Having confirmed that the giant beast before him truly possessed Judgment-class strength rather than some weakened imitation, Kaino cursed fiercely, wrapped an arm around Seele, and leaped into Imaginary Space before landing atop the dragon's back.
Kaino immediately transformed Heavenly Fire into a greatsword, while Seele raised her scythe high. Together, they slashed down at the dragon's back.
"Roar!"
The violent impact failed to pierce the shell on the dragon's back, but it successfully made the beast feel pain. The giant dragon immediately shot into the sky, tossing the two, who had lost their footing, from its back.
A fierce gale suddenly rose and held Kaino and Seele aloft, allowing them to descend slowly to the ground.
The dragon beat its wings in the sky to steady itself, then dove straight toward Kaino and Seele.
Kaino hurriedly took out a Honkai Ball, pressed its button, and threw it directly at the dragon before grabbing Seele and quickly running away.
The Honkai Ball truly was the culmination of several advanced technologies. Even Judgment-class Benares was instantly contained within it.
But the next moment, the Honkai Ball that had just closed began to bulge and warp irregularly before exploding.
The dragon readjusted itself in the sky, its vertical pupils coldly watching the two before it charged at them once more.
"Seele... do you think it would help if we closed our eyes and pretended we didn't see her?"
"How could that possibly help? We're already in combat!"
Seele gritted her teeth and shouted at Kaino, "You still have the mood to chat at a time like this? If we can't handle this, let's hurry back to the Quantum Sea!"
"No need. The Honkai Ball gave me an idea. The formula for victory has already been decided!"
Kaino waved his hand.
A hollow hula hoop made of Imaginary Space suddenly appeared in midair, positioned directly in Benares's path.
The dragon was charging too quickly. Even after seeing the hula hoop, it could not react in time. Its head slammed straight into it, and under the pull of gravity, its neck was caught in the hoop, leaving it unable to move.
"Roar!"
The dragon looked extremely unwilling and struggled with all its might.
But if even a Honkai Ball could instantly contain it, how could the dragon possibly break free from a hula hoop constructed from the Second Herrscher's authority over space?
Although Kaino possessed less Honkai energy than Benares, the quality of his authority far surpassed hers.
After all, the hula hoop's essence was space itself. Shaking it was an entirely different concept from shaking a Honkai Ball.
Just as he was thinking that, Kaino noticed Benares suddenly begin to glow. Her massive body abruptly shrank to the size of an ordinary human.
"You win. I surrender."
Just as he was about to create another hula hoop to trap her again, a cool female voice truly rang out, causing Kaino to stop unconsciously.
Benares's light faded, revealing a white-haired, blue-eyed girl.
Seele?
"You can turn into a human too?"
Kaino examined the girl before him with some interest.
The girl wore a somewhat revealing black-and-white outer frame that looked like the exoskeleton she had possessed as a dragon. Large patches of snow-white skin were exposed through the gaps in the armor, giving her a rather alluring appearance.
Though her hair was white, it was not the pure white of the Kaslana family, but a darker grayish white. The blue of her eyes was also deeper than the sky blue of Kaslana eyes.
That allowed Kaino to rule out the possibility that this dragon had any blood relation to the Kaslana family.
The girl gazed at Kaino with eyes filled with respect and trust, then lowered her head slightly.
"Yes, Master. For powerful Honkai Beasts like us, transforming into humans is not difficult."
"Master..."
Hearing that somewhat strange form of address, Kaino coughed twice beneath the odd gazes of the two Seeles.
"Ahem, let me ask first. We haven't finished fighting yet, so why did you surrender?"
Hearing his question, Benares placed her right hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
"You undoubtedly restrained me using your own power. This is something no human has ever accomplished without borrowing the power of a Honkai Beast. Judging from the result alone, you have already won."
"Moreover, the power you used just now was undoubtedly the Second Herrscher's authority."
"I was born as the accompanying Honkai Beast of the Second Herrscher. Now that the Second Herrscher has passed away to save humanity, you, who possess the same authority as her, can naturally become my Master."
The Second Herrscher had died to save humanity...
There were too many things wrong with Benares's words. For a moment, Kaino did not know where to begin criticizing them.
Why wasn't the Second Herrscher in his own world that nice?
"Oh~ The chosen hero accepted a gift from the previous hero. A common trope in stories, isn't it?"
Red Seele teasingly looked at Kaino and Benares, applauding as if to play along.
"So, do you want to try subjugating the Demon King too?"
"What Demon King? Once we finish the mission, we should hurry back and report in."
Under Benares's puzzled gaze, Kaino rubbed his forehead, then spoke to her somewhat awkwardly.
"Um, Benares... ah, I'll just call you Bella. It suits a girl better."
"Bella, we're going back to the Spirit of the Spring in the beginner division. Can you carry us there?"
Kaino clearly knew the park's coordinates and could teleport back directly, but how could that be as cool as riding a dragon home?
What boy had never dreamed of becoming a dragon rider?
"As you command."
Upon hearing the name Bella, the girl's eyes brightened. Her body then transformed back into a giant dragon, which crouched before Kaino and the others.
"Oh, right, Bella, don't land directly in the middle of the park. Find a park nearby and land there instead, so we don't attract too much attention."
After climbing onto Bella's back with the Seeles, Kaino patted her back armor and said this.
"Roar!"
Bella roared, then spread her wings and flew into the sky.
