The fluorescent flying objects, with surfaces as smooth as mirrors, rotated slowly, reflecting the faces of the group. They hovered and spun around the girl like fireflies dancing around a priestess. After completing a gentle circle, they shot out at high speed, stopping in the air in front of everyone.
"The Bronya detects multiple energy sources continuously gathering. Danger!" Bronya Zaychik said, a hint of gravity appearing on her expressionless face.
The scattered fluorescent objects suddenly gathered and connected. The Honkai energy in the air was continuously absorbed and stored as attack energy. The small, glowing objects came together, shimmering like starlight.
"Not good, everyone get behind me!" Li Xuan understood the girl's intention. With such a powerful attack, it would be easy to get hit even if they scattered to dodge. He was likely the only one who could face it head-on.
Hearing Li Xuan's words, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya Zaychik didn't hesitate and quickly gathered behind him.
ZHOOM! The fluorescent objects collectively fired a beam of azure energy as thick as a water bucket. The energy beam struck the rooftop floor. The reinforced concrete ground was destroyed as if it were rotten wood, sending stone fragments and dust flying everywhere. The energy beam tore across the rooftop, moving steadily towards Li Xuan and the others. That single moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity, yet it also felt like it passed in an instant. The beam finally made brutal contact with the group.
Li Xuan's Xuanyuan Festive Garb fluttered slightly. The runes on the clothing seemed to come alive, glowing faintly with a golden light. Li Xuan could almost hear the prayers and blessings of people from a thousand years ago, echoing across time. A solid-looking azure energy shield materialized in his hands as the Xuanyuan Festive Garb operated at full power.
The energy beam and the shield finally collided. The oval shield held up by Li Xuan rippled where it met the energy beam, continuously neutralizing and devouring the opposing energy.
The azure shield was constantly being worn down by the energy beam, its color gradually fading. The once-solid shield began to turn ethereal, and sweat started to bead on Li Xuan's forehead. Fortunately for the group, the enemy's energy beam was also starting to weaken and fade, on the verge of disappearing.
Li Xuan can't take all of this on his own, Mei thought, looking at Li Xuan's pale profile. Mei swiftly drew the Yamamoto Night Shadow Katana from her waist. Holding it in her hand, she raised her arm, aimed the tip at one of the fluorescent objects, and threw it with all her might. The katana traced a perfect parabola through the air, heading straight for the flying object.
Crack! The katana struck the surface of the object, making a crisp sound like shattering glass. A shower of tiny fragments flew out. The surface of the hit object flickered with an unstable light.
The girl noticed this immediately. She hurriedly tried to maneuver the other combined objects to break apart and escape.
But it was a little too late. BOOM! After flashing its last light, the damaged object exploded violently. In an instant, the dark night sky was illuminated by the firelight, but the light vanished as quickly as it appeared. Several other unlucky objects were caught in the blast and also exploded.
The number of fluorescent objects was instantly reduced by a third, and the others were temporarily disabled. As for the energy beam, it dissipated the moment the objects broke apart. "Hah… hah…" Li Xuan gasped for breath, his body collapsing to the ground uncontrollably. His face was pale, and he was drenched in sweat. In the end, his shield's energy couldn't recover, causing the Xuanyuan Festive Garb to drain a significant amount of his life force—his stamina—to convert into a shield to resist the attack.
"Mei, you're amazing!" Kiana's eyes sparkled with admiration as she showered Mei with praise.
"Well, it was only thanks to Li Xuan's shield that I was able to do that," Mei said modestly. She gave a gentle smile, extended her fair hands, and helped Li Xuan up from the ground.
"Hmph~ It's only natural for boys to protect girls," Kiana said, her cheeks puffing out with a bit of jealousy upon seeing Mei proactively helping Li Xuan up. "Right, Li Xuan?!" Kiana glared at him, half-threatening.
"…Yes, yes, of course, Miss Kiana," Li Xuan said with a rather helpless, bitter smile.
