Rin, Help Me One Last Time.

Su Qing'an remained silent.

Perhaps more than the time that will eventually be lost and the untraceable future, what the boy fears most are these reactions that he had long anticipated.

He never wanted anyone he cared about to feel sad because of him.

But if the other person truly cares about him, how could he not be saddened by this outcome?

The boy kept hiding, but the answer he kept hidden in a corner was eventually revealed and became known to everyone.

Clearly... this ending could have been gentler, but now Su Qing'an is forced to confront the things he has always feared most.

He was wielding a sword.

Like a meteor, like a storm, like a sudden downpour.

The immense power twisted into an increasingly exaggerated expressiveness outside the boy's body.

All the myriad flames and Gamma Particles abandoned their ability to increase mobility. They were originally the most powerful accelerants for each thruster, but now, with Su Qing'an's whispers and the resounding clang of [Thousand Stars] growing stronger with each breath, they were all entangled in [Calming the Tempest].

The Spear of Longinus.

Every single second, the Honkai Energy absorbed by the reactor was continuously poured into the Honkai Energy form that had been shaped into the form of the Holy Spear.

Crimson Honkai Energy adhered to the outer shell of the sword, and the constantly flashing edges, like lightning, were proof of its arrogance. The extremely high temperature continuously scorched the skin and bones from the heat insulation layer of the armor.

The boy's hand was burned in less than three seconds after he grasped the Holy Spear. As the strongest move of the armor core, even Otto only envisioned its use as a strike to be unleashed once it was completed.

But Su Qing'an was completely different. When he commanded the intelligent formula to condense the Holy Spear onto his own blade, he had already made up his mind to use it for a long time.

The boy seemed to be trying to tame a wild beast, but even though the Holy Spear had submitted and become the outer shell of the blade, the high-frequency vibration and distortion of Honkai Energy made it impossible for him to even use Honkai Energy to shape and cover his palms to avoid being hurt.

He had to find a way to become stronger, even if it meant his hand would disappear later.

Bronya whispered again:

"Bronya will fight for you, and Mei and that idiot Kiana will help too. Su doesn't need to risk your life like this."

Her usually calm tone betrayed an uncontrollable change:

Bronya didn't know how to express her feelings; Bronya shouldn't be able to perceive emotions.

"But, for some reason, Bronya knew."

Bronya knew she was very sad right now.

"So, Xiao Su, please come back."

She had always been a calm and opinionated child, but now her tone carried a soft plea and sadness that touched people's hearts.

Su Qing'an hadn't felt much sadness before; what was there to be sad about in death?

He should have died long ago on that rainy night when he was Honkai Energy and turned into Zombie. Even this time, those ten years of lifespan were just a bargaining chip for this moment of burning. Didn't he foresee this outcome long ago?

Then naturally there's nothing to feel good about or resentful about.

That's how it should be, but hearing the child's innocent words, Su Qing'an suddenly couldn't hold back anymore. He remembered the first time he saw the little girl quietly tugging at the corner of Mei and looking up at him.

His turbulent emotions surged like a river bursting its banks, making him realize with a start that...

Wow... time flies so fast.

In the blink of an eye, it's time to say goodbye.

The young man gazed at Ji Xuanyuan in the distance and said with a smile:

"Bronya, you've always been a very good child."

"Better Kiana, so why don't you lead the others first?"

Su Qing'an seemed oblivious to the burning pain in his hands. He unusually broke his usual taciturn demeanor and began to chatter on like a mother hen:

"I will rescue Himeko- nee, and you will all be alright. Life at the St. Freya Academy has always been good, right? Bronya can continue to study at the academy."

"You're still young. Whatever you want to do in the future, whether it's your dream or your goal, it will come true."

"Add seven marshmallows from the coffee shop's display case to your cup of brown sugar coffee. Remember that, it's your favorite flavor."

"I know kids love candy, so the coffee shop has tons of marshmallows. If Bronya doesn't watch what she eats, she probably won't finish them before they expire."

So remember to eat your candy on time.

The little girl seemed deaf to the chaotic, thunderous Honkai Energy fluctuations around her. She listened quietly to the boy's fragmented words, and finally asked softly:

"Bronya will."

"What about Xiao Su?"

Su Qing'an said softly:

"I will come back."

"I'll make coffee for Bronya when I get back."

The boy, uttering lies as fragile as paper, cut off communication once more and stepped onto the battlefield.

Ji Xuanyuan glanced at the enemy who was quietly gathering his strength, but she made no attempt to stop him.

