A Moment, Thousand Stars, Stigmata Space.
A huge, muffled sound reverberated in our ears, and the Honkai Energy generated violent fluctuations and turbulence, but in just a moment, this turbulence abruptly disappeared.
The school principal is in trouble!
Realizing this, Su Qing'an pushed open the door without hesitation.
This is not the time to be polite.
What appeared before him was the scene where Theresa ordered Judah to shape it into a spear, intending to perish together with the monster.
The spear was less than ten centimeters from the girl's heart.
Su Qing'an couldn't understand the situation before him; he didn't understand, nor did he have the time or inclination, to consider Theresa's reasons for doing this.
In that tense moment, the boy could only understand that in less than a second, the gentle and kind headmistress who always liked to pat his head would become a gradually cooling corpse.
Like that man, she will die.
This is the only outcome that cannot be accepted under any circumstances.
The Stigmata have awakened.
Honkai Energy gathered and swirled around him.
Resonance, combustion, explosion.
Su Qing'an took a step forward, his figure shooting out like an arrow released from a bow.
But that's not enough.
Too slow.
At that speed, it would be impossible to catch the spear that had already been swung out.
The only way at present might allow Su Qing'an to surpass his own limits again.
Only [Thousand Stars].
Those were techniques that should have been hated by Honkai Energy and were impossible for him to master. Even in more than two hundred deaths in the virtual space, Su Qing'an had never succeeded even once.
But that's without activating the Stigmata.
However, if one awakens Stigmata and is not rejected by Honkai Energy, or even if one is close to oneself, it is possible to use it.
This was Su Qing'an's first attempt at using [Thousand Stars] in real life.
The two cycles of inner and outer Honkai Energy must be constructed within one-tenth of a second; otherwise, it will be too late to obtain the spear.
The chances of failure are high.
Even if he were to succeed by sheer luck, with his current skill level, the best outcome would be near death.
The worst outcome is that the body Honkai Energy, devouring all life.
But in the brief moment when time seemed to stand still in her mind, Su Qing'an didn't dwell on the possibility of success or failure.
We cannot afford to fail.
Unlike previous training sessions, the price of failure in this training was only a pain akin to death.
The price to pay for this failure was Theresa's life.
That's not the kind of suffering you can relive, but a life where you only get one chance.
Theresa's importance far outweighs that of herself, both to the St. Freya Academy and to the world.
The headmaster of St. Freya Academy must be this person, and only this person can be it.
Therefore, success is imperative.
The establishment of the Honkai Energy cycle was easier and faster than ever before.
The ingenious and complex cyclical system was thus completed, and Su Qing'an's 273 deaths in the virtual space finally paid off.
Those repeated hardships, and the unwavering will to struggle and search for hope amidst such suffering, were not in vain.
Thus, Honkai Energy and Honkai Energy developed a subtle and harmonious working relationship, like gears meshing together.
At last.
In the natural flow of breath, Honkai Energy resonated.
The wind and light that shone all around distorted the scene, and a subtle but real noise reached my ears, like the clanging of knives and swords clashing.
Time blurred, the movements of the spear being swung were like a movie scene slowed down.
In this high-stakes gamble between life and death, Su Qing'an emerged victorious.
He successfully used [Thousand Stars].
Stigmata... they're really useful.
In that one-in-ten-thousandth of a second, his body seemed to enter a rift in spacetime. Su Qing'an sighed and at the same time understood why he couldn't see Fu Hua's movements clearly.
[Thousand Stars] is an extremely singular yet domineering ability.
It is precisely because it has persistently climbed to the pinnacle in a certain field that this increase is enough to make people feel like they are on cloud nine, and completely enter another level.
The terrifying speed made Su Qing'an somewhat dazed, causing his movements to deviate slightly even though he possessed the exquisite control of the State of Still Water.
Su Qing'an gripped the tip of the spear.
The sharp blade sliced through his tightly clenched palm, and blood dripped down.
The wind and the fleeting light vanished together.
[Thousand Stars] was forced to quit in less than half a second.
Every place within Su Qing'an's body where the Honkai Energy flowed bore tiny but real scars.
Blood seeped from his pores; it was a truly horrifying sight.
Heavy rumbling echoed through his mind, and the boy's vision blurred. Even in the state of awakened Stigmata, [Thousand Stars] was not an easy ability to master.
He was seriously injured, and was on the verge of death.
But we cannot give up yet.
Su Qing'an smiled when he saw Theresa's still dazed expression.
Cherry blossom hair and red eyes.
Is it Sakura Dance?
The boy's attention was starting to wander. He thought, "Headmaster Theresa, how dare you keep saying I'm acting recklessly? Wouldn't it be even more foolish for you to simply choose to die together with her?"
What an idiot.
The Stigmata continued to burn, and this power, while exhausting the body's life force, also supported Su Qing'an's movements.
He tossed aside his spear and said, word by word:
"I don't care if you're Herrscher or Hiimaru, get out of her body right now!"
Blood trickled from the boy's lips, but his voice was too weak and too soft; he could barely speak with any force.
In a daze, Su Qing'an saw a black and red fox shadow emerge from behind the girl. It swelled its body and let out a sharp, piercing laugh at him.
The monster seemed to be mocking his ugly appearance; his blood-soaked body was utterly intimidating.
Theresa still possessed a will; she did not choose to blame Su Qing'an for stopping her suicide attempt, even though she believed it was the best course of action.
But if we put ourselves in her shoes, Theresa would also make the same choice as a teenager without hesitation.
Sacrificing companions, parents, friends...
If a victory is achieved at such a cost, what kind of true victory can it be?
So she just said anxiously:
"... Su Qing'an... run... let everyone get out of here..."
"Run! "Theresa pleaded.
She didn't want to see her student die before her eyes.
Su Qing'an coughed; how many times had he been injured like this before?
When did such suffering cease to sway him?
I can't remember anymore, and there's no way to pursue these matters further.
He said:
"Headmaster Theresa, we haven't lost yet."
Su Qing'an has always understood one thing: her only advantage.
That is what the gods call a special soul and a vast Soul Essence that surpasses the level of ordinary people.
Even though the game's storyline was too sparse and fragmented, the clues in the Kambara Village documents and the scene before him made Su Qing'an understand that the being was vying with Theresa for the right to the body.
The key lies in will, or rather, the Soul Essence.
Theresa lacked confidence in her victory because her opponent used underhanded tactics that directly affected her physical condition, weakening her willpower from the outset.
Meanwhile, the opponent's sudden outburst caught Theresa off guard, and before she could react, she was immediately put at a disadvantage.
Then I'll take the underhanded approach as the headmaster.
Let me experience it for myself.
What on earth could possibly overwhelm me like this?
Having survived several brushes with death and endured countless hardships to reach where she is today, Su Qing'an is by no means someone whose will is easily broken.
Even so, he was Herrscher.
"You're just a ghost that's been clinging to life for five hundred years, and ghosts should obediently go to hell."
The boy sighed.
He reached out his hand, his blood-stained fingertips touching the girl's forehead.
In terms of applying the Soul Essence, Su Qing'an only had references in Martial Intent and [momentum], but that was enough.
What Su Qing'an needs right now is simply a medium to allow him to participate in this battle.
Martial Intent and [momentum] merge to create similar yet distinct abilities.
The vibrations of the Soul Essence flowed through her fingertips and into the girl's consciousness.
Su Qing'an's Soul Essence was thus forced into contact with both of them.
Thus, the boy barged into what should have been a fight between two people, making what should have been a near-ending conflict even more complicated.
The spiritual world beyond the present will become a completely new battlefield.
Its name is...
Stigmata Space.