Dust Settles

Yae Sakura stepped forward, observing Sheng Jiu's erosion level. Sheng Jiu's entire right face was already covered in fine, orange lines, crisscrossing each other and looking incredibly unsettling.

"...Mr. Sheng, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but if you don't receive effective treatment within five hours, I'm afraid you'll completely turn into an emotionless Mortal..."

"...Understood. Thank you, Sakura."

Yae Sakura looked at the unconscious Theresa and smiled with relief. "Hiyori."

"Hm?"

"You said there was another way to break the Herrscher's poison, right?"

"Wait! You're not thinking of...?!" Hiyori became visibly agitated.

"Hey! Are you crazy?! If you give them our core, we'll disappear too! Why would you do that?!"

Yae Sakura turned back, her expression serious. "Because she still has people she wants to protect..."

Then, she cupped Theresa's face and gently kissed her.

As their lips parted, Yae Sakura's body began to turn transparent, slowly dissolving into petals. At the same time, a strange pattern appeared on the back of Theresa's neck.

Sheng Jiu silently watched everything unfold. Finally, as if making a firm decision, he spoke, "...Sakura, Kallen said, 'I love you'..."

Yae Sakura started in surprise, then smiled faintly. In her last moment before disappearing, she bowed to Sheng Jiu. "Thank you, Mr. Sheng... You must all live well..."

Yae Sakura's body completely turned into petals and scattered. Before disappearing, Hiyori tossed a black pill to Sheng Jiu. "Here, you trash, catch!"

"What is this?"

"This is my inner core. After eating it, you can gain combat power comparable to a Herrscher for a short period. However, it has extreme side effects for normal people. I've been annoyed by that vine woman for a long time, kill her for me..."

Sheng Jiu put away the inner core and walked towards Kiana, gently nudging her.

After being unconscious for an hour, Kiana slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was an orange pupil. "Aaaaah!" Kiana yelped and sat up abruptly. She then realized she was in an unfamiliar environment. Looking at Sheng Jiu before her, she gradually came to her senses.

"?! You lazy bum, you... What happened to your face?!" Kiana shakily raised her hand, looking at the orange patterns on Sheng Jiu's right cheek in disbelief.

"Ah, it's a long story. It turned out like this, like a Persian cat. Looks good, right?"

Kiana looked at the smiling Sheng Jiu before her, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. "...I'm sorry, it's because I was too weak that you..."

Seeing Kiana start crying, Sheng Jiu panicked. "Hey, hey, hey, don't cry. I'm fine, aren't I? Look, look, isn't this cool?" Sheng Jiu frantically comforted Kiana, taking out tissues to wipe her tears. However, Kiana still clung to his arm, unwilling to let go as if he would disappear if she did.

At that moment, Theresa on the bed slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the two of them and was taken aback. Then she noticed something strange about Sheng Jiu and covered her mouth. "Sheng Jiu, you?! How could your body be so severely eroded?"

"Ah, it's a long story, Headmaster." Sheng Jiu then briefly recounted what happened while they were unconscious.

"Yae Sakura... I can't believe she's actually still alive..." Kiana looked at the scattered petals on the ground and scratched her head.

"...So that's what happened. I feel full of power now." Theresa stood up and stretched her body. "Let's go. We'll retrieve Judas together and end this. Sheng Jiu's erosion can't be delayed any longer!"

[Oath of Judas] stood alone on the training ground. Yunna, in the distance, slowly approached. "Is that the little one's weapon?" She extended her vines and fiercely stabbed towards the center of Judas.

"Bang!" A dull thud echoed. Yunna retracted her vines, looking at Judas's unharmed exterior in confusion. "Damn it, what is this thing made of? Why is it so hard?"

"Don't bother. Judas's shell is forged from Soul Steel, specifically to deal with guys like you!" Theresa appeared behind Yunna with Kiana and Sheng Jiu.

"Oh~ It's the remaining three stragglers. What, back to seek death again...? Yo, little guy over there, it seems your poison isn't that deep~" Yunna looked at Sheng Jiu beside them and sneered.

Sheng Jiu calmly drew Jueying. "I will send you out of this world without pain."

"Hahahaha, what arrogance! I'd like to see how you make me die!" Yunna roared and charged at the three of them.

"Judas!" Theresa extended her hand, and Judas behind them rose from the ground, flying directly from behind and knocking over the moving Yunna.

