When the vine pierced Theresa's body, she...
...didn't actually feel that her body was in any real danger.
She was an artificial warrior created from the fusion of DNA from Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Kallen Kaslana, and the genes of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
Even without considering other enhancements, her physical body alone, along with the Valkyrie armor and weapons Otto had prepared for her, was enough to take down an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
To be honest, even if Yuna's vines hit her, or even pierced her body, she didn't consider it a major problem.
If she hadn't been trying to conserve her strength to deal with the Third Herrscher who could appear at any moment, with Theresa's temper, she would have likely feigned an opening, deliberately trading injuries to go all out against Yuna.
On the other side, Bronya was a little confused.
They were just strangers who had met by chance. Why would this Valkyrie...
...do something so foolish.
Logically, she should have taken advantage of the opening created when the enemy attacked Bronya to launch a direct assault on the enemy's main body.
Though in that case, Bronya, who was already poisoned and unable to move, would have most likely died here, but...
...trading the life of an Anti-Entropy member for the life of a Herrscher was a very worthwhile exchange in Bronya's eyes.
So foolish.
But this kind of person, Bronya...
...didn't dislike.
After this thought surfaced in her mind, Bronya's consciousness finally sank completely into darkness.
Meanwhile, although Theresa was injured, she didn't think it affected her combat effectiveness.
The truth was, although the purple-haired girl before her reminded her of Sirin, it didn't mean their power levels were the same.
To put it bluntly, if she weren't worried that the Zeroth Power of the Oath of Judah was too strong and might accidentally kill the surrounding civilians, Theresa would have just opened a Divine Grace Field and solved the problem.
But now, even without the Divine Grace Field, I can still...
"Defeat you!"
Throwing the cross once more, Theresa leaped on top of it.
Using the cross as a flying tool, Theresa, relying on the monstrous strength inherited from the Kaslana family, managed to hurl the Oath of Judah at an incredibly terrifying speed.
"You little brat... why can't you just die peacefully!"
Seeing Theresa and the giant cross before her, Yuna immediately slammed both hands on the ground.
As Yuna poured Honkai Energy into the ground, a giant tree made of Honkai Energy instantly grew from beneath her feet.
Seeing Yuna make this move, Theresa let out a faint sigh.
"Sigh..."
"You really are incredibly foolish."
In Theresa's eyes, Yuna, who had already been smashed in the head by Judah, had completely lost her composure.
The giant tree allowed the Herrscher girl to move at high speed, thus avoiding the impact of Theresa's cross.
This move seemed fine... like hell it was.
If this Herrscher had even a little combat experience, she wouldn't have made such a brainless move.
Theresa's Oath of Judah has a suppressive effect on Honkai Energy. If the concentration and intensity of the Honkai Energy around the target weren't high and they were hit by Judah, that Honkai Energy would be instantly nullified by the Oath of Judah.
Just now, after the Herrscher girl took a hit to the face, she should have learned this information.
Knowing this, even if she summoned a tree of Honkai Energy to dodge the attack, the tree she created would be hit by Theresa's Divine Key and dissipate immediately.
Moreover, Theresa was only injured, not completely immobile.
The DNA of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Kallen Kaslana, combined with Honkai Beast genes, had already made her physical fitness so powerful that she could injure or even defeat most Honkai creations with her bare hands.
Looking at Yuna in the air, Theresa jumped up and kicked at her.
"A-da!"
With a strange cry, Theresa successfully kicked the enemy from the top of the tree.
If the other girl hadn't used her arms as a shield to block the blow at the last second, Theresa was confident she could have kicked her head clean off.
At the same moment the Herrscher was sent flying, Theresa's Divine Key crashed into the Honkai Energy tree below, passing straight through it.
With both attacks completed simultaneously, Theresa landed steadily on the ground, standing confidently with her hands on her hips next to the Oath of Judah.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph, now you know how strong I am."
"Strong... am I..."
Yuna, who had been sent flying and was now badly injured, looked at Theresa standing with her hands on her hips and suddenly revealed a strange smile.
"What an idiot."
In an instant, the collapsed tree suddenly exploded from the middle.
As the tree burst apart, a shower of sap fell from the sky, landing precisely on Theresa's head.
"Hey, what are you... Ugh..."
Drenched, Theresa suddenly grabbed onto the Oath of Judah, a wave of nausea washing over her.
This feeling...
It's poison!
That little girl couldn't even speak because she was poisoned!
"Ah ah, when I was hit by this cross earlier, I knew it had a suppressive effect on my Honkai Energy."
