"Eek!"
As if struck by an invisible electric current, Miyuki Asakura let out a pitifully weak squeak the moment Fuli grasped her small hands. Her eyes spun into dizzying, cartoonish spirals, and as if all the bones had been magically siphoned from her body, she slumped limply backward.
"Eh?"
This sudden turn of events left Fuli standing there in bewildered shock. He quickly caught the girl by her incredibly slender waist to keep her from hitting the floor, then turned his wide, innocent eyes toward the other three women.
Fu Hua looked a bit puzzled, while Himeko let out a knowing, wicked cackle, clearly unsurprised. Only the purple-haired beauty, Yuno, sighed and rubbed her temples before stepping forward. "Just hand her over to me."
"Sure." Fuli nodded, passing the unconscious real-life 'Bocchi'—along with her massive guitar case—over to her friend.
Yuno caught her and gently tapped her fingertips, conjuring a small, snow-white flower. She placed the blossom against Miyuki's forehead. As the flower rapidly absorbed the girl's overwhelming anxiety and tension, its pale petals visibly deepened into a dark crimson.
"Mmph..." Miyuki let out a soft whimper. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her azure eyes.
Then, without missing a single frame, she bolted behind Yuno like a startled fawn. She only dared to peek out with half her face to steal glances at Fuli, instantly retracting like she'd been electrocuted the moment their eyes met.
Fuli offered an awkward but polite smile. If a stranger saw this without context, they'd probably think he'd done something utterly heinous to the poor girl.
Thankfully, Himeko, having eaten her fill of the drama, clapped her hands. "Alright, alright, enough with the little interlude. Little bro, we're going to have to borrow your precious ride and take it for a spin."
"No problem at all. Cars were made to carry people, after all." Honestly, Fuli was dying for an excuse to show off his beloved vehicle. What was the point of owning a luxury, all-terrain, amphibious beast if you didn't flex it? It would be like wearing a gorgeous brocade dress in the dark!
"Whoa, it feels so advanced!" Yuno, the least experienced of the bunch, gasped in awe the moment she climbed inside.
Even though Mei had used black tech to compress its original berserker dimensions—twelve meters long, six meters high, and ninety-nine tons in weight—into the shape of a sleek SUV, its core identity as a heavily modified Type-59 Tank remained unchanged. Yuno honestly felt that if she got into a fight with this vehicle, the winner would be entirely up in the air.
"Don't worry, the car would definitely win," Himeko said with a smile, seeing right through the girl's thoughts. "What you're sitting on is a B-rank mechanical construct. Going by the standard tech-side rule of thumb—where machines punch half a tier above their weight class—this thing could easily trade blows with a weaker A-rank Valkyrie."
"And it has way more utility features," Fuli added. Like, for instance, riding. My car can be driven, but can a Valkyrie be ridden? Wait, actually, I guess they can? And it feels pretty good too...
Ahem!
In any case, Himeko didn't mind casually crushing her students' egos with a smile. The whole point of bringing them to the Luofu was to broaden the horizons of these girls who had been sitting in the well of St. Freya, staring at a small patch of sky. It was necessary to keep them grounded before they got too arrogant under the Schicksal banner.
"Wow!" Yuno exclaimed, her eyes darting around playfully. "Then, Miss Himeko, what rank of mechanical construct would it take to beat you?"
It seems their student-teacher relationship is pretty harmonious. I guess that Susannah girl didn't tag along? Fuli reminisced briefly about his former 'angel investor' back in Nagazora City as he voiced-activated the vehicle.
The nuclear-powered engine let out a deep, throaty roar. The SUV smoothly lifted off the ground, merging into the endless river of starskiffs flowing outside the window, speeding toward the arena.
"Beat me? Let me think..." Himeko rested her chin on her hand, watching the scenery blur past. "It really depends on the context. Generally speaking, an A-rank combat-type construct possesses comprehensive strength close to the Critical-tier. The absolute best among them could stall me for a bit. Did you see that Azure Dragon Soaring Sea Mech parked at the Hyperion delegation next door? If I don't draw my Vermilion Knight greatsword, I honestly don't have many good ways to deal with it."
