It was the first time Blade had ever seen Kafka's emotions break through her feigned smile and makeup, clearly showing at the corners of her eyes and on her cheeks.
Although it was only for a moment, the woman quickly returned to her usual self.
The flame in her cherry-pink pupils was extinguished, replaced by an ambiguous and hazy glow.
On the saber in her hand, the crisscrossing, snake-like crackling lightning also subsided and became calm.
But the reality of that moment could not be changed.
Just as Zao Wu, with time and gentleness, had finally left a shallow mark deep in Kafka's heart.
"Blade."
Just then, Kafka suddenly called out.
Blade was puzzled, and slowly withdrew his gaze that was about to look into the distance.
Dan Heng of the High-Cloud Quintet thus escaped a disaster, and was not discovered by his nemesis.
—"Listen to me..."
As the woman's words, rich with psychological suggestion, fell, invisible threads enveloped Blade's spiritual realm.
The black-haired, red-eyed man's figure swayed. He held his sword in one hand, and the other raised hand, with its five slightly trembling fingers, covered his face.
"Stay here obediently."
"Don't look, and don't listen."
Kafka calmly gave her command, just as she had done every time in the past when she had suppressed Blade's mara-struck state.
The blood-red scarlet in Blade's pupils gradually faded.
The man whose eyes had lost their highlight was only left in a daze.
He did not speak, but followed Kafka's command and stayed where he was.
According to Elio's instructions, Kafka went to the nameless tunnel of the Herta Space Station and found the lost Blade.
His condition was already very bad at that time, hovering on the verge of falling into a mara-struck state.
Although she didn't understand what kind of instructions Elio had given Blade, and what role he was playing in this incident at the Herta Space Station, the presence of Dan Heng in the distance seemed to be able to explain why Elio had insisted that she and Blade be in a group.
If she hadn't been there to suppress Blade's mara-struck state, once he came into contact with Dan Heng... the consequences would have been truly unimaginable.
However, this also led to another consequence.
Without Kafka guarding by Zao Wu's side, Zao Wu was still entangled by that woman!
As expected, leaving Zao Wu in Silver Wolf's care was an unreliable decision.
At this moment, Himeko, who was... taking care of the young man, suddenly heard a stern laugh ring in her heart.
—Silence laughed sternly, Himeko!
An unfounded fear spread like tentacles, binding Himeko's wrists, ankles, wrapping around her waist, and neck, making it a little difficult for her to breathe.
But as the navigator of the Astral Express, how could Himeko be easily subdued by this strange... yet vaguely familiar power!
Yes, familiar.
Kafka... you're here.
Himeko bit her lip hard, and then pinched the soft, snow-white flesh on her thigh with her fingernails.
The woman finally calmed down, and then, under Zao Wu's dazed yet concerned gaze, she turned around and looked at Kafka, who was striding towards her.
She crossed her arms, showing an unparalleled capacity.
Even though the two were no longer what they used to be, and had long since turned from friends to enemies, Himeko was still willing to give the other party appropriate respect and courtesy.
"Kafka, long time no see."
"I thought our reunion would be in a coffee shop at a street corner."
"But I don't think you and I would have the same taste."
But having said that, both Kafka and Himeko's concern for Zao Wu was undisguised.
Zao Wu's pupils brightened the moment he heard Kafka's voice, turning into the most dazzling gems under the starlight.
"Sister Kafka!"
"Mhm, I'm here."
And Himeko thought he was a shy child. It turns out he's just not open with me...
Himeko's heart suddenly felt a little sour.
And Kafka's smile deepened.
March 7th shrank her neck and hid behind Dan Heng.
She was a little fangirl of Silver Wolf's, but that didn't mean she was a supporter of the Stellaron Hunters and a fan of Kafka!
Even without mentioning the crimes Kafka had committed across the universe, just from what she had heard from Miss Himeko, it was very difficult for March 7th not to be afraid of this evil woman who was said to have hypnotic abilities and was good at playing with people's hearts.
Dan Heng's gaze, however, passed over Kafka. His cyan pupils shrank into extremely small ink dots, and fell on the black-haired, black-robed, tall and heroic man.
He couldn't help but clench his Cloud-Piercer, his head splitting with pain.
But unexpectedly, Blade did not react at all to his gaze.
It seemed as if Dan Heng was the one who was trapped in the past and couldn't get out.
Stelle's eyes were also shining brightly. On this point, she and Zao Wu were exactly the same.
They were both like little beasts seeing the adult who had raised them.
March 7th couldn't help but complain.
"Zao Wu is one thing, but what are you joining in the fun for!"
"Don't be fooled by a bad woman!"
"But she's Kafka..."
Stelle actually remembered Kafka's name.
Silver Wolf was surprised, and at the same time, a little dissatisfied.
Kafka got the reaction she wanted from Zao Wu, and also saw Himeko's frustrated expression. At this moment, she was even more得意 (deyi - pleased with herself).
She came to Himeko's front. The two, who were of similar height, did not yield to each other.
And so it turned into a scene where Kafka and Himeko seemed to be at loggerheads in front of Zao Wu.
The two of them seemed to have no awareness of their own full figures, and each of them crossed their arms and collided, the squeezed amplitude only being noticed by Zao Wu, which made the young man's cheeks blush.
They used their eyes as weapons, and arbitrarily carried on a battle that was hard to decide a winner.
It was as if crackling electric arcs were flashing and jumping on their connected line of sight.
"It's been so long, and you're still the same, you criminal."
"Then what was our great and glorious navigator, Miss Himeko, just doing to my little Zao Wu~"
"Confirming, confirming whether he is a child you have abducted."
"To see if there is any evidence on his body of being ravaged by you, this criminal!"
"Then may I ask, is there?"
Kafka sneered.
Himeko was at a slight disadvantage in this confrontation, and her gaze was forced back an inch.
"Even if there isn't now... it doesn't mean there won't be in the future."
"Zao Wu is a good child, and also a very special child, an existence that can create miracles."
"I know that without you telling me."
"What I mean is, he should have a broader prospect, and bathe in the glory of the Trailblaze."
"Instead of becoming a wanted target of countless forces in the universe like you, spending the rest of his life in darkness and fear—"
"—Oh right, I almost forgot you came from that place. You don't know what fear is at all."
"Then you will naturally never be able to completely empathize with Zao Wu."
"You can rely on his attachment to you like a newborn beast to hold him firmly in your palm."
"But his fear, his terror, you will never understand, and you will never be able to comfort him!"
"You will only hurt him without knowing it!"
As her tone became more intense and urgent, Himeko's momentum rose.
And Kafka, on the contrary, became the one who was suppressed, pursing her thin lips, and remaining silent.
"Please, please don't argue because of me! Sister Kafka, Miss Himeko!"
Zao Wu had held it in for a long time, but in the end, he couldn't help but shout out.
And he instantly attracted the simultaneous attention of Kafka and Himeko.
"How about we let Zao Wu make the decision himself."
"To decide, whether to choose me (Kafka), or you (Himeko)."
"...!?"
-------
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