As things stood, this dungeon seemed to have granted her a second chance—a shot at "taking the regret medicine."
So, with her heart and mind having undergone such a drastic reversal, how should she handle meeting Elysia all over again?
Durandal pondered for only a moment before making her decision.
She took a few steps forward, stepping precisely within three paces of Elysia's psychological boundary, closing the distance to a mere two steps.
Watching Elysia's expression closely, Durandal noted that while the other girl knit her brows slightly, she didn't actually retreat to widen the gap.
Durandal was satisfied with the result of this first test.
As expected, Elysia was exactly as she had been during their first meeting: guarded, yet possessing no innate dislike for her.
And so, Durandal extended her right hand. "Durandal."
Elysia looked down at the hand offered to her and let out a smile. She reached out in kind. "Ely—yah!"
Before Elysia could finish her sentence, she realized that the moment her hand met Durandal's, she was pulled forward by the momentum and swept directly into an embrace.
Elysia let out a startled cry, her first instinct to push the woman away.
However, once the thought surfaced, she found herself frozen rather than acting upon it.
Shouldn't her reaction be one of extreme fury? Shouldn't she be starting a fight right here and then?
Why was her only urge to push her away born out of mere shyness?
Moreover, that strange sense of emptiness she'd felt ever since leaving the training room was suddenly being filled by this single embrace...
Elysia didn't struggle. She simply allowed the other woman to hold her, her body remaining slightly stiff.
"I know. Your name is Elysia."
The woman holding her whispered into her ear like a lover.
Elysia's confusion deepened. "Do we... know each other?" she asked.
"Yes. You are my beloved."
Durandal released Elysia and looked straight into those beautiful eyes, her voice steady and firm.
"You've forgotten me for the time being—forgotten our past—because of certain events. But it's alright. I'll make you remember."
Elysia studied Durandal's face with great intensity for a long time. After confirming the absolute sincerity in the woman's gaze, her lips suddenly curled into a smirk.
"I do feel as though I've forgotten something important, it's true. But whether you or 'us' are part of that memory isn't for you to decide!"
"Right now, the priority is eliminating the Third Herrscher and putting an end to the disaster this Third Honkai Outbreak has brought upon the world. You just came from the epicenter; I assume you've seen the Third Herrscher?"
Durandal looked at Elysia, thinking for a moment. She nodded, then shook her head.
"I was just fighting the Third Herrscher. I spotted you from the air and ditched it to come find you. However, until I get your memory back, I won't be helping you or Fire Moth kill it."
Upon hearing this, the smile vanished from Elysia's face, replaced by a cold edge.
"If you're going to keep insisting you're my lover, then you should understand how important killing Herrschers is to me—and to all of humanity. If you won't help Fire Moth, do you intend to help the Herrscher wipe out human civilization?"
"I only said I wouldn't kill the Third Herrscher. But as long as I am here, it won't be wiping out any civilizations either."
After all, this involved the rewards for clearing the dungeon.
If she allowed the Third Herrscher to run wild and destroy humanity just to restore Elysia's memories... no, even if she just let the damage exceed the original historical record, she would likely waste her shot at the reward.
Why had she slaughtered so many Honkai beasts earlier?
Firstly, it was to clear a safer path for Elysia when she eventually came looking.
Secondly, it was to lower the intensity of this specific Eruption.
After a Honkai Eruption, the process of Honkai beasts being birthed and then subsequently broken back down into Honkai energy involves a massive loss of energy.
By Durandal's calculations, her interference meant the radius of this Third Eruption would be significantly smaller. For instance, nearby Sapphire City likely wouldn't become a "Dead City" like Nagazora.
Perhaps, in this timeline, Hua wouldn't have to endure the agony of losing her best friend and family in quick succession.
Of course, a lower intensity meant more survivors, which meant Himeko and the others conducting rescue operations in Sapphire City would be much busier than they were in the original history.
Durandal looked at Elysia again and added, "Besides, Elysia, your 'angry face' isn't very convincing."
Elysia: "..."
"Fine, fine~ ♪"
Elysia waved her hand, dropping the pretense of indignation. She looked at Durandal. "So, no killing the Third Herrscher until my memories return? That's non-negotiable?"
Seeing Durandal nod, Elysia continued, "Then what's the plan? Are you going to do something to jog my memory? Or go back in there and cull more Honkai beasts to keep the Eruption under control?"
Elysia didn't suggest bringing Durandal back to the Fire Moth perimeter camp.
She knew perfectly well that while she could trust Durandal based on these inexplicable gut feelings, others—especially the Fire Moth brass—absolutely would not.
In that scenario, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility for the higher-ups to order an assassination on Durandal.
"Even though I've already killed enough Honkai beasts, I know that if I don't take you with me to see them being wiped out with your own eyes, you probably won't cooperate with what I have planned next. So..."
Durandal's gaze suddenly turned profound.
Catching Elysia off guard once again, she scooped the girl up by her slender waist. She engaged the thrusters on her Bright Knight armor and soared back toward the direction she had come from.
When Durandal returned to the site of her confrontation with the Third Herrscher, the Herrscher and its companion beast, Śeṣa, were—as expected—nowhere to be found.
With a quick scan of the area, Durandal sensed that the Third Herrscher and Śeṣa had likely headed east.
However, the enemy had played a trick, sending a massive swarm of Honkai beasts to the north, hoping the sheer concentration of Honkai energy would cause Durandal to miscalculate.
She wouldn't miscalculate, of course, but she was currently more inclined to hunt the swarm than the Herrscher anyway.
So, Durandal merely cast a subtle glance toward the east before clutching Elysia tighter and heading north.
Being carried through the sky, Elysia felt neither novelty nor fear after the initial surprise.
She simply looked down at the dizzying, scalp-numbing number of Honkai beasts below them as they flew north, her mind drifting back to the theories she'd formed when she first entered Nagazora.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL