At this moment, Kiana was naturally dissatisfied with the attacks she was dealing with her dual pistols.
Over these past few months of training, she had become faster and faster at infusing magic into her weapons.
In the barrage of gunfire just now, the amount of magic she poured in wasn't insignificant.
Furthermore, she possessed the special ability [Devil Hunter]. With this ability, when Kiana attacked 'non-human' opponents, she received a damage bonus upon a successful hit.
Yet, even after pouring in a considerable amount of magic and having the skill bonus, her attacks only managed to sever a few limbs from the enemies.
Annoying. It was very annoying.
*Hmph*, I can't let them interfere with Aaron's battle. In that case...
Holstering her dual pistols, Kiana pulled the greatsword Rebellion from her storage space and gripped it tightly in her hand.
Gray Serpent desperately wanted the avatars of himself that had transformed into Honkai Beasts to stop that little girl. The problem was that among these Honkai Beasts, only a portion possessed ranged offensive capabilities.
And after that portion of Emperor-class Honkai Beasts fired off their attacks...
—They were easily blocked by the magical barrier Kiana deployed.
The moment she gripped Rebellion, Kiana had already poured a massive amount of magic into the demon sword she held in one hand.
After she infused this magic into the sword, Gray Serpent could easily see with the naked eye—that greatsword, which already looked ominous, was now radiating an unsettling fluctuation of energy!
It was a pity. With the speed of these Honkai Beasts, they simply didn't have time to make any evasive maneuvers.
Drive. This was one of the simplest moves Kiana had comprehended from the Dante Template.
The essence of this move was actually injecting magic into the demon sword, letting the magic combine with the blade to form a visible shockwave of sword energy, and then using that energy to slash enemies from a distance.
At this moment, even if she used the Trickster style to close the distance and attack, she wouldn't be able to kill the enemies continuously in a short amount of time.
Compared to those troublesome attack methods that involved jumping all over the place, Kiana felt it was simpler to just stand still, spend a bit more magic, and slash the enemies directly.
As for whether this strike would fail to kill the enemies... she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.
In reality, her worries were obviously superfluous.
After concentrating a massive amount of magic and unleashing the high-speed flying blades of energy at the Honkai Beasts, Kiana actually felt a little empty inside.
Having spent a large amount of magic, the destructive power naturally did not disappoint Kiana.
In an instant, the dozen or so blades of energy slashed out simultaneously, easily cleaving the bodies of the Honkai Beasts in two.
And in the next instant, the bodies of the Honkai Beasts that Kiana had slashed open were directly annihilated by the magic starting from the incision points.
All the Gray Serpents present were easily slain by this single strike from Kiana before they could cause any trouble for Aaron.
As for Kiana...
Although she generally still had combat capability, the magic consumed by that strike just now was truly too great.
The move Drive only required a small amount of magic to activate, but the power of all of Dante's moves was actually related to the amount of magic consumed when activating them.
Even a normal slash, provided Dante consumed a large amount of magic, would have its power amplified to a terrifying degree.
Just now, to ensure she could instantly kill these Honkai Beasts that looked tough to deal with, Kiana had injected a bit too much magic.
So right now, she felt she was indeed a little... drained...
The magic consumed was truly too much. Although she solved the enemies in one hit, now...
Glancing at Aaron, who was fighting fiercely with that armed puppet in the air, Kiana only felt a sense of agitation.
Strength. It still wasn't enough.
If I had enough strength, after defeating these small fry, I would still have the power to go help Aaron.
Mei and Bronya are nearby, but the people from Schicksal are coming soon...
"Kiana, I see you guys. Wait for me, I'll be there right away."
"No, Mei. Don't come over right now."
Hearing the voice from the communicator, Kiana actually calmed down a bit.
"Although I cleaned up these Honkai Beasts, the people from Schicksal might be here soon."
"...They definitely won't let you go, so you must be careful."
"But what about you guys? Even if you and Aaron are strong, what will you do when Schicksal arrives after you finish fighting that little thing?"
"Aaron has invisibility abilities. And you know my speed; escaping is simple."
"You might not be able to see the specific situation from a distance, but I can tell. Aaron is fighting very intensely with that little thing. If we intervene rashly, it might be counterproductive."
"So... let's watch the situation for now. If things look wrong, we'll improvise then."
"I understand. You guys be careful with everything."
After cutting off the communication with Mei, Kiana looked at the two figures crossing paths incessantly in the air and found that it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to even see their movements clearly.
Since just now, the speed of Aaron and this armed puppet has actually been constantly increasing?!
