46. Sirin, would you like to become a magical girl? (not really) / 47. Xia Ling: Where are my teammates? Somebody help me out!

The Terror Entity, one of the famous arguments in the game, has a 10% chance to increase the enemy unit's health by 100%.

The problem is that this effect includes the boss.

At the same time, this Collapse Paradigm one of the few that can be used on oneself... although given Xia Ling's fragile nature, she generally wouldn't need to use it.

"Little Ai, go and give those puppets a live performance!"

These units, which belong to the system's summoned creatures, are different from the Herrschers summoned by Xia Ling. They are not very intelligent. The same applies to the knights of the Water Moon Pigeon and the pack beasts of the Sarkaz Pigeon.

For this reason, in most cases, these summoning items are useless.

The silent leader of the Mokuren slowly nodded, and then his face was instantly covered in black, while his eyes were replaced by a white light.

After entering a state of self-annihilation, he charged directly towards Kiana, who was surrounded by dolls, without hesitation.

That's right. Unlike in the game, in reality, Xiao Ai doesn't have a health limit to activate his skills. Since his goal is to steal people, he can leave the self-annihilation state untouched.

As for ignoring collision volume and high-speed movement, it can naturally remain stationary. In other words, if it's not off, it's on.

"What, what kind of guy is this that suddenly appeared out of nowhere!"

Little E, transformed into a high-speed stag, startled all the puppets in the theater. Before they could even turn their heads, this pale green figure had already swept past a large group of puppets.

"Quick, stop him!"

Seeing that the other party easily passed through the bodies of the large number of outer puppets, the inner puppets couldn't help but get anxious. They began to control the threads and wrap them around Little Ai's body.

Unfortunately, it was no use. The threads passed straight through his illusory body and instead entangled a large part of the puppet behind him.

As if entering an empty field, Xiao Ai easily withstood the barrage of attacks and arrived in front of Kiana. With the buff of having an emotional entity, the puppet's attacks were completely ineffective against him—although he didn't suffer any damage himself either.

Kiana slapped a beacon belonging to Xia Ling onto the sleeping beauty, and instantly Kiana's body was enveloped by a "door," teleporting her to Xia Ling's side. Ektirnil, having completed his mission, then canceled the summoning.

Without time to check Kiana's physical condition, Xia Ling, with Theresa's protection, quickly sensed the state of Kiana's core.

While on the road, Xia Ling had already noticed Sirin's calls several times, but without being able to touch Kiana's body, she was naturally powerless to do anything about it.

However, even if Xia Ling had managed to retrieve Kiana, she couldn't possibly have her soul leave her body and broadcast it live in front of Thousand-Man Herrscher, so...

"Help me, Elysia!"

"Yes, yes, don't worry, I'll take care of things with Sirin."

"Remember to bring the Doctor's Silver Seal that I'm using to exchange for a body for Sirin. Elysia, once the exchange is successful, you should stay with Sirin for now... I'm worried that the Herrscher of Domination might harm her."

Xia Ling quickly added.

"Okay, okay, Xia Ling, you're not allowed to get hurt this time either, okay?"

"Don't worry, we'll win."

Ignoring Elysia's pointed remark, Xia Ling immediately said to Theresa after ending their conversation in the mental world, "Kiana's consciousness is still inside the core. It seems that the Plague Gem has been fused into Kiana's body by the Thousand-Man Herrscher."

"What? The Plague Gem..." Theresa was genuinely taken aback. "Doesn't that mean, Himeko..."

"We can't worry about that now." Xia Ling picked up Kiana and said, "I think we need to get out of here quickly."

"We have disrupted the Herrscher of Domination's most important plan. The other side... may finally be choosing to fight us to the death."

Chapter 46 Sirin, Would You Be a Magical Girl? (Just kidding)

"Huh, what's this...?"

Inside the Herrscher of the Void Core, Sirin stared blankly at the crystal flower that suddenly shone brightly.

She had already been preparing to find a comfortable place to sleep for a while, since she had now realized that given Kiana's physical condition, Xia Ling was unlikely to be able to contact her at this time.

Since Xia Ling can't be contacted in the short term, I naturally can't hold Kiana back. Making a backup plan in advance and letting Kiana ascend to immortality at the cost of my temporary slumber seems like a good option.

