Perhaps it was Bai's natural affinity, or perhaps it was because the Kaslana cub had been bold since childhood, but this True Kiana was not afraid of Bai Ge, a complete stranger, in the slightest.
"Me? I'm the person who came to take little Kiana out to play. Here, a little gift for our first meeting."
"Mom says I can't just accept gifts from strangers. Big brother, don't treat me like a child, okay? I'm not an ordinary kid. I'm going to become Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, just like Mom."
"...Hahaha, is that so? Not bad, not bad. You really will become Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie in the future. Ahem! Actually, your mother sent me to pick you up."
"Mom sent you? For real?"
Kiana blinked in surprise. She trotted over to Bai Ge's side and sniffed him, leaving Bai completely unsure how to react.
"Mm! Big brother, you really do smell like Mom. I believe you now."
Kiana said, planting her hands on her hips.
"Oh, oh... By the way, what does Mom smell like?"
"Huh? Mom smells like Mom, obviously. A nice, warm smell."
"Uh, is that so? Little Kiana is really amazing." Bai Ge smiled and patted the white-haired little ball in front of him.
For some reason, he actually felt very relaxed.
Even though his time was slipping away bit by bit, he did not feel anxious at all. His whole being felt healed.
Third update. Please send flowers, votes, and tips.
Thanks to "AngelLihu" for the 1,000 VIP-point tip. Wishing the boss good health, success in everything, great wealth, and a long life.
Otto: You Really Make Me Jealous
"Little Kiana, close your eyes now and prepare yourself mentally. Something really amazing is about to happen."
"Oh! What are you going to do, big brother? Is there a surprise?" Kiana obediently closed her eyes.
The next second, the white-haired little ball felt a cool breeze rush against her face. Everything around her suddenly opened up. When she curiously opened her eyes, her mouth immediately fell open in shock.
She had clearly been at home just a moment ago, yet in the blink of an eye, she was somehow in the sky. Kiana kept looking around, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
The glow of the setting sun dyed half the sky red. The white clouds, as if scorched by flames, made Kiana instinctively reach out to grab them. The other half of the sky was already dotted with Stars, and that mysterious, magnificent starry sky seemed close enough to touch.
"That's amazing! Big brother, are you a magician?"
"Haha, if little Kiana thinks I am, then I am."
Bai Ge ruffled the adorable white-haired little ball, feeling like he really wanted to raise one at home.
In this time-travel simulation, he had already changed who knew how many plotlines. Sirin survived, Cecilia survived, Cheng Lixue survived, and Welt had not died over and over again. It was practically a perfect ending where no one got hurt.
He could no longer predict what the world would become after he returned to the original timeline, but...
Since he had already changed so much.
Then changing a little more would be fine too!
If he left little Kiana in Schicksal, she would probably become Otto's hostage to threaten Cecilia and the others in the future.
So Bai Ge decided that, while he still had time, he might as well rescue this little girl from Schicksal.
Who could have imagined that the vast army of Honkai Beasts attacking Schicksal was actually just a diversion?
"Yay! Yay! Big brother, I want to go inside that cloud over there. Can you take me?"
"Hehe, of course. Then little Kiana, hold on tight."
Bai Ge carried little Kiana—Durandal—as he flew through the air, repeatedly using spatial teleportation to travel. The girl was not scared at all and kept cheering excitedly.
At the same time, Bai Ge noticed that she was holding a yellow rabbit plushie in her hand—Homū.
"I seriously don't get what's cute about this yellow rabbit. Uh, little Kiana, do you like it too?"
"I really like Homū, but I actually like cats even more. Mom says I'm still too young, though. It'd be too dangerous to keep a cat, so I can only have one after I grow up."
Kiana puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"...That's true for ordinary children, but for a Kaslana cub, I think the one in danger would be the cat."
Bai Ge blinked and stated the facts.
"Also, this Homū was given to me by a blond big brother. He said it was a gift from Mom that he was passing on to me... Wuwu, honestly, I don't really like this Homū." With an adorable frown, Kiana tugged at Homū's arm.
For some reason, she instinctively disliked this Homū a little. But since it was a gift from her mother, she had decided to treasure it properly.