Staggering to her feet, Yuna looked at the pained expression on Theresa's face and felt that the pain she had just endured was worth it.
"And later, I attacked that little brat to test my abilities—after all, hypocritical people like you would definitely try to save her."
"But after I attacked you with the poisoned vine, I knew that ordinary Herrscher poison wouldn't work on you."
"Your physical constitution is excellent, and the suppressive waves from that cross were also mitigating the corrosion of the Herrscher poison."
"So I wanted to find a chance to inject the Herrscher poison into your body in another form—and you cooperated so perfectly, it's hilarious."
After explaining a long list of reasons like a third-rate villain, Yuna's smile vanished, and she walked coldly towards Theresa.
Her arm had been broken by Theresa's kick, so she couldn't use her hands anymore.
So this time, she directly unleashed Honkai Energy vines, gathering them into countless sharp spikes, preparing to pierce Theresa's throat and other vital points.
But, at that very moment, Yuna clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Wait a minute!"
Hearing this voice, Yuna immediately changed the vines from spikes into a shield in front of her.
With a dull thud, Yuna, who had already retreated, saw a white-haired girl appear before her.
She shattered my shield with one kick???
This girl... wait, why does she look so familiar???
"You... you bad..."
Helping Theresa up, Kiana looked at the girl in front of her and suddenly cried out.
"Aren't you Yuna???"
"You're... Kiana?"
Looking at their classmate, the atmosphere between the two suddenly became a bit awkward.
Just now, Kiana had sensed the Honkai Energy fluctuations and decided to come and check the situation.
Then she saw the tragic scene before her.
One little kid was leaning against a wall, on the verge of death.
And the other little kid... wow, she was about to be killed by the enemy.
For a moment, the thought of 'saving others' filled Kiana's mind.
Without much thought, she wrapped her legs in Honkai Energy and went in with a kick to drive the bad guy away.
But now, Kiana felt that something was not right.
Yuna was Kiana's classmate.
Usually in class, Yuna spoke in a soft, weak voice.
Right now, Kiana simply couldn't connect the overly gentle Yuna with the cruel villain before her, whose face held a mix of madness and mockery.
"Is it really you, Yuna?"
Kiana, now extremely vigilant, took a step back and spoke nervously to Yuna.
"What are you doing here? Why are you bullying these two?"
"...Hah, there's no need to say so much."
After a sigh, all expression on Yuna's face was replaced by pure madness.
"Kiana, I know you're not one of those trash who bullied me."
What the hell?
You were bullied just like Mei???
This young lady didn't know about this... wait, normally bullying is done in secret, right?
Only someone like Mei, who must have provoked someone, would be targeted so openly every day.
"I'm just getting rid of the things I don't like. Everyone does it, so I—I'm just like everyone else. I haven't done anything wrong, right?"
Though she spoke as if seeking approval, the now-demented Yuna sent a chill down Kiana's spine.
"You were never mean to me, and I'm grateful for that, so, you..."
*Do you want to be my companion?*
Just as she was about to say this, Yuna suddenly paused.
Just now, she thought she saw Kiana's blue eyes turn gold for an instant.
And gazing into those golden eyes, Yuna felt a terrifying sense of oppression.
Just from making eye contact, she felt the suppression of a higher species over a lower one.
However, an instant later, Kiana's eyes returned to their original color.
If not for the intense fear this pressure instilled in her heart, she might have thought she was hallucinating after being hit by that cross.
"Um... uh..."
Seeing Yuna's mood becoming more and more unstable, Kiana started to slowly back away while holding Theresa.
"Yuna, it's true that they were wrong to bully you, but don't you think there's something wrong with you right now?"
"Something wrong?"
After examining her body, a confident smile bloomed on Yuna's face.
"No, I've never felt so refreshed in my entire life."
"I can say what I want, do what I want, without caring about others' feelings... Ha, this feeling is awesome!"
"But you, Kiana..."
Watching Kiana slowly backing away towards Bronya, Yuna's expression suddenly changed again.
"You're moving away from me—are you afraid of me, treating me like a monster?"
*This young lady doesn't know what a monster is like, but your mood changing three times a second is too much!*
*Even the face-changing of Shenzhou's Sichuan opera isn't this fast!*
Sensing the killing intent from Yuna, Kiana immediately changed her posture, tucking Bronya under one arm and Theresa under the other, and started running forward at top speed.
