I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 601

"You said you would train me, but I don't even know your name or your true face." Kiana's eyes were filled with girlish stubbornness as she said to the quietly standing man, "This is not fair."

"... Fairness? You're not in a position to talk to me about that right now."

The man responded coldly, and with a flick of his wrists, a pistol appeared in his palm.

"But as long as you meet my standards, I will tell you anything you want to know."

"Oh!"

With her silver hair swaying, Kiana confidently kicked the man in the back, her unexpected attack sure to send him flying face-first into the mud.

But in a flash, the figure in the trench coat seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, turning around and kicking her in the stomach. She was sent flying backward at an even faster speed than when she came, crashing into a tree trunk. She felt her stomach churning and almost vomited.

"Cough cough..."

"... Who taught you your fighting skills?" The man slowly put his foot down. In the light of the distant skyscrapers, he walked up to Kiana. Under her unwilling gaze, his shadow covered her pretty face. "You mix close-quarters combat skills with firearms and pure hand-to-hand fighting techniques. It's a complete mess. The only thing worth praising is that you can maintain a good rhythm in the fight."

Kiana uses the Kaslana family's ancestral gun-fu, but because her father did not teach her the complete gun-fu, she only has a smattering of it. She can only mechanically apply the Valkyrie fighting style to gun-fu when learning Valkyrie fighting style, making her a complete novice.

As for maintaining rhythm in battle, it's all thanks to the girl 'Kiana special training with Feather of Dust in her dreams recently, coupled with the fact that her four months of wandering life has rapidly improved her originally restless mind.

"That's all for today. Tomorrow we'll go to the industrial area in the suburbs at the same time. Don't be late. If anything happens, you can contact me via communicator."

The man rolled up his sleeves to check the time. The soft moonlight shone on his hood, adding a touch of inexplicable loneliness to this man who was cruel in Kiana's eyes.

"Wait, wait a minute! What about Shencheng Pharmaceuticals? They might be using this city for experiments right now, trying to harm the people of Sky City!"

Kiana bit her lower lip and called out to the man's cold back.

"First, I told you I would investigate with you, provided you hadn't been killed by me by then."

"Second..."

He turned around.

For some reason, the most striking feature of the man was his strange rainbow-colored right eye, which symbolized his inhuman characteristics. However, what impressed Kiana the most was not his Prismatic Eyes, but his other eye.

Those seemingly ordinary black eyes, yet they seemed capable of freezing the air itself.

It was clearer than anyone she had ever seen, yet also more unfathomable.

At this moment, the black eye hidden under the hood quietly gazed at the silver-haired girl.

"You should have learned to stay calm during the past four months of upheaval, and now, carry that calmness into all your actions from now on."

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Five - Endurance

The night breeze in Sky City always carries the aroma of spices and delicious food, adding a layer of warmth to the chilly night.

Kiana arrived at the agreed location on time this time. As expected, the hooded man was already waiting there. After Kiana walked up to him, he put away the phone he was checking under her suspicious gaze and instead glanced at the time on his watch.

"... I wasn't late."

For some reason, Kiana sensed disappointment in the man's tone. Could it be that the man was looking forward to her being late and then punishing her?

Before the man announced today's training plan, Kiana, slightly embarrassed, covered her neck, a faint blush spreading across her delicate skin. "Hey... couldn't you put this chain somewhere else? It feels... so weird..."

The chain fit snugly against her fair, slender neck, without affecting her breathing, but Kiana still felt something was off. She was, after all, a beautiful girl, and the chain's position was just too... Could this guy have some kind of fetish?

The man replied casually, "No."

"... You didn't do this on purpose, did you?"

"Your imagination."

In short, the application to change the position of the chain was rejected, and what followed was the special training the man had prepared for her.

Kiana adjusted her breathing to its optimal state, drew the Sky Ripper, calmed herself, and prepared to launch an attack on the man.

"Put away your weapons, we have other training exercises today."

The man had no intention of fighting. Under Kiana's puzzled gaze, he turned and squatted down. Only then did she notice a bonfire that had been set up but not yet lit behind him. The man skillfully lit the bonfire and then took out a... cup?

The cup was filled with what appeared to be pure water, and he carried it to the wary Kiana.

