After Elysia finished reading the manga, she immediately burst into laughter, unable to hold it back. In that manga, Kevin actually had a side like this.
"Hahahaha—who drew this?! This is a masterpiece!" Elysia said, still wanting more.
She wanted to read even more manga. Whether it was the art style or the plot, it all matched her tastes perfectly.
"Elysia, this is manga from another world. You should be asking him," Blanca said, looking at Koji.
She really didn't want Griseo to be exposed to this kind of manga style while she was still so young—otherwise, Griseo's drawing style might get influenced and end up locked into that direction.
"Hii~ Koji, we meet again," Elysia greeted him with a bright smile.
"Do you have more manga like this?"
Koji nodded and took out a few volumes. He hadn't collected that many—he only kept the ones he found genuinely interesting.
Elysia accepted them happily. Even Eden and Blanca wanted some too, but… well. They were too embarrassed to keep asking.
…
Koji passed by the training room and saw Hua hammering away at a sandbag inside. No, wait—he should call her Fanxi Hua.
"The Shenzhou Flatboard." Truly worthy of the name.
So young, already an airport runway. And fifty thousand years later, still holding its value—only Hua could pull that off.
Even Griseo eventually grew up into Big Griseo, and yet Hua was still standing right where she started.
Even her "good friend" Dan Zhu had gone straight for the jugular and attacked Hua's figure with personal insults.
"Who?!" Hua snapped her head around instantly.
She saw Koji standing in the doorway. Her gaze carried confusion and suspicion—someone she'd never seen before.
What was that look supposed to mean? Pity?
For some reason, she suddenly felt annoyed.
"Ahem. My name is Koji. I'm just a traveler passing by," Koji introduced himself.
"Traveler?" Hua's head filled with question marks.
Why did that introduction sound so weird? Was he talking about the kind of traveler she understood?
"Just call me Hua," she said with a small nod, not sensing any hostility from him.
"May I ask… do you need something?"
At this time, Hua wasn't the Vermilion Bird Adeptus yet—she was still a bit shy.
"Nothing much. I'm just taking a look around Flame-Chasers. I happened to see you practicing your fists, so I was curious—family martial arts?" Koji asked with a smile.
Himeko hadn't become the Herrscher of Flame yet, so Hua's mental state was still pretty stable.
That said… with Koji interfering, the Herrscher of Flame might not necessarily be Himeko anymore.
"Yes." Hua nodded, and a trace of sadness surfaced on her face.
Her homeland had fallen to Honkai.
She was still too weak. She couldn't do anything.
Koji could pretty much guess what Hua was thinking. The Honkai in the Previous Era was even harsher than it would be fifty thousand years later—casualty counts, the strength of Herrschers, entire cities being wiped from the map…
Before the Previous Era's ending was "cleaned up" by the Herrscher of the End, the Herrscher of Corruption used nuclear bombs to destroy the final three remaining cities. After that, every human city had fallen.
When Kevin told Kiana and the others that they knew nothing about Honkai… he really did have the right to say it.
They had never truly witnessed the real Honkai. If it weren't for the lingering protection left behind by the Previous Era, the era fifty thousand years later wouldn't be any different from this one.
Most warriors of the Previous Era had already lost everything.
"Pull yourself together. You're a warrior now—don't sink into it," Koji said, patting Hua on the shoulder in comfort.
"Mm. Sorry… I must've made you laugh. I know what I need to do," Hua said, nodding hard.
Koji left. Hua stayed, continuing her training.
If she wasn't strong enough… then she'd become strong enough.
"This way, this way—come with me~"
Koji turned a corner and ran into Elysia.
She waved at him, every tiny movement brimming with playful mischief.
Following Elysia, the two of them went up to the rooftop.
Night had fallen, and a sky full of stars was branded into the darkness, forming a vast, sweeping tapestry.
"Beautiful, isn't it? This is my favorite place to come. You can see the stars here—such a gorgeous sight… and one that makes you feel awe," Elysia said, both hands resting on the railing.
Moonlight spilled down, glazing Elysia's flawless body in a layer of silver frost.
"Yeah. But it still can't compare to your beauty… flawless one," Koji said seriously.
The starry sky was dazzling, but Elysia's face was even more breathtaking.
"Thank you for the compliment. I'm happy~" Elysia said with a smile.
"So… you brought me here for a moonlit date?" Koji asked, amused.
"If you want it to be, it can be. Want to dance a song with me?" Elysia tilted her head slightly and smiled sweetly.
"Pass. I don't know how to dance."
Koji shook his head. He could always get a "blessing" for dancing, but he didn't need it right now.
…
"Alright then. To be honest, I don't know standard dances either."
Elysia's voice softened.
"Thank you, Koji. You let me see a Herrscher with humanity."
She was truly happy. A Herrscher didn't have to be a tool of Honkai—it could have its own thoughts, make its own decisions.
"So you're still planning to sacrifice yourself?" Koji frowned.
Since he was here, he wasn't going to let that happen.
"If you need me, I can help you deal with the last Herrscher."
Elysia shook her head.
"Nope. If our era can actually defeat Honkai in the end, then I don't want to die. I'm scared of pain too, you know~"
"The me you met… everyone must've been so powerless and miserable, right?"
…Because, to give Herrschers humanity, she chose to sacrifice herself—meaning things had reached a point where there was no turning back.
"At the final ball, she attended in full dress," Koji said. "Under the watch of four witnesses… she left this world."
"Only four? That's kind of few," Elysia murmured, rolling the words around thoughtfully.
She had made so many friends—how could it be that only four people came to see her off?
"Those who didn't attend… refused to join the hunt because they believed in Elysia," Koji said slowly. "Those who did attend… showed up because they believed in Elysia."
"Even knowing you were a Herrscher… everyone still trusted you. They all believed you were on their side."
"That's really touching," Elysia said softly. "Let me guess who the four were. My dear Eden was definitely there. Kevin was probably there too. As for Mobius… she'd be dropping little pearls—no way she'd have the heart to come. Vill-V should be there…"
Elysia thought it through and landed on three people who would come. The last one, she couldn't guess—after all, Aponia had only just arrived at Flame-Chasers, and Elysia didn't know her well yet.
"You're spot on. Those three were there," Koji said. "The fourth was Aponia."
Koji looked at Elysia with some surprise. He didn't expect her to be this sharp.
"Hey. That look is rude," Elysia puffed up, staring at him. "Do you think I'm stupid or something?"
Koji nodded.
Yeah… kind of.
Elysia's fist clenched.
So annoying.
(End of Chapter)
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