A light breeze blew across the rooftop, tousling Mobius's hair.
A soft pink glow flickered faintly over Vya's body, though it wasn't very noticeable yet.
"Alright! Sis Mobius, what's the game?" Vya pressed on, following Mobius to the edge of the rooftop. She tugged at Mobius's coat hem, peeking her little head over the side to look down.
Mobius pointed downward. "We wait and watch here, to see if Elysia and Kevin and the others can find us."
Vya tilted her head. "Huh? Why?"
"Just think of it as hide-and-seek, okay?" Mobius ruffled her hair.
"Okay… but it's kinda boring here." Vya couldn't help but rest her chin in her hands.
Mobius chuckled lightly. "Perhaps… we could watch what they're doing first?"
Down below, despite the swirling black mist, the scene of battle was still visible.
Kevin was locked in combat with the last few Honkai beasts—Herrscher-enhanced zombies.
Once he dealt with them, and then the Herrscher, all of this would be over…
Everything around here… he'd been through this place not long ago.
sigh
The fight with the zombies wasn't easy. Enhanced by the Herrscher, they possessed rapid regeneration. Unless they sustained critical damage, they could recover swiftly.
Vya and Mobius watched from above.
"…Is Brother Kevin in trouble? We should go help him," Vya asked Mobius.
Mobius placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait, Vya."
"Didn't we agree? We just watch from here."
Vya was quite puzzled by Mobius's decision.
Deep down, she trusted Mobius a great deal—a trust second only to the one she had in Elysia…
"But…"
"Relax, he'll be fine. If that little follower of hers only has this much skill… tsk tsk." Mobius didn't elaborate further.
But she wasn't the type to stand by and watch someone die. If things truly turned dire, Mobius certainly wouldn't stop Vya.
"Alright…" Vya reluctantly leaned back against the rooftop edge, her discontent clear.
Why did things always have to be like this? Vya didn't understand.
Time passed quickly.
The battle below intensified. Kevin moved agilely among the zombies, seizing an opening to swiftly draw several Honkai Energy flashbangs from his belt…
He hurled them!
A brilliant flash seemed to ignite the surrounding black mist.
The enhanced zombies were instantly reduced to ash in the explosion.
Seeing this,
Kevin didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately charged towards the Herrscher's location.
It seemed it would all be over soon.
Meanwhile, up high, Mobius observed everything calmly, thinking what a pity it was that someone with Kevin's physical prowess wasn't being used as a test subject.
But not yet. If something happened to Mei's little follower, how would Mei view her?
Beside her, Vya kept watching, though her gaze kept drifting to another direction now and then.
Because Elysia was over there.
"Ah… Vya wants to go find Sis Elysia."
"Quiet now, Vya's a good girl," Mobius said without turning her head, her eyes still fixed on Kevin as she patted Vya's head.
"Mm…" Vya rested her head on her arms, lost in thought.
She felt a bit sleepy…
Hmm… those threads inside her body were starting to affect her.
…
"Quite capable, this kid."
Mobius continued watching the events below, musing to herself. For a human to push a Herrscher into a corner was proof enough of Kevin's strength.
This was probably the peak of what human skill and power could achieve.
Of course, along with mastery of weaponry.
Wielding humanity's best gear was one of their few advantages.
Put that way, Kevin was like a hero wielding a 'Village Hero's Sword'… heh.
…
On Kevin's end, this was turning into a fierce battle.
The Sixth Herrscher, a girl with short, dark hair tinged with blue, her blue eyes still holding that hollow emptiness.
Now she knelt on the ground, as if accepting her fate.
Kevin prepared to pull the trigger without hesitation. This disaster truly deserved to be brought to an end…
However, there's always room for the unexpected.
Within that hollow gaze was a hint of relief, a sliver of plea… but more than anything, pain.
Are… you going to kill me?
Kevin wasn't sure if he actually heard those words, or if it was his own hallucination…
What was this?!
Something strange was severely clouding his judgment now…
And truly, in that moment, he hesitated.
Perhaps it was a tiny shred of hope born from countless battles against the Honkai.
Sometimes Kevin would think like Kosma—if only there was a way to have the 'best of both worlds'…
After all, he too was once a youth full of dreams…
…
Kevin's hand trembled slightly.
To hesitate…
is to fail.
『The Honkai is not unchanging.』
But by the time Kevin squeezed the trigger… it was already too late.
A sinister light suddenly flared in the Herrscher's empty eyes.
The black mist began to churn violently, converging towards the Herrscher at an alarming speed.
…
Let's rewind briefly, back to Vya.
"Asleep?" Mobius was somewhat surprised. She knew Vya almost never slept.
But now…
Unless something was about to happen.
The glow on Vya's body gradually brightened.
"So this is how she changes from human form to beast? Fascinating."
"..."
Mobius frowned, wanting to observe Vya's transformation into a Honkai beast up close.
She reached out to touch Vya, but stopped at the last moment.
Some instinctive warning made her take two steps back.
Otherwise, even with the 'light screen' Vya had placed on her, she might have been pulled in.
Vya's body became enveloped in a white, crystalline substance, gradually forming an egg-like structure.
Suddenly, a pair of wings, pure white like an angel's, stretched out from within…
…
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