Kiana spun the steering wheel with one hand, occasionally glancing at the gathering crowds. On the increasingly busy streets, the mechanical constructs lurking in the shadows grew ever clearer.
"Thud."
She could almost hear the heavy footsteps hitting the ground, steady and uniform, without the slightest variation in rhythm.
The wanted posters kept replaying on the screens.
The cameras along the road seemed to flash white almost every second.
The seemingly cheerful, lively, and silly girl lowered her head, her silver bangs casting a shadow over her face.
"And besides, Mei-senpai, don't forget that Jiang Cheng is suffering irreversible Erosion. His condition is worsening every moment."
"You can wait, and I can wait, but do you really want to make Jiang Cheng keep waiting?"
Her voice seemed to lose all warmth.
"Honkai Energy Erosion is painful."
"----!"
Raiden Mei's retort froze on her lips. She couldn't escape the clear truth of the sins she had committed.
Her hands clutched each other tightly.
Tiny traces of blood stained the edges of her nails.
So before the gentle care she'd received at St. Freya for three years had turned Kiana into a Paramecium, she'd actually been this rational?
That made sense.
Rather, all you had to do was look at Void Drifter to know Kiana could be quite clever when it came to important matters.
It was just that Mei was there, and Kiana had been whisked away to St. Freya Academy to enjoy a happy, peaceful, and comfortable life. So her brain, unused for so long, had atrophied.
—That really was biological evolution at work!
"Boom—!!!"
Kiana floored the accelerator and drove straight onto the sidewalk. The engine's roar noticeably softened, and her expression grew more serious. She stared intently ahead, constantly turning the steering wheel.
"Relax. Just lean on me for now, okay~?"
A smooth sensation tugged at his clothes, accompanied by a delicate voice that brushed against his earlobe like a feather.
It guided him to let his body fall to the right without a care, without any fear—
His body curled up like a child's, his forehead resting lightly against soft skin. The surrounding fragrance seemed to have its own numbing effect, gradually clearing the chaos in his mind.
He couldn't help wanting to find the source of that enticing scent, so he opened his eyes without thinking—
A smooth, jade-like collarbone; delicate, tender shoulders.
Near-perfect sights filled his vision.
Bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, it was like a layer of golden honey had been drizzled over a snow-white milk cake.
But those sights didn't matter. What mattered was the girl gazing tenderly at him—the beautiful eyes, clear as a spring, reflecting his pale face.
Her long, curled lashes were like swaying tree shadows, rippling across the lake in overlapping fragments.
And reflected in those ripples was unmistakable worry.
"Where are you from?"
Kiana's voice drifted casually from the front.
"The information you know isn't something ordinary civilians should have. Those gangs aren't enough, but the big organizations don't have reckless people like you. This is weird."
"Then let's properly introduce ourselves."
Jiang Cheng had no intention of hiding anything.
"I'm Jiang Cheng, a prophet born with the ability to see the future. And she's Cyrene. You can also call her Aili."
He tightened his grip slightly on the girl's little hand.
He didn't need to say anything more. Cyrene was already giving him a look that said, "Go ahead."
"She's basically my guardian for now. She helped me survive in this world."
"—Huh?!"
The girl instantly looked flustered.
Her right eye, which had been peacefully closed, popped open, her playful expression giving way to bewilderment.
"That's not wrong, but calling me your guardian... It still sounds so strange! Though if A-Cheng really likes it that much... I don't mind~?"
Kiana's eyes went blank for a moment, and she made the face of the old man staring at his phone on the subway.
But when she recalled how Cyrene had accepted everything without question earlier, the idea of her being his guardian suddenly seemed quite reasonable.
Jiang Cheng did his best to steady the two restless little hands in his palm and said softly, "Cyrene came with me because I foresaw that plenty of crises would happen in the future. I wanted to deal with some of them in advance and gain a little power in the process—"
"Mm, I can understand that."
Kiana nodded.
Jiang Cheng's resistance to Honkai Energy wasn't low, and as long as he didn't go looking for trouble, he'd be fine. But with enough information, it was only natural that he'd want to get stronger.
And using his future sight to focus on the Herrschers made perfect sense too.
"You've really had it hard."
She spoke casually.
"Ever since you were born, you've been able to clearly see so much of the world and know about so many tragedies, yet there's no one who can understand you, no one who can see everything you see... Just thinking about it makes me feel hopeless.
"—Is that also why you chose to trust Raiden Mei? Because you saw what she could do?"
