Honkai's Thousand Laws, Kidnapping Kiana at the Start

"Following the clues so carelessly, didn't you know Rita loves to set traps?" Upon learning that they might have fallen into Rita's scheme, Kiana could no longer hold back. She immediately got up and rushed towards the direction indicated by the clue.

Just as she climbed to the rooftop and prepared to act, an explosion sounded, followed by thick flames. Standing on the building, looking down at the city, Kiana's heart skipped a beat. The raging fire always reminded her of a certain figure.

Where Rita and Himeko had fought, the concrete ground was mostly destroyed. If this weren't Gray Serpent's base, it would have caused a huge commotion.

Collapsed steel beams and buildings with cracked walls were everywhere. In a battle between an S-rank and an A-rank, these sturdy structures were no better than poorly constructed buildings.

With a boom, Himeko was sent flying by the heavy slash of a scythe, embedding herself into the concrete wall.

Although she had forced Himeko back, Rita was not in much better shape. As the intense battle raged on, her previous wounds were torn open significantly, blood seeping through her battle suit. The long-lost feeling of weakness continuously stimulated her nerves, giving her a strong sense of frustration.

Of course, Himeko was in an even worse state. After all, being a whole rank lower, the gap between A and S was almost insurmountable. The only reason she could hold on this long was due to her current body.

As one of the Herrscher of Domination's puppets, and also the Herrscher of a Thousand, she possessed a Herrscher core as her energy source, allowing her to fight without being overly concerned about Honkai Energy consumption. Furthermore, damage to a puppet body doesn't weaken its combat power as it does to a human body; it's more like a health bar, accumulating damage until it can no longer withstand it and then completely breaks down.

"Truly surprising, to be held back for nearly 10 minutes by a mere A-rank. But this is where it ends. No matter where you came from, once I send you to Schicksal's laboratory, you will have no more secrets." After confirming Himeko was no longer capable of fighting, Rita leaned on her scythe and slowly approached the ruins. For years, she had followed Durandal, completing even the most difficult missions with ease. She never expected to almost be defeated by an unknown A-rank today. If this were to get out, Schicksal's reputation would be tarnished.

Embedded in the wall, Himeko hung her head powerlessly. Her expression was hidden by her red hair, and Rita could only remain vigilant. However, perhaps she was overthinking. Even when she stood before Himeko and placed her scythe at her neck, there was no resistance.

"Hmph, Crimson Lotus? Let me see who you really are..." The scythe hooked the mask and tore it off. Beneath the mask was not the expected appearance of Murata Himeko, but a woman she didn't recognize at all. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, felt a twinge of regret.

Rita had a good impression of Murata. After her death in the battle against the Herrscher of Void, she had sighed at the fall of another excellent Valkyrie. But that was all. If this person were truly Himeko, the trouble would be even greater. It would not only mean Otto's plan had gone awry, but it would also signify that World Serpent already possessed the ability to break through Imaginary Space, increasing the threat to Schicksal exponentially.

"Putting on a show." She chuckled disdainfully and took out her communicator, preparing to report the situation to Otto. But she didn't notice Himeko's increasingly bright orange eyes.

Boom—

High temperatures surged, and flames erupted.

Chapter 53: The Despicable Su Jue

"Teacher Himeko?" The moment Kiana saw the flames ignite, her heart trembled violently. In the next second, she prepared to change her plan and rush towards the direction the flames originated.

"Calm down, Kiana, this isn't Crimson Knight's power." Phoenix immediately sensed the nature of the flames. As a God-Slaying Armor embedded with the Plague Gem, the impact of each use wouldn't be this significant. Moreover, she didn't sense a large amount of Honkai Energy from the flames, which was completely inconsistent with the Plague Gem's style.

Hearing Fu Hua's voice, Kiana paused. Reason and emotion warred within her.

She actually knew very well that Himeko's chances of survival in the battle against the Herrscher of Void were slim. Furthermore, even if she hadn't died, she would have been left in Imaginary Space and definitely wouldn't appear in this city. But looking at the burning flames, she couldn't help but fantasize whether that person might be the one igniting this fire.