Aaron is one thing, but how is this armed puppet also so freakish?!
Is this the powerful weaponry developed by the 'Previous Era Civilization' that Aaron spoke of?
*Hmph*, if we could mass-produce this kind of powerful weapon, humanity wouldn't have to worry about the Honkai, right?
No, let's infer in reverse.
The Previous Era had such terrifying technology and still couldn't survive the Honkai. Doesn't that mean...
Are the enemies we have to face in the future far more terrifying than we imagine?!
At this moment, Kiana felt she understood Cocolia a little bit.
She didn't understand Cocolia's behavior of poisoning her own adopted children, but she understood why Cocolia would rather watch others die just to obtain the power of a Herrscher.
The destruction caused by the Honkai that Kiana saw now was possibly just the tip of the iceberg of the final disaster caused by the Honkai.
Cocolia was probably so crazy because she realized there was no time left.
But even if she's crazy, she can't commit such vicious acts!
I definitely still don't like that woman!
..........................
After cutting off contact with Kiana, Raiden Mei, who was crouching nearby, glanced at Aaron and the armed puppet, then decisively dismissed the idea of asking Aaron.
Although her Perfect Realm was only at about ten percent, even relying on this ten percent Perfect Realm, she could tell just how troublesome the armed puppet in front of Aaron was.
Speed and destructive power went without saying. The most tricky part was that this armed puppet seemed to possess a 'consciousness' and was extremely exquisite in its moves.
Rather than calling it an armed puppet with a super AI, it was better to say this thing was a master with rich combat experience.
"Sister Mei... what should we do now?"
After collecting intelligence through her network, Bronya spoke with a slightly anxious tone.
"Bronya has already collected some news through the intelligence network."
"Schicksal's troops are already approaching London. If Master and Sister Kiana don't retreat soon, when Schicksal gets here, no one will be able to leave."
"Let me think."
Aaron appeared here obviously because of that giant locomotive that had appeared.
And Schicksal... *hmm*, back in Singapore, Aaron took the Gem of Serenity. Schicksal probably won't let him off.
Not just him.
Kiana's father is a Schicksal traitor, and I am a Herrscher.
Even Bronya has the identity of [Adopted Daughter of an Anti-Entropy Executor]. If we stay here, we'll really only be chased and beaten by Schicksal.
Meanwhile, watching the two figures crossing paths in the air, Bronya suddenly regretted it.
Although she really wanted to see Seele again, after realizing how brutal her and Cocolia's actions had been back then, she didn't want her longing to bring about greater casualties.
But now, Aaron was obviously here to help her fulfill her wish.
If she made Aaron retreat here, the probability of her seeing Seele in the future would become even lower.
But if she let her companions continue to stay here, when Schicksal's people came killing their way over, the probability of everyone being unable to leave would clearly skyrocket.
Everyone's identities were more or less sensitive. In this situation, if they were caught by Schicksal's people, Bronya didn't think the four of them would have a good outcome.
Mother Cocolia wasn't a good person, but Schicksal, which allowed Mother Cocolia to use the Gem of Serenity to create Herrschers, was obviously not anything good either.
If we are caught by them, we definitely won't have it easy.
No, once they extract the intelligence from our mouths, Schicksal inevitably won't let us continue living.
Unless... we are willing to join Schicksal.
No, I cannot have such weak thoughts.
Master, Sister Mei, and Sister Kiana undoubtedly possess tyrannical strength. If they were willing to join Schicksal, then Schicksal's combat power would absolutely increase drastically.
But the problem is—who can guarantee that Schicksal would definitely make that choice?
Sister Mei is a Herrscher, Sister Kiana is the daughter of a Schicksal traitor, and Master has beaten up Schicksal Valkyries. We've collectively antagonized Schicksal. If we really get captured...
Thinking of what might happen in the future, Bronya really regretted it a bit.
If she wasn't worried about disturbing Aaron's battle, she would even want to contact Aaron right now to abandon the current operation and retreat first.
She had already lost a cherished friend.
And precisely because of that, she didn't want to lose the companions she cherished incomparably right now.
"Sister Mei, how about we..."
"Don't worry, Bronya."
After calming down, Mei spoke to the young girl beside her.
"Aaron won't let us fall into danger. At least looking at the current situation, you, me, and Kiana can complete a retreat at any time."
"If Schicksal has troops coming to pursue, for me to repel them with my current strength... well, if I liberate *that* power, repelling them isn't impossible."
"*That* power... is it?"
Glancing at the lightning vaguely emerging on Raiden Mei's body, Bronya suddenly felt it was a bit strange.
