That's All It Takes

Yae Sakura is not one of the children he watched grow up, nor a tool he must control tightly, but rather Kallen's lover and a friend Otto only met five hundred years later.

Friends also need to maintain a certain distance. There's no need to pry into everything. As long as Yae Sakura's emotions remain stable, that's enough.

Otto was concerned with something else entirely.

"What did he want from you? Did he mention anything about me or Chikai Ichijo?"

"Mr. Su and Hiyomaru, who is also Rin's older sister, are good friends, so he asked me about Hiyomaru's final fate. As for Mr. Otto and Chikai Ichijo, he didn't mention anything to me."

Yae Sakura, holding her sword, gently shook her head.

Otto stroked his chin thoughtfully, then finally nodded with a smile, completely relaxing.

Since no mention was made to Yae Sakura, Su's attitude was limited to the information conveyed by Durandal —in other words, the Chikai Ichijo was now usable, and the key step of the plan was about to officially begin.

"Hahaha!"

Thinking of this, Otto couldn't help but walk towards the Chikai Ichijo, touch its cold steel body, and let out a pleasant laugh.

'I forgot to tell him that if we tried using our Dominion Authority, we might still be able to save him.'

'Actually, there's no need to say anything. He's already exhausted and doesn't want to continue in the same way A-Lin did.'

'I wonder who that chess game, which the plot never explained, was played against?'

Skyfire sat upright on the small throne, his hands flat on the ground, listening to Gray Serpent report on the latest developments of the World Serpent, and also to the other Anqi's wistful sighs.

Su is a wonderful elder, kind and patient. After listening to Anqi's complaints, she reminded her that there are actually many people worth cherishing in this uncomfortable world.

He accepted Anqi completely and unquestioningly gave her his precious body and identity...

'How could such an idiot live for 50,000 years?'

'Thank goodness Kevin's a sentimental fool, otherwise he'd be gone long ago!'

'I don't even believe myself, how dare he? What an naive fool!'

The Anqi suddenly went into a frenzy.

Skyfire touched the corner of his eye, and a tear glistened on his hand.

"Lord Skyfire?"

The Gray Serpent paused for a moment, then stood up in astonishment. Suddenly, its 360-degree electronic view captured the figure that had appeared behind it.

"Who goes there!?"

Gray Serpent instinctively pulled out his pistol.

However, a flash of crimson light pierced through the air, slicing Gray Serpent's pistol in two.

At the same time, the Gray Serpent froze in place, completely losing its voice.

In the quiet room, Skyfire and Su looked at each other, the former expressionless, the latter with a warm smile.

"You've come out, so you've found a new path?"

I'm not sure.

"That means it exists! That's good news. Can it be even stronger than the Stigmata Project?"

"I'm not sure yet; I need to think about it some more."

Su moved a chair over from the side, sat down next to the Gray Serpent's seat, and gestured for him to sit down as well.

The Gray Serpent was naturally flattered.

Although he stood in the camp of the Stigmata Project, and although he regarded Kevin as his Venerable Lord, the weight of the other Flame-Chasers was never light.

Gray Serpent couldn't help but look at Skyfire. After receiving his nod, he sat down stiffly and reservedly, but dared not speak on his own. He could only listen silently to the conversation between Su and Skyfire.

"I'm sorry, I've been observing from inside the World Bubble the whole time. Even though we're so close, I haven't come out to say hello."

"There's no need to say such things; fulfilling your mission is the most important thing."

"I knew you'd say that, just like Kevin. I don't know if using Kevin as your role model is a good thing or a bad thing?"

"That kind of question is meaningless. What I want to ask is, do you know Kevin's coordinates?"

The Gray Serpent's already stiff body sat even straighter, and its scarlet electronic eyes suddenly brightened by several degrees.

"I know."

"Tell me."

"He will come back eventually, but it's not the right time yet."

"Did you observe this as well?"

Skyfire frowned slightly.

Su nodded slowly, the smile fading from his face, replaced by a complex and weary expression.

"I met a very outstanding child named Durandal, and I made her go through the same choice that Kevin and I made. But she chose to share everything with her best friend."

"Don't worry about it. Kevin won't blame you, and he himself is wavering, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to stop him."

"Of course I know all that, but... never mind, let's talk about it later. Anyway, I just came to see you all, and I'm relieved to see that you're all alright."

Where are you planning to go?

"I don't know, it depends on my mood. I mainly need to organize my thoughts. Maybe I can give Kevin a better answer when he comes back."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it."

Skyfire nodded solemnly.

Then, under the watchful eyes of Skyfire and Gray Serpent, Su's figure slowly vanished, as if he had never existed.

After a long while, the Gray Serpent suddenly stood up and said in a trembling voice:

"That was..."

"Su".

"He's back!?"

"Didn't you see it with your own eyes?"

Skyfire looked at Gray Serpent with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding his feelings.

The Gray Serpent shook its head sharply, calming its violently fluctuating emotions, and said:

"It's just unbelievable, and Lord Su just said that the Hengsha Project has yielded results?"

"Perhaps it is, or it may just be a false hope. In any case, continue to make all the preparations for Stigmata Project. We'll make a decision after Kevin returns."

"Yes!"

The Gray Serpent responded enthusiastically.

It's back! The feeling of following Flame-Chasers's back and moving forward is back! My youth is back!

The above is an exaggeration, but it roughly reflects Gray Serpent's feelings.

Chapter 152 They're totally falling for this!

