Crimson Cherry Blossoms and White Flowers, Together

(Xing does not have Kallen's soul.)

A pure white holy light blinded Raven's eyes. She gently pulled the pure white underwear back up to the girl's hips.

"If it's not male, its value is much less. But this little one is quite cute." Raven pinched her face. The other party remained expressionless, not even moving her eyeballs.

"Does your Stigmata come with built-in growing and outfit-changing functions?" Raven pulled off her headscarf and carefully examined her face. As a free-to-play player, she was very envious of those who cheated.

"Just to be safe." Raven took out a tube of Honkai Energy Inhibitor and was about to inject Xing when she felt a chill on her neck.

A crimson blade was somehow held against her throat.

"Get up, don't touch her with your dirty hands." Yae Sakura looked at her coldly.

"Can you speak English?" Raven couldn't understand Japanese.

The black Dodo lady stiffly turned her head, her eyes wide. "Sakura?" The other person looked exactly like the hero bearing the mark of "Setsuna" in the Imaginary Tree, but their auras were vastly different.

"What are you saying?" Yae Sakura couldn't understand English either.

The situation became awkward...

The blade lifted slightly, and Raven stood up along with it, raising her hands. Yae Sakura looked at her with disgust and snatched the headscarf from her hand.

Sniffing lightly, ah, Kallen's scent~

Cough cough, I'll kill this thief first before I sniff. No, Kallen is right here, why am I getting excited over her clothes?

Just as Yae Sakura was about to make a move, a faint white light emanated from the girl lying on the ground. Then, the girl's body decomposed into specks of light, reverting to her infantile form. The red Stigmata reappeared on her right hand. The headscarf in her hand also vanished.

(PS: When transforming, the Stigmata will transfer from the back of the right hand to the back.)

Inside the Stigmata Space—

"Astonishing." The white-haired nun placed her hand on Xing's head. "To be able to reproduce her like this, your potential is indeed not to be underestimated. It's a shame you can't control it yet, but she has taken over your body for you."

Xing moved her hand away. "Who exactly are you?"

"Kallen Kaslana, do you want to hear that answer?" The white-haired nun looked at him expressionlessly.

"You are very special, appearing out of nowhere, Kaslana, and with such a strong consciousness that not even a sliver of personality fragment could detach and leave a trace in that space. I'm very curious why you have Kallen's bloodline, and a Stigmata that originates from the same source as hers but is even purer. But that's none of my business; my job is merely to test you."

Golden chains slowly wrapped around him. "The Herrscher of Erosion has been sealed within you. If you can completely defeat her consciousness, you will obtain the twelfth Divine Key, the Key of Erosion, which has yet to be completed. If you cannot, then destroy her completely."

Beside them, specks of white light coalesced into a figure. "Hm?" The white-haired nun looked at her. "You're here to pick him up? You're quite impatient."

The white-haired nun disappeared, and the newly appeared white-haired nun looked at Xing, placing her hand on his head. A flicker of emotion appeared on her face. "Xing."

"?"

"Sakura, I'll be counting on you."

"You are..."

Golden chains wrapped around him, sending him out of that space.

Reality—

Fiery sword energy carved a long, deep gash on the ground. Yae Sakura's expression was grim, the tip of her blade pointed at Raven. "How did she get so badly injured?"

Raven, who had run away while Yae Sakura was stunned by the heavily injured Xing, felt wronged. "It was a fox! It has nothing to do with me."

Although Raven couldn't understand her words, judging by her expression, she definitely thought Raven was the one who beat her up like that. However, half of Xing's injuries were indeed inflicted by her.

"Crimson Prison Beast?" Sensing a familiar aura on Xing, Yae Sakura instantly understood who the culprit was. She was furious, "Crimson Prison Beast, get out here!"

"Strange, why can't I feel it anymore?" Yae Sakura felt her connection with the demon fox severed. "Never mind, I'll take her to the clinic first." Yae Sakura picked up Xing, nimbly climbed the rock wall, and quickly left.

Raven watched the pink fox disappear, feeling a headache. Should she chase or not?

She felt that rabbit seemed quite concerned about the little one, so she should be fine. Wait a minute, could she be that Pseudo-Herrscher sealed here? Was that fox just now her accompanying Honkai Beast? And how popular are you, little one?

It seemed very likely. Also, her eyes just now were terrifying, like a man seeing his wife being cuckolded by a blonde guy.

Maybe I shouldn't chase. I feel like I can't beat her, and my life is more important.

Raven dejectedly picked up the Seven Thunders of Retribution. If only she had asked Jackal to charge her more before coming.

Who put the restriction function on it? It's preventing me from even using its rated power.

Jackal: "How can I let you use something so precious so casually?"

Raven irritably scratched her hair, her gaze suddenly falling on Judas beside her.

The golden cross was inserted into the ground all alone, looking quite pathetic.

—Divider—

"You guys are really unlucky. Where is Xing now?" After receiving the news, Himeko, pulling a depressed Theresa, quickly arrived at Yae Village in the Hyperion.

"According to the tracker Bronya installed on Xing, he is currently..." Bronya's poker face suddenly showed a slight fluctuation. "50 meters northwest of us."

"Huh?"

Peeling back the grass, a certain white-haired furball lay quietly there.

"Are you sure he was actually kidnapped?" Himeko turned to look at them.

"Do you think our injuries were self-inflicted?" Kiana stared at her resentfully.

From the grass nearby, a pair of long, pink fox ears stood proudly. "As expected, someone from Schicksal would save her." Yae Sakura stared at the golden "non" symbol on Himeko's body and breathed a sigh of relief.

There was no other way. She couldn't save people, but she knew a little about ordinary medical skills.

