting clothes at high speed, with twelve sharp, extremely cold ice swords, each with a blade tens of meters long.

Durandal finally broke free from the shackles of the Divine Key. Seeing this scene, her mind seemed to go blank for a moment. Without hesitation, she was about to step forward when Cecilia slammed her down from the sky with a gravity hammer!

"You!" Durandal was furious, then stunned.

She still had energy left.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Invincible Saint Maiden

"ichbindasschwarzauchdasweissvordembeginnundzwarnachderende!"

The language was solemn and recitation, like a church hymn!

The chanting was actually a unique fighting style of the Shaniat family. After all, they were a family known as the "Holy Maidens." For thousands of years, the Shaniat family had maintained close ties with religion, and anyone could easily memorize the Bible, even though they didn't believe in it at all now.

In a primitive era devoid of technology, the holy maidens of Shaniat were all devout believers. They emboldened themselves with these powerful hymns, wielding weapons in one hand and holding gospels in the other, beheading their enemies before performing rituals of salvation—clean, efficient, and demonstrating unwavering piety. Though God has long since fallen to dust, this incantation continues to protect the bloodline of Shaniat for millennia.

It's less of a spell and more of a battle song!

The song means—

"I am the black that devours everything, I am the white that gives birth to everything; born before creation, existing after annihilation; Divine Key - Black Abyss White Flower, First Rated Power!" Cecilia gripped the hilt of the gun, a smile spreading across her face, "Holy Lance - Bloom!"

Every inch of Anna's instinct screamed for retreat! She felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively wanted to run away, but the dignity of a Herrscher prevented her from moving.

—Does a mere human woman even deserve to be an enemy of the Honkai?

—But she was not just a human woman; she was the glory of the holy women of the Shaniat family throughout the ages!

Twelve beams of aurora burst forth! Cecilia laughed loudly, her voice clear and bright, but no one listened to her laughter at this moment. To most people, it sounded like the roar of a savage dragon! Durandal, who was watching the battle, was stunned. She felt as if Cecilia had turned into a whirlwind, with metallic sounds whistling through it!

Those were also twelve long swords!

Normally, Cecilia only carries a Black Abyss White Flower because she is used to spear-type weapons. However, everyone in the Shaniat family knows that Cecilia was skilled in all kinds of martial arts when she was young. She was famous for everything from swords, spears, and clubs to crosses, sickles, hooks, and chains. Of course, swords were among them.

Holy Lance: Bloom is essentially a burst skill that uses Black Abyss White Flowers to bombard a large area. But in Cecilia's hands, she restrained the bombardment, using the control of Holy Blood to condense the Honkai energy emitted by the Black Abyss White Flowers into pure weapons.

To be honest, this doesn't really mean anything, nor does it reduce Honkai energy consumption. In fact, in order to maintain the overflowing energy in a "weapon form," it requires an extra amount of Honkai energy. You could even say that Cecilia did this purely for fun.

But she is entitled to play.

Rather, it would be better for her to consume more Honkai energy. She maintains her life in the ice cellar by constantly consuming Honkai energy, and the wasted Honkai energy is enough for Neuschwanstein Castle to pay its electricity bill until the year 3010.

Cecilia strode towards the twelve giant ice blades of the Herrscher of Ice. Calling them ice blades was an understatement; they were more like icebergs, as the sharp blades made of solid ice were as tall as a six-story building! But Cecilia held a long-handled greatsword made of pure light and suddenly slashed out a huge fan shape, cutting the broad iceberg in two with a single stroke!

Anna caught a glimpse of the saintess's slightly upturned lips through the smooth cracks in the iceberg.

Twelve icebergs versus twelve knives!

“Anna, be good, it would be best if you just fainted now, so you don’t make things difficult for your sister.” Cecilia tossed her long hair and smiled sweetly. “If I hurt your baby, he’ll be angry with me. He’s keeping me alive.”

Anna clasped her hands together and slammed the two icebergs together with a deafening roar! She was determined to crush Cecilia completely!