The flames appeared after a series of explosions, making it more likely to be a fire caused by the explosions. No matter how fierce and scorching it was, it couldn't bring back someone who was already gone.

"Let's go. Theresa and the others are likely still in danger."

The night wind at high altitude rustled Kiana's clothes. She stared blankly at the flames, unable to calm down for a long time. But finally, she gritted her teeth, hid her sorrow deep within her heart, extinguished her unrealistic fantasy, and proceeded in the direction of Theresa and the others.

"Hand over the item. I don't think you want to die here." Controlling Chris's puppet, Su Jue enjoyed being the villain. To better fit his arrogant persona, he even created a silver-haired appearance, and like Himeko, he equipped himself with a cool black mask. Chris's name was also returned to the deceased Chris. Now, he preferred his new moniker—Thousand Calamities.

Of course, not the "Destruction! Rage! Annihilation!" Thousand Calamities from the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Although he didn't mind becoming insane to distinguish each puppet's identity, emotions that were too intense would interfere with his true self. Getting too immersed in the role could lead to backlash, so he remained more rational when playing Thousand Calamities.

The poor Mei had just been beaten up by Rita, losing her weapon in the process. On her way back to the base, she was ambushed by Su Jue and was now completely unable to resist.

"Mei! Are you okay?" Facing Su Jue's threat, Theresa and Bronya, who had just caught Mei, became extremely vigilant and immediately began checking Mei's injuries.

Fortunately, although her injuries looked severe, they were not life-threatening. As they breathed a sigh of relief, the Vishnu factor within Theresa stabilized from its active state. Su Jue didn't take the opportunity to kill them because he knew the cost of killing Mei. His target was only the humanoid machine. Fighting the academy squad was too risky and unnecessary.

"Who are you?" After regaining some composure, Theresa attempted to negotiate with Su Jue, but Su Jue didn't have time for small talk. He grabbed a door panel from the ground and hurled it at them.

Boom—

The heavy cannon on the Hedgehog immediately fired, blasting the iron door down. But before it could fire a second shot, Su Jue was already lifting a car. The pure brute strength of the Thousand Calamities puppet was far beyond that of other puppets. A car weighing several tons was thrown directly at them. Facing such a heavy projectile, Bronya's heavy cannon was helpless. In the end, it was Theresa who summoned her exclusive weapon, Oath of Judah, to pull the car down to the ground, where it turned into flames with a roar.

"I'll say it again, hand over the humanoid machine to me." Seeing how easily Theresa controlled the speeding car, Su Jue couldn't help but marvel at the S-rank Valkyrie, Judah. If the three of them coordinated, he would definitely not win.

"Impossible!" The clue they had finally found could not be easily given away. Moreover, even though this little girl was just a cyborg, she was still a human in her eyes. She would never push someone else out to save herself.

"Then I'll have to take it myself."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Jue grabbed a piece of equipment nearby and threw it, while he himself used the opportunity to quickly close the distance. His methods were somewhat despicable, but Su Jue felt no psychological burden.

As expected, the moment the equipment approached, Judah shot out chains to restrain it. But Su Jue, who followed closely behind, gave her no chance to recover, and punched Theresa directly.

Crack.

The sound of metal deforming echoed. The Hedgehog successfully blocked the punch for Theresa, but its body was already somewhat deformed. Theresa took this opportunity to activate the chain gun form of Oath of Judah, aiming its sharp tip at Su Jue.

There was no retreat. For Thousand Calamities, only pure offense was the best gift for the enemy.

Instead of retreating, Su Jue used his momentum to unleash a spinning kick—he was afraid of missing if he punched two shorties.

Bang—

Theresa took the kick squarely and was sent flying backward, but the chain gun also got close to Su Jue. Unfortunately, Su Jue had fought the Kallen boss countless times in his previous life playing games and understood the attack patterns of the chain gun. Against auto-targeting attacks, the most important thing was to first bait out the trajectory.

