Holding grudges aside, Bronya, who was groaning on the floor, still helped deploy the [Dimensional Shut].
The pseudo-space fault line possessed immense defensive power that even a Critical-class opponent couldn't breach in a rushed attack. The only regret was that the device could only defend against one specific direction rather than providing full coverage.
Fortunately, as a wielder of the Void Stigmata, Kiana, like Fuli, could amplify spatial effects.
The suddenly expanded defensive net enveloped all four of them, buying precious time for them to knock Arlan out.
Rip!
With a sharp tug, Kiana pulled out the flaming energy scimitar that the enemy had plunged into Arlan's skull and, relying on her monstrous strength, crushed it in her grip.
The servant boy, whose face had been full of hostility, froze, then looked as if he had just woken from a dream.
Intense guilt welled up in his purple-red pupils. He wanted to say something, but Kiana interrupted him bluntly: "Don't even think about using that broken curse to die together with the enemy! We didn't go through all this trouble saving you just to let you waste your life like that!"
Bronya, propping herself up, added, "The enemy isn't stupid; he surely has preparations against that."
"...I understand!"
Arlan nodded heavily, gripping his dagger to guard his Young Miss, who was on the verge of shedding tears.
It was at this moment, accompanied by the crackling sound of shattering space, that the [Dimensional Shut]—capable of withstanding a direct nuclear bombardment—finally shattered under the enemy's continuous assault.
The appearance of the newcomer was revealed to the boys and girls:
White hair reaching his waist, a tall stature, dressed in simple, ancient Shenzhou-style robes, but wearing a pair of sneakers that created a subtle sense of contrast on his feet.
Asta's pupils contracted as she gritted her teeth and spoke the name: "Yan Shiluo of the Talent Motivation Department!"
"I was merely forced to inherit the Grandmaster's title; that's not my real name."
The middle-aged man addressed as Yan Shiluo looked bored. A ring of azure and emerald flames formed behind him, emitting a Honkai energy reaction no weaker than that of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
Yan Shiluo, the Martial Crown of Three Wonders. Five hundred years ago, he was the Sacred Master of the Sacred Fire Sect who roamed Shenzhou. In the year 1461, to become the best in the world, he held the Sacred Fire Tournament at Mount Wang, issuing a challenge to the entire Central Plains martial arts world.
He successively defeated Li Meng'an, the "Daoist of Green Wood" from Mount Ziyang, and Cui Yuanpeng, "Hatred Filling the Sea" of the Giant Whale Gang, gaining massive fame. However, at his peak, he was slain in three strikes by Lin Chaoyu, the First Disciple of Mount Taixu, who had accompanied the Celestial Immortal Phoenix (Fu Hua).
Yan Shiluo died, but the orthodoxy of the Sacred Fire Sect did not end.
Knowing revenge was hopeless, the disciples scattered like birds and beasts. One branch traveled to the Western Regions, dedicating themselves to cultivating the "Jasper Divine Art," which allowed free manipulation of fire.
The man appearing before Kiana was the direct heir of this branch. Since he had reached the Critical-class—comparable to the Sacred Master's power—before the age of thirty, the elders of the sect took it upon themselves to bestow the title of [Yan Shiluo] upon him, hoping he would lead the Divine Fire Sect to greatness once more.
"Of course, I personally have zero interest in that."
Yan Shiluo spread his hands. "Never mind me, even if the Sect Leader himself were resurrected, he'd probably get beaten so hard in today's society that even Immortal Phoenix wouldn't recognize him."
Putting aside relics of the Previous Era, the Honkai World didn't subscribe to the fallacy that "the older it is, the stronger it is."
Whether it was technology, magic, individual combat power, or total civilization strength, things always became more robust the closer they got to the modern era.
The Judgment-class Honkai Beast [Chiyou], born not long ago, was enough to leave the Shenzhou of five thousand years ago helpless. Five hundred years ago, Yan Shiluo dared to claim the title of the World's Second Best, the Martial Crown of Three Wonders, with merely Emperor-class strength.
