As consciousness slowly returned, Aaron faintly opened his eyes.
Ah, an unfamiliar...
Never mind. Another day without a ceiling.
"You're awake?"
Hearing Aaron stir, Kiana spoke to him, exasperated.
"Can you please stop being so reckless every time? Even if I'm used to it, seeing you covered in blood still scares the hell out of me."
"That's easy to say, but the thing is... some things are unavoidable. And if they're unavoidable, you just have to get used to the process."
Feeling the pain lancing through his body, Aaron held his right hand out to Kiana.
"Give me the belt."
"Yeah."
After Kiana took [Lion King: Lionelle] from her storage space and handed it to him, Aaron fastened it around his waist and tried to activate the Teigu's ability.
Then, Kiana, who was right beside him, noticed that while Aaron's body was changing, it was completely different from Leone's transformation.
The moment he used the Teigu, Aaron did indeed show lion-like features.
But in an instant, those lion-like features vanished.
In their place—the same ominous shell he'd manifested when fighting that Armor Guy reappeared on Aaron's body.
And this time, the shell didn't just cover his face; it spread over his body.
"What the hell is this mess?"
Aaron, who had only activated [Lion King: Lionelle]'s ultimate ability, [Lion Never Perishes], for two or three seconds, had barely repaired some of his external wounds when he realized something was wrong.
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Isn't [Lion King: Lionelle] supposed to be for beast transformation?
Beast transformation and Honkai Beast transformation are completely different things!
You're a Teigu! Don't give in so easily! Look at [Demon Armor: Incursio]! It's not as pathetic as you!
"This..."
Watching Aaron quickly remove the Teigu belt, Kiana stared in confusion at the Honkai Beast Carapace that was beginning to dissipate from his body.
The last time Aaron used this move to defeat the Armor Guy, he'd suffered even more severe injuries.
From this, it was clear that this ability, for Aaron, was a move 'best left unused unless absolutely necessary'.
Kiana was really curious how Aaron was even able to use this move.
But a voice deep inside her kept stopping her from asking.
*Strange... Why do I have such an odd feeling about this Honkai Beast Carapace...*
Thinking of that strange sensation, Kiana suddenly didn't dare to think about it any further.
She didn't feel any repulsion toward the Honkai Beast Carapace; instead, she felt a faint sense of familiarity.
*Hahaha, I'm a descendant of the Kaslana family! No matter how you look at it, a Kaslana's reaction to a Honkai Beast should be...*
*Should be...*
*That damn old man didn't tell me anything back then, so why am I thinking so much about it now!*
*When I see him again, I'm definitely going to punch him square in the face, and then I'll demand a clear explanation for all this!*
Meanwhile, Aaron stared at the [Lion King: Lionelle] in his hands, feeling the belt was utterly pathetic.
Although Aaron had an increased awakening level due to Kiana's Kaslana Bloodline, allowing him to partially transform into a Honkai Beast like Siegfried Kaslana... the prerequisite was that he had to use Ittou Shura.
Only in the Ittou Shura state could he barely draw out this terrifying power.
But at the same time, because this power's consumption was too great, the one-minute duration of Ittou Shura would inevitably be shortened significantly after Aaron activated this ability.
This was a limitation, but it was also a protection.
After all, Aaron knew very well that if he used this move for too long, he didn't know if the enemy would die, but he himself would be ninety-nine percent dead.
His original plan was to use Ittou Shura, then use [Lion King: Lionelle]'s [Lion Never Perishes] to quickly recover his stamina.
Although this would cause massive mental energy consumption from using different Teigu consecutively, at least after recovering his stamina, he could rely on [Demon Armor: Incursio] to keep fighting. He wouldn't just spit up blood after one minute like before.
But now, for some unknown reason, [Lion King: Lionelle] had been 'possessed' the moment he activated its ultimate.
In just those few seconds, although Aaron felt his injuries healing rapidly, he himself had become even weaker from using such a burdensome form.
Simply put, his health could be refilled quickly, but his already-low mana bar would be completely emptied.
And if he planned to use this belt to directly enter the Honkai Beast transformation state—if he didn't control the time, well, the result was already clear.
"Its effect is so strong that it's become completely useless."
After glancing at Kiana, Aaron immediately stored the belt in his own space.
He hadn't forgotten that he had copied his constitution from Kiana.
In other words, if Kiana used this belt, she would likely experience the same effect.
If Kiana lost control of the timing, she might fall into the same state Siegfried Kaslana had been in.
Aaron didn't hear that 'voice', perhaps because he wasn't truly a Kaslana.
But Kiana in front of him, no matter what, possessed the true Bloodline of the Kaslana family head.
Therefore, she might also hear that voice. And that voice echoing in the minds of awakened Kaslanas, [Kill the Honkai], might cause the other consciousness within Kiana to reappear.
If the two voices [Kill the Honkai] and [Embrace the Honkai] played endlessly in Kiana's mind...
The probability of her temporarily going insane was too high.
"Aaron, what were you just thinking about?"
Kiana looked at the silent Aaron and asked quietly.
"I feel like you're worried. Aren't we out of danger already?"
"We're temporarily out of danger. As for what I'm worried about... Kiana, I think we need to speed things up."
"Hmm. While I agree with you, you must have a reason for bringing this up, right?"
"I just checked the refrigerator and calculated your recent appetite, and I realized... if we don't leave soon, you're going to eat everything."
Aaron suddenly covered his face in utter despair.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I really underestimated you..."
"Hey! I'm still a growing girl! What's wrong with having an appetite!"
"I never said you were wrong..."
*Phew. Anyway, I managed to bluff my way through. This girl is getting harder and harder to fool.*
*Her ability to sense my emotions is getting stronger. While it improves our coordination in battle, during normal times... it's not exactly a good thing.*
"Tch. You get like this just because I eat a little of your food. Stingy."
*Aaron is definitely changing the subject on purpose. What is he really thinking?*
*Is it... because of me? Is that why he's worried?*
*You keep everything bottled up inside. Stop trying to shoulder everything by yourself!*
*Do I...*
*Do you really not trust me that much...*
.......................