Fire Moth Temporary Camp—
Mei set up a huge pot. After spending so long with Kiana, she had long grown used to her friend's seemingly bottomless stomach. Although there were now two white-haired little gluttons to feed, that was no problem for the Herrscher of Food.
Fortunately, Xing did not eat as much as Kiana. Probably because he was a little younger than her.
I really should thank him. Even though he turned me into a weapon last time, I felt much better after changing back. That "me" had disappeared too. If Xing needs my strength, doing that once in a while wouldn't be so bad.
Still, why haven't those two come back yet?
Within the ruined village, two white figures raced ahead.
"Kiana, she's after me. Hurry back and notify the Headmaster." Xing was panicking.
"You want me to leave you behind? This young lady can't do that!" Kiana's attitude was utterly resolute.
An arrow bearing Raven Feather landed soundlessly before them. Their bodies instantly stiffened as the mercenary, somehow, had already circled around in front of them.
"Little ones, I don't want to leave meaningless wounds on you or your friend. It's better not to resist." Raven admired her claws as she spoke carelessly.
"Don't underestimate us!" Kiana had just raised her gun when an arrow barely grazed past her cheek.
"What exquisite archery." Cold sweat immediately drenched Kiana's back.
"That was a warning. Make another rash move, and don't blame me for showing no mercy." Raven lowered her bow.
"It's okay." After a moment of silence, Xing gave her a smile. "It doesn't matter." There was no fear in his red eyes.
"Good child. Come with me. Don't worry, she won't mistreat you."
As long as your body can endure that Honkai Beast's genes. Raven added silently in her heart.
"Sorry, you'll have to find someone else. But you can't change the name Fire Moth." Xing untied the greatsword from his back and planted it in the ground.
They couldn't win. The current trio had no way of contending with Raven; the gap was simply too great. Unless... no, that possibility was far too slim.
Just as Xing was about to walk toward Raven, a hand firmly grabbed him. "You're not going." Kiana's low voice rang out.
"We can't beat her."
"How would we know without trying?"
"You'll die."
"This young lady doesn't care."
"...Idiot."
Xing had a headache. I was already prepared to sacrifice myself, so don't come throwing your life away too, okay? But then again, wasn't this exactly who Kiana was?
Raven watched the two of them with interest, completely unhurried. Could a cooked duck possibly fly away?
"To be honest, I don't want to go with her either." Xing looked at Kiana and sighed, then his expression turned resolute. "I have a plan. The chance of success is less than one percent. Want to try it?"
"Of course!"
"Good. First, take your hand off my arm. You're squeezing me to death. Then give me your hand."
Their hands clasped tightly together, and endless white light burst forth from between them, illuminating Raven's magnificent expression.
Setting supplement: Xing could control his own transformation effects.
Upon the boundless ice field, the boy trudged slowly through the heavy snow. Countless girls' screams swept past his ears, yet he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward.
Within that snowy land, he saw—
The beginning and end of a tragedy.
The Babylon tragedy, a Herrscher representing all humanity, the unstoppable Tai Xu Sword God, the compassionate Saintess, and the final companionship.
A purple-haired girl appeared before him, her golden eyes filled with sorrow.
Xing reached out with his right hand, exhausting all his strength to touch her, but a Honkai Energy fission bomb falling from the sky shattered everything into fragments.
Within an icy cultivation tank, a new consciousness awakened.
The white-haired girl and her father looked at her, just as they had once looked at her.
"Protect your little sister."
In the end, Father accepted her.
A greatsword burning with Heavenly Fire stood planted in the ground as Father finally departed.
The white-haired girl lay on the ground, lost and helpless. Behind the bandages covering her eyes, the savage gold gradually faded away.
Xing held out his hand to her.
The girl raised her hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally reached toward him.
The white light finally condensed into a card. The boy pinched it between his fingers, and a confident smile appeared on his face.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Valkyrie Fusion! I send the monsters designated as Valkyrie Fusion materials from my hand and field to the graveyard, then Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!"
Raven tried to step forward and stop him, but it was already too late. Xing chanted rapidly.
"Fuse, Kiana!" Before the bewildered white-haired little glutton could react, she broke apart into countless blue particles of light, which condensed into a pair of dual pistols. They looked rather like Heavenly Fire Judgment, aside from the different colors.
