Honkai's Thousand Laws, Abducting Kiana at the Start

Seeing Kiana flustered, Su Jue couldn't help but smile. He handed her a wet wipe from beside him and pointed to his jaw.

"You missed a spot here."

Kiana took the wipe and dabbed at her jaw. The black, dusty stain transferred to the paper. She paused, then quickly headed to the bathroom.

From the previous night's battle with Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, the explosions from numerous mechs had left Kiana covered in dust. She'd also gotten oil and bloodstains on herself. Although she'd cleaned up in the bathroom before returning, traces remained.

"Did he guess?" Kiana sighed, looking at herself in the mirror.

The commotion last night had been too great. The entire city had felt the explosion, and Su Jue must have felt the vibrations too. Now that Schicksal and World Serpent knew about the Herrscher of Void, an endless pursuit would follow. World Serpent, in particular, had established a presence throughout Sky City. Having just destroyed Shencheng Pharmaceuticals last night, they would surely intensify their search today.

She didn't want to drag Su Jue into her troubles, yet she was reluctant to leave him.

"Su Jue is a very smart person. He's probably guessed what I did last night. This time, he'll probably really make me leave." With this anxious thought, Kiana returned to the ward.

Su Jue had already tidied his books in the ward. He looked at Kiana, her face etched with worry, and asked with a puzzled expression, "What's wrong?"

Gritting her teeth slightly, Kiana prepared to confess everything. But Su Jue saw the conflict on her face and shook his head, holding up a hand to interrupt her.

"A girl should have her own secrets. You don't need to tell me. Whatever you choose to do, I will support you, though... it can only be moral support."

Kiana stared at Su Jue blankly, then smiled with relief.

Kiana, Kiana, he's given you all his trust, why are you overthinking things?

"Okay."

After a brief tidying, Su Jue handed Kiana his salary card and asked her to go buy lunch. With the income from his draft designs, Su Jue's life was no longer as tight as before, especially with the hospital subsidies covering daily expenses.

It was now noon, and the hospital cafeteria was bustling with people. Kiana stood in the crowd, looking at the menu and frowning in thought.

"Let me think, what should I eat when I'm injured? High-protein meat, and iron for replenishing blood... iron whatsit?" Kiana rubbed her head. She hadn't learned much in her cultural classes at St. Freya, and now that she needed it, her mind felt empty.

After a moment of deliberation, she decided to buy based on the recipes Mei used to prepare when she was injured. As she reached the ward door, she heard a familiar voice.

"Mr. Su Jue, have you been in contact with a certain blonde girl recently?"

It was Rita's voice. Panic immediately flooded Kiana's mind, but she forced herself to calm down. Rita hadn't spotted her yet, and her best option was to remain unseen. Only by doing so could she deflect suspicion from Su Jue and draw the attention to herself. Kiana held her breath, stifled her voice, and slowly backed away from the ward door.

However, after taking two steps, she bumped into someone. Kiana quickly steadied the person, intending to leave quickly, but her clothes were grabbed.

"Herrscher of Void, so you are here." It was Alvit's voice. The dark-haired girl wore a smile. Ever since Kiana had saved her yesterday, the usually cheerful Alvit felt that the Herrscher of Void wasn't as bad as the rumors suggested, so she showed no fear upon seeing Kiana.

But in the next moment, her arm hurt. Kiana pushed her against the wall, her face pressed against the cold surface. A palm-sized Spear of the Void was pressed against her carotid artery.

"Shut up!" Kiana's eyes were cold. Her golden right pupil, hidden by her bangs, was revealed. The terrifying pressure made Alvit tremble.

"Waaah..." The poor girl was so frightened by the sudden change that her eyes welled up with tears. She probably wouldn't think the Herrscher of Void was a good person ever again.

Unfortunately, despite Kiana's swift reaction, the woman had already noticed the commotion. "Miss Kiana, could you please release my subordinate?"

Chapter 98: Kiana's Past

Today, Rita wasn't wearing the armor provided by Schicksal. The aftereffects of last night's HSN gas hadn't dissipated, and the God-Slaying Armor placed a heavy burden on her body. She was wearing a white collared shirt with wavy trim and a grey pencil skirt, her legs covered by sheer black stockings and high heels, making her look like an elegant urban lady.

"Rita, what are you doing here?" Kiana had no intention of letting go. Instead, she grabbed Alvit by the neck and turned her to face Rita, allowing her to see the panicked expression on her face.