"Easy peasy..." Su Jue intended to say, but after dodging the chain gun, he was faced with Bronya's cannon.

Boom—

The cannonball exploded, and thick smoke instantly spread, making Su Jue's figure indistinguishable.

"Did we succeed?" Theresa clutched her chest where she had been kicked and coughed twice. Her physique was strong, and the kick hadn't caused much damage.

"No, Bronya can already sense the opponent's heat signature."

As expected, after the smoke cleared, a dust-covered Su Jue emerged.

"Nano-doll, kid!"

Su Jue, who had been adding drama to his own internal monologue, had no intention of dragging this out any further. He closed the distance in the brief window while Bronya was firing, and punched directly at Hedgehog.

With a thump, Hedgehog's shield blocked the punch, but she herself was only an A-rank. Facing Su Jue's heavy blow, she could only retreat continuously. Theresa, on the other side, repeated her previous move, fully unleashing the chain-gun mode of Oath of Judah and firing it at Su Jue.

"!" Just as the chain-gun was about to pierce Su Jue, Theresa's expression changed drastically, and she quickly deflected its direction. "Let Mei go!"

Su Jue wasn't that foolish. He wouldn't pass up the chance to use a hostage. He grabbed Mei and used her as a shield. During this time, Bronya finally couldn't hold on any longer. Su Jue seized the opportunity, took a punch to the shoulder, and then grabbed her.

"Ms. Theresa, can you give me the item now?"

Chapter 54: The First Password Entry

"Despicable scoundrel, let them go!" Seeing Mei and Bronya captured, Theresa became anxious. She wanted to use Judah to attack again but was afraid Su Jue would harm them, leaving her stomping her feet in distress.

Unfortunately, Su Jue had no interest in children. He felt nothing in the face of Theresa's anger, even wanting to laugh. "It seems you haven't understood the situation yet. The hostages are in my hands now, and I have no interest in wasting time with you. If it weren't for your identity, I could have just snatched the item directly."

This was a lie. In reality, he simply couldn't defeat the three of them combined.

"Bastard!" Seeing Su Jue's unyielding attitude, Theresa, with no other options, secretly glanced at the humanoid mecha. However, the mecha wore a large mask and showed no expression.

Seemingly analyzing the current situation, the humanoid mecha spoke in a flat tone, "There's no need for either of you to consider my feelings. I am just a machine, belonging only to my master. Now that my master is dead, you cannot use me even if you obtain me."

It was better that the humanoid mecha didn't say anything. The moment it mentioned being just a machine, Theresa's emotional empathy made her even more hesitant, plunging her into a dilemma.

While the situation was at a stalemate, Su Jue suddenly frowned. He sensed a sudden surge in the consumption of Herrscher core energy from Himeko's side. The Plague Gem he had placed in the Theater of Domination became active, as if it were about to erupt at any moment. However, the gem had fallen into the hands of the Herrscher of Domination, and it wouldn't be easily activated. Himeko, as his puppet, would need Su Jue's consent to use its power.

Is she getting carried away?

He had only ordered Himeko to stall, but it seemed both sides had gotten heated. However, Su Jue wouldn't stand by while his own person was being bullied. After disguising the gem's energy fluctuations, he granted Himeko permission. The disguised energy wouldn't exhibit the characteristics of the Plague Gem, and its performance would naturally be greatly reduced. The advantage was that Himeko could use the power of flames.

After dealing with Himeko's situation, Su Jue switched his consciousness to Griseo's side.

As the main character of this incident, the Herrscher of Void was naturally the biggest variable. To prevent her from disrupting his plans, Su Jue had sent Griseo ahead to stall Kiana. However, it seemed there had been no progress.

Of course, it was possible that Kiana chose to ignore Griseo's plea for help to conceal herself. But the probability of this was extremely low. No one knew better than Su Jue how kind this girl was. Even if she was severely corrupted by Sirin's consciousness, she would still choose to sacrifice herself to save others. How could such a person choose to remain indifferent when others needed help?