"Fuck you!" Sheng Jiu roared and charged at Yunna, punching into the attacking mass of vines. Perhaps his strength had increased after becoming a Mortal, but he punched Yunna, at the other end of the vines, into the concrete wall.

Kiana and Theresa stared at Sheng Jiu, dumbfounded. While Theresa was surprised, her heart sank. This meant Sheng Jiu's erosion was worsening...

"Boom!"

Yunna violently shattered the concrete wall and broke free.

"Here we go, Kiana!"

"Okay, Auntie!"

Theresa opened Judas, and the two chains inside instantly flew out, wrapping around Yunna. Kiana raised her Colt, aimed at Yunna's left chest, and fired a specialized Honkai Beast suppression round. The bullet, trailing blue, swiftly pierced Yunna's chest. Yunna's violently struggling body twitched, then her movements gradually slowed until she was still.

Kiana immediately ran to Sheng Jiu and asked with concern, "Lazy bum, how are you feeling?"

Sheng Jiu, his body stiff, took out the white pill Yae Sakura had given him and swallowed it. "...I'm okay."

Anyone could tell Sheng Jiu was in a terrible state. Kiana quickly helped him up. "Quick, let's go! Auntie, are you—"

"No! She's not dead yet!" Theresa looked at the bound Yunna, her heart filled with alarm. She threw out two more chains towards Yunna.

"...Hehehehehehahahahaha, ants, I will crush you all!" Yunna, whose eyes had been closed, suddenly opened them. Her eyes turned completely green. At that moment, the ground began to shake violently, and four incredibly thick vines burst forth from underground.

With the help of the vines, Yunna quickly broke free from the chains' restraints. Using the vines for support, she floated lightly in mid-air. She snapped her fingers crisciously, and a tide of vines surged from all over Senba Academy, coiling around the three of them like snakes in the center of the training ground.

"You two, get back!" Theresa shielded them behind her. At the same time, Judas's weapon rack fully deployed, and over a dozen golden spears flew out automatically like arrows shot from a bow, slicing through the vines lunging at the three of them like sharp swords.

"Auntie! What's going on?!" Kiana nimbly dodged a vine that was attacking her, holding a baseball bat and wildly striking back.

"Tsk, it seems this Pseudo-Herrscher's level of evolution far exceeded my expectations. If we can't eliminate it here today, it will surely become a great threat in the future!" Theresa struggled to wrap her chains around a supporting vine on Yunna, attempting to pull her down from mid-air.

Meanwhile, Sheng Jiu gripped Jueying with both hands, forcefully plunging the blade into a thick vine.

"Tch, that attack tickled me. Now you all die!" Two thick vines swept out like whips. Just as they were about to hit Kiana, Theresa shoved her hard, causing her to narrowly dodge the attack. However, Theresa and the weakened Sheng Jiu were sent flying about ten meters by the blow.

"Sheng Jiu, are you alright?" Theresa struggled to her feet, looking at Sheng Jiu with concern.

The light armor on Sheng Jiu's body shattered at this moment, revealing large patches of gray-white skin. Theresa finally realized that Sheng Jiu's condition was critical.

"Hold on... it'll be over soon!" Theresa gently patted Sheng Jiu's shoulder, took off her nun's habit, and tenderly draped it over him. Sheng Jiu struggled to get up but collapsed again, only able to watch as Theresa walked towards Yunna.

Yunna grinned and commanded a vine to smash down at Theresa. At this moment, Sheng Jiu pulled out the black pill...

The vine slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Through the smoke, Yunna saw a pair of scarlet pupils.

As the dust settled, Theresa stood in the center, gripping a vine as thick as a bowl with one hand and lifting it. At some point, Theresa's hair had turned a sakura pink, two beast ears slowly emerged, and her eyes were also filled with pink. A cold smile appeared on her lips.

"What?" Sheng Jiu stared at the anomaly on the field in surprise, then put the black pill back into his pocket.

"Auntie...?" Kiana looked at the familiar yet strange Theresa before her, her eyes filled with worry.

"Hm? No! Her aura... how did it become so strong?" Yunna looked at Theresa in astonishment, then shot out another large mass of vines towards her.

"Swish—" Theresa dropped to all fours and shot towards the tangle of vines like a cannonball. She then opened her mouth and bit off a large chunk of the vine.

