Days later.
The Domina Theater, in the "Elysium of the Past".
"Boom!"
A blazing fire erupted and exploded in midair.
Shockwave.
In the air, surrounded by crimson flames, someone had entered a state of "man-made collapse" and was launching a flying kick at their opponent.
And on the other side—
They met the attack with a flying kick of their own.
It was a tall figure clad in silver-gray mechanical armor.
Also wreathed in flames, and equally devoid of fancy tricks.
Up to this moment, both sides had fought fiercely, relying solely on the most direct and simple methods of attack.
Straight punches, whip-like kicks... even grabbing "bricks" from the surroundings.
Well, the load-bearing column was huge and also had a molten iron-cracked fire-damage buff effect.
And right now—
"Whoosh~"
The two clashing flying kicks collided, and they were evenly matched for just a moment before one of them was sent flying, upside down.
That one was "Thousand Calamities."
Even while flying upside down, he was still laughing wildly—
Like a deranged Uchiha who stumbled onto the wrong set.
But... it was clear that in terms of pure brute strength, even Qianjie—who was one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers—was no match for that tall armored figure.
"Bang!"
Thousand Calamities crashed into a mountain, embedding himself into it. Well, he didn't seem to need any help. After a few struggles, he shattered the mountain and regained his mobility.
He simply kept going.
"Din nou!"
Thousand Calamities kept charging in excitement.
It must be said—he was worthy of the title "Ferocious Destruction" inscribed on a Fusion Warrior.
However—
"He's not coming."
His opponent, the tall armored figure, shook their head, rejecting Qianjie's invitation to "keep fighting for fun."
Unfortunately, Qianjie wasn't a talker.
Nor was he the listening type.
If the other side refused to fight—he would force them to.
So—
"Bang!"
Thousand Calamities didn't bother with words. He stomped the ground hard, then charged forward like a roaring beast, rapidly closing in on the tall armored figure.
He clenched his right fist and aimed it straight at the opponent's face.
But right then—
"唪~"
In Qianjie's vision, he saw a flash of flame ahead, and the tall armored figure disassembled on the spot.
What appeared next was actually a girl with waist-length hair and a lovely face.
And she didn't dodge Qianjie's punch at all.
.
At the last moment, Qianjie's fist stopped right at the tip of her nose.
The gust of wind raised by the punch made her long hair billow—
Even the short gradient dress she wore fluttered a little dramatically.
The girl casually raised her hand and held it down.
But with the flaming fist so close to her face, she remained completely unshaken.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Qianjie didn't withdraw his fist.
In a rather annoyed tone, he asked.
Obviously, since the opponent had let her guard down and wasn't resisting, he didn't want to claim victory in such a state.
In other words, victory or defeat wasn't important to him.
"He'll go all out only as long as both sides keep fighting."
But sorry—
"You're no longer my opponent."
The girl said calmly, "Too weak to last even a few seconds in my hands."
.
Someone's mouth twitched slightly.
Let's just say—thankfully, this isn't an anime.
Otherwise, you'd definitely see a barrage of special effect "#" signs pounding Qianjie's forehead.
Speaking of which—this scene—
"He's really holding a grudge."
Not far off were a couple of spectators to the battle.
One was a pink-haired maiden (?) with a pair of elf-like pointed ears, and the other was a mature woman with a faint blush on her cheeks, as if slightly tipsy.
Alicia and Eden.
That ultra-silent comment just now came from the former.
Understandable—she wasn't the only one there, but everyone who heard what the armored girl had just said unconsciously remembered something Qianjie had recently told someone else.
"Weak. Too weak."
"You're not even as good as the last Herrscher who came through here."
"At least she could barely last a few seconds against me."
Ah, thirty years in Hedong, thirty in Hexi... Well, it hadn't even been thirty days.
And now the same words had been thrown right back in his face.
Speaking of which—
"Wow~"
Inside the battlefield, the girl in the short gradient dress shifted form and returned to her brunette appearance.
Apparently, this was another game character template newly linked to her.
[Game Character Template: Liuying]
[From: "Honkai Impact: Star Rail"]
[Character Traits: Tier Mechanism, HP Gauge System, Unlimited Physical Stamina, Intact Gear, Shape-shifting, Fire Attributes...]
[Game Skills: Normal Attack – Command: Flash Thrust / Firefly-Type IV – First Slash. Combat Skills: Command – Skyfire Bombardment / Firefly-Type IV – Death Star Overload...]
[Background Talents: Iron Cavalier of Grammer, Synesthesia Beacon, Portable Storage, Entropy Loss...]
[Related Info: Member of the Stellaron Hunters, with a bounty of 9.723 million; fights using the mecha armor "Sam"; born as a weapon to destroy the Swarm...]
At this moment, what was present was Ling Ke's true body.
Not "Dominator Doll: Liuying."
So after downloading the game character template, he returned to his ordinary human form—someone who looked too weak to even truss a chicken.
And then, facing Qianjie's unretracted fist, he didn't mind at all. Hands in pockets, he turned and walked away from the battlefield.
"Hmph!"
Qianjie seemed to have lost interest in continuing the fight, relaxed his body, and left the space—clearly not planning to stick around any longer.
At that moment, Alicia and Eden approached Ling Ke.
"Well, may I ask—?"
The pink-haired one tried to speak. "What's the name of that super cute girl from earlier?"
.
Ling Ke gave her a very disturbed look.
Come to think of it, ever since the disappearance of the modern civilization era became a fact, he had exchanged a few words with these Flame-Chaser memory fragments.
Ultimately, he held no real grudge against them—just a minor resentment.
Besides, in the script of the "next act" he had carefully arranged, there was also a "Past Life Paradise" scene.
So Ling Ke didn't mind communicating with these Flame-Chaser memories now and then.
Of course, he wouldn't call his attitude hostile, just—
Like now.
"Is your old face-control problem acting up again?"
"Uh~"
When Ling Ke said it so bluntly, Alicia scratched her head, embarrassed. "I was just a little curious."
"Besides, isn't it human nature to appreciate beautiful things?"
"Haha~"
Ling Ke didn't plan to continue the topic.
God (or goddess) loves the world—but especially prefers beautiful young girls... It's not like he's unfamiliar with this Paradise joke.
In the original plot, "Raven" from the World Serpent entered the Elysium of the Past several times and failed to see Alicia.
As a result, when she took off her hood, her good looks were noticed... Oh, oh~
He knew it all.
However—
"Alicia, for now, we don't know each other. Much less could we be called friends."
Ling Ke looked at the pink hair before him. "So if you want any benefit from me, you'll have to pay a price."
"And the content of this equivalent exchange is..."
At that moment, he didn't wait for Alicia to respond. He simply raised his right hand and pointed at her with his index finger.
"Tomorrow's 'Happy Land Experience Pack' session—you'll be the final BOSS."
"Eh?"
Alicia was dumbfounded.