"And what about above that?" Yuno pressed. Even Miyuki, huddled beside her, quietly perked up her ears.
"Constructs above A-rank are incredibly rare. You could say they are all strictly custom-made, one-of-a-kind models with wildly different specs, so you can't generalize them," Himeko shook her head. "Cocolia's Engine of Creation falls into that category. As for its exact combat power, I don't think I need to explain."
"Technology truly is the primary productive force," Fu Hua—the boomer from the Previous Era—summarized solemnly.
Although Project Stigma had its massive flaws, the various survival plans had allowed the Current Era to come into contact with, understand, and research Honkai energy five thousand years ahead of schedule. Compared to the Previous Era's pitifully short window of less than twenty years to prepare, this was an absolute godsend of a developmental head start.
Tch!
The frustrated tongue-click of Dr. MEI echoed faintly in Fuli's ears. Behold, the ultimate representative of the victims. That bastard Cocoon of Finality... if it had just given Dr. MEI—or even Mobius and Vill-V—an extra twenty years of development time? Let's just say there were a few choice Fire Moth profanities she'd like to share.
---||---
Beneath the radiant sun and high in the azure sky, the grand battleship was bustling with noise.
The Skysplitter was formerly a main-line combat dreadnought that served during the Sea of Quanta wars. After its decommissioning, the Artisanship Commission remodeled it, utilizing spatial-folding pocket-dimension tech to drastically expand its interior. It was now one of the Luofu's most popular tourist attractions, blending historical education with sightseeing.
This vessel was the traditional venue for the Luminary Wardance Ceremony, featuring tiered grandstands capable of holding tens of thousands of spectators, surrounding a colossal gladiatorial arena at its heart.
Because the rules of this year's Wardance were radically different from previous iterations, the higher-ups had deliberated carefully and ultimately decided to use this highly symbolic ship as the venue for the preliminary preview matches.
The docking zone—a massive platform dedicated to parking various vehicles—was the first stop for guests boarding the Skysplitter.
"There's so many people..." Yuno and the others marvelled as they stepped out of the SUV.
The sprawling platform was packed with starskiffs. Masts of all sizes jutted up like a dense forest—chaotic at a glance, yet perfectly orderly. Countless banners snapped in the wind, mingling with the roar of cargo loaders and the shouts of merchants, creating a vibrant, bustling atmosphere of life.
"It's to be expected," Fu Hua pushed up her glasses, analyzing the situation calmly. "This time, the competitors aren't facing living opponents or Honkai beasts. Instead, they are using the most cutting-edge virtual reality tech to simulate famous historical figures, drawn from the massive archives of the Taixu Frontline."
Fuli chimed in, his tone brimming with excitement. "A battle across time and space against the greatest heroes of the past! The sheer gimmick and appeal of that isn't any less than a real PvP tournament!" He smacked his lips in regret. "Honestly, if the officials hadn't capped the simulated strength of these ancient heroes at B-rank for balancing purposes, I would have signed up myself."
Xiang Yu the Conqueror, Li Yuanba the legendary strongman... he wanted to throw hands with every single legendary figure who had left their mark on history.
"Save the chatter for while we're moving," Himeko smiled, cutting him off. "First things first: we need to go pick up the registration nameplates for you three."
"Huh?" Yuno froze, staring at the endless line of people snaking off into the distance. "Miss Himeko, didn't you register online in advance? I remember the Luofu website offering a free mail-delivery service to our headquarters."
"Well, about that..." The older woman guiltily scratched her cheek, her eyes darting away to look at anything but her student.
Teehee~
Yeah, not teehee.
"Fine." Having spent so much time together, Yuno was well aware of her instructor's 'Gintama-esque' lifestyle—lazy as a sloth on an average day, yet earth-shatteringly cool when it actually mattered. She sighed, turned around, and gently pushed Miyuki toward Fu Hua. "Class Monitor, please watch over her for a minute. I'll be right back."
What is Asakura, a cute little pet? Fu Hua didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Fortunately, Yuno returned shortly. Noticing her companions' stares, she handed out the cool, metallic nameplates to Fuli and Fu Hua, explaining, "The staff at the desk said that as Schicksal Valkyries, we're entitled to a few minor conveniences."