"O newborn nameless flame, temper the blade of courage at this moment and carve open a path for me! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8, Judgment Knight!"
The young boy transformed into a handsome young man. White knightly light armor clothed his body, and a pure white cape fluttered behind him in the wind. Holding a pair of silver-colored pistols, he opened his blue eyes. His right eye flashed briefly before ultimately returning to red.
"Now it's our tur—" Before the newly born White Knight could finish his entrance line, the black-clad mercenary flashed before him and kicked him squarely in the abdomen, sending him flying.
The pure white cape was covered in dust. The knight clutched his stomach and curled up on the ground in pain. Didn't knights get a beginner's protection period the first time they transformed?
"All that flashy nonsense nearly scared the hell out of me." Raven patted her chest, her face full of disdain.
"Hey, aren't you kind of terrible?" Kiana's frustrated voice echoed in his mind. The knight coughed a few times, dusted himself off, and stood back up.
"As expected. The gap is too great." Xing tightened his grip on the dual pistols.
"Hey, answer me honestly. Have you done this to Mei too?"
"..."
"You bastard!"
Blue bullets shot from the muzzles. Raven tilted her body slightly, and the bullets struck a tree behind her, snapping it cleanly in half.
"Not bad power, but it means nothing if it can't hit." The mercenary rubbed her claws together and advanced on the knight.
Inside Xing's Stigmata Space—
Herrscher Mei violently shattered her restraints. "Finally, finally, I've waited long enough for a new body!" Pouring every ounce of her strength into it, she took advantage of the moment their bodies merged and the stigmata's seal loosened, fleeing into another body.
"This is my escape route!" Herrscher Mei excitedly pushed open the door. A white-haired, golden-eyed girl leaned against a throne, watching her with a happy smile. "Welcome, my other half~"
"Sorry for disturbing you!" Herrscher Mei quickly shut the door and crouched beside the expressionless white-haired Nun, trembling.
This place was safer!
The knight's body slammed into a tree. Intense pain shot through him, but before he could even catch his breath, Xing leaped away. An arrow bearing Raven Feather pierced through the woods, and the red shockwave it produced blasted him flying, sending the dual pistols tumbling aside.
"It hurts like hell..." Xing spun through the air several times before hitting the ground, then rolled several more times before bleeding off the impact. Before he could rise, Raven straddled him and gripped his chin with her left hand.
Sister Natasha, you're really heavy... He did not dare say it aloud.
"Oh my, look at the state you've gotten yourself into. Wouldn't it have been better to come with me obediently?" Raven bent down until she was almost face-to-face with him. "Still, you always manage to surprise me."
The mature woman's hot, damp breath brushed against his face. He could clearly feel the weight of two soft masses pressing against his chest.
"Turning your companions into weapons while allowing yourself to grow stronger—is that your stigmata ability? Back in Changkong City, you also borrowed that girl's power to defeat that little rabbit, didn't you?"
"Um, look, a flying sword!" Xing pointed over her head.
"Heh, what a childish lie. Do you take me for a child?" Raven sneered, then suddenly sensed something wrong and looked up. The dual pistols that had been knocked away earlier had flown into the air. Their grips joined together, forming a hilt as a silver blade extended outward.
In an instant, the dual pistols became a greatsword. From today onward, it'll be called Knight's Judgment! Xing thought.
Taking advantage of Raven's momentary distraction, the knight explosively kicked upward, knocking her away. At the same time, he sprang up from the ground, leaped into the air, and caught the falling Knight's Judgment.
"Miss, do you know how to deal with an enemy that can move at high speed?" Fiery red energy gathered on the blade. "The answer is to clear the map with an attack that has an extremely wide range!"
The knight swung with all his strength, and crimson sword energy tore through the battlefield in an instant!
"Judgment!"
On the back mountain of Yae Village, a scarlet eye opened in the darkness. "I can smell that woman's scent!"
Golden chains trembled as it struggled frantically, and its already illusory shell dissipated even further.
On the forest path, the White Knight's form collapsed, reverting back into the two of them.
"Why did you run right after swinging your sword? And what was your plan anyway?" Kiana said weakly.
"That sword strike probably didn't hurt her much. As for my plan, I'll tell you once we get there." Within his black-and-white vision, that pink current was extremely clear.
