61. Scrappy Kitty Kiana Feels Clear-Headed After Beating Up the Pufferfish

You know you will eventually face her again, and now you are fully prepared.

[You take a deep breath, and then—]

[Hmm? Who is invading my mind? (Entering the first ending)]

[Abandon your suppression of Sirin and confront Sirin directly. (Enter the Ending Two)]

"Kiana," Xia Ling said softly, "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Kiana nodded solemnly. "If I can't even face a simulated Sirin, then what right do I have to face the real Sirin?"

With that, Kiana pressed the second option hard.

[Sirin has returned once again, and the will of her predecessors shines brightly in your hands.]

As a flame-like emblem lit up on the screen, the flame that Kiana always carried with her suddenly expanded.

Then, under Xia Ling's astonished gaze, which nearly made her eyes pop out, the wisp of flame gradually transformed into a greatsword that looked like a red crystal.

"Holy crap, the Flame-Chaser Greatsword?"

Although it was a replica made of some kind of strange crystal, Xia Ling recognized the familiar shape at a glance.

"The Flame-Chaser Greatsword? Is that the name of this greatsword?"

Kiana looked down at the greatsword in her hand, her eyes flashing with undisguised affection.

"It sounds like he's really handsome."

Kiana swung the greatsword a few times and found that it didn't feel awkward at all; on the contrary, it was surprisingly easy to wield.

She gave a confident smile.

"Don't worry, Sister Xia Ling."

"Although it's just a simulation, I'll protect you this time!"

Then, she resolutely walked towards the last node of the Fifth Floor.

"He delivered some really cool lines."

Xia Ling smiled and followed behind Kiana.

Although Kiana said she would protect her this time, how could Xia Ling let her face Sirin alone?

Her half-baked spatial abilities alone aren't enough; she needs to add her own... ouch!

Xia Ling slammed into a transparent wall. The powerful recoil made her stumble back several steps and almost fall to the ground.

"What is that?"

Xia Ling clutched her head in pain and looked ahead.

Then, she discovered something.

Although this node is the last node on the Fifth Floor, it is different from the regular boss nodes. The attributes of this node seem to be a bit wrong.

Specifically, the type of this node is not called "Perilous Enemy", but rather "Narrow Encounter".

Xia Ling looked at the node descriptions on the screen with a blank expression, then looked at Kiana, who was already facing off against Sirin, and cursed the system dozens of times in her mind.

"System, you better pray Kiana wins, or I'm not done with you!"

Don't worry, host, we will win.

[To ensure she wins, I've already implanted the greatsword's usage memories into the Flame-Chaser Greatsword beforehand; she'll definitely win.]

With the system's confident assurances, Xia Ling turned her gaze towards the battlefield with some apprehension.

Unlike the conflict between Kiana and Sirin in the original work, the battle that takes place here seems to have nothing to do with the so-called struggle for power or temperament.

This battle is purely a contest of strength.

The way this battle turned out is actually a reflection of Kiana's inner self.

The system suddenly spoke.

Before the Flame-Chaser of the original work, Kiana actually had a regret.

She never truly defeated Sirin, not even during the Flame-Chaser. She only surpassed Sirin on an ideological level, gaining the core's approval.

However, she never had the chance, nor the ability, to defeat Sirin in the Imaginary Space that day.

This remains true even now, and because you were among the many who died in the Imaginary Space, her desire has only intensified.

"This should be considered, in a way... that I can't do anything?"

Xia Ling's expression was strange.

[That's right, so if she could defeat Sirin on her own even once, it would fill a void in her heart.]

Even if this victory is virtual, it doesn't matter; the important thing is the difference in mindset.

"So it seems..." Xia Ling paused, "Your system isn't so useless after all."

That's exactly right!

The system's voice carried a hint of pride.

[Even though I often let the system down, host, just tell me the final result was good, right?]

"Fine, fine, you'd better be."

Xia Ling ignored the expanding system and turned her attention to Kiana on the battlefield.

Within the node, in a scene identical to the Imaginary Space of that day, two figures are constantly colliding.

Same enemy, same location.

Sirin only possesses the abilities of the Herrscher of the Void. The abilities of the Lightning Herrscher and the Death Herrscher, because they "do not belong" to Sirin, were directly judged by the system as external objects.

And Sirin's opponent has changed from two people to one.

However, this person wielded a flame as intense as Himeko's and used the teleportation technique taught by Xia Ling.

And the scales of victory are steadily tipping in Kiana's favor.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Kiana Cat Becomes Clear-Headed After Beating Up the Pufferfish

On the battlefield, Kiana's figure was tightly entangled with Sirin's.

To Xia Ling's surprise, Kiana did not fall into a disadvantageous position as she had expected.

On the contrary, Kiana has always maintained the initiative.

Sirin's attack methods are not very diverse, consisting mainly of portals, the Spear of Subspace, and the use of large amounts of Honkai Energy from the Imaginary Space.

However, against Kiana possesses the same ability, even though Kiana is far less skilled than Sirin in using it, she is still able to escape Sirin's banishment and open a portal to intercept the Spear of Subspace flying from all directions.