"You! Monster... you're all monsters!" Yunna finally realized something was wrong and began to gather more vines to charge at Theresa.

Theresa raised her hand and spoke softly, but her voice was neither male nor female: "Judas—" The Judas beside her unfolded its second weapon rack. To everyone's astonishment, this time, not spears flew out, but a series of gleaming sakura-colored long swords.

"Judas? Spirit Blade Style, Slash!"

A dozen sakura-colored long swords flew rapidly to Theresa's side, then began to form a rapidly rotating circle around her, slicing through the surrounding vines. The vines turned to dust upon contact with the swords.

"Heh heh, you can die in peace now." A chilling smile appeared on Theresa's face. She tapped her toes on the ground and charged rapidly towards Yunna in the air.

"Ant, you just grew a pair of rabbit ears, didn't you? I'll cut them off and use them as hair clips!" Yunna's hands turned into spikes as she charged at Theresa.

Accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh and bone, Theresa landed steadily, Yunna's left arm in her mouth. The severed arm, held in her mouth, withered at a visible rate, eventually turning into something like a dry twig.

"...? You...?" Yunna stared at her wound in disbelief, screaming in a frenzy.

"You're too loud!" Theresa, with her back to Yunna, made a beheading gesture. A sakura-colored long sword silently appeared behind Yunna and pierced her right chest.

Yunna stared at the long sword in shock, spat out a mouthful of green liquid, and fell from the air to the ground.

As Yunna fell, the vines on the field immediately withered and shattered, losing their vitality.

Yunna, lying on the ground, felt her body gradually growing cold. Her vision began to be enveloped by a white light...

Yunna slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on a comfortable large bed. The morning sun shone into the room, creating a lazy atmosphere.

"Huh? I'm not dead yet? Or is this a dream?" Yunna looked at her intact hands in surprise.

"Yunna-chan, it's time to get up. If you don't get up soon, you'll be late!" A familiar voice came from the doorway.

A woman stood at the door with a smile, gazing tenderly at Yunna on the bed.

"Late... late?"

"If you don't want to be late, hurry up and get up. There's your favorite miso soup this morning!"

"Okay, Mom!" Yunna's face was filled with a happy smile.

So, it was just a nightmare...

A nightmare that would forever... entangle her...

On the field, Yunna's face held a satisfied smile as she slowly dissipated under Theresa's gaze...

Theresa turned her head, looking at Sheng Jiu lying on the ground.

More than half of Sheng Jiu's body had already turned a gray-white similar to a Mortal's. The golden patterns on his right cheek had gradually spread to his left cheek, making it look like he would soon become a Mortal.

"Cough... I... can't hold on..." Sheng Jiu painfully reached out and scratched his body, drawing blood.

"Lazybones, hold on!" Kiana knelt beside him, clasped Sheng Jiu's hands, and felt the warm, soft touch in her palm. Sheng Jiu inexplicably calmed down.

"Auntie... what do we do... what do we do, please, can you save him?" Kiana pleaded with Theresa, tears streaming down her face.

"Hmph! Scum... I'm in a good mood today, so I'll grudgingly save you once." Theresa's voice remained neither male nor female. She leaned down and placed her hand on Sheng Jiu's chest, chanting a spell that neither of them understood.

A miracle happened. The orange patterns on Sheng Jiu's face began to fade, and the gray-white on his body gradually lightened, eventually returning to a normal skin tone.

"Tch... is it time already? But it doesn't matter, this body will be mine sooner or later." Theresa sat on the ground with a cold smile, then closed her eyes.

At this moment, the beast ears on Theresa's head, similar to Yae Sakura's, began to fade. When she opened her eyes again, her original sakura-colored pupils turned back to a clear blue.

"I... what happened to me?" Theresa weakly held her forehead.

"Auntie! You're awake!" Kiana hugged Theresa with relief: "I was so scared... I thought you both..."

Theresa gently patted Kiana's back: "It's okay, it's okay~ Kiana, I'm here, no one will hurt you..."

Theresa looked at Sheng Jiu. Although Sheng Jiu's eyes were still closed, his steady breathing and relaxed expression indicated that he was merely asleep.

Theresa carried Judas on her back, and Kiana, carrying Sheng Jiu, walked out of Senba Academy, never looking back