Then they noticed Bai Chen, the only one in the center of the square without a phantom. Surrounded by the others, he stood out like a bright moon in the night.
With almost no hesitation, the Honkai Beasts charged at Bai Chen like starving wolves, trying to hack him into eight pieces!
"Come on! You beasts that shouldn't exist!"
Bai Chen charged straight at the nearest Honkai Beast and decisively used Heavenly Fire to burn its body to ashes. The Honkai Beasts that rushed in afterward could barely withstand three shots.
But even so, the enormous number of Honkai Beasts gradually surrounded Bai Chen.
Relying on the physical conditioning from a month of training, Bai Chen barely weaved through the encirclement of Honkai Beasts.
Before long, from a corner Bai Chen had failed to notice, a massive palm slammed straight toward his waist. By the time Bai Chen noticed it, he could only hurriedly block the sneak attack. The tremendous impact made blood seep from the web of his hand, and he nearly failed to hold on.
But the Honkai Beasts would not stop attacking. Another massive palm struck from the surrounding horde, directly hitting Bai Chen as he struggled to endure.
Bai Chen's frail body flew away like a rag doll and crashed onto the execution platform where Kallen had originally stood.
"Bai Chen!"
Unable to join the battle without weapons, the three of them hurried forward in panic, determined to save Bai Chen from danger even if it cost them their lives.
"Cough—ugh!"
The injured Bai Chen weakly coughed up blood, mockingly thinking that at least there was one benefit: he was no longer inside the encirclement.
"Don't come over! Aren't you the shields of the Kaslana people? Then right now, shouldn't I be your shield, even without weapons? Watch me win beautifully!"
Bai Chen stopped the others rushing over. Looking toward the Honkai Beast horde, he revealed a cruel smile and combined the twin Heavenly Fire pistols. Amid the mechanical assembly, they merged into a Heavenly Fire Greatsword whose blade flowed like fire.
Kallen noticed Bai Chen's movements, and her expression immediately turned horrified. Knowing her father's fate, she instantly reached toward Bai Chen and tried to stop him.
"Don't! Stop! Using that power will kill you!"
At almost the same time, a purple sphere of light that only Bai Chen could see appeared before Kallen.
The Curtain Falls
Hearing Kallen's cry, Kiana and Bronya, who had not understood the situation, also revealed shocked expressions. After all, they did not know the consequences of drawing Heavenly Fire.
Bronya, who understood this virtual space somewhat better, knew even more clearly that if someone died in this special space, their body outside would most likely never wake up either.
Bai Chen only gave Kallen, who had run to his side, a confident smile.
"I won't die. Trust me! I have someone I need to protect!"
Then Bai Chen left Kallen only with his thin back and a raised thumb. At this moment, he was the only light in this space, bringing a trace of hope to a world that had remained unchanged for centuries.
"Come on, you pitiful insects. You have the honor of witnessing the divine judgment of Heavenly Fire! For the sake of those worth protecting, disappear! Heavenly Fire, draw!"
Raising Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment above his head as if tearing down the sky itself, he unleashed the divine flames that destroyed everything, instantly engulfing more than twenty Honkai Beasts.
The raging flames also devoured and tore at Bai Chen's skin. The blood that flowed from him evaporated in an instant, leaving no trace behind.
"!!!"
Intense pain swept through every nerve in Bai Chen's body. Since his birth, he had never experienced such agony. Under that pain, Bai Chen even felt as if both his hands had melted and fused to the sword hilt.
His trembling hands could barely hold the greatsword anymore. Just as Bai Chen was about to lose consciousness, the scene of Kiana sending a bomb into the sky in the future surfaced in his mind without warning.
"Ha!!"
As though he had forgotten his scorched body, purple-pink light shone in Bai Chen's eyes as he let out a roar that was neither a cry of pain nor a shout!
The terrifying flames suddenly grew fiercer, as if answering Bai Chen's will. The howling fire dragon mercilessly devoured everything it touched!
Finally, under Bai Chen's last conscious control, the flames transformed into towering pillars of fire, staining the sky in boundless crimson!
When the flames faded, only a vast stretch of ground resembling a lava pool remained. There was no trace of any Honkai Beast left.
