"Ultra Instinct!? Doesn't that mean I'm invincible now!"
Kiana's eyes widened, and her entire beautiful face was pressed against the light screen as she yelled excitedly.
With this ability, wouldn't kicking Otto and punching Old Man Kevin be effortless feats?!
Just as Kiana was completely overjoyed, the System suddenly dashed her hopes.
[Due to the host's current physique being insufficient to support the operation of Perfect Ultra Instinct, it is temporarily restricted. The restriction can be lifted at critical moments.]
[Or when the host's physical condition meets the standard.]
"I drew this with my own skill! What right do you have to restrict it!"
Kiana's smile froze. She then stomped her foot and pointed at the light screen, protesting discontentedly.
[Once bound, the System shares honor and disgrace, life and death, with the host. The System does not wish for the host to suffer an accident due to unstable abilities.]
"You... Hmph!"
Seeing that the System meant well, Kiana couldn't bring herself to make things difficult for It. She puffed out her cheeks, crossed her arms, let out a delicate huff, and walked to the side of the lottery wheel.
The first ability she drew was restricted and hard to use, so she could only pin her hopes on the remaining two chances!
As the wheel stopped spinning, the pointer landed on a silhouette performing a hand sign with both hands placed in front of the body.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining 1 random skill from the *Naruto* world's '■■■'.]
Following that, the skill drawing interface emitted a soft... blue light.
Gold, ptooey, blue—Rare!
[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained Ninjutsu: Substitution Jutsu.]
"Seriously, what a huge pile of trash..."
Kiana looked at the blue-glowing skill icon with great distaste.
But on second thought, Substitution Jutsu could serve as a decent life-saving skill, so she stopped complaining and activated her final draw chance.
This time, it didn't land on a black silhouette, but on the image of an ancient ship, and the image shimmered with gilded gold brilliance.
[Congratulations to the host, you have obtained: One Xianzhou, 'Unnamed'!]
Following the System notification, the lottery wheel dissipated on the spot, and a palm-sized card floated in front of Kiana.
Kiana reached out and took the card into her hand, examining it repeatedly. The usage instructions had already been transmitted into her mind.
"System, do I have an inventory? Let's put this card away first."
Although this was a Xianzhou from *Star Rail*, there was nowhere to dock it now, and no one to manage it. It would only cause unnecessary trouble.
[Xianzhou card has been placed in storage.]
"Alright, System, let me out now. That time stop shouldn't last much longer, right?"
[Host body is damaged...]
"Come on, it's just a lethal injury! A Kaslana won't fall down that easily!"
Kiana waved her hand dismissively, interrupting the System's robotic speech.
Thinking calmly and carefully, according to the original trajectory of fate... after she was severely wounded by the Honkai Beast, Mei's Herrscher personality would take control of the body again and instantly kill the Honkai Beast.
Then Himeko—Sister Himeko—would descend from the Hyperion and fight Mei for a few rounds, and after that, the heroic Kiana would awaken, tear the Third Herrscher's remaining wing to shreds with her bare hands, and bring her dearest, dearest Mei back to consciousness!
Therefore, there shouldn't be any major problem if she goes out now!
The System remained silent for a moment, then compromised.
[Complying with the host's wishes.]
"Hehe~ Thanks~"
Kiana playfully blinked.
Suddenly, a burst of intense light stung Kiana, causing her to instinctively close her eyes. Immediately afterward, she felt a burning, searing pain across her back.
As Kiana's consciousness returned to her body, the grayness that had covered the world retracted back into her.
The world instantly regained its color, and time began to flow again.
Kiana, held in the arms of Mei—no, the Third Herrscher—felt her eyelashes flutter and slowly opened her eyes.
But she felt as if her body was filled with lead, refusing to obey her commands.
Her consciousness was not as clear as it had been moments ago in the mental space.
Her eyes darted around, taking in the surroundings. Seeing Himeko and the Third Herrscher locked in a confrontation, she understood the current situation.
Ultra Instinct... she should be able to use it in this state... After thinking it over, this was the only skill she could rely on to break the deadlock.
Kiana gradually emptied her mind, allowing her body, which had been tense from the injuries, to slowly relax.
