Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

What was it like to witness a mythical hero materialize from thin air, instantly ending a desperate battle? Kiana found out firsthand.

The fight had been a brutal.

Ten minutes felt like an eternity as Kiana, Mei, Bronya, and Natasha threw everything they had at the monster. It just wouldn't die.

It kept changing, twisting into something worse every time they thought they had it cornered. They were running on fumes, bullets nearly gone, Mei's katana screaming in protest with every swing. Then, from the doorway, he appeared.

It wasn't like walking in. It was like the air itself ripped open, and he stepped out. One moment, empty space, the next, him. The creature, that nightmare they'd been battling for their lives, didn't even have time to react.

One swing, a blur of motion, and the thing dissolved into a splatter of gore.

Just like that.

"Shu!" Even through the blood smeared on his face, the exhaustion etched deep in his features, Kiana knew him instantly. Relief crashed over her, so strong it almost knocked her off her feet.

Natasha's eyes darted between the mangled vault door and the pulped remains of the mutant. In that moment, she finally understood the stark reality of [Fire Moth]'s power structure.

So Kiana and the others... they were just support. This entire squad's combat strength wasn't merely concentrated in Shu – it existed solely within him.

Their squad wasn't a team; it was just him, surrounded by people who could maybe… help a little.

The group's collective sigh of relief was cut brutally short by Shu's guttural roar, shattering their momentary peace.

"Hello there... Herrscher..." The words emerged as venomous snarls, thick with blood and raw with rage. Combined with his appearance – the blood-soaked face, the crimson-streaked eye, the primal fury radiating from every inch of him – he looked like a demon torn straight from the depths of hell.

The children huddled in the corner of the infirmary, their small bodies shaking uncontrollably. Their earlier screams had been born of simple terror. Now they watched him with a deeper, colder fear.

While Natasha stood bewildered, caught between fear and confusion, the others reacted as one. Kiana, Mei, and Bronya instantly paled, recoiling from the direction of Shu's burning gaze.

They knew that hate-filled word – "Herrscher." They understood exactly what it meant.

Only then, following Shu's unwavering stare, did they notice [Vakh] standing motionless in the shadowed corner. His usually composed expression had fractured into something unreadable.

"Ah! That's where that feeling came from!" Kiana whispered, finally understanding the source of that prickling unease that had haunted them since entering the vault.

This... this was the Herrscher?!

Even standing passive, he radiated an aura of suffocating power – an invisible weight that stole their breath. Recognizing the terrifying gulf between them, Kiana silently pulled Mei and Bronya back, positioning herself between the children and the looming threat.

In the deathly quiet hall, Shu advanced. Each deliberate step echoed like a death knell, his aura crackling with barely contained violence that threatened to tear the air itself apart.

It was even more terrifying than when he had unleashed the city-scorching Flamescion – this was focused rage, a predator zeroing in on its prey.

[Vakh] watched him approach, his usual composure cracking as lines of tension etched themselves around his eyes and mouth. Why was he back so soon? Ethics's report about the [Champion]'s catastrophic demise had arrived barely thirty seconds ago...

So... the [Champion] hadn't lasted even a second against this... this thing? The realization sent ice through his veins.

"Wait!" Natasha lunged forward, grabbing Shu's blood-soaked arm without hesitation. "Is there some kind of misunderstanding? What... what's a Herrscher?" Her voice trembled as she looked frantically between Shu and [Vakh].

What in God's name was happening? Yesterday, Shu had left in good spirits, almost optimistic. Now he'd returned battered and enraged, seemingly intent on tearing [Vakh] apart. The violent shift made no sense.

Shu's bloodshot eye flickered towards her – a crimson glare so devoid of warmth that Natasha physically recoiled. But she didn't let go, didn't back down, staring pleadingly at both men, demanding answers.

"Brother!" she called out desperately, hoping [Vakh] would offer some explanation, anything to defuse this terrifying situation. Just buying him precious seconds.

But with Shu's overwhelming presence bearing down on him, [Vakh] simply raised his hand, a slow, deliberate gesture. His gaze swept over everyone present – Natasha, Kiana, Mei, Bronya, the huddled, terrified children.

Those precious seconds Natasha had bought weren't enough – [Vakh] knew that instantly. There was no time to explain, no way to bridge the chasm that had suddenly opened between them.

Shu had already spoken that damning word – "Herrscher." And the laser focus of his rage, the way he had beelined straight for [Vakh] after destroying the [Champion]... Did he possess some terrifying ability to trace a Herrscher back to its source? The thought sent ice through his veins.

Faced with [Vakh]'s ominous silence, Shu's rage crystallized into cold resolve. This time, Natasha didn't try to stop him. A sick dread had settled in her stomach – his silence spoke volumes. Something was profoundly, terribly wrong.

But what did "Herrscher" mean? The question haunted her, drowning in waves of rising fear.

With each measured step Shu took, the pressure in the infirmary became almost physical. The golden glow from his bloodied blade sent warning signals screaming through every cell in [Vakh]'s body – a primal alarm bell ringing in his very core.

What... what was that?

The desperate question consumed [Vakh]'s racing mind. That blade – it might actually be capable of ending him, of truly extinguishing his existence... or perhaps Shu was bluffing, running on intimidation alone. He certainly looked on the verge of collapse...

But [Vakh] had only sent a single, relatively weak [Champion] to test him. Had Shu somehow fought through all of Future City, battling not just the [Champion], but the advanced AIs themselves? The thought seemed absurd, and yet...

His mind spun, calculating probabilities, mapping escape routes. But Shu had already reached the edge of the infirmary. There was no more time for analysis.

[Vakh] had always assumed Shu, as captain of this ragtag group, held some hidden trump card. But nothing, nothing, on this scale, this raw, terrifying intensity.

This was beyond anything his simulations predicted. This wasn't a game anymore. One wrong move, and he could actually… die.

Was [Fire Moth]'s power truly this extreme? Had he so gravely underestimated these "anomalies"?

[Vakh]'s expression hardened into grim resolve. His hand shot up – not towards Shu, but towards Kiana and the others, the vulnerable children.

But even before [Vakh]'s neurons could fully fire, Shu struck.

A brutal slash, a golden arc of light born of desperation and pure rage, draining half of Shu's depleted [wish] reserves. An unthinkable amount of [hope] – enough to level a city – vaporized in a blinding flash, transmuted into one unstoppable strike.

[Vakh]'s arm, still reaching for the children, was severed cleanly at the shoulder. The limb fell, its cauterized edge testament to the blade's impossible sharpness.

But more terrifying was the attack's residual force – raw energy that ripped through [Vakh]'s form, carved a smoking chasm in the reinforced wall, and kept going, extending outward...

…into a deep, yawning ravine that seemed to plummet into an endless, lightless abyss, swallowing the very concept of depth and distance!!

Like a god's blade cleaving a mountain range in two!

Kiana's breath caught in her throat. She knew that feeling, that overwhelming sense of raw power. She'd felt it during Taixu place, but this... this was different. More visceral. More terrifyingly personal.

"Don't try anything funny..." Shu's voice was a low growl, the glowing golden red sword hovering a hair's breadth from [Vakh]'s heart.

[Vakh] stood frozen, face slick with sweat, his regeneration seemingly nullified by the attack's residual energy. He couldn't even reach for his severed arm.

Shu's smile, through the blood and grime, was utterly manic. But his posture, the slight tilt of his head, the almost playful glint in his crimson-streaked eye...

It was more than a warning. It was an invitation.

An unspoken challenge that screamed across the silent infirmary—

Go ahead. Try something. Let's see… how many arms you really have.