As long as I can reach that place...
"Where do you think you're going?" The mercenary's voice came without warning. Aside from the hem of her clothes being scorched by flames, she was completely uninjured.
Raven dusted herself off. "That form just now was probably comparable to Schicksal's A-rank Valkyries, right? Too bad it's nowhere near enough against me."
As she approached the two of them, she suddenly seemed to sense something and swiftly fired an arrow behind her, causing the shell Heavy-Duty Rabbit 19C had just fired to explode.
"You again?" Raven frowned at the troublesome little rabbit.
At the same time, inside a certain World Bubble, Siola in Sky City was viciously lecturing Bronie while tugging on her ear.
"Kiana, Xing, are you okay?" Mei emerged from the woods nearby. "You were gone for so long that Bronya and I came looking for you. Good thing Bronya installed trackers on you beforehand."
"When did she install those? Never mind, Mei, I need your strength!" Right in front of Kiana, Xing grabbed Mei's hand.
"Uh, can't use a familiar? Then use four-star Mei to tune with four-star me!" Since he had fused with Mei before, he was already familiar with the process.
4★+4★=8★
"Stop right there, you!" Kiana watched helplessly as Mei transformed into four purple rings of light and a katana.
"O lightning that rends the heavens, become my companion and cut down all that is impure! Synchro Summon! Be born, Level 8, Blade of the Thunder Queen!"
A small amount of samurai armor equipped itself onto Xing's body. With a flick of his sleeve, he advanced with katana in hand, transforming into a stream of purple light. "As for the answer to that earlier question, there's actually a better solution: activate clock up just like her!"
Inside Xing's Stigmata Space—
Herrscher Mei suddenly opened her eyes. "Finally, finally, it's here! Other me, I'm back!"
The white-haired Nun watched her leave and lashed out with a chain. Although it could not pull her back, Herrscher Mei would not be able to stir up trouble inside Mei for quite some time.
Light purple and dark red collided fiercely. Within seconds, several large craters appeared in the ground. Lightning and Raven Feather danced together, weaving a vivid tableau.
Watching the two battle farther and farther away, Kiana shook off Bronya's supporting hand. "Don't worry about me. Hurry after them."
Bronya: "..."
It was rare for her to be nice to Kiana, and this was how Kiana responded?
Ya Ya obediently chased after them, completely ignoring whether the exhausted Kiana might be killed by wandering dead soldiers and Honkai Beasts.
"Thunder Breathing—" Electric currents stimulated his cells, squeezing out every last bit of potential from his body. Xing gripped the katana with both hands and slashed toward Raven at maximum speed, leaving trails of electricity across the ground.
"First Form, Thunderclap and Flash!" (He was just shouting it. Xing could not use it yet.)
Just as the katana was about to cut down Raven, she twisted her body at an unnatural angle, then leaped up and fired a fully charged arrow.
Midnight Wormwood's ultimate move—Night Raven's Cry
Though Xing was moving at high speed, Raven merely found him a bit harder to aim at.
Everything happened too quickly. Xing had no time to react and could only raise the katana before him to avoid being pierced by the arrow.
The purple katana flew high into the air, then fell onto the woodland ravaged by the two of them and transformed back into Mei. The girl lay on the ground, barely lifting her head to glance in Xing's direction before passing out.
After smashing through several trees, Xing collapsed weakly. Two consecutive uses of Bonded Weaponry, both in all-out combat, had already depleted his stamina. Not to mention, he was seriously injured now.
"Damn it, just a little more..." Xing was unwilling to accept it. He had deliberately controlled the direction of their battle, fighting from the village all the way to the mountain. Oh, right—had he casually demolished a ruined shrine along the way?
"This ends here, little one." Raven exhaled slowly and loosened up her muscles. "You can't escape... why is it you again?"
Bronya expressionlessly picked him up. "Use four-star Bronya to tune with four-star Xing."
"You've got it wrong, Bronya." Xing weakly grasped Bronya's hand. "Overlay four-star you with four-star me."
Once again, there was an icy snowfield. Xing stood there and watched a girl being trained into a cold-blooded killer. Then, through a twist of fate, she entered an orphanage and met a girl named Seele Vollerei, regaining her emotions.
However, during an experiment, Seele's body disintegrated into a Quantum State and vanished from the real world. That experiment was supposed to have been Bronya's.