Having used Heavenly Fire, Bai Chen stood where he was like a humanoid lump of charcoal, still maintaining the posture of swinging the greatsword.
"Bai Chen!!!"
Bai Chen's appearance completely exceeded Kiana and Bronya's expectations. If they had known from the beginning that using Heavenly Fire would lead to this, they would never have agreed to let Bai Chen go alone.
Kallen walked to Bai Chen's side in disbelief and gently laid his scorched body flat in her arms.
Once again, someone had sacrificed himself to protect others with Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment. Even though she had been called a saint by everyone, at this moment she felt only helplessness and regret.
Kallen bit her lip as unwilling tears streamed down her face. He was clearly only fourteen years old. He clearly had such a bright future ahead of him.
"Bai Chen! Don't die! Hold on, we can get out!"
After learning from Bronya about the special nature of this virtual space, Kiana also ran to Bai Chen's side, looking painfully at the friend who was three years younger than her and whom she had known for over a month.
"We still have so many games to play, and I still have a makeup exam... Didn't we agree that once I become an A-rank Valkyrie, we'd all go find my dad together?!"
Kiana's tears also fell uncontrollably. Trembling, she reached out and held Bai Chen's mangled hands, as though doing so could call him back.
Meanwhile, Bronya was hacking into the Schicksal database with all her strength, trying to find medicine that could save Bai Chen. But Bronya also knew that burns of this severity were beyond saving.
While everyone was consumed by the grief of Bai Chen's death, Kiana suddenly noticed that Bai Chen's charcoal-like hands seemed to twitch a few times.
Overjoyed, Kiana instinctively tightened her grip on Bai Chen's hands and asked.
"Bai Chen, are you conscious?"
"Uh... I'm conscious. If I wasn't, you shaking me around like this would've hurt me awake anyway."
Bai Chen's tightly shut eyes opened again. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying in Kallen's arms—soft and reassuring. Then he saw everyone with tear-streaked faces and smiled helplessly.
"There was no need for this, everyone. I told you, I wouldn't die."
Kiana hurriedly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. Though still worried, she spoke with a trace of anger.
"Who knew you'd go that far?! Look at yourself! How are you any different from a corpse?!"
Bai Chen merely chuckled foolishly at Kiana's scolding and did not argue. Then he turned his head slightly.
"Sorry, everyone. And thank you, Bronya. Thank you, Kallen. And finally, thank you, Kiana. You protected me again."
After saying that, Bai Chen took out a purple card with the Valkyrie emblem printed on its back.
Chivalric Drive: Valkyrie Guardian
At the moment Heavenly Fire was drawn, Bai Chen had also used a skill originating from Kiana's White Comet armor. This skill allowed the user to enter a Chrono Break state while continuously healing their body.
Thanks to this skill, he had managed to keep his life under Heavenly Fire's burning. But thanks to that same skill, the time he experienced being burned had been extended several times over.
"Thanks to your power, I was able to survive."
Bai Chen turned the front of the card toward Kiana. Printed on it was her appearance when White Comet unleashed its ultimate.
"Hmph, what an interesting fellow."
In a shadowy corner unnoticed by anyone, Otto watched the people on the gallows with an inscrutable smile on his lips. Strangely, the clothes Otto wore now were completely different from what he had worn earlier.
Then Otto returned to the alley and vanished into the shadows.
"No, I should be the one thanking you all."
Kallen smiled like sunlight and spoke to everyone.
"You were willing to risk your lives for virtual characters like us."
"!"
The two besides Bai Chen both revealed surprised expressions.
Kiana stared at Kallen in disbelief. "You knew all along that you were virtual characters?"
"Since when, I wonder? I kept repeating the same death over and over. No matter what I did, I could never escape it—until all of you appeared."
As if she had accepted reality, Kallen looked toward the clouds in the sky, seemingly lost in memories.
"Yes. The real Kallen should have died long ago, right?"
Return
"How long has it been since the real Kallen died?"
"More than five hundred years."
Unable to move, Bai Chen lay in Kallen's arms and answered her question.
"More than five hundred years...?"
Kallen raised her head again to look at the drifting clouds. No one knew how many memories were passing through her mind at that moment.
