It wasn't just Kiana whose inherent power was unlocked by the Thousand Stars of Reason.
As a MANTIS, Bianka "theoretically" had an even stronger state.
Active Honkai Reaction!
If Kiana's current form was the magnificent coronation of a queen, then Bianka's was the wild frenzy of a demon possessed!
Jet-black, bone-like armor clung to Bianka's body. Each piece possessed the unique ferocity of a Honkai Beast, yet when assembled, they exuded a solemn, totem-like dignity.
It was the untamed fury of a beast, yet it lacked any of a beast's characteristic bloodlust!
At this very moment, Kiana and Bianka appeared before Shu simultaneously, a striking image of a fallen angel and an elegant demon working in perfect harmony.
Bianka, leaping from behind Kiana, also immediately bore the brunt of the light blades, but they could only leave scratches on the bone armor that covered her entire body!
With a shared understanding, the two swapped places in front of Shu. Bianka took the lead, a deep blue ice lance appearing in her hand at some point. It was also adorned with a bone-like structure, so ornate that at a glance, it looked like some kind of signature weapon.
But Bianka didn't seem to intend to use the lance against Shu. Instead, she raised her hand at close range.
A wave of cold air spread out. The next moment, a dense barrage of ice spikes shot out from around Bianka, precisely colliding with and neutralizing each of Shu's light blades.
Shu was stunned. The next instant, the tip of the lance slashed past his face, so fast that even his accelerated mind couldn't react in time.
Decisively abandoning the wave clash, Shu made a sharp turn and plummeted towards the sea. Bianka and Kiana instantly changed direction as well, chasing after him.
Without the harassment, Bianka returned to her position behind Kiana, ready to maneuver at any moment, while Kiana had already flipped over and accelerated towards Shu, kicking down.
Just as Kiana was about to catch up to Shu, he suddenly pulled up at the last second, skimming across the surface of the sea.
The monstrous wave kicked up by this maneuver was like a sword immortal cleaving the ocean, sending towering waves surging to either side.
But before Shu could get far, dragging this massive wave with him, the sea suddenly struck him from below with a heavy blow.
Shu: ?!
How could the sea suddenly rise up and strike him, sending him tumbling?!
Sent flying by the sea, Shu quickly looked back, only to see—
The shattered seabed!
Kiana's descending kick seemed to have compressed the flowing seawater into a single, solid gel. The entire sea surface was pushed aside by the sheer force she carried, even forcing back the pressure of the hundreds of meters of water below, revealing the pulverized seabed.
And what had sent Shu flying was the seawater that had been rapidly displaced by this kick, as if Kiana had kicked the entire ocean into his face!
This was a bit too exaggerated!
A trace of fear finally appeared in Shu's eyes. Before this, none of the crowd's attacks had been able to break through his [Hope] defenses. Only Li Sushang's half-day-charged Edge of Taixuan could be considered somewhat dangerous.
But... what was this? Although the punch Kiana had used to start her counterattack and Bianka's spear, which was so fast he almost couldn't react, had already shown signs of this, Shu had never expected Kiana's self-sacrificing kick to have such an effect!
The seawater began to flow back, and the immense water pressure swept Shu along with it towards the seabed. But that wasn't the problem; Shu could easily escape the returning current.
The problem now was that Shu could already feel a familiar chill in the seawater!
The backflow of the sea stopped. The world seemed to have instantly entered an ice age...
No, Shu felt as if he had been suddenly thrown onto a frozen planet, to be permanently frozen here along with this entire sea.
The temperature around him was already so low that even the movement of energy was beginning to stagnate. This was pure cold without any authority, so it couldn't even be offset by [Hope].
He needed heat!
For the second time in this battle, Shu made a "have to" choice. A scorching flame ignited on his body. Although it still couldn't break through the near-absolute cold, it at least allowed him to continue moving.
After the flames came a violent tremor. When Shu pulled himself out of the shattered ice, his lips were already a little blue.
And his stiff body hadn't recovered yet. Bianka, who had been waiting for him, had already thrust her spear at his face again like a bolt of lightning.
His body... couldn't dodge!
The spearhead... no, the butt of the spear slammed heavily into Shu's chest. Although the force was far from as terrifying as Kiana's, it still made his chest ache.
If this spear had used its head, Shu's [Hope] on his body might not have been able to stop it!
He grabbed the spear shaft to prevent Bianka's further attacks. And on the other side, a figure broke out of the ice. Kiana, who had kicked the seabed to pieces, jumped out as if nothing had happened and rushed towards Shu again.
Seeing that if he continued to get entangled, that kick that had shattered the seabed would land on him, Shu finally stopped holding back.
Kiana, who was halfway through her charge, suddenly froze. Then, her entire body was sent flying back several hundred meters before she barely managed to regain control of her body at the moment she broke the sound barrier, and stood firm again.
At the same time, Bianka's combat intuition was also blaring alarms. She decisively let go of the lance in her hand and tried to pull away to a safe distance, but how could Shu let her leave so easily?
The ice lance, which looked quite impressive, shattered into a sky full of ice mist. In the mist, Shu's merciless punch had already smashed into Bianka's crossed arms.
But even with both hands defending, Bianka's arms were still pressed against her chest. Her gauntlets and chestplate shattered, and a mouthful of blood uncontrollably spewed from her mouth, turning into blood-colored ice crystals in the air.
The next moment, Bianka tumbled and crashed onto the ice surface she had created, shattering a large area of solid ice.
"Hah—!" A strong wind pressure came from behind Shu at this time. Shu decisively turned around, raised his hand, and pushed on Kiana's arm, directing all her force to another angle.
The attack that landed on empty space plowed a seemingly endless ice path behind Shu. But Shu didn't pay attention to the force of Kiana's punch. He just decisively grabbed her arm with a backhand, raised his leg, and returned the favor with his knee.
Kiana, who had been heavily injured in the abdomen, didn't spit out blood like Bianka. Evolution's enhancement to the body was higher than a MANTIS's Active Honkai Reaction.
But Kiana still showed a pained expression. She wanted to endure the pain and grit her teeth to regain the initiative, but Shu had already grabbed her arm, swung her whole body around, and smashed her into the ice surface.
BOOM—!
The ice surface under Shu's feet directly shattered. The breath that Kiana had been holding in was finally released, and she completely lost control of her body.
As you can see, when Shu no longer held back the force of his attacks, the two who lacked experience in defending against attacks of this level were immediately severely injured.