Herrscher of Dominance in Honkai, starting with the abduction of Kiana

Accompanying the dragon roar was a swirling storm formed by high-speed airflow. Dust on the ground was swept up by the storm, raising a thick gray haze.

In an instant, everything around was shrouded in dust, and vision became blurred.

The sudden change on the scene interrupted Rita's movements. Her expression changed slightly as she recalled her numerous setbacks, and she dared not hold back any longer. With a slight force in her hands, the scythe drew an arc.

The sharp scythe blade tore through the dust curtain, its target aimed directly at Raven.

Even if her vision was obscured, the two were only two or three meters apart. For an S-rank Valkyrie, this distance could be crossed in less than half a second.

But faster than the scythe blade were the flickering arcs of electricity.

Seven Thunders of Retribution, transformed into a katana form, seemed to have fallen into an invisible electromagnetic field. It transformed into a stream of light wrapped in electric arcs out of thin air, and, just like in sniper mode, launched itself like a bullet.

At the instant Rita's attack was about to reach Raven, it precisely blocked this strike for Raven.

She couldn't see clearly in front of her, but the collision force transmitted to her hand still made Rita's eyes narrow. She knew that this strike had obviously missed. But she didn't pause at all.

Using the pulling force of the impact, the power carried by the scythe suddenly erupted, directly knocking away Seven Thunders of Retribution, which had blocked the blade.

However, with just this slight difference, the situation on the scene was already out of her control. By the time the scythe in her hand fell again, Raven had already disappeared. What replaced her was a silhouette speeding through the dust, and that dazzling red lightning.

Her heart sank, and Rita immediately changed her move. Her supple body leaned back to dodge the slash, and her hands directly released their control of the scythe, replaced by her round and powerful thighs.

The power of her legs was far stronger than her arms. The scythe left her hands, but became even more deadly. Her crossed legs clamped the scythe handle. Using the twisting force of her whole body, the war scythe, which should have been heavy, was like a sleeve flicked by a dancer, easily completing a change of direction and attacking the incoming person.

This strike was a sure kill. If the attacker didn't dodge, they would be seriously injured even if they didn't die. And the power erupted by an S-rank body was something even Durandal would have to consider how to deal with.

The figure in the dust obviously also knew this, but did not choose to dodge, instead accelerating.

"Swift as lightning!"

Red lightning flashed and disappeared. Rita's pupils constricted. The other person had actually disappeared from their original spot, and the sure-kill strike completely landed in empty space.

After getting up, Rita immediately used her hand to retrieve the scythe, preparing to look for the other person's trace. However, the numbing sensation coming from her back made her whole body freeze in place.

She had been put in checkmate.

By the time the confrontation ended, the knocked-away Seven Thunders of Retribution spun and plunged into the ground. The time the two exchanged blows was probably less than two seconds.

The rising dust gradually dissipated, and her vision became clear. Rita let out a long breath.

"Okay, it seems World Serpent is indeed full of talents. Anyone they send is beyond Schicksal's scope." She said somewhat helplessly, her gaze falling on Raven, who was not far from her. The other woman had indeed lost her combat power.

The one who had just saved her was someone else.

However, Raven, who had been rescued, seemed even more surprised than her, her eyes filled with deep incomprehension.

"Herrscher of Thunder?"

Herrscher of Thunder?

Because Mei herself was an awakened Herrscher, her awakening did not generate too strong Herrscher signals. Therefore, Schicksal's archives had not yet updated the information on the Herrscher of Thunder.

Suddenly hearing this title, obvious surprise also appeared on Rita's face. She knew her own strength. Against a warrior like Raven, she still had a chance to fight, but facing a Herrscher, there was obviously a big gap in strength.

She had fought Kiana before. A fully awakened Herrscher could have such strength. If it was a complete Herrscher, she would basically have no chance of winning.

Therefore, Rita did not continue to resist, but said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Is this World Serpent's choice? To be in league with a Herrscher?"

But the one who answered her was not Raven, but the voice from behind her.

"You're wrong, Miss Rita, I'm not someone from World Serpent."

Hearing the voice, Rita was stunned. For some reason, this voice gave her a sense of familiarity, but when she carefully recalled, there was no name that matched it.

The prickling numbness on her back disappeared. The other person seemed to have put away their weapon, and had no intention of continuing to fight. Rita was also sensible and didn't think about continuing to resist, but honestly put away her scythe.

She turned around. When that deep purple long hair came into her sight, the shock in Rita's heart could no longer be suppressed.

"Mei Raiden?"

As one of the people closest to Kiana, Rita, who had been monitoring the Herrscher of the Void, was naturally no stranger to Mei Raiden. But the Mei Raiden in her memory was completely different from the person in front of her.

Let's not talk about the fact that the other party was only a B-rank Valkyrie level in the archive records. Just the resolute aura in front of her was completely inconsistent with the weak girl in her memory.

If this was Mei Raiden, Rita even suspected whether the other person had been occupied by a Herrscher consciousness, and that was why she had become like this now.

"You seem very surprised?" Wielding a sword flourish, Mei put the unsheathed katana back into its scabbard. She was not surprised by Rita's shock, because even she herself had never expected that she would become like this now.

Once upon a time, she was just a weakling who "couldn't do anything." Now she had mastered power that even S-rank Valkyries could hardly reach.

"Rather than surprised, it's more like disbelief. I once met you at St. Freya. In just a few months, your change is so great." After a brief daze, Rita's shocked emotions finally calmed down.

Although she and Mei were also enemies, they didn't have life-and-death grudges like with Raven. Therefore, her tone was not as confrontational as when she spoke to Raven.

"It seems Schicksal's archives are not as omniscient as rumored. They didn't even record the addition of a Herrscher."

Facing Mei's veiled sarcasm, Rita didn't get angry. A consistent maid smile hung on her face, and she softly replied, "Of course, information also needs to be collected by people. It's inevitable that updates won't be timely."

While speaking, the armor on Rita's body had already encrypted the data on the scene, preparing to transmit it back to Schicksal headquarters. She pretended to glance at the communication module on her collar unintentionally, but all she saw was a transmission failure prompt.

Frowning almost imperceptibly, Rita was about to restart the communication, but the transmission module suddenly flashed a spark of electricity and was completely scrapped.

"Sorry, Miss Rita, why don't you wait until you return to headquarters to report my situation to Otto? The surrounding magnetic field has all been shielded by me. Communication signals cannot be sent out."

Rita looked at Mei, and saw a faint smile on the other's face, obviously implying something.

Taking a deep breath, Rita also gave up struggling and asked directly, "Then does Miss Mei Raiden have any plans for appearing here? Since you said you are not from World Serpent, this World Serpent executive should also be unrelated to you."

"That's not certain. Miss Raven and I have some conflicts. She escaped from me once before. This time I'm also here for her. If possible, could you hand her over to me to deal with?"

"…" Raven remained silent. Although she had fought Mei once, their contact time was not long. It was almost impossible for the other party to come looking for her for such a trivial matter.

Not to mention that the other party had deliberately stopped Rita's attack. If she really wanted to kill her, she would have just done it directly. But in any case, it seemed that the Herrscher of Thunder indeed had ulterior motives. Even if she fell into the other party's hands, it was better than being locked up in Schicksal's dungeon, which would be a disgrace to Raven.

Rita wasn't stupid either. She knew this was just an excuse, but Mei Raiden's strength was indeed stronger than hers. She had no choice but to say with a dry smile, "Since Miss Mei needs it, Schicksal naturally has no objections. After all, you were once a Valkyrie of Schicksal."

"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Rita. Also, I hope you can help me convey a message to Otto: what he has done will be reckoned with sooner or later."

After saying this, Mei stopped talking nonsense with Rita. She walked to Raven's side, put her arm around her shoulder to support her, raised her hand, and Seven Thunders of Retribution fell into her hand. Just like that, she took Raven and the Divine Key away in front of Rita.

Rita watched Mei and the Kurikara, circling in the high sky in the distance, and sighed helplessly.

"If Lady Durandal was here… Sigh."

Oh well, setbacks like this, aren't I already used to them?