*Aaaargh, this is enough.*
*This young lady came here to get help, why did things turn out like this!*
*That cross... it feels like Dad's Judgment of Shamash, it should be an awesome weapon.*
*Why did the Valkyrie using this weapon get taken down by Yuna? This isn't scientific!*
"I knew it, you're no different from them."
Watching Kiana's retreating figure, Yuna felt that her trust had been betrayed once again.
"Get back here! You liar!"
"This young lady didn't even say anything! Why are you calling me a liar!"
Feeling the surge of Honkai Energy from behind, Kiana ran even faster.
But now, seeing the vines starting to burst from the ground and whip around frantically, Kiana felt a growing headache.
If she were facing this alone, it wouldn't be a big problem.
The vines weren't whipping around very fast, and their attacks were clearly random.
With time to observe carefully, Kiana had a high chance of getting through unscathed.
But now... she was carrying two burdens!
It was a good thing these two burdens were small. Otherwise, Kiana would either have to abandon them and run alone or die here with them at Yuna's hands.
"Aaaargh! I'm so done with this!"
Though she was shouting words of surrender, Kiana actually concentrated her strength into her legs, unleashing an incredible jump.
"Eh...!"
Having already caught up from behind, Yuna saw Kiana leap onto a roof several stories high and then hop from rooftop to rooftop like Mario, trying to evade her attacks. She was completely stunned.
"This damn girl has this kind of ability?"
"You really were lying to me before!"
*You never asked before—and besides, why would this young lady need to tell you any of this!*
Hearing Yuna's resentful words from behind, Kiana was now completely certain of one thing.
Extreme emotional volatility, expressions changing three times a second, and completely broken logic in speech and thought...
Yuna had really gone insane.
*What turned her into this? Was it the Honkai?*
*No, that's not right... it's not just the Honkai.*
Recalling what Yuna had said, a hint of sadness appeared in Kiana's heart.
Yuna had been bullied, and from her tone, it seemed like she had been bullied for a long time.
The Honkai was certainly the main reason for her mental breakdown.
But if others hadn't bullied Yuna, would she... would she really have become like this?
Just as this question appeared in her mind, Kiana suddenly saw the vines to her lower right suddenly wither.
In their place, a large tree grew directly from the ground, and on its branches, some...
"What the hell are these things?!"
Looking at the row of bizarre green creations, Kiana felt that she was really in a bit of a...
Well, even though she was the one being chased, looking at this row of creations, she really wanted to laugh.
But soon, Kiana found that she couldn't laugh anymore.
Those somewhat comical-looking creations were now aiming their nozzles directly at the three of them.
In the next moment, these nozzles fired a barrage of pea-like bullets at Kiana at extremely high speed.
If it were just that, Kiana could rely on her physical abilities to dodge the bullets.
But the more serious problem was that these high-speed pea bullets...
—actually exploded in mid-air and split apart.
"Kiana... be careful..."
At this moment, a dazed Theresa said to Kiana.
"The enemy's attacks... are highly toxic..."
"You could have said so earlier!"
Looking at the exploding peas, Kiana's face turned green.
Under these circumstances, Kiana couldn't worry about much else. She stomped down on the floor beneath her with all her strength, shattering it.
*Sigh, this young lady knew something was wrong with this floorboard when I stepped on it.*
After falling into the room below, Kiana didn't know whether to lament her terrible luck or be thankful.
Just as the enemy launched their first wave of attacks, she happened to be on the rooftop of a shoddily constructed building, allowing her to easily stomp through the flimsy floor.
Having successfully used this method to reposition and evade an attack, Kiana, still carrying the two small unlucky individuals, crashed through the window in front of her.
Jumping out of the window, Kiana saw the nozzles on the outside now aimed at her in the gap between the buildings. She kicked off the outer wall of the building in mid-air.
With this move, she forcibly changed her trajectory again, using the impact from kicking the wall to propel herself into the window of another building.
But looking at the view outside the window ahead, Kiana knew she couldn't dodge Yuna's attacks this way again.
Outside the window directly in front of Kiana, she could no longer see any buildings that could be used as a 'shield.'
The building she was in now was surrounded by roads.
*If I jump forward, and Yuna makes that tree shoot this way, all three of us will die here.*
*Got it, I'll jump to the left!*
*By jumping left, the Honkai Energy tree to our right will have to shoot through this building first to hit us.*
*Good thing this is a closed shopping mall, there shouldn't be anyone inside... right?*
"Kiana! Do you think you can hide in there forever!"
"Ah, this is getting old."
Taking a deep breath, Kiana decisively jumped out the left window as planned.
