The Collapse Double-Crossing, Taking Xilian to Honkai 3rd Chapter 9

She watched Raiden Mei's retreating back, her entire body sagging like a deflated balloon, her voice so faint it seemed as if it would be scattered by the wind the moment it left her lips.

"...Do you really."

"Want to save Raiden Mei that much?"

"Riiip—"

The sound of fabric being gripped tight, fibers compressing and rubbing against each other, suddenly broke the silence, sounding as if it were about to tear apart.

"Zzzzt—zzzzt."

Isn't the sidewalk wide enough?

"If you didn't know before, I'm telling you now: if you leave here and go to a professional hospital, you might still have ten years left to live." Kiana's voice came from the front, cold and hard.

"I know."

Jiang Cheng nodded, yet he had no intention of stopping whatsoever.

Even as the "riiip" sound beside his ears grew clearer, he merely reached out his still-intact left hand and gently placed it over Xilian's small hands, which had become intertwined at some point, gripping each other so tightly that red marks were beginning to form.

"The reason I ran over to help Raiden Mei is that I hope, after I help her escape Cocolia's blockade, she can lend me a hand. As long as I have her assistance, I have a way to obtain the Stigmata."

"You trust that a Herrscher can possess humanity that much? The damage caused by the Second Herrscher affected the entire globe."

Even though she hadn't received a systematic education regarding the Honkai.

Kiana still knew from the Stinky Old Man's words—the harm that Herrschers caused to this world.

"I believe."

Jiang Cheng spoke every word clearly.

"—I believe in Raiden Mei."

His expression was as earnest as a knight taking an oath, his voice seemingly echoing as it hit the ground.

"...Is that the only reason?"

That voice.

Ethereal and soft.

Like ripples rising from the bottom of a very, very deep well, it caused Jiang Cheng's body to freeze in place instantly. His thoughts accelerated, countless reasons appearing in his mind simultaneously, each seemingly capable of solving the problem before him. However—

"—Don't lie."

Xilian did not look up. He could not see her gaze, only feel her fingers suddenly tighten—

Those hands that Jiang Cheng had been covering now took the initiative.

It was not a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood; it was the driftwood itself choosing to sink into the water.

"...Don't lie, A-Cheng."

She said.

Inside the car, there was only the low hum of the engine, yet there were four distinct heartbeats among the three people.

"Perhaps... there are some other reasons. I simply didn't want to see Mei suffer bullying, endure that kind of treatment, and then be captured by Cocolia later..."

Jiang Cheng could only reveal his inner thoughts, revealing the indignation he felt in the past as a player watching the story unfold.

"..."

"...So that's how it is? As expected... it's like that, isn't it?"

The beautiful, natural, and adorable pink-haired girl lowered her brows, her long, curled eyelashes shattering the sunlight.

"Don't you find it strange?"

Jiang Cheng's voice lowered significantly at this moment.

"After all, A-Cheng's thoughts are always so deep. No matter what you do, you like to think about so many, many things."

"If we hadn't truly spent a long, long time together, I'm afraid even I would find it hard to guess, wouldn't I~"

The slightly raised, rarely seen lively brow, the eyelashes opening like butterfly wings, and the perfectly drawn eyelids were incredibly cute.

Having felt a sense of familiarity from the past after such a long time, the fairy-like girl revealed a smile.

Kiana furrowed her brows, stepping on the accelerator in frustration.

"----?!"

She couldn't speak.

Her throat felt blocked by something.

Her heart also felt as if it were being pressed by something, every beat feeling impossibly heavy.

Raiden Mei could only stare blankly ahead, shifting her attention by focusing on the identical flow of traffic and the streets.

Her vision was already blurred, and she couldn't see anything clearly, but she didn't blink. She just stared fixedly at the congested traffic ahead, those red taillights looking like strings of fireflies in the darkening twilight that could never reach the other shore.

Such things and the like.

It must, it must be a hallucination.

Suddenly becoming the protagonist of a shonen novel, suddenly having a powerful erosion radiating from one's body, then sacrificing those who care about you, suddenly bearing the weight of someone's life...

"Zzz--zzz."

The vehicle continued to move forward.

Having confirmed that Jiang Cheng's actions were entirely voluntary—not out of stupidity, nor out of ignorance—Kiana no longer had any reason to object.