Just as Su Qing'an thought, her life was linked to Chi You's heart. Unless the boy had the output of Honkai Energy defense as thick as a single person's instant kill, she could not possibly lose.

But clearly, judging from his current state, it's as if he'd burn his life just by swinging his sword.

Achieving this would be virtually impossible.

Ji Xuanyuan said with a smile:

"Su Qing'an, don't you think it's unfair? With such inferior talent, you're already doing very well to be standing on the same battlefield as me."

"But because of these ridiculous reasons, you can only pay the price of your lifespan for your lack of natural talent."

"But those girls are different. One of them has exceptionally high moral character, another is blessed with natural Stigmata, and the third..."

She wore a playful smile, which was the reason she had always chosen to treat this battle with a playful attitude.

The descendants are truly insane! Two agents of Honkai Consciousness?

That's really interesting.

"--!"

The truth that Ji Xuanyuan was about to utter was extinguished by the boy's strike.

He shattered the thick ground in an instant.

[Thousand Stars], which had been operating at full power, was increased in speed once again. In just a moment, [Calming the Tempest], which was imbued with the Holy Spear in the boy's hand, severed the enemy's body.

His lips were stained with bright red blood, and his dark eyes grew even colder.

Su Qing'an knew what she was going to say, but given Kiana's already highly unstable emotional state, he wouldn't allow her the chance to reveal the truth.

If the girl Herrscherization now, besides the situation becoming much more complicated, the reality she would be forced to face would arrive much earlier.

In her destined and turbulent fate, Su Qing'an hoped that no more unexpected events would occur.

Perhaps.

Their acquaintance was not a good thing for Kiana.

The Holy Spear, carrying a powerful force, shattered the wall a hundred meters behind her, and the terrifying heat, like magma from the depths of hell, obliterated everything in sight.

The silent roar was extinguished in the vacuum of space, and in an instant Ji Xuanyuan's body vanished like graffiti erased from a painting.

The Honkai Energy of Chi You's linked Honkai energy, which couldn't even match the speed at which it regenerates health, was different from the previous attacks that had no effect whatsoever. It was like the difference between ripples drawn with a fingertip on a lake and the explosion of a powerful explosive inside.

The highly concentrated Honkai Energy and Gamma Particles maintain a strange frequency, which is the secret of the Spear of Longinus. Its destructive power does not lie in the large amount of Honkai Energy, but in the new arrangement formula and the special phase of the Gamma Particles.

As the crimson Holy Spear successfully sliced through Ji Xuanyuan's body, it also inflicted upon her a great deal of burning sensation and the intricate pain of having her entire body ripped apart.

Within a second, the girl's body was reshaped by Honkai Energy, but Ji Xuanyuan couldn't help but let out a muffled howl of pain.

Su Qing'an's next sword strike arrived almost instantly, turning half of her body into charred remains, while the rest of her body continued to melt away. The taste she hadn't experienced for so long left her momentarily disoriented.

She instinctively covered the slash mark that had vanished in the blink of an eye, but the boy's attack was far from over. In the instant she made this mistaken reaction, the Xuanyuan Sword she held in one hand could no longer provide an effective defense.

The ground was scorching hot, and Su Qing'an was able to continue wielding his sword for the time being simply because the armor's defenses were still protecting his bones.

After severing the enemy's limbs seven times, the Holy Spear's brilliance had dimmed considerably.

Even though the power reactor and the Void Sword Qi were constantly feeding Honkai Energy into it, compared to the Honkai Energy reserves that the opponent already possessed, these efforts were undoubtedly far from enough to achieve parity.

As for Ji Xuanyuan, who had been repeatedly humiliated and killed, she had lost the interest in teasing her with words and the desire to say those words. Now, she was a demon made of countless negative emotions.

The chilling killing intent completely overwhelmed any sense of amusement. Chi You's heart seemed to sense the girl's feelings, and the Xuanyuan Sword, acting as a bridge between the two, began to emit an eerie light.

Storm, another storm.

Like a giant dragon exhaling a long breath, fragmented streams of wind began to swirl, a roar that seemed to be raging, and a storm that erupted in a single second directly pushed Su Qing'an away.

With Gamma Particles and most of the Honkai Energy concentrated on [Calming the Tempest], his mobility is insufficient to instantly dodge this area-of-effect skill.

Although it was called an attack, Su Qing'an knew in her heart that it was just a sign that her opponent was no longer going to waste words.

The three people standing nearby were completely unable to intervene in this battle, which appeared to be fierce on both sides.

It was like a battle between players on completely different levels.