"Good, you know what's good for you." Hearing Li Xuan's submission, Kiana's mood improved. She placed her hands on her hips and showed a tsundere smile.
"..." Watching the group, who had just nullified her attack, start chatting and laughing as if they had not a care in the world, a flash of envy and hope appeared in the girl's eyes, but it was instantly buried by the sorrow within them. She was just a person born as a weapon… perhaps not even a person. But… she was so envious of those who were cared for and protected by others. It must be so warm, right? Like the summer moonlight? she thought.
The girl looked up at the night sky, which had turned dark as clouds obscured the moon. She remembered how the sky was momentarily brightened by the firelight from her exploding 'fireflies' and muttered to herself, "Is my light really that insignificant?"
"But I won't give up," the girl said, her slender, fair right hand tightly gripping a long spear. The blade's edge reflected the moonlight, sharp and brilliant. She staggered to her feet. Her life was already coming to an end; her legs were growing weak, the cells in her nervous system beginning to die…
There was no helping it. A summer firefly's life is but a fleeting moment; it fades with the passing of summer.
"Mei! Watch out!" A white light flashed in Kiana's vision. She immediately pushed Mei aside and used the momentum to quickly retreat herself. A white light, like a moonbeam, shot between them.
The white light grazed past Mei's arm, yet it left a shallow cut from which blood began to well. The light even severed a lock of Mei's flying black hair.
"Mei!" Kiana's eyes were filled with terror when she saw the blood on Mei's arm as she fell. The white light struck the ground and stopped. It was a spear, its cold blade embedded in the concrete as easily as a hot knife through butter. The green shaft quivered slightly from the force of the throw.
The girl knelt on the cold ground, breathing softly, the hands supporting her body trembling slightly. She had used all her strength in that attack and now had nothing left. The Honkai energy inside her was beginning to spin out of her control.
The summer firefly's life has reached its end. To die in battle… this is my destiny, the girl thought. The autumn sky of September, a time of withering life…
"Damn it! And I actually felt sorry for you!" Kiana's eyes were filled with killing intent. After all, this person had hurt the one she loved most, the one she had sworn to protect—Raiden Mei!
"Go to hell!" Kiana roared, her expression ferocious. A flash of azure light appeared in her hand, condensing into a pistol—Mjolnir. This was a power belonging to the Kaslana family.
"…" A smile of relief appeared on the girl's face. As a weapon, dying on the battlefield was the best possible end.
A flash of light erupted from the muzzle of Mjolnir. A bullet carrying immense kinetic energy tore through the air, spinning towards the girl. There was no doubt that if the bullet hit, the girl would die.
"No, wait…" A voice suddenly cut in, drawing the girl's attention. A not-so-broad back stood before her, blocking the moonlight, and the whistling bullet.
A somewhat thin, azure-blue shield appeared in front of Li Xuan, blocking the bullet. The shield rippled slightly. The bullet spun against the shield before finally coming to a stop, its kinetic energy spent. With a crisp
tink, tink of metal, the bullet fell to the ground.
"Why!?" Kiana's eyes widened, her pistol still raised as she questioned Li Xuan.
"Sorry, Kiana. I know you're angry, but could you leave this child to me? It's the only thing I'll ever ask of you," Li Xuan said in a low voice, his face slightly pale. This was the first time he had ever asked anything of Kiana. "Mei isn't seriously hurt. Shouldn't you go check on her?" he added.
"Hmph! Just remember, you owe me one!" Kiana said, reluctantly putting her gun away. She turned and rushed towards Mei, her eyes welling with tears as she checked on her future wife's wound.
Li Xuan watched Kiana leave and silently breathed a sigh of relief. His usual efforts of feeding the young lady had paid off; she had given him some face at this critical moment.
Just then, he felt a tug on his clothes. He turned around quickly to see the girl pulling at the corner of his shirt.
"Why… save me?" the girl asked, her golden, glass-like eyes staring at Li Xuan with a mixture of indifference and confusion.
"Because I kind of like you," Li Xuan said casually, rubbing his hair.
"Ahem… I don't want you to die." Perhaps because his previous statement was a bit ambiguous, Li Xuan's face flushed slightly as he added, "You look a lot like my little sister." Indeed, the girl's appearance was remarkably similar to his little sister who had just started high school.
"Sister?!" The girl was stunned… This reason was truly unexpected.
"Yeah, you look so much like my sister, so I couldn't bear to watch Kiana kill you…" Li Xuan acted familiarly, reaching out to place a hand on the girl's head, stroking her silky golden hair.
If you encountered someone with a face similar to a loved one, and you had the power to save them, probably no one would be willing to watch them die right before their eyes…
"What's your name? Where are you from? Oh, right… do you want to escape this place with us? I'll take care of you like my own sister," Li Xuan said softly, extending his hand to the girl kneeling on the ground. He planned to abduct… ahem, invite this girl who looked so much like his sister…
"Sister…" The girl's eyes widened, and she repeated the word in her mind as if possessed. 'Family?' Being protected by others was something she had longed for, something she could never have. She used to think 'family' was so far away, yet now it was so close, within her grasp.
"Ye-yes, I'm willing, Bro… Brother," the girl suddenly smiled, but large tears streamed endlessly from the corners of her eyes.
"Hey, hey, why are you crying?!" Faced with the girl's sudden tears, Li Xuan was at a loss… He instinctively pulled the girl's slender body into his arms, just as he would comfort his own sister, and gently patted her on the back…
The girl was smiling, yet crying. She felt warmth, but…
Chu~ Li Xuan suddenly felt a warm, tender sensation on his cheek… Having been single for over a decade, Li Xuan's face, from the neck up, turned red at a visible rate, resembling a ripe tomato.
"I'm sorry, Brother," the girl said, her cool fingers touching Li Xuan's cheek. "I am fading away." She could already feel the Honkai energy within her breaking down her body.
"Huh? Fading away? What do you mean?" Li Xuan asked, not quite understanding what the girl was saying. What did she mean, 'fading away'? Wasn't she right here?
"Her body has been completely eroded by Honkai energy… her body is collapsing," Bronya Zaychik, noticing Li Xuan's situation, explained with an expressionless face. "Although her body was modified to store Honkai energy, it was a modification made at the cost of her life." Bronya Zaychik's eyes deepened as she recalled some of Anti-Entropy's past experiments.
"A body devoured by Honkai energy has only one path: to turn to dust," Bronya Zaychik said, a trace of sorrow flashing in her eyes.
"…" Kiana, who had walked up behind Li Xuan with a bandaged Mei, opened her mouth but said nothing.
"Goodbye." The girl's body began to turn ethereal, like a projection. Li Xuan reached out, trying to grab her hand, but his hand passed through hers as if through a ghost. He couldn't touch anything.
"Wait! Isn't there any way to stop this?!" Li Xuan turned to Bronya Zaychik, who was known as the group's 'encyclopedia,' and shouted, his eyes red. Bronya Zaychik was the most knowledgeable among them; maybe she could stop it.
"I'm sorry," Bronya Zaychik said softly, gently shaking her head.
"Brother, I'll tell you… my name is…" the girl said softly. Her body began to dissolve into specks of fluorescent light, scattering into the heavens.
"Yaoye-hime." The girl in Li Xuan's arms completely transformed into fluorescent light, flying towards the night sky. The dancing embers were as beautiful as the summer fireflies that filled the mountains and fields on a summer night.
Clink~ Two oval-shaped hair ornaments, like golden glass, collided with a crisp sound and fell into Li Xuan's hand.
Li Xuan opened his palm and stared at Yaoye-hime's hair ornaments… Suddenly, a drop of water fell onto an ornament, shattering into specks of starlight.
Is this rain? Li Xuan thought, reaching up to touch his face. His fingers came away wet.
Li Xuan looked up at the specks of light flying towards the bright moon. The moonlight seemed to shine down as it had for ages, but it brought no warmth, only a faint, lingering chill.
This was the day of the summer firefly's passing.