Little Senti: Whoa, this game has cheats! / Kiana: Wait, there are more than three endings?

"Don't worry, we definitely can't win in a fight. We might as well stall for time and at least let Chijie use all his skills."

Kiana, holding Mei, was moving around the field in Brownian motion, flashing about.

"You guys—all you do is scatter and run away like flies!"

"If you may, could you compare me to a firefly? I don't know why, but Sister Xia Ling sometimes calls me that."

While dodging everywhere, Kiana even had time to reply with a single sentence.

After all, when Chijie catches up with her, Mei will take the initiative to draw her sword and meet the attack, preserving Kiana's health.

Although taking a direct hit from Chijie is not a pleasant experience, with Kiana making every effort to escape, Chijie's attack frequency was almost like the third skill of the Kingkiller —it hit, but the effect seemed minimal.

When the battle had been going on for ten minutes, Chijie suddenly stopped.

At the same time, Kiana's pendant also emitted light.

A holy figure appeared before them.

"This is..."

"This is Aponia ~"

Elysia said cheerfully, "She is as holy and beautiful as ever, even in the data from the Elysian Realm trial."

"When the battle on the Fifth Floor lasts for more than ten minutes, Aponia will appear and use the Discipline to stop the Chijie —then you will enter the hidden Sixth Floor."

Xia Ling pointed to the screen, Theresa then noticed that the number at the top of the screen had changed from five to six, and the name had changed to... the Deepest Place.

"But Kiana and the others seem to be quite lucky. They even got a boost ticket after passing through the node where Chijie is located."

"I wonder what I'll get... Well, it's Sirin."

Xia Ling's face showed a strange expression when she saw that the ticket had actually drawn Sirin.

"Well... if this coupon had come a little earlier, they wouldn't have had such a hard time getting a ticket."

"But I just received this coupon now... I can only apologize to Sirin."

Chapter 74 Sirin: Wow, I'm cheating!

"It's Sirin! Thank goodness, we're saved!"

Unlike Xia Ling, who appeared pessimistic, Mei and Qi Ling Ba Wu (43) Liu Ba Qi Qi Kiana, who were completely unprepared, had happy expressions on their faces.

After all, although they hadn't directly fought Aponia during their many days of node exploration, they had still heard of her formidable reputation.

As arguably the strongest Mental Perception Fusion Warrior, Kiana knew without a doubt that her opponent could easily control her and Mei —after all, neither of them had any psychic resistance.

But! It's different when Sirin is around.

This is the Herrscher of Consciousness of the present civilization. Kiana believes that even if she cannot defeat Aponia, at least she and Mei will not be affected by mental control.

However, since the opponent is Mental Perception type, if their strongest mental ability is disabled, their close combat ability will obviously be negligible.

"Don't worry, leave it to me, ba⊙just(seven)ba? a Reimu."

Since the helicopter ticket was for Sirin will be the only one to appear in the next battle.

"It's just Aponia. Kevin and I are evenly matched. Facing Aponia is no problem."

Just you wait and see!

"Hahaha..."

The cat beside him gave an awkward but polite smile.

It's okay, confidence is a good thing, as long as you don't overconfidently rob shops... As for who will win between Sister Nia and Sirin, and how good Aponia's melee skills really are...

All I can say is wish them good luck.

As a nun, Sister Nia probably won't hit too hard...

"By the way, speaking of which, I've never seen what Aponia looks like."

Seeing the church-like building on the screen, Theresa felt her DNA stir.

"Judging from this, even if he gets Aponia, he'll still be a bishop?"

"Aponia is very humble. She always refers to herself as a nun?" Elysia explained with a smile.

"And..." Xia Ling glanced at Theresa's barely rising and falling chest without leaving a trace. "Aside from being a nun, Sister Aponia probably doesn't have much in common with you."

"What's the meaning?"

Seeing the two people's gazes, which held a hint of pity, Theresa tilted her head in confusion.

However, this question was soon answered.

"Why, why..." Theresa gasped dramatically, "Why is that thing so big?!"

"This size is almost bigger than my head!"

"Indeed, if she hugs you, there's even a risk of you completely sinking into her."

Having experienced the power of Aponia, Xia Ling nodded with lingering fear.

"That's why I said, Theresa, the gap between you and her is quite large..."

"Damn it..." Theresa blushed, "I'll grow up eventually! As long as I activate Collapse a few more times... I'll definitely become that kind of big sister!"

"Hmm..." After thinking about the alluring figure under the big moon, Xia Ling patted Theresa: "I believe you."

Compared to the harmony in the reception room, the three people on the other side were not having such a good time.

After all... to their surprise, Aponia didn't cast illusions or disciplines on them, but instead started fighting them directly.

Moreover, the opponent's fighting style caught them completely off guard.

"She... is interfering with my power?"

Kiana stared in astonishment at the Spear of Subspace, which was completely off target. Unconvinced, she unleashed another fiery tornado. Sure enough, the tornado defied the laws of physics and flew towards her from behind.

"That's not the case. I merely disturbed your minds."

Aponia's voice, as always, carried a hint of compassion. "You, no, you... haven't you noticed yet?"

"You have been separated from your teammates ever since you stepped into this place."

