Inside the Hyperion—
Girls really are a mystery.
So thought Fuli as he trailed behind Bianka, offering a reminder.
"Ah, take a left up ahead."
The golden-haired knight princess walking in front of him froze, silently retracting the foot she'd been about to step into the right corridor with.
The last time she'd visited the Hyperion, she had only sparred with Kiana and the others outside. It was only natural that she wouldn't be familiar with the battleship's internal layout.
But for Durandal, who was fused with the Durandal, this was incredibly strange.
The Crystal of Reason should have been constantly analyzing the influx of information from all directions. In theory, the moment she stepped inside the battleship, a rough layout of the Hyperion should have materialized in her mind.
The reality, however, was that some hidden force was continuously interfering with the Crystal's senses, making Bianka feel as if she were walking through a thick fog.
Is this a power play? That hag, Raiden Mei!
The thought soured her already unpleasant mood.
Fuli, however, was enjoying the view of her cold, frosty, jade-like face. He mused that beautiful people truly did look beautiful from any angle, in any state.
[She'd look even better stripped bare like a little lamb.]
Prometheus, who had seemed offline for a while but was in fact always by Fuli's side (spying on him), whispered into her host's ear.
[The look on her face while she's gulping down the Galaxy Cudgel probably wouldn't be so pretty, but it would definitely feel amazing. The Immortal Blade is a quick learner, after all.]
Dr. MEI chimed in with her usual sardonic commentary, offering what could be considered an endorsement of the Divine Key from its creator's perspective.
[Shut up! She's right in front of me! Don't make me imagine such horrible things!]
Fuli reminded them that he was, by authorial decree, a perfect gentleman. He quickly brought the image of an 8-year-old Angel Kiana to mind to cool himself down.
[Are you sure you don't want to?]
Dr. MEI's tone was laced with insinuation. [I have a backdoor program that can control the Durandal. Once used, that little girl in front of you—no matter how unwilling she might be in her heart—her body will still be at your beck and call~]
The Durandal, a weapon from the Previous Era, was jointly created by her predecessor, Dr. MEI, and the 5th of the Flame-Chasers, Vill-V of the Helix. And that accursed Signet of the Helix had a peculiar habit—leaving backdoors in every creation that passed through her hands.
[Of course, with the Durandal's own self-calculating mechanisms, it's possible she's already eliminated the backdoor program over the past fifty thousand years.]
Dr. MEI continued her seduction. [But it's also possible she hasn't. So, Host, want to give it a try? Want to make this righteous, golden-haired knight princess grovel at your feet in humiliation? Want to tame her again and again with your... expansion technique and the Key of Erosion until she becomes a star-faring slave addicted to your very DNA? She's an S-rank powerhouse with limitless potential, you know!]
It had to be said, when it came to playing Mephistopheles, Dr. MEI was a true professional.
In terms of taste, Fuli had a thing for golden-haired knight princesses.
In terms of strategy, bringing a future S-rank Valkyrie destined for greatness under his control was an irresistible temptation that few could refuse.
From the perspective of the two AIs on the moon, it was also a way to find a personal bodyguard for the fledgling Fuli. After all, the boy was way, way, way too good at getting into trouble.
First he pissed off the Herrscher of Thunder, then he took on a hundred beasts at once. Durandal's protection would be more than enough to get him through the treacherous newbie phase.
[But I refuse!]
The only tiny flaw in the plan was that the person in question wasn't on board.
[If Bianka were an enemy, I would've agreed to your scheme without a second thought. I'd use every trick in the book to 'turn foe into friend.']
Fuli answered seriously. [But she's my friend. And not just any friend—she's the rare type who possesses immense power yet still willingly works herself to the bone for the safety of ordinary people.]
[If, for my own selfish desires, I were to take such a person for myself, violently erasing her personality to make her my plaything, what would be the difference between me and the scum who treat human life as worthless?]
When he was a child, he had promised Kiana that he would become a knight, just like a Kaslana.
Even if the Kiana of today had forgotten all of it, and even if he himself was no longer as pure-hearted as he once was, there were still lines he would not cross.
[I see.]
Prometheus hummed softly, shooting Dr. MEI a cute little glance that clearly said, 'You lose.'
The doctor, however, wasn't annoyed in the slightest. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
...
Walking ahead, Bianka was completely unaware that she had just dodged a bullet (?).
After taking yet another wrong turn and having to double back, she was met with Fuli's eyes, which were filled with amusement and a hint of affection. Feeling utterly embarrassed, she finally started muttering to herself.
