Collapse, I'll Transform and Punch You Directly Chapter 14

Bai Chen's hospital room fell into a deathly silence.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Wrapping Up

Some medical staff scanned Bai Chen's head with instruments, but in the end, they all shook their heads at Himeko, helpless.

Getting the answer, Himeko pursed her lips, a pained expression on her face.

"What? That kid Bai Chen lost some memory saving her? He's lost his memory again?"

Theresa hadn't forgotten Bai Chen's amnesia when he first entered St. Freya, and now it happened again?

Honestly, Theresa felt a sense of dereliction of duty and guilt. If she hadn't been careless and dealt with Yuno swiftly, Bai Chen wouldn't have had to face this kind of situation, right?

Now, she couldn't judge whether Bai Chen's actions were good or bad. After all, he really did pull someone back from the Collapse!

Yuno, who woke up almost simultaneously with Bai Chen, showed no signs of being infected by the Collapse's consciousness. Instead, because her consciousness knew her parents in Changkong City had died, she fell into sadness.

Afterward, she would have to provide psychological counseling for Yuno.

Mei felt even more guilty. She was still sitting by Bai Chen's hospital bed, silent. If she hadn't said those things to Bai Chen back then, Bai Chen wouldn't have made this choice, would he?

"Mei-nee, don't be sad. The doctor's examination showed no problems, right? He just forgot your names. Can't you just tell him again?"

Bai Chen, who had just finished his examination, saw Mei sitting there looking dejected and thought she was worried. Bai Chen spoke up to comfort her.

"Mhm, you'll be fine. I'll go get you a glass of water first."

Mei forced a smile and replied, then slowly left Bai Chen's hospital room.

The moment she walked out of Bai Chen's room, Mei thought of Bai Chen's few strands of silver-white hair and his pained expression in the video.

A powerful sense of guilt surged through her. Mei couldn't imagine the pain Bai Chen had gone through at that moment, and tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.

"Silly Bai Chen, not being able to find the cause and the tests showing no problems are two different things."

Bronya, who had been by his side the whole time, spoke up to reprimand him only after Mei left.

"Your bodily functions are currently below standard. It's not that there are no problems."

Bronya held up the report from the table. Although Bronya's tone was completely flat, Bai Chen could clearly feel that she was angry.

He wisely decided not to be flippant and apologized immediately: "I'm sorry, Bronya-oneechan."

That's right! Bronya took advantage of Bai Chen's amnesia to change how he addressed her. When Bai Chen asked them how he should refer to them, Bronya decisively chose to have Bai Chen call her "oneechan"!

A golden opportunity, the plan succeeded!

Kiana, watching from the side, was stunned! If she had known, she would have also asked Bai Chen to change how he addressed her.

Hearing Bai Chen call her "oneechan," Bronya was secretly overjoyed, but she couldn't stop her reprimand of Bai Chen.

"Bai Chen, Bronya isn't saying you did anything wrong, but you also need to take care of your body."

"Okay, Bronya-oneechan, I'll be careful."

As Bai Chen replied to Bronya, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with the words, as if he had heard them somewhere before, but he couldn't recall.

Could it be that he not only forgot how to address others? Bai Chen started to sweat profusely. They were worried about him forgetting their names. If they found out it wasn't just that... he absolutely had to keep it hidden!

"Right, what about the child I saved?"

Bai Chen was concerned about Yuno's physical condition. With the ability to peel away the Herrscher, her consciousness should no longer be affected by the Collapse, but her physical condition was unclear.

Speaking of which... she was actually his daughter, wasn't she? After all, her body was shaped by him.

"Yuno is in good health, but she is currently grieving the loss of her parents."

Hearing Bronya's reply, Bai Chen fell into thought.

As everyone knew, Bai Chen wasn't good at talking. He clearly wanted to save Yuno, but in the end, it turned out he had to kill her. He shouldn't get involved in this kind of psychological counseling.

"Bai Chen! You have an empty slot!"

Theresa kicked open Bai Chen's hospital room door and walked in angrily, wearing a hospital gown, followed by a rather awkward Yae Sakura.

"You knew Yae Sakura was over there earlier!"

Recalling the events afterward, Theresa immediately felt something was wrong. She jumped onto Bai Chen's bed and grabbed his shoulders.

"Good heavens! Now you've brought two Herrscher-like individuals at once! I already have Mei, and now two more make it three Herrschers in one grade!"

So annoying! She was already bothered by dealing with headquarters over Mei alone, and now two more. Maybe they shouldn't train Valkyries here in the future, but Herrschers.

"Did you... do anything to her?"

Bai Chen looked suspiciously at Yae Sakura, seeing Theresa's face flushed with anger.

"Did you do anything to her?"

"When she was unconscious, she was sweating all over, so I wiped her body for her."

Yae Sakura awkwardly looked away, not daring to meet Bai Chen's gaze.

Alright, you don't need to explain. It seems Theresa is probably angry because you offended her.

Otherwise, with Otto's personality, he would always turn a blind eye to such minor incidents happening to Theresa.

"Alright, Theresa, don't be angry. I'll take care of Sakura."

Bai Chen instantly transformed into Kallen's appearance, simultaneously bringing Kallen's consciousness to the forefront.

Kallen then took on the form of the "Divine Key: Imayoh," wearing the same outfit Kiana had changed for her last time.

Kallen released Theresa's hands, which she had been holding, and gently stroked Theresa's hair to comfort her.

"Kallen?!"