And now?
Shesha, a companion of the Herrscher of Thunder, was dragged over the Pacific Ocean and beaten senseless by the Engine of Creation. World-ending weapons like the Imaginary Collapse Gravity Bomb were actually being put up for trade.
In the past, who would dare imagine such things? Who could imagine them?
Thus, Yan Shiluo only planned to live his little life in peace and stability, completing tasks assigned by the higher-ups to hustle for some bonus cash.
Yes, his idol was Yoshikage Kira from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.
"Incorrect!"
Bronya sensed a problem. "If you really just wanted to live a normal life, you wouldn't have gotten involved in a major event concerning the Corporation's inheritance rights!"
"Yeah, normally I wouldn't."
The robed man sighed. "But like I said, my idol is Yoshikage Kira."
"It's just that... he liked hands. I, on the other hand, prefer collecting the heads of beautiful women."
Recalling the rows of perfectly preserved skulls in his home exhibition hall, he bowed to Asta. "Miss Asta, if possible, may I invite a part of you to become my family?"
"You goddamn pervert!!!"
A guy like this was undoubtedly the public enemy of all women. Kiana raised her gun and fired almost instantly.
"Don't insult the word 'pervert,' Idiot Kiana."
Bronya's expression was cold. The high-tech weapon [Frost Rain], boasting a cool design, materialized on Project Bunny's left arm. Heavy firepower with a maximum rate of fire of 70,000 rounds per second poured out, carrying the girl's silent fury toward the enemy.
"Useless."
Yan Shiluo didn't even seem to move. The azure flames surrounding him acted with a will of their own, forming a curtain wall. The needle-like bullets fired by Frost Rain melted the instant they struck it due to the high temperature.
Immediately after, he raised his hand. Between his index and middle finger, he caught a special armor-piercing round Kiana had fired using the Gun Kata: Sky Ripper technique.
"Infusing the weapon with Space-attribute Honkai energy, turning the fired bullet into an imaginary object to penetrate all obstacles, then reverting it to solid form the moment it hits the target to deal undefendable damage... Not bad, not bad. To actually bypass the mysterious ice's auto-defense... truly excellent marksmanship."
Having seen through the essence of the technique in an instant, the robed man let go, allowing the bullet to fall to the ground with a clink-clank.
"Regrettably, while you were fighting earlier... Uncle here wasn't exactly doing nothing."
"So much talk!"
Kiana, continuing to fire, clicked her tongue. She realized they had encountered a difficult type.
Her Kaslana intuition told her Yan Shiluo had boarded the cruise ship early on, yet he only chose to reveal himself and attack now.
Why?
First, to let the Kheshig troops and the Hyperion group fight to the death and exhaust their stamina.
Second, to secretly observe their fighting styles and moves to avoid any accidental upsets.
If a peer did this, Kiana would just call them cautious.
But when done by a Critical-class entity whose strength completely crushed theirs—someone who possessed immense power yet maintained extreme rationality—people preferred to call this kind of neurotic caution an "Old Six" (a camper/schemer).
"Are your attacks finished?"
The "Old Six" Yan Shiluo said cheerfully, "Then it's my turn. No objections, right?"
As soon as his voice fell, another type of green flame surrounding him suddenly condensed. These flames, called [Li-Fire], formed into swords, sabers, spears, bows, hammers, axes, whips... there were at least a hundred of them, each radiating a terrifying aura.
"Go!"
With a command, the arsenal of blades and spears turned into streaks of flaming light tearing through the sky.
"Damn it! Don't copy the way this young lady talks!"
Kiana yelled angrily. She activated Radiant Blaze again, projecting a massive amount of newly condensed Honkai energy weapons in a meteor-shower style.
The two sides collided for barely a breath before the Li-Fire weapons destroyed the opposition with crushing force.