"Miss Kiana, there's no need to be nervous. You saved my life and my subordinate's last night, so I would never betray you. As for coming to this hospital, I was merely planning to investigate something. After all, the Herrscher of Void is renowned, and it's hard not to be curious when Miss Kiana can now control it with such ease."

Rita paused, her gaze falling on the lunch Kiana was carrying. "It seems Miss Kiana has found a reliable partner... or perhaps, someone you fancy?"

"Hmph, you're thinking too much. I'm just hiding alone in the hospital."

"Oh? Then why did you prepare two lunches?"

Kiana paused for half a second and replied with annoyance, "Can't I just eat more? I'm not eating Schicksal's rations, so it's none of your business."

"Of course, there's no problem." Facing Kiana's impatient questioning, the maid bowed slightly, gracefully lowering her stance. "May I ask Miss Kiana to release my subordinate? I apologize for her rudeness. My contact with Schicksal has been severed by World Serpent, and I assure you, Miss Kiana will not have to worry about being pursued by Schicksal for the time being."

Under Kiana's gaze, Rita's expression remained calm and sincere, with no trace of deception.

"It better be." Once assured that Rita wasn't targeting her, Kiana loosened her grip. Alvit coughed twice and quickly hid behind Rita.

"Thank you for your understanding. Then let's mind our own business. Our common goal now is World Serpent, to stop them from experimenting on this city." Rita sighed, looking at the disappointing Alvit, and said to Kiana.

"Mhm." Kiana also breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she was afraid of a conflict with Rita; her current strength was more than a match for Rita even at full power. The problem was that Su Jue was here, and any conflict would inevitably draw Schicksal's attention to him.

However, before she could be happy for even half a second, she saw Rita turn and walk back into the ward.

"?"

She quickly followed. Rita turned back, looking puzzled, and asked, "Does Miss Kiana have any other instructions?"

"Didn't you say you were leaving?"

Rita put on a look of sudden realization and explained, "Yes, Alvit found some clues nearby, and we were going to ask Mr. Su Jue, who lives in this ward, a few questions."

"This..."

"Does Miss Kiana think Schicksal would harm ordinary people?" Rita asked with a faint smile, leaving Kiana speechless.

Inside the ward, Su Jue, who had been eavesdropping for a while, sighed. Kiana's acting skills were still lacking. She would probably be tricked by Schicksal in the future.

Helpless, he threw his cup to the ground, creating a commotion. Rita and Kiana, their attention drawn, entered the ward together.

Upon seeing Kiana, Su Jue's face immediately lit up with surprise. "Miss Talia, you're finally back."

"Ta..." Hearing the unfamiliar address, Kiana's mind went blank. Although she didn't know what was going on, just as Su Jue trusted her, Kiana chose to believe him. She nodded subtly and placed the lunch beside Su Jue.

Rita, observing Su Jue's expression from the side, narrowed her eyes. Not seeing the reaction she wanted, she asked, "Mr. Su Jue, are you very familiar with Miss Kiana?"

"Kiana who?" Su Jue feigned a look of confusion, the seasoned actor that he was, not falling for Rita's attempt to pry. He put on a stern face and said with displeasure, "You don't even know Talia's name? Then why did you claim to be her friend and question me for so long? Who exactly are you? If you don't explain clearly, I'm calling the police."

Rita was momentarily speechless but quickly regained her amiable demeanor. "My apologies, I just misspoke. We are indeed her friends. You can ask her if you don't believe me."

Kiana, completely bewildered and unsure of how to respond, stood by the window, feeling flustered. Suddenly, she felt her hand being gently squeezed. She glanced at Su Jue and inexplicably understood his meaning.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

"I see," Su Jue's expression softened upon receiving confirmation. "While I was injured, Talia told me some stories about her past."

"Oh? What kind of stories?" Su Jue's words piqued Rita's interest. She still couldn't ascertain Su Jue's relationship with Kiana, but if Kiana had truly confided her past to this young man, it meant he was extremely important to her. If the Bishop intended to deal with the Herrscher of Void in the future, this boy would be a crucial pawn.

"If you are her friends, you should know her well. When she was in school, she was an excellent student, always ranking first in her class. Because of this, she was ostracized by her classmates. But she didn't give up; instead, she worked even harder, yet she couldn't overcome human malice."

"Her dog, which she loved, was fed poisoned chocolate disguised as dried jerky by jealous classmates and died. During exams, her most trusted companion stole her stationery. Under this double blow, her grades plummeted. She had no choice but to drop out and participate in a culinary competition to earn tuition. She won the grand prize and used the winnings to come to Sky City."