At this moment, Kiana entrusted everything to her body's instincts.
As Kiana completely relaxed, a scorching aura surged out from within her body.
!!!
The Third Herrscher sensed the scorching heat and a hint of danger emanating from Kiana in her arms, and subconsciously flung Kiana away.
Only after throwing Kiana did the Third Herrscher realize that if Kiana, who was already severely injured, suffered further damage, she might actually die.
She immediately flew toward Kiana again, intending to catch her.
Himeko Murata, seeing this from the opposite side, also rushed toward Kiana, wanting to rescue the girl who was being manipulated by the Herrscher.
Just as the tips of their fingers were about to touch Kiana, the latter vanished, leaving only an afterimage behind.
"What?!"
The Third Herrscher and Himeko's pupils contracted. How could such a large person simply disappear into thin air?
...
The vanished Kiana reappeared not far behind the two of them. She looked at her fair, tender hands, feeling a sense of disbelief.
The feeling was like having activated speed hacks and auto-dodge cheats; she didn't even need to consciously move—her body reacted on its own.
"Tch, annoying trash, get lost!"
The Third Herrscher casually summoned a pillar of purple lightning, intending to obliterate the troublesome woman in front of her.
Himeko, being too close to the Third Herrscher, realized she couldn't evade the attack, so she raised her greatsword vertically in front of her, attempting to block the lightning pillar.
But she knew it was highly unlikely she could completely block an attack launched at such close range.
"Looks like I'm really going to fail this time..."
Seeing the lightning closing in, Himeko showed a bitter smile.
Just as the lightning pillar was about to engulf Himeko, a silver figure pulled her away from the spot.
Himeko only felt the scenery blur and her body lighten, realizing she had been moved to a different location.
"Who... who saved me?"
Himeko muttered, subconsciously glancing around, and realized she was being carried bridal style!
Moreover, the person holding her was the same girl who had been thrown by the Third Herrscher and then vanished moments ago.
What was strange, though, was that she couldn't sense the girl's presence at all.
If the girl hadn't been holding her, she wouldn't even have realized someone was standing there; it was as if she didn't exist.
Kiana slowly set Himeko down, then turned sideways to face the Third Herrscher, meeting her gaze with silver eyes.
(The characteristic appearance when using Ultra Instinct.)
"K-I-A-N-A!"
A flash of surprise crossed the Third Herrscher's eyes when she saw Kiana appear, but it was quickly replaced by the cold, arrogant expression unique to the Queen of Thunder.
"Kiana! You still haven't completely died yet?"
"Hmph, fine. But before I clean up this trash, why don't you take a nice nap first..."
The Third Herrscher waved her bare hand lightly, and several lightning spears condensed and shot toward Kiana.
Kiana, on the other hand, walked straight toward the lightning spears.
Just as the lightning spears reached Kiana, she casually twisted her body a few times, and the spears all grazed past her, not even touching the hem of her skirt.
The next moment, Kiana looked up at the Third Herrscher, slowly raised her right foot, and made the motion of stepping forward.
The instant her right foot landed, Kiana transformed into a silver flash and appeared before the Third Herrscher in the blink of an eye.
"Give me back my Mei!"
Kiana offered a slight smile to the Third Herrscher. While the Herrscher was stunned, Kiana extended her right hand and placed it on the Herrscher's wing of light.
Crack—
The wing of light shattered instantly, turning into countless glittering fragments.
"How can a human tear apart a god's wings?!"
The Third Herrscher stared at Kiana in horror. Before she could react, her consciousness rapidly subsided due to insufficient Honkai energy supply.
After the Herrscher consciousness retreated, Mei's body went limp and she fell forward.
Thump-thump—! Zzzt—!
Kiana reached out to catch Mei. The next second, her heart gave a fierce lurch, and a tearing, agonizing pain swept through her entire body. Black electrical arcs coiled around her.
Pfft—!
Kiana's pupils violently contracted. A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out of her mouth, the silver light in her eyes receded, and her original azure blue eye color returned.
Plop... Kiana and Mei both lost consciousness, collapsing onto the ground—