I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

"No, I can hear you clearly."

After all, she had Super Hearing now. There was no such thing as not being able to hear clearly.

The situation was not complicated. That idiot Saintess Jeanne had indeed been sent by Gaia and Alaya.

Their reason for sending Jeanne was simple: surveillance. Jeanne had made that perfectly clear herself.

Yes, surveillance.

They also hoped that she would stop interfering with the development of this world. By interference, they meant her earlier theft of the Fifth Magic from that old Fifth Magic User, as well as the series of disasters that had followed when the Ley Lines went berserk.

The disaster that should have swept across the entire island nation had been stopped only through the joint efforts of Gaia and Alaya. Otherwise, the state of this country would have been even worse.

"Lady Gaia and Lady Alaya said that as long as Lord Sakura does not interfere with this world's fate, they are willing to offer something that will satisfy Lord Sakura."

"No!"

Matou Sakura refused without hesitation.

There was no way she could stop. She still owed the system fifty-five percent.

There were only a few things that the system recognized: the Holy Grail, magic, and Beasts?

There were plenty of Holy Grails in the Nasuverse, but the only one recognized by the system was the Holy Grail that served as the Original—the first Holy Grail ever created. That thing was in this world, and Gaia and Alaya might be able to offer it. But the Holy Grail was worth only ten percent. Even with that, she would still be short by forty-five percent.

If she did not seek out magic and Beasts to make up that portion, what else could she do?

As things stood, she needed to find at least two complete Magics.

A Beast was worth the same as a Holy Grail. Half a Beast would be enough for her.

Besides, the contract she had signed with the system stated it clearly: if she failed to repay her debt within the allotted time, all her power would be stripped away!

She would not die, but how could she take revenge on Finality without power?

How could she return to the Honkai World?!

So there was no way she could agree to this!

She slowly rose to her feet, crimson light surging into her eyes once more.

Negotiations had broken down!

God of Humanity

Jeanne disappeared. This time, she did not reappear before her.

Meanwhile, the rainy night gradually came to an end, though it had lasted only a short while.

Yet the sun did not emerge from behind the dark clouds.

"It's time to find that guy."

She murmured softly, then vanished from where she stood with an explosive burst of air, leaving behind only a cracked, sunken crater.

In a small forest near Misaki City stood an abandoned building.

For various reasons, this structure, which should have been demolished long ago, had remained standing.

But because of the earlier earthquake, the abandoned building had been almost completely ruined. The entire structure had collapsed, and only the rooms on the first floor were barely habitable.

"I'm saying, Touko, couldn't you find a better place?"

Golden Wolf Beowulf looked around at the crumbling walls in dissatisfaction. It would not have been surprising if they collapsed the very next second.

"Are you paying for it?"

Aozaki Touko replied irritably. She did not have much money left now.

Besides, because of that earthquake, nearly every habitable place in Misaki City had already been claimed by others. Crowds of people were packed together, and there was no room for anyone else.

She had searched for a long time before finding this forgotten place.

Although the earthquake had turned it into a dangerous structure, it was still livable. She could reinforce the walls with Rune Magic later.

After Aozaki Touko said that, Golden Wolf Beowulf stopped complaining.

Even if this place collapsed, Aozaki Touko would be the unlucky one, not her.

After all, she was a Phantasmal Beast. Her physical strength was simply beyond anything a human could compare to.

Just as Golden Wolf Beowulf was about to find a place to rest, her eyes suddenly widened. Her entire body instantly tensed, baring her fangs.

"Touko!"

She shouted sharply and let out a roar.

Aozaki Touko's expression changed. She had never seen that fellow wear such an expression before. Though she understood that it signaled an enemy's arrival, she had never seen her react to this extent.

Just who was coming?

The question had barely surfaced when she heard a deafening boom outside. The earth trembled, as if it had returned to the massive earthquake from fifteen days ago that had nearly spread across half the island nation.

Who was it?!

Aozaki Touko was left speechless, completely failing to notice the Golden Wolf beside her trembling violently.

An unprecedented terror rose within her heart, making every cell in her body cry out for her to flee this place!

The enemy outside was unbeatable!

A crimson beam suddenly shot in, instantly slicing through the wall overhead and exposing the dim sky.

Rubble and dust did not fall. Everything had been utterly annihilated within that crimson beam.

The terrifying heat made the air unbearably dry. In just a few seconds, Aozaki Touko's clothes were soaked through, clinging tightly to her curvaceous body. But she had no mind to care about such things right now. Her heart was filled with nothing but fear! I'll die!

The red beam came again. It melted away the wall before her, revealing the scene outside—and the person who had fired that red beam.

She wore a pure white robe, holy and adorned with golden patterns. She was a young girl, surrounded by both a sacred and dangerous aura. Though they were two utterly different impressions, they blended perfectly within her.