The boy's combat prowess was clearly not solely due to the Artificial Stigmata and armor; his own abilities far exceeded their original expectations. Had he possessed excellent Honkai Energy proficiency, today's battle would not have been so brutal.

The three of them could understand, simply by watching, why Su Qing'an was willing to continue burning his lifespan to keep fighting.

The reason is simple: they are too weak.

They're so weak that Bronya's earlier offer to help in the battle is completely unfounded.

He was so weak that if he didn't do this, he wouldn't be able to turn the tide of the battle even slightly.

Even so weak...

If Su Qing'an doesn't burn his life, they can't leave.

Blood was seeping from the joints of the armor, drop by drop. Before Su Qing'an chose to load the Holy Spear, the flowing fire on the armor and the prologue poem engraved in a ring around it had obscured his vision.

But now that all of these have poured into the Holy Spear, the full truth is revealed.

He was constantly bleeding profusely, and now his black armor was no longer what it used to be; the dried blood had almost become a brand new coat of paint.

Unlike his opponent, the boy's disheveled state was completely impossible to conceal.

It must hurt a lot, right?

This is a question directed at him.

Kiana watched those images, her eyes reflecting every moment of blood dripping and shattering, as brilliant colors gradually spread and emerged from the boundless blue.

It must hurt a lot, right?

This is a question I'm asking myself.

Her soul was overwhelmed by restless emotions, and as the girl was consumed by immense sorrow, it was as if another person was asking her a question.

Ask her if it hurts.

[It's very painful.]

She answered as a matter of course, witnessing her friend gradually walk towards death, feeling her own powerlessness, and hating the unpleasant reality and possibilities.

It's impossible for a girl not to feel pain.

Her kindness, her high regard for Su Qing'an, her fear of loss, and her rejection of sorrow.

All of this is awakening another version of myself.

That version of myself as... Herrscher.

You need power, you need enough power to tear everything apart.

In a daze, the girl didn't know who was whispering in her ear.

It sounded like my own voice, yet it also sounded like a completely different person speaking.

The gold paint began to spread and cover the beautiful azure. The girl silently watched the storm approach. She watched the boy being pressed into the wall, feeling the centrifugal force of the wind swirling around her body, and said softly, lost in thought:

I need strength.

"I need the power to save him."

Amidst the clamor and revelry, Bronya sat atop the Heavy Cannon Rabbit, embracing Kiana. Beside her stood the silent Mei and the Satou Yunona she held in her arms.

She said softly:

"Kiana, let's go."

Kiana was momentarily lost in thought, unable to grasp the specific feeling, but upon hearing this, she instantly snapped back to reality, anger surging into her mind.

She pressed her hands on the little girl's shoulders and roared in unbearable anger:

He will die!

"Bronya, if we leave, Su Qing'an will die!"

"You know Su Qing'an's personality; if what that person said isn't true, he won't choose to remain silent."

"He's covered in blood, every swing of his sword is costing him his life. If we don't do anything about him, he'll die. And what about Teacher Himeko?! What will happen to Teacher Himeko?!"

Kiana's left eye was already ablaze with brilliant gold, but as the image reflected within it was etched into her heart, the fire in her pupil seemed to be extinguished by something, and the gold gradually faded into darkness.

She fell silent.

Bronya's expression remained as inorganic as ever, but her glassy gray eyes were brimming with crystal-clear tears.

Tears streamed down her face, like pearls falling from a broken string.

Perhaps Bronya herself didn't understand how sad she was. The things transmitted through her nerves and brain were so insignificant as to be almost non-existent, and her heart didn't experience the oppressive blockage described in the book.

Physiologically and psychologically, she showed no signs of grief whatsoever.

But the tears that fell on their own proved so much...

Kiana relaxed her grip on the little girl's shoulder.

She is crying.

But she clearly... has lost the ability to sense emotions.

Why are you crying?

Kiana knew that Bronya was not unaware of her. Although Bronya appeared cold on the surface and their first meeting was unpleasant, Kiana already considered Bronya an indispensable friend in her life.

So she knew, knew that this little girl could still feel happy, sad, and angry about certain things.

Bronya sniffled, struggling to organize her thoughts, yet she still appeared calm and earnest as she spoke:

"Xiao Su will rescue Himeko."

With tears streaming down her face, she said very seriously:

"If we don't leave, Xiao Su will be sad."

"I know Kiana doesn't care about the decisive judgments a qualified Valkyrie should make, and neither does Bronya."

"But if Kiana insists on making Xiao Su sad, I will not forgive you."

Actually, the little girl didn't want to cry, but when Su Qing'an told her to remember how much marshmallow to put in her coffee for the best taste, her body instinctively couldn't help but cry.

