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

"Himeko just told me there seemed to be some Honkai activity in the outskirts of the city. Did you find anything?"

"No, everything was normal when I arrived. It seemed like the Honkai beast defense facilities at the quarantine line were struck by lightning and exploded." Kiana shook her head, handing the towel she used to dry her hair to Ren.

"That's good."

Although his focus was entirely on Senti, this body wasn't completely oblivious.

Senti was an unpredictable newly born Herrscher. Ren chose to first suppress her with force and then guide her with identity recognition, aiming to resolve the issue as efficiently as possible.

Because he knew that no matter how cautious he was, Kiana would definitely discover the commotion in the outskirts. He had to erase all traces of the battle before she found out.

Fortunately, the process went smoothly. Not only did he successfully persuade Senti, but he also used the Herrscher of Reason's power to repair the damaged area.

This way, unless Kiana conducted a truly meticulous search, she wouldn't find anything.

It wasn't that he deliberately wanted to hide it, but he still needed to utilize Senti's power. Moreover, Ren was ultimately using Kiana's identity. If Senti and Kiana met face-to-face, wouldn't his identity be exposed?

After a brief exchange, Himeko returned with clean clothes.

Since Kiana had been caught in the rain, she definitely needed a hot shower. Ren couldn't shower with her, so he returned to his room alone to pack the luggage he needed to take tomorrow.

He didn't notice the complex look that flashed in the girl's eyes as he turned around.

…

Drip, drip.

The old bathroom pipes were a bit worn out, dripping water from time to time. The downpour outside was blocked by the window, making the bathroom exceptionally quiet.

In the bathtub, Kiana curled up, soaking in the warm water.

The bathroom was a familiar setting. She remembered that on the first day she met Ren, she had taken a bath here. But back then, she was exhausted, her mind constantly eroded by Sirin. Now, however, she had enough strength to resist, and the ability to make her own choices.

"Ren…" Alone in the bathtub, Kiana stared blankly at the rippling water surface.

"Just how much are you hiding from me?" She slid down into the water, the bathwater covering her lips, unconsciously blowing bubbles.

Looking up at the light, she gently raised her slender arm, rubbing her fingers together. A black feather fell into her hand.

The light passed through the feather, casting its shadow onto the girl's eyes.

"Why does this feather have your scent…"

——————————————

"So, are these feathers on you real feathers?"

"Huh? Are you kidding? Even though my codename is Raven, I'm not a real bird-person. How could I have something like real feathers?"

Inside the gray Koenigsegg, Raven, sitting in the driver's seat, cast a speechless look at Mei, who was in the back seat, through the rearview mirror. "These are just decorations. Since I already have a pair of Honkai steel claws, adding some feathers might make the style a bit more unique."

"If I remember correctly, you also have a cloak."

"Ah, right." Raven looked out the car window, her voice a bit wistful. "That cloak was my favorite creation. It took me quite a while to sew it, but now it has a new owner."

"If you liked it so much, why did you give it away?"

"Give it away? You think I wanted to? I was beaten and it was snatched away!"

"With your strength, there shouldn't be many people in this world who can defeat you." Mei suddenly became interested.

"Just one, two, three, four… Damn, thinking about it carefully, it feels like I can't beat anyone—except for that maid from Schicksal."

"Rita… well, she's an S-rank Valkyrie, her combat strength shouldn't be low."

"S-rank?" Raven sneered. "She's nothing. To be honest, I even thought her S-rank was just for show."

Raven, who had always been at odds with Rita, was about to launch into mockery mode, but remembering that Mei had been rescued from Rita's hands, she could only reluctantly stop the topic.

"Ultimately, my strength is only powerful compared to ordinary people. When it comes to Herrschers, I'm still a bit lacking. The one who snatched my cloak was none other than your good friend—Kiana."

"Kiana? You fought with her?"

"Duh. Don't tell me you don't know that it was her who resolved the Coral Island incident. Honestly, I have no complaints about being defeated by her. The current her is vastly different from how she was when I first saw her in ARC City."

Recalling the scene in the blizzard on Coral Island where the girl defeated her with absolute dominance and then spared her, Raven couldn't help but feel touched.

Queen of the Void, originally just a title for the Second Herrscher, but the feeling that girl gave her was clearly that she was already on the path to becoming a queen.

"It seems Kiana has changed even more than I imagined…" It had been a long time since she last saw Kiana. Even though she had learned some of Kiana's recent situation through Himeko on Coral Island, it was far less impactful than the evaluation from a former opponent.

"Yes… we're here."

The sound of brakes screeched, and the cool sports car steadily stopped in front of a bar.

Neon light strips flickered, and several dazzling English letters were printed on the bar's sign—Raven's.

"Raven's? Raven's nest? This bar is yours?"

"That's right. This doesn't belong to World Serpent. It's a bar I privately funded." Raven took out the key and pushed open the bar door.

Nighttime should be the bar's operating hours, but since even the owner wasn't around, there were naturally no customers.

Unlike the dazzling neon lights outside, the bar's interior decor was more antique. Under the soft yellow lighting, all sorts of expensive liquors were neatly displayed on the shelves.

Mei followed her into the bar, raising an eyebrow. She lightly ran a finger across the bar counter, leaving a trail of dust.

"Looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a while."

"Yeah, it's been several months since I last came here. World Serpent's work has been piling up, and I don't have the energy to manage this, so I had to leave it aside. But don't worry, I paid 30 years' worth of utility bills, so the facilities here are still functional."

As she spoke, Raven skillfully took a few bottles of alcohol from the bar and started the cleaned ice maker.

"Want something to drink?"

"I don't drink alcohol."

"Then have some non-alcoholic drinks. Wait a moment." Raven greeted her and left through the back door of the bar, returning shortly with a large bag of fresh fruit.

"Cinderella cocktail, non-alcoholic, perfect for a young lady like you."

"Cinderella?"

"Yeah, the ordinary Cinderella eventually became a princess, not a bad meaning, right?" Raven smiled and then added self-deprecatingly, "But for you, it might not be quite fitting."

"Cinderella is ultimately just Cinderella, while you will eventually become queens."

"Whether it's the Queen of the Void, or the Raiden Shogun…"