"Heh, not bad."
Accompanied by Yan Shiluo's scornful laugh, the attack continued rushing forward with undiminished momentum.
"I am the torch, rushing to the eternal burn of true red!"
Seeing the Li-Fire weapons already upon them, Kiana swung the Galactic Baseball Bat—now transformed into the Greatsword of Flamescion—and met the attack head-on. The weapon, imbued with transcendent spatial oscillation fluctuations at a microscopic level, combined with her rule-breaking monstrous strength, managed to fight to a standstill amidst a cacophony of clangs and bangs.
The problem was, this couldn't last. Pushing the Flamescion Greatsword to its limit came at the cost of weapon wear and tear, or even self-destruction. No matter how sturdy the Galactic Baseball Bat was, it couldn't withstand such abuse for long.
"Bronya! Think of something!"
"Project Bunny! Assist Kiana in stalling the enemy!"
While issuing the command, Bronya's brain worked furiously using [Prescience Calculations]. The six psychokinetic floating units danced in the air according to her will, rapidly combining into a super-large hexagonal cannon.
This was Bronya's ace in the hole—a High-Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon capable of reducing a hundred-meter-class Lower Honkai Beast to near-death with a single shot.
At this moment, the cannon was aimed not at Yan Shiluo, who stood his ground, but at the thick steel ceiling layered above their heads!
The plan mentioned earlier?
Yan Shiluo immediately realized Bronya's intention. He didn't know why this little girl wanted to guide him to the deck, but whatever the enemy wanted to do, stopping them was definitely the right move!
"Condense!"
Azure and emerald catastrophic flames surged in the man's palm, transforming into a towering Glazed Divine Palm.
This move, the Profound Ice Jasper Palm, was originally a technique for close-quarters combat. It forcibly fused two opposing natures of Honkai fire together, detonating them like matter-antimatter annihilation the moment they touched the enemy.
Lin Chaoyu, the first of the Seven Swords of Taixu, had been forced to counter it using the Form principle of the Edge of Taixu. Considering she was only half a step away from S-Rank back then, the power of this move was evident.
The modern Yan Shiluo had improved it, making the palm technique viable for both melee and ranged attacks.
"Sorry, little girl."
In the blink of an eye, the robed man raised his hand and pressed down. The Divine Palm in the void crashed down, crushing the just-formed High-Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon and the floating units that comprised it into dust.
Looking at his effortless posture, one couldn't tell he was simultaneously suppressing the combined assault of Kiana and Project Bunny.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Arlan stepped forward again. The boy, viewing death as a homecoming, placed his hand on the scattered flames drifting nearby, attempting to fulfill the activation condition of the Zoroastrian copy to take the enemy down with him.
The result?
Putting his hand on it revealed nothing but warmth.
"Little Bro Arlan, you don't think I'm stupid, do you?"
In the distance, Yan Shiluo scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze seemingly saying, 'Guess who controlled you just now?'
Now, they were truly out of options.
"Dammit..."
Asta grit her silver teeth.
For the first time, she understood so clearly why in major organizations, an A-Rank was considered just a high-level soldier, while a Critical-class combatant—just one level higher—could qualify to buy shares in the organization.
Even in a super-massive faction like Anti-Entropy, anyone other than the Sovereign who wanted to mobilize a Critical-class needed to apply for permission, requiring the consent of at least three Enforcers.
They said the difference between Critical and S-Rank was like heaven and earth, but that didn't mean the gap between A-Rank and Critical wasn't huge—it just wasn't as massive as the former.
"I'm sorry, you two from the Hyperion. It seems I won't be able to honor the two hundred million Crystals I promised."
Realizing her death was imminent, a trace of madness flashed in Asta's eyes. Flipping her pale white wrist, she directly took out the Imaginary Collapse Gravity Bomb, whose explosive power rivaled an S-Rank rule-breaker.