Well, it seemed that after transforming into a dragon, she could still understand them, but she could no longer speak human language... Maybe it was because of her physiology?
"So fast..."
As expected of a dragon-shaped Honkai Beast, Bella's flying speed was truly exceptional. If Kaino had not borrowed the Herrscher of Wind's authority to ward off the fierce winds rushing at them, the group would probably have been blown straight off.
Such tremendous speed naturally reduced the time spent traveling. Before Kaino and the others could properly enjoy the beautiful view of the ground from high above, Bella suddenly slowed down, circling in the sky as she gradually descended.
Kaino and the others hurriedly steadied themselves. Accompanied by a rumbling crash, Bella landed heavily on the ground. Fortunately, she had not foolishly descended straight into the woods, but had deliberately chosen an open clearing, so the surrounding area was not too badly damaged.
"Seele, be careful."
Kaino jumped down from the dragon first, then helped Seele down by the hand. After looking around and confirming that Bella had not crushed anything with her landing, he patted her dragon body.
"Bella, change back."
Seeing Bella return to her girl's form, Kaino took out a Honkai Ball and handed it to her.
It was not as though he had some obsession with stuffing Honkai Beasts into Honkai Balls. He simply was not sure how popular Bella was in this world.
If the Second Herrscher's heroic deeds had made Bella beloved and revered as well, and if images of her human form were known to the public, then before long they might be surrounded by a crowd so dense they could not move.
Bella accepted the Honkai Ball, raised her head, and stared blankly at Kaino without speaking.
"Uh... you don't like going into the Honkai Ball? It's pretty comfortable inside, though?"
"No, I do not object to entering it. But if possible, I would rather remain by Master's side."
Bella shook her head and stared directly at Kaino.
"Then... all right."
Kaino nodded, then looked at the two Seeles. "Seele, we..."
"Shh!"
Red Seele interrupted Kaino and pointed at somewhere behind Bella. Noticing that Kaino was looking behind her, Bella obediently stepped aside.
Behind a huge tree, the rear half of a Chariot-class Honkai Beast was sticking out. Its head was hidden behind the tree, while its entire body trembled continuously, as if Kaino's group's landing had frightened it and made it want to hide.
But it did not seem very smart?
After exchanging a glance with Red Seele, Kaino understood what she meant.
She could not move conveniently without a body, and Blue Seele was too soft-hearted to do it. But with such a timid Honkai Beast right in front of them, not bullying it a little would simply betray her conscience.
As it happened, Kaino felt the same way.
"Bella, wait here for a moment."
After lowering his voice and telling Bella to stay where she was, Kaino tiptoed toward the Chariot-class Honkai Beast. Holding a Honkai Ball in one hand and a recreated loudspeaker in the other, he slowly took a deep breath.
"Aah!!!"
"Chariot!"
The Chariot-class Honkai Beast shuddered in fright, suddenly rushed forward, then slammed into a large tree and was forced to stop.
The weak, pitiful, helpless Chariot-class Honkai Beast held its head with both hands, its body trembling nonstop like a startled kitten.
Kaino: ???
Before you start trembling, could you first look at how miserable that tree you rammed into is?
Still, it did seem like he had gone a little too far...
Kaino quickly dismissed the loudspeaker's construction, rushed to the Chariot-class Honkai Beast in a few strides, and crouched down to check on it.
Life Force circulated, and the injury on the Honkai Beast's head immediately healed completely.
"Chariot?"
The Chariot-class Honkai Beast, which had been hugging its head and trembling, raised its head. After touching its head, it happily circled Kaino several times.
"Chariot!"
At the same time, a man and a woman rushed out from behind another tree and hurried over to the Chariot-class Honkai Beast.
"Chariot, are you all right?"
The girl worriedly stroked the Honkai Beast, while it nudged her hand to reassure her.
"Chariot!"
Kaino stared at the girl interacting with the Honkai Beast with a look of utter disbelief. After glancing back at the Seele behind him, he cautiously greeted her.
"Seele?"
He now somewhat understood how it felt when so many people in Shenzhou had mistaken him for Kevin.
Spirit of the Spring
Kaino stared blankly at the girl soothing the Honkai Beast.
There was no other reason. The girl looked exactly the same as Blue Seele, who stood not far behind him, in both appearance and clothing.
Not only that, the Stigmata on their chests were identical. If there had not been a red Seele floating beside the other girl, he might not have been able to tell them apart.
"Eh, do you know Seele?"
Hearing Kaino's voice, the girl turned around to look at him.
"No, it's just that you look very much like someone I know."
Using the same response Fu Hua had used on him before, Kaino awkwardly smiled as though he had remembered something.
"Ah, um, sorry. I thought this Honkai Beast was wild. Seeing how timid it was, I wanted to scare it a little and tame it afterward, but I didn't expect it had already been tamed."
"It's all right. Chariot already told me. You healed its injury and comforted it too."
Seele gently shook her head and did not pursue the matter further.
"But you should all be careful. Seele and the Captain just saw a huge dragon descend from the sky, so we hurried to hide. We don't know where that dragon has gone now. It would be terrible if it attacked us."
"Okay, thank you."
Kaino, who had arrived riding that dragon, felt even more awkward.
"Kaino, everything's fine here... Eh?"
Blue Seele hurried over after seeing what was happening, but halfway through her sentence, she saw another Seele who looked exactly like her. Her voice abruptly stopped.
Before you continue