The small space, spanning only ten meters, dissolved into a stream of light along with Kallen. The radiance flowed into the katana in Hua Yi's hand. Before he could even confirm the changes to the blade,
it seemed that because this unique virtual reality had vanished, [Jizo Mitama: Void] could no longer maintain its form. The katana soon broke apart into specks of light and merged into Hua Yi's body.
Once he was back within Schicksal's normal database, Hua Yi found himself unable to feel the presence of [Jizo Mitama: Void] once again, just as before.
Before he could make another move, his vision blurred. When he regained his senses, he was back in the real world, inside Murata Himeko's residence at St. Freya Academy.
"You're finally awake."
The moment Hua Yi and Kiana opened their eyes, a long sigh of relief came from beside them. Murata Himeko, Raiden Mei, and Bronya were all there. Beside them stood the Academy Principal, Theresa.
Earlier, upon discovering that Hua Yi and Kiana had fallen into a strange state where the connection could not be severed by normal means, Himeko had immediately reported the matter to Theresa. She wasn't doing it to admit a mistake,
but rather hoped that Theresa could contact Schicksal before things reached an irreversible point. She wanted to combine Bronya's hacking skills with the power of Schicksal's Technical Department to rescue them from the virtual database.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had not come to pass. Everyone looked relieved, though a lingering sense of fear still hung in the air.
"What exactly happened?" Theresa questioned, her tone sharp.
The Principal had been living in fear just moments ago. She hadn't felt this level of psychological turmoil since the Second Eruption. The fact that only her tone had changed was a sign of her immense self-restraint.
Himeko, Mei, and even the usually expressionless Bronya looked over, clearly curious about the ordeal.
Kiana seemed unable to process the series of events that had occurred in the virtual reality. She sat on the floor, hugging her knees in a daze, remaining silent. Hua Yi stepped in to provide an explanation.
"Kiana and I entered a special space. It might have originally been a virtual reality that required specific permissions, but over time, due to a lack of maintenance and inspection, unknown changes occurred. We were able to interact with virtual personas in that space and encountered a few minor situations. However, in the end, both Kiana and I gained a great deal from the experience."
It appeared that Bronya had indeed been unable to monitor the specifics of their situation.
Hua Yi did not explicitly mention meeting Kallen Kaslana or the fact that he had transferred her into [Jizo Mitama: Void]. He kept his summary vague.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Theresa and the others; it was simply that a detailed explanation would require answering too many difficult questions. Was the Kallen in that space a lingering soul of the deceased or something else?
Where did Hua Yi obtain [Jizo Mitama: Void], and what were its specific functions? Some of these questions Hua Yi didn't even know the answers to himself, and others he simply couldn't answer.
Therefore, a minimal response was best.
His only concern was whether Kiana, who had witnessed everything, would let too much slip. Hua Yi turned his gaze toward the silent girl. Theresa and the others followed his look.
At this moment, the emotions swirling in Kiana's eyes were so complex that she no longer looked like the white-haired idiot they all knew. Everyone was astonished.
However, that surprise didn't last long. Kiana blinked, and when she snapped out of it, those blue eyes became exceptionally clear, her complex emotions vanishing instantly.
The girl tilted her head in a familiar, silly gesture and asked with a look of pure innocence, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"My silly niece, it seems you actually learned something in that virtual reality?"
Theresa arched an eyebrow and moved a bit closer to Kiana. Though her petite stature made her look like a child, the gentle aura she radiated in her every movement made Kiana, who was trying to bury her emotions deep inside, tremble slightly.
"I... I did learn a lot of things. I will work hard! I won't bring shame to the Kaslana name!"
"Oh? That's quite the determination."
Theresa smiled and patted Kiana on the head. Since Kiana was currently sitting on the floor, Theresa, who usually had to look up at everyone, could finally achieve this high-difficulty move! It was truly something to celebrate.
"Principal, do you have a way to make me get stronger quickly?"
If she fought with her bare hands, she couldn't even deal with a Honkai Beast. No, even in that virtual reality where she had the Artemis' Guardian dual pistols gifted by Theresa, she still couldn't face that many Honkai Beasts. In the end, she had been unable to protect Big Sister Kallen like Hua Yi had, using unknown but absolute power to shut out the destruction of that space.
Speaking of which, what happened to Sister Kallen in the end? Hua Yi didn't have that katana in his hand now. She would have to find a time to ask him later.
The current Kiana had learned to think before acting. At the very least, she could tell that Hua Yi did not want to fully expose what had happened. She couldn't understand his reasons for hiding it, but she didn't think she needed to. Kiana chose to believe in Hua Yi unconditionally.
"A method to get stronger quickly? That isn't actually difficult. You just need to undergo super high-intensity training. However, my dear niece, what you should be worried about right now isn't getting stronger, but how to pass your makeup exams. Otherwise, the vast majority of your time will be consumed by basic schoolwork."
"Seriously, why do Valkyries have to learn this normal stuff? it's completely useless!"
"When you actually need that knowledge, you'll realize its value. This is called 'providing for a rainy day' so you don't regret it later."
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