Skydome City
On a bridge shrouded in darkness, dozens of figures dashed back and forth as gunfire and sparks filled the night.
"I mean, Kiana, can't you just give up and surrender already?" Rita swung her scythe, deflecting bullets with ease as she spoke to the figure ahead.
"No can do," Kiana replied, dodging attacks as her dual pistols spat bullets non-stop, forcing her enemies to retreat.
"Well, that's a real shame." Rita's words were casual, but her scythe moved with lightning speed—just as it was about to strike Kiana—
"She's gone," Rita muttered with a frown, noticing the disappearing figure before her.
"Too bad for you—catching me won't be that easy anymore," Kiana's voice echoed from behind.
"She can already use the powers of the Herrscher of the Void?" Rita wondered, slowly lowering her weapon. If her assumption was correct, there was no way she could catch Kiana now.
"Rita, believe it or not, the Honkai Beast attacks on this city weren't my doing. There's something going on here—Shencheng Pharmaceuticals isn't what it seems." With that, Kiana tossed a USB stick over her shoulder and vanished into the night.
"Shencheng Pharmaceuticals? Looks like things are about to get interesting." Rita examined the USB drive in her hand, a sly smile curling on her lips.
At the same time, the Hyperion had arrived at the edge of the city.
"She's here... right?" Himeko gazed down at the vast, magnificent city from the warship, though her heart sensed something dangerous beneath the glittering surface.
"According to the data, yes—Kiana is in this city," Bronya confirmed beside her. "I'm also trying to contact Mei and have her meet up with us. Hopefully, she knows more about Kiana's whereabouts."
"Bronya? What's going on? How did you contact me? Do you know something about Kiana?!" Mei's voice came urgently through the comms.
"Please remain calm, Mei," Bronya replied evenly. "We've returned to Skydome City. I'm sending you coordinates—meet us here. Also... we have a lead on where Kiana is."
"What?! Okay! I'm on my way!" Mei's voice trembled with excitement.
"Rimuru, I'm putting the Kiana search mission in your hands," Himeko turned to Rimuru with full trust.
"No problem. Leave it to me." Rimuru smiled and, in the next moment, their body dissolved into shimmering starlight, streaking across the skies.
"I really hope we find her soon," Himeko murmured, watching the radiant trail vanish into the clouds. "I never thought I'd miss that idiot this much... Honestly, how has she even been surviving on her own?"
Above the city, threads of starlight danced in the air, then converged slowly over the metropolis. Rimuru's form reappeared in midair.
"Mental Scan."
Activating the technique again, Rimuru sent out waves of spiritual energy, searching for Kiana's presence.
"Not this one... definitely not that one... hmm? This one feels familiar—wait, what? It's a guy?! Why does a dude have such a nice figure?! Ugh, forget it—ah! This is it! That's her!"
A gleam of gold flashed in Rimuru's eyes as they locked onto their target, then shot off like a comet toward Kiana's location.
"Kiana, look out! Someone's coming!" Inside Kiana's mind, the illusion of Fu Hua warned her using Yuduchen's powers.
Before Fu Hua could finish, a streak of light appeared in front of Kiana, condensing into Rimuru's humanoid form.
"Who are you?" Kiana raised her dual guns, ready to fire as she faced the stranger, the pressure emanating from Rimuru making her tense.
"Finally found you," Rimuru said softly, feeling a strange twinge of sorrow at Kiana's defensive posture.
"What do you want?!" Kiana asked, backing away slowly to put distance between them.
"Hey, I'm not your enemy," Rimuru said, raising their hands peacefully. "Himeko sent me to find you."
"Himeko... Aunt Himeko?" Kiana froze at those words, stunned. "Are you saying she's still alive? That she asked you to find me?"
"Yep!" Rimuru nodded. "She's on the Hyperion right now, along with Mei, Bronya, and a bunch of others. They're all waiting for you. So, come back with me?"
"No way... You're lying." Kiana suddenly calmed down, her eyes narrowing. "Prove it. If you can't, I'm not going anywhere."
"Hm." Rimuru tilted their head back, muttering, "They should be catching up by now..."
As soon as the words left their mouth, several figures dropped from the sky.
Seeing them, Kiana's eyes filled with tears.
"Geez! You made us worry so much. I'm definitely giving you a serious scolding—sob sob..." Mei ran straight into Kiana's arms, squeezing her tightly as she wept.
"Mei..." Kiana closed her eyes, basking in the warmth of the hug. She never wanted to leave it again.
"You idiot, Kiana!" Himeko walked up and smacked Kiana on the head with her fist.
"OW! Aunt Himeko, I missed you so much!" Kiana yelped in pain but then grinned and hugged Himeko joyfully.
"I wanna hug too..." Rimuru said enviously. "It's been days since anyone's snuggled me. I'm getting withdrawal symptoms."
"Bronya wants a hug too," said Bronya, surprisingly echoing the sentiment.
"Bronya-sis!" a cheerful voice called out. Seele ran up from behind and hugged Bronya tightly. "Seele's always ready to cuddle you!"
But deep in her heart, another voice whispered: Bronya is mine alone. No one else can have her.
"Hey, hey! Could you guys at least try to think about how us single folks feel?" Rimuru grumbled from the sidelines, quietly despising this public display of affection from the bottom of their single heart.
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