The Real Golden Finger in Honkai is Alicia!

"You..."

The girl's arrogant and unrestrained expression froze on her face, her eyes showing a hint of confusion and fear. However, the pain of being pierced through prevented her from saying anything.

And beneath the girl, the giant tree that had pierced through the entire teaching building seemed to have lost its vitality as the girl's body was impaled.

"..."

Seeing the girl's frozen eyes, Gwen frowned. After glancing at the data analysis Prometheus had listed on his mask, he was about to withdraw.

Just then, two pale hands gripped the silver gun shaft. Eyes like those of the dead stared at Gwen, and a hoarse voice spoke again:

"It hurts so much... Why?

Why did you kill me?

Why was I killed by you?

Killed by you like being bullied by those bitches?"

The hoarse voice grew louder and more hysterical.

As the girl's questions continued, the Honkai energy that had been falling around them surged again. The giant tree, which had been listless just moments before, burst with new life. Endless vines swept upwards, intending to lock Gwen and the pierced girl together.

"If it was just that one shot, you wouldn't have died."

Facing the Simulated Herrscher's hysterical questioning and the surging poison mist and vines, Gwen replied calmly.

Although he didn't have the same special feelings for this Simulated Herrscher as he did for Kiana and Raiden Mei, Gwen didn't mind saving her if he could.

As Gwen had said, that one shot wouldn't have killed her directly.

It was just—

"Wouldn't die?

Wouldn't... die..."

The Simulated Herrscher's voice became incredibly dry, as if she were a duck being strangled, but then she started to laugh, madly and unrestrainedly—

"Heh heh...

Hahaha...

Go tell it to the ghosts!

Liar! Liar! Liar!

You're all in this together!"

Regardless of whether it would cause her further harm, the Simulated Herrscher gripped the gun shaft harder, driving it deeper into her body, roaring hysterically.

"..."

Looking at the face twisted beyond recognition by anger and hatred, Gwen said nothing more. Without any mercy, he withdrew the long spear in his hand—

To avoid killing her with a single shot, Gwen had intentionally retracted the wings of the Spark Gun, transforming it back into a normal spear.

With a swirl of energy, he shook off all the bloodstains on the spear. Gwen moved like lightning, charging out of the enveloping poison mist and breaking through the vines that had already completed their blockade and were thickening layer by layer.

Under the setting sun, Gwen looked at the layers of vines below, which were madly releasing poison mist to the outside, without any further thought—

Prometheus's analysis results were no different from Gwen's own perception—

The Simulated Herrscher whose body Gwen had pierced was no longer her true self.

Her true self had transformed into the giant tree enveloped by those countless vines.

Without any emotion or comment, Gwen calmly issued a command—

"Prometheus, initiate annihilation mode."

"Yes."

As the command was accepted, a massive Honkai energy fluctuation suddenly appeared on Gwen's body. Within a deep blue aura, countless long and short guns unfolded with the sudden increase in pressure on Gwen's body, unleashing destructive light.

The title Extreme Knight Moon Sky All-Domain Combat Armor was not just for show. Besides Gwen, who was sprinting towards the non-human realm, it meant ultimate power in all domains.

Half a minute later, Gwen, who had put away the armament capable of destroying a tide of Honkai Beasts, looked silently at the giant pit where the giant tree had been, slowly descended, and picked up a crystal surging with Honkai energy from the ruins...

Looking at the Simulated Herrscher Core, which was pitted on the surface as if representing the girl's difficult life, Gwen let out a sigh and stored it in the containment unit his armor had prepared for such high-risk items.

Chapter 75: Building Connections (Plus One Chapter)

"Hoo..."

Letting out a long breath, Gwen looked at the still dense poison mist in the sky and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

While Gwen was currently unharmed by the poison mist, he had no good way to quickly eliminate it—

Especially with a Simulated Herrscher nearby.

His gaze shifted past the poison mist to a ruined area in the distance. A pair of pink fox ears flashed by. If Gwen hadn't been paying attention, he might have thought he was hallucinating.

"Fortunately, for now, Yae Sakura is still in control of the body, not Hiyori Maru."

Muttering to himself, Gwen walked towards where the pink fox ears had appeared.

"Alicia, how are you and Ling?"

As Gwen walked at a relaxed pace, he asked Alicia, who had been silent during the battle, "Ling? You mean..."

Hearing Gwen's question, Alicia responded immediately, clearly not offline. She had remained silent before because she didn't want to interfere with Gwen's fight.

"Ling, Sakura's sister, who became the Herrscher of Erosion after being killed," Gwen stated concisely.

"...Of course."

Although it was a topic she disliked, Alicia didn't evade the question. "Why did you suddenly bring up Ling?"

"How is your relationship?"

"Um... it's okay..."

Feeling guilty that she hadn't been there for the lively child when she needed her most, Alicia didn't use her preferred way of describing their relationship.

"Well, if possible, let's act according to the situation later."

Saying this out of the blue, Gwen suddenly accelerated, flashing to the rooftop of an abandoned building.

Having already left the area with the densest poison fog, reaching a concentration he could ignore, Gwen directly deactivated his armor.

