"Better place—you mean what exactly? Why don't you just say it outright?"
"World Bubbles—you know them, right? I can take the kids there for treatment. I've got a serum that neutralizes Honkai energy, though for certain reasons I can't release it publicly just yet," Daniel Davis explained, outlining the basics of the World Bubble situation.
Once news of the Honkai-neutralizing serum spread, Otto would surely know that the Quiet Gem had fallen into his hands. Don't be fooled by the current compromise between Otto and him—so long as Kalian isn't revived even for one day, Otto could flip at any moment. This truce is only temporary; if Otto truly decided to stop at nothing to resurrect Kalian, Daniel Davis's side would be in serious trouble.
"There aren't many Honkai Beasts out there; the kids will be safe there. Once they're healed, we can bring them back," Daniel continued to reassure Raven, trying to ease her concerns.
"I need to see it for myself," Raven said after scanning the children in the room, her tone thoughtful.
"Not a problem."
Inside the Sky City of the World Bubble, after verifying the efficacy of the Honkai-neutralizing serum, Raven agreed to have the children brought over for treatment—and she insisted on paying for it.
Though Daniel Davis didn't particularly care about the money, since Raven was so insistent, he didn't press the issue; everyone has their own principles.
"Thank you, Rita. You can start preparing over here. Next time I come, I should be able to bring you along," Daniel said.
"I've been ready for a while now," Rita replied with a light laugh.
"World Serpent's leader being Rita—now that's something else," Raven commented, clearly taken aback upon learning Rita's identity from within the World Bubble.
"Please don't let two 'Jackals' meet. One is already enough to drive people crazy; if there were two, World Serpent would be thrown into chaos," someone remarked.
"Relax—I won't let them meet anytime soon. Besides, the one over here isn't leaving for now," explained Raven. In Sky City, which is openly controlled by Divine City Technologies, once the light curtain disappeared during the city's expansion, individuals like Rita and Fu Hua couldn't simply wander off at will.
With the light curtain gone and the vast space visible outside, Sky City was slated for expansion; perhaps in a few decades a second city would be built.
"Look at that—the other me. You really do love doing pointless things, don't you?"
In the farthest corner of the Raven Nest, after seeing to his guests, Raven herself strode over and sat across from the Raven from the Honkai world. She scrutinized her counterpart intently.
"Come on now—I'm only here to take these people for treatment," Daniel Davis said, summarizing the situation. This made the Raven from the Honkai world cast another probing glance at the other Raven—though the latter didn't offer any comment.
Even though both are mercenaries, their experiences are worlds apart; the enemy's strength in their case is vastly different.
"By the way, you arrived just in time. Theresa wants to see Bronya. Take her over, will you?"
"That world is too dangerous for her right now—I'll bring Bronya back instead," someone replied. Although Theresa's team might eventually send someone over from the Honkai world, it's better not to take unnecessary risks.
"Very well."
"Now, you two—talk among yourselves. I'm going out to scout around," Raven instructed.
"Alright then, goodbye everyone. I'll come back when I have time," Daniel Davis announced after gathering his gains in the Land of Bygone Joy. Although he hadn't seen all the heroes this time, he wasn't too concerned; after all, he wasn't leaving for good. Besides, he still had matters with Vilvie regarding her research on Soul Steel and vibranium to attend to. And, of course, there might be more questions for Eden later.
"Did you forget something?" Mebius's tone turned slightly discontented as she looked at Daniel Davis.
"Don't worry—I've got another matter to attend to. Before leaving this world, I'll take you with me," Daniel assured her.
Now that Mebius had her own body, she still chose to remain in the Land of Bygone Joy to conduct research.
"I'm just reminding you," Mebius snorted, not elaborating further.
"Next time, let Fu Hua come over. It's been so long—I really miss her," Aleliyah said with a smile as she waved goodbye to Daniel Davis.
"I'll pass your message along. Whether she shows up is up to her," he replied.
"Finally, it's over—this will lighten our workload considerably."
