Siegfried's gaze was fast, but the figure he was looking for was faster. In the blink of an eye, a slight silhouette appeared before him.
The person was wrapped in a tattered cloak, looking for all the world like a down-and-out wanderer.
The cloak was large, but it was riddled with so many holes, and the person's high-speed movement had left it fluttering in the air in Siegfried's eyes.
So, with a single glance, Siegfried could tell that the person standing before him was a rather petite young girl... she looked to be about fifteen years old.
What was completely out of place with such a young girl was the Chariot-class Honkai Beast charging full-tilt towards her.
The disparity between the two was simply too vast, like the difference between the heavens and the earth. The sheer shock of the contrast sent Siegfried's adrenaline skyrocketing.
---||---
The person who had rushed out was, of course, Bianka.
Ordinarily, she would have charged out minutes ago and punched the Honkai Beast into the sand. But a sudden beam of light had given her a sense of danger.
During her wanderings, Bianka had dealt with Chariot-class Honkai Beasts before, but none had ever made her feel the slightest bit of peril. Yet, the bone-chilling sensation just now had nearly caused her to lose control of her body.
But it wasn't an explosive outburst; it was an impulse to turn and run.
Compared to an outburst, this urge to flee was much easier to suppress. To her surprise, Bianka discovered that when the desire to escape was dominant in control, her usually muddled mind was surprisingly clear!
With a clear will, Bianka easily suppressed the urge to flee, but in doing so, she lost her chance to rush out immediately.
Watching the Honkai Beast chase after the man, Bianka savored the clarity in her mind and made a bold decision.
This time... she would follow!
At the very least, she couldn't let that Honkai Beast harm that man!
As she gave chase, Bianka noticed that something felt a little off about her body. But before she could slow down to figure out what was happening, the man who had been running suddenly stopped!
He stopped?! Why? If he'd kept running, I could have definitely taken out that Honkai Beast quietly and saved him!
Could it be... he knows he can't escape, so he's stopping to face death with dignity?
No! I, Bianka, will absolutely not allow that! The person known as Durandal would never allow it!
Captain Shu... would never allow something like this to happen either!
"Watch out!" Whether the warning was for the man to watch out for the Honkai Beast or for himself, Bianka didn't know. Before she could even process it, she had already dashed forward, placing herself between the man and the Honkai Beast.
Facing the beast charging menacingly toward her, Bianka stood firm, arms outstretched, ready to meet its charge head-on.
Strength was one thing she, Bianka, did not lack! Even if her body felt a little strange right now, she wasn't afraid of a Chariot-class Honkai Beast... huh?
Why is the source of that dangerous feeling behind me?
No time to think about it! If I can't stop this charge, the person behind me will be hit—Aieeeeeeee!!!
Bianka felt a sudden tightness around her waist, as if a strong arm had wrapped around her. Before she could react, the unexpected force pulled her to the side.
Her stance to block the Honkai Beast's attack crumbled instantly. Bianka was sent rolling across the sand, swept up by the figure who had suddenly grabbed her.
Wait, this was the top of a sand dune!
"Aaaaaahhh!!" Two nearly synchronized screams echoed from the dune. Two rapidly tumbling figures rolled down the slope, leaving behind a Honkai Beast that had overshot its target, staring into the distance from the top of the dune.
Where'd they go?!
Finally reaching the bottom, Bianka's dizzy head cleared in an instant. But just as she clutched her head and tried to get up, that familiar, large hand was back.
Without a word, it scooped her up by the waist. Bianka's feet left the ground, and she felt her stomach pressed against something solid and hard like a wall...
Bianka froze, then her mind snapped back to reality.
"Wait!" She was being carried over someone's shoulder!
"Sorry, little lady!" a cheerful, deep male voice came from beside her, slightly out of breath. "I appreciate you trying to save me, but it looks like we're both in trouble now!"
Startled, Bianka turned her head, only to see a ponytail swinging wildly in front of her eyes as the man ran.
It was this man who had pulled her away from the Honkai Beast, and now he was the one carrying her and running... Wait, why was he saving her?
Bianka's brain couldn't quite process the situation and latched onto a peculiar detail.
"How are you so fast?" The jostling from Siegfried's running was nothing to Bianka, but her mind was still catching up. Coupled with the fear of people she'd developed over the past few weeks, she didn't dare struggle too hard.
She was afraid she might accidentally crush the shoulder of the man carrying her.
"Me?" Siegfried hadn't expected the girl who popped out of nowhere to ask him that question first, but he mulled over an answer. "This is the result of my hard work and sweat!"
What?! Hard work and sweat can make someone that fast?! Although the man who saved her sounded older, if an ordinary person could achieve that kind of speed through effort alone—
Thinking of the speed that had caught her off guard twice, Bianka closed her eyes in frustration.
Is it because I'm still not working hard enough?
---||---
Atop the dune, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast finally located the ants that had slipped through its grasp. It turned its head and saw one of them had kidnapped its superior and was now fleeing for its life.
Even for a Honkai Beast's chaotic, dream-like thought process, the bizarre scene gave it pause.
My head itches. I think my brain is trying to grow a logic chip.
Wait, no, that's just the wind on my wound.
Letting out a heaven-shaking roar, the Chariot-class slammed its two front limbs into the ground. Its massive body shot into the air, pouncing directly at Siegfried, who was still carrying Bianka and running for his life.
Siegfried glanced back, and his soul nearly left his body.
He was confident in a one-on-one fight. But carrying a helpless little girl who couldn't even truss a chicken? There was no way he could go head-to-head with a Honkai Beast like this!!