Hasn't Sister Mei always been fighting using the Herrscher's power?
Transforming electromagnetic fields into power... isn't that the Authority of the Herrscher of Thunder?
Wait.
If Sister Mei hasn't been using the Herrscher's power to fight all along, then if she liberates the Herrscher's power here, what Bronya would see then would be Sister Mei's true combat power.
Sister Mei's combat power is already that strong normally. If combined with the Herrscher's power... *hmm*, then our grasp on a successful retreat increases by a few points.
However, it mainly depends on Master.
Bronya doesn't know if her senses are a bit off, but why does Bronya feel... Master seems to be gradually falling into a disadvantage?
At this time, naturally, Bronya wasn't the only one who noticed Aaron falling into a disadvantage.
In fact, Raiden Mei, who had started urging the Herrscher power within her body just now, had already noticed that Aaron had been passively taking a beating for over ten seconds.
[Heh, looks like this kid is getting a little impatient.]
Senior Hell, have you figured out what Aaron plans to do?
[They've been fighting for less than a minute; his probing is already over.]
[The current him has already spotted that puppet's weakness, so he's targeting it.]
Weakness?
Targeting?
Watching Aaron take another sword strike and have a piece of Honkai Beast carapace sliced off, Mei felt like she understood something, but hadn't fully understood it.
Since just now, Aaron has been passively taking a beating... Senior Hell, are you sure Aaron is okay like this?
[Heh, he was fierce at the start, but now he's withered in less than a minute. Do you think that's normal?]
[You count as a Magnetic Field Rotation user too. With the Perfect Realm, you should understand very well that fighting at this intensity with the power of Magnetic Field Rotation, it's impossible to consume so much power that he can't continue fighting in such a short time.]
[Also, it's not like I haven't tested this kid's skill. After getting stabbed in the heart, he was fine and could even seize the opportunity to counterattack. With that kind of monster-like recovery ability, getting pressed and beaten right now is inherently problematic.]
Indeed... but is feigning weakness useful at a time like this?
[Against normal enemies, whether it's useful depends on the situation.]
[But if dealing with an opponent piloted by AI, then it should be quite useful.]
[Back when I was still alive, because I had an opponent who liked to fiddle with these mechanical things, I also learned about AI and computer-related knowledge.]
[The tactical thinking simulated by these AIs is indeed meticulous most of the time. But the problem lies in the fact that some things are not within their scope of thought.]
[For example. Now that Aaron appears weak, the AI's offense count clearly exceeds its defense and evasion count. This is because the AI calculated and found that the enemy is weak.]
[After the enemy weakens, the AI judges that it can abandon part of its defense to trade for offensive opportunities, thereby defeating the enemy faster and avoiding complications.]
[This way of thinking isn't wrong most of the time, but encountering a kid with extremely strong recovery capabilities who also knows how to bait moves... heh, that armed puppet is guaranteed to be finished within thirty seconds.]
Senior Hell, although you say that, if the person writing the AI anticipated someone feigning weakness to bait moves, what happens in that situation?
[That mainly depends on the function and intensity of this little puppet. This little puppet is used for defense, and its intensity is extremely high.]
[In other words, this puppet's main job is actually to repel enemies. And because the intensity is extremely high, most of the time, even if others have some cunning tricks, they'd be beaten apart by this puppet in a couple of moves.]
[And if a few people pop up who can casually beat apart this kind of puppet... then no matter how much the people making these puppets think, it's useless.]
[Finally, an AI is an AI after all. If this armed puppet's prototype were here, perhaps he could detect that the kid's combat power is dropping too fast. But now... heh, it's over.]
[Compared to this, get ready to retreat, Mei.]
Senior Hell, we can get away, but if Aaron's goal is this locomotive...
[That kid isn't someone with brain problems. Since he dares to do this, it means he has a certain grasp on it.]
[Don't dilly-dally. Seize the time to retreat, otherwise, you three girls will easily drag him down instead.]
...I understand.
[Also Mei, after escaping this predicament, you guys should almost consider the matter of forming an organization.]
Organization?
[Although that kid hasn't said it, what he's doing is obviously constantly opposing the Honkai.]
[The little girl beside you has secretly built the most basic intelligence network, but this is obviously far from enough.]
[Manpower. You need a large amount of grassroots manpower to assist you.]
Manpower... is it?
[If it's just the four of you acting, it's actually insufficient to oppose the Honkai. There's strength in numbers. Although grassroots personnel can't do much, at least they can handle trivial matters.]
