Changkong Lone Star (4)

(Author's note: It'll be even better if you imagine the "Starfall" BGM while reading the latter half of this chapter~)

Xing wasn't feeling well right now. If the erosion from Herrscher Mei before had been a small stream, then the fully activated Gem of Stillness was a Lake Dongting to her. Purple patterns spread from her right hand across her entire body.

"Y-You, what are you doing? Stop!" Jackal frantically ordered Xing.

Xing's eyes turned black and white. Under Honkai Vision, the flow of all Honkai Energy was laid bare. "Up there?" the girl murmured as she walked past Jackal.

"Stop! I said stop!" Jackal roared at her in fury.

"Shut up!" Annoyed by the noise, the girl glared at her, murderous intent filling her black-and-white eyes.

"How could this... Natasha!"

The black-clad mercenary appeared silently behind the girl. "Don't stand in my way," she said softly.

Raven's claw touched her neck. "What if I do?"

"Then I'll find a hacker friend and have her empty out all your savings," Xing said bluntly.

A killing blow straight to the heart!

Raven glanced at her claw and promptly lowered it.

"Where are the stairs?" Xing turned to ask Raven.

"You can take the elevator over there." Raven pointed the way for her.

"Thanks."

One dared to ask, and the other dared to answer.

Only after Xing had gone far away did Jackal dare speak. "Why did you show her the way? Why didn't you just take her down? Didn't I give you a bottle of Honkai Energy Deactivator before?"

Raven leisurely held out the Soul Steel claw that had touched Xing just now. Its previously intact talons were now damaged in several places. On closer inspection, every notch bore signs of corrosion.

"Perhaps even she hasn't noticed it herself, but the power of the Herrscher of Death has already begun awakening inside her. So why not speed up the process?"

Inside Tesla's underground laboratory, the three members of Fire Moth remained silent, each either anxious, worried, or expressionless.

"Done!" Tesla suddenly shouted excitedly. The three turned to her in delight, only to see Lobster Doctor holding a bowl of instant noodles. "They're finally cooked!"

Grrr! ×3

Kiana punched Tesla on the head. "Why are you getting so excited over a bowl of instant noodles? How's Xing doing?" After hitting her, she snatched away the noodles. "Miss Kiana is starving..."

A large bump swiftly rose on Tesla's head. "That hurts! I'm definitely telling Sigfried about this later and making him spank you hard!" Lobster Doctor glared resentfully at the white-haired ball of fluff who had hit her and stolen her noodles. During the Second Honkai, she should have used Arahanto to beat Kiana up a few more times!

"Beep, beep." Tesla's computer suddenly sounded an alert. Lobster Doctor hurriedly opened the program and traced the signal from the Herrscher Core detector she had installed in Xing's body earlier.

"Success! The data shows there are currently two high-concentration Honkai Energy crystal reactions in his body! Huh, what's this abnormal record?" Tesla was thrilled by the returned signal.

The three immediately crowded over, staring at the computer screen in delight.

"Really? Xing succeeded?"

"That's great! Let's go support him right away. Doctor, when will the help you mentioned arrive?"

"Strange. According to the surveillance footage Bronya hacked from ME Company, Xing hasn't come out since that mercenary brought him into the lab. Wait, who's this big sister?"

Bronya shared the hacked surveillance footage onto Tesla's computer. In it, Xing in Kallen form, dressed in women's clothing and blushing furiously, followed Raven out of the laboratory she had nearly demolished.

"This big sister is so pretty... Why does she look so much like Xing? No, she looks exactly like Aunt Theresa's grown-up version!" Kiana felt strangely familiar with her.

The attentive Mei noticed something. "Look at her right hand! Isn't that Xing's stigmata?"

Bronya immediately enlarged the image, and the familiar stigmata patterns appeared clearly before the three.

"Isn't that brat a boy?" Tesla asked in confusion.

Bronya analyzed rationally, "Based on a scan of the body's contours, the girl in the surveillance footage has an 80% chance of being female. Excluding the possibility of a man dressing as a woman, she is either Xing's older sister or Xing herself. Bronya favors the latter, because she also has a stigmata on her left hand identical to Xing's."

Tesla took a look. "That's not right. That brat has red eyes, but this one has blue eyes. A pure Kaslana."

Kiana said uncertainly, "I think I've seen Xing's eyes suddenly turn blue before."

Just as the four argued heatedly, the laboratory door opened. A black-haired man wearing black-rimmed glasses walked in. "Tesla, what you mentioned before... Kiana? Why are you all here?"