"Kallen's child, I will protect you until I fall." Transforming back into the Miko of the Divine Punishment, she secretly boarded the Hyperion and followed everyone back to St. Freya Academy.

Emergency Room—

"How is Xing?" Kiana asked worriedly, looking at Xing in the emergency room. Although he had done that to Mei, he was still her teammate, and there was nothing else she could do at the time.

All this suffering was to save that guy. Once he's discharged, I'm definitely going to 'train' him properly, Kiana thought.

"Much better than expected. He just has some scrapes and minor fractures all over his body. With his physique, he'll be discharged after a few days in bed." As she spoke, Himeko placed her hand on Kiana's shoulder and said sternly to the three of them, "Confess. Did you go challenge an Emperor-class Honkai Beast?"

"What?"

"Explain to me why your recorder readings are so high, but your points are zero? And Xing, both his readings and points exceeded the limit."

Congratulations to the Fire Moth team for taking first place in the second practical combat test. We also thank Crimson Prison Beast for gifting Xing points.

—Separator—

To maintain quiet in the medical environment, Himeko led the three of them away, leaving Xing alone in the ward. A certain fox-eared miko quietly slipped in and gently caressed his face. "He looks so much like Kallen. And that little sister just now, she must be his older sister, right? I never thought I'd see Kallen's descendant. This must be fate."

The miko leaned closer to sniff. "However, the scent of Kallen on her is much richer than that Theresa's." She lifted Xing's right hand. "This pattern is quite different from Kallen's."

The scent of cherry blossoms filled the young man's nostrils. Xing groggily opened his eyes, only to see the miko right in front of his face.

The most awkward silence...

"H-hello." Yae Sakura managed to squeeze out after a long pause.

"Hello." Xing could understand Japanese.

"Um, may I ask you a favor?" Yae Sakura said, her face flushing red.

"What is it? I'll help if I can."

"My body is about to give out. Can I temporarily possess you?" After Xing suppressed Crimson Prison Beast, Yae Sakura's power had significantly decreased. Although she had her own Herrscher Core, she couldn't maintain this already decaying body... or so she claimed!

The real reason: After much consideration, Yae Sakura realized it would be inconvenient for her as a Herrscher to follow Xing. It would be better to possess him directly. This would not only increase his strength but also allow her to protect him closely and slowly recover her own power. Why wouldn't she do it?

"Ah? What did you say?" Xing suspected his ears were playing tricks on him.

"Can I, temporarily, reside within your body?" Yae Sakura's ears turned red. Why was she blushing? She didn't blush when bathing and feeding Kallen five hundred years ago!

"Uh, I guess so. How do we do it?"

"Leave it to me."

Influenced by Crimson Prison Beast, Yae Sakura's core actually had a clear attribute. Although she hadn't truly inherited the Herrscher authority of this generation, she could still perform some superficial feats.

Pseudo-Herrscher, Yae Sakura, full title: Pseudo-Herrscher of Erosion, Yae Sakura.

In the story, the power of the Key of Erosion, Jizo-Mitama, could project Yae Sakura from the Stigmata space into the real world. The reverse should also be possible.

The miko's body decomposed into pink light particles, leaving behind only a pink crystal that slowly merged into his chest.

A burning sensation spread from the back of his left hand as three red magatama patterns gradually appeared.

Second Stigmata, Yae Sakura, acquired.

Within Xing's Stigmata space, the white-haired nun's lips curved into a slight smile. Her body disintegrated into white light particles, but this time, she truly vanished. (She will appear again later.)

Xing touched the top of his head. Thankfully, he hadn't grown fox ears.

"How do you feel?" Yae Sakura's gentle voice echoed in his ears.

"I feel great." A warm current flowed through his body, healing all his previous injuries.

"Oh no!" Yae Sakura seemed to remember something. "I forgot to bring Judas when I took you away!"

"What did you say?" Xing was a bit confused.

(PS: Xing has no memory of transforming into Kallen. He only knows that this happened. The transformation line was something he muttered subconsciously, as a card player's instincts were already ingrained in his DNA.)

World Serpent Base—

Jackal looked with satisfaction at the golden cross before her. Although Raven failed to bring Xing back, she brought back interesting information and the Key of Restraint, so it could be considered making amends.

Recalling the information Raven brought back, Jackal licked her lips thirstily. "How many more secrets do you hold, Xing Kaslana? I yearn to possess you..."

After her outburst, she turned her gaze to Oath of Judas. "Those idiots at Schicksal can't unleash your true power. Let me awaken your potential."

Just then, Judas seemed to sense something. The long spears on its sides suddenly deployed, shattering the experimental pod that contained it, and then launched upwards like a missile. After piercing through countless floors and ceilings, it leisurely flew away from the World Serpent base.

"No—" Jackal screamed in frustration.

Hyperion's Bridge—

"Judas, my Judas, boohoohoo..." Theresa rolled on the floor, crying.

"Don't cry, Theresa. Where's your pride as an S-rank Valkyrie?" Himeko tried to comfort her.

"But Judas flew away! It accompanied me for so long, what will I do without it?" Theresa wailed.

At that moment, a young lady suddenly pushed open the bridge door. "It's bad, Captain Himeko! The radar shows a small object rapidly approaching the Hyperion!"

"What? Is it an anti-air missile?" Himeko immediately became extremely serious.

The young lady's expression was quite something. "No, it's Theresa-sama's weapon, the Oath of Judas."

???

Inside the hospital room—

Xing watched the clouds outside with a hint of sadness in his eyes. The miko kept apologizing to him. "It's okay, it's not your fault. Maybe Judas just flew back on its own? Look, doesn't that cloud look a lot like Judas... Whoa!"

A golden cross shattered the ship's window and landed beside Xing's hospital bed.

???