flstandardbreds Chapter 177 Sky City
Chapter 177 Sky City
A heads-up: there are no minotaurs in this chapter. Please allow me to spoil a setting here.
The "original world" specifically refers to the world of the original storyline. Any changes to this world will be considered as creating a parallel world. Furthermore, all Kianas in these parallel worlds can be seen as clones of Kiana who have become companions in the Unified Will system within this game. However, these clones possess their own independent will and only exhibit some of the characteristics of the main protagonist Kiana when they encounter the Captain or when Kiana projects her consciousness onto them.
At the same time, Kiana, who appears in this volume, will not actually fall in love with the Captain, and the Captain will not actually treat this Kiana as the main character Kiana. Please feel free to watch the above!
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"Oh!"
It was another fierce collision between the Judgment of Heavenly Fire and the Spear of the Void, and the resulting explosion even made the Herrscher of the Void feel the scorching heat.
Strangely, no matter how fierce the battle, the captain remained unharmed, which made the Herrscher of the Void wonder what kind of power the other party possessed.
It wasn't until the Void Spear successfully broke through the captain's defenses and pierced his body that the Herrscher of the Void noticed something amiss from the strange sensation.
"So that's how it is. All of this was just an illusion that trapped me. It seems that your abilities, you traitor, are nothing more than the power of that feather!"
The Herrscher of the Void laughed, and then she began to break the illusion.
With a sound of shattering glass, the Herrscher of the Void realized that the Captain had arrived in front of her and was about to inject the Godslayer Spear into her body.
Seeing the captain covered in blood and looking utterly astonished, the Herrscher of the Void knew she had broken free of the illusion. With a disdainful smile, she pierced the captain's heart with several Void Spears in the next instant.
Feeling the Void Spear pierce through flesh, the Herrscher of the Void knew that this time she had truly hit the Captain. But just as she was about to mock the Captain's overconfidence, the Captain's figure vanished like smoke.
Seeing this, the Herrscher of the Void teleported herself high in the sky, and the next second the Captain appeared behind her original location. The Herrscher of the Void was so startled she broke out in a cold sweat; if she had been a second or two later, the other party might have injected that vial into her body!
Although she didn't know exactly what the reagent was, the Herrscher of the Void knew that what was inside was definitely not something she could touch! So, having completely changed her attack strategy, the Herrscher of the Void stopped wasting words and launched a long-range attack from a height that the captain couldn't reach.
To ensure that the captain does not use the Void Spear as a stepping stone, the Herrscher of the Void cleverly keeps the Void Spear in a ethereal state before it makes contact with the captain.
For a moment, the Captain and the Herrscher of the Void were locked in a stalemate, but a purely defensive approach would inevitably lead to the Captain's defeat. Therefore, the Captain began to seek help from the Herrscher of Consciousness within his mind, since theoretically, as long as the Herrscher of Consciousness continued to use her powers, it would be too easy to trick the Herrscher of the Void.
No matter how the captain called out, all responses were met with silence. The Herrscher of Knowledge had vanished without a trace, and if the captain hadn't been able to sense the Herrscher of Knowledge's presence, he would have worried that something might have happened to her.
However, just as the captain feared, the current state of the Herrscher of Consciousness is not good. From the moment they arrived in this world, the Herrscher of Consciousness has been constantly interfered with by Number 17, who is still the will of Honkai, and this interference is intensifying with the use of the Herrscher of Consciousness's powers.
In order to prevent the captain from being affected, the Herrscher of Consciousness proactively cut off the supply of power and began to focus on dealing with the interference of the Honkai Will. As a result, the captain has now lost the blessing of consciousness power and can no longer use this power to fight the Herrscher of the Void.
Even the reason why the Herrscher of the Void was able to realize that she was in an illusion and break it was because of this.
With no other option, the captain had to find another way. Although the Void Spear remained in a ethereal state before making contact with him, preventing him from using it as a stepping stone, the feasibility of this method was not zero.
After all, the materialization of the Void Spear is an essential step to attack the captain. As long as he can seize this opportunity, which may be less than a fraction of a second, he can use it as a means to get close to the Herrscher of the Void!
With this in mind, the captain's eyes hardened once again. After dodging another attack, the captain slammed the Judgment of Heavenly Fire onto the ground. The dust it stirred up successfully made the Herrscher of the Void lose its target, which was exactly the result the captain wanted.
