Redemption

Sheng Jiu charged towards a Honkai Beast that was chasing civilians, throwing a punch at it. The Honkai Beast noticed that the figure in the black robe and mask seemed different from the cowards fleeing for their lives. It lost interest in chasing the refugees and raised its massive fist to charge at Sheng Jiu.

The moment their fists collided, a massive shockwave erupted. The Honkai Beast, as tall as a small truck, was sent flying backward. Sheng Jiu also stumbled back a few steps. He watched the Honkai Beast slowly get up, spitting pink blood, and chuckled, "Tsk, tougher than I thought. Let's go again!" He then charged forward again, and the two began to brawl once more.

Compared to Sheng Jiu's brute force, Kiana and Kallen's fight was far more skillful. Kallen wielded a spear, severing a Honkai Beast's forelimb with a single strike. The moment the Honkai Beast fell, Kiana seized the opportunity, thrusting her sword into its heart and ending the battle.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo, Kallen, are you okay?" Kiana parried a lunge from a canine Honkai Beast, glancing back to check on Kallen, who was also fighting fiercely.

"I'm fine, Kiana. Are you alright? Tell me if you can't take it anymore, and I'll help you!"

"I'm fine, Kallen. I can still fight!"

Although the three desperately resisted the Honkai Beasts' attacks and eliminated most of them, their stamina was gradually depleted.

Sheng Jiu severed a Honkai Beast's left arm with his sword and punched into its torso, extracting its core. Finally, with his stamina exhausted, he leaned against a wall, panting heavily. His black robe was already torn to shreds, and the Raven Mask on his face was shattered. "Hoo, still a bit tough... cough cough..."

"Hey! Are you okay?" Kiana rushed to Sheng Jiu's side, crouching down to examine his injuries. Sheng Jiu was already covered in wounds, big and small, which were slowly bleeding. A large crack ran across the Raven Mask on his face, the left lens of his goggles was gone, and the twin swords he held were broken. "Wake up, you idiot! You can't die!" Kiana, on the verge of tears, gently helped Sheng Jiu up.

"I'm fine... Why are you crying... This is a virtual space, I can't die..." Despite his severe injuries, Sheng Jiu maintained an optimistic demeanor. But the more he acted like this, the more guilty Kiana felt. It was her fault for getting into this situation trying to save Kallen. She never expected that the guy who always seemed so unreliable would actually stand his ground in a crisis, sharing a lot of the pressure for Kallen and herself...

"Look... hurry and save Kallen!" Sheng Jiu suddenly interrupted Kiana's thoughts, pointing forward and shouting.

Kiana turned her head and saw Kallen being impaled by a giant Honkai Beast's claw as she tried to protect a little girl. Blood gushed from the wound, and Kallen's body slumped to the ground. "Run... Run quickly..."

Seeing this, Kiana put Sheng Jiu down and charged towards the Honkai Beast, but she was swatted against the wall, coughing up blood. "Ugh—"

Bronya was also busy, frantically hacking the firewall while hanging from a flagpole. However, it would take some time to gain full access. "Damn it, I have to make it in time!" Bronya rapidly typed on her tablet, her mind replaying a hidden message on the device: a single sentence: Kallen was killed by a Honkai Beast during her execution while protecting her people...

The Honkai Beast on the ground inexplicably looked up and spotted Bronya on the flagpole, a sinister grin appearing on its ugly face. It shook the flagpole violently with its foreclaws, causing Bronya to lose her balance. As she fell, she was caught just before hitting the ground.

"My, my, I didn't expect some cute little kittens and puppies to wander into my backyard~" A blond-haired, blue-eyed man smiled as he placed Bronya on the ground.

"This person... No! This guy isn't a virtual personality!" Bronya quickly realized something was wrong.

"Don't be nervous, cute little kitty~ While I was a bit annoyed at first that you broke into my backyard, I was deeply moved by your actions to save Kallen." The man, who looked like an oversized Otto, brushed some blond hair from his left shoulder and smiled slightly. "However, your friend gives me a feeling very similar to Kallen... Is her name Kiana?"

"And your male classmate, he truly opened my eyes. Someone who can go head-to-head with an original Honkai Beast is not something you can find by randomly picking any Valkyrie from the entire headquarters~"

The man ignored Bronya's suspicious gaze and continued, "If you die in this world, you won't be able to come back. What should we do then?"

The man brought up a screen beside him. "What to do? It's the perfect time to test out this new development!" With a gentle tap from the man, "Access accepted" appeared before Bronya's eyes.