Having her head pickled and displayed in someone's house as an exhibit—no normal person could accept such a fate.
Furthermore, Asta didn't believe Yan Shiluo would stop after killing her. Rather than letting Kiana, Bronya, and Arlan die in vain, it was better to detonate the bomb and take everyone out together. At least they'd have company on the road to the afterlife!
Catching a glimpse of this, Kiana internally screamed, Holy crap! This young miss looks quiet and demure, but how is she so crazy deep down?!
Yan Shiluo was also panicked. He shouted hurriedly, "Sister! No need for that! No need! I won't take this job, okay? I'm leaving! I'm leaving right now!"
"Really?"
Asta's eyes lit up.
"I'm~ lying~ to~ you~"
The robed man's lips curled into an uncomfortable smile. "Miss Asta, to a normal adult, who is more dangerous: a toddler holding a pistol, or a toddler holding a nuclear warhead?"
"Of course it's—!"
Realizing the problem, the pink-haired girl fell into utter despair.
Right. Since when did nukes explode just by throwing them like grenades?
By the same logic, the Imaginary Collapse Gravity Bomb, a weapon of mass destruction containing cutting-edge technology, had detonation conditions far exceeding conventional nuclear weapons.
"It's over..."
Asta gave a miserable laugh, sliding down the wall to sit.
The heat generated by the battle had made the metal wall conduct a pleasant warmth, yet her heart was ice cold.
Suddenly, a clear, emotionless, baby-like voice rang out unexpectedly: "The Critical-class enemy exceeds the previous budget. Miss Asta, requesting an additional one hundred million Crystals as remuneration."
"Forget one hundred million, even one billion is no prob—"
"One billion Crystals is no problem? Alrighty! Deal!"
A brisk voice they had never heard before echoed in their ears. A gust of wild wind blew away the clouds, revealing the Hyperion stationed high in the sky, its main cannon perpendicular to the sea surface.
"Target, locked."
"Closed-loop firing correction, complete."
"Concentrated power control, complete."
"Main cannon charging, complete."
"Output power, 25%."
Beautiful white braids traced a perfect half-moon arc in the air. Kallen smirked, her elegant hand slamming violently onto the launch button on the console:
"EAT MY GENESIS!! LALALALALA!!!"
BOOM—!
It was as if God had cast down heavenly fire upon Sodom, or the Celestial Lord of Thunder had sent down divine punishment and condemnation. The dome of the sky cracked with a crimson-gold scar. A pillar of light wrapped in brilliance tore through the cloud layer, the trailing flowing fire scorching the air with the scent of sulfur.
The trajectory of the bombardment caused rippling spatial distortions. Its tip penetrated layers of obstacles within a millionth of a second, hitting Yan Shiluo. The azure flames the man used for defense instantly evaporated into white mist. H
is sturdy body, strong enough to rival an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, let out a mournful sound like shattering crystal as it carbonized. All shadows had nowhere to hide in the absolute light, and even the finest dust refracted a rainbow-colored iridescence within the holy destruction.
Then, the smoke dissipated, and the clouds cleared.
Bronya, who had assisted with the calculations throughout, sighed. "We made over a hundred contingency plans. Just because Idiot Kiana only remembered luring you to the deck doesn't mean we didn't have other methods while hiding inside the ship. It just consumed a bit more time, that's all."
The magic cannon Genesis at 20% power was enough to put a Critical-class to death. Charging it specifically to 25% was a mark of respect for this man.
After all, a certain Electrician Liu once said: The greatest respect for an enemy is to wipe them out completely.
The Silver Wolf of the Urals turned her head. "Total is 1.2 billion Crystals. Card or cash?"
I-Is this considered looting a burning house?
Kiana, whose conscience wasn't totally dead yet, leaned in to speak, but her small foot was stomped hard by Bronya. Screaming, she hopped away clutching her leg.