"You're not going to make me drink this, are you?"

It looks suspicious no matter how you look at it.

But she guessed wrong.

"Put the cup on your head and stand over there. Don't spill the water without my permission." Kiana was taken aback by the man's instruction, then said "Oh," placed the cup on her silver hair to suppress a stray hair, and stood on the open ground.

Is this to train her balance?

Kiana was full of confidence. The Valkyrie's resilience, balance, strength, and speed far exceeded those of ordinary people. It was just a cup on her head. Even if she had to hold a horse stance and balance three cups on her head for an hour, she wouldn't let the cups fall.

After Kiana regained her footing, the man sat down on the spot and silently controlled the fire.

Then, four hours passed in the blink of an eye.

"Hmm..."

The waning moon in the sky had already moved to a different position. Kiana was already feeling a bit tired. She could stand for that long as punishment, but that was far from the limit of her physical strength. However, they were in the suburbs, and the only sound nearby was the monotonous chirping of insects. Apart from that, there was not even the sound of passing cars. The quiet of the night aroused her sleepiness. Her head was dragged down by the tempting drowsiness, and the water on her head felt like it weighed a ton.

The man was able to sit motionless by the fire for a full four hours. Kiana even wondered if he had fallen asleep under his hood, as there was no sound at all, not even a whisper of his breathing.

"Hey... are you still awake? Say a few words to me..."

"..."

"Class President, are you there?"

Complete silence. Neither the man nor the girl reacted to her.

Unable to get a response, Kiana finally succumbed to the sleepiness creeping into her head, and gently nodded her delicate chin...

"Tick-tock".

A tiny, almost invisible drop of water spilled from a glass full of water.

"Whoosh!"

In a flash, a black figure appeared before Kiana's blurry vision. The cold eyes beneath the hood radiated an absolute chill, instantly waking Kiana from her drowsiness.

The man extended his hand in front of Kiana, and she strained her eyes to see a barely visible drop of water on his dark glove.

"You spilled the water."

Kiana initially wanted to retort defiantly, but upon seeing the man's stern gaze, she immediately cowered. "What do you want?"

"Take off your clothes."

"...ah?"

The man, whose true face was not visible, spoke to Kiana clearly, word by word. "Take off your coat, and if you spill any more, take off the one underneath too, until you're completely naked."

After a moment of realization, Kiana's face flushed crimson within half a second. "Couldn't you... couldn't you have chosen a different way to punish me?"

"You can't feel pain anymore, can you? Judging from your reaction the other day, you didn't seem to feel any pain at all." The man's words made Kiana pause for a second, but he ignored her reaction and said softly, "Even if I punish you, you won't feel it at all, and I don't intend to make you remember only the pain."

"But this is too much! You're... vulgar, obscene, and a pervert!"

Stripping naked in front of a man other than her father was an experience Kiana had never had before.

"If you think so, then it is."

Kiana felt helpless at the man's unyielding attitude. She could only glare fiercely at the unmoved man, then reluctantly took off her coat and put it aside.

She felt much cooler immediately, but more importantly, the shame in her heart increased exponentially. After that bastard sat back down, he stared at her intently!

The naked gaze swept over her exposed skin, making Kiana feel as if her hairs were being licked.

Thanks to this sense of shame, she didn't want to sleep for the next few hours; all her drowsiness was dispelled.

However, her torment was far from over.

As dawn approached, the man got up and, under the silver-haired girl's questioning and wary gaze, walked a short distance away and took out... two lively fish and a bamboo tube from somewhere.

He strolled back and sat down as if taking a leisurely walk like an old man. He took out a small knife and, with dazzling knife skills, scaled and gutted the fish before Kiana could even see it clearly. He even picked out the bones, chopped it into fish paste, and put it into a bamboo tube.

Whether intentionally or not, the man slowed down considerably when filling the bamboo tube with fish paste, allowing Kiana to clearly see that it contained washed rice, corn kernels, peas, bacon, and ham, topped with a layer of white, translucent fish meat, then the lid was closed and the tube was placed in the fire.

This guy can cook?

Cooking at this time probably means they plan to eat after training.

Kiana, who was starving after staying up all night, couldn't help but feel a little excited. She hadn't had Mei's cooking for her in a long time after the bumpy journey. The mouthwatering aroma wafting from the fire made her mouth water just thinking about it.