"However, shortly after arriving in Sky City, she encountered this damned monster. That's also when I met her. When she saved me from that monster, I never imagined her life had been so difficult. Such a kind person has so few friends; I truly cannot accept it. As her friends, can you share some of her past with me?"

"..." Rita exchanged a look with Alvit. Even Rita, who was usually so talkative, suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She could only manage, "Her, her grades weren't actually that good..."

However, before she could finish, Su Jue's expression turned grim again. "Are you implying she lied to me? I understand. What friends? You're the ones who ostracized her, aren't you? No wonder Miss Talia was so nervous when she saw you. It turns out you were threatening her."

"You probably didn't come to see her this time to visit, but to cause trouble. Get out, or I'll call the police." As he spoke, Su Jue's hand hovered over the call button by the hospital bed. If pressed, a nurse would come for a check-up, and once Rita's identity was recorded, World Serpent would surely detect it.

Helpless, Rita and Alvit had to temporarily leave the hospital room. They walked side-by-side down the corridor, Alvit still looking somewhat indignant.

"That insidious Herrscher of Void! No wonder we couldn't track her down; she deliberately fabricated a false identity to gain the trust of the citizens. And she acted so convincingly in the hospital room, feigning ignorance. She must have planned this all along."

Listening to the young girl's muttering, Rita felt a headache coming on. But based on Su Jue's reaction, if Kiana was merely using him as a tool to hide her identity, then his usefulness would be greatly diminished.

But what if this was all just a play orchestrated by the Herrscher of Void?

Chapter Ninety-Nine: A Hypothesis

Rita's suspicion was not unfounded. After these few encounters, she had clearly noticed the changes in this girl.

She recalled their first meeting last night, when Rita had deliberately provoked her with words, aiming to test the Herrscher of Void's mental stability at the time.

Although she had largely lost her combat capability then, her Moonlit Soul armor still carried an injection similar to the HSN serum. Had the Kiana of that moment shown any carelessness or fallen into a state of madness, Rita could have used this serum to suppress and counter-attack.

However, Kiana's reaction had exceeded her expectations. She showed no signs of mental breakdown, nor was she as easily fooled as before. Instead, she appeared remarkably calm and even more assertive. Facing Rita's provocation, she had attacked first without a word. This was not the kind of student Theresa would teach.

If that was the case, then the Herrscher of Void's cunning was far more complex than imagined. Perhaps her being ambushed by Crimson Snake a couple of days ago was also intentional.

"Wait, why do I assume Crimson Snake is definitely from World Serpent?"

As she pondered, Rita suddenly spotted a blind spot. The name "Crimson Snake" had only ever been revealed by that red-haired woman herself. Rita's conviction that she was connected to World Serpent stemmed more from her own defeat at her hands. It was this anger that had clouded her judgment, preventing her from questioning further.

Is it possible that she has no connection to World Serpent either, and is actually one of the Herrscher of Void's people?

Perhaps her fight with Raven earlier was also staged, exploiting the information gap between both sides to manipulate both Schicksal and World Serpent?

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

The more she followed this line of reasoning, the heavier Rita's heart became. If all her suspicions were true, it meant Kiana had been plotting against her for at least half a month. What her ultimate goal was, Rita dared not imagine. Rita couldn't help but gasp, this person was terrifyingly formidable.

"Alvit, prepare to record the combat log." After clarifying her thoughts, Rita immediately shared her hypothesis with Alvit, who was responsible for information consolidation and organization. Such conjectures could certainly be recorded in Schicksal's archives. If the hypothesis proved true later, they wouldn't be completely clueless when confronting the Herrscher of Void in the future.

"Yes, Vice-Captain," Alvit replied immediately, taking out her electronic tablet to start recording data. However, what Rita didn't notice was that although the girl beside her was diligently recording, she was writing down irrelevant mission logs, such as what she had for lunch – utterly trivial information.

"Vice-Captain, I have finished recording." After diligently writing all the reports, Alvit suddenly came to her senses. She hadn't noticed anything unusual about her state. In her memory, she had simply recorded the data as instructed by Rita.

Glancing back towards the hospital room, the door had been firmly shut after she left.

Although Rita wanted to act immediately after forming these thoughts, she was likely no match for the Herrscher of Void at the moment. Furthermore, the enemy might have anticipated her actions. If she made a move, the Herrscher of Void would have every reason to trap the entire Immortal Blades unit in Sky City.