Self-righteousness, perhaps.

Arrogance, maybe.

Sending a dangerous Herrscher out of the city—this was absolutely the right thing to do, and it just needed to be carried out.

This absolute trust wasn't half bad. Kiana let out a long, heavy breath; it could even be considered a nice bit of seasoning while she tracked down that Stinky Old Man.

"--Traffic jam."

She slammed on the brakes, her gaze passing over the windshield to land on the sea of stagnant red taillights in the distance.

"Is traffic management in Nagazora really this poor?"

Jiang Cheng looked at the vehicles ahead, frowning slightly.

"I don't know. When I used to go to school with Father, the roads were always clear."

Raiden Mei shook her head.

What lay before them was beyond the level of a normal traffic jam; it was a total gridlock, packed so tightly that the people standing together looked like ants lined up side by side.

Jiang Cheng saw traffic police standing at their posts, yet they showed no intention of directing the flow.

"Stop, stop--"

"Do not go any further down this road."

Those officers even had batons at their waists, and there were mysterious bulges beneath their uniforms that shouldn't have been there. They blocked the shoving crowds with near-violent force.

The clamor was on full display at this moment.

Relying on her superior physical prowess, Kiana boldly leaned half her body out to peer ahead.

In the shadows of a corner, she could vaguely see massive steel structures gathering. The screens on the high-rises nearby, the billboards, and even the neon lights had been forcibly changed to—

[Warning! Warning!]

[A high-level dangerous individual has been spotted within the city.]

[They are traveling in a black Maybach S; if any citizen sees it, please report it to the police immediately.]

Just as Kiana was observing her surroundings, the noisy sound of rotating propellers abruptly came from outside the window. She turned back to see a helicopter hovering in mid-air.

Through the half-open cabin door, Kiana saw a long, black gun barrel—

A heavy machine gun.

Although she didn't know why this black sedan with its damaged door hadn't been discovered despite sitting right there, it was clear that the entire city had been mobilized.

Kiana gripped the steering wheel again, her right foot already poised on the gas pedal, ready to go.

Then.

She heard a voice from the back seat.

"--Isn't the sidewalk still quite spacious?"

"???" Raiden Mei tilted her head in a daze, still immersed in the erosion from moments ago. Wrapped in guilt, she hadn't yet realized what was happening.

"A-Cheng's idea is wonderful, isn't it~?"

--The voice of agreement came from the left side of the back seat.

It came from the girl who, just moments ago, had been hanging her head, clenching her hands, her voice as fragile as glass about to shatter.

At this moment, Xilian looked up.

It was as if the silence of the past few minutes, and that thick, overflowing sadness that had nearly spilled from her eyes—

Everything, absolutely everything, had been an illusion!

"Since the normal road is blocked, then we'll just take the abnormal one—it's a very simple logic, isn't it~?"

Her tone was as sweet as if it were coated in honey, as gentle as a mother bird tending to a newborn chick.

Wanting her to refute A-Cheng or something like that.

--Absolutely impossible!

The other girls realized this in an instant.

Raiden Mei cast a look of appeal toward the driver's seat, toward the girl who held the steering wheel and, with it, the key to their fate of whether or not they would be pursued by the police.

"----!"

Raiden Mei's heart hammered violently in her chest at that moment.

Kiana's face was even more animated, her azure eyes sparkling with the light of someone who had just discovered a new toy, her lips parted in a silent "wow."

Xilian is practically my guardian.

"This is completely illegal, you know!"

Raiden Mei couldn't help but retort; it seemed she wasn't quite ready to face such transgressions just yet.

"...I'll be careful."

Kiana's tone was sincere, her attitude earnest.

"Besides, even if I do hit someone, at most they'll just be injured or slightly maimed, but if I can't get the Herrscher out of the city in time—"

Her gaze shifted to the rearview mirror, landing on Raiden Mei.

In that instant, the violent girl who was always known in school rumors for being reckless, carefree, and fond of carrying a baseball bat, wore an expression of near-solemn composure.

"—the entire city will be destroyed by the Honkai."

"..."

The conversation had reached a heavy turn.

The atmosphere, which had felt like three or five good friends gathered together at school, bantering back and forth, vanished completely.