Ah, the perks of belonging to a mega-corporation. Fuli understood immediately. He leaned over his older cousin's shoulder, peering down curiously.
First, his gaze swept past her perpetually flat chest, before landing on the antique nameplate in her hand. The front was engraved with her competitor number, while the back cleanly listed her assigned waiting room, the exact time of her match, and the arena number.
"It doesn't say who the specific opponent is. By the way, seeing the three of you show up together, I thought this preliminary round was going to be a 3v3 team battle."
Noticing the lingering trauma in the boy's voice, Himeko sharply zeroed in. "What, got screwed over by a team battle before?"
"You could say that," Fuli replied, his face twisting into a grimace as he recalled his dark history. "It was back when I was in the third grade. I got into a fight with a classmate over some trivial nonsense. We agreed to settle it in the classroom after school, once everyone left.
"At the time, adhering to the simple logic that two fists can't block four hands, I brought along the older kid next door, who was in the sixth grade. Seeing this, my classmate panicked and called in his older brother, who was an eighth grader.
"My neighbor saw the odds turning, so he sprinted to the high school campus next door and dragged his cousin, a sophomore, in as backup. But my classmate was absolutely ruthless! He went and called in his uncle, who was a high school senior!"
"Looking at their stacked lineup, we thought we were dead meat. But thankfully, the older kid next door had just learned about Tian Ji's Horse Racing strategy in class..."
Fuli gritted his teeth. "So, after some very careful tactical maneuvering... they decided that I—the absolute weakest member of our team—would be the one to face off against the towering high school senior uncle, who was supposedly the star player of his basketball team!"
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!"
Yuno couldn't hold it in, even though she knew laughing right now made her look incredibly heartless. As Miyuki's closest friend, she hadn't held a very high opinion of Fuli—who was basically her bestie's pseudo-boyfriend.
Add in his recent streak of dominating the trending searches and endless scandalous rumors, and she had gone from a casual fan of his looks to an active hater.
But after interacting with him today, she realized he was actually hilarious, completely different from the playboy image the tabloids painted!
"So what happened?" Fu Hua, ever the caring cousin, was more concerned about his safety. "Who won?"
"Me, obviously." Fuli's mouth curved into a smirk, giving her a look that said 'Do you even have to ask?'
"I got backed into a corner pretty quickly, and right when I was about to get beaten black and blue..." A look of profound nostalgia washed over his face. "I grabbed a broken mop handle nearby. In that instant, it felt like a god possessed me. Sword aura erupted in all directions, and I 1v3'd them until they were screaming for their parents, scampering away like rats!"
The "god possession" was total BS, and the "sword aura" was pure embellishment, but the flawless 1v3 victory was entirely true. That was the exact day little Fuli realized he had an incredibly special talent for wielding bladed weapons.
Not long after, he achieved total schoolyard domination, famously declaring: "Alas! The mob of youths surrender, my longsword remains sharp but without equal, is it not a tragedy!"
While the rest of the group chuckled at the story, Miyuki listened, completely spellbound.
Unconsciously, her mind drifted back to that pitch-black, sunless alley. She remembered the tall, black-haired boy crashing in like a descending god, wielding nothing but a rusty steel pipe to single-handedly thrash a gang of delinquents that vastly outnumbered him, sending them running for their lives.
"Hehe~"
The girl unconsciously pressed her thin lips together, and a breathtaking smile—like ice melting at the first breath of spring—quietly bloomed on her face.
The Stigmata she had awakened, the Deva Path, traced its origins back to the Six Heretical Laws held by the Yae Shrine Maiden five hundred years ago. In other words, her bloodline contained the long-lost, branch-family heritage of the Yae Village Shrine.
Now that her Stigmata genome was active, her physical appearance was constantly shifting to align with her ancestor. Normally, she hid behind her long bangs and timid personality, completely invisible to the world.
But the moment she revealed even a fraction of her true charm, the pedestrians who happened to glance her way froze, momentarily forgetting how to breathe.
