30. Theresa: What? I'm Fighting Kevin? / 31. Theresa's Trump Card

"Your life is hanging by a thread. The erosion from the three cores has far exceeded your limits."

"To save you, we must remove the excess core from your body."

"During the Third Honkai Outbreak, in addition to the Imaginary Singularity left behind in Changkong City, I, as Herrscher, also had an Imaginary Singularity left behind by the core within my body."

"As long as I absorb the remaining Honkai Energy from the Third Honkai Outbreak, I can awaken again and become the Herrscher of Thunder once more. A new core will condense within my body on its own."

"At that time, the core in your body will naturally disintegrate, and by reducing one core, your symptoms will naturally be relieved."

"Mei? No, no, becoming Herrscher again is too dangerous!"

"It's too late, Kiana."

Mei gently closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her aura was completely different from before.

Crimson horns, red and black armor, and... the power of the Herrscher of Thunder.

"In exchange for the answer, I will join the World Serpent."

On the other side, outside the Imaginary Singularity of Changkong City.

"This guy's abilities are so strange!"

Seeing the Imaginary Corpse rapidly repairing itself by once again enveloping itself in the phantom of the clock, Theresa angrily flung Judah away.

The golden cross traced an arc like a meteor hammer before striking the golden phantom outside the Imaginary Corpse. Just like before, nothing happened.

In just over ten minutes, they had already killed this strange thing four times. Theresa could probably recite the skills of the Imaginary Corpse by heart.

The problem is that every time you "kill" this thing, it will turn itself into the way it is now, and then after a period of time, it will be fully revived.

They tried all sorts of methods during this time, but they were unable to stop this thing from entering the "resurrection" process.

"They are indeed quite troublesome..." Xia Ling wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. The high-intensity close combat was still a bit too much for her current physical condition.

In the original work, it was only mentioned that this thing was killed by Mei after she became a Herrscher transformation, but how Mei killed it was not mentioned at all in the story.

If the plan hadn't gone wrong, Mei would probably have already met with Kiana by now, and wouldn't have had time to deal with this.

However... she had already made arrangements for the current situation.

Although the original work didn't say it, she could roughly guess that Mei used her powers to directly physically dissolve the existence of the Imaginary Corpse.

However, if you want to achieve the same effect when Mei isn't around...

"Xia Ling!"

A shout from the edge of the battlefield instantly drew the attention of the people present.

A black and red figure moved swiftly between the buildings and soon came very close to them.

Without a doubt, those were Raven that came to deliver equipment to Xia Ling.

From a distance, the Raven tossed a metal briefcase toward Xia Ling.

"Thanks, Raven!"

Bella leaped up and caught Xia Ling steadily with this "off-field assistance".

"I should be thanking you. Thank you for taking this thing from the Honored Master."

The Raven didn't linger and had no intention of joining the battle. Seeing that the goods had been delivered, she waved goodbye from afar and quickly disappeared into the distance.

He placed the box on his lap and opened it. Inside the box was a long, purplish-red knife.

Seemingly sensing a familiar presence, after Xia Ling grasped it, one could even clearly feel the joy emanating from the knife.

"I almost forgot, in the Previous Civilization, you were Sakura's sword... There are quite a few old acquaintances here."

Xia Ling patted the blade and said, "Alright, Miss Seven Thunders of Retribution, now, let's switch to the form I'm most comfortable with."

In an instant, a sniper rifle flashing with blue-purple lightning appeared in Xia Ling's hand.

Chapter Thirty Theresa: What? I hit Kevin?

"Theresa, Yae Sakura, trap it!"

Xia Ling rested her eyes on the scope of the Seven Thunders of Retribution. Instantly, the world in her eyes seemed to rise to a higher dimension. Images layered upon each other in her eyes, revealing the inner world to her in great detail.

"Is this the aiming ability that the Seven Thunders of Retribution...? It's like having a built-in ability to find people and exploit their weaknesses?"

Xia Ling aimed the Seven Thunders of Retribution at the Imaginary Corpse, and sure enough, she could clearly detect a distinct pull between this Imaginary Corpse and the Imaginary Singularity.

"Then, let's aim for this..."

Xia Ling pulled the trigger.

Blue-purple lightning gathered along the gun barrel and then transformed into a fleeting bullet that exploded on the Imaginary Corpse in an instant.

The electromagnetic interactions between microscopic particles were directly eliminated under the influence of power, and the body of the Imaginary Corpse began to decompose directly at the atomic level.

Its connection with the Tree of Imaginary was also severed by this attack.

"As expected of Vill-V, having such a wealth of knowledge makes all the difference. The efficiency of utilizing this power is far superior to simply discharging electricity..."

Watching the Imaginary Corpse that had troubled them for over ten minutes being Seven Thunders of Retribution of Purification in one shot, Xia Ling gently stroked the gun, unable to put it down.

Seemingly having heard Xia Ling's praise of its creator, the Seven Thunders of Retribution hummed softly, expressing its joy without any attempt to hide it.

"Huh, it doesn't look broken at all. Raven saw it, it might faint from anger."

Remembering how Raven had to flee in a sorry state after firing just one shot when it had the Seven Thunders of Retribution, and then looking at the Seven Thunders of Retribution in her own hand that now seemed like a machine gun, Xia Ling couldn't help but want to laugh.

"Xia Ling? That's what the Raven just delivered..."