[I don't know how many things this kid has done behind the scenes, but he's definitely been as busy as a spinning top.]
[If he keeps playing like this without adjusting his mental state, sooner or later he'll suffer from Qi Deviation.]
Qi Deviation... what happens after that?
[Lightly, power and realm will both decline. Heavily... he becomes a cripple.]
In this instant, Bronya suddenly felt the aura on Raiden Mei's body soaring.
"Sister Mei???"
"...I'm fine, Bronya."
Restraining her power, Raiden Mei immediately asked Hell.
[Would the situation be that serious?]
[Much more serious than you imagine. And considering the power system in that kid's body is incredibly chaotic, if he suffers Qi Deviation, the probability of him dropping dead is much higher than an average Magnetic Field Master.]
[So for the coming period, you guys will probably be busy. And if something happens to him, do you think you can remain calm?]
[Just the moment I said that sentence, your Perfect Realm, which you haven't been able to refine, suddenly broke through from ten percent to about twenty or thirty percent. Heh, valuing him so much, what will you do when the time comes?]
I don't know...
[If you don't know, then think about it properly. At least you guys still have time now.]
Heh, this girl is really something.
The reason she hasn't been able to break through is that she's worried she can't control her power...
So that's it. Her realm is inferior to that kid not because her talent is inferior to his, but because of issues with her state of mind.
She long since possessed this level of Perfect Realm, but because she was worried she might hurt the people around her at any time, she didn't dare to let go and increase her power.
The heart that wants to protect her companions and the object of her affection, and the worry of hurting important people around her—these formed a contradictory psychology at this moment, causing her realm to be stuck in an awkward position.
Once she realized that kid might get into trouble, she instantly broke through the shackles she had placed on herself.
*Hmm*, looking at it this way...
Forget it, I'd better not intervene.
I'll leave matters of the heart for the young people to handle themselves.
......................
From engaging this armed puppet until now, Aaron realized he might have really underestimated this puppet earlier.
In the original work, this armed puppet based on Kevin could fight to a draw with Durandal, who was equipped with Bright Knight: Excelsis and wielding a Divine Key.
If Durandal hadn't recklessly used the Divine Key to open the Sea of Quanta, causing both herself and the puppet to sink into the Sea of Quanta, and relied on the properties of the bubble universe inside her to move freely in the Sea of Quanta for several minutes, it was uncertain how that battle would have ended.
Simply put, Durandal being able to make this puppet shut down due to energy exhaustion back then was actually a trick.
But now, the puppet in front of Aaron started seizing the offensive very actively.
Fighting the opponent at the speed where Aaron entered Honkai Beast Transformation, he was actually suppressed.
Moreover, that small weapon forged in imitation of the Judgment of Shamash was also excellent in destructive power, and the puppet's AI possessed impressive combat wisdom.
In this situation, if Aaron didn't use 'insurance' like Ittou Shura or methods that burned his life like the Revive Hourglass, the probability of him being stalled like Durandal would skyrocket.
Normally, he would be interested in fighting this kind of puppet to slightly train his move proficiency and combat experience.
But the problem now was—that dog thief Otto had one hundred percent already sent people killing their way over.
If he continued to stall, then even if he could successfully run away using [Fog of War], he could forget about using this Cosmic Juggernaut normally.
Even more troublesome was that after he used several heavy strikes in a row, this puppet actually completed a prediction through his movements and successfully dodged his attacks.
In this situation, Aaron was really out of options.
He didn't want to burn his life, so he could only use his brain a little.
After throwing out a few moves of Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist just now, the consumption was a bit high. He'd seize this chance to feign weakness.
After showing weakness, Aaron quickly found that the puppet in front of him immediately adjusted its combat strategy.
Because he actively lowered the intensity of the Magnetic Field Rotation protecting his body and dispelled the Noble Phantasm state of the Honkai Beast carapace that had been turned into a Noble Phantasm by [Knight of Owner], his defense had solidly dropped.
In the next ten or so seconds, the Kevin puppet successfully inflicted what looked like severe injuries on Aaron.
The muscles on his body were burned black, and his internal organs were messed up by the opponent's attacks.
If someone who didn't know Aaron's details saw his current miserable state, ninety-nine percent of them would think 'this guy is estimated to die at the hands of this puppet'.
And regrettably, the puppet thought so too.
The puppet had an AI written by a scientist from the Previous Era, but no matter how awesome this AI was, it was impossible to analyze that Aaron had the super-strong recovery ability of [Spirit Command - Guts].