"The treasure vault is open. Accept my gift, and until we meet again!" The man vanished into thin air before Bronya.

At the same time, two golden beams of light descended from the sky, enveloping Kiana and Sheng Jiu on the other side of the battlefield.

As the light gradually faded, Kiana was clad in a white, highly futuristic Valkyrie armor, with a pure gold Kaslana family crest emblazoned on her chest. She had a pair of wing-like earpieces on her head, and three pairs of light wings, emanating from their connection points due to high-speed gamma particle flow, extended from her back.

Sheng Jiu, on the other hand, was now in a completely black suit of armor, covered in armor plates of various sizes, with dark blue electro-fluid flowing all over his body. His head was encased in a full-face mask.

At this moment, both of them exuded a terrifying aura, causing many of the Honkai Beasts on the field to turn and flee.

Kiana opened her eyes, her gaze instantly becoming sharp. She quickly used the propulsion wings on her back to ascend, hovering in mid-air. She moved her lips slightly, "Light wings—deploy!" As soon as she spoke, the six gamma light wings on her back instantly expanded, splitting into countless fine beams that pursued the fleeing Honkai Beasts. Those caught were quickly pierced through the heart by high-powered lasers, killing them instantly.

Sheng Jiu slowly walked towards the only remaining Honkai Beast on the field, the leader that had just severely injured Kallen. The joint of his right wrist moved slightly, and a sword hilt appeared in his hand. Simultaneously, the armor covering his right hand opened, and small blades popped out, quickly combining to form a complete blade that was firmly attached to the hilt.

The Honkai Beast leader knew that escape was futile and decided to fight desperately. It let out a sky-piercing roar, its dark red glow intensifying. Then, it lunged at Sheng Jiu.

A blinding blue light flashed within Sheng Jiu's helmet visor. He gently swung his katana, and an invisible wave of sword energy shot towards the Honkai Beast. The moment they met, the Honkai Beast's speed suddenly slowed until it stopped. Sheng Jiu didn't even look at the Honkai Beast, turned around, and snapped his fingers. The Honkai Beast instantly shattered into pieces...

The three gathered before Kallen. Sheng Jiu and Kiana's armors had already disappeared as the battle ended. Looking at Kallen leaning against the wall, Kiana hesitated to speak. Bronya answered first, "Yes, Kiana, this Kallen is a virtual personality. The real Kallen died 500 years ago..." Kiana raised her hand to stop Bronya. "I want to say a few last words to her... Can I?"

Sheng Jiu removed his tattered mask. "Say as long as you want, we'll wait for you."

Kiana walked towards Kallen, who was leaning against the corner of the wall. Kallen's condition was dire, her chest pierced, and blood was slowly seeping from the wound.

"Kallen... it's okay now, the monsters are all gone..."

Kallen weakly took Kiana's hand and managed a strained smile. "Thank you... Miss Kiana... Even though I'm just a virtual personality... you still treat me so kindly..."

"How could you?... You already know?" Kiana's voice trembled.

Kallen laughed self-deprecatingly. "When did it start? When did I start noticing everyone around me performing a pre-written script in a loop? At the end of the script, I would be killed by these monsters. After countless cycles, I realized that I was just an actor in it too. I tried everything but couldn't escape. It wasn't until this time I saw you descend from the sky that this performance changed..."

Kallen coughed up blood and continued, "Yae Sakura... has become a Herrscher... She should still be alive after 500 years. If... she has broken the seal, she should have returned to the human world..."

"But... she doesn't know anyone, she must be very lonely... The moment I thought of Yae Sakura... I understood the meaning of my existence... Miss Kiana, although I cannot leave this virtual space, can you..."

"If... you meet Yae Sakura after you leave, please deliver a message for Kallen Kaslana. This message has been buried in her heart for over 500 years..."

Then, Kallen leaned closer to Kiana and whispered a few words in her ear. Kiana looked back at Kallen, tears welling up in her eyes, and nodded.

At this moment, the virtual space began to collapse. Sheng Jiu stepped forward and gently said to Kiana, "It's time to go." Kiana wiped away her tears, turned, and left with Sheng Jiu and Bronya. As they reached the exit, she looked back again. Kallen was leaning against the wall, waving goodbye to the three of them one last time...

The vision before her eyes blurred. When she opened them again, the three had returned to Bronya's bedroom.

The three removed their helmets and looked at each other in silence. Kiana gazed at the helmet in her arms, unable to let go. My ancestor... what a fool...