While talking, the three arrived at the door of the ward.
Written on the ward's doorplate was—
[404]
[Yuno]
Is her name actually Yuno?
As long as her surname isn't Gasai, it's fine.
Glancing at the name above, Leo muttered subconsciously in his heart.
But soon... wait! What is your name?
—Yuno?
Seeing this name, he couldn't help but recall a purple-haired young girl who made the Judas Launcher suffer.
Looking into the ward, he discovered that the girl lying on the hospital bed really had purple hair, and her appearance... seemed like an old friend returning!
"It seems you already have a conclusion."
MEI, who had been observing Leo's expression from the side, immediately understood that their trip here was correct.
"Mn."
Without hiding it, Leo spoke bluntly: "If my judgment isn't wrong, she will become a Pseudo-Herrscher."
"Of course, I actually hope my judgment is wrong."
After all, as the saying goes, if mere Zombies were already that strong, he didn't dare imagine how high the intensity of a Pseudo-Herrscher would be!
At the very least, the current them were not yet qualified to challenge one.
"Pseudo-Herrscher?"
Hearing Leo's judgment, Kiana couldn't help but freeze, because she simply didn't sense the aura of a Herrscher.
But just as she opened her mouth wanting to say something, her small hand was held by Leo.
"Talk later, we need to run!"
Grabbing one with each hand, Leo dragged Kiana and MEI running towards the emergency exit.
"Haven't you noticed yet?"
"It's way too quiet here!"
He wasn't sure exactly when the anomaly occurred.
After all, when he arrived in front of the ward, his attention was attracted by the name on the doorplate.
If he hadn't realized he was about to face a Pseudo-Herrscher and instinctively felt vigilant, he really wouldn't have noticed the strangeness around him.
"I'll protect MEI."
Reacting, Kiana hurriedly broke free from Leo's hand, then held MEI in her arms in a princess carry.
"Returning Mei to you."
At the same time, she returned the [Blade Soul · Herrscher of Thunder] she had pinned at her waist to Leo.
To be honest, her carrying a tachi out today was quite eye-catching.
After all, leaving aside her beauty, just this tachi itself was handsome enough to attract attention.
But also because of this, passersby instead thought she was a cosplayer; no one would go to investigate her deeply, at most thinking she was a Chiba Academy student skipping class.
"Mn."
Taking the tachi, Leo pushed open the emergency exit door and slashed without even looking, immediately cutting the poisonous vine that appeared in front of him into two pieces.
Without stopping his steps, he constantly slashed at the poisonous vines surging like a tide in the stairwell.
To be fair, it was only because he and Kiana had established a [Bond], and he had called Kiana over in advance.
Otherwise, if it were just him, it would really be hard to guarantee MEI's safety, or even... very difficult to kill his way out!
There was no helping it; holding a tachi, his compatibility with vines was simply too poor.
However—
"Neko charm!"
With a loud shout from Kiana, a golden phantom erupted from her body, actually forcing back the poisonous vines.
Shrouded under an invisible healing power, the poisonous vines simply didn't dare to approach them.
"Quick, follow me, I can't hold on for long!"
Carrying MEI, Kiana took the lead, jumping left and right directly in the center of the stairs, descending to the first floor in the blink of an eye.
And Leo, following behind her, wasn't slow either; mimicking her movements, he also descended to the first floor.
It was just that in the effort of going down the stairs, the healing power on Kiana's body had already been exhausted... the current her was still too weak!
However—
"This is enough!"
Pouring all the Honkai energy that had risen to 11 points into the next strike, Leo, with purple thunder attached to his whole body, walked in front of Kiana.
Focusing his mind, after charging to the limit, he exerted force with both legs and slashed towards the direction of the hospital entrance.
The next moment, he seemed to turn into a streak of dragon-shaped purple thunder, roaring as he cut down all the poisonous vines surrounding them.
The poisonous vines blocking his front were directly evaporated, and the vines on the periphery also turned into charcoal.
Finally—
"Phew..."
Feeling the surrounding space change, and most crucially, seeing the passersby coming and going again after breaking away from the hospital entrance, Leo couldn't help but prop his hands on his knees and let out a long sigh of relief.
And Kiana, following behind him, also put MEI down.
Afterwards, disregarding the gazes of people around, Kiana sat down on the ground with a plop.
Compared to Leo, her consumption was truly great.
"Huff..."
She had just smoothed her breath when she hurriedly spoke: "She is still in gestation... huff..."
"Otherwise... huff... we wouldn't have escaped so easily..."
It was precisely because of this that she felt surprised earlier; after all, outside the ward door, she hadn't felt the Pseudo-Herrscher's aura.
"Is she already this strong without becoming a true Pseudo-Herrscher?"
Recalling the intensity of the poisonous vines, Leo couldn't help but feel his stomach ache.
One must know that although he seemed to slash easily, every strike of his used his full strength.
Yet even so, he felt like he was hacking at steel.
It was only because that space ended at the hospital lobby entrance, plus the emergency exit wasn't far from the main door.
Otherwise, for this final stretch of the journey, he and Kiana would inevitably have had to get injured to kill their way out.
"Let's leave here first."
Seeing Leo and Kiana gradually recover, MEI hurriedly said: "Presumably it was the Honkai energy on you that attracted her attention."
"But if we stay here any longer, maybe we'll be pulled in by her again."
As the only person who could think during the escape just now, she judged that the reason they fell into that space was Honkai energy.
Otherwise, with so many people in this hospital, there was no reason to pull just the three of them.
"Mn."
Looking at the bustling hospital lobby with lingering fear, Leo also voiced his own speculation.
"Being in the gestation period, she should instinctively crave Honkai energy, that's why she pulled us into that space."
"In short, with our current abilities, we can't resolve this place yet."
Finished speaking, he pulled up Kiana who was sitting on the ground, and hurried home with MEI.
Although they were bedraggled this trip, he felt it could be considered a harvest.
After all, although Yuno seemed dangerous, she might not necessarily be unable to become their aid.
—At least she is still alive!
In other words, if they could awaken Yuno's reason, maybe they could harvest a Pseudo-Herrscher as a companion.
However—
"But if you want to do that, you have to be quick."
Returning home, after listening to Leo's idea, Kiana said: "There is a chance only while she hasn't completely become a Pseudo-Herrscher yet, otherwise once she becomes a Pseudo-Herrscher, it will be very difficult for her will to resist the Honkai's erosion."
As one of the victims of Honkai erosion, she knew too well what kind of unyielding will was required not to be manipulated by the Honkai.
And Yuno was just an ordinary female high school student, and had suffered bullying for a long time.
With her will, she wouldn't be able to hold on for long!
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