After entering the "world," Kiana went straight to the cafeteria, happily helping herself to her favorite foods.
The Tuna was a simple girl. The two things in life she could never betray were delicious food and Mei.
In this world, she could eat whatever she wanted, taking anything she pleased.
At first, she felt a sense of guilt, but the moment she remembered "this is Ye Feng's world," she was instantly relieved.
After all the tormenting he'd put her through, she had to eat her fill to get back at him!
Besides, no matter how many high-calorie, high-energy foods she ate here, she didn't have to worry about gaining weight. It was simply perfect.
With fried chicken in her left hand and a bottle of Otaku's happy water in her right, the Tuna ate with great delight.
"The Tuna has already adapted quite well to this place."
Ye Feng sat down opposite her.
Kiana ignored him.
I told you not to call me Tuna.
"Do you want to meet Yae Sakura?"
"I can?"
"Depends on your performance."
Kiana glanced around at the bustling cafeteria. "Not here."
"I never said what we were going to do."
The Tuna shot him a disdainful look. "What else could you possibly do?"
"Make you do advanced calculus."
"..."
Right, this guy was definitely a demon.
Just hearing the words "solve math problems" made the Tuna's head throb. All she felt was misery.
Ye Feng chuckled. "Wipe that pained expression off your face. How could I possibly force the Tuna to do something she finds unpleasant?"
So we're not actually doing advanced calculus. Kiana relaxed.
She quietly finished all the delicious food before her, then leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh, her eyes blissfully closed.
After some time, the Tuna finally broke free from her decadent state of comfort and said:
"...Let's go to the bedroom. I have questions for you."
"No rush. You can ask whatever you want right here."
"Then we agree first. No matter what we do, it can't be outside the bedroom."
"Fine."
Having secured Ye Feng's promise, Kiana finally asked, "This place isn't my Stigma Space, is it?"
Ye Feng paused for a moment. "Didn't I tell you that the first time you came here? Someone must have analyzed it for you later. Which little genius was it that explained it to you?"
"Mmph, well… that's none of your business."
"Alright, but you can completely trust my words in here, Kiana," Ye Feng asserted.
Then, he looked at Kiana and added, "After all, the Tuna has nothing worth my effort to deceive."
That was true. He could do whatever he wanted directly.
But still, his words really wounded her pride. Just a moment ago, she had been quite moved by what he said.
"You said you'd let me meet Yae Sakura. You have a motive, don't you?"
"Hmm?"
Ye Feng looked at her in surprise. "The Tuna is actually starting to think about things. You're right, I do have a motive. She is a Pseudo-Herrscher, an identity that the world will not easily accept. If possible, I hope St. Freya Academy can take her in."
As if feeling that wasn't enough, Ye Feng added, "Don't worry, her consciousness is perfectly clear, just like Mei's."
Kiana looked at Ye Feng with some surprise. After a moment of silence, her expression grew complicated.
"You actually think about others?"
"What kind of thing is that to say? Didn't I also help the Tuna improve her grades and become an honor student?"
"Oh. I get it now."
Kiana's face took on an "I see how it is" expression.
---o---
Nagazora City.
After the tragedy of the Honkai Eruption, the once-prosperous city had become a desolate, uninhabited zone.
Skyscrapers rose from the sea like tombstones, memorials to human civilization.
Yae Sakura stood on the rooftop of the tallest building, her pink hair fluttering in the wind against the dim sky.
She carried an unconscious girl on her shoulder, her gaze fixed on a massive ravine in the distance, a feature that could almost be called a "scar on the city."
That was the continental shelf, cleaved in two by a single strike from the Herrscher of Thunder, causing the earth's crust to tilt and seawater to pour in, submerging the entirety of Nagazora City.
Next, Yae Sakura's gaze swept past the rubble and ruins, flying towards the end of the horizon.
There, a building was covered in crimson flames, burning fiercely.
Her original plan had been to take Yuno and leave this ruined city, but they were suddenly ambushed.
If not for Higokumaru's warning, she would have lost at least an arm.
"Hmph, don't misunderstand. Wu was not helping you. If you were injured, who knows how that demon would toy with Wu," Higokumaru's voice echoed.
"I know. I cannot see where our attacker is. Can you sense them, Higokumaru?"
"After being hit by Wu's [Red Jade Bomb], they're either dead or have fled."
---o---
"Dammit, what was that monster? A Herrscher?"
[Raven] put away the "Seven Thunders of Retribution," clutching her injured right arm. She transformed into a flowing black shadow, weaving desperately between the buildings submerged in the sea.
After the Nagazora Eruption, she had established a "Nest" here to take in homeless orphans.
Today, she had come to deliver supplies as usual, only to detect an abnormal Honkai energy fluctuation.
Without a doubt, it was a Pseudo-Herrscher.
As someone who had suffered deeply from the Honkai disaster, Raven had immediately drawn her strongest weapon, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
But her opponent's strength far exceeded her imagination.
"No, that is definitely not a level of strength a Pseudo-Herrscher can achieve…"
A new Herrscher has been born? I haven't heard anything.
Can a Herrscher be born so quietly? She didn't know.
The terminal Gray Serpent gave me was dropped, too. Forget it… I can't possibly turn back.
"Regardless, we can't stay in Nagazora anymore. The [Nest] must be relocated as soon as possible."
---o---
Yae Sakura arrived at the building where the ambusher had attacked from.
The raging fire had subsided, leaving behind a blackened structure that was almost vitrified.
And in front of the building lay a single black feather.
"Is this… a raven's feather?"
Yae Sakura picked it up and examined it in her hand.
"Hold on a moment," Higokumaru's voice sounded.
She looked at the scorched building. "There are still electronic components operating inside? Wu will go take a look."
A phantom image drifted out of Yae Sakura and eroded into the equipment.
"There's even a network?"
Higokumaru was overjoyed. As long as she could enter the network, she could grow her power and would surely be able to escape that demon!
Higokumaru roamed through the vast virtual space of information and entered a massive database.
She almost instantly locked onto one of the sources of the equipment's signal.
It was an android, holding an umbrella on a sunny day and wearing a skull mask.
The other party also detected Higokumaru. He was first startled, then immediately tried to delete all the data, taking Higokumaru along with it.
"A mere android dares to dream of erasing Wu? How ignorant of your own limitations!"
Higokumaru unleashed the authority of 「Erosion」, instantly seizing control of the database.
"The 'Gray Serpent Network'? So this is just a terminal access point, the core is hidden much deeper. Hmph, just small fry. Now that Wu is here… hmm? What is this?"
Through the 「Gray Serpent Network」, Higokumaru discovered a virtual space with an astonishingly high density of information.
"No… can this truly still be called a virtual space?"
Higokumaru was shaken.
She had a premonition that even if she were at her full power, as the complete Herrscher of Erosion, she would likely face danger upon entering.
Higokumaru hovered outside the port that accessed that space, momentarily undecided.
If she could control the information here, she should be able to turn the tables on that demon.
"Should I go in and test the waters? If it's too much, I'll just pull back. It's not like it can trap Wu!"
Higokumaru attempted to enter the information space, which was so dense it had almost formed mass. But as she approached, she saw a giant whale rushing towards her.
"A firewall? Hmph, not enough to stop Wu."
Full of confidence, Higokumaru began to 「Erode」 the whale, attempting to force open the gate to that information space.
At the same time.
A new phantom silhouette appeared on Ye Feng's map panel.
"[Elysian Realm]?"