Unless there were other interfering factors.

Within the mere second Su Jue switched his perspective, he suddenly felt a pain in Thousand Calamities' puppet arm. He frowned and looked, only to find that Mei, who had been unconscious earlier, had somehow bitten his arm tightly. Her light purple eyes were filled with intense anger.

Blood flowed down his arm, but despite the pain, Su Jue had no intention of letting go. He grabbed Mei by her collar and lifted her up. Watching Mei struggle, his gray eyes beneath the black mask were like a pool of stagnant water, devoid of any ripples.

"You're injured like this, and you still dare to provoke me." His voice was low, as if suppressing anger, but Mei, drawing on some unknown courage, looked back at him.

Her strength quickly waned, and she could only ask in a weak voice, "That hairpin... where did you get it from."

Su Jue was stunned. He realized Mei had noticed the star hairpin he carried with him. It was supposed to be a tool to locate the Plague Gem and should have lost its purpose after he brought Himeko back. Yet, for some reason, Su Jue had kept it, using it as a prop for his daily disguise.

The star hairpin was currently in his shirt pocket. When Su Jue had grabbed her, Mei must have spotted the familiar hairpin.

"Heh... To think you're still concerned about the accessories on your enemy's person when your life is in someone else's hands. Are the young girls nowadays not afraid of death?" Although Su Jue himself didn't know why he subconsciously carried it with him, he wouldn't admit it. If Kiana returned to the main group later, wouldn't he be exposed?

"That belongs to Kiana... You must know Kiana's whereabouts." As the person who knew Kiana best, Mei couldn't possibly mistake her belongings. Even though Su Jue was holding her up and the collar was choking her, she still desperately grabbed Su Jue's arm.

"..." The gray eyes beneath the mask flickered slightly. Looking at the struggling Mei, Su Jue felt utterly bored and casually threw her back to the ground, saying coldly, "So what if it is, and so what if it isn't? I am the cleaver, and you are the fish. The information you want is right in front of you, but besides begging, you can do nothing."

"Raiden Mei, don't you understand why things have become this way?"

"All your mistakes stem from your weakness."

Mei's last defense was easily torn apart. Looking at Su Jue, who was looking down at her, Mei's vision gradually blurred. She collapsed onto the cold ground, powerlessly watching Bronya being held by Su Jue with one hand, while Theresa was threatened and caught in a dilemma. And she herself could only lie on the ground without any resistance, watching it all happen.

Before coming to Sky City, she had confidently declared she would bring Kiana back and bravely faced Rita. But in the end, not only did she lose her weapon, but she was also captured and became a burden to her teammates.

The torn wounds and her weak body couldn't hide the stinging pain in her heart.

Regret, despair, and pain burned within her like flames.

"I can't do anything!"

"..."

"No, you can do something. It's just that you don't have the courage to face it yet." As Mei was consumed by self-loathing, Su Jue interrupted her. "If you want to protect, you must have the courage to sacrifice. If you want revenge, you must have the will to kill your enemies. If you want to reclaim what you've lost, you must have the resolve to abandon what you already possess."

"We are not enemies. It's just that your weakness prevents us from communicating as equals."

Su Jue's voice was calm, but every word that fell into Mei's heart was like a drill boring a hole through her heart, which had been sealed by the Herrscher of Thunder. Although she still couldn't see the direction clearly, the moment that light shone into the darkness, it signaled that dawn was approaching.

Of course, Su Jue wasn't saying this to gain favor like he did with Kiana. It was because Mei had actually entered the password in front of him, and he was panicking. He quickly said something nice to avoid being targeted by the Herrscher of Thunder in the future.

After saying these words, Su Jue paid no further attention to Raiden Mei. After wasting another two minutes, his patience was completely worn out.

He no longer intended to give Theresa more time to hesitate. If she continued to refuse, he might really have to break Bronya's arm. "I'll say it one last time, give me the item!"

