At the top of the building, a pale lavender-haired girl lightly brushed back her hair after hearing Gu Yu's words.
"Eh, this guy actually knows who I am. Yuno feels a little touched."
"And..."
After glancing sideways at the three girls who had moved to the rooftop of another building, Yuno suddenly smiled happily and waved at them.
"Mei, Kiana, it's really great that you're still alive."
"Yuno..."
Seeing the girl before her, Raiden Mei suddenly let out a breath of relief.
Before this Honkai outbreak, the girl named Yuno had been classmates with Raiden Mei and Kiana Kaslana.
After the ME Company incident broke out, Yuno had been one of the few classmates who had not persecuted Raiden Mei.
But rather than saying she had not persecuted Raiden Mei, it was more accurate to say that this quiet girl had simply never been interested in harming others.
For that very reason, even though Raiden Mei had barely spoken to Yuno before, she still held a favorable impression of her.
"Mei, step back."
"Mei, be careful!"
However, the two companions beside her had clearly caught the true meaning hidden in Yuno's words.
Although Kiana looked rather airheaded, the innate bloodline of the Kaslana family allowed her to easily discern the malice concealed in Yuno's eyes.
And as an assassin, Bronya saw through Yuno's attitude toward the three of them even more clearly.
This was no longer something as simple as malice.
In the eyes of Raiden Mei's old classmate Yuno was not malice, but killing intent.
"Eh, Kiana, you're making me very sad."
Seeing Kiana staring at her with extreme vigilance, Yuno pretended to be hurt and covered her eyes.
"Ah, so we can still talk?"
After continuously releasing flames from the ground, Gu Yu asked in a somewhat indifferent tone.
"How about we make a deal? Let's all pretend we never met and go our separate ways. If we really fight, it won't do anyone any good, right?"
"Yes, Yuno doesn't seem confident that she can easily kill you either, mister."
Turning her attention to the red-armored swordsman before her, Yuno looked at Gu Yu with slight helplessness.
"What should I do? Your proposal is indeed rather tempting to Yuno..."
"Just kidding, idiot!"
After saying that, Yuno's expression suddenly turned cold.
"You fell for it..."
"You were going to say, 'You fell for it, idiot,' right?"
"Idiot... eh?!"
Without any warning, Gu Yu suddenly made a light leap from the ground and landed ten meters away.
Where Gu Yu had just been standing, countless Honkai Energy vines burst through the ground.
"The killing intent was that obvious. Did you really think none of us would notice?"
During his earlier standoff with Yuno, Gu Yu had easily sensed her attitude toward them through the heightened senses of Flame Form.
If this girl had merely been tainted by Honkai Energy and had not yet been completely corrupted, she would surely have shown at least some hesitation upon seeing her former classmates.
But judging from her current behavior, her body and mind had basically already been infected by Honkai Energy.
Looking toward the Pseudo Herrscher atop the building, Gu Yu silently took out a card.
"I chose that form earlier to release flames quickly."
[KamenRideGarren (KamenRide OMO)]
"Now that things are temporarily safe, this is indeed more suited to this battle."
After switching into Garren Form, Gu Yu discarded the Flame Saber that was about to dissipate and directly grabbed the weapon floating in the void: [Wake Gun].
"Has your heart already been corrupted by Honkai Energy?"
"If your own will isn't strong enough, I can't save you."
"Shut up!"
Seeing Gu Yu easily evade her attack, Yuno dropped her pretense and stared at everyone with a fanatical expression.
"Raiden Mei, Kiana Kaslana, and that guy down there wearing strange armor..."
"You three have quite a lot of Honkai Energy inside you. I'm going to kill every last one of you, then drain all the Honkai Energy from your bodies!"
"As long as I do that, I'll become even stronger!"
After she said that, the ground where Gu Yu stood suddenly began to tremble.
And in the next second—an uncountable mass of Honkai Energy vines erupted throughout Gu Yu's area.
"Ah, what a headache."
Looking at the vines, Gu Yu tilted his head and took out a card he had prepared long ago.
"All those vines are poisonous. If they break your defense, you're done."
[Attack Ride Petrification]
"You... even know that?"
Watching Gu Yu slide a card into his driver, Yuno's eyes flashed with a cold glint when she heard those words.
"Sure enough, you have to die!"
Then, she snapped her fingers lightly and commanded all the vines to rush toward Gu Yu.
"With so many vines, how many can you burn?"
"Die here!"
"Ah, why would I need to burn them?"
After the emblem of the Tortoise Undead attached itself to his body, Gu Yu looked at the surrounding vines and slightly raised his right hand.
"You make it sound like there's only one way to deal with such a brainless attack."
[Attack Ride Petrification] was an Undead ability that Kamen Rider Garren had obtained after sealing the [♦7 Tortoise Undead].
Its effects were petrification and barrier creation.
Normally, this card was used to petrify one's body, thereby strengthening one's defense.
But Gu Yu knew that what he needed now was not merely defense, but a way to deal with these Honkai Energy vines once and for all.
Thus, he came up with another use for this card.
As he slightly raised his right hand, a visible gray light suddenly spread across the space around Gu Yu.
After the gray light flashed past, every object it touched was instantly petrified.
The concrete road, the floors of the buildings, the cars parked along the street, even the scattered Meele—all of them turned to stone in that instant.
Naturally, the Honkai Energy vines trying to strangle Gu Yu were also turned to stone in an instant by the Tortoise Undead's power.
Although the petrification effect made the Honkai Energy vines harder, it also caused them to lose their ability to extend.
The formerly agile vines became a pile of stone at that moment, blocking all the vines behind them that had not yet been petrified.
"You...!"
Seeing her attack neutralized in a single move, Yuno was utterly dumbfounded.
As a Pseudo Herrscher who had only just awakened, how had she ever encountered something like this?
With the enhancement of the Power of the Herrscher, she could easily defeat not only those Meele, but even Honkai Beasts.
But why...
Why couldn't this guy just obediently die?!
After seeing all the vines blocked, Gu Yu aimed the Wake Gun through a gap at Yuno's body.
[Attack Ride Thorough Investigation] [Attack Ride Bullet] [Attack Ride Swiftness]
After swiping the three cards in sequence, Gu Yu aimed at the girl's body without hesitation and pulled the trigger.
"Alright, you've made enough of a fuss. Now it's my turn to fight back."
"Get down here obediently first, brat!"
If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.
Before you continue