To see Seele one last time, Bronya voluntarily entered that domain and received Seele's final gift—Heavy-Duty Rabbit 19C. Yet because she remained there too long, the nerves in her legs and her emotional center were damaged. She lost the ability to walk and could no longer feel emotions.
"I'll help you find her." Within the pure white space, Xing looked at the expressionless Bronya. "So, could you smile more?"
Bronya placed her fingers at the corners of her lips and made herself smile, physically.
Back in reality—
Their bodies turned into two streams of light and flowed into the black vortex that had suddenly appeared on the ground.
Then countless particles of light poured out, condensing into a new figure.
"A burning heart shall awaken an icy shell. Use reason to chart the future! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4, Otherworld Hacker!"
Perhaps because they were both still children, transformed Xing was still a young boy. Three silver spiral ponytails hung behind his head, and a futuristic outfit covered his body. Xing pulled down the goggles on his forehead and smiled faintly.
"Heavy-Duty Rabbit 19C, Ride On."
The radically transformed Heavy-Duty Rabbit appeared behind him. Its blue-and-white body rapidly shifted through a series of transformations, becoming a sleek motorcycle.
"Wow, Heavy-Duty Rabbit got a huge upgrade!" Bronya's passionate voice rang through the earpiece, nearly deafening him. "Your ability is way too cool! Hey, what are you hesitating for? Hesitation leads to defeat, got it? Hurry up and run her over with the motorcycle!"
What's going on? Why does my Bronya sound so much like Bronie? And isn't she supposed to be an emotionless girl? Why are her emotions suddenly so rich?
"I don't know what's going on either. After fusing with you, it feels like my emotions came back. Ah, forget all that, hurry up and hit her!"
Xing mounted the rabbit, then fled.
Raven: "?"
Bronya: "?"
"Why the hell are you running? Hit her!" Bronya roared through the earpiece.
"Hit your head. If I actually ram her, my license and the bike will both get revoked."
Xing activated Honkai Vision and followed that trace of pink. "We're almost there."
After reaching the depths of Yae Village's back mountain, Xing had the rabbit return to its original form. Then he waved his hand, and the rabbit's arms transformed directly into a cannon.
"Fire."
Towering artillery fire engulfed the entire area.
"Will that do it?" After releasing the armament, Bronya supported the utterly exhausted Xing and asked.
"Yeah, that'll do it. Go to Kiana and Mei. They need you. As for me, it'll depend on luck. Oh, right, remember to contact the Headmaster."
Bronya fell silent for a moment, then left in another direction.
As the pink around him gradually thickened, Xing found a shattered mountain rock and sat down. He had just made Heavy-Duty Rabbit bombard this place relentlessly. It should be about time for it to come out, right?
Raven appeared at just the right moment and applauded. "Little one, I have to admit, you're really good at making trouble."
"Thanks for the compliment." Xing forced a smile.
"But do you really think I don't know what you're up to?" Raven's lips curved into a striking smile. "Ever since you fused with that sister of your kind, you've deliberately been drawing me here. I'm guessing you have an ability that can sense the flow of Honkai Energy, right? Unfortunately for you, I have that ability too."
"Ah?" Xing was a little confused. Come to think of it, she really did have "Honkai Vision," though she had to capture a Honkai Beast first.
"You want me to fight the Pseudo-Herrscher sealed here, right? Perfect. She's one of my targets on this trip as well. I made more than enough preparations before coming." Raven's tone was dripping with mockery.
"Ready to go to World Serpent with me, little guy?"
Xing was just about to answer when a chill shot straight up his spine, as if he were a little white mouse being watched by a snake.
When he turned around, he saw a huge crimson fox standing atop the rubble, its blood-red eyes fixed firmly on him.
"Kallen's presence..."
Author's Note—
Finally brought the synopsis back around.
I originally wanted to write this chapter as three separate chapters, but I decided to combine them in the end. So can this count as three updates from me?
Oh, right—Ya Ya hadn't recovered her memories here. When Xing browsed through their memories, they didn't feel anything. All their interactions came from their subconscious.
PS: After being disarmed, Bronya would lose her emotions once again.
Preview for the next chapter! The one who steals another's lover will eventually have his own stolen!
Before you continue