"Raiden Mei... I won't forget this!"
This time, however, Bianka had misunderstood Mei. Having decided to stand down, Mei wouldn't resort to such petty, underhanded tricks.
It was Kallen.
The top-tier A.I. born from the virtual space was already coming into her own. Even though she had only just taken over management of the Hyperion, Bianka would never be able to break through the layers of firewalls Kallen had erected—not unless she was willing to throw all decorum aside and fully unleash the power of her Divine Key and Battlesuit Armor.
With Fuli's kind guidance, Bianka finally navigated the winding corridors and, with the "unconscious" but actually-just-too-shy-to-wake-up Ana on her back, successfully reached the bridge.
She swept her gaze across the room, her aura bristling. Raising a brow, the knight princess asked, "Raiden Mei isn't here?"
Her great spear was already thirsty for battle!
She was going to pin that 36D witch to the deck by her chest and watch her bleed!
"Mei went to do an experiment with Christina."
Kiana, who was sitting cross-legged in front of a 75-inch screen, tossed her controller aside. Ignoring the "K.O." on the screen and Bronya's pouting cheeks, she beamed. "The drinks and everything are all ready! I even chilled them! Hehe, aren't I diligent?"
Project Bunny did all the work, Bronya grumbled internally, though her eyes kept glancing toward the coffee table with a flicker of anticipation.
Seeing that Mei was absent, Bianka let out an extremely audible "Tch!"
She placed the feigning Ana on a nearby sofa and turned to grab a drink.
After taking a sip, she fell silent for a moment.
SNAP!
She snapped her fingers, and a flame ignited at their tips.
The girl brought the flame close to the drink she had just tasted.
FWOOSH!
The surface of the beverage burst into flames.
"What is this?" Bianka asked, her face devoid of expression.
"Tea," Kiana said matter-of-factly. "Oolong tea."
"Your oolong tea is flammable?"
"A Hyperion specialty: Flammable Oolong Tea!" Bronya declared with great solemnity.
Fuli shot the two little troublemakers a sideways glance. This was clearly payback for getting crushed in their last PVP match!
"Is that so? I see."
Bianka wasn't annoyed. She sat on the sofa, crossing the long legs that countless people dreamed of, and calmly downed the flammable oolong tea in one go.
A few crystalline drops trickled down her long, pale neck, finally disappearing into the deep valley of her chest plate.
So lewd!
[Damn you, Durandal!]
[That woman! She definitely did that on purpose!]
Bronya and Kiana exchanged a look, both arriving at the same conclusion.
An S-rank Valkyrie would spill her drink?
Bullshit! It wasn't like she had a hose shoved in her mouth, spraying a torrent of liquid so fast she had no time to swallow!
(Of course, we're talking about a fire hose here. Don't get any funny ideas.)
But—
Strange, why wasn't there any reaction?
The girls frowned, watching the perfectly composed Durandal.
They had spiked that oolong tea with a special powder from a fire-attribute plant called "Crimson Ruin."
The plant was extremely potent; consuming it would make you feel like your entire body was on fire.
When refined, it produced a "Chili Fire Oil" with an energy concentration twenty-two times that of the normal plant. Drinking it straight could even make you breathe fire from your pores!
"What, is there a problem?"
Bianka glanced at them sideways, her sharp eyeliner giving her an intensely commanding presence.
She'd specifically asked Rita to do her makeup before she came. It was the first time in her life that the S-rank Valkyrie Durandal had ever proactively worn makeup.
A pity that a certain Mr. Li was too busy cozying up to the future Herrscher of Ice, Ana, to notice such a minor detail.
"No, no, not at all!"
Under the full force of the S-rank Valkyrie's intimidating aura, Kiana and Bronya shook their heads frantically.
Distracted, they picked up their own drinks and instinctively took a gulp.
"Waaah, I'm burning up!!!"
"Spicy! So spicy! Bro! Wa-wa-water!"
"Hm?"
Watching the white-haired kitten and the grilled duckling hopping around frantically searching for water, Fuli walked over to the coffee table, puzzled.
He picked up their two cups and tasted them. One was white peach flavored, the other was lemon juice.
"There's nothing wrong with them," he muttered to himself.
"That's right, nothing at all."
Bianka calmly took another sip of her flammable oolong tea. Using the power of the Durandal to manipulate fundamental particles, she had transferred the Chili Fire Oil into their cups, only to move it back into her own just before Fuli had taken a sip. She drank it down.
