Starting from the Collapse World, I became the behind-the-scenes boss

clang!

The scythe and the flying sword collided violently, and the latter flew backward dozens of meters away like a tennis ball hit by a racket.

After defeating the boy's reinforcements, Rita didn't linger with Kiana. With a swift movement, she gracefully leaped over the white fluffy ball and rushed towards Mei.

Compared to the white furry ball with high defense and high HP, Mei is a typical example of someone with low defense and low HP.

When Mei, with her exceptional swordsmanship, is too embarrassed to use her full strength, she is actually the one who is easier to defeat.

"Am I the target?"

Sensing Rita's intentions, Mei's expression immediately hardened, and she charged forward without hesitation, brandishing her sword.

Although she was still somewhat tired, she was not afraid to fight the maid at this moment.

Keng!

The katana and scythe clashed violently, and Mei's expression changed slightly.

This time, Rita used too little force.

The scythe was struck and sliced ​​through the katana. Rita revealed a wicked grin of triumph: "Sorry, Mei-san, let's postpone our fight for a while."

As soon as she finished speaking, the maid had already passed Mei again and darted straight toward the boy at the back.

When it comes to easy prey, who on the field today is softer than the unarmed Shihen?

With her usual flying sword knocked far away by herself, and Kiana and Mei no longer by her side, Rita was confident that she could kill the boy in a few rounds.

Even if the opponent has extraordinary mecha piloting skills, this is the Valkyrie Level Examination venue of Schicksal!

Once Shihen, who has repeatedly interfered with him, is eliminated, it's only a matter of time before Kiana and Mei are eliminated as well.

Having come this far, Rita couldn't imagine how she could possibly lose.

"mean!"

Seeing this, Kiana couldn't help but grit her teeth and curse.

She's clearly an S-rank Valkyrie, yet she doesn't even dare to engage in direct combat!?

"Go, Captain Hen!"

Seele shouted loudly from the sidelines.

Looking at the maid who had appeared before him in an instant, Shihen's expression remained calm and composed. He parted his lips slightly and said, "Miss Rita, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Rita: "Huh???"

No, it's already at a point like this, and you still want to fool me?

Unmoved by the boy's words, Rita swung her scythe with full force, ready to pierce Shihen's body in an instant.

"Miss Rita, what made you think I was unarmed?"

As he spoke softly, a faint smile curved the corners of Shihen's lips, and a purple flying sword quickly materialized in each of his hands.

For the Xuanyuan Sword, quantity is meaningless.

One is a thousand, and a thousand is one.

This is the Key of Domination's unique and greatest advantage over other Divine Keys.

Nourishing ~

In an instant, the twin swords crossed to block the scythe, and endless lightning burst forth from them, turning the entire arena into a brilliant white.

"Kiana!"

Shihen shouted loudly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Kiana switched her dual pistols to heavy cannon form, and the massive and terrifying Honkai energy gathered at a speed far exceeding anything she had ever seen before, with the golden pillar of light condensing almost instantly.

"Gungnir, Fire!"

Amidst the girl's resounding attack, the maid's figure was completely engulfed by the golden pillar of light.

Chapter Fifteen: Rita's Moment of Mishap

"Ms. Rita!"

Mei called out anxiously.

Although I did have a pretty intense fight with this S-rank Valkyrie just now, that was because she was the examiner for this Valkyrie ranking exam.

From any perspective, she didn't want anything to happen to the maid.

"I……"

Kiana panicked as she watched the maid's figure completely disappear into the golden pillar of light.

She never intended to kill him.

But when she saw the boy about to be in danger, she felt a surge of power suddenly emerge, making Gungnir incredibly smooth and powerful this time.

With a sudden leap, Theresa jumped up from the podium. Just as she was about to shout something like "Rita has been murdered, seal off the entire venue," a chill far more biting than winter emanated from the arena.

The dazzling golden light slowly dissipated, revealing Rita, now clad in the Azure Knight armor. The phantom spirit [Silver Moon], only half the size of a human, stood proudly in front of the maid, shielding her from all attacks.

Even by the standards of an A-rank Valkyrie, the white-haired ball's ultimate move is considered exceptionally powerful.

Unfortunately, what stood in the way of the girl was the fourth generation of Destiny Armor, the Godslayer Armor that only S-class Valkyries could be equipped with.

For Rita, it wasn't difficult to withstand Gungnir, whose attack was in no way inferior to that of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.

"Phew~ I was really a bit careless."

However, the fact that you managed to force me to use this armor means you've done your job.

With a humble and polite smile still on her face, Rita spoke as she gently touched the ground with the Frostbite Skadi in her hand, and a wave of frost quickly spread, freezing the legs of the person closest to her, Shihen.

Shi Hen: “…”

You already said it was up to standard, so why did you have to do this extra step?

Ignoring the resentment in the boy's eyes, Rita's expression became more cheerful after demonstrating the power of an S-rank Valkyrie. She said, "Thank you all for such a wonderful battle for this exam. I will report your performance to His Excellency the Bishop truthfully."