After seeing Daniel Davis depart, armed automaton Klein heaved a huge sigh of relief. With Daniel Davis—the Regulator—here, her workload had doubled. As she had once told Raiden Mei, if it weren't for her intervention, the first to greet an arriving Regulator in the Land of Bygone Joy would invariably be the defense systems. That held true even for those who arrived with Kevin.
Later, although Mebius hadn't caused any major issues this time, Daniel Davis had managed to stir up plenty in the Land of Bygone Joy—mainly in the realm of entertainment.
During the former civilization, with the Honkai ravaging everything, the Flame Moth and their comrades had no time for leisure, and the same held true in the Land of Bygone Joy.
All these extra activities naturally fell to Klein; even though she was an armed automaton created by Mebius, the fact that her "overtime" was built into her design didn't mean she relished it—no one likes to work overtime.
"Now, let's get down to business. But before that, we must bring along both Tianming and Anti-Entropy," Daniel Davis said as he emerged from the Land of Bygone Joy and headed for Canghai City to start his new venture.
With help from Tianming and Anti-Entropy, the card game and animated series quickly became a global sensation, especially within the Howm series of games.
"By the way, when Walter made that animation back then, he must have tapped into the power of the Reason Regulator, right?"
The rapid production of the animation was largely thanks to the all-encompassing power of the Reason Regulator, which allowed him to instantly generate visuals without painstakingly drawing them frame by frame.
"Bishop, you're calling me? That's a rare treat," someone said.
"Looks like World Serpent has scored quite a bit on your end," another replied.
"Just a few trinkets—don't tell me you're only here to talk about that?"
Daniel Davis wasn't surprised that Otto knew he'd been to World Serpent. Otto might not know all the details, but everyone in that organization certainly did.
"I want full design control over Kalian's cards," Otto stated bluntly.
"Typical of you. All right—but let me be clear: there's no such thing as an invincible card. Don't design one that turns out that way," Daniel Davis retorted.
In fact, the card game they were releasing was split into two sets: one for the general public—using the game Daniel Davis had previously produced—and another featuring Tianming's Valkyries battling Honkai Beasts, which turned out to be hugely popular. Debates over who among Kalian, Cecilia, and Youlandel was the mightiest Valkyrie became incredibly heated. Although there were many legends about Kalian in Tianming—largely thanks to Otto—the tales of Cecilia and Youlandel felt much less tangible by comparison.
This was probably why Otto had wrested the design rights for Kalian's card from others. Given Otto's attitude toward Kalian, there was simply no way he would tolerate her being outshined.
"Otto's probably going to design a one-of-a-kind Kalian card and slot it into his deck," someone remarked.
"Poor Leanna really has no cards to play with. I guess we'll have to wait for Kalian to be revived before she can be properly honored."
Before Cecilia and Youlandel, the Black Abyss White Flower had once had another owner—a former S-rank Valkyrie of Tianming who, after betraying Otto to help Walter Joyce, has since been all but forgotten.
Because of that, Tesla even sought Daniel Davis's help. Daniel Davis could only say, "We'll talk about that later," since this was merely the first edition; many characters, such as the top three Regulators and Hiser, had yet to appear.
The card game's success finally brought a welcome influx of funds to Saint Freya Academy. Although the company was Daniel Davis's, both Tianming and Anti-Entropy held shares—and Tianming's portion was entirely given to Saint Freya Academy.
"Should we go look for the Honkai world? Although that world seems too dangerous," Daniel Davis mused after handing the company over to Rita in the World Bubble, he found himself with some free time. He then considered whether to venture into other parallel Honkai worlds.
"Maybe we might even find a world of the Seven Gods," he added, referring to another possibility within the Honkai universe that intrigued him.
"Count on me if you need help with any Sea of Quantum experiments—I'll come right over," someone offered.
Just as Daniel Davis was about to take action, Einstein called him. The notorious cat-abuser Schrödinger wanted his help. After a moment's thought, Daniel Davis agreed immediately.
"Tianming is running experiments on parallel worlds while Anti-Entropy is busy with Sea of Quantum research—it's truly fascinating," he commented.
