The Seal Is Broken

"If it leaks, wouldn't the nearby residents be in great danger?"

Upon hearing Gwen's explanation, Kiana immediately frowned and asked with concern.

"It's not a big problem, it's just a partial collapse. There should be many survivors, and the professionals inside will handle it."

Gwen vaguely guessed what Kiana was planning and comforted her.

"Moreover, rather than risking exposure to deal with the Honkai Energy source above, leaving as soon as possible is the only way to be responsible to the millions of people in Changkong City."

"Um..."

Kiana, understanding that Gwen's words made sense, nodded and then asked,

"Do you need our help to clear the tunnel?"

Although it seemed that Gwen could handle the obstacle in front of him on his own, Kiana, feeling inexplicably anxious, still rolled up her sleeves to help.

"No need, I can handle it myself."

Gwen shook his head and said with a smile,

"You guys take a break first, we'll be speeding up soon."

Hmph~

Don't underestimate me...

Kiana twitched her pert nose and said with a grin.

Now that an unexpected event has occurred, it wouldn't be good for anyone to let the atmosphere become heavy, so Kiana consciously began to lighten the mood.

"Alright, I know you're great, Kiana. If the car gets stuck later, you can lift it."

Raiden Mei did not reveal her inner heaviness and worry, and echoed Kiana.

Suddenly, the atmosphere among the three of them became even more lively than before.

However, at the end of the tunnel, the Raven that had just come down was not in the same good mood as the three of them—

"Well..."

After searching for a while, the raven finally found a spot and climbed down. Before it could even stand properly, an earthquake struck, and Raven was almost buried. Looking at the entrance that had collapsed and was now blocked, the raven let out a long sigh, unsure whether to feel lucky or unlucky.

"Hopefully those three guys weren't buried alive..."

Suppressing his complicated emotions, Raven looked ahead at the passage and muttered to himself as he groped his way forward in the dark.

As for whether it would be trapped here, the Raven wasn't worried—

At worst, I can find the Gray Serpent to dig me out.

Raven was more worried about the three little brats who almost buried him here than about himself.

Not long after they started walking, the Raven heard laughter and conversation coming from ahead of the tunnel.

Peeking out cautiously, Raven saw that all three were unharmed, only their path was blocked. Raven secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then a hint of doubt remained—

"Why are these three guys still laughing and joking even though their path is blocked?"

"... Could it be him?"

Raven glanced at Gwen, who was enveloped in a bright yellow aura, Raven with doubt—

This is not how Gwen should behave according to the records.

Fearing that Gwen would notice if he stared at them for too long, Raven only glanced at them and dared not look any longer. He could only guess that the three of them were still able to talk and laugh like this because they were confident in their ability to leave.

"If they haven't gone insane because they can't face reality, then they must have the confidence to leave..."

Having reached this conclusion, the Raven did not show itself, but continued to observe from behind, intending to see how the three would leave.

However, Raven didn't know was that Gwen had already noticed her the moment she approached.

"These are... Cocolia's pursuers?"

Something's not right. I don't sense any malice; it even seems a bit benevolent?

While using his power to clear a safe path ahead, Gwen pondered to himself.

Since he only sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching but couldn't see the other party's facial features or know their identity, Gwen didn't rashly alert them. Instead, he quietly reinforced the barrier behind him.

However, neither Gwen nor Raven, who were observing each other, noticed that not far away, a restrained and ominous aura was quietly seizing the leaking Honkai Energy above and releasing its own power...

Chapter 206 The Broken Seal

As the March 7th, the newly blossoming cherry blossoms are beginning to show their beautiful beauty.

A gentle night breeze rustled through the cherry blossoms, making them sway like a sleeping maiden who had just opened her eyes—youthful and beautiful.

Beneath this cherry blossom tree, within a cocoon of light that has existed for over five hundred years, a girl with long, cherry-pink hair remains trapped in a five-hundred-year-old nightmare.

However, at this moment, the cocoon of light that sealed the girl and the demon together quietly broke open, and deep purple Honkai Energy was continuously seeping into it, while special alien Honkai Energy escaping and slowly spreading in the underground.

The first to be affected were naturally the four people in the tunnel.

Kiana and Mei, who were chatting and laughing, suddenly felt their eyelids drooping and slowly sat down against the wall, closing their eyes.

The Raven hiding behind slowly drifted off to sleep as it pondered.

Finally, even Gwen, who had been maintaining the flow of energy and interacting intensely with the external energy, saw his bright yellow light gradually dim, plunging the tunnel into darkness...

As the four unwittingly fall victim to the nightmare, the girl, tormented by nightmares for five hundred years, experiences a different kind of ambiguity in her dream this time—

"This is..."

Looking at his rather dated clothes and the katana at his waist, Gwen frowned deeply.

Gwen clearly remembered that just a moment ago he was struggling to clear the collapsed mud blocking his path, but Kiana and Mei, who had been chatting and laughing behind him, seemed to have fallen silent because they were tired, and then he...

Unable to recall what had happened in between, Gwen had to put the question aside for the time being. Looking up, he saw a wide stream flowing in the distance, and the faint sound of flowing water he could hear came from there.

Upstream, you can see a sizable village built along the river, and you can hear the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking from afar.

The chirping of insects and birds in my ears, the gentle breeze brushing against my body, all felt incredibly real. When I gripped the katana at my waist, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, I could feel a solid sensation in my palm.