The reason for staging the "airborne" act in front of Otto was to give Yae Sakura a "Flame-Chasers certification" stamp, continuously raising the recognition of this identity.

As for the Chikai Ichijo, it must be left for Otto to use—in short, even though Otto himself is unaware of it, as long as he wants to continue climbing the tree, he will have one, no, a group of reliable allies.

They then went to the World Serpent and conducted a mutual authentication with Skyfire.

With these moves, at least in the current world, no one can question these three heavyweight pseudonyms anymore.

After that, Su entered the Theater of Domination. He needed some time to process what he had gained, and this identity was not suitable for him to show his face in public.

Mystery and unpredictability are what give it the greatest deterrent power.

Anqi's Theater of Domination has changed dramatically. Now, mountains, rivers, and towering peaks are nestled within it, clouds and mist swirl in the sky, and a dazzling sun radiated by the Honkai Energy Reactor hangs above, resembling a mythical fantasy floating in Imaginary Space.

Amidst the vast mountains and rivers, countless Honkai Beasts of various shapes and sizes roam, some resembling moving giant mountains, others like flocks of birds and beasts—ignoring the true nature of the Honkai Beast, it has a touch of the charm of the Classic of Mountains and Seas world.

High above this dreamlike world, on a slowly drifting floating fairy island, Su sat in a rattan chair designed for the elderly, holding an enamel teacup, swaying back and forth, and sighed with a complex expression:

"Su is such a good person, it's almost unreal. He really left his long and rich memories, experiences, and thoughts into this body and gave them to me without reservation... It's hard not to suspect that the Thousand-Person Ruler might actually be the method he observed to defeat the Honkai?"

Beside them, the number of Anqi rose again, now approaching seven hundred. Some were hanging upside down or lying on their sides in the air with threads, some were sitting in rows on the ground eating melons, and some were riding flying Honkai Beast of various shapes and sizes, flying around everywhere. It was a scene full of vitality.

Hearing Su's sentiments, Anqi, who was hanging upside down on one leg, raised her hand.

"Let's put aside these unfounded claims for now. Just demonstrate how strong you really are!"

Then Su opened her purplish-red eyes.

An immense, invisible pressure descended from the sky, as if the entire sky had collapsed. In an instant, all the beasts prostrated themselves, trembling and not daring to utter a single whimper or cry.

A massive, fiery red sword, seemingly steel yet not quite, heavy and enormous, slowly descended through the clouds. The sword tip was still high in the sky when the devastating mental pressure began to crush the Honkai Beast.

Just before the Honkai Beast in the Theater were about to have their spirits crushed, the giant sword dissipated, the enormous shadow vanished, and the world returned to its original tranquility.

"Sword God?"

"A basic attack?"

"Fantasy, it's too fantastical!"

The Anqi chattered excitedly about the shocking scene, and some even couldn't resist tugging at Su's hair, seemingly trying to confirm if the guy in the middle was one of their kind.

"Smack!"

Su casually slapped away the clone that was causing trouble.

"Stop fooling around."

"If you don't want me to touch you, then you don't want me to touch you. You're not a beautiful girl, who cares? But is this a real sword or a sword of the heart? Why do you still have a lingering fear of it?"

"If you think it's real, then it's real; if you think it's an illusion, then it's an illusion. That's the best we can do. For ordinary people, the distinction between truth and falsehood is no longer so clear."

Wow! I don't understand!

The Anqi blinked their big, sleepy eyes.

Su shook his head and sighed softly, saying:

"It's more of a feeling. If I haven't reached that level, I can't share it with you. I can't separate Su's mental strength and give it to you, but I can share his experience and knowledge, which will greatly help you accumulate mental power."

The concept of "Sword God" is something that those who don't understand will never grasp, no matter how you explain it. But for those who do understand, it's essentially a technique that Honkai Energy and spiritual power to transform and merge with each other.

The threshold for using this technology is an extremely high upper limit for Honkai Energy control and a high level of mental strength.

Anqi and the others are Herrscher, so the upper limit of Honkai Energy control is not a problem for them. The remaining hurdle is the strength of their mental power.

Therefore, Su's gift really hit the nail on the head, opening a shortcut for Anqi's ordinary individuals to reach the level of a Sword God's basic attack - which is even more valuable than one or two powers.

The items are certainly good, but...

"Now, there's really no way to pay it back."

Anqi muttered to herself, her feelings a mix of emotions.

Actually, she had belatedly realized that Su had given her so much because he wanted her to walk the right path, at least to put more effort into saving the world. But he had never made any demands; it was merely a hope that he didn't force.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what Anqi likes.

"Another reason to Honkai the Honkai? Ugh, this is incredibly troublesome!"

In the lab's break room, Cocolia flipped through a medical report, crossed her legs, and muttered impatiently.

Initially, the main theme was survival; now, it's about becoming stronger and surviving. Fighting the Honkai has always been a side quest that's optional. If you're confident, you can do it; if not, just stay away. The Theater of Domination is huge, and the scenery is great now—enough to keep you entertained for a while.

However, as the main storyline progresses, the reasons for saving the world keep increasing. If this continues, will she really have to risk her life to save the world one day?

"Um?"

Xing, who was doing her middle school homework next to her, couldn't help but turn around and glance at her. She didn't hear what Cocolia was muttering, so she shrugged and continued to chew on her pen and work on her math problems.

At this moment, a pale-faced young man, leaning against the wall, struggled into the house.

"Ahem! Lady Cocolia, how were my medical results?"