In the time that followed, Kiana suppressed the anxiety and unease in her heart and immediately carried the still-unconscious Raiden Mei out of the alley.
She didn't choose to go to the airport to try and fly to Nagazora City.
In this emergency, she felt her mind becoming surprisingly calmer.
That damn old man once said that ordinary people don't know about the existence of the Honkai.
Whenever a Honkai Eruption occurs, the massive organization known as Schicksal manipulates the surrounding information, making the public view the sudden incidents caused by the Honkai as "natural disasters" or "man-made accidents."
So right now, even if Kiana wanted to return to Nagazora City, no one would likely take her there.
After all, to ordinary people, a disaster has just occurred in Nagazora City. Only a fool would run towards it...
No, even if someone were willing to take her, Schicksal would seal off the scene and wouldn't allow anyone to enter the area where a Herrscher appeared.
Moreover, because she never expected Aaron to make this choice, Kiana had handed [Dimensional Formation: Shambhala] over to him.
At the same time, because of this, she lost her last method of returning to Nagazora City.
"Damn it... Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
After getting into a taxi, Kiana let out a low growl.
However, she knew very well that she had to calm down right now.
Although she was extremely dissatisfied with Aaron's actions, since Aaron made this choice, he must have had his reasons for thinking it was necessary.
Did Aaron not want me to run into people from Schicksal?
Or was he worried that if Mei, as a Herrscher, was captured, I would butt heads with them and get into a conflict?
"Driver! Please change the route! Go to a small clinic nearby!"
"You got it!"
In that case, we can't go to a major hospital.
In a big hospital, Mei and I would inevitably expose our identities. People from Schicksal only need to investigate the hospital system slightly, and they could discover our location through the networked system.
But a small clinic is different. They aren't as formal; as long as you pay enough money, they won't care about these things.
Ah...! So annoying!
Why is it so difficult just to take Mei to get treated!
Schicksal... Why didn't Aaron want me to meet this organization that fights the Honkai?
The 'Kaslana family' that the damn old man mentioned before should have some connection to Schicksal, right?
Logically speaking, I'm also a Kaslana, so I should be on the same side as them.
But looking at it now, the situation inside Schicksal is much more chaotic than I imagined...
And that guy Aaron, he never planned to leave with me from the start.
What 'testing strength'? Testing your strength with a body that starts spraying blood after a little exertion—that's not reassuring at all, okay!
Throwing me this far away, he didn't take a word I said to heart...
Next time... the next time we meet, I definitely won't let you run away!
......................
At the same time, inside Nagazora City.
After sending Kiana and Raiden Mei away with the dimensional formation, Aaron felt a sharp pain in his brain.
[Dimensional Formation: Shambhala] was a Teigu ranked in the top five for performance. Because of this, the mental energy Aaron needed to use it for long-distance teleportation was simply too great.
After consuming a significant amount of mental energy, Aaron felt that his current reserves were more than half depleted.
Combined with the fact that he had already used Ittou Shura, his strongest skill, today, the current Aaron probably only had about thirty to forty percent of his combat power compared to his peak.
His physical condition was still perfect, but ultimately, his tactics relied on [Teigu] + [Spirit Commands].
With his mental energy heavily drained, not only had his strength declined, but he also had to reserve a portion of his mental energy as a final trump card.
"Ah, what a hassle."
[If you think it's a hassle, you shouldn't have come over. It's not like this System didn't warn you.]
Hmm?
Wait, how can you pop up???
Does that mean—I'm no longer in danger?
[Duh. A Herrscher was just squatting nearby; of course those Honkai Beasts didn't dare to approach.]
[And now that the Herrscher has been crippled by you, even if those Honkai Beasts have no consciousness, they won't dare to approach the area you're in for various reasons—though this is only temporary.]
[Once a certain amount of time passes, these Honkai Beasts will still execute the command given to them by the Honkai: to attempt to completely destroy all living things in the vicinity. This System will give you a little hint: time is running out.]
I see.
But thinking about it carefully, aside from the Hyperion, can the remaining forces in Nagazora City really pose a serious threat to me right now?
I should sort through the nearby factions.
The Hyperion—if following the original work, the strongest combat power on the Hyperion right now should be Himeko Murata, who can connect to the Nexus system.
Himeko Murata is indeed strong after connecting to the Hyperion, but because that move causes great damage to the body, she generally won't use such a life-burning move unless she's facing a Herrscher.
I'm not a Herrscher, and I have the War Fog ability, so there's no need to worry about being found and blasted to death.
As for Theresa, that Valkyrie with the massive gap between her high and low IQ moments...
According to the original work, she shouldn't be coming. But even if she did come, Aaron felt he wouldn't be caught by her.
Against the Far East Branch, as long as I'm careful, there shouldn't be any problems.
The ones Aaron felt he truly needed to take seriously were the other factions.
First is the [Pseudo-Herrscher of Toxic], Yuno, who should be nearby.
In the original story, after the Third Honkai Eruption ended, Yuno gathered the Honkai Energy in the vicinity that the Herrscher of Thunder hadn't absorbed, becoming incredibly powerful.
How powerful exactly—one-shotting Theresa is the best proof.
And the next day, she absorbed even more surrounding Honkai Energy and became even stronger.
How strong—one-shotting Theresa again is the best proof.
Of course, in the end, Theresa turned the tables on her relying on Yae Sakura's Stigmata, but in other words...
—Without Yae Sakura's Stigmata, Theresa would have been done for right then and there.
Of course, that was Yuno after absorbing Honkai Energy for several days.
Now that the Honkai has just erupted and the Herrscher of Thunder has been beaten down by him and is temporarily afraid to show her face, the current Yuno naturally isn't as powerful as she would be later.