"Is this the mechanism of Aponia? Forced one-on-one duels for everyone?"

"That's right, that's why I said the number of people is meaningless, since once you reach the Sixth Floor, you'll be fighting Aponia one-on-one anyway."

Xia Ling showed no remorse for creating such an overpowered mechanism. Instead, she said with a grin, "However, it's not actually that hard to win. It's hard to say about Mei, but Kiana should definitely win."

"After all, in the illusion, Aponia will not cast another illusion on you, but will only interfere with your mind and cause your control over Honkai Energy to become chaotic."

"But Kiana, who has mastered the control of power and achieved the effect of Imaginary Renormalization, will definitely be able to adapt to this kind of interference—well, we should thank Otto for providing her with a practical exercise in this regard."

"I see... Then, what about the illusion you just mentioned?"

Theresa continued to ask.

"You can find out about this by looking at Sirin's split screen."

Xia Ling glanced at it, then immediately turned her head away, unable to bear looking at it any longer. "Sigh, Sirin, I knew you would break the illusion..."

"If we don't break the illusion, we can complete the node after defeating Aponia, who doesn't use much mental power within the illusion. But if someone breaks the illusion..."

"Then she might get to enjoy the honor of taking on Aponia one-on-one."

Returning our gaze to the Sixth Floor, outside the illusion, the Sixth Floor is now completely silent.

Aponia remained kneeling in prayer, her eyes closed in devout devotion, while Sirin, Kiana, and Mei stood not far away, already immersed in the illusion.

And just then...

"Ha, I knew this was an illusion. It might fool Kiana and the others, but it's a million years too early to fool the great Herrscher of Consciousness!"

As Sirin suddenly opened his eyes, one of the three illusions immediately shattered.

"You Mental Perception types just like to act all mysterious and profound..." Sirin snorted as she looked at Aponia, who seemed not to have noticed her, and walked towards Kiana and Mei.

"Alright, you go to sleep now, I'll wake them up..."

Before Sirin could even raise her hand, a dangerous aura that sent chills down her spine instantly spread throughout her body.

Like a startled little animal, Sirin suddenly jumped back, and in her sight, Aponia had slowly opened her eyes.

However... the group of people...

Her eyes had turned blood red, and behind her, large and magnificent wings, like those of a butterfly, had unfurled.

At the same time, Sirin discovered that his ability was also becoming sluggish and slow, like a distorted image.

"See, that's it."

Xia Ling helplessly shrugged. "After all, Sirin's method is considered cheating. If she behaves herself, it's fine, but if she wants to wake up Kiana and Mei..."

"Then congratulations to her for being able to experience the alternate version of the Flame-Chasers Boss level ahead of time."

Chapter 75 Kiana: So there are more than three endings?

"Ha ha..."

Gasping for breath, Kiana held the Flame-Chaser Greatsword, its tip aimed directly at Aponia's vitals.

"You are very strong... but if you want to interfere with my control over power and authority, you've come to the wrong person..."

"After all... for the past two years, I've been constantly thinking about how to control my powers..."

Kiana smiled slightly. Whether it was fighting with Sirin for power or seizing a momentary opportunity to "send off" Otto, these experiences had all honed her control over power.

Compared to these, the interference brought by Aponia seems relatively friendly.

"In that case, my battle should be over, but I wonder how Mei and Sirin are doing in the one-on-one fights..."

Before she finished speaking, as Kiana suddenly raised her greatsword, the surrounding scenery began to peel away layer by layer like fragments.

At the same time, the craters and burn marks left from the battle all disappeared.

"What..."

While Kiana was stunned by the change in the environment, she discovered that Aponia, who had disappeared, had reappeared in front of her, praying quietly in the same way they had seen when they first entered the Sixth Floor.

Only...

There was another Sirin, trapped inside a cocoon of light and unable to move.

Kiana? You're alright too?

Mei's voice came from beside Kiana.

"Mei...?"

Kiana was a little confused. "So the current situation is..."

"The battle just now... never happened at all?"

"That's right, from the very beginning, you were trapped in an illusion—"

Aponia slowly opened her eyes. "Only now have you truly arrived 'personally' at... the Deepest Place."

So, should we continue fighting...?

Mei reluctantly raised her long sword. She had already won with great difficulty in the illusion, and it seemed almost impossible for her to defeat Aponia in reality.

"Of course not. By breaking free from the illusion, you have already earned the right to know the answer..."

Aponia had no intention of taking action, or to put it another way, the story had actually entered the final stage, but the two who had just emerged from the illusion had not yet realized it.

"As for your companion... I'm sorry, but she's quite mischievous and refuses to take the trial, so I had to intervene and quiet her down so she wouldn't disturb you."

"But now that the trial is over, then..."

With a casual wave of her hand, Aponia caused the cocoon of light, resembling a silkworm pupa, to slowly disappear, and Sirin instantly darted behind Kiana and the others.

"Oh... Sirin, is Aponia really that scary...?"

"That's because you didn't confront her true form. Anyone can fight an illusion!"

Sirin's expression was extremely aggrieved. "Besides, am I the Herrscher of Consciousness or is she the Herrscher of Consciousness?! How can someone completely defeat Herrscher in the realm of consciousness?!"