Anyway... Xia Ling will most likely save me, right?

Even if we can't save him, it's okay. Consider it an atonement.

With this indifferent attitude, Sirin began preparing for her "afterlife".

Actually, this is entirely a matter of information asymmetry. Although Sirin has some understanding of the core, she doesn't know what the outcome would be if the one with the dual souls chose to sleep, Reimu, were to do so.

As for Kiana... she assumed Sirin knew, so she didn't say anything.

"Hi~ Long time no see, cute Little Sirin?"

"Come here and let Sister Elysia give you a hug!"

To Sirin's astonishment, the pink crystal flower gradually transformed into a familiar figure.

Then, before she could even be shocked, she was pulled into Elysia's arms and given an intimate hug.

"Mmm..."

The long-awaited warm embrace made Sirin crave this feeling, but her reserve urged her to act more mature.

After all, they are adults who can decide their own destiny, so why do they like to act like spoiled children?

After mentally preparing herself, Sirin finally made up her mind, and then... began to enjoy Elysia's embrace with a clear conscience.

After all, they'd been separated for so long, and it was because of her own fault that they had a falling out... If she hadn't felt she couldn't face reality, Xia Ling might have taken her away two months ago.

In Sirin's view, her behavior was like that of a child who had run away from home, so even though she was not mentally allowed it, Sirin still honestly snuggled up to Elysia.

"Is Sister Xia Ling... alright?"

"Of course it's fine, she can easily manipulate the dolls." Elysia didn't hesitate to set a flag for Xia Ling: "What, does Little Sirin ... want a hug from Xia Ling?"

"It's been a while since I've seen Little Sirin, and she's become quite affectionate!"

"No, no! It's just that we've been apart for so long and I miss her a little..."

Sirin buried her face in Elysia's chest, not wanting to show the blush on her face. "But, it's okay if it's not here. Anyway... there will be plenty of opportunities after we leave here."

"So..." Elysia gently stroked Sirin's hair and said softly, "Little Sirin, are you finally ready to leave?"

"Yes, of course! If things continue like this, there will be no turning back... I can't keep holding Kiana back."

Sirin nodded firmly. "It's time to put an end to those things that need to be faced..."

"I will try my best to earn the forgiveness of those who have been hurt because of me. If they cannot forgive me, I will do my best to make it up to them... I have been stuck here for so long, I have to make some changes."

"It's good that you're aware of things... but Sirin, don't think too badly of everyone, okay? From what I've observed, you're all kind people."

"But you probably won't listen to this now... So let's discuss some practical issues instead?"

"Sirin, do you... want a chance to start over, to face this world anew with a completely new body?"

"Is this really possible...?" Sirin asked, stunned.

Elysia's words did give Sirin a little shock. She thought Xia Ling would transfer her consciousness to some kind of vessel and at most give her a mechanical body or something... But from what Elysia said, it didn't seem to be like that.

"Yes, of course, but this was done by your Sister Xia Ling... I don't really understand the principles behind it."

Elysia took out a silver emblem and a letter, saying, "This thing should be called Doctor Silver... Seal? Anyway, according to Xia Ling, it can generate a completely new body for you."

Because she often heard Xia Ling mention another common name for this collectible when she was helping Xia Ling with the pigeon hunt, Elysia almost blurted out a name that wouldn't pass censorship. Fortunately, Sirin was still an innocent child and didn't notice anything amiss.

"What will this brand new body look like?"

"Sirin asked curiously."

"According to Xia Ling, the prototype of this body is probably you in a World Bubble... or rather, your counterpart."

"In that world, you... were a magical girl."

"Huh?!"

Sirin covered her mouth in surprise.

"Well, it's not the kind of miracles and magic you're imagining... According to Xia Ling, the magic in that world is just a kind of energy similar to Honkai Energy. However, compared to others, your fighting style might be a lot more flashy?"

Elysia asked somewhat uncertainly, "So, do you like this?"

"I like it, of course I like it!"

Sirin said without hesitation.

After all, in her dream world, besides designing clothes, her hobbies were magical girls. She even had a magical girl cosplay outfit in her dream, which still exists in this space as one of her memories.