"Hmph! Trying to escape? You think you can get out of my grasp with just this bit of dust?"
After saying that, the Herrscher of the Void increased the output frequency of the Void Spear, but what the Herrscher of the Void did not expect was that this was exactly the result the Captain wanted.
Because the smoke and dust temporarily obscured the Herrscher of the Void's vision, she was unable to precisely control the timing of the materialization of the Void Spear. This made it easier for the Captain to time the materialization of the Void Spear precisely. Therefore, when the Herrscher of the Void saw the Captain again, the Captain had already broken out of the smoke and dust area using the Void Spear.
"Damn it!"
Realizing she had been tricked, the Herrscher of the Void increased her attack frequency once again. However, this time, due to the inevitable panic in the Herrscher of the Void's mindset, the Void Spear often materialized before it even made contact with the Captain, which once again allowed the Captain to close the distance with her.
Realizing she was somewhat flustered, the Herrscher of the Void's face began to contort, and black mist, a symbol of death, condensed in her hands.
"Don't underestimate me, you despicable traitor!"
After speaking, the Herrscher of the Void threw the condensed black mist at the captain, who activated the Heavenly Fire Judgment and fearlessly faced it head-on.
The flames burning on the Heavenly Judgment illuminated the sky, as well as the captain's fiery red hair. His amber pupils burned with intense heat as he swung his sword forcefully towards the black mist.
The flames, representing hope, broke through the black mist and surged upwards. The scorching heat made even the Herrscher of the Void, who was a short distance away, feel a slight discomfort. At the very center of this heat, the captain's clothes were already adorned with scattered sparks.
The edges of the clothes showed signs of burning, but even so, there was no trace of fear on the blood-stained face.
The Herrscher of the Void was stunned, and then, enraged, she once again transformed the Void Spear behind her into a ribbon and slashed at the captain.
However, the captain first twisted his waist to forcefully dodge one ribbon in mid-air, then caught the other, disregarding the risk of injury, using it as a leverage point to forcibly change his trajectory. The price was that his left hand was almost shattered, but even so, enduring the pain, the captain still managed to swing the Heavenly Judgment with one hand, splitting the remaining ribbon in two and successfully arriving in front of the Herrscher of the Void.
As the Celestial Judgment of Heavenly Fire gradually enlarged before her and the fearless man, the Herrscher of the Void was stunned. She never expected that this person, who was a complete stranger to her vessel and other companions, would risk his life to save them. But no matter how confused she was, it didn't mean that the Herrscher of the Void would show mercy.
At this distance, even the captain of the Void Spear, which was materialized from the beginning, could not possibly dodge it, and this has indeed proven to be true.
The captain coughed up a mouthful of blood, first glancing down at his pierced abdomen, then ignoring his injuries, he put away the Judgment of Heavenly Fire and pulled the Herrscher of the Void into his arms. Before the Herrscher of the Void could react, he injected the Spear of Godslayer into her body.
Instantly, a large amount of Honkai energy erupted from the Herrscher of the Void's body, and Kiana's consciousness also returned at this moment. Looking at the man in front of her who was seriously injured while saving her, she felt an indescribable sadness rising in her heart for some reason.
Subsequently, the captain fell into a coma while Kiana and the Herrscher of the Void were fighting for control of his body. His body was also blown away by the Honkai energy that erupted from Kiana. Kiana, who had inexplicably regained control, reached out and grabbed the captain's hand at the last moment. In this way, the two of them escaped from the imaginary space and fell into the sea.
Meanwhile, Himeko Murata, who had just woken up from her coma, learned what had happened after Theresa explained it to her. Just as she was falling into a coma and receiving treatment in the infirmary, everyone on the bridge on the other side saw Himeko Murata's figure.
After reviewing the surveillance footage, everyone realized that it wasn't Himeko Murata, but the captain wielding the Judgment of Heavenly Fire.
Afterwards, Einstein contacted Siegfried and learned that the Judgment of the Heavenly Fire was still in his hands. Coupled with Himeko Murata's testimony and the fact that the Captain's information could not be found in the Destiny Archives, it is hard not to wonder whether the Captain is actually a person from the original world.
But do the people from the World Bubble really have a way to get to the Authentic World? Or are they the ones who are actually from the World Bubble?
No one can provide the answer, because the one who could has disappeared along with Kiana now that the Great Collapse has ended.
