"Don't say that. If it weren't for Bronya, we wouldn't have been so victorious along the way."
Mei said this, nodding her head as she looked at the sleeping Bronya. Her heart was moved.
She stretched out her index finger and gently touched Bronya's delicate face, like a porcelain doll.
"Yes, yes, Bronya is really amazing."
Watching the intimate behavior between the two made Kiana feel jealous. She responded unhappily:
"Anyway, Mei must like her the most."
Mei smiled and whispered, "Yes, I like her the most."
"Well..."
Kiana hadn't expected Mei to affirm her words, so puffed her cheeks in anger, her frustration growing.
But before her emotions could escalate, Mei's gentle words reached her ears.
"I like Kiana the most, too!"
Touched by this, the previous anger and jealousy gradually dissipated, and Kiana was delighted.
She leaned forward and asked happily, "Really?"
"Of course, Kiana is my savior!"
Mei smiled and unashamed.
On the side, witnessing this heartwarming scene, Kiana who had escaped from the clutches of Project Bunny smiled foolishly.
["Great, Mei likes me!"]
["That's my future self!"]
Seeing herself express affection for someone, Kiana roughly understood what her future self was thinking, but had to helplessly reflect on her own ambiguous feelings.
["Well... Mei, do you not like me?"]
Hearing this, Mei, her face a little flushed under Kiana's fiery gaze, replied somewhat self-deprecatingly, ["...Okay, okay, I like you."]
At the same time, she glanced at her future self.
Though she was a little different in the past, one thing remained unchanged...
If it was the feeling of liking Kiana, it had probably never wavered.
If anything had changed, it was probably that this feeling, which words could not express, had only deepened over time.
"It's incredible..."
Looking out the window at the wandering dead on the streets, the tiny stars, and the dark night...
"We've only known each other for a short time..."
"It feels like we've known each other forever."
Feeling this dreamlike experience, Mei whispered softly.
"It would be great if I could leave here safely..."
She wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but she always felt that the city was becoming more and more dangerous.
She was also confused and anxious about whether she could escape from this city.
Suddenly, her shoulders felt heavy.
"I can do it!"
In Mei's sight, Kiana spoke with full seriousness.
"I will always protect Mei, so it will definitely work!"
"Kiana..."
As if witnessing a dazzling light, Mei was stunned.
But before she could say anything—
"Kacha."
A dull sound rang through the air.
["Something's outside."]
Bronya reminded them expressionlessly.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by a loud crash, the wall collapsed under the attack of a huge entity.
The scattered rubble passed through the three illusory figures, rushing toward Kiana and the others in the future.
Fortunately, their movements were quick, and they avoided any damage.
Looking up, they finally saw the figure of the enemy who had attacked.
It was a high-level Honkai beast, as big as a building, wielding a pale, cold-bladed spear.
Seeing the enormous size of the Honkai beast, although it wasn't surprising to hear from her father that Honkai beasts could be massive, Kiana couldn't help but widen her eyes.
["What is this?!"]
"...It's a Templar-class Honkai Beast," Bronya answered expressionlessly.
After that incident, her relationship with Mother Cocolia had reached a freezing point. However, to rescue Seele, she suppressed her anger and gathered the necessary intelligence from Cocolia.
Because of this, she had developed some ability to identify Honkai beasts.
Templar-class Honkai Beasts were huge monsters. They generally only appeared during rare, large-scale Honkai outbreaks, and once they appeared, they would quickly be eliminated by surrounding anti-Honkai organizations.
Considering that this was Nagazora City, where the Third Eruption was occurring, it was normal for such troublesome Honkai Beasts to appear.
["Stupid Kiana and Mei can't deal with this kind of thing..."]
Bronya glanced coldly at the Templar-class Honkai Beast. The exaggerated Honkai Beast data appeared in her mind. Bronya sighed inwardly.
What bad luck.
Being entangled with such a troublesome creature.
But fortunately...
Bronya looked at her future self, who had woken from hibernation just in time to avoid the Templar-class Honkai Beast's surprise attack. She felt somewhat relieved.
If it were her, she should be able to deal with this thing with Project Bunny.
With some confidence, she watched as her future self summoned Project Bunny and deployed the lance module to strike the Templar-class Honkai Beast hard.
Very good. Very handsome.
It should be evenly matched.
Then, fast forward to the will competition, and then her future self fell behind. A burst of momentum overturned the Templar-class Honkai Beast.
Ah, what kind of hot-blooded migrant worker like in the manga.
Bronya shook her head, eliminating some of the "Homu Brave Never Loses" plotlines from her mind.
Next...
Very good, clean, and neat.
Someone competed with the Honkai Beast in strength and was beaten away, but I won't mention who.
Looking at her future self, who had been smashed through countless walls and would probably have to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield, Bronya covered her face with her hands and couldn't bear to watch.
Damn, her future self was defeated!
"Bronya."
The future Mei, sweating coldly, was a little worried.
But what she didn't notice was that after knocking over Bronya and her beloved baby carriage, the Templar-class Honkai Beast had set its sights on Mei.
Hearing the sound of breaking air, Mei turned her head and saw the sharp blade, enough to split her in two, approaching. Her pupils shrank slightly from nervousness and the fear of death.
But at the same time, Mei felt a strange calm.
Ah... am I going to die?
It seems there is no way to escape this city.
However, if it were Kiana...
If I hadn't been a burden, I might have been able to escape this city in the end.
And...
I don't know what Bronya's situation is, I don't know how she is...
"I always think about what Bronya said..."
An unexpected figure appeared and pressed against Mei while speaking with a hint of helplessness.
At a short distance, Kiana gently stroked Mei's shoulder, smiling at Mei's stunned expression.
"I'll be jealous."
Slsh!
The words fell, and with the sound of "tearing," bright blood blossomed under the blade of the Templar-class Honkai Beast.
Kiana and Mei collapsed after blocking the attack with their bodies, hitting the ground.
Bright red blood scattered across the floor, the strong smell of blood filling the air. They fell heavily to the ground.
Mei's back should have been burning with pain, but she ignored it at that moment.
She just stared absentmindedly at the bloodstained Kiana in her arms.
With trembling hands, she stroked the hideous wound, blood constantly oozing from it.
Tick-tick...
Tears dripped onto Kiana's shoulders, soaking her clothes.
My heart hurts...
What is this uncontrollable sadness...