She understood what those words meant.

Raiden Mei felt the Herrscher Core within her body constantly pulsating with electricity, and the increasingly deep color in her purple eyes seemed to unleash a thunderstorm.

As the Third Herrscher, she didn't risk all her qualifications for her own will; otherwise, no one could guarantee that the awakened Third Herrscher wouldn't do something even more dangerous.

Without relying on the power of the Herrscher, Mei herself has no ability to participate in this battle.

She lowered her head and said:

Kiana, let's go.

"At the very least, we need to send Yuno back. You know what would happen if she Awakened now."

The golden light in the girl's eyes struggled and gradually faded. She hugged Bronya and whispered:

"Let him say something to us."

It felt as if my bones were shattered all over, and the pain was crushing my nerves.

Even the armor's defense couldn't withstand all the kinetic energy. The boy, made of flesh and blood, counted the number of broken bones, made the judgment that he could still fight, and silently stood up.

His vision was beginning to blur, and all he could hear was the sound of the Holy Spear burning and the clamor of the [Thousand Stars] operating.

Will this storm injure them?

Did they run away?

Asking them to leave at this time is asking too much, but there's nothing we can do about it.

The intelligent module began to exhibit drastic exponential changes in the Honkai Energy fluctuations before it, and with an even more outrageous fluctuation than before, it forcefully entered this battlefield.

That seems to be... the Honkai Energy reaction of an additional Emperor-class Honkai Beast, but strangely it's linked to Ji Xuanyuan's original Honkai Energy reaction.

"--."

Su Qing'an connected the call, trying his best to hide his uneven breathing. He said:

Is that Kiana?

Kiana said softly:

"We can all hear you, Su Qing'an."

"I know your situation... I won't be unreasonable. I know there's nothing I can do to help you, but we'll leave here and won't make things difficult for you."

The girl's voice was choked with sobs as she tried to hold back her tears and said:

"So... could you bring Himeko- sensei back with you? You can go back to the St. Freya Academy together, and go home together."

"I don't have many friends, could you please not put me in a difficult position?"

The boy coughed, blood spilling uncontrollably from his lips. He suppressed his voice, trying to make it sound less hoarse, and said earnestly:

"Kiana, promise me that no matter how this ends, no matter what happens or what difficulties you encounter in the future, you will never give up."

Even when the difficulty seems so hopeless that you feel nothing matters, don't give up.

The boy emphasized:

"You are a very important friend to me, and that has nothing to do with your name, your life, or your past."

"Mei, Bronya, can you hear me?"

Bronya and Mei exchanged a glance and said:

"Yes, we can hear you."

Su Qing'an walked step by step toward Ji Xuanyuan, who was gradually revealing a completely new demeanor, and said:

"Kiana isn't stupid, but she can be quite clumsy and get stuck on things sometimes, so if you're with her then, please repeat what I said today for me."

The boy said confidently:

"Himeko will come back; that's my promise to you all."

Kiana bit her lip and said:

"... I'll be waiting for you to come back."

The communication was disconnected.

The storm has passed.

The girl sat atop a jet-black Warhorse, clad in ancient armor, her brow furrowed with a chilling killing intent.

Ji Xuanyuan watched the group of people riding the Heavy Cannon Rabbit away into the distance and sneered:

"You want to leave? Isn't it a bit too late?"

As the girl finished speaking, the walls surrounding the plaza were instantly enveloped by endless Honkai Energy.

Dark golden Honkai Energy spread across the entire area like ripples on water, and the surging Honkai Energy began to shape one Xuanyuan Sword after another in the water curtain-like ripples.

This is an all-round, all-range attack utilizing Chi You's home turf and Honkai Energy. Ji Xuanyuan is already fed up with Su Qing'an's bizarre speed, as if she were on a different time zone than him.

She not only wanted to kill these lively insects, but also the puppets she had previously created as powerful warriors were among Ji Xuanyuan's targets for destruction.

Su Qing'an ignored all of this, and while embracing the doll-like Himeko, he said calmly:

"I want them to leave, and you can't stop them."

As the boy spoke, the [Calming the Tempest] encased within the Holy Spear underwent a strange change, with the black and red Honkai Energy completely engulfing the originally blood-red Holy Spear.

The expanding thread of Karma and effect linked that power, traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, and descended completely through [Calming the Tempest].

The demon, gripping massive twin swords like a samurai, stood indifferently behind the boy. He held up the Divine Key, as beautiful as cherry blossoms, and whispered:

"Rin, please help me one last time."