"I'll wait for Lord Durandal to arrive first."

After multiple Honkai attacks, the once vibrant central district of Sky City was now shrouded in a dark cloud. The residents lived in constant worry, fearing the next attack might befall them.

Only some young children maintained an optimistic outlook, with some even eagerly anticipating the arrival of the giant monsters. After all, it was the only way they could see the magical girl Kiana again.

Children have their own social circles, and whether they had seen the magical girl had become an important topic of conversation, enough to dominate the entire kindergarten.

The little boy who had recognized the magical girl last time was no different. He was currently leaning against the window, looking outside. He felt as if he had fallen in 'love' and looked forward to meeting Miss Kiana every day. For this, he had flipped through his treasured comic book countless times, memorizing all the character settings.

Unfortunately, he hadn't seen her since then. Now, he couldn't even muster interest in his favorite toys, and could only eat two pieces of his beloved bunny candy.

"It's already over before it even began. Is this what heartbreak feels like?" the six-year-old boy sighed dramatically as he stood by the window.

"What nonsense is a little kid spouting? Come eat," his young mother said, exasperated. She felt she needed to teach her son about the concept of 'nice guys finish last.'

Under his mother's pressure, the little fellow had to temporarily put 'love' aside and obediently go to eat dinner.

As he turned away, he naturally didn't see a fleeting figure.

On the rooftop, a man with gray-white hair and a black mask stood alone by the parapet, the cold wind making his cloak billow behind him.

His body was ramrod straight, like a sword plunged into the earth. Gazing down at the entire city from his high vantage point, Su Jue felt a sense of supreme dominance.

Hum—

A sharp blade cut through the evening wind, emitting an almost imperceptible hum. In an instant, a flash of white light appeared, and the blade had already sliced past Su Jue's neck. The surging blade energy even shattered the concrete parapet, leaving a long, deep gash.

"It seems your way of greeting is quite unique." Su Jue, piloting the Thousand Calamities puppet, stood his ground. A few severed strands of his short gray hair drifted away with the wind, but that was all.

"A greeting? No, I just want to kill you." The sharp katana was held in the girl's hand, exuding a chilling cold.

Compared to half a month ago, Raiden Mei had changed so much. Not only did she have the brand new combat armor, Striker, but her Hokushin Itto-ryu sword skills, inherited from her family, had also made significant progress through intense training during this period.

Without strength, one can't protect anyone. All suffering stems from your own weakness.

This sentence was deeply etched into Mei's heart. That's why, when Theresa and the others piloted the Hyperion to Sea Abyss City, she chose to stay behind and train alone.

Her purple hair, which had reached her waist, was cut off by her own hand, and the excess was tied into a neat ponytail. She now looked more like a warrior.

She had bid farewell to her past, relentlessly pushing her body's potential to its limits, all for the sake of gaining greater power. It was not only to bring Kiana back to her side but also to avenge the man wearing the mask.

"Is that so? Then let me see how strong your resolve to kill me is." With a deliberate, almost dismissive chuckle, Su Jue stood his ground. He slowly drew his katana from his loose-fitting trench coat – it was the very same one Raiden Mei had left behind.

Chapter 100: Rooftop Duel

It was already dusk, and Sky City was a dense sprawl of skyscrapers. The unevenly distributed buildings cast long shadows under the setting sun, like monstrous beasts about to devour the entire city.

No one noticed that on the rooftop, a blade sliced through the evening glow, a sword's cry shattered the night breeze, and finally, amidst flashes of white light, they collided.

Sparks erupted and vanished in an instant. Then, the long swords separated again, changing angles in their wielders' hands as they lunged at each other from extremely tricky positions.

Clang—

Clang—

The wide rooftop seemed to transform into a scorching furnace. An experienced blacksmith was raising his hammer, striking the blade again and again. The ceaseless sound of metal on metal was exceptionally crisp, each contact representing a clash between life and death.

There wasn't much space to stand on the rooftop. As they continuously clashed swords, the two were not only pitting their strength against each other but also their technical prowess.

Although his stamina and reaction speed were still keeping up, Su Jue had never received formal training. Even though he had shared sword skills from Himeko, it was only a superficial application.

On the other hand, Raiden Mei possessed the long-established Hokushin Itto-ryu, coupled with her near suicidal offensive. Su Jue was gradually falling into a disadvantage.