"...Sorry. I just can't refuse her."
The moment Acheron said that, the air seemed to freeze.
Kiana's expression remained unchanged, but Dan Heng and Black Swan, standing off to the side, were completely stunned.
"Miss Acheron..." Black Swan's tone turned distinctly strange. "You're not joking, are you?"
Acheron did not answer.
She merely lowered her head and looked at the hand Kiana was holding.
Mm... she was clearly avoiding Black Swan's question.
Black Swan: "..."
A bad feeling suddenly rose in her chest.
Back when she had first met Acheron in the bar, she had already felt that this woman was hiding far too many secrets.
It was only because Miss Kallen had been even more eye-catching at the time that Black Swan had temporarily shifted her order of priorities.
And after getting to know Acheron, that feeling had only deepened.
Still, Black Swan had actually been quite satisfied with Acheron as a partner.
She was powerful, serious about what she did, and infinitely more reliable than a certain mysterious lady whose surname started with a "D."
But now, none of that seemed to matter anymore.
What mattered was that this Nihility Emanator appeared to be wrapped around the finger of this white-haired girl after just a single sentence.
Her entire image had collapsed.
"Ahem." Dan Heng cleared his throat again, trying to pull the atmosphere back to something resembling normal.
"Miss Acheron, may I ask what exactly your relationship with Miss Kiana is?"
"You were clearly able to say her name, yet you also claimed this is your first time meeting her."
That was the point that bothered him most.
At first, Dan Heng had assumed the two of them knew each other, but after watching their later exchange, even he was no longer sure.
Although Kiana was an Emanator and hardly someone who needed his protection, Acheron gave him a distinctly dangerous impression. And since Kiana and Cecilia were both people the Astral Express had come to know, there was no way he could simply allow them to be deceived.
At that, Kiana stepped forward to explain.
"You've got the wrong idea, Mr. Dan Heng. This really is my first time meeting Miss Acheron today."
"Well, I just happen to find her very agreeable. Maybe she feels the same way?"
Naturally, Dan Heng did not believe that for a second.
Still, if the other party truly did not wish to answer, he was not the sort to press the issue endlessly.
So he turned to Black Swan instead.
"Miss Black Swan, since you said our plan needs reconsideration, do you have a better proposal?"
Black Swan took a slow breath and forced herself back into composure.
"I can bring all of you into the dream while bypassing the Family's mechanisms."
"You're certain?" Dan Heng asked at once, clearly surprised.
"I am a Memokeeper." Black Swan smiled. "Dreams have never been a difficult place for me to enter."
"But wouldn't that bring you trouble?" Dan Heng pressed.
Black Swan shook her head. "Penacony's rules are meant to restrain ordinary people. I happen not to be one of them."
She paused, her gaze drifting almost imperceptibly toward Acheron.
"Besides, if these two were allowed to force their way in together, that would be far more troublesome."
She had a point.
A Nihility Emanator and a Destruction Lord Ravager joining forces—if they truly started a fight in Penacony, the consequences would be disastrous.
Kiana exchanged a glance with Dan Heng. In the end, Dan Heng was the first to yield.
He still did not know why this Memokeeper had chosen to help them, but the situation was too urgent for him to keep hesitating.
"In that case, we'll leave it to you, Miss Black Swan."
Black Swan inclined her head. "Then come with me. I shall take you... into the true Penacony."
The process of entering the dream was far quieter than Kiana had expected.
Black Swan's hands became like melting mercury, soundlessly enveloping the three of them.
Still, Kiana could clearly sense the other woman's tension.
So even if Black Swan made it sound easy, she clearly was not entirely confident when it came to actually carrying it out.
Kiana, however, did not particularly care.
Because she could already tell what Black Swan was worried about—the woman was obviously afraid that the Dreammaster would notice what she was doing.
What Black Swan did not know was that the Dreammaster was already dead, and Penacony's authority had long since been completely seized by Kallen's Nihility.
So even if Black Swan's methods were a bit lacking, Kallen would still help the three of them complete the dream entry from the shadows.
Compared with that, Kiana cared far more about the Acheron at her side.
At that moment, Acheron was holding tightly to Kiana's right hand, her expression one of unconcealed concern.
Kiana's current identity was simply too devastating to her.
An already-dead moonlight from the past was naturally much harder to resist than a certain middle-aged "Mr. Yang."
"Miss Acheron, you really don't need to worry about me that much," Kiana said, trying to reassure her a little. "I'm still an Emanator, after all. Even if Miss Black Swan turns out to be unreliable, I won't be in any danger."
Acheron seemed to realize that her reaction had been a little too intense.
"...Sorry."
Yet that was all she said.
Since meeting Kiana, she had already lost count of how many times she had apologized.
"You don't need to keep apologizing," Kiana said with a smile, lightly patting the back of Acheron's hand. "You haven't done anything wrong."
Acheron was silent for a moment before answering softly, "...All right."
Black Swan watched the scene from the side, her fingers tightening without her noticing.
She had known Acheron for some time now.
That taciturn woman, indifferent to nearly everything, was now behaving like a child who had done something wrong—soothed into obedience by a single sentence.
The contrast was absurd.
As a collector of memories, Black Swan was genuinely fascinated by this.
Still, after the shock she had suffered at Kallen's hands, she had already sworn never to peek carelessly into strangers' memories again.
"We've arrived."
Black Swan's voice broke the subtle atmosphere.