However, the two ice layers, which even missiles couldn't penetrate, were once again cleaved in four pieces. Cecilia threw away the fading light of her long-handled sword, turned around, drew her Japanese katana from behind her, and continued forward! With each step she took, she chuckled, the laughter gradually echoing into a soul-shaking chant—another mental attack! S-rank Valkyries can never be judged by ability types or biological types; S-rank is an all-rounder. Cecilia's mere release of Honkai energy was enough to mentally shock the ordinary people of an entire city into idiocy.

Anna covered her ears. Even someone as powerful as a Herrscher couldn't escape Cecilia's mental attacks, despite Cecilia not specializing in any particular ability. Her head was throbbing, but she still had to control the iceberg to crash down, but its immense power was as laughable as a chick in front of Cecilia.

Nothing could directly confront Cecilia's blade; this power seemed inhuman. Everyone watching felt that Cecilia was more like a Herrscher than Anna. Icebergs, shields, even frigid zones that could attenuate the movement of matter—everything that stood in her way was sliced ​​through as if cut by a paper cutter. With each mountain Cecilia cleaved, her weapon dimmed and shattered, and she would draw another from her back—a katana, a broadsword, a knight's sword, a rapier—she paid no heed, pressing forward relentlessly.

The Valkyries who remained on the field looked at her flamboyant smile, their faces pale and trembling.

"That's... the Saintess who's about to be defeated by illness?" Raven whispered, finding it absurd, so absurd that she almost laughed. Wasn't it said that the Holy Blood was being transferred? Wasn't it said that the Saintess who had lost the Holy Blood was on the verge of death? Wasn't it said that she might collapse if she dared to use any Honkai energy?

Wasn't it said that she had to be prepared to die before she could take action?

But look at her now! Raven saw almost the shadow of the peerless saintess in her again. Raven was a twelve or thirteen-year-old child living in New Moscow during the Siberian War. When the war spread to her city, she saw Cecilia from afar when the Valkyrie troops rescued them. At that time, the saintess stepped on the head of the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Bellenas and smashed it from the sky into the Samar River. The terrible dragon's miserable howl could be heard throughout New Moscow.

"Is this her period of weakness?" Raven asked, both horrified and bewildered.

“The reason Cecilia is in a weakened state is because she cannot use her Holy Blood and cannot release Honkai energy without limit. In other words, her power is currently limited,” Durandal said in a low voice. “But she hasn’t reached the point where she needs to use her Holy Blood yet. Her Honkai energy alone is enough to rival that of a Herrscher. In other words, the current battle is just a relaxing exercise for her, like taking a walk after dinner. It’s really… ridiculous.”

That's absolutely absurd. Both are S-rank Valkyries, yet the difference in skill is so vast. When Cecilia defeated her, she said it didn't take much effort, which could be interpreted as a mother's disdain for her daughter. But a saint is a saint, her honesty bordering on naiveté. Just look at her remaining strength against the Herrscher; she wasn't even serious when dealing with her!

Perhaps this wasn't disdain, but simply indifference. Would a human look down on an ant? When she became the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, even fighting for it her entire life, Cecilia probably just chuckled from more than twenty levels underground in Neuschwanstein Castle, laughing at her naivety, laughing at her efforts. The first glory she had so desperately seized was something Cecilia didn't care about at all, perhaps even a gift from Cecilia out of pity, because she was, after all, still a daughter.

Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?

Cecilia turned around and looked at the last iceberg protecting Anna, which trembled precariously. Suddenly, she accelerated and leaped into the air, piercing the iceberg with her last knight's sword, striking it right in the center.

The clanging sound of metal clashing almost pierced the Valkyries' eardrums. Anna's Honkai energy surged, forming a massive blizzard behind the iceberg. The blizzard was strangely gathered into a cone shape, resembling a horizontal ice tornado. The sharpest point of the tornado's end pressed against the iceberg, causing it to shatter. The knight's sword and the Wind's End collided head-on, exploding outwards!

This is a battle of magic! A contest of pure Honkai energy. Perhaps some can defeat a Herrscher by mastering the ingenuity of Honkai energy, but this is the first time someone has been able to fight a Herrscher based solely on sheer power! The Herrscher's power comes from the Imaginary Space, from the gift of the Honkai God. They have virtually no limits, while humans do! Only the Saintess can do this kind of fighting, or rather, only this Saintess can do it. This is the enhancement of the Holy Blood!