Sensing Kallen's presence, Yae Sakura felt even more awkward, as if she had walked in on a compromising situation.

"You...?"

Theresa normally disliked people touching her head, but the person before her didn't evoke any such aversion. Instead, she felt a sense of warmth.

It was similar to Cecilia, but different; a feeling she had never experienced before.

"Motherly love."

Bai Chen, having transformed into a robot, floated out from the side and muttered quietly.

"Bai Chen! You little brat!"

To maintain her dignity as the school director, Theresa immediately bristled.

"Nothing."

Bai Chen wobbled, preparing to fly further away to avoid Theresa's flying kick.

Then he found he couldn't move. A mechanical hand had clamped down on him.

That familiar feeling.

Next, Bai Chen was stuffed into Bronya's arms by the Heavy Tank Rabbit 19c.

While comforting Theresa, Kallen wanted to speak:

"Bai Chen's soul or spiritual body has a damaged part."

"?"

Everyone looked at Kallen in confusion; souls and such things were a bit unscientific.

"Because I've been living in Bai Chen's sea of consciousness, I can clearly observe that a piece of Bai Chen's spirit is missing. That's also the fundamental reason for his amnesia."

The professional medical staff all shook their heads in helplessness. After all, they were truly unfamiliar with such matters.

"But don't worry, it's showing signs of healing. It should fully recover in a few months."

Kallen's answer reassured everyone.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Power of Swords

Knowing that everyone else was helpless regarding Bai Chen's current condition, they had no choice but to let Bai Chen return to his normal life.

Back in the academy, Bai Chen resumed his regular routine. After only a few days of recuperation, Bai Chen was able to participate in normal combat training.

The only change...

[Phantom Drive · Kageyoshi]

As Bai Chen moved across the training grounds, he pulled a black and red sword from a blur of afterimages and then made an emergency turn to dodge to the side.

Almost the instant Bai Chen dodged, several sword lights appeared in his previous position, slicing through the air.

Sweating nervously, Bai Chen hurriedly charged towards Yae Sakura on the other side of the field, his sword blade transforming into a red flash as he slashed towards her location.

The experienced Yae Sakura simply evaded Bai Chen's attack with a Shunpo, but a portion of her white sleeve was still sliced.

Creating distance, Yae Sakura immediately bent down, lowering her posture. She stepped forward with her front foot, stabilizing her stance while sheathing her sword.

Iaido! Ibuki! The blade drew a pink stream of light directly towards Bai Chen's face.

The entire sequence took less than a breath!

So fast!

Bai Chen focused his mind with extreme intensity and swung his sword towards the direction of Yae Sakura's attack.

With a "clang!" of steel, Bai Chen barely managed to block Yae Sakura's blade.

Without the powerful physical enhancements from his transformation, Bai Chen struggled just to see Yae Sakura's attacks clearly.

He had sparred with Yae Sakura almost every day for the past few days, and today he finally managed to block one of Yae Sakura's iaido strikes.

Seeing her attack blocked, Yae Sakura showed a surprised expression and quickly drew her sword again, slashing at Bai Chen's other parts.

Maintaining his focus, Bai Chen hurriedly parried. Within a few breaths, he received dozens of blows from Yae Sakura.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Bai Chen became. He realized he truly was the weakest one, and he couldn't understand how Kiana and the other two had defeated Yae Sakura back in Changkong City.

The prolonged confrontation rapidly depleted Bai Chen's stamina. Finally, when Bai Chen was too exhausted to continue, his sword was knocked away by another of Yae Sakura's slashes, ending the battle.

Weaponless, Bai Chen lay on the ground, panting and sweating. "I lost again, Yae Sakura. You're really strong."

"You're the one who's amazing. You haven't even had formal training for two months, yet you can keep up with my speed. I've been practicing swordsmanship for years."

Yae Sakura half-crouched down to look at Bai Chen, taking out a cherry-blossom colored handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Bai Chen, there's no need to be so formal. You saved Kallen, so you're my benefactor too. You can just call me Yae Sakura."

After spending some time with Bai Chen, Yae Sakura had become more familiar with him.

"Alright."

Feeling his stamina somewhat recovered, Bai Chen flipped over and got up. He picked up the Phantom Drive · Kageyoshi that had fallen to the side, examined it carefully, and then let it dissipate into a phantom shadow.

Bai Chen unlocked a character corresponding to the Katana. Ever since he lost his memory, Bai Chen had noticed that Mei also had purple light clusters appearing.

After taking the time to interact with them, Bai Chen successfully unlocked Mei's series of abilities. Currently, Bai Chen hadn't told anyone about unlocking Mei's transformation.

After all, it wasn't as interesting to tell them proactively.

I wonder if my cooking skills will improve when I transform into Mei? Maybe I should try it? I can eat whatever I want.

"Bai Chen?"

Yae Sakura tilted her head, looking at the suddenly excited Bai Chen. She wondered what he was thinking about.

"! Sakura, I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. I'll have Kallen take you around tonight!"

Bai Chen, with his own plans in mind, spoke to himself and left.

"Wait, Bai Chen."

Yae Sakura wanted to call out to Bai Chen, but he left too quickly and didn't hear her. Yae Sakura didn't force him to stay and could only let him go.

"Sigh, His Excellency Bai Chen is truly decisive."

With a hint of regret, Yae Sakura also reluctantly left the training grounds to prepare for her date with Kallen today.

At this moment, at Schicksal Headquarters.

"Hmm? Ever since a few days ago, my head has been feeling heavier and heavier."