Although he could have defeated Hiyori Maru with sheer strength even if a conflict arose, Gwen removed his armor just in case. He also sent away the Simulated Herrscher Core he kept in the armor to prevent any accidents. If Hiyori Maru, as a virtual virus, were to gain the ability of biological toxins again, Gwen would truly have no way to atone for his sins.

Stretching his body, which was a bit sore from just activating the Annihilation Mode, Gwen walked to the edge of the rooftop and called out to the silent, solitary witch below, "Excuse me, Miss Witch, please wait a moment."

Yae Sakura, who had been worried due to sensing the fluctuations of battle, had just returned to the vicinity of the tall building (school) for some unknown reason. However, when Yae Sakura arrived, all she saw was the figure in the sky descending a destructive light, leveling the possessed girl and the surrounding buildings (school) to the ground.

Having understood the nature of the possessed girl from their previous encounter, Yae Sakura took a glance from afar. Seeing that the opponent was utterly destroyed, she chose to turn and leave, ignoring Hiyori Maru, who was frantically urging her to step forward and seize the power in her mind.

Waking up to find everything changed, everything she knew was now history. Yae Sakura wandered through the bustling ruins like a lost soul, without direction or purpose... If she had to say, although she didn't hold much hope, the only thing Yae Sakura wanted was to try and find traces of where that person had existed.

However, whether she was looking for Kallen's traces or not, Yae Sakura didn't want to interact with such terrifying beings. Yae Sakura clearly remembered that Hiyori Maru had said before that the possessed girl was similar to her, but inferior. Although she adhered to the principle of "I won't believe a single word Hiyori Maru says," and let the words go in one ear and out the other, she instinctively kept her distance from the figure that had caused such destruction.

To Yae Sakura's surprise, she encountered someone as soon as she left the toxic zone. However, to her relief, she didn't detect anyone blocking her from other directions, meaning she could run if necessary.

"Your Excellency is..."

Slightly narrowing her eyes and looking at the figure on the rooftop who had greeted her, Yae Sakura shifted her body and drew her long sword slightly from its sheath, her expression wary.

"My name is Gwen, and my identity is..."

Seeing that Yae Sakura didn't turn and leave but showed a willingness to communicate, Gwen's heart stirred. He then flipped and leaped from the tall building, landing steadily just as Yae Sakura hesitated whether to help: "I'm here to deal with the Honkai that has occurred in Changkong City, which is here."

"Then please, you do your business. I won't interfere with you, and I hope you won't bother me."

Not knowing what era it was, Yae Sakura looked at Gwen, who had a smile on his face. Knowing that he was no ordinary person, she became even more vigilant. Her steady words carried an undisguised warning.

"Of course, I won't bother unrelated people without reason," Gwen said, shaking his head gently as he looked at the wary pink-haired witch. "I just thought Miss Witch looked kind and wanted to offer any help I could..."

"Thank you, but I don't need any help." Yae Sakura shook her head. Under the subtle manipulation of someone who remained silent, she felt a significant sense of crisis and just wanted to get away from him. However, Yae Sakura's consciousness was still in control. Although influenced by Hiyori Maru, the kindness Gwen displayed made her instinctively say, "Don't come near me, it's dangerous..."

"Miss Witch is truly kind..." Gwen said softly, guessing what the witch in front of him was thinking. Then, to Yae Sakura's astonished gaze—as she thought Gwen was about to leave and her expression had relaxed slightly—he said, "Then I can't just let you leave like this."

"I told you, I'm dangerous." Influenced by some behind-the-scenes manipulator, the witch, who instinctively thought of some unpleasant things, took a step back. The long sword, which had already been sheathed, was partially drawn again, and she frowned. "Of course, I know very well what is sealed within your body, even better than you do."

"That's why I have to stop you from leaving."

Gwen's expression and words remained unchanged by Yae Sakura's look and speech. He said calmly:

"It is both to prevent her from causing greater destruction and for the life of you, Miss Miko."

"You..."

Hearing Gwen's words, Yae Sakura's grip on her long sword loosened slightly. She frowned and asked:

"You know about Hiyori Maru's existence?"

"Of course. Although the other party's identity is a rather secret matter, the story of Saint Kallen sealing the demon in the box five hundred years ago is still widely circulated." Chapter 76 Hiyori Maru: Watch me take advantage of the opening!

"Five hundred years ago?"

Yae Sakura, who decisively ignored the fact that she herself was the one sealed in the box as the demon, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Yes, five hundred years ago."

Gwen nodded and explained:

"Even the current Schicksal was established after the coalition gathered under Saint Kallen's name defeated the corrupt Old Schicksal."

"Then Kallen she..."

Although she had no expectations after realizing it was five hundred years later, Yae Sakura couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope in her heart...

"Five hundred years ago, Saint Kallen sacrificed herself during the action to resist the corrupt old nobles of that time."

Gwen gently shook his head, delivering the cruel answer to the Miko whose eyes were full of expectation.

Of course, to prevent the Miko in front of him from completely breaking down and releasing the BOSS within her body, Gwen added:

"However, even though she has sacrificed herself, Saint Kallen's spirit will forever guide the direction for future generations."

"..."