Tastes pretty good. I'll have Rita buy some next time.
The girl's eyes curved into an adorable crescent.
A short while later, the two unlucky souls returned, sporting a pair of sausage lips each.
"Du-Durandal!" Kiana gasped, chugging water. "Th-this time, we'll challenge you to an action game!"
"If the Bronya wins, then as we agreed, you're not allowed to come and bother the Hyperion for a whole week," Bronya, holding a teapot, added more directly, her voice synthesized by Honkai energy.
"About that..."
Bianka's expression was complicated.
Now that the Senate had canceled his warrant, she technically had no legitimate reason to be here.
However, that was then, and this was now.
She had already publicly declared that the Hyperion and Fuli were her prey. So, even if the Senate called off the hunt, as long as she herself wanted to, the "agreement" could continue.
So, the question was: Did Bianka "Durandal" Attagina want to continue "hunting" Fuli?
"The previously agreed-upon method of competition wasn't limited to combat," the righteous S-rank Valkyrie said with a slight nod, seeing the expectant looks on the girls' faces. She put on a magnanimous air, as if to say, 'I'll let you exploit this little loophole.'
It's just Little Li's wanted poster, she thought. I can just issue a new one in the name of the Immortal Blades next time.
"So, what are we playing?" she asked, bringing her slender legs—clad in asymmetrical stockings and a garter—together, just missing Fuli's absentminded glance in her direction.
Not guilty at all!
"This!" Kiana pointed at the screen, puffing out her chest proudly. "Kallen Fantasy III! Ever heard of it?"
"You don't need to fantasize all day like a certain Overseer," Fuli, who didn't know much about games, quipped. "We have the real Kallen right here on this ship, and she's the premium, all-powerful 'White Moonlight' edition."
"Ah!"
Kiana's mouth fell open, and she stared at him blankly. "Are you even allowed to say that?"
They had hacked Schicksal's database! Saying something like that in front of an S-rank Valkyrie wasn't just playing with fire; it was trying to drink milk from a giraffe! [T/N: A Chinese idiom for attempting something far beyond one's reach.]
"It's fine," Bianka said with a wave of her hand. "Though the information was classified, Little Li did earn Schicksal a favor."
She winked at the boy in question. "At the very least, the name 'Fuli' is now well-known among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
Her azure eyes were as clear as a piece of cloudless sky, and her fair skin had a healthy, pure, pinkish glow.
The girl shouldn't have brought it up. The moment she did, Fuli felt like he was drowning, completely at a loss.
He'd only found out later that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse he'd accidentally killed were actually reinforcements sent in by Otto from the outside world.
Attacking friendly forces was never a good look.
Unaware, Bianka smiled again. "After all, when the Four Horsemen hack into the virtual world, they receive the memories of the person they possess."
"!!!"
Fuli was no longer just embarrassed; he was horrified.
He hadn't forgotten how he'd treated that beautiful duchess, Eanmaide. He'd used his "Partial Expansion" technique and the second rated output of Jizo Mitama to ravage the dignified Knight of Death until she was delirious with pleasure.
He thought it was all just a game where he could do whatever he wanted. But if their memories were synced...
Wasn't just Durandal enough? Had he now offended another of Schicksal's S-ranks?
Just skip all this... Mei, save me!
Noticing Fuli's stunned expression, Bianka assumed he was just captivated by her looks and subtly adjusted the slightly-too-tight garter on her thigh.
"What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
"Well..."
The boy hesitated for a moment before leaning in close to the handsome knight's ear and quietly explaining what he had done in the virtual world.
As he spoke, Bianka's slender hand, resting on her thigh, clenched instantly, wrinkling the high-quality, supple white stocking.
She bit her lower lip hard, trying to suppress the rising tide of anger and amusement.
On one hand, using such underhanded, lewd tactics on a woman truly infuriated her.
But on the other, the image of that proud and arrogant Knight of Death looking so utterly debauched... Bianka couldn't suppress her schadenfreude and let out a soft hum.
Clearly, the two of them had bad blood.
It wasn't a major feud, mainly stemming from the fact that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse belonged to the Judgement Division, one of Schicksal's three major branches.
In a massive organization like Schicksal, the interests of each department were not always aligned.
You had your OKRs, I had my KPIs. Whether another department lived or died was none of my business, so long as I met my performance targets for the year.