If I want to stop her from becoming stronger, I need to eliminate the future trouble right here.
If it's Incursio, which has poison resistance and is a suit of armor itself, even if eroded by her poison, it can evolve resistance to it.
Normally speaking, I shouldn't lose to that Pseudo-Herrscher.
[Hmm, nice analysis. Premise being you can get serious.]
...What do you mean? Are you saying I'll get careless and capsize?
[That's unlikely. This System just thinks... heh, you'll know when the time comes.]
Mysterious bastard.
But besides Yuno, I also need to watch out for Yae Sakura and Higokumaru.
The hatred in Higokumaru's heart hasn't dissipated, and the condition for Yae Sakura to give someone a Stigmata should be that they have Kallen's scent... Heh, on me...
Wait, I have the [Kaslana Bloodline] now???
Then that's hard to say.
And that Stigmata isn't exactly a good thing.
Although Theresa defeated Yuno with it, she was later taken into a space by the Stigmata and controlled.
I probably don't have resistance in that regard... forget it, I'll bypass them.
If I don't have to fight, I won't. No matter how embarrassing the opponent is, she's still one of the Twelve Herrschers of the past. Against that kind of non-combat type Herrscher, my methods are actually lacking.
Finally, there's the Anti-Entropy radicals led by Cocolia—this old hag plans to guide the Herrscher of Thunder's awakening and then capture her.
From this point of view, the fact that she has this idea implies that in her cognition, she can defeat a Herrscher... Okay, actually, we all know her Titans don't have that kind of power.
But the problem is, this woman's moral floor is simply too low. She can even send her adopted daughters to undergo human experimentation. If I meet her, Aaron worries...
—That he might not be able to suppress the anger rising in his heart and might just rush up and fight her.
As an orphan, he knew deeply that when orphans meet someone who treats them well in the orphanage, they develop excessive gratitude.
And that woman Cocolia, no matter how sad or unwilling she acts, definitely utilized those orphans' gratitude toward her to a certain extent.
[Tester 233, are you sure you're okay?]
[This System can feel that your anger value seems higher than in the past.]
...You felt wrong. It's just an illusion.
[Heh, that's why this System just said, the premise for remaining undefeated against the Poison Herrscher is that you can get serious.]
You... what exactly are you trying to say?
[Guess for yourself. You know it in your heart. If I say it out loud, you'll probably get angry out of embarrassment again.]
[But it's good you aren't angry. This System happens to have something to tell you.]
[Match successful. The teammate matched for Tester 233 this time is—]
[Raiden Mei.]
[Teammate confirmed. Dungeon teleportation will begin tonight at 23:59. Tester, please make preparations in advance.]
???
Wait a minute, I haven't even been back for a day, right???
You aren't even giving me a break???
[Tester 233, this System hopes you understand one thing.]
[Although this System did plan to let you test bugs by entering dungeons after merging with you, the reason this System is letting you proceed to the next dungeon so quickly is largely because of you.]
[The day we completed the merger, this System felt it. Although you looked calm, your heart was filled with anxiety, terrified that you would die in this world due to an accident.]
[And now, even though you successfully completed the mission from the dungeon, this System can still feel that your anxiety hasn't dissipated but has instead become more severe.]
[Not talking? Then this System will continue.]
[Because this anxiety and unease stimulated your will to survive. It is precisely because of the strong will to survive in your heart that this System arranged for you to enter the second dungeon so quickly.]
[At the same time, precisely because your heart is full of the desire to survive, this System cannot understand...]
[Tester 233, why are you here right now?]
...Shut up. I already said it was to test my power.
And now it's proven that there was absolutely no problem with my approach. If I hadn't come to test my power, and you threw me over there, I wouldn't even have a general understanding of my attack, defense, speed, reaction time, and adaptability. Wouldn't facing a new strong enemy be even more dangerous?
[Under the circumstances that seem very logical... forget it, I'll save you some face. Saying more would be impolite. Let me tell you two things first. After being teleported to the new dungeon, your status will be restored to perfection. And skills that require a new day to use will also have their cooldowns refreshed and can be used normally.]
I have a question. So after I come back—if I use Ittou Shura at the very last second over there, can I use it normally after I return?
[Yes. But this is because after you return, the time here will go from 23:59 to 0:00, entering the second day, not because the CD was forcibly refreshed.]
[Anyway, get ready. After all, it's evening now, and there isn't much time left until 23:59.]
Sigh, I wish you would just throw me into the new dungeon right now.
Glancing at his watch, Aaron knew there were about six hours left until entering the new dungeon.
And in these six hours, besides preparing some frozen food he hadn't had time to replenish, he had one other thing to do.
That was to deal with the Pseudo-Herrscher who was currently in the vicinity.
After Raiden Mei left Nagazora City, this Pseudo-Herrscher would collect the surrounding Honkai Energy to strengthen herself.
The best time to deal with a growth-type character is, of course, to take them out during their infancy.
Right now, Yuno definitely hasn't reached the strength she had when facing Theresa. Relying on the Teigu Aaron currently mastered, dealing with Yuno shouldn't be difficult.
Only after dealing with the only Herrscher nearby who posed a threat to him could Aaron rest his eyes for a bit with peace of mind.
Of course, Higokumaru's threat to him wasn't low either.
But because Higokumaru and Yae Sakura's area of activity is near Senba Academy, which should be some distance from the city center, the probability of them coming here to hunt Aaron down is slightly smaller.
Sigh, if they come knocking... we'll talk about it then.
Rather than that, let's think about how to deal with that Pseudo-Herrscher for now.
.........................