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

Inside the car, Kallen and Li Sushang, eyes wide, stared at the impossibly tall fire tornado, speechless.

"This…" Fu Hua murmured, also feeling a profound sense of powerlessness.

Otto, behind the wheel, wore an expression so grave it could curdle milk. His mind raced. He rolled down the window and grabbed a decorative ornament from the dashboard, tossing it outside.

Mid-air, the ornament burst into flames, a slender but intense streak of fire that joined the swirling inferno.

Everything out here ignites at extreme temperatures. We're only safe because of Shu's power… That was Otto's first conclusion.

But, analyzing further, objects outside Shu's range of protection instantly combusted. The flames weren't conjured from nothing; they fed on existing materials. Therefore, the temperature had a theoretical maximum! If he could calculate the highest possible burning temperature of the surrounding materials…

Otto closed his eyes. Equations flashed across his mind, rapidly simplifying into a single value.

The ambient temperature isn't much higher than the fire wall itself!

He snapped his eyes open and slammed his foot on the accelerator.

"Shu, maintain your ability! We're breaking through!" he yelled. The car lurched forward, accelerating straight towards the wall of fire.

Seriously?! Otto had given Shu no time to react. Before he could protest, they were already plunging into the inferno.

You could have at least discussed it!

Shu had no choice but to focus on maintaining [Neutral Temperature]. He felt a primal unease as they hurtled toward the blazing wall. For most of his life, walking through fire had been the stuff of stunt shows. Even with his newfound powers, a flicker of instinctive fear remained.

As they breached the wall, Shu felt the drain on his Hope(pray) increase sharply, but the change wasn't drastic. The flames were held at bay, two meters away. Maintaining his power, Shu stared at the surrounding fire. For a fleeting moment, he felt incredibly badass.

Seconds later, he realized Otto was reversing out of the fire… No, not reversing. The fire tornado was moving forward faster than the car!

They were trapped again!

Shu sighed, turning back to face Flame Emperor with renewed resolve. He swung his sword with all his might at the approaching Honkai beast.

The blade shimmered, effortlessly slicing through Flame Emperor's armor. The sword plunged halfway into its body, leaving a deep gash.

One more strike, and Shu was confident he could bisect it. He could strike again. But the sword was a poor defensive tool. If he went for a second blow, Flame Emperor's falling body would crush him and the car.

Abandoning the idea, Shu kicked the beast into a towering pillar of fire at the roadside.

Unsurprisingly, Flame Emperor emerged from the flames, unharmed, molten metal dripping from its form. The ground where the metal landed ignited.

Fire completely enveloped the car and Shu, blocking all vision. Flame Emperor vanished into the inferno.

Shu gritted his teeth, straining to locate the beast through the flames. The situation was clear. He had to kill it.