50. Theresa: I've seen every kind of teammate... Holy crap!

"Cough cough, Mei, you..."

Himeko thought about it and still felt that she should pay attention to the students' mental health.

"Being a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) is a very common phenomenon among young students, especially for us Valkyrie who are truly capable, so Mei, you don't need to be too..."

"Teacher Himeko! Please don't bring this up again!"

Clearly, Himeko's attempt to comfort her Mei. Mei, who hadn't made a move just moments before, immediately rushed over and covered Himeko's mouth with her face flushed.

As for Theresia, with whom she wasn't so close, Mei looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Huh?" Theresia paused for a moment, then a look of understanding dawned on her. "Based on my information retrieval of your world, it seems we should say..."

"Mei, you don't want others to know about this, do you?"

"Have you been watching anything weird lately?"

Himeko quickly pulled Theresia back to prevent her from saying anything more outrageous.

After spending so much time together, she had come to understand a little bit about this seemingly gentle Miss Theresia, who actually had a bit of a dark side.

"... Never mind, my affairs are not important."

Mei covered her face and sighed.

"Teacher Himeko, so... you didn't... back then..."

"What are you hesitating for? That's not how I taught you back then." Himeko patted Mei's shoulder with a grin. "Right, I didn't quite die back then, and Xia Ling saved me with her life-saving gadget."

"But... after she saved me, she collapsed first, triggering the resurrection procedure. This action attracted Dr. Kal'tsit and Theresia, and that's how I survived."

"However, because our relationship with Schicksal was still very tense at the time, Dr. Kal'tsit suggested that I hide with them first. After the relationship eased, we continued to lie low because of the emergence of the Thousand-Man Herrscher."

"Unintentionally..." Himeko shrugged, "I've been lying in wait until now."

"This is really..."

Hearing Himeko's incredible experiences, Mei was speechless for a moment.

"However, we can talk about my experience later. For now, let's go save Kiana first."

Himeko looked at Kal'tsit and Mulsus, who had just arrived after dealing with the puppets, and said.

"After all, the Herrscher of Domination came specifically for her this time..."

Leaving aside Mei's unprecedented social straits, Kiana had just finished saying goodbye to Himeko.

Kiana stopped in her tracks before a door that looked like a chocolate bar.

Stepping out of this door, time will begin to flow again, and she will... face reality.

Kiana couldn't help but turn around again. Himeko was still standing not far behind her, gazing at her tenderly without saying a word.

She understood what that gaze meant, and she didn't want to... disappoint Himeko.

Kiana forced back the tears she had barely managed to hold back and placed her hand on the chocolate-colored door.

She hardened her heart and gave him a sharp shove.

Kiana, you are my pride.

The words that echoed behind her as she left the door brought tears to her eyes once again.

She suddenly had an urge to push the door open again and go back to hug Himeko, but she knew that there was probably nothing left there.

With her departure, the core left behind by Himeko has fully accepted her. The violent power of the Herrscher of Flame is unusually warm within her body, as if it were her own arm.

But this also means that Himeko's traces in the world have diminished once more...

"Next... is the core of the Herrscher of the Void."

Kiana looked around. At this moment, everything inside the core had begun to turn pure white again, and the traces left by Sirin in the core were being gradually erased by herself.

Kiana understood that Sirin didn't want to keep the memories that had influenced her within the core for herself; she intended to return a completely "clean" core to Kiana.

At the very center of the core, Kiana saw the only remaining small house.

"I wonder how Sirin is doing now..."

Kiana touched the tear stains at the corner of her eye. She didn't want Sirin to see that she had been crying, otherwise Sirin would definitely blame herself again.

Moreover, as Himeko said, this should be a farewell with a smile.

Although there are still many regrets, I will carry on with Teacher Himeko's legacy and continue to move forward firmly. So, I should not bring this sadness to others.

After calming herself down and making sure she wasn't looking so upset anymore, Kiana took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Sirin, I'm back..."

"Ai, Sister Elysia, don't move! It tickles, hahaha..."

"...?"

Kiana's voice gradually changed from resolute to doubtful. It must be said that the scene before her eyes greatly relieved the heaviness in her heart.

Because she saw that Sirin, who had been calm and collected before she left, had now changed into an extremely cute, uh... magical girl-like outfit.

However, her weapon had been thrown aside and was no longer able to protect its owner, while Sirin was trying to escape from Elysia's clutches.

Judging from the girl's flushed face, she must have been pinched and rubbed by Elysia for quite a while.

To be honest, Kiana can understand Elysia. After all, Sirin's outfit is really cute, and Kiana even has the urge to touch Sirin.

But... she's only been gone a short while, how could such a big change have occurred within the core? Could it be that she went to the place where Sirin stores her memories?

Kiana, who was somewhat doubtful, remained in the same position and pondered for a moment before finally arriving at her answer.

I must have opened the door wrong!

Kiana pondered this, then slowly withdrew.

"Wait, wait! Sister, don't go! Come save me!"

In her desperation, Sirin even called out the name she used to call Kiana in her dream.

Kiana was taken aback, then closed the door even faster.

Although she was already certain that she probably hadn't gone the wrong way, but...

Looking at the outfit he was wearing after fully mastering the core, hmm, handsome and dashing.

So, if I don't walk faster, the spot where I was being petted in Elysia's arms should be mine.