Chapter 55: Nameless Rage

"Headmaster, quickly take the humanoid mecha back to the Hyperion. Kiana is more important than us. Only by finding clues about her can we avoid greater losses." Although held by Su Jue, Bronya showed no extreme reaction. After undergoing the X-10 experiment conducted by Cocolia, her emotional module had been damaged. Even though her emotional deficiency had improved during her time at St. Freya, she would still subconsciously handle events with the optimal solution, even disregarding her own safety.

"Once we return to the battleship, we can contact Dr. Einstein and the others, and then we'll come back for revenge." While speaking, Bronya was even trying to control Hedgehog to attack Su Jue, seemingly not considering the consequences of him taking hostages.

"Tch, are you plotting out loud while pretending I don't exist?" He increased the force in his hand, grabbing one of Bronya's arms and preparing to act directly when a sharp spear suddenly shot from behind him.

Boom—

Barely missing, the Spears of the Void flew past Su Jue's cheek, piercing the concrete wall before dissipating into Honkai Energy. In this moment of sudden change, Bronya decisively dislocated her arm with a snap to break free from Su Jue's restraint. With one hand, she drew a spare weapon from Hedgehog and opened fire on him.

Pew pew pew.

The bullets were dense, but they posed far less of a threat to Su Jue than the surprise attack from the Spears of the Void earlier.

He quickly rolled on the ground to dodge the first volley of bullets. Instead of retreating, Su Jue advanced and punched at Bronya. The Hedgehog had already been severely damaged and took the brunt of this punch for Bronya at the last moment. However, it could no longer maintain its levitation and fell to the ground like scrap metal.

The Hedgehog was a gift from Seele to Bronya. After the Hedgehog was critically damaged, Bronya no longer cared about attacking Su Jue and retreated with Mei and the Hedgehog to Himeko's side. The three of them gathered together, facing Su Jue, who was watching them intently, their eyes darting away slightly.

Su Jue gave them a deep look before withdrawing his gaze, not even bothering to look at the humanoid mechs, as if a hunter had lost interest in its prey. But only he knew his true thoughts; it wasn't the surprise attack that made him back down, but the owner of the Spears of the Void.

The moment he saw the Spears of the Void, an indescribable complex emotion surged within him.

Was it anger from the surprise attack? Regret over his plan going awry? Or simply because the spear was thrown by that person?

He didn't know. Ever since he arrived in this world, he had never experienced such an emotion. He had always been like a weaver treading on a spiderweb, meticulously laying out his plans.

Precise, meticulous, capable of handling even unexpected situations, but now this inexplicable emotion was constantly suppressing his heart, like a foul breath unable to be exhaled, leaving him feeling stifled.

After using the surrounding objects to propel himself several times, Su Jue left the fortified building. Under the moonlight, a white-haired girl preparing to aim for a second shot came into his view.

"Herrscher of Void!"

Seeing the girl, who looked almost identical to how she did a few days ago, Su Jue's inner frustration intensified. It felt like a betrayal—no, they were enemies from the start, there was never any betrayal.

"I see, I see. It seems I got too invested in the role."

Understanding the source of his frustration, Su Jue gave a self-deprecating bitter laugh. But he quickly suppressed the emotion, gradually adjusting his feelings, transforming his frustration into anger, faithfully playing the role of Thousand Calamities.

Once the Herrscher of Domination began her performance, Su Jue's emotions were irrelevant.

"You deserve to die!" a low roar erupted. Su Jue grabbed a collapsed pillar by the wall and hurled it directly at Kiana.

On the other side, Kiana faced him with the utmost seriousness. She had rushed over desperately and saw Su Jue about to ruthlessly attack her friend. Without a second thought, she unleashed an attack using the power of the Herrscher of Void.

"Be careful, he knows who you are. He must know something about you." For some reason, the man's frenzied state on the other side felt somewhat familiar to Fu Hua, but her memories spanned fifty thousand years, making it just a vague sense of familiarity.