The blue-violet light receded like a tide, replaced by a dazzling land of ruins.
"Hm? Where did Mr. Dan Heng go?" Kiana immediately noticed that Dan Heng was no longer beside them once they landed.
Although Kallen's "spectator mode" had already told her exactly what had happened, asking the question still suited her current persona better.
Black Swan replied, "I sent Mr. Dan Heng to Dreamflux Reef. The Nameless from the Astral Express are all there."
"Compared to the business we have to attend to next, I thought he would rather reunite with his companions first."
Kiana put on a thoughtful expression.
Then she suddenly looked up.
"Wait—so you deliberately sent my companion away, then secretly brought me into some hidden grove... Are you finally planning to kill me?"
As she spoke, Kiana slipped behind Acheron.
"Miss Acheron, you're not on her side too, are you? You won't hurt me, right?"
Acheron froze for a moment, then answered, "Don't worry. I will absolutely not let her harm you."
As she spoke, she raised her sheathed blade and held it before her, as though ready to draw at any moment.
Nihility began to gather around Black Swan, as though a beheading could happen at any second.
Black Swan: "?????"
Her expression changed instantly.
"...Wait, Miss Acheron, if we aren't on the same side, then what exactly are you doing?"
Acheron's movement halted.
She looked back at Kiana, then at Black Swan, seeming to seriously consider the question.
"That's right, Miss Acheron. Aren't you two partners?" Kiana poked her head out from behind Acheron, her tone full of confusion.
"We are partners," Acheron admitted, but her hand still did not leave the hilt. "But she wants to hurt you."
"I do not want to hurt her!" Black Swan felt her temples throbbing. "I merely said I sent Mr. Dan Heng to Dreamflux Reef, and then—"
"And then you brought me to a place where no one else is around," Kiana added.
"Without letting Mr. Dan Heng come along."
"That's because the place we're going isn't suitable for—"
"And then you said that compared to what we have to do next, he'd rather return to his companions first," Kiana continued.
Black Swan took a deep breath. "Everything I said was true!"
At that point, Acheron seemed to realize what was going on.
She had worked with Black Swan for a while now. The other woman really had no intention of harming Kiana.
"Sorry, Miss Black Swan. Due to... certain special circumstances, my memory is not very good at the moment."
Black Swan let out a breath of relief, but she also noticed that Acheron still stood half a step from Kiana's side, as though guarding against something.
So... she was still on guard against her after all?
Kiana began looking around. "So where exactly is this place? And what important business are we here to handle?"
Black Swan composed herself and once again wore that mysterious smile.
"This is the seam between dream and reality—the place where Penacony's deepest secrets lie."
"Secrets?" Kiana blinked.
"Yes." Black Swan traced a finger through the air, and a spectral map woven from Memory unfurled before them.
"Penacony's dreamscape is not as simple as it appears on the surface. Beneath the extravagance and revelry, there are things hidden here... things not quite so presentable."
"Oakheart's Infestation Dream. That is the name of this region. Here are imprisoned certain pasts that ought never to be remembered, and certain truths that ought never to be discovered."
As she spoke, she pointed in a particular direction.
Yet at that very moment, someone else blocked their way.
And to top it off, it was a familiar face.
It was none other than Aventurine, who had earlier taken a slash from Acheron in Clock Studios Theme Park.
Aventurine was the first to speak.
"Well, well, if it isn't Miss Acheron and Miss Black Swan. Hmm... and I see there's a new friend here too."
Looking around at the place, he added, "Doesn't quite seem like the sort of place for a lively gathering. Ladies—which side here is the real trespasser?"
Black Swan arched a brow. "Mr. Aventurine, why are you here?"
Aventurine only looked toward Acheron again. "Thanks to Miss Acheron's strike earlier, I happened to come upon a number of... unexpected gains."
Then he looked at Kiana, who was still half-hidden behind Acheron.
"Well then, what about this lady? Judging from the current atmosphere, Miss Acheron doesn't seem inclined to cut you down... so are you perhaps just some unfortunate tourist who wandered into the wrong place?"
Kiana had not even had the chance to respond before Acheron moved.
She pulled Kiana more firmly behind her and once again drew the sheathed blade across her body in warning.
Though she said nothing, the meaning could not have been clearer.
Aventurine: "???"
He froze for a heartbeat, then raised both hands and gave a helpless smile.
"All right, all right, I surrender."
His tone was light, as though humoring someone overly serious.
"Miss Acheron, I truly have no ill intent. Or rather, given the outcome of our last encounter, it seems rather clear that the one with ill intent wasn't me."
Acheron gave no reply. Her blade did not move.
Black Swan coughed softly, trying to defuse the situation.
"Miss Acheron, Mr. Aventurine may be difficult to like, but at this moment he genuinely does not seem hostile."
Acheron remained silent for a few moments before finally lowering the blade.
Even so, she did not leave Kiana's side.
Aventurine let out a small breath and adjusted his collar.
"Thank you for your understanding. Frankly, that last slash was more than enough for me."
"You brought it upon yourself," Black Swan said flatly.
"Perhaps." Aventurine neither denied nor acknowledged it further. Then he looked at Kiana.
"So then... who might this be?"
"Kiana." Kiana gave her name herself and stepped out from behind Acheron, though she remained very close.
"I'm Miss Acheron's friend."
Kiana...?
That name made Aventurine visibly pause.
Wasn't this the Destruction Emanator from Herta Space Station?
So there really was a Lord Ravager here?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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