As she spoke, Rita's gaze swept over Shihen and the other two, a lingering flutter in her heart.

Fortunately, she switched to the Azure Knight armor at the last minute, otherwise this assessment would have really failed.

A dignified S-class Valkyrie actually lost to a few reserve trainees...

If this gets out, Rita will have to consider how to apologize to Durandal and Bishop Otto by committing seppuku.

However, she did see some interesting things during this assessment.

An Anti-Entropy ace who always maintains control of the battle rhythm and even conceals his strength to lay the groundwork, a third Herrscher with superb swordsmanship, and... a second Herrscher experimental subject who has begun to recover.

The speed and quality with which that white-haired girl mobilized Honkai energy in her final attack was far beyond what a normal human could achieve.

Undoubtedly, that is the power that should belong to the Second Herrscher.

Having sensed that the Silver Moon was now at its last gasp, Rita was absolutely certain.

And if she could see this, then her mission could be considered a complete success.

All that's left is to wait until after the exam to start the process.

As she was thinking, Rita caught a glimpse of a golden cat paw growing rapidly out of the corner of her eye.

"watch out!"

With a loud shout, Kiana unleashed a fierce flying kick at the maid, her golden cat claws gleaming even more brilliantly than before.

Rita: “???”

If she remembered correctly, the exam should have already ended, right?

Startled, Rita could only watch helplessly as the golden cat claws tore apart the already exhausted Silver Moon, and then fell on her with undiminished force.

Bang!

Unsurprisingly, the maid, who only had time to hold the frost-white scythe in front of her, was kicked away violently.

Kiana! The exam is over!

Seeing the white fluffy ball looking indignant and trying to press its advantage, Shihen hurriedly reminded it.

"what?"

Kiana's steps froze in mid-air, leaving her completely bewildered.

She didn't hear anyone shout to stop, so how did the exam suddenly end?

"Kia~na~"

On the podium, Theresa was on the verge of losing her temper.

Why did this silly niece have to act so stupidly in a situation like this?!

When Rita said those words, anyone with a brain would know that it meant the exam was over, right?

This battle was, after all, a trial that was to be stopped at the right time, not a life-or-death duel that had to result in someone falling!

After glancing at Rita, who had dragged herself along the ground for quite a distance before finally getting up, Theresa forgot about scolding the white-furred ball and quickly called out, "Let's thank Rita, the S-rank Valkyrie from headquarters, and the Time Trace Squad for the wonderful battle they brought us. Now, please welcome the next group of examinees to the stage."

If the exam isn't stopped soon, she'll only be able to witness the S-rank Valkyrie unleashing her full power and effortlessly defeating the reserve students of St. Freya.

That's really inappropriate.

Thus, this Valkyrie Level Exam ended with Rita failing once again.

After a while.

While watching a team of Valkyries fight against Honkai Beasts simulated by a training device from the audience seats, Shihen caught a glimpse of the short-haired maid walking gracefully towards him out of the corner of his eye. He immediately smiled and took the initiative to greet her, saying, "Miss Rita, thank you so much for going easy on me just now."

Although Rita looked much worse off than the other three based on the outcome alone, it was clear to anyone with eyes that this was because the maid had to tone it down.

Even if they have grown a lot compared to two years ago, Shihen and the other two should not be able to compete with an S-class Valkyrie; this is unreasonable.

"Mr. Shihen's intellect also impressed Rita."

Faced with the boy's compliments, Rita smiled gently, her already beautiful face as charming as a peach blossom swaying in the wind.

"After all, I am not good at direct combat, and I do not have the strength of my comrades."

He spoke softly, a hint of shyness creeping into Shihen's smile.

Even with the Honkai energy adaptability granted by the Stigmata, combat is still a talent.

And it's quite obvious that the young [Shihen] isn't good at this.

Even the attack launched against Rita after concealing her strength was more about restricting her; the real key to victory lay with the white-haired ball of fur.

Upon hearing this, Kiana, who had been quite wary of Rita's approach, suddenly became smug.

"Kiana!"

Mei, who couldn't stand it anymore, whispered a reminder.

Realizing what had happened, Kiana looked at Rita and said somewhat reluctantly, "I'm sorry, Rita, I just didn't realize the exam was over."

To be serious, her final flying kick could be considered a sneak attack on the examiner.

If Rita were less petty, she could easily have used this as grounds to cancel the girl's exam results.

After all, who would believe that the little white ball of fur was just naively thinking that the exam was still going on?

This is beyond the comprehension of normal humans.

But Rita just smiled gently and said, "Miss Kiana, you flatter me. It was Rita who was too negligent."

As an S-class Valkyrie, she still possesses some magnanimity.

Although she didn't understand how the white-haired girl's brain worked.

Even Durandal wouldn't do something so stupid, right?

She was already clearly addressing the audience, and this guy still kicked her!?

"Can I become an A-rank Valkyrie?"

Believing that Rita would no longer hold a grudge, Kiana excitedly asked about things that interested her.

Despite the many twists and turns in the exam process, she still felt quite good about herself.