One of the Judgement Division's responsibilities was to manage the world bubbles and fragments after they were explored by Valkyries from the Asterism Division.
As the organization most dedicated to Schicksal's core ideology, the Judgement Division's management style could be summed up in one phrase: immediate results.
Simply put, they ran the fragments and world bubbles under Schicksal's control like colonies, using harsh laws and force to ensure a steady stream of resources was funneled to the headquarters and branches in the main world, deploying them as quickly as possible in the war against the Honkai and invaders from the Sea of Quanta and Imaginary Space.
This was something a Valkyrie with Bianka's personality couldn't stand, and the two sides often clashed.
Otto, who should have been the mediator, delighted in this conflict and would even fan the flames from time to time.
After all, if all his subordinates were truly united, what would they need an Overseer for?
Of course, he also did it for the entertainment.
How else was he supposed to pass the time?
All things considered, and seeing the pitiful, anxious look on Little Li's face after he realized his mistake, Bianka—who already disliked the Four Horsemen—felt a surge of protectiveness.
"Don't worry. Eanmaide wouldn't dare have a problem with you."
She fought the urge to pull the boy into a comforting hug, speaking softly, "When the weak face the strong, they should use every trick they can to strike where their opponent is unprepared. You just seized an opportunity and delivered a devastating blow to the most vulnerable part of her defenses."
As for why she said "wouldn't dare" instead of "wouldn't," it was because if she dared, Durandal would beat her until she didn't dare anymore.
"Isn't she being a little too overprotective?" Kiana muttered.
"Seriously. She's so biased it's not even funny," Bronya added with a grumble.
"Hey!"
Fuli flashed his shark-like teeth and roared at the two little traitors, which earned him a giggle from Kiana and a "hmph" from Bronya.
Lying on the sofa and still feigning unconsciousness, Ana was screaming internally.
Am I supposed to be hearing this? Should I be hearing this? Just how ballsy are these people?!
"Alright, alright, let's play the game," Kiana said, pulling over two small stools and sitting down confidently. "This young lady trained with Bronya for half the night. This time, you're no match for me!"
Her silver-white hair, cascading over her shoulders, gave the little furball an air of grace and elegance. But the stubborn ahoge sticking up from her head seemed to intentionally sabotage the effect, destroying that quiet gentleness and leaving only a playful, energetic charm.
"Hmph. Commendable courage, Kiana Kaslana."
Bianka took the controller Kiana handed her and began maneuvering the character on the screen.
For some reason, even though it was her first time playing Kallen Fantasy III, seeing the screen filled her with a sense of nostalgic déjà vu, as if time itself were overlapping.
It was as if... some gene in her blood was awakening.
Relying on this strange feeling, Bianka familiarized herself with the game's mechanics in moments. In a flash, she was slaughtering Kiana, who began to cry out in protest.
Bronya, who had been disdainful at first, gradually grew serious. In the end, she even sat up straight.
"Question: Is Durandal really playing this for the first time?"
I need to sit up straight to play against this woman!
"Indeed, I am."
Her character's rank skyrocketed, breaking into the top five on the leaderboard. Bianka glanced at the names above hers.
1st: Green Hat Connector - Online
2nd: Savior of Light - Online
3rd: Metal Gear Bronya - Online
4th: Schicksal Idol Ai-chan - Online
The first-place score was far ahead of the others, who were all relatively close.
However, the top score was clearly the result of grinding, evident from the player's ridiculously long online time.
"It's been a while, but they're all here," Bronya murmured. Her eyes gleamed as she issued a challenge. "Durandal, want to play for high stakes?"
"How high?"
"3v3. Everyone's online. We each pick two teammates. We'll settle this once and for all, winner take all!"
"I have no problem with that, but aren't we one person short?"
"Consider it a handicap. Bro is on my team."
Bronya floated over to Fuli and plopped down into his lap.
Bianka: !!!
The boy wrapped his arms around his little sister's waist as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Ooh! Is it happening?"
"That's right!" Bronya clenched her small fist. "Let's shout our slogan!"
"Blank never knows defeat!" they both yelled.
[Metal Gear Bronya] has invited [How Dare the Director's Hand Hold Hers] to the game channel!
What does this have to do with 'Blank'?! And what the heck is that bizarre ID name?! You two just want to play out your 'Blank' sibling fantasy, don't you! Wait, what is 'Blank' anyway? Why did that word just pop into my head?
The unconscious Ana was having a mental breakdown.
...