"Well..." Elysia handed the Doctor's silver seal to Sirin: "After Kiana's situation is over, and after discussing it with her, let's open it?"

"By the way, Sister Elysia..." As soon as Kiana was mentioned, Sirin's joy was quickly dampened. "About Teacher Himeko... what do you think I should do to comfort Kiana later?"

"Uh..." This question really stumped Elysia. It wasn't that she didn't know how to comfort her, it's just...

She knew that Himeko was still alive. It felt somewhat inappropriate for her to talk about inheriting Himeko's will here.

Kiana is a strong girl, maybe... she'll even comfort you instead?

Chapter 47 Xia Ling: Where are my teammates? Where are my teammates? Help!

"I wonder how Elysia is doing..."

Since Elysia entered Kiana's body, Kiana hasn't made any noise... However, Xia Ling isn't worried at all.

After all, according to Xia Ling's perception results, Kiana's three cores were very stable, and as for Elysia, this was the first time she had used them for three days this month, so there was still plenty of time.

However, the main situation now is that, because she needs to take care of Kiana, she and Theresa seem to be struggling.

After Xia Ling directly snatched Kiana away, the Thousand-Man Herrscher was in a rather... well, you could say that the girl's blushing spoke louder than any words.

In short, instead of using dolls for some harmless harassment, they completely revealed their true colors.

A gigantic hand, composed of bizarre black and gold elements, slowly descended from the ceiling that Theater of Domination.

And on the fingers of this giant hand, numerous golden threads are wrapped, controlling countless puppets and Imaginary Constructs.

"Is this... the true Herrscher of Domination?"

Feeling the almost tangible malice emanating from that giant hand, Theresa murmured to herself.

"I'm afraid not, at least not in its complete state." Xia Ling shook her head with a solemn expression. "After all, this is the thing that ambushed Bronya and Seele when we first encountered the doll."

Xia Ling, who was familiar with the game, knew that behind the Thousand-Man Herrscher was a humanoid form similar to a mecha. She had spent a lot of time trying to get her hands on that thing on the battlefield back then.

This giant black and gold hand is just an appetizer.

However, because they needed to protect Kiana's body, their fighting power was greatly weakened, and even the appetizers became a bit tricky for a while.

Although Theresa's spears of light, imbued with the Power of Restraint, can effectively sever the threads through Herrscher of Domination manipulates the puppets, she only has eleven spears, while the number of puppets far exceeds that.

Meanwhile, Xia Ling had to use the Seven Thunders of Retribution to snipe the giant hand while also being wary of the harassment from the silk threads. Before long, she was already covered in wounds.

"Xia Ling! Are you alright..." Theresa gritted her teeth and said, "How about we stuff Kiana into Judah first? Anyway, I'm only using the Light Spear right now..."

"It's alright, focus on the fight, I can handle it."

Xia Ling said in a deep voice, "Don't overthink it... Besides, our reinforcements should be arriving soon."

Xia Ling's confidence was based on her own experience. Although the early appearance of the Herrscher of Domination meant there might not be enough time to rely on reinforcements from Anti-Entropy, they were not the only "surprise troops" to enter the theater.

Through the system's communication channels, she could clearly sense that Kal'tsit was almost there.

Moreover, they seemed to have brought Mei with them.

"This is the Theater of Domination... Just walking inside, you can feel the overwhelming malice."

Looking at the eerie scene around her, Himeko couldn't help but sigh.

"In comparison, even the Sea Creatures we used for training every day has become quite handsome."

"I think Himeko, you don't necessarily need to try and determine which of these two is better..."

Theresia looked around warily as six reddish-brown spheres slowly floated around her body.

Although the prototype of this body is Otto's Soul Steel body, after being modified by the system, Kishinuma, and collections, even Otto himself probably wouldn't recognize it.

At the same time, Xia Ling tried her best to recreate Little Ther's combat mode... at least in terms of appearance and effects.

So, don't be fooled by how scary these six spheres look; actually... these are what Little Ther uses to replenish Honkai Energy for his teammates.

Of course, you can also throw it out directly to deal damage or control, which is why Little Ther is walking next to Himeko.

"Huh?"

MewMew, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped.