"To think that even after so long since the Second Honkai War, there's still Honkai energy here..." Li Xuan said with a sigh, holding Yae Sakura's small hand.
Comparing this world to his... his original world was practically a paradise... At least there were no Honkai Beasts, Honkai Zombies, or even Herrschers, those natural enemies of humanity... Even if humans had enemies, it was only other humans.
"...What is this..." Li Xuan stopped, staring blankly at the scene before him... The expected forest view had vanished as if a god had scooped it out, and the earth in sight seemed compressed... A vast, boundless basin had appeared. The ground had sunk by more than twenty centimeters, and it dipped even lower further in...
"During the fight against the Second Honkai War, Schicksal not only deployed S-Rank Valkyries but also resorted to nuclear weapons... This post-battle scene is far more moving than the pictures in the textbooks..." Mei said with a sigh, looking at the sparse vegetation.
"...What a cruel reality."
"..." Theresa silently stared at the 'basin' before them without a word, her small hands hidden in the wide sleeves of her nun's habit clenched tightly.
"S-Rank Valkyries and nuclear weapons, what a grand scene... Huh? Wait! S-Rank Valkyrie!? Isn't that my little goal?" Kiana said in surprise.
"Sigh... Look at you, all you do in class is play mobile games. You don't even know about this. Back then... the Valkyrie qualification test was much stricter and more demanding than it is now... In the entire history of the Valkyrie forces, only one person ever became an S-Rank Valkyrie. Her name was Ce..." Mei said, pulling Kiana's ear with a look of disappointment.
"Ahem... Instead of chatting, why don't you focus on the mission! With your current strength, even A-Rank is a distant goal~" Theresa interrupted Mei, speaking in the tone of an elder.
"Right now, only Li Xuan has the potential to become an A-Rank... Va..." Theresa paused as if she had choked on a fishbone... A female is called a Valkyrie, so the question is... what should a male be called?
"Yes, Li Xuan is the most likely to become as strong as an A-Rank Valkyrie..." Theresa quickly added, correcting herself.
"...." Holding Yae Sakura's hand, Li Xuan subconsciously straightened his back... *Of course*, even he was afraid of himself when he fought...
"Hmph! What's this! The missions are always about investigating this and that, there's no challenge at all! How can I get stronger? How can I level up?" Kiana complained with a look of grief and indignation. "Last time, there was even a mission to help someone find a cat! And even an errand to buy bitter melon juice!"
"..." A certain white-haired loli nun who had once used her authority to send someone on an errand for bitter melon juice was speechless...
"Kiana, that's enough~ Instead of complaining, you should focus on the mission," Murata Himeko interjected smoothly.
"Yes, yes~ So where is this Honkai energy we're supposed to investigate now?" Kiana said nonchalantly, spreading her arms as if to embrace the world... Before them was an endless expanse of snow... Only a genius would know where it was.
"Although the faint residual Honkai energy prevents an accurate location reading, there is indeed a Honkai energy fluctuation spreading outwards within the coordinate area. Bronya is doing her best to confirm the position..." Bronya said, holding a tablet computer. Unseen strings of numbers flowed rapidly in her light gray eyes.
"..." Li Xuan stood to the side of the group and frowned, looking at a spot not far in front of him... He had a strange feeling...
"What's wrong, Xuan-kun?" Yae Sakura squeezed Li Xuan's hand and asked with concern. He had been staring in that direction for a while now. Was there something over there?
"No, it's nothing..." Li Xuan said, a little uncertain. "I just feel like something over there is calling out to me... It's probably my imagination, right?"
"Hmph! I hope we don't freeze to death before we find it!" Kiana grumbled unhappily. Pouting, she left Mei and the others who were gathered around Bronya waiting for results, and walked towards Li Xuan, who was holding Yae Sakura's hand in a daze.
"That guy Li Xuan... dressed so flashily and with a pretty girl in tow, this young lady is not pleased..." Kiana muttered with envy, jealousy, and hatred. Li Xuan wasn't wearing any thick winter clothes; he just had on a white long-sleeved shirt with the 'Xuanyuan Festive Garb' over it, yet he was running around lively in the ice and snow...
"Hey! Li Xuan... where do you think that Honkai energy thing is?" Kiana sidled up to Li Xuan and asked casually.
"Me?....." Li Xuan was taken aback. Although it was strange for Kiana to not be clinging to Mei and to come talk to him instead, he still thought for a moment and casually pointed in the direction of the snowy area where the strange feeling was coming from.
"I think it's over there..."
"Forget it... I'd better go back to Principal Theresa... I wonder what that Honkai source is anyway..." Li Xuan shook his head, suppressing the strange feeling in his mind. He turned to walk back towards Theresa and reminded Kiana as he went.
"Maybe it's a little Honkai Beast! Haha~" Kiana couldn't help but gloat at the thought of Theresa and the others being stunned when they suddenly discovered the Honkai source was just a small Honkai Beast.
"**BOOM!!**" A sudden, loud noise erupted... like the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground.
*What has Kiana done now...* Li Xuan didn't even have to think to know Kiana was the cause of the commotion. He turned back helplessly and said, "Alright... Kiana... don't always try to make a big scene, just do the..."
"Huh?!" Li Xuan looked at the empty space behind him and muttered in confusion, "Kiana?... Where's Kiana?" There was no one on the snow where Kiana had been standing just a moment ago...
"...Th-that..." Yae Sakura raised her hand and pointed to a large hole in the snow. It was a hole in the ground... The opening was also white, making it hard to spot in the snow-covered landscape... like an open manhole on a road at night.
Without a doubt... Kiana had fallen into the hole...
"This is why... open manholes are deadly..." Li Xuan muttered.
In the hazy sunlight... a large hole, about a meter in diameter, had appeared in the snow. An aura of decay mixed with a vibrant breath of life emanated from within...
The deep blue mark on the palm of Li Xuan's right hand grew slightly warm....
(End of Chapter)