7. Your Friend Xia Ling Has Left the Party / 8. Xia Ling, the Dragon Tamer

"Tsk, Fusion Warrior, what a useful ability. Even without learning Collapse, you can still establish a connection with Honkai Beast... I just wonder if Theresa can learn this move."

Xia Ling's exclamation made Raven stiffen. She couldn't believe that Xia Ling knew about the Collapse even though she hadn't learned it.

"If it's your elementary school principal, with that extremely powerful Honkai Beast inside her..."

Raven quickly changed the subject, afraid that she might hear some secrets from Xia Ling that she shouldn't know.

"Perhaps she can control these lower-level Honkai Beast to perform more complex operations."

Chapter Seven: Your friend Xia Ling has left the team.

With Mei and Xia Ling by their side, Raven captured several more Honkai Beast. By observing the different distances sensed by each Honkai Beast, Raven successfully identified several intersections of their perception ranges.

"Interesting... I captured these Honkai Beasts at different times, but the location of Kiana I obtained remained unchanged..."

"In other words, the girl didn't move, so it seems she's not in good condition..."

"Forget it, that's something that Anti-Entropy will have a headache about."

Raven shook his head, then turned back and called out, "Alright, I've confirmed Kiana's location... Huh?"

The Raven turned its head and met Mei's Mei, who was looking around. The reason the girl was looking around was, without a doubt, because someone seemed to be missing.

Where is Xia Ling?

"I don't know?"

Mei was equally bewildered.

Raven narrowed her eyes; the Fusion Warrior's perception hadn't given her any clues.

"Wasn't she just here a moment ago? Strange, I didn't sense any fluctuations in her abilities, how did she suddenly disappear?"

Recalling the tracking device that Xia Ling had secretly installed on her, Mei already had some guesses in her mind.

But... is it really okay to act alone like this without saying a word...?

Forget it, if something really goes wrong, I'm sure the headmaster will teach her a lesson. For now, let's take Kiana back to the main ship first.

Considering Xia Ling's fully developed solo action skills, Mei wasn't too worried about her.

"Perhaps he discovered something that bothered him and went to investigate on his own."

Mei chose to change the subject. "Let's go find Kiana first. Sister Xia Ling might have her own plans."

"Fine, whatever you want. I don't care anyway. This offer won't last."

The Raven shrugged and continued leading the way.

After the two left, the air suddenly distorted, and Xia Ling's figure appeared out of thin air.

Of course, she didn't choose to use her abilities to leave; she didn't want to make such a big fuss.

So she simply chose to put on the Scale Cloak on the spot.

After all, neither Mei nor Raven knew that she had this invisibility equipment. Once she disappeared, they would subconsciously consider her spatial abilities.

Unless one conducts a thorough search of Xia Ling's location or detects the airflow when Xia Ling moves, it will be impossible to find Xia Ling through perception.

"If I stay in the team, Raven won't have a chance to confirm Mei's determination to save Kiana, and therefore won't have a chance to tell Mei how to re -Herrscher transformation and retrieve the core."

"Therefore, we still need to give them some private space."

Xia Ling muttered to herself as she opened her terminal. On the map of Changkong City, two red dots were flashing.

One of them is Mei, who just left, and the other is Benares, whose location coordinates were planted by Xia Ling during the attack.

"As for now... let's go talk to Bella first."

"If I remember correctly, she is currently unable to transform into human form due to her strength and injuries."

"But she should still be rational... Hopefully, after spending so much time with Kiana, I can prevent her from causing too much of a commotion when we meet."

Benares's location wasn't far from Xia Ling; to be precise, it was because Bella didn't want to be too far from Kiana.

However, Kiana doesn't seem to have noticed that her familiars have arrived to protect her, and it seems that Bella doesn't want Kiana to know either.

Perhaps because she didn't want to choose between the two masters, Bella chose to simply come and silently protect Kiana's safety, just like in the original work.

That's good... at least Bella won't refuse to help me when it comes to Kiana.

Her figure flickered several times before Xia Ling stopped on a platform, slightly out of breath.

There was a reason why Theresa didn't want her to go on missions; for her now, the effects of using the Ritual Bell went far beyond just losing her sense of smell and taste.

Her abilities seemed to have been affected after this use; even releasing her already masterful connection ability consumed more energy than before.

Xia Ling is becoming increasingly certain that her abilities must have changed when she used her power amplification last time, but she is unsure when these changes began or whether they were benign or malignant.

Perhaps... it has something to do with Elysia?

Xia Ling had some vague suspicions, but she didn't have time to confirm them yet.

After all, Elysia hadn't told her directly, and if she asked herself, she might not get any answers, and might even be taken advantage of...

Xia Ling blushed slightly as she recalled the experience of having her first kiss taken by Elysia in the system space.

Well, if everything goes well, I'll have a long period of time alone with Elysia, so I'll ask her then...

Bringing her thoughts back, Xia Ling glanced at the map and realized she was very close to Benares.

Sure enough, in the distance, Xia Ling saw a dark figure crouching on the top of a building.

Benares looks like she's resting; after all, the Raven must have done her quite a bit of damage.

Xia Ling gathered her strength slightly, opened her "door" a little further, and then her figure instantly appeared in front of Benares.

Startled by the sudden appearance of another person in his field of vision, Benares flapped his damaged wing, trying to take off and create distance.

However, Xia Ling did not give her that chance.

A strange-looking staff instantly appeared in her hand. It was strange because it didn't seem to be a single item, but rather a combination of different items.