It seems that all of this is real and true.

Snap!

Gwen casually swatted a fly that was circling around him, then withdrew his gaze from surveying his surroundings and turned his attention back to himself—

He could no longer sense the ever-renewing power of the Five Elements within his body, which had almost become a part of his life.

However, Gwen's power was not weakened much as a result; in fact, the power within Gwen body felt even stronger than before.

However, this unusual power did not give Gwen a sense of unreality; on the contrary, it felt incredibly solid and substantial, as if it were meant to be this way.

However, no matter how realistic it feels, it cannot hide one problem: this body is not Gwen's body...

At least, not all.

"So, I was ambushed?"

Gwen drew the katana from his waist—a sword that, in his eyes, was of mediocre quality—and swung it Gwen, mentally assessing the current situation.

"That shouldn't be the case. Even considering the World Serpent, who might already be involved with Cocolia, there shouldn't be anyone in this world capable of silently taking me down or pulling me into an illusion—"

The chances of Su emerging from the Thousand Worlds, One Law are extremely slim.

Could it be that one of those two unlucky cheat codes has been restored to a new function and is automatically running here, or even that it has directly sent me through a second time travel?

It seems even less reliable...

So... surely it's not Cocolia's lab just happened to be placed right next to the seal of the Eight XX, allowing that monstrous thing to break through the seal and pull all of us into the illusion, right?

After eliminating all the incorrect options, Gwen felt that he seemed to have, possibly, probably, almost discovered the truth of the matter.

"I hope not..."

What if it really is a cheat code that unlocks a new feature?

With a heavy heart but a carefree smile on his face, Gwen strode forward.

After all, if the opponent can pull him into the illusion without him even noticing... his chances of winning are slim.

As for what the truth really is...

You'll know once you explore.

Although the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves seems somewhat significant now, Gwen is no longer the naive transmigrator he once was. He quickly suppressed his panic and headed towards the village upstream.

At Gwen's pace, he soon arrived at the village that could be described as a "small bridge, flowing water, and a family dwelling."

Upon seeing Gwen approaching from afar, the few people working near the bridge didn't even bother to say hello; they simply turned and ran.

Although Gwen had some doubts about this, he didn't shout that he was a good person and ask the other party to stay.

Reaching the bridge, and looking through the stream, Gwen realized that he was dressed as a Japanese ronin samurai.

Considering the actions of so-called ronin and samurai groups throughout history, Gwen felt somewhat relieved.

If an ordinary person saw a burly samurai with a sword at his waist approaching, it would be strange if they didn't run away.

As he understood the situation, Gwen also washed his face in the stream and tidied up his terrible makeup, which he didn't know who had done for him.

By the time Gwen crossed the wooden bridge in front of the village, apart from his still somewhat worn clothes, he looked like a proper samurai lord.

Although they weren't exactly good things either, they weren't as universally disliked as ronin samurai.

Even so, when Gwen entered the village, every household along the way kept their doors and windows tightly shut, and apart from the occasional bark of a dog, there was no sound at all, as if Gwen had entered a dead city.

However, behind those tightly closed doors, Gwen could feel gazes filled with fear and apprehension.

Clearly, the village wasn't deserted; they were simply terrified of Gwen, the wandering warrior.

Or perhaps...

Feeling the gaze coming from behind, Gwen's eyes shifted slightly upwards, looking towards the back of the village, at that lofty Tenshukaku that shouldn't exist in this village at all...

The Tenshukaku) is the tallest, most important, and most representative part of a Japanese castle. It serves as a lookout and command post, and is also one of the symbols of ruling power in the feudal era.

This kind of thing is clearly not something an ordinary village should have—

The big shots who have the ability to build such things won't live in a cramped village, but rather in a safer and more comfortable city.

So...

"This is Yae Village."

Having reached a conclusion in his heart, Gwen took a deep breath, quickened his pace, and headed towards the shrine Tenshukaku.

According to Gwen's Remembrance, before Yae Sakura sacrificed herself to Theresa in some unknown way, she was able to barely suppress Hiyori and maintain control of her body.

Although the opponent seems to have broken the seal prematurely due to external Honkai Energy, and even expanded the illusion's range, pulling the three of them in, the situation shouldn't be that bad...

However, just as Gwen was beginning to make out the appearance of the shrine, a voice calling out interrupted his thoughts—

"Oh, a traveler from out of town? What a rare guest! Would you like to sit down and have a drink?"

Following the sound, Gwen's eyes involuntarily twitched slightly—

A tuft of hair stood up on her short gray hair, her rose-red eyes had snake-like pupils, and a beauty mark was on the left corner of her mouth...

Based on these characteristics, Gwen was fairly certain of the other party's identity—

Isn't that Kojima Bakuro?

How did you get in here?

Although he was inwardly complaining, Gwen also realized something—

"It seems that what was following behind earlier was the Raven..."

If the Raven is following us at this point, it means that the World Serpent has already hooked up with that crazy woman Cocolia...

So, was the escape plan exposed from the very beginning?

Tsk...

Thinking of this, Gwen's heart sank a little, but he remained outwardly calm, walking confidently into the other person's Tavern and taking a seat, pretending to be a hearty and generous man:

"Haha... Finally, I've encountered a living person..."

With a snap, Gwen slammed his katana on the table and beckoned the Raven to serve the food.