After being expelled from Youlandel's World Bubble into the Sea of Quantum, Schrödinger had experienced many different World Bubbles—like one entirely populated by armed automata. That particular World Bubble was once known as the Mu Continent of the former civilization, which was sunk into the Sea of Quantum by the Rock Regulator.
"Hey, you guys have been launching quite a few satellites into space recently."
"Isn't it because you mentioned aliens? We've got to be on guard—any asteroid that comes close will be taken out from now on."
"Good luck then."
"Some of these buildings look familiar," Schrödinger observed.
Working in tandem with Schrödinger on Sea of Quantum experiments, Daniel Davis soon arrived at a bustling town within the Sea of Quantum.
"Liar! Big liar! I'm never going to believe you again—give me back Sister Bronya!"
Barely stepping into the town square, Daniel Davis was startled to see two familiar faces. They were standing atop a makeshift platform in the center of the square, engaged in an intense duel.
"Hiser, Rosalia—this is a play!"
Just one glance and Daniel Davis recognized them. The square's onlookers, including many children, were completely absorbed in the performance, with little ones screaming, "Brave sister, defeat the Demon King!"
"Rosalia seems a bit different than before…"
Not long ago, Daniel Davis had spent some time with Rosalia and Liliya while working on the card game animation. They had been the most enthusiastic about making an appearance.
"The third act of 'The Song of the Brave' has now concluded. Thank you all for supporting our traveling theater troupe. Until we meet again!"
The fierce duel ended with roaring applause from the crowd—especially the children, whose tiny hands clapped until red.
"Let's go, Hiser. We've performed for three days here already, and the funds are enough. Up ahead should be the Emerald Forest from your Brave Guide. You'll see Sister Bronya soon," someone said.
"Thank you, Delta. If it weren't for you, I—"
"Alright, it's getting late. Go buy some supplies; we need to hit the road at dawn. This World Bubble is such a pain," Delta interjected, dismissing Hiser's tentative thanks.
"Ah, so it's you, Delta. That look—definitely not like Rosalia at all."
Both Rosalia and Liliya sported horns—one pink and one blue on either side of their heads, matching their Honkai Beast gene traits. Delta, however, had two horns too—one red and one blue—plus she carried two weapons: Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.
"I got it, Delta. I'm heading out now," Hiser said as she turned toward a nearby shop.
"Hey, what do you want with us?"
After Hiser left, Delta immediately approached Daniel Davis and asked.
"Just seeing some familiar faces," Daniel Davis replied with a soft sigh as he regarded Delta. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for her—if that idiot Rosalia had turned out the way she did, one could only imagine what she'd endured.
"Hiser," Delta whispered, as if calling an old friend—though she didn't recognize Daniel Davis, the only possibility was that he knew Hiser.
"You're in quite a rush—I'm not used to that," Daniel Davis continued.
"What do you mean by that?" Delta frowned.
"I know a pair of sisters who look just like you—one named Rosalia, the other…"
"Shut up."
Before Daniel Davis could say "Liliya," Delta's demeanor changed sharply.
"That aura… you've clearly become a full-fledged Fusion Warrior," she remarked.
Though her tone was fleeting, Daniel Davis sensed that Delta's power now likely didn't match Fu Hua's and Youlandel's but was still formidable.
"Who are you, and how do you know all this?"
"I'm from another place, just like you. I came here via another World Bubble," Daniel Davis replied.
"You're one of his people? That can't be—he wouldn't send anyone else," Delta snapped.
"I don't know who you're referring to, but traveling between World Bubbles isn't the monopoly of any one person."
"I don't care what you're here for—just don't get in the way of my mission. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rough," Delta warned, then turned and left. This time, Daniel Davis didn't pursue her.
"Ready for a hero's battle against the Demon King? In that case, let's make it exciting," Daniel Davis decided, opening a teleportation portal to return to Saint Freya Academy and round up his team. With Delta on board, he knew that Rosalia and Liliya would definitely join, along with the other top three, Fu Hua, Youlandel, and even Cang Xuan's Book—all forming a brave little squad.
Though he didn't know the Demon King's strength, this lineup, especially with Delta, could even take on a few Regulators if needed.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.