After the bamboo tube's outer shell was charred, the man took it out, which was now sizzling and emitting a delicious aroma, and opened the bamboo lid...

"Plop..."

The silver-haired girl swallowed hard, her eyes wide with shock.

The complex aromas of various cooked ingredients, along with the powdery texture of the rice and the fresh scent of bamboo, wafted into Kiana's delicate nose. The rice, soaked in sauce and cooked in the bamboo tube, was distinct and had a pale golden color. Kiana had never seen such delicious rice that made her want to eat it just by looking at it.

After opening both bamboo tubes, the man looked up, glanced at her indifferently, and then, under her expectant gaze...

He lowered his head and started eating by himself.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Six - Where to Escape To?

Under Kiana's pitiful, pleading gaze, the man lifted a corner of his mask, revealing a mouth. He took out chopsticks and began to eat the sweet bamboo rice in large mouthfuls. The aroma wafted out, and the man seemed to be eating with great relish, making Kiana, whose stomach was already growling with hunger, feel as if her stomach acid had begun to digest her.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

After licking every nook and cranny of the bamboo tube clean, the man stuck out his tongue and scooped up the rice grains from the corner of his mouth. He then placed another untouched bamboo tube of rice aside. The aroma was so strong that Kiana's saliva production increased, and she couldn't help but swallow.

He remained motionless, staring intently at Kiana, and didn't go to eat another serving of bamboo rice.

Seeing this, Kiana couldn't help but ask, "That... was it you who left it for me?"

"What's wrong with letting it cool down before eating?" the man retorted calmly. "Or what if I don't eat it and just throw it away?"

"Isn't that a waste!"

"Yes, I'd love to."

The man's self-righteousness completely overwhelmed Kiana. She felt dizzy, and a few more drops of water spilled from the glass above her head.

The man reappeared before her, showing her the liquid in his hand, and said coldly to the aggrieved girl:

"Take off your clothes."

If she took off any more, she'd be left only with her underwear. How could Kiana possibly continue taking off her clothes? But the man's merciless gaze showed no sign of letting her off the hook, and a mixture of shame and resentment welled up inside her.

At that moment, Kiana discovered that the Herrscher consciousness deep within her was stirring again.

It was like a bucket of freezing cold water being splashed on my face.

She actually let her resolve waver over something so trivial... How could she... let such insignificant things...

Himeko- sensei's sacrifice, the Class President's sacrifice, and all those people around the world who suffered from the Great Honkai... Compared to them, what is she? She's utterly insignificant...

Kiana lowered her head, trying her best to resist the Herrscher consciousness that coveted her body and regain her senses. She didn't want to become a Honkai puppet again and hurt the people she cared about. She held her head and gasped for breath in pain, her veins bulging. Pinkish-purple stripes appeared on her neck, moving towards her remaining azure left eye.

"Splash."

The water in the glass spilled all over the floor.

The man's face beneath the mask merely stared expressionlessly at the girl struggling in pain.

The more she resisted, the more intense the erosion became. Fine beads of sweat poured from her forehead, and her clothes began to reform.

No... why...

"Smack."

Just as Kiana's consciousness was about to falter, the man snapped his fingers, and the golden chain around Kiana's neck suddenly tightened, emitting a faint glow.

"Gurgle—"

The pinkish-purple lines that had spread to the corners of her eyes melted away in an instant, and the faint gold in her azure pupils was also dispelled. Kiana, whose eyelids were gradually closing, gritted her teeth and fell to the ground, glaring angrily at the man looking down at her.

"Damn... humans..."

Finally, under the oppressive light of the chains, the girl's eyes slowly closed, and she completely lost consciousness.

"Call..."

After doing all this, the man collapsed to his knees, exhausted. He was drenched in sweat under his hood, and the iridescent color in his right eye had dimmed slightly.

Was the battle against Kevin in the Quantum Sea too exhausting...?

The Herrscher Authority within the man's body was merely a remnant, and after repeated depletion, it was almost completely depleted. Even though his body managed to evade Kevin's final attack by entering a quantum state, it was still overwhelmed and as weak as an eighty-year-old man.