The Holy Blood caused Cecilia immense suffering from its corrosive effects, but it also allowed her to surpass human limits by a great deal. Now that she has the space to unleash her full potential, she feels extremely comfortable.

“That’s… the Abyss!” Durandal suddenly exclaimed.

Their position was on Cecilia's side, so they saw that the knight's sword battling the tornado was not a simple lightsaber, but a solid, jet-black sword! The Black Abyss and White Flower were a pair, consisting of a black knight's sword and a white knight's lance, with the knight's sword often serving as the hilt of the lance.

The reason that sword could withstand the attack for so long without falling apart is because Cecilia used a physical sword; her last lightsaber was a trick against Anna! Only the Abyss could withstand the attack for so long because its power is decomposition, breaking down all matter. In a simple wave-particle duality, the Abyss can decompose most ice, and is only vulnerable to pure Honkai energy. The Divine Key itself is not afraid of Honkai energy attacks; it is a creation of the Herrscher Core and Soul Steel.

Therefore, Cecilia was not at the center of the war at all.

Where is she?

Durandal frantically searched for her, her anxiety palpable. She was completely oblivious to the fact that her earlier resentment and anger had vanished once more. Or rather, her emotions constantly shifted between resentment and anxiety; she was annoyed when Cecilia was standing there unharmed, but the moment Cecilia disappeared or was at a disadvantage, she was ready to draw her gun and attack.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: A Mortal Body Against a Nuclear Explosion

Munich's climate was being torn apart by two incredibly powerful forces, causing torrential rain due to the temperature imbalance. The rain and wind turned into ice crystals before they even reached the ground. Cecilia stood firm amidst the raging storm, looking down at the Herrscher of Ice who was battling the Abyss, remaining silent.

“How can you marry Pandora looking like this?” Cecilia whispered. “Besides, my daughters all have white hair, and you have white hair too, which would just be a repetition of the character. Wouldn’t it be better to stick to your gentle and doting advantages? You can’t compete with Sirin Kiana in the same arena. And becoming a Herrscher… Herrschers can’t have children with humans.”

Durandal and Kiana, who was watching the battlefield via video, were both stunned by Cecilia's sudden answer. Cecilia was indeed often absent-minded, but for her to think about these things at a time like this... this was more than just ordinary absent-mindedness; she needed to be treated!

Everyone initially thought Cecilia was simply fighting with all her might to save Anna, sacrificing her already exhausted body to ensure a happy and carefree life for her descendants... But this kind of movie-like scenario doesn't apply to Cecilia at all. When she says she's going to take Anna back, she really means it—she's going to take Anna away and eliminate her. Neither Schicksal, World Serpent, nor even the Honkai side can stop her. This kind of person who stands at the top of humanity... Her consideration of whether Herrschers and humans can have children is genuine.

The pure white figure leaped from the high platform. In that instant, her trench coat swayed, and the moment she grasped the white flower in her hand, beautiful patterns appeared on the knight's lance. This weapon has only accepted Shen Liang and Cecilia so far. Shen Liang's method is unknown, but Cecilia's is absolute dominance. Her saintly bloodline commands these weapons to obey unconditionally.

Holding a white flower, she drew a line in the air with her right hand. In the blink of an eye, a ripple appeared. She lightly touched the tip of her spear on the ripple, and a dazzling white light enveloped the white flower.

The Divine Key, White Flower, possesses the ability to perform gene-level healing. While it's ineffective against Honkai energy erosion, healing itself is a form of power. Anna's genes have already been altered, and the White Flower's healing will restore her Herrscher body to human form. Just as Soul Steel cuts off the flow of Honkai energy, this method can also sever Anna's connection to the Honkai will, forcing her to retreat from the realm of infinite power.

“heilgelanzediewelwitschie,” Cecilia recited the ancient hymn.

I am black from the abyss, I am white descending from the clouds, born before creation, existing after annihilation; I will freely give the water of the spring of life to those who are thirsty.

One of the seven angels who had seven golden bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and said, “Come here, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

I was in the Spirit, and the angels led me to a very high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city that came down from heaven from God.