However, Bai Ge's expression changed when he heard that.
A blond big brother?
"Little Kiana, let me take a look at this."
"Huh? O-okay!"
"...Otto, you bastard!"
After taking the yellow rabbit plushie, Bai Ge gave it a slight squeeze and immediately discovered something hard inside. He promptly tore Homū open and ripped out the hard object within.
"Homū's belly has something strange inside! Uh, big brother, why did you break it?!"
"Kiana, don't move. Hah!"
Bai Ge's expression changed drastically.
He had pulled a red-glowing transmitter from Homū's belly, but that was not the important part. The important part was that there was also a miniature bomb with an aura identical to a Honkai Energy Fission Bomb.
And it was already in the process of detonating. Whether he used the Herrscher of the Void's authority to teleport it away or simply threw it away, it was already too late.
Bai Ge used one hand to shield Kiana in his arms as much as possible, while his other hand clenched the miniature Honkai Energy Fission Bomb.
Boom—!!!
Even a miniature bomb, once infused with Honkai Energy, was over ten times stronger than C4. Bai Ge, already on the verge of death, and Kiana in his arms were blasted away together.
Like birds struck by a hunter, they fell from the sky.
The two crashed into the forest.
Bai Ge's left arm had completely vanished, but he paid it no attention at all. He hurriedly lowered his head to look at Kiana in his arms.
He only felt warm blood staining his right hand red. Bai Ge was certain it was not his blood.
His own blood had long since nearly run dry. Even if someone cut open Bai Ge's veins now, not much red would come out.
"Cough, cough cough! Kiana? Little Kiana? Are you okay... Damn it!"
Although Bai Ge had blocked most of the Honkai Energy bomb's damage at the cost of his left hand, some of the bomb fragments had still shot over from such close range.
They had pierced through his body and struck Kiana.
And on top of that, the two had fallen from several thousand meters in the air...
"Damn it, don't let the timeline converge at a time like this! I won't let you die!"
Bai Ge growled furiously.
In the original plot, Kiana had also been directly struck in the head by a fragment from an aircraft while falling from several thousand meters in the air, plunging freely into the depths of a snowy mountain, and had ultimately survived with remarkable tenacity.
But that had been years later.
Kiana was only a little over two years old now! Bai Ge immediately activated the Herrscher of Death's authority at full force to heal Kiana.
Fortunately, even in his exhausted state, a Herrscher's authority was still a Herrscher's authority. As long as she was not instantly dead, as long as she still had a breath left, he could snatch her back from the King of Hell in an instant.
Kiana's injuries immediately stabilized.
But at the same time, footsteps sounded nearby.
"Tch!"
Bai Ge clicked his tongue, but he did not look over. Instead, he continued focusing on treating Kiana's wounds.
At the same time, he felt utterly helpless. He thought that when other people traveled into Honkai Impact 3rd, Otto was either dumbed down or practically handed them victories for free. But wish-fulfillment novels really could not be compared to reality.
Only after personally clashing with this man could one understand just what kind of terrifying enemy Otto Apocalypse was.
"Herrscher of the Void, we meet again."
"Please be careful, Bishop. I still..."
"Don't worry, Amber. Can't you see? This kind Herrscher is using his last strength to heal Kiana Kaslana. Even if we do nothing, he has no strength left to spare."
Otto motioned for Amber to lower her weapon. The Honkai Energy detector in his hand told him that the Honkai Energy concentration of the Herrscher of the Void boy before him was already so low that he barely seemed like a Herrscher.
Even the weakest Assault-Class Honkai Beast would be far stronger than Bai Ge was now, to the point that Otto even wondered whether Bai Ge was truly using Honkai Energy to heal Kiana.
Could he be using his own life force instead?
The treatment soon ended.
Bai Ge calmly sat with his back against a large tree, holding little Kiana in his arms. He gently stroked the white-haired little ball's head, then raised his eyes to look at Otto.
"..."
"..."
The two simply stared at each other in silence.
In the end, Otto was the one who looked away first. It was not because he felt guilty or anything else, but simply because...
Before you continue