"Mr. Welt? ×3"

That was right. The newcomer was Anti-Entropy's Sovereign, the second Herrscher of Reason, and St. Freya Academy's history teacher—Welt Yang.

Rita opened a communications channel and reported the latest mission developments to Otto. "Reporting to Lord Bishop: after defeating an unidentified man at Dr. Maki's residence who claimed to be the First Herrscher, we confirmed from information on his equipment that the Gem of Stillness is currently at ME Company's headquarters in Changkong City. Immortal Blades has arrived at the mission site. Please give your orders."

"Well done, Rita. Do not act rashly for now. Report to me if any unexpected situation arises," Otto's command came from the other end.

"Yes." The maid respectfully accepted the order.

"This is bad, Vice-Captain! We've detected a high-energy Honkai reaction from inside ME Company!" A team member reported to her in a panic.

"Do not panic. Immortal Blades, prepare to assemble!" Rita calmly organized the squad, preparing to launch a forced assault on ME Company.

"Captain, look! What's that glowing thing on top of the ME Company building?" Someone noticed the anomaly.

When Kiana stood before the Honkai Energy bomb that was about to explode, what had she been thinking?

Xing didn't know, but she knew what she herself was thinking right now.

Will I die? That was her first thought when she arrived beside the transport rocket.

Can I do this? That was her second thought. Could she really absorb all the Honkai Energy released by the bomb like Kiana had and save Changkong City?

She had never been a born hero, merely an ordinary person. When he had first come to this world and seen the unconscious Mei, her torn black stockings had given him a physical reaction. That was a normal impulse for a shut-in guy. When he met the amnesiac Bronya, he had half-jokingly made her call him Captain, only to satisfy a small selfish desire he had longed for in reality.

He had attended Valkyrie training classes for less than a month. Even with the abilities of Bonded Weaponry, his mindset was still that of an ordinary person who had suddenly crossed into the Honkai World.

Then why had he chosen to take such a dangerous action?

Xing herself didn't know. Perhaps she simply wanted to look cool and raise Kiana and the others' favorability? Or perhaps she wanted to fulfill her promise and turn this imperfect world into the way she wanted it to be?

There was no more time for her to ponder life. The transport rocket was about to launch. Xing placed her hand against its outer shell, and several golden chains burst from her body, firmly anchoring her to it. After becoming a Fusion Warrior, her control over her stigmata had improved as well. However, she seemed not to have awakened the Parvati molecules in the Kaslana genes—she possessed only Vishnu's power.

"I just need to transform into God's Blessing Anthem again, right? That form seems able to summon Judah." Xing thought this, unaware that the moment the thought emerged, Judah had already smashed through the roof Theresa had just repaired and was flying toward her.

"But if I use Judah with my current body, I'll probably be done for too, right?" Fusion Warrior plus Pseudo-Herrscher—activating Judah would mean instant GG.

"But there's no other way." The Gem of Stillness inside her body stirred restlessly. If she truly absorbed the spreading Honkai Energy, she would most likely become a Herrscher too. Having a Herrscher personality pop up would be troublesome enough.

She immersed her consciousness in the stigmata and pushed its power to the limit, but nothing happened. "What's going on? Did I do it wrong?"

The rocket launched, and wisps of Honkai Energy leaked out as purple patterns spread across her body.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Golden energy formed a card in her hand. At that moment, Xing Kaslana's mind was utterly focused.

"I activate the Ritual Spell from my hand: Saintess's Advent! I release the Level 4 Kallen Oath and the Level 8 Gem of Stillness on the field to perform a Ritual Summon!"

The stigmata on her right hand vanished, enlarging as it appeared behind her. Golden currents flowed across her body, gradually gathering into a pure and noble nun's habit.

"O great yet tragic Saintess, cross five hundred years of time and descend upon this world once more! Use your magnificent power to show us the way! Ritual Summon! Descend, Level 12, Schicksal Saintess Kallen Kaslana - Herrscher of Gratitude!"

Pure white light shone in the sky, drawing the attention of the Immortal Blades members on the ground. Rita summoned the reconnaissance team and used special equipment to observe from afar. A clear image appeared on the device.

The pure white Saintess floated high in the sky. Countless golden vortices emerged around her, and golden chains burst forth to bind the transport rocket tightly. This feeling... isn't bad? Xing thought as she formally accepted the power of the stigmata.

"Captain, who is that girl? She looks incredible!" one teammate exclaimed.

"According to our readings, the object she is attempting to restrain is the source of the high-energy Honkai reaction. Captain, awaiting orders." The reconnaissance team worked swiftly.

Rita gave no order. Instead, she first transmitted the live feed to Otto.