Fuli, who had also caught sight of this, wasn't quite so easily paralyzed. Mostly, he just felt a bit depressed, secretly wondering if Asakura actually hated him. Why else would she hide behind someone else just to say hello?
What? Was it possible she liked him?
The Three Great Illusions of Life: My phone is vibrating, she likes me, and I can win this fight. After all the drama he'd caused chasing Kiana in his past life, Fuli swore he would never act like a cringe, over-assuming simp again!
Just then, a lively, sweet, and melodious voice abruptly cut into their circle: "Oh my! Little Miyuki looks so incredibly cute when she smiles! Hurry up and let me give you a hug~♪!"
Accompanied by a refreshing, fragrant breeze, a petite figure darted out of the crowd like a pink whirlwind, throwing her arms wide and wrapping Miyuki in a tight embrace.
"Eh?!" x 5.
The sudden appearance caused all five of them to voice their surprise in perfect synchronization.
Miyuki, being the primary victim, panicked visibly. But she quickly noticed something was off. Going by past experience, she had a 99% chance of being forcefully buried inside a pair of terrifyingly massive, extra-large frontal mounds until she could barely breathe.
But this time, it just felt like a pair of tiny arms hugging her waist...?
She looked back in astonishment, only to be met with the sight of a petite, exquisitely cute little girl. She wore an elegant, off-the-shoulder sundress. Her short pink hair made her skin look white as snow, with a few rebellious strands brushing against her cheeks. The asymmetrical styling of her side-locks only added to her playful, spirited vibe.
Her azure eyes seemed to hold an entire galaxy, the unique diamond-shaped pupils catching the light with a mysterious, gentle luster.
"E-Elysia?" Miyuki subconsciously murmured the name, then quickly shook her head. "No, wait! S-she... she doesn't look like you—"
"Doesn't look like a little shrimp like me, right?" The girl, looking identical to the dazzling maiden of flying flowers, stood on her tiptoes in her cool Roman sandals, tilting her head with a radiant smile. "But I'm still me! It's just that, well..."
Having already experienced Fu Xuan's shrinking incident, Fuli was the first to react. "A mishap during cultivation, right? I was wondering why, with things being so lively lately, I hadn't seen hide nor hair of you these past few days."
He stepped forward, grabbed his little 'great-aunt' by the back of her collar, and plucked her off Miyuki Asakura like a scruffed kitten.
The omniscient field of his Setsuna Blade: Cold River Reflects the Moon silently unfolded, thoroughly scanning the girl from head to toe, inside and out.
"Ehe!"
Rather than getting mad at being dangled in mid-air, Elysia adorably stuck out her tongue. "In this form, you can just call me 'Cyrene' for now! Or you can call me Little Ely~♪!"
[TL/n: 昔涟 (Xī Lián) translates to "ripples of the past" or "ancient wave,", CN name for Cyrene]
Truth be told, 'Fu Xilian' [TL: After this i use Cyrene] was actually the legal name registered on her household ID. Coming from Shenzhou, her official name obviously couldn't be something as exotic-sounding as Elysia.
'Elysia' was merely a self-proclaimed moniker. But since she used it so much and it rolled off the tongue so easily, her original name had gradually faded into the background.
Finishing his scan, Fuli set the little Elysia down and explained in exasperation, "She had a hiccup while practicing the Chrono-Wheel, which caused her body to temporarily revert to the state of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old. I doubt she'll be changing back anytime soon."
Naturally, her measurements had also gone from a proud D-cup-plus to her current flat-as-a-board state.
To this, the boy's heart didn't feel the slightest ripple. This was his little ancestor, after all. It was laughable to even think about it; he had absolutely zero worldly desires.
"Hmm..." Fu Hua crossed her arms, falling into deep thought.
The Chrono-Wheel skill was, at its core, the forced manipulation of localized space-time using massive, ultra-precise amounts of energy. It simulated an interference field centered on the user. Inside it, the gravitational field would warp, and time itself could be tampered with.
In Hua's impressions as her classmate over the past few months, student Cyrene—the Elysia of the Current Era—had reached a state of transcendent mastery over the Chrono-Wheel. She could accelerate, pause, and rewind time effortlessly.