Then, she didn't see the Honkai Energy tree released by Yuna, nor did she see Yuna chasing after her.
But the problem was—on the road ahead, a car was falling towards her!
And this time, Kiana had jumped with all her strength.
Because of this, Kiana was now too far from the building she had intended to use as a shield, making it impossible for her to change her trajectory in mid-air by kicking off a building like before.
And after a quick estimate of her falling speed, Kiana had an even worse feeling.
*If I'm not mistaken, when I land, if this car doesn't brake, it's going to hit me directly????*
*No way!*
*Anything but this!*
It wasn't that Kiana thought an ordinary car could kill her.
She was already jumping off buildings with people in tow; she wouldn't care about such minor things.
The problem was, the two unlucky individuals tucked under her arms were still seriously injured!
It wouldn't be a huge problem if she got hit, but if these two, who were already on the brink of death, were hit by a car, they probably wouldn't even make it to the hospital; they'd be declared dead on the spot.
*It's too late, even if I shout now, it's definitely too... eh?*
After managing to land steadily, Kiana watched as the car screeched to a halt, feeling as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
"...You know, could you try not to make such a dramatic entrance next time?"
Looking at Kiana, Leo Ash, in addition to exhaustion, felt a strange sense of deja vu.
*I said that to Mei last time, so why is Kiana the one charging at the car now? So, do you two turn into car magnets when you team up?*
After the driver rolled down the window, Kiana finally got a clear look at his face.
"Senior!"
Seeing that the driver was the senior she had set out to rescue, Kiana immediately said happily.
"You're okay!"
"I told you, I'm a professional."
Glancing at the two unlucky individuals tucked under Kiana's arms, Leo Ash spoke quickly.
"Get them in the car, quickly. We can't stay here for long."
"Yes!"
Seeing that the person she was trying to rescue had appeared in a car and saved her once again, Kiana truly felt that fate could be wonderfully mysterious at times.
*Sigh, if I had known Senior was really okay, I wouldn't have had to run all over the place.*
After putting the two girls in the car, Kiana was surprised to see another familiar person unconscious in the back seat.
"Mei? Why is she here?"
"It's complicated. Just hurry up and buckle them in. I need to drive."
Seeing Kiana's disheveled state, Leo Ash felt an increasing sense of urgency.
Bronya being down wasn't a huge problem. Nagazora City was dangerous, so it was perfectly normal for her to get beaten up.
But Theresa being beaten up was terrifying.
A powerhouse like Theresa loved to carry a Divine Key with her. Most Herrschers wouldn't even be able to knock her unconscious in a fight.
If someone could defeat Theresa, then that person could also threaten Leo Ash's safety.
Moreover, Theresa being down was related to another matter—Leo Ash's own life.
K423's safety was paramount to Otto, but that didn't mean Otto only cared about K423.
Theresa was the granddaughter Otto acknowledged and doted on; everyone in Schicksal knew this.
Even in the main story, Otto once used Theresa as a 'sacrifice' for K423, but that was a choice he made only when he felt the plan required her presence.
Normally... normally, if anyone dared to harm a single hair on Theresa's head, Otto would one hundred percent slaughter their entire family, not even sparing the dog at their doorstep.
If Theresa died in Nagazora City now, even if Leo Ash rescued K423, as long as Otto found out that Leo Ash had failed to protect Theresa, his own life would be forfeit.
Normally, if there was someone Theresa couldn't beat, Leo Ash most likely couldn't beat them either.
But would a grieving Otto listen to reason?
"I understand!"
After buckling in the unconscious duo as fast as she could, Kiana quickly buckled herself in as well.
But just as Leo Ash was about to release the brake and step on the gas, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing heavily on the ground.
"Hmph, trying to escape?"
*Crap, someone's actually come for us.*
"Hm, wait..."
Her physical abilities greatly enhanced by the Pseudo-Herrscher core, Yuna narrowed her eyes.
"You're... Senior Leo Ash?"
*This person knows me?*
"Oh, Senior Mei is in the car too?"
*She can even see Mei in the back.*
"...So it's you."
Combining her words and appearance, Leo Ash immediately guessed the girl's identity.
Yuna No-last-name... okay, her last name wasn't something so strange.
But it was true that her last name was never officially stated.
[Look! To pursue you, your junior has even suppressed her killing intent and hostility.]
[Looking at her current expression, you can't help but exclaim—Family, being handsome really is useful!]
*Hey, we're about to fight, how can you pop up now???*
[Who said you were going to fight?]
*Huh?*
*We can talk this out?*
*Great, let me think... System, any suggestions?*
*System?*
*Going offline at a time like this, doesn't that mean...*
Discovering that the System had suddenly vanished, Leo Ash watched as the killing intent and anger on Yuna's face, which had just subsided, inexplicably began to surge.
"Forget it, so what if you're a senior and a senior sister."
"You didn't come to save me when I needed it..."
"When faced with bullying, being a silent bystander is the same as helping the bully!"
*Oh, I agree with that.*
*In my past life, I saw those four options for when Gian bullies Nobita. Yuna's situation is just like Nobita's...*
*—MY ASS.*
*I've only been in this world for less than three days, and I only went to Kiana's classroom door to find her once. What the hell does this have to do with me (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻.*
*And the crucial part is, I can't even refute her.*
*Right now, I can see an almost tangible aura of resentment and killing intent wrapped around this girl.*
*I don't know why she hasn't attacked yet, but if I provoke her further, she might just snap and attack me right here, and then...*
*Damn it, am I supposed to use Royal Guard to block her Herrscher poison gas?*
*If this girl evolves to the point where she can release poison gas, my Mind Like Still Water and Royal Guard will be completely countered.*
*Even if Powerful Healing Spell can heal the damage from poison, my mana bar hasn't recovered much at all.*
*A direct confrontation is out of the question... what about Phantasmagoria?*
*I'm exhausted right now, so concentrating to create a flawless illusion is much harder than usual.*
*I have no choice.*
*I'll have to use a low-cost ability like cognitive rewriting, combined with my words, to fool Yuna.*
"Yuna, it was indeed my fault for not being able to save you in time."
*?*
*Huh?*
A trace of confusion appeared in Yuna's heart as she watched Leo Ash get out of the car.
*This man, not only did he not run, but he actually got out of the car?*
*Is he... sincerely apologizing to me?*
"But I must also say, I had my reasons."
After a deep sigh, Leo Ash, while using Phantasmagoria's cognitive rewriting ability to change his identity in Yuna's mind from 'big liar' to 'a senior I can talk to,' clutched his head in pain.
"I've been investigating something, which is why I transferred to Senba High School."
"And after being here for a while, I discovered that the school bullying phenomenon on this campus is much more severe than at other schools."
"...That's true."
Her perception altered by Leo Ash, Yuna's face immediately showed a hint of displeasure.
"Those bastards are truly despicable!"
*Good, the cognitive rewriting was a success.*
*Since I only changed her perception of me, the cost wasn't too high.*
*But I don't know how long it will last. I need to end this quickly.*
"And in the course of my investigation into this special situation, I discovered one thing—most of the bullying, more or less, was directed at Raiden Mei."
After saying this, Leo Ash added helplessly.
"You should also know about the incident this morning where Raiden Mei was almost openly targeted at the school gate."
"...Indeed."
Peeking through the gap between them at the exhausted Mei, Yuna nodded slightly.
"Senior Mei... is so pitiful."
"But am I not pitiful too!"
Thinking about what she had seen that morning, Yuna's emotions suddenly became agitated again.
"I saw it this morning, Senior, you saved Senior Mei."
"At that moment, I was thinking, if the handsome Senior Leo Ash could... come and save me when I was being bullied... that would be great..."
As Leo Ash was about to speak, he suddenly found that the System, never one to miss a chance to stir up trouble, had popped up a character profile.
[Name: Yuna (Herrscher-fied)]
[Identity: Your junior, Pseudo-Herrscher {Herrscher of Poison}.]
[Current Favorability: -15 to 35]
[Note: She has a favorable impression of you, but at the same time, she harbors resentment towards you for standing by and doing nothing.]
*...You might as well just admit you can show up whenever you want.*
[This System swears that not appearing during combat is one of its rules.]
*...Fine.*
*Then explain what this favorability score means.*
[Let's put it this way, after you rewrote her cognition, she temporarily reverted to the thought patterns of (human) Yuna when facing you. Well, she'll be more extreme than usual in this state, but her resentment towards you hasn't reached its peak yet.]
*I don't get it.*
*Seriously, what does her problem have to do with me?*
*Where is this inexplicable resentment coming from?*
[Don't try to reason with an angry woman, especially not a female Herrscher who has Herrscher-fied and fallen into despair and resentment.]
[Returning to the previous topic, if you can't explain yourself clearly, her favorability will instantly drop from 35 to -15, and at that point, even your cognitive rewriting will be useless.]
*Give me a break, isn't this just extortion?*
*Let me think, how should I spin this...*
"...I'm truly sorry."
As his mind raced, Leo Ash spoke to Yuna apologetically.
"My intention was to resolve this incident secretly so that everyone could attend school in peace."
"And in fact, I had already tracked down who was responsible for the outbreak of school bullying."
"Because of that, I focused my attention on tracking down the whereabouts of the mastermind and failed to notice others who needed help."
"Yuna... I'm really sorry, it's my fault."
*He... actually apologized???*
Yuna was completely stunned, never expecting him to apologize to her with such sincerity and remorse.
Then, she saw Leo Ash speak again, his voice filled with resentment.
"And in the end, the outbreak of this incident is all that person named Cocolia's fault."
"You, Mei, and the others at Senba High School were bullied because she paid others to mess with the school's atmosphere just to mess with Mei's mind."
"And now, this woman is planning to use some despicable means to cause other big news. To put it bluntly—if it weren't for chasing this monster, why would I be so tired that I can't even go home to sleep at night."
"...Senior."
Yuna pointed above their heads and said in a daze.
"It's almost dawn."
"...That just shows how exhausted I am, my mind is a blur!"
*I've had it. Cocolia, you're so damn dead.*
At the thought that most of this mess was Cocolia's doing, Leo Ash's face twisted into a teeth-gritting snarl.
In Yuna's eyes, this expression added a great deal of credibility to his previous words.
"So, what you're saying is, the reason I became like this, the reason I've suffered so much, is all because of a woman named Cocolia?"
"Yes, she's at ME Corp right now—she's also the one who got Mei's father thrown in prison."
Seeing the killing intent welling up in Yuna's eyes, Leo Ash said nervously.
"You're not going to go over there and confront her, are you? Her people have guns and rocket launchers and stuff. We can't take her down without another plan."
"Hmph, pathetic weapons of mere humans."
With the fire of her anger ignited by him, Yuna turned around and said to Leo Ash without looking back.
"Senior, I'm sorry for misjudging you. You're a good person."
*No, no, no, rewriting your cognition and then deceiving you with words... even if it's to save my own life, I don't think I'm a good person.*
*Sigh, the apology in my previous words made Yuna think I was being sincere, and that was only because I used the Phantasmagoria I didn't want to use...*
*To think this damned soft-hearted nature of mine would actually be useful here. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.*
Watching Yuna walk away, Leo Ash called out to her a couple of times before quickly and quietly slipping back into the driver's seat.
*Sigh, even though she's nothing like Siegfried, I still used Phantasmagoria on her...*
*Ha, the reason I broke down like that last time was, ultimately, because not only was Siegfried a respectable hero with a tragic past, but mainly because he didn't threaten my safety.*
*It seems that when a cornered dog is about to die, my bottom line is quite flexible after all.*
*How utterly hypocritical.*
*Someone like me probably deserves to be hated by Yuna.*
Inside the car, Kiana looked at the silent Leo Ash, then at the retreating figure of Yuna, feeling as if she were in a dream.
*Wait, what Senior said to Yuna... okay, it's probably all true.*
*But even if it's true, Yuna's killing intent towards us shouldn't have just vanished completely, right?*
*Could it be...*
A thought surfaced in Kiana's mind as she watched Leo Ash start the car.
*Being handsome... is actually really useful?*
"Kiana, buckle up tight, we're leaving."
Accelerating the car to over a hundred kilometers per hour in the shortest possible time, Leo Ash made a U-turn and drove off.
Meanwhile, Yuna, who was originally planning to storm ME Corp, suddenly realized something was wrong.
*Strange, although what Senior said is most likely true, something's not right.*
*That little brat who can summon a mech annoyed me, and the other little brat with the cross beat me up.*
*Even if I'm going to deal with Cocolia, that doesn't conflict with killing those two first.*
*I'll go back and find Senior... that guy!*
Seeing the vehicle already speeding away, Yuna instantly realized she had been fooled.
Due to his exhaustion, Leo Ash hadn't put much power into the cognitive rewriting.
So, once the resentment in Yuna's heart gained the upper hand, this altered perception began to waver.
And at that moment, Yuna heard a voice.
"God? He was lying to me—is that what you mean?"
After hearing this revelation, Yuna's expression gradually became ice-cold.
"Leo Ash, and I thought you were my ally..."
"Liars! All of you are liars! Leo Ash, Kiana, and those two little brats... and everyone else in the world!"
"You're all trash! All of you..."
"—JUST GO AND DIE!"
.....