However, it was too late for her to realize this. When she turned around, she found that the door behind her had been sealed with a layer of pink crystal.

Kiana, long time no see?

Chapter 50 Theresa: What kind of teammates haven't I seen... I'm awesome!

"Kiana ~"

Elysia smiled at Kiana, opened her arms, and gave her a big hug.

Hmm, Xia Ling wasn't lying to me after all... Is this the Herrscher of Flamescion she was talking about? No wonder she insisted I see it for myself!

Elysia couldn't quite describe her feelings—was it relief, excitement, or happiness? Perhaps it was a bit of everything...

After all, she had watched Kiana grow from a paramecium to a firefly through Xia Ling's perspective.

It's hard to imagine anyone watching Kiana's growth without being moved, let alone someone like Elysia.

"Love, Sister Elysia..."

Kiana wasn't quite sure Elysia was thinking at that moment, but she could sense that Elysia's mood seemed a little different from usual.

"You look so cool, Kiana..." Elysia raised her hand and stroked Kiana's cheek. "In your eyes, I seem to see an ever-burning flame."

"It seems you've already met Himeko, haven't you?"

"Xin Yan...?" Kiana murmured to herself, "What a nice name..."

"Just now, I did see Teacher Himeko, and we... talked for a long time."

Kiana's voice immediately dropped again when the topic of what had just happened in the core was brought up.

"Teacher Himeko, you gave me one last lesson."

"Alright... this dejected look isn't what Himeko wants to see, is it?"

"Don't forget, there are still people waiting for you outside~"

Elysia gently smoothed Kiana's hair and said softly, "So, cheer up~ If Kiana does well, later... maybe I'll grant you one of your wishes?"

Upon hearing Elysia's words, Kiana couldn't help but recall the "spell that can grant any wish" she had uttered in the data space of the St. Freya Academy before she awakened, in order to revive Cecilia.

However, she is no longer a child, and the idea of reviving Himeko with a single incantation... probably only exists in beautiful dreams.

"Thank you for your comfort, Sister Elysia... As for the wish, should I repeat 'Ich liebe dich'?"

"Hey..." Sirin protested from the side, "You even dared to mention me..."

"Hmm~ I'm relieved to see you guys still getting along so well?"

Seeing the two getting along so well, Elysia couldn't help but smile, patted Kiana's head, and said, "Sirin has finished cleaning up the core. Now it's time for you to fully master the Herrscher Authority."

"Good luck, Kiana, we're all waiting for you outside."

"As for Sirin... let her come out with me first. Now that she has a body, it seems like a good idea for her to practice on the Herrscher of Domination."

"Sirin can leave the core now?" Kiana was taken aback. "Did... Sister Elysia help her find a usable body?"

"It's all thanks to Xia Ling ~"

After thinking for a moment, Elysia added, "Of course, it uses a technology similar to the one I have in my current world."

"I feel like I not only didn't understand, but I also have a lot more questions... Oh well, I'll ask Sister Xia Ling together after this is over."

"Of course! But don't let Little Xia Ling off the hook then, okay?"

Elysia smiled and nodded, seemingly quite pleased to see someone suffer.

"And... if you want to know more about me later, Kiana can ask Xia Ling. She'll give you a satisfactory answer."

"Okay... Sirin, I'm entrusting Sister Xia Ling's safety to you during this time."

"What do you mean by 'this period of time'? Does that mean I'm not involved after this period of time?!" Sirin pouted, looking like an angry little pufferfish.

"After that... there might be no more danger, right? After all, as Sister Xia Ling said, this is called... if we sisters go together, how can we possibly defeat an enemy?"

Meanwhile, outside, on the platform where Xia Ling is located...

"Xia Ling, are you alright?" Theresa asked breathlessly, swinging Judah and colliding with the giant hand that descended from the sky once again.

Just now, for some unknown reason, the puppets controlled by the Herrscher of Domination seemed to have suffered severe interference, which caused the puppets to lose almost half of their combat power, making their already limited role even more ineffective.

Perhaps because it had completely lost its remaining value, the large, shaped hand stopped summoning puppets and instead began to confront Xia Ling, who had been harassing it with the Seven Thunders of Retribution.

As we all know, Xia Ling is a typical character with high offense and low defense, relying entirely on dodging and teleportation for defense. However, in the theater where the spatial environment is severely disrupted, Xia Ling's teleportation requires a lot more pre-cast time than before.

This resulted in the Herrscher of Domination's attacks mostly targeting Xia Ling in close combat.

Even though Theresa was eager to protect her wife and wished she could shield Xia Ling from all attacks, she was ultimately hampered by Kiana's presence, and Xia Ling, for some unknown reason, was not in good fighting condition today.

"I'm fine... Don't worry, reinforcements will be here soon."

Xia Ling wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth, feeling a little strange herself.

She was definitely not in good form today... She didn't react to several attacks that she could have, or rather, her combat instincts were a bit off.

She seemed unable to anticipate the Herrscher of Herrscher of Domination's attack...

Xia Ling didn't take this phenomenon too seriously, since her training results were fine in the real world.

Moreover, I seem to have been injured once during the last battle at the Theater of Domination... I think it was once?

So, does the Theater of Domination itself possess some kind of mental interference ability...?

Xia Ling felt that she had found the answer.

Just then, a message from Elysia interrupted her thoughts.

After reading the message, Xia Ling immediately perked up.