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

"That was close. I hope she didn't follow me." Jackal, wearing her dog-mask, hurried through a narrow, hidden passage, the click of her heels echoing against the walls.

Only when the sounds of pursuit faded did she stop, panting and wiping sweat from her brow.

"Who was that? I feel like I've seen her in the database somewhere..." Leaning against the cold wall, Jackal shuddered.

She had good reason to be scared. Minutes ago, she'd almost died at the hands of that gray-haired, freakishly strong girl.

They'd been hundreds of meters apart, with thick walls between them. There was no way she should have been found.

Jackal had been confident. Even if her trap hadn't held, escaping wouldn't be easy for her pursuer.

But just as she thought that, a bizarre lance pierced through dozens of meters of concrete, narrowly missing her head by a hair's breadth. If she hadn't instinctively paused, she would have been a corpse pinned to the wall.

That attack shattered Jackal's confidence, forcing her to flee.

Luckily, as a key member of the base's leadership, Jackal had well-prepared escape routes. Using these twisting, hidden passages, she finally shook off her pursuer.

"Damn it, what are these invaders? Two Herrschers were bad enough, but this brute is the worst!" Jackal, no longer confident, limped along the wall. Suddenly, an immense force slammed into her side.

Her eyes widened as a blue motorcycle burst through the wall, sending her and chunks of concrete flying.

Bang!

Jackal crashed against the opposite wall, spitting blood. Her entire body screamed in pain, feeling like it had been dismantled.

As a medical doctor, Jackal knew she'd broken at least a dozen bones. Escape was impossible; she might be permanently crippled.

She lay in a heap, the scientist who experimented on others finally experiencing excruciating pain firsthand.

The cause of this accident was, of course, Bronya, currently battling Raven. Focused on riding, she hadn't even noticed hitting someone.

Seeing a new path, she sped down the secret passage without hesitation. Jackal, unable to react, could only watch as the half-ton motorcycle rolled over her leg.

"Aagh!"

A scream echoed through the passage, but the hit-and-run biker didn't notice, disappearing around a corner with a drift.

"...Seriously?" Raven arrived at the scene, glanced at the vanishing Bronya, then at the mangled Jackal. Ultimately, she couldn't abandon her colleague.

"H-help... me..." Jackal gasped, blood trickling from her lips. Near death, her usual arrogance vanished, replaced by a desperate plea.

Raven sighed, her expression complex. "Honestly, considering your experiments on others, you deserve this. By normal standards, I should leave you here."

Jackal's eyes widened, their light dimming.

"But I can't. You helped me once." Raven knelt, tending to Jackal's injuries.

For ordinary people, these injuries were fatal. But Raven knew that someone as self-preserving as Jackal would have a life-saving serum.

"Where is it?"

"Left..."

Raven ripped open Jackal's clothes, retrieving a metal syringe from her bra. Thanks to its padding, it hadn't broken.

Removing the cap, she jabbed the needle into Jackal's carotid artery without hesitation.

As the serum flowed in, Jackal's body began to mutate, utilizing the Honkai-beast human technology from Nagazora to partially Honkaify herself, clinging to life.

"I... owe you my life." Jackal, no longer arrogant, looked at Raven with a complicated expression.

"Don't mention it." Raven shook her head. "Someone saved me once. I'm just doing the same."

"By the way, that was the Herrscher of Reason, right? Letting her run rampant in the base..." Jackal, using her partially beastly body to stand, looked towards where Bronya had gone.

"Don't worry. Someone will deal with her."

"Project Bunny, scan for life signs."

"No activity detected."

Meanwhile, Bronya, having escaped the labyrinth, entered a new area. Checking her rearview mirror to confirm she wasn't followed, she sighed in relief.

It wasn't that she couldn't fight; the narrow corridors prevented her from using her Reason Herrscher powers effectively.

"I need to find Kiana and the others..."

As she thought this, a figure appeared ahead. Bronya slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. The tires screeched, leaving black marks as she collided.

Zzzt!

Expecting the figure to go flying, Bronya was shocked when they didn't budge. The speeding motorcycle stopped abruptly amidst sparks of electricity.

"Bronya, I don't think you have a driver's license yet."

A familiar voice spoke. Bronya looked up, meeting a pair of familiar violet eyes.

Long, dark purple hair flowed around a crackling magnetic field. Even more distinctive were the two red horns on her forehead.

"Mei... Mei-nee?!"

"It's me. Long time no see." Raiden Mei's voice held a hint of joy, a small smile on her face.