Asta, who hadn't yet recovered from the pillar of light that connected heaven and earth, stared blankly. "It counts, of course it counts. But I need an installment plan. I just bought a Jupiter-class aerospace battleship for Anna as a birthday present a while ago... my remaining pocket money isn't quite enough..."
What do you mean pocket money isn't quite enough?!
Does that mean if you didn't buy a battleship, you could pull out a billion in minutes?!
The unintentional confession of the world's top conglomerate heiress nearly killed the fragile hearts of the poor ghosts present.
They say 20% of black holes control 80% of the universe's mass. Replacing black holes with capitalists feels absolutely accurate!
Meanwhile, on the sea surface dozens of kilometers away.
Azure flames suddenly exploded in the air.
An arm quickly extended from within, followed by a chest, head, and lower limbs.
"Holy crap! Scared me to death!"
A stark naked Yan Shiluo sat on the sea surface, gasping for air. Thankfully, he had obtained a cluster of Phase Spirit Fire from a fellow fire-playing friend a while back and activated its warp function the moment Genesis descended.
Even so, the vast majority of his body tissues had been completely annihilated. Currently, he was relying on organs condensed by the Jasper Divine Art to maintain his vital signs.
"You just wait, you bratty kids!"
Yoshikage Kira's Rule of Survival #1: If you offend someone, wipe them out completely to prevent them from interfering with your quiet life.
Realizing he couldn't make peace with the Hyperion, Yan Shiluo found his bearings and prepared to leave. He had considerable assets and could fully repair his body soon.
When that time came, he would show those wretched girls who ruined his plans what true purgatory looked like!!!
"Oh?"
A hand pressed onto the man's shoulder from behind.
"Actually, I feel that seeing a grown man streaking on the ocean is already hell enough in itself."
Fuli raised his long blade. Relying on the [Sun Armor] plus the [Fragment of the Lance of the Finality], he easily ignored the sudden burst of high temperature. With a single move, [Instant Slash: River of Forgetfulness], he summoned a pitch-black sun that completely devoured the unlucky bastard before him.
Afterward, he turned his head. "Big help, Trianne."
On the other side of the spatial gate, a cute little doll that made one want to hug and kiss it shook its head. "Not at all, not at all. As long as Little Red comes to visit Trianne often."
Janus was the Roman god of doors. As a Golden Scion corresponding to him, Tribios possessed the ability to open spatial gates.
Kallen couldn't possibly not tell Fuli and Mei about receiving the distress signal. Worried that the situation might change, the boy asked Trianne to open a portal to send him over.
"Little Red" was naturally the nickname Trianne gave him, taken from his rare crimson eyes.
Hearing the little one's words, Fuli scratched his head awkwardly. "It was just a simple hug. Trianne doesn't need to take it to heart so much, right?"
He was in his child form back then. Hugging among kids is normal, right?
Trianne sighed. "Who told Little Red to be so good-looking?"
"Huh?"
Fuli knew that obtaining multiple highest-sequence Stigmata meant his genes were constantly evolving toward perfection, but he always believed looks just needed to not be an eyesore. Who knew there would be unexpected gains?
So, question: Putting aside all conditions and speaking strictly on the matter, is it illegal to fall in love with a childhood persona that has a child's body but split from an adult?
Fuli felt it was. His conscience couldn't take it.
So he refused with a smile. "Let's talk when Trianne grows up like Tribios. Or maybe just let the Princess herself come? I still prefer child-bearing beauties with curves in all the right places like her."
I, Old Man Fuli, am a battle-tested warrior of the Big Tits Doctrine! The Flat Chest Party can't shake my resolve!
Theresa: Ah yes, yes, yes. I wonder who was using me as a meal replacement and devouring me earlier.
"Moyomo?"
A cute sound echoed between the sky and sea. The boy bent down and affectionately picked up the Armed Cat Cake that Kallen had sent to confirm the kill.
After nuzzling the little guy's soft crust, he said cheerfully:
"Let's go. We're going home."
...