The girl before her was like a goddess!

"Aozaki Touko, right?"

Matou Sakura looked at the terrified future Caster of the Crown and smiled faintly.

"I need your help with something."

She appeared before her once more, like a gust of wind.

Crimson light surfaced in her eyes, then vanished in an instant.

"What do you want now?"

This time, she chose to face this idiot with a calm attitude.

Mostly because she was in a pretty good mood right now. Not only had she gotten herself a helper for free, she had also acquired a big golden dog.

As she stroked the trembling Beowulf in her arms, a smile unconsciously rose to her lips.

Fortunately, this Beowulf was female. Otherwise, she would never have allowed her into her arms.

But strictly speaking, Phantasmal Beasts were

sexless. In other words, Beowulf could still transform into a male.

But if she dared to do that, Sakura's Heat Vision would send her back into the sea of stars at any moment.

That was also one of the reasons why Beowulf was so terrified.

Jeanne glanced at the trembling Beowulf in Matou Sakura's arms. Naturally, she could tell that this big golden dog was no ordinary pet, but a Phantasmal Beast.

Still, it was truly rare. There were actually Phantasmal Beasts remaining in this world.

Though she was curious why a Phantasmal Beast was with Lord Sakura, she had something more important to deal with right now.

"Lady Gaia and Lady Alaya hope to have a proper talk with Lord Sakura."

That was why she had come here again.

"Fine."

Matou Sakura answered casually, then slowly added, "Tell them to come themselves."

Gaia and Alaya were the ones asking something of her now. Naturally, she would not be the one going to see them.

As for whether the two of them appearing in this world would cause any trouble, that was for Gaia and Alaya to worry about. She was not the one asking for favors.

"Understood. Lady Gaia and Lady Alaya will come down tomorrow."

Jeanne hurriedly replied, making Matou Sakura raise an eyebrow.

It seemed those two had come prepared.

She had not sensed any unusual fluctuations, which meant Gaia and Alaya were not communicating with Jeanne in real time. That meant they had already considered this possibility when they sent Jeanne to appear before her again.

Fine. Tomorrow it was. It was already night, after all.

She then picked up Beowulf in her arms, preparing to get a little rest.

But when she reached the door, she turned around again and looked at Jeanne, who was following behind her, with slight confusion.

"You're not going back?"

"Lady Gaia and Lady Alaya told me to stay by Lord Sakura's side."

Jeanne spoke timidly. Without instructions from above, she had no way to return to the Hall of Heroes and enter dormancy on her own. In other words, she could not go back now.

"Oh?"

Matou Sakura paused where she stood, then nodded. "Then follow me for now."

"Mm!"

A delighted smile immediately appeared on Jeanne's face, and she closely followed behind Matou Sakura.

Jeanne had thought the other girl was going to rest, but unexpectedly, she brought her to the rooftop.

Was this a church?

Looking at the illuminated church in the distance, Jeanne could not help blinking.

There was a corpse inside, and a young girl was cleaning it up.

Judging from the corpse's clothes, that seemed to be the priest of this church?

What... was going on?

A Second Negotiation

Matou Sakura lay on the clean rooftop. Although there had been a light rain earlier, someone had specifically cleaned the place beforehand.

The night sky after the rain was bright. The brilliant moon hung unobscured, bathing the world in its cool, pale light.

The cells within her body stirred, greedily absorbing the moonlight pouring down.

Kryptonian Bloodline did indeed grow stronger through exposure to the sun, but things had changed after it fused with Light of Trigger.

Solar Energy carried by sunlight remained the main energy source required by her Kryptonian Bloodline, but after merging with Light of Trigger, it was no longer limited to the sun. The Radiant light brought by the moon could strengthen her body as well.

That was why she had wanted to get a Plasma Spark to hold onto. That way, her power could grow rapidly.

But obtaining a Plasma Spark at her current level was unrealistic, unless she managed to draw one in the next system lottery.

Still, after drawing King of Wrath and Light of Trigger, following the law of conservation of luck, she did not think she would be able to draw anything good again.

She would take it slowly. The power granted by Kryptonian Bloodline, Light of Trigger, and King of Wrath was already enough for her to run rampant in this world. She now had hope of returning to Honkai World, facing Finality, and changing everything.

She no longer needed to be as impatient as before.

And if she was lucky enough to draw a power that controlled time from the system, then every tragedy that had already occurred might still be changed.

For now, she only needed to calm down, temper herself further, and become even stronger.

Matou Sakura slowly closed her eyes, allowing her body to absorb the moonlight and a small portion of Solar Energy.

She no longer needed Divine Sound as support. The effects brought by Light of Trigger had already surpassed anything Divine Sound could provide, rendering Divine Sound's role negligible.

Beowulf had already left Matou Sakura's body. She had run to the side, curling herself up slightly as she stared intently at Matou Sakura lying there.