Wendy Under Watch

Before coming here, Theresa had instructed him, "Wendy's legs are disabled, so take better care of her. Also, deliver a letter to her for me. Don't worry—with me around, none of you will be experimented on by certain madmen there. Besides, I don't know why your Stigmata can transform you into that form, but Judas is yours now. Use it well."

After watching the recordings and reviewing the materials Himeko had provided, Theresa understood clearly that Xing's compatibility with Judas far surpassed her own. The first time he came into contact with Judas, he had been able to deploy the Divine Blessing Barrier. He had even summoned Judas remotely several times afterward, and had given Judas a new form. The difference was obvious.

Besides, as a Fusion Warrior, she was highly susceptible to Judas's damage. It was better to give it to Xing, a pure human. And with Judas around, even if his and Wendy's Herrscher Cores went berserk, they could still be suppressed. How wonderful.

Xing painfully took back the Judas Bracelet he had handed over. Principal, now we really can become a mother-and-daughter—ptui, mother-and-son pair. I'm a Fusion Warrior now too, and fused with the same Honkai Beast as you!

What Xing did not know was that Judas dealt far less damage to him than it did to Theresa, because he had resistance.

First, his Stigmata, Kallen's Song, shared the same origin as Judas: it was a Herrscher of Binding Stigmata. Had anyone ever seen a sea god drown in water? Uh, though there did seem to be a Herrscher of Thunder who got electrocuted—but that was because Mortal Tribulation Difficult to Cross's normal attacks dealt mental damage! Besides, the main reason was that Herrscher Mei was all talk and no skill;

Second, what was a creature's instinct? To adapt to its surroundings and continuously evolve. Coincidentally, the ability of the Honkai Beast Vishnu that he had fused with was to devour and evolve. That was precisely why, during the super-change surgery, Vishnu's factors gradually adapted to the neither-too-strong-nor-too-weak power of binding within the Stigmata, allowing it to successfully fuse with Xing;

(PS: Stay inside the Divine Blessing Barrier too long and you'll still GG.)

Third, he had received the right to use Judas from Kallen. The paperwork was all in order.

One more thing: Xing also had mental resistance. Since Mortal Tribulation Difficult to Cross was on him, neither Jackal's consciousness-altering device nor Welt's imitation Feather Crossing Dust had affected him before.

(PS: Xing still hadn't learned how to use Mortal Tribulation Difficult to Cross as a Key of Consciousness.)

And now there was also the Key of Erosion, Jizo-Mitama. With this thing, Xing could utterly crush every hacker of this generation. Otto, which do you think was tougher: Schicksal's firewall or the Previous Era's?

Ahem, getting carried away. Just kidding—if they really fought, Otto had a hundred ways to kill him. Well, not kill him exactly. At most, he'd turn him into ***.

That was beside the point. Back then, because Xing had brought the imitation Herrscher of Erosion, Yae Sakura, into the virtual space, Otto had failed to trace any records at all. Erosion's passive ability was truly terrifying.

So when would the imitation Herrscher of Erosion take that currently unclaimed Authority of Erosion from God's hands and become a true Herrscher?

The current time was autumn of 2013. On this timeline, some events had been brought forward.

Wendy held the Crimson Kite Bird in her arms, looking very happy. After all, girls had no resistance to fluffy things.

"Brother Xing, what's this chicken called? It's so cute!" Wendy's innocent words pierced deeply into the young boy's heart like an arrow.

He stared at Wendy intently. "What... did you just call me?"

Noticing the abrupt change in his demeanor, Wendy's expression instantly stiffened. "Brother Xing, did I offend you somehow? I'm very sorry!"

Xing was so moved that he nearly cried. "No, I'm very happy that you called me that. Please keep it up!"

Oh heavens, oh earth, he finally did not have to be the little brother in this world!

At St. Freya Academy, Kiana had tried more than once to make him call her big sister. Although Mei had never said anything, Xing felt that she, like Kiana, considered him a little brother. Only when he was with Bronya did he feel that they were equals in seniority. Now, he finally had a junior!

Wendy looked at Xing's excited face and felt that his lofty image had crumbled considerably. "So... what is it called?"

This was Xing's thought process in the next second: A name? Had I ever given it one of those? At first, I wanted to eat it, but later gave up because killing a chicken was too troublesome. What had I always called it? It seemed I had never thought about it. Then I'll just give it a random name.

Xing said solemnly, "Crimson Kite's Wings. Its name is Crimson Kite's Wings."

Wendy looked at Crimson Kite's Wings' tiny little wings and burst out laughing. "What a cool name. Brother Xing, you really have a talent for naming things."

Xing smiled awkwardly. "Haha~"

Wendy curiously looked at the huge pile of luggage on his back. "Brother Xing, what are you carrying?"

Bang! Xing set the stuffed backpack on the ground with a dull thud.

The young boy leisurely took things out while speaking. "I didn't bring much. The Prototype Pulse Greatsword I received before, books I got from Teacher Himeko, Kaslana Gun-Kata: From Beginner to Leaving the House, On a Greatsword's Self-Cultivation, the collected editions of Humo Adventure, Tom and Jerry..." Wendy stared in shock as Xing pulled out a stack of books taller than he was from his backpack.

The dumbfounded girl said, "Brother Xing, you really are studious."

Xing smiled sheepishly. "Most of these are actually for you."

Wendy froze for a moment.

"I heard from the principal that you stay here alone all day and can't go anywhere, so I thought I'd bring you some books to pass the time. But the principal didn't know what kind of books you liked, so I brought a little of everything. I accidentally brought too much, haha..."