As Benares landed, Theresa approached, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, this is the reward I mentioned I would receive: the Third Divine Key, the Seven Thunders of Retribution."

Xia Ling gently patted the gun barrel, Seven Thunders of Retribution instantly understood her meaning. With a transformation, the Seven Thunders of Retribution turned into a bracelet and quietly slipped onto Xia Ling's wrist.

"I won't ask you what exactly you traded... Anyway, now that we've dealt with this guy, no one should be stopping us from shutting down the Imaginary Singularity."

"Hmm, from the perspective of the Seven Thunders of Retribution, it seems that only this monster is connected to the Imaginary Singularity. Moreover, that thing is just a simple spatial node. I can easily close it as long as I get closer."

Theresa nodded. "In that case, let's finish this quickly..."

Before the words were finished, another powerful aura soared into the sky in Changkong City. The four people present all had an average S-level combat power. With their senses, they could clearly perceive that the Honkai Energy of the entire Changkong City was converging towards that point.

"Oh no, could it be Kiana...?"

Theresa's face immediately turned very ugly. She remembered that Kiana had said that she could solve this crisis by absorbing the Honkai Energy of the entire Changkong City.

"No, it's not Lady Kiana."

Bella then transformed into human form and gently shook her head. "I am very familiar with Lady Kiana's power; it definitely wouldn't be this kind of fluctuation..."

"The aura emanating from there now seems more like... the Herrscher of Thunder."

"Mei?"

Theresa immediately realized what was happening.

"No wonder Mei disappeared early in the morning... Maybe that was Mei's original plan. However, such obvious energy fluctuations shouldn't have caused such a commotion if it were just a simple Herrscher transformation."

Xia Ling analyzed the answer.

"I'm afraid... Kiana has found Mei."

"Wouldn't that mean we're doomed?"

Theresa slapped her forehead, and when she put herself in Mei, Theresa felt a strong sense of familiarity.

When I was in Changkong City, it seemed that I was in a similar situation to Mei.

However, Xia Ling was in a worse state Kiana at that time, so she couldn't bear to actually fight Xia Ling.

But...

"Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to split into teams again."

"Xia Ling, you and Bella go and shut down the Imaginary Singularity. I'll go to Mei's place and see if I can persuade her."

"..."

Xia Ling suddenly regrets taking on the task of closing the Imaginary Singularity, but the key point is that she doesn't seem to have any reason to refuse.

This really puts Theresa and Kevin in a one-on-one fight.

"Take this with you."

Xia Ling casually slapped a tracking device onto Theresa.

"This is... a locator?"

"Okay, I'll come find you after I shut down the Imaginary Singularity. Be careful."

"Huh? What's there to be careful about?" Theresa, somewhat puzzled. "Even if Mei wants to fight Kiana, she can't possibly fight me, the one trying to break it up."

Mei certainly wouldn't attack you, but that place isn't just for Mei...

Xia Ling didn't offer any further explanation. As she watched Theresa leave in Judah mode, her face instantly fell.

"Hurry, Bella, fly towards the Imaginary Singularity at full speed, let's finish this quickly."

"If we get there late, Theresa will be in trouble again!"

On the rooftop of the Chiyu Academy.

"This is my own decision, Kiana."

Mei's voice is almost devoid of color, like a calm surface of water.

But the emotions hidden beneath the surface... are probably only something Kiana can sense from every move she makes.

On one side was her battered and ravaged body, and on the other was the Thunder Queen who had just returned from her Herrscher transformation. Kiana knew that if things continued like this, she had no chance of winning, let alone keeping Mei.

But... even if she can't keep her, she will. She still vividly remembers everything World Serpent did in Changkong City, and she absolutely cannot let Mei go to such a place.

So...

"Are you kidding me... I'm not letting you go!"

Kiana's eye had turned completely gold, and purple Honkai Energy patterns spread up her arm.

Now that Herrscher of Thunder Core Mei, and the Herrscher of the Void Core has almost gone dormant, Kiana is calculating her physical condition and carefully using her powers.

Seeing Kiana's change, Mei's eyes showed a hint of heartache, but more than that, they were filled with anger.

Even now, Kiana still hasn't learned to take care of herself, which only strengthens her resolve to go to the World Serpent.

She can save everyone, but she can't save herself... In that case, I'll save her.

Mei's aura suddenly surged, and the Honkai Energy of Changkong City began to converge towards her.

She decided to unleash her full power and end the battle quickly.

Chapter Thirty-One: Theresa's Trump Card

On the other side, Theresa had also arrived near the Qianyu Wuqi (8) Linqi Liu Yaojun Academy.

When she realized that Mei's aura was coming from the Chiyu Academy, she knew she had guessed correctly.

It must be that Kiana and Mei had some kind of conflict. She could even guess it; most likely, Kiana had said something about mission or responsibility again.

Don't ask her why she knows so much; it's just based on her experience.

However, Mei and Kiana are two young girls, and their self-control is not as good as that of a reliable adult like myself. If they were to really fight, and someone accidentally got hurt, it would be troublesome.

Therefore, I have to hurry over and stop them.

However...

Before even entering the academy, Theresa discovered a "third party".

The other party showed no intention of concealing their aura, simply standing quietly outside the Chiyu Academy, watching the two fighting inside from afar.

However, Theresa could not simply ignore him.

The reason is simple: because he is Kevin.