I'm a little panicked when I cross the collapse

Lu Qiong's gaze gradually hardened. Himiko was his woman, and he would bear everything for her.

Seeing Lu Qiong cheer up, a hint of relief flashed in Alicia's eyes.

She struggled to her feet, supporting herself on the ground. Her legs were still a little weak, but with the help of Lu Qiong's special Honkai energy, the wounds from the previous battle had almost healed, leaving only faint marks, as if gently kissed by time.

She walked up to Lu Qiong, extended her hand, and grasped his slightly rough but unusually warm palm. The moment their fingertips touched, a subtle current seemed to run between them.

Alicia looked up at him intently, then slowly leaned down and gently kissed the back of his hand, before moving to his palm and placing a deeper kiss on it.

"Xiao Qiong,"

Her voice was soft yet firm, like a warm breeze caressing the heart, "I will be with you, no matter when."

Her smile blossomed at that moment, like a crystal flower quietly blooming in the darkness, dazzling and colorful, yet carrying an almost transparent purity.

That smile contained trust, affection, and the determination to stand by him to the end.

Lu Qiong stared at her blankly, as if he had been hit hard in the chest.

He could feel the warmth of her kiss on his palm, and he could hear the affection in every word she spoke. It wasn't just simple comfort; it was a promise to share everything with him.

"Ok!"

He nodded heavily, as if something was stuck in his throat, and he could only respond with the simplest word.

Lu Qiong gripped Alicia's hand tightly, holding her fingertips firmly in his palm.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, which had long since been reduced to ruins, the battle was reaching its climax.

Himiko fought Kevin with increasing ferocity. Although Kevin's human form was extremely powerful, she was not invincible as she possessed two Herrscher cores.

The city, which was reduced to ruins when the Herrscher of Death was born, is now ravaged by the aftershocks of their battle, and there is not a single building taller than ten meters.

Snowflakes, frost, and solid ice covered the ground, while eerie blue flames flickered—proof of the constant intertwining of their powers.

The eerie blue flames leaped among the ruins, each burst carrying away large swaths of remaining snow, only to be pushed back by the sudden freezing cold the next second.

The clash between ice and fire caused the air to vibrate violently, as if the entire world was teetering on the brink of collapse during their confrontation.

Kevin's figure appeared and disappeared in the wind and snow, his eyes dyed a dazzling gold by the intense Honkai energy. In his artificial Honkai form, his entire body was covered with fine crystalline patterns.

Himiko stood in mid-air, with shattered ice and burning eerie blue flames beneath her feet.

Her clothes fluttered in the wind, and the two Herrscher cores slowly rotated within her body, emitting distinct yet intertwined power fluctuations.

She abruptly raised her hand, and the sky suddenly darkened. Large swaths of dark clouds were torn apart by Honkai energy, revealing a crimson canopy behind them. Countless eerie blue flames erupted from the ground, transforming into fiery dragons that swirled and lunged towards Kevin.

boom--!

A burst of intense golden light erupted from his body, like a miniature sun rising from the ruins. The fire dragon was instantly vaporized upon contact with that light, leaving not even a trace of ash.

The two forces collided violently in mid-air, creating shockwaves. The already ravaged city was further devastated; the remaining buildings were uprooted, and steel and concrete turned to dust under the corrosive power of Honkai energy.

High in the distance, Alicia nestled beside Lu Qiong, watching the battlefield engulfed by ice and fire, and whispered, "They... have really fought to this extent."

Lu Qiong's gaze fell on the center of the battlefield, where he could clearly sense two extremely dangerous forces rising wildly.

The Honkai energy within Kevin's body has exceeded the current limits of what humans can withstand. If this continues, his body will completely collapse under the backlash of the Honkai energy.

"This farce... should end now," Lu Qiong said softly, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

Alicia turned to look at him, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes: "Xiaoqiong, are you going to make a move?"

Lu Qiong nodded...

No sooner had he finished speaking than the situation in the center of the battlefield changed once again.

Kevin's pupils suddenly contracted; the Honkai energy within him had climbed to an extremely dangerous critical point. He knew very well that if this continued, he would be completely annihilated by the backlash of the Honkai energy.