In fact, this thing is indeed a composite artifact, consisting of [Angelina's Conception] and [Gravity Defiance Mechanism]. The two have effectively amplified gravity control, which was originally weaker than that of the Welt replicant, several times over.

This thing now is probably equivalent to Star of Eden without its first rated power... but the consumption of Honkai Energy is also quite significant.

The sudden increase in gravity caused Benares's body to sink abruptly, and the already flimsy building swayed instantly.

"Don't move, Bella, I mean no harm."

Xia Ling's words startled Benares, not because she meant no harm, but because... she called out a name he hadn't heard in a long time.

Bella...

Chapter Eight: How to Train Your Dragon - Xia Ling

Benares, Judgment-class Honkai Beast, is the human codename for her, but she doesn't particularly like this name.

She preferred the other name Sirin had given her, Bella.

Similarly, she doesn't value anything about herself as Honkai Beast that much.

In her heart, the most precious thing will always be Sirin. And, deep within her consciousness, the faint memories of being with Sirin in the Babel.

Although the source of this memory is unclear, Bella still regards Sirin as her master and best friend.

After Sirin's death, she remained asleep beneath the Siberia ice, severely wounded. She did not choose to avenge Sirin because she sensed that Sirin was not completely dead and that one day she would need her help again. That would be the time for her crippled body to prove its worth.

Later, just as she had guessed, Sirin did indeed return more than a decade later, and she answered the call. However, this time, her queen seemed to be acting a little strange.

To be precise, it was her queen who split apart.

Bella was heartbroken by the conflict between the two masters, but she didn't have any good solutions. She couldn't bring herself to harm either of the Sirin, no matter which Sirin was involved.

However, the name Bella...

It seems like the Queen hasn't called me that in a long time...

Bella stopped struggling, her dragon head lowered slightly, her huge pupils fixed on Xia Ling.

Under the erosion of pain, her original abilities have gradually become blurred, leaving only the instincts of Honkai Beast and a barely maintained intelligence. The abilities to transform into a human and speak have long been abandoned by Bella.

"Well..."

The two stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, and Xia Ling couldn't help but slap her forehead.

"Oh no, I'm such an idiot. I was so focused on coming over to talk to you that I forgot we don't seem to be able to communicate."

Bella's gaze visibly turned disdainful.

"Don't look at me like that... Even though I wasn't fully prepared, I still have a way."

Feeling a little embarrassed by Bella's gaze, Xia Ling quickly started searching through her system space.

After a while, a strange creature that looked like a rat suddenly appeared in her hand, wearing a hat and holding a staff.

The Thought Catcher, also produced by Sarkaz pigeons, has an inherent effect that allows Xia Ling to capture nearby thoughts and ideas, regardless of its original function.

Of course, this is of little use to ordinary people, since it can only read very shallow consciousness. With a little precaution, this kind of capture can be avoided.

"Bella, repeat your thoughts in your mind a few more times, and I'll be able to hear you."

The Thought Catcher climbed up Xia Ling's arm and onto her shoulder, standing there as they quietly looked at Bella together.

Sure enough, Xia Ling heard the voice in Bella's heart.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

It seems to be very effective...

Xia Ling pondered for a moment and then said, "You should know me. We should have met at the Schicksal Headquarters."

"I am a close friend of Kiana, the personality inside Sirin. This shouldn't need any proof, right?"

"Hmm, the aura of Lady Kiana on you is very strong. You must have had a deep conversation with her."

Bella nodded slightly, affirming Xia Ling's answer.

No, your statement sounds strange... Xia Ling felt a little embarrassed, but Bella was right. She had indeed had more than one in-depth and simple conversation with Kiana.

It refers to the spiritual level.

As for the realities... Xia Ling can only say that the relationships are very complicated. Although Kiana has Mei and she has Theresa, her relationship with Kiana was subtly too intimate when they were in Changkong City.

After all, what captain wouldn't have feelings for the incredibly cute Kiana?

"I have had several spiritual exchanges with Kiana and have met Sirin a few times, so it's normal for you to feel this way."

"As for why I know your name... for some reason, Kiana and I have experienced Sirin's memories from before her death more than once, and tried various ways to save her. You are an important part of that."

"You mean, I'm very important to Her Majesty?"

Bella's somewhat excited mood was transmitted to Xia Ling's heart through the Thought Catcher.

"It is very important. Besides her own mother, you are probably the most important person in Sirin's heart."

Xia Ling nodded.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. Your importance in Sirin's heart is beyond doubt, and I believe the same is true for the other way around."

"You came here despite your serious injuries, so you must have sensed something."

"Yes, I can sense that Lady Kiana's vital signs are very weak... but I have no choice but to help her eliminate some of the surrounding threats."

Is this why Kiana can remain unharmed in the West District, which is teeming with Honkai Beast...?

A flash of understanding crossed Xia Ling's eyes.

"You said yourself that you can't save her, but I can."

"I can not only save Kiana, but also heal your injuries. However, this may require some cooperation from you."

Bella's thoughts suddenly fell silent. The Thought Catcher shook its head slightly at Xia Ling, indicating that it wasn't its problem.

What happened? She shouldn't have refused... Oh, I see...

Xia Ling suddenly realized something and asked:

"Are you worried that if I take over Kiana again, Sirin will never have a chance to turn things around?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Bella's eyes, and a moment later, the Thought Catcher's simultaneous interpretation sounded again.