The three would soon catch up to Mei as the group of four would spend a while walking down the iced path, heading deeper into the city as they took down numerous hoardes of beasts that scoured the area due to the Herrscher's presence.

After having taken down the most recent group, Raven sighed and began to speak.

"Ya know, we three have been doing all the fighting. We could really appreciate your help, Owl." She said, turning to the lazy looking boy with a stern tone as the boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"You have Mei. Not to mention, Alex is also holding on his own rather well. I don't think I'd be much help. I'm better of saving strength..............for when we fight the Herrscher." He said.

Raven groaned and was about to approach him but Alex stopped him in her tracks.

"Calm down Sensei. Let's just keep going for now. I'm sure it'll all work out in the end." He said.

"You're way too forgiving kid." Sakd Raven with an unamused tone, walking back to Mei as Alex saw Owl give him a thumbs up for saving his back to which Alex also gave him a thumbs up back.

The boys would approach the girls as Mei quickly wasted no time on getting back on track.

"We've been walking long enough. Are there any updates on the Herrscher?" She asked.

"The Herrscher's signal has stopped moving just up ahead." Said Raven as she pointed in front. "Just over there is where it was last reported to be seen."

Mei would look in that direction, taking a few steps forward and closing her eyes before opening them.

"She's indeed nearby. I can sense it." She said.

The four began to walk ahead as when they got closer, Alex's infected left arm once began a faint reaction again, this one a little more prominent than before causing the boy to put his right hand on his left sleeve, lifting it up to see the vein like markings give off a faint red glow.

'Does this happen everytime I'm near a Honkai Energy source? If so then why doesn't it happen when I'm near Mei? Is it cause I drained her energy in the sword meaning I'm used to it? Ugh......too many questions to consider. Better think about it later.' He thought.

The group would then enter a large opening in the city, seemingly a plaza completely frozen over too as they looked ahead to the center, seeing something that was quite bizarre.

Just hovering in the air was a giant mass of ice.

"W-What the hell?" Said Alex.

"Something feels off about that giant ice pillar." Said Raven.

"How could water freeze that much in tropical weather?" Asked Owl.

"This is where the Honkai Energy is coming from. It's seeping through the pillar. Seems like we were right." Said Mei.

Just then, another group of beasts, this one large than prior ones, showed up.

Alex, Mei, and Raven began to do battle as Owl again laid back for safety and watched on from behind a wall of fallen debris.

As the battle went on, the massive ice pillar began to crack some as the noise was rather prominent.

"The Herrscher's completing its metamorphosis. The energy in there is rising rapidly." Said Mei in between strikes.

"Is that so huh? That means these little bastards are just buying it some time." Said Raven.

As the fight kept on, Owl hatched an idea as he stood up from his cover.

"Hey! Keep the Honkai Beasts away from me. I'm gonna head to the pillar so I can target the Herrscher!" He shouted.

Very quickly, the battle would end as Raven jumped back for some distance, pulling out and aiming at the pillar with a long, dark laser like gun as she had the crystal in her sights.

She'd pull the trigger as a beam towards the pillar, immediately shattering it into pieces as many ice fragments fell to the ground.

From the destroyed pillar emerged what seemed to be the new Herrscher as it slowly hovered down to the ground.

Oddly enough, it's body was completely darkened out, most likely due to it being released early, making it's identity impossible to figure out.

Right as it touched down, Owl pulled out his own weapon, aiming the shot and waited for the right moment.

Suddenly, the Herrscher let out a massive shriek.

"KYAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

The shriek was not only ear piecing, but it also unleashed a massive gust of extremely bitter cold air with the wind being so strong that the group was unable to move.

Since Mei was the closest, her pain was the most excruciating as she was at the risk of having her lungs frozen.

Alex was a bit further back but his pain was also excruciating but for a much different reason.

That being his infected arm was 100% reacting to the newly released Herrscher and it did not take it well as the arm felt like it was caught in a blazing inferno.

The pain was so bad that Alex couldn't even feel the practically blizzard like climate around them.

"Sh............en............ugh......." Said the Herrscher in an echoey voice, spouting out strange syllables. "Gah........ah...............argggghhhhh!"

The Herrscher shouted out again, it's body twisting and writhing as if it was fighting against an invisible, unknown force.

It was clear that this was a result of prematurely awakening it, as it acted less like a Herrscher and more like feral zombie.

The wind would soon die down, still being extremely cold but not as strong allowing the group to move, signaling that the Herrscher had calmed down a bit.

Mei drew her sword, wasting no time as she immediately wanted to duel.

The Herrscher thought otherwise as it would bring up three massive ice pillars from the ground, separating it from them as it quickly ran away.

Mei would quickly go to work, trying to break the pillars down as she was soon assisted by Raven and Alex once they had recovered as Owl again watched on.

It took a whlle but once the three pillars crumbled down, all they were met with was nothing on the other side.

"Dammit. It fled." Said Raven as she closed her eyes and sensed the residual Honkai Energy left on the ice. "Yep. It's a fair distance away now. For being a mindless beast, it definitely outsmarted us."

"What now then?" Asked Alex.

"We chase it down. That's all we can do." Bluntly said Mei, clearly not wanting to waste time.

"Hold it. We can't just mindlessly chase after it. That's dangerous and extremely reckless. You saw how it easily kept us immobile for a solid half minute. The Herrscher is definitely tougher than what we initially expected. You may be able to match its strength in battle, but capturing it is a whole other story now. We're gonna need a new plan." He said.

Before the group could being pondering on it, a sudden beeping sound went off as it came from Raven's wrist.

"Hm? Oh I forgot I had this comms device. Let's see............huh. A call from Schicksal? This will be interesting." She said, tapping on the screen to answer as Alex, Mei, and Owl gathered around to hear.

"Hello?" She said.

"Greetings World Serpent. I'm Schicksal Valkyrie Alvitr from the Immortal Blades. My squad leader Durandal has ordered me to share what Schicksal has found out so far." Said the new voice.

"Tell us what you've uncovered then." Said Mei.

"Gotcha! I'm uploading the data right now!

After a few seconds of waiting, a buzz went off on Raven's device as she tapped it.

Out came a holographic screen that showed the info a girl named Ana Schariac.

"Who's that?" Asked Alex.

"Our findings have confirmed that the identity of this Herrscher is former Schicksal Valkyrie, Ana Schariac."

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Chapter 4: Complete