Moreover, regarding the characteristics of Magnetic Field Rotation, no one in this world except Aaron's companions knew those special properties.
At this moment, the Kevin puppet, judging that it 'can already defeat the enemy', finally abandoned all defense and let the small imitation Judgment of Shamash in its hand ignite with violently burning flames.
When people fight, they rarely go all out.
Generally, when masters fight, a punch thrown will leave a few degrees of strength for defense and recovering the move.
Only at this moment, the puppet, already prepared to fully annihilate the enemy, did not leave any strength to defend or recover.
After all, in this puppet AI's judgment, the enemy could not dodge this next strike.
And after hitting the enemy, based on its calculated enemy defense values, the enemy would inevitably be defeated.
A sword thrust out. This sword burning with raging flames easily pierced Aaron's heart.
But just as the puppet intended to seize this opportunity to burn Aaron's internal organs to nothing with the weapon, a power of ice that Aaron hadn't used before suddenly erupted from his body.
Under full activation, the [Kaslana Bloodline] could freeze even the genuine Greatsword of Shamash.
And this small imitation was obviously far inferior to the genuine article in power.
After the burning of the flames was contained by this freezing power, the puppet's AI had already sensed something was wrong.
But when it wanted to pull away and leave, it was obviously too late.
"Magnetic Field Rotation: 249,999 Horsepower—"
[Spirit Command—Valor!]
"Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist!"
Urging the power of Magnetic Field Rotation, Aaron, who had also abandoned defense, relied on the power of Valor to double the destructive power of this strike.
Aaron, attacking from both sides with fists simultaneously, successfully used this strike to beat the Kevin puppet into a heavily damaged state on the spot.
It just surprised him that at the final moment, after realizing it couldn't run, the Kevin puppet actually gave up escaping directly and desperately urged the imitation Judgment of Shamash in its hand, letting the flames break through the frozen state Aaron caused with the Meta-Morph Factor.
In the next instant, violent flames began to ignite on Aaron's body.
*Ah*, enough already.
Even a puppet is this desperate... no, precisely because it is a puppet, it can be this reckless with its life.
[Spirit Command—Guts.]
After forcefully urging the Meta-Morph Factor in his body to combine with the magnetic field power to extinguish the flames, Aaron used the power of the Spirit Command 'Guts' to restore his body to its peak state.
"Hah..."
After letting out a long sigh, Aaron glanced at the distant sky out of the corner of his eye...
Motherf... why is it the Hyperion again.
Didn't they say Theresa and Otto were having a conflict? Why is she still so obediently leading a team over to trouble me every day.
After pulling out [Dimensional Formation: Shambhala] from his storage space, Aaron prepared to do a test and discovered something as expected.
In the vicinity of the Cosmic Juggernaut, Shambhala, a Teigu capable of spatial movement, couldn't even manage to record coordinates.
So that's it. Because of the Cosmic Juggernaut's interference, Shambhala, whose performance is far inferior to the Cosmic Juggernaut, can't even activate its most basic functions.
"Kiana, catch."
"Eh? This is... Shambhala?!"
Kiana, catching Shambhala, instantly understood what Aaron intended to do.
Since Dimensional Formation: Shambhala had already been used today, for the rest of the day, it only had the function of recording coordinates.
But as long as today passed, this thing could let everyone move to the location where Shambhala had recorded coordinates.
But... Aaron threw this thing to me instead of keeping it himself...
"Wait!"
"Ah, that world is too dangerous, you'd better not go."
After creating a huge barrier with magnetic field power, Aaron jumped directly onto the Cosmic Juggernaut and gently placed his hand on the Key of the Void.
Sure enough, the matter mentioned in the original work of 'using a Divine Key to open the Sea of Quanta' was achievable.
Then...
Kiana, blocked for a second by the barrier Aaron used, saw after breaking through the barrier that Aaron's body had already been directly swallowed by a torn-open space gate.
"This guy... acting so recklessly again!"
Kiana, who had wanted to rush up and enter that space gate, suddenly stopped her footsteps at this moment.
Creating a barrier with magic to stay in the air, Kiana stared dead at that giant locomotive.
"Kiana? What is it?!"
Mei, having caught up to Kiana's footsteps, asked her best friend in front of her.
"Wake up! Now isn't the time to space out!"
"Schicksal's pursuers are almost arriving near us!"
"Mei, Bronya... you might not believe this."
Kiana, staring at the Cosmic Juggernaut, suddenly spoke somewhat woodenly to Mei and Bronya in her arms.
"I suddenly feel..."
"This locomotive should be something that belongs to me."
.....................