But he also understood that if he backed down now, all the sacrifices he had made would be in vain.

"Hemihu,"

Kevin's voice was icy cold, devoid of any warmth: "This is the final blow!"

He slowly clenched his fist, and the Honkai energy in his body began to frantically converge into his palm.

The golden light compressed continuously in his hand, forming a dazzling sphere of light. The space around the sphere was distorted, groaning under its strain.

Himiko's expression changed slightly; she could sense the destructive power contained within that force.

She gritted her teeth, pushing both Herrscher cores to their limits simultaneously.

Behind her emerged a pair of enormous wings woven from ice and fire, with ghostly blue flames and icy blue chill constantly swirling on them.

He then raised his right hand, and a complex array pattern appeared on his palm.

Within the array patterns, ice and fire intertwined, forming a dark blue vortex. The vortex spun wildly, as if it wanted to devour everything around it.

The two forces continued to rise in the air, making the air incredibly heavy, and even the light seemed to be distorted by the pressure.

Just as Kevin was gathering and burning all the Honkai energy in his body, determined to kill Himiko on the spot.

pat!

Accompanied by a crisp snap of fingers,

Everything in the world came to a standstill.

Himiko's unformed fiery winds and Kevin's life, about to burn out, were both frozen in that instant.

Time seemed to have been paused.

The dancing flames stopped in mid-air, the frozen snowflakes hung in the air, and even the shockwaves solidified into still ripples.

In this suspended world, only one person can still move freely.

Da da da!

Footsteps echoed through the empty ruins as Lu Qiong approached from afar, slowly walking into the battlefield between the two.

Each step he took seemed to tread on the cracks of time. The frozen flames brushed past him, yet couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

Lu Qiong walked up to Kevin and glanced down at him.

Kevin was in extremely bad shape. His body was covered with fine cracks, from which golden Honkai energy constantly seeped out.

His pupils had lost focus; only instinct remained to sustain him as he continued to fight.

"If this continues, even your soul will be completely devoured by Honkai energy."

Lu Qiong sighed softly, "Losing your life is actually the lightest price you could pay."

He stretched out his hand and waved it gently.

What seemed like a casual action triggered unimaginable changes in an instant.

The Honkai energy that was burning wildly within Kevin's body seemed to be stopped at this moment. All the Honkai energy was frozen in place, no longer flowing or corroding his body.

The power that was about to spiral out of control was forcibly restrained by Lu Qiong in a way that was both brutal and extremely precise.

He turned to look at Himiko, who was not far away.

Himiko was also frozen in mid-air. Behind her, the wings intertwined with ice and fire remained spread out, and in the array patterns on her palm, the dark blue vortex was still in the last moment before the explosion.

A trace of determination and madness still lingered in her eyes.

Lu Qiong looked at her with a complicated expression.

He reached out and gently touched Himiko's brow.

A gentle yet incredibly powerful force surged from his fingertips into Himiko's body, instantly calming the rampaging Honkai energy within her.

Under the suppression of that power, the two Herrscher cores slowly resumed stable operation.

The power that was on the verge of spiraling out of control was easily suppressed by Lu Qiong.

pat.

The snap of fingers echoed once again in this empty area.

Time begins to flow again.

The frozen flames continued to dance, but in an instant lost their target, turning into specks of light and dissipating into the air. Frozen snowflakes drifted down slowly, landing on the ruins on the ground with a soft sound.

The suppressed Honkai energy within Kevin's body began to slowly recede, and his body went limp, almost causing him to kneel on the ground.

He managed to steady himself and looked up at the man who had suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield.

"Chief Instructor?..." Kevin's voice was hoarse. "You actually... you actually possess such terrifying power, just who are you?"

Lu Qiong didn't answer him, but just glanced at him indifferently, "You should go back."

He raised his hand and waved it gently. Kevin's body was enveloped by an invisible force, turning into a golden light and disappearing into the ruins.

Himiko slowly descended from mid-air. The Honkai energy within her body had returned to a stable level, but the prolonged overload had left her body somewhat weak.

She stumbled as soon as she landed.

A hand caught her just in time.

Himiko looked up and saw a face that was both incredibly familiar and somewhat unfamiliar to her.