Some classmates even jokingly called her "The Amalgamation of Every JOJO Final Boss" or the "Demigod of Time."
Hua deduced, "Was it a loss of control caused by over-exertion?"
As a rare ability involving time manipulation, the Chrono-Wheel consumed a colossal amount of energy and mental fortitude. If pushed forcefully, the caster was highly likely to suffer a severe backlash, potentially even having their life force drained dry.
"She messed up while trying to upgrade the skill," Fuli explained. He flicked his fingers, repeatedly tapping his little ancestor's forehead with just enough force to sting. "I mean, seriously, how could you dare to practice something as dangerous as the Radiant Stellar Drive completely alone, without anyone around?"
Uncharacteristically, his tone was overflowing with reprimand and lingering dread.
The Radiant Stellar Drive was the upgraded version of the Chrono-Wheel. It was an ultimate technique that manipulated space-time on a massive scale by creating and controlling pseudo-celestial bodies. The consumption was astronomical. Even an S-rank user risked their life attempting it.
"I'm sorry, Little Li. I know I was wrong, sob sob~"
Knowing she was entirely in the wrong, Cyrene didn't argue. Instead, she fully exploited her current physical advantages, hugging the boy's waist and vigorously rubbing her soft, delicate face against him, unleashing the ultimate, invincible power of acting cute.
Faced with such a blatant onslaught, Fuli's stern expression quickly melted away.
"In! Short! If you ever do something like this again, you have to bring me along!"
"Mhm, mhm! Next time I'll definitely bring Little Li with me!" The girl nodded like a pounding garlic mortar, swinging back and forth with her arms wrapped around his neck.
Himeko pulled the 'old man squinting at his phone' meme face. For a moment, she genuinely couldn't tell which of the two was supposed to be the elder.
"So, did you suddenly pop up here just to watch the show?"
Elysia was one of the very few problem students who gave even Himeko a massive headache. She had way too many wild ideas, a wildly unpredictable personality, and was practically a ghost, vanishing for days on end. Even if you caught her to lecture her, she'd just brush it off with a breezy smile.
Completely unmanageable! Utterly untamable!
"Nope."
Fuli, having already skimmed through Cyrene's experiences over the past few days via the Cold River Reflects the Moon, answered on behalf of the girl, who was currently busy having fun swinging from his neck. "She was invited here in her capacity as the ultra-popular blogger 'Miss Pink Elf' to serve as the host for this year's preview arena matches."
The Luofu was massive, and the Luminary Wardance Ceremony was unprecedented in scale. Naturally, Ei wouldn't be the only host.
A heavyweight guest star like Robin was being saved for the grand finale. It was completely normal for the tournament organizing committee to invite other celebrities to make guest appearances in the meantime.
After chatting a bit more, the group bid farewell to Cyrene, who needed to go prep for her gig. They watched her skip away toward the backstage area before following the directions on their competitor plates to the upper-deck VIP contestant lounge of the Skysplitter.
Even before officially stepping into the room, the hallway's furnishings and décor were shockingly resplendent. The level of luxury far exceeded everyone's imagination.
Without a doubt, this was the result of the Luofu higher-ups flexing their immense wealth. Fuli could vividly imagine those old geezers slamming their hands on the table, eyes bulging as they roared, "How could we possibly let Her Eminence the Marshal stay in a classless, run-down shack?!"
However, they weren't the only ones here. An Intellitron was sitting on a bench by the door.
Below the neck, her body structure was indistinguishable from a human woman's, dressed in an elegant pale-yellow gown. But in place of a head, she had a rectangular video camera.
Seeing the group approach, the Intellitron lady's eyes—or rather, her camera lenses—lit up. She quickly stood up and eagerly approached them, introducing herself with enthusiastic hospitality:
"Greetings, esteemed competitors! My name is Carmella, and I am a reporter for Interastral Peace Entertainment.
"Before the matches officially begin, may I have the honor of asking you a few questions for an interview?"
"Of course, no problem," Himeko replied crisply, resting a hand on her hip.