"I am a personality formed from Kallen's memories. In Kallen's memories, before she died, she sealed away someone she loved deeply. Yae Sakura... Even after five hundred years, as a Herrscher, she must still be alive."
"If the seal is released and she has to face the world five hundred years later alone, how lonely would she be? Bai Chen, if you have the chance, could you pass a message to Yae Sakura for me?"
Yet Bai Chen gave an answer that caught everyone by surprise in response to Kallen's pleading expression.
"I refuse."
"Bai Chen, you..."
Kiana frowned. How could he refuse when things had reached this point?
Bai Chen extended a hand toward Kallen. The purple sphere of light that only he could see had been floating there for some time.
The instant he touched the purple light, Bai Chen's injuries healed at a visible speed under their astonished gazes. Perhaps because they were in a data space, even his clothing was restored to its original state.
Now able to move, Bai Chen stood up again and extended a pink card printed with Kallen's portrait toward her.
"If you want to say it, you should go tell her yourself!"
After hearing Bai Chen's words, light appeared in Kallen's eyes once more. Looking at Bai Chen against the light, a seed of hope was reignited in her heart.
The moment she instinctively touched Bai Chen's card, Kallen vanished from where she stood. At almost the same time, the surrounding data space began to collapse.
"This area is beginning to collapse. Initiating logout."
Without giving them a chance to explain, everyone's consciousness returned to the real world at once.
Bai Chen also woke up in bed. Looking around, he remembered putting on the helmet in front of the desk. It seemed someone had carried him back to bed while his consciousness was inside the data space.
Before Bai Chen could get out of bed, he heard someone running urgently outside the door. Then, accompanied by a dull bang, a jade foot clad in white stockings kicked the door open.
After kicking open the door, Kiana impatiently leaped onto Bai Chen's bed, grabbed the shoulders of the still-unresponsive Bai Chen, and stared into his eyes as she asked.
"Bai Chen! Sister Kallen disappeared at the end. Was that related to your power?"
Kiana's words were filled with barely restrained excitement. Vaguely, she seemed to have guessed what had happened.
Bai Chen had never intended to hide it, so he smiled lightly and pulled out the card Kallen had touched last. He waved it through the air a few times, and it turned into a streak of light that entered Bai Chen's body.
Immediately afterward, several phantoms surrounded Bai Chen's body. Then, as his height increased inch by inch, he transformed into Kallen's appearance. However, she was not wearing the nun's attire from the virtual world, but a Valkyrie armor with a more modern technological style.
Chivalric Load: Divine Attire: Imayoh
When Kallen touched the card, all her information had been absorbed into Bai Chen's body. With Bai Chen's permission, she could even take control of his body's movements.
"Come on, Miss Kallen. See the world five hundred years later."
Bai Chen closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his heart. When he opened them again, his aura had become gentle. Compassion and resolve belonging to a saint flowed through his azure eyes. The one controlling his body now was the real Kallen.
"Hm?"
Far away at Schicksal Headquarters, Otto suddenly felt his scalp itch. Clearly, this Soul Steel body had no sensory system, so why did he suddenly have such a feeling?
He had just discovered that some data had vanished from the database out of nowhere and could not be recovered. Had those three children done it? It seemed necessary to contact an old friend.
"Kiana? Where is this?"
Having only just gained control, Kallen looked around in confusion. She did not recognize the armor she wore, and the surroundings looked like someone's room, but its style differed greatly from the rooms she knew. The only familiar thing was Miss Kiana, who was holding her shoulders.
"Sister Kallen?"
Even though Kiana had been mentally prepared, she still felt incomparably shocked. She was shocked that Bai Chen could actually do something like this.
"That's great!"
Kiana excitedly hugged Kallen, who still had no idea what was happening. If they could stay together forever, who would want to part? Leaving Kallen alone in that endlessly looping virtual world would have been far too cruel.
"Bai Chen, you're amazing!"
After hearing Kiana's praise, a small round robot appeared beside Kallen. It was the support robot that came with the Imayoh armor, referred to simply as Little K.
"Wow, I don't get many chances to hear you praise me. Go on, praise me some more."
Bai Chen's voice came from inside Little K.
Before you continue