Unlike many Divine Keys, the zeroth rated power of the White Flower has no destructive power. This power consumption is extremely high, even surpassing that of "Holy Lance: Bloom" and "Holy Lance: Reverse Current". However, compared to the overwhelming power of the former two, the highest output of the Herrscher of Death's core is actually the embodiment of salvation.

"Holy Lance - Welwitschiav." Cecilia strode forward, the massive knight's lance suddenly whipping up a whirlwind that pulled the utterly powerless Anna towards her. A surging, almost meltingly powerful spear of light enveloped Anna. The Ice Princess finally let out an unbearable scream; her body felt like burning coals. The healing power released by a human was harmful to a Herrscher. She was about to be twisted back into a human body while retaining the mind of a Herrscher; the tearing pain between her soul and flesh would be unbearable!

"Bear with it, Anna, just bear with it a little longer." Cecilia stroked her face, and Anna screamed in anguish, "Think of Pandora, think of us, think of why you're still fighting on!"

Pandora…

Anna's gaze met Cecilia's, and for a moment, her golden eyes went blank. Cecilia was about to smile when she suddenly looked up, staring at the sky.

"how so!"

Along with her, Durandal, who was observing the battlefield and preparing to intercept at any moment, also looked up in disbelief. She immediately pressed the radio to her ear. She always carried a radio with her so she could contact Schicksal at any time, but this time, instead of connecting with Alavette, who was in charge of logistics and communications, she was directly switched to an unfamiliar frequency.

"Hi, my dear Bianca, your mission seems to be going a little wrong, but that's understandable, given that the opponent is the current Holy Maiden, whose strength is several times greater than yours." The voice on the radio was Otto, his tone flippant. "But if you can't handle it at all, please don't refuse the organization's help, such as, well, a little cleansing function."

Durandal took a deep breath, trying to suppress her astonishment, and said angrily, "You never told me you were going to release a space-based weapon here! We've already suppressed the Herrscher of Ice, and Cecilia is neutralizing her. If you misdirect your weapon, you'll destroy half the city!"

"Suppress...the Herrscher of Ice?" The voice on the radio laughed. "You think you can reform a Herrscher with the Black Abyss White Flower? Wrong, Bianca, you're wrong. All the plans, in the end, are just to restrict the Herrscher's activities. Only Cecilia can lock Anna in this area, but only nuclear weapons can truly kill her. Don't overthink it, Bianca. Don't forget, reforming a Herrscher has never happened in this world, not even once."

Durandal remained silent for a long time. "No, actually... never mind, do you want to kill Anna?"

"That was when..."

“No, you don’t want to,” Durandal whispered.

On the other end of the wireless network, Otto squinted as he watched the footage coming from the satellite monitor, which showed Durandal looking up at the satellite.

“How do you know?” Otto said slowly.

“You didn’t want to kill Anna. You deployed the space-based weapon only to kill Cecilia.” Durandal closed her eyes. “You know very well that the space-based weapon can’t kill Cecilia, but it’s enough to wipe out Anna and a large number of the city’s inhabitants. You know that Cecilia won’t stand by and watch these things happen. You’re forcing her. I finally understand. You’re forcing her to make a second sacrifice, to sacrifice herself to protect others. You’re forcing her… to unleash the Holy Blood.”

"That's just your guess, Bianca. You're overthinking it. You are the weapon of destiny. Weapons don't need to think so much; otherwise, they'll become dull." The voice was tinged with amusement.

“Because space-based weapons require a long preparation time to ensure accuracy, and you confirmed the deployment location from the beginning, you and World Serpent had already conspired together. You knew exactly where Anna would use Herrscher of Law.” Durandal ignored her and said, word by word, “You lied to me.”

“But what does it matter? Bianca, isn’t that what you wanted?” Otto said.

The radio was cut off.

Otto closed his eyes. The scheme was meticulously designed, but Durandal, though not fond of thinking, was not stupid. He had a vague premonition that Durandal might disobey his commands.

"The 'Galileo-G25' satellite has released a fission bomb. The wind speed meets the criteria, the landmark has not shifted, and it will arrive at its location in twenty seconds." Karen's figure appeared behind him, expressionless.

“Sorry, Cecilia.” Otto shrugged and raised his glass in a distant salute.