Otto, who had been leisurely drinking black tea, opened the channel. He immediately sprayed a mouthful onto the screen, rubbing his eyes hard as he wondered whether something had gone wrong with this Soul Steel body. "Kallen?" he muttered. "No, impossible. She only looks like her."

Floating in midair, Xing rose higher and higher with the rocket. She struggled to control the chains, trying to stop it from ascending. "Urgh, this thing..." Fine sweat beaded across the girl's forehead, and her expression turned grim.

The next second, the backlash from the Gem of Stillness inside her body and the eruption of the Honkai Energy bomb within the transport rocket made her body tremble. Her stigmata immediately dimmed, the chains binding the bomb snapped one after another, and Xing fell helplessly downward.

Is this the end? She looked at the spreading Honkai Energy above her, helplessness filling her heart.

"Do you want to give up?" A clear female voice rang in her ear. A woman wearing a Violet Iris Mask and a purple gown had appeared before her at some unknown moment. "Xing, do you want to give up?"

Xing's pupils suddenly contracted. "Y-You are?"

Her answer was straightforward. "Kallen Kaslana."

"I, I, I..." Xing didn't know what to say.

"Brave child, I have seen all that you have done. You did very well, worthy of the name Kaslana, and worthy of me." Kallen's words seemed to hold magic, soothing the unease in her heart.

Kallen held out her hand. "Come, child. Let me grant you power."

Xing reached out. The instant their fingertips touched, Kallen's figure shattered like an illusion in a mirror, replaced by the gleaming Judah. Judah's chains grasped her hand and carried her upward.

"Judah?" Rita cried out from the ground.

"Judah?" Otto stared fixedly at the screen inside Schicksal Headquarters.

"Judah?" Welt and the others, who had just emerged from underground, caught the live broadcast through Anti-Entropy's satellite surveillance.

"Judah?" Theresa, who had just woken up and seen the hole in her roof, nearly shut down.

In everyone's eyes, Judah had flown to Xing of its own accord and saved her. Kallen's phantom from before seemed like nothing more than a fleeting dream.

"Thanks, Kallen Kaslana." Endless power surged from her heart. Xing controlled Judah, and far more chains than before locked down the spreading Honkai Energy, forcing it back step by step.

"I shall lend a hand as well." Yae Sakura's figure appeared, and the two placed their hands upon Judah together.

Sakura petals swirled around the cross, infusing it with new power. Oath of Judas, Transcendent Evolution, Sakura's Oath!

It wasn't over yet! The two exerted themselves once more, and the form of the Key of Binding changed again!

Sakura's Oath, Superlimit Evolution, Sakura's Redemption!

Weapon description: In that sakura-hued encounter, she made a vow and completed a redemption. As a gentle breeze stirred drifting petals, the saved soul awakened the power slumbering within this weapon.

Otto punched through the screen at Schicksal Headquarters. "My Kallen! You filthy fox, deserving of a thousand cuts and death itself! How dare you, how dare you again..." Blinded by rage, Otto frantically smashed everything around him.

"Durandal, get to Changkong City at maximum speed! Rita, assemble Immortal Blades and bring that girl back to me at any cost! Remember, you must not harm her under any circumstances. Do you understand?!"

"Sakura, are you ready?" Xing asked through gritted teeth. She could feel that Judah's power was not damaging her body as severely as she had expected.

"Come, Kallen—no, Xing." The Miko's eyes were full of sincerity.

Oath of Judas, Zeroth Power, release! (Keep the original name. Heavenly Fire Judgment became Jie Mie, but Kevin still calls it by its original name.)

Divine Blessing Barrier!

Sakura-colored gears unfolded in the sky, and invisible energy completely erased that mass of high-level Honkai Energy.

The Key of Binding lost its radiance. The pink figure vanished, and the pure white girl fell from the sky like a lone star dropping from Changkong.

But that star was not alone.

A black-and-red sphere gleamed with crystalline blue light as it appeared from thin air in the man's hand, altering the surrounding gravitational field. "Star of Eden!" Welt caught Xing as she fell from the sky and returned to her original form. "You've worked hard, child."

Author's note—

When I read transmigration novels before, I often noticed a problem: the protagonists seemed a little too divine.

They would somehow adapt to transmigration, somehow learn how to fight, somehow... how should I put it? They were like geniuses, completely lacking the feeling of ordinary people.

So I wanted to portray Xing as realistically as possible, letting him serve as our reflection as he entered the world I created and settled those regrets on everyone's behalf. Maybe I indulge myself too often, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I like it. If some readers can't keep reading, then I'm sorry.

Preview of the next arc! Sakura Samsara Kai, begin!