She'd said it without thinking, but Mei took it to heart.
Without realizing it, she tore another tiny hole in the already-ripped thigh-high stocking.
Raiden Mei stared at the purple fabric in her hands. A faint, inescapable mist veiled her deep violet eyes, and her lips parted without her meaning to—
"—Screeeeech!"
The tires suddenly shrieked against the ground.
Rubber and gravelly asphalt collided, and the barely enclosed car almost turned into a roller coaster.
Kiana gripped the steering wheel tightly, her white sneakers nearly crushing through the floor and leaving deep marks beneath the car. Raiden Mei's forehead slammed straight into the windshield; only her trained body kept her from getting hurt. Jiang Cheng was almost thrown right off his seat—
But just before that—
Soft, impossibly plush skin pressed against him.
The adorable girl hugged him tightly.
Her slender white arms and delicate waist wrapped around him like a rope, holding him fast.
Her gentle breathing echoed beside his ear. Her fragrance, like an orchid in bloom, was elegant, yet seemed to carry the fresh scent of spring cherry blossoms fluttering against the wind.
Jiang Cheng barely managed to recover a shred of awareness from the chaos—and especially from the exquisite softness, smoothness, and tenderness he could feel from head to toe. He had only just lifted his head, not yet meeting Cyrene's eyes as a faint blush spread across her fair skin like rose-colored juice—
"Up ahead—"
Kiana's voice suddenly tightened, making even Jiang Cheng, who'd been tortured into playing the part of a cold, expressionless CEO, look toward the windshield at once.
"—We can't get through."
What lay ahead couldn't be described as a simple traffic jam. It was more like the cause of the traffic jam.
—A blockade—
The entire sidewalk, from one end to the other, was packed with stalls, pushcarts, sunshades, and folding tables. The crowd shoved and jostled noisily.
Kiana immediately pushed open the car door—it was only symbolic—and struck up a conversation with a woman inside as if they were old friends.
Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng took the opportunity to slowly pull away from Cyrene, doing his best to look toward the far end of the crowd.
"Haa..."
His heartbeat still wouldn't settle.
It wasn't because of the pain, but because the fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose seemed to speed up the flow of his blood.
Several minutes later.
Kiana returned to the driver's seat. Her face looked unusually grim in the rearview mirror.
"I just asked around. Every exit from the city is sealed. No one can leave—not even by sneaking out. Multiple mechs are scanning the perimeter, and surveillance equipment covers every inch of ground."
—Just as expected.
This didn't surprise Jiang Cheng.
From the beginning, he hadn't expected to get Raiden Mei out of Nagazora City so easily.
If Cocolia dared to plan to trigger the Great Honkai in a metropolis of a million people, leaving Raiden Mei's family destroyed and nearly costing her life, she wouldn't have made no preparations at all.
Seal off the city, screen suspicious people, set up checkpoints along every route Mei might take to escape—that was the bare minimum, and the most effective measure.
"Let's go on foot." He opened the car door.
"Can you manage?"
Kiana didn't agree right away. She turned around in the driver's seat and looked at his left hand, which he'd hidden at his side.
To Kiana, who had fought Honkai Beasts since childhood and battled Honkai while traveling, that was as good as showing it openly.
After she confirmed he could walk—
Jiang Cheng clearly saw a hint of disdain appear in those sky-blue eyes.
"I—"
"I can carry A-Cheng."
With absolute confidence, Cyrene stepped forward and resolutely placed herself between Jiang Cheng and the others. Without hesitation, she patted her flat little chest.
"Don't worry. I'm pretty strong~?"
"I..."
Suddenly, another voice cut in from nowhere.
"...I can too."
Jiang Cheng followed the voice—
Raiden Mei had also gotten out of the car. She stepped forward so quickly that her skirt fluttered slightly, revealing a flash of dazzlingly pale skin.
The line between her hips and the tops of her thighs, the nearly perfect curve narrowing so abruptly... She was undeniably curvy.
Her hand was clenched into a fist at her side.
Her knuckles were white, and blood welled from her fingertips.
"I used to... Under my father—under Homu Sword Saint, I studied martial arts. My physical condition is pretty good."
"—No."
13. Only Raiden Mei Was Off-Limits
For a moment, the air seemed so heavy it had turned solid, impossible to swallow.
The bright, sunny girl, who seemed to bring the feeling of a sunlit flower garden just by standing there, lifted her head. Her blue eyes held nothing but pure, almost stubborn refusal.
"No."
Before you continue