Even due to the influence of the collection, Sirin's skill animation is longer than Kiana's.

While Sirin's attacks were ineffective against Kiana, the reverse was a different story.

The flames unleashed by the Flame-Chaser Greatsword are truly renowned for their destructive power.

Even as Herrscher, Sirin clearly didn't want to become a grilled pufferfish, so she could only rely on teleportation to dodge Kiana's attacks.

In other words, the current battlefield is basically a situation where she is fleeing and she is chasing.

If Sirin here had the cores of the Death Herrscher and the Lightning Herrscher, she would probably have already destroyed Kiana.

But poor Sirin only had one Herrscher of the Void core at this time.

Even due to the limitations imposed by the nodes on the terrain, Sirin couldn't run too far and could only keep circling around.

However, Xia Ling noticed that during this constant chase, Kiana's teleportation seemed to be becoming more and more accurate.

She has even begun to try to pinpoint Sirin's landing point in advance by capturing the spatial fluctuations generated by Sirin's abilities.

Just like how Sirin dealt with Xia Ling back then.

"That's why I always say, battle is the best teacher."

Xia Ling commented from the side, "You still need to fight enemies who are stronger than you to improve faster."

[Host, are you sure Sirin's strength on the field is currently superior to Kiana's?]

"It's alright. Even if we surpass each other in terms of raw strength, we still surpass each other. Being restrained is something we can't do anything about."

"We should imagine that Sirin is happy now, and believe that she must be making progress under such high pressure."

[Host, a friendly reminder: this is a simulation of Sirin. The real Sirin is already sleeping in the dark room.]

"Oh, that's alright now. I was worried that Sirin would be traumatized by Kiana's beating, but I don't have to worry about that now."

[Actually... never mind, host, the battle seems to be almost over.]

Based on my data, Kiana's accuracy in calculating Sirin's landing point is already very high.

Sure enough, shortly after the system spoke, the scene of the battle between the two suddenly changed.

Kiana's greatsword erupted with flames once more, and with a full-force throw, it transformed into a red meteor, hurtling towards Sirin.

Sirin dared not take such an attack head-on, so she quickly activated her ability and disappeared from the spot.

A moment later, Sirin appeared at another location on the node, but this time, she was greeted by two Spear of Subspace, one in front of the other.

Because these Spear of Subspace appeared almost simultaneously with Sirin, she didn't have time to open another portal to send them away.

Left with no other choice, Sirin could only gather Honkai Energy and condense two solid shields around her body, barely managing to intercept the sharp spearhead and avoid the fate of being cosplayed as Asuka.

However, while her barrier could stop the Spear of Subspace, it couldn't stop Kiana from taking the opportunity to quickly approach.

A heavy blow slammed into Sirin's stomach, sending her flying backward uncontrollably. At the same time, a greatsword carrying a blazing aura flew automatically from a distance toward Kiana, returning to Kiana's hand as Sirin dodged.

"It's over, Sirin."

Kiana's face was frosty. "Although the simulated you can't communicate with me, consider this interest I'm collecting from you now..."

"As for the rest, whether it's your power, your body, or the things you did to Himeko and Xia Ling, I will take them all back from you in the real world."

Sparks flew up again from Kiana's sword.

"How are you feeling, Kiana?"

"I feel... much better?" Kiana had a faint smile on her face.

"Having truly defeated Sirin once, I don't seem to be so repulsed by this power anymore, or rather... in my eyes, the distance between Sirin and me has suddenly been shortened considerably?"

"It's that feeling of being pulled down from your pedestal," Xia Ling laughed. "The difference between being invincible and being defeated by your own hands is not small."

"Hmm, I feel like once I get out tomorrow, I can try out the core's capabilities!"

"Then you'd better take it easy... at least Fu Hua needs to be there."

"This greatsword is really useful; it's making me want to practice with it, but unfortunately, it's only temporary..."

"It wouldn't hurt to practice, since Fu Hua can teach you anyway." Xia Ling blinked. "Maybe you'll have a chance to get this sword back in the future."

"Really?" Kiana's eyes lit up.

"But if that day really comes..." Xia Ling's gaze turned to the depths of the Imaginary Space.

You might even prefer not to have its power...

Without uttering the second half of her sentence, Xia Ling gave a mysterious smile.

"Next is the Sixth Floor, where we will soon be rescuing the former Sirin."

"Well, Kiana, do you need some more time to prepare yourself mentally?"

"If it were me who hadn't defeated Sirin just now, perhaps I would need it."

"But..."

Kiana returned Xia Ling's gaze with a firm look.

"I've figured a lot out now."

"I have a lot of grudges with Sirin. Whether it is her or me, the sins committed in the real world are a fact. I will not presume to forgive her on behalf of Sister Xia Ling or Teacher Himeko."

"But that doesn't mean I should ignore the cries for help from Sirin, who is still a test subject at this moment."

"What's happened in the real world is already done, and I can't change anything, but at least here..."