Wendy looked at Xing's silly grin. His lofty image had completely collapsed, but she liked this version of him even more. A warmth she had not felt in a long time flowed through her heart.

Wendy realized something. This boy, whom the principal had praised as the most talented student since St. Freya Academy's founding, was merely an ordinary boy—an ordinary person who could cry and laugh, who did not put on airs or play tricks.

She was happy, because she had not encountered this kind of ordinariness in a long time.

Xing stuffed the books back into his bag, looked at Wendy, and asked a question he had wanted to ask for a long time. "Um, where am I sleeping tonight? The researchers earlier told me to ask you."

Wendy blinked, her little face reddening slightly as she whispered, "Sleep with me..."

Xing blanked out for a second. "What did you say?!"

In fact, in order to better monitor these two Herrscher Candidates, the Oceania Branch had simply placed Xing directly in Wendy's residence, with surveillance equipment all over the outside. If they had not been wary of Theresa, they would have wanted to implant remote-controlled bombs and trackers directly into the two children's bodies.

It could not be helped. Before their incidents, both of them had been outstanding Valkyries. They had to be watched closely.

Xing pushed Wendy's wheelchair to her door under the escort—surveillance—of several Valkyries. After they entered, the Valkyries still stood guard outside. Xing frowned in displeasure and placed his left hand on the threshold.

"Captain, do you feel like it suddenly got hotter nearby?" One Valkyrie was sweating all over.

"Even if there's a fire, we can't leave! Our mission is to keep watch over them at all times!" the squad captain said sternly.

Suddenly, she seemed to smell something burning. "Captain! Your skirt is on fire!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Wendy was a little puzzled. "What's going on out there?"

Xing, who was putting away the luggage, said, "Oh, they're probably cheering because they can finally take a vacation."

Wendy's residence was actually quite large, a relatively spacious single-person dorm. He noticed that his room had already been tidied up.

He asked Wendy, "Did the Valkyries here help with this?"

She looked a little embarrassed. "No, I heard you were coming, so I cleaned it myself."

He felt that this girl would probably get along well with Mei.

"Thanks, but next time, leave this kind of work to the boys. Huh, you keep flowers too?" Xing noticed several potted plants in the living room, but their leaves were yellow and withered, clearly lacking vitality.

Wendy looked a little awkward. "I just grow them casually. I don't know why, but they never survive for very long."

Xing placed his hand on a potted plant, his fingers brushing over its leaves. "No, aren't they full of life?"

"How are they full of life? They're all... what's going on?" Wendy stared at the plants she had grown in shock. The ones that had once been lifeless now seemed reborn, their leaves emerald green and flowers bright red, brimming with vitality.

Driven by his obsessive need for order, Xing inspected the dorm. Probably because Wendy's legs were disabled and it was inconvenient for her to move around, although he could tell she had tried hard to keep the place tidy, many areas were still a mess. Some corners had even accumulated dust. How could he possibly tolerate that?!

Xing untied the ribbon on his hand, revealing his Stigmata, and switched to his speed form. Wendy stared blankly at the two fox ears on his head.

Damn, I forgot to put on my hat. Whatever, I'll clean first.

Xing took off his coat and found the cleaning supplies. "Go lie down on the sofa first. Let me give this place a thorough cleaning before we talk."

Wendy looked a little dejected. "So I really am being disliked after all? Wait, what—what are you doing?"

Xing slipped his right arm beneath her armpits and his left beneath her knees, then lifted her in a princess carry. "It's not convenient for you to move around, so I'll carry you over... (sniff) Why do you smell so strong? How long has it been since you bathed?"

Wendy was so embarrassed that she nearly buried her head in his chest. "The Valkyries here give me a full-body cleaning once every fifteen days. Sometimes they even forget."

That was still too light. He should have used Nightshade Heavy Mist to trigger an Overloaded reaction.

"This isn't a life anyone should have to live. From now on, I'll help you bathe—cough, cough, I mean, I'll find someone to help you bathe." Xing corrected himself in time.

A pink figure darted back and forth through the dorm, meticulously cleaning every speck of dust from the corners. He was just someone who loved cleanliness; he couldn't stand seeing dirt.

Wendy lay on the sofa, her face flushed red. Clearly, I'm the owner here, so why has he turned into the master instead?

Xing wiped away sweat that did not exist from his forehead and looked at the results with satisfaction. The slightly messy dorm now looked completely renewed, and even the floor was reflecting light.

So strong! The girl trembled.

Once he was done, Xing lifted Wendy from the sofa and asked, "Cleaning's finished, Wendy. Want to go soak in a hot spring?"

Wendy nodded, then shook her head. "Brother Xing, we're forbidden from going to that place. Even bathing has to be reported."

"Heh, who said we have to do as they say?" Xing gave a disdainful laugh. "I mean going to a hot spring outside. Do you want to go out, Wendy?"

The girl nearly suspected that something was wrong with her ears. "Have you gone crazy, Xing? How could we possibly leave this place? They'll never allow it!"

Xing had a slight headache. "Could it be that my English is so bad that you misunderstood what I meant? I said, do you want to go out, Wendy? We don't need to follow those people's wishes."

The boy's expression did not seem fake. Wendy asked tremblingly, "Are you serious? If we're discovered leaving without permission, it'll be a serious crime. Even the headmaster won't be able to protect us."

Xing waved a hand impatiently. "Why worry about all that? I'm just asking whether you want to go out."

Wendy hesitated for a moment before answering, "I do."

"Then that settles it." Xing chuckled, and a flash of red light passed through his eyes.