Finding them will require considerable effort, since the Far East Branch has now openly defected, Theresa can no longer mobilize the power of Destiny to track their whereabouts, and Anti-Entropy has also been severely weakened by this Destiny war and cannot support a large-scale search operation in the short term.
Several months passed, and in a secluded location in Sky City, Kiana, who had gone missing, was taking care of the captain, who was still in a coma.
Kiana, who woke up a few months ago, brought the captain to the nearest city, Sky City. Due to her identity, Kiana was unable to find a proper hospital for the captain to treat immediately. On the way to find an underground hospital, the captain recovered almost completely thanks to his superhuman physical condition. Afterwards, Kiana had to start working to pay off the high medical expenses.
Thanks to the occasional Honkai eruptions in Sky City, construction sites have sprung up, allowing Kiana to secure a job as a bricklayer thanks to her amazing physical abilities. However, as time went on, realizing that the Honkai eruptions weren't a consequence of the Great Honkai she had caused, Kiana began investigating the causes of the Honkai eruptions in her spare time. This led to a significant reduction in her rest time; it's been about two weeks since she last closed her eyes for a proper rest.
"Are you still planning to take care of this man, Kiana?"
Fu Hua appeared before Kiana in her Crimson Kite form. In her eyes, it was a miracle that the captain, who had suffered such severe injuries, was still alive. However, Kiana had been staying in Sky City for too long in order to take care of him, and Fu Hua was worried that if she didn't leave soon, Kiana might be discovered by the people of Schicksal.
"Ha! At least he risked his life to save me once, which is better than you betraying me and everyone else, isn't it?"
“Kiana, you know that’s not what I meant. You’ve been here for too long taking care of him. Now that his condition has stabilized, it’s time for us to take him to the next location to hide.”
Both Fu Hua and Kiana knew that the best course of action was to abandon the captain and let him fend for himself, while they themselves left as quickly as possible. However, neither Fu Hua nor Kiana could bear to leave someone behind, which is why Fu Hua proposed this compromise.
"But the collapses here often occur, and I'm worried that something unexpected might happen in Sky City. In any case, I have to deal with the collapses here before I leave. This is my way of making amends."
"The Honkai phenomenon happening here is very unusual. Kiana, I sincerely suggest you leave as soon as possible. Even if you do nothing, the people of Schicksal will eventually notice the anomalies here and send people to investigate. By then, it will be too late for you to leave."
"Why should I listen to your advice? You should know that I'm still calling you class monitor only because of our years of friendship. Now, get out of my mind!"
Fu Hua sighed: "Even if you don't listen to me, you should still take a rest. After so many days of investigation, your body has already reached its limit. Don't push yourself any further, okay?"
Kiana fell silent. Just as Fu Hua had said, she had already reached her physical and mental limits. If she didn't rest soon, her body would collapse.
But this was an abandoned military tent, and the only bed available for resting was being used by the unconscious captain. The best solution now would be for Kiana to find a place to sleep on the floor, but for some reason, Kiana subconsciously wanted to sleep with the captain, as if some unseen force was influencing her.
This is one of the reasons why Kiana hasn't dared to rest for so many days. The moment her spirit relaxes even slightly, her body unconsciously leans closer to the captain. But now she's faced with the necessity of rest, and even with Kiana's unwavering will, by the time she comes to her senses, she's already lying next to the captain.
No matter how much Kiana struggled, her gradually sinking consciousness prevented her from getting out of bed. And so Kiana closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
When Kiana woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day, and the captain who had been lying next to her was gone. The captain was busy preparing breakfast or lunch, and when he saw Kiana wake up, he gave her a gentle smile.
"You're awake? If you're awake, get up, wash up, and come eat!"
The captain's smile stunned Kiana, and with the sunlight streaming in from outside the tent, Kiana realized for the first time that the man in front of her was actually so handsome!
Coming to her senses, Kiana blushed instinctively. After averting her gaze from the captain's face, she went to her makeshift washbasin. She patted her flushed cheeks vigorously, quickly washed her face, and tried to calm herself before approaching the captain.
The food the captain made was very simple. He simply put the instant noodles that Kiana had bought into a pot with some ham, vegetables, and other ingredients and cooked them. But for some reason, Kiana thought it was the most delicious instant noodles she had ever eaten.
After a satisfying meal, Kiana wiped her mouth and began to discuss the next steps with the captain. Although she didn't know much about the captain, Kiana's intuition told her that she could trust this person. Thus, after several months, Kiana finally had a companion to act with.