"Kiana, are you really okay going alone?"
With her arm tightly hugged by Kiana, feeling the restless little hands, Raiden Mei couldn't focus on pulling away, her beautiful face filled with concern and worry.
"No way, how can we let you head to World Serpent's headquarters alone?! If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to Siegfried?"
The adorable and youthful legal loli casually slung a half-ton golden cross over her back, her delicate pink hands capable of crushing any lolicons' ribcage into a powdery fracture.
"Auntie~! Mei~!"
With a bright and energetic smile, her snow-white high ponytail swayed like a clear stream with Kiana's slight movements. "I'm not going alone, you know!"
Kiana winked at the two, her sky-blue eyes shifting in the next moment to gold on the right and blue on the left.
"We're a two-person team, after all!"
Theresa, Mei, and Bronya stared at the majestic and noble golden pupil, their expressions complex, unsure of what to say.
Seeing their hesitation, Kiana's lips curled up, her soft, icy-white hand rising to cover the golden eye, striking a dramatic pose.
"She's no longer the Herrscher of the Void but my partner from St. Freya—Sirin!"
The moment her words fell, the hand covering the golden eye moved to the left, her middle finger hooking onto her thumb, snapping sharply!
"Ow~!"
With consecutive finger flicks, Kiana let out cute cries of "Ow!" and "Ow!" in pain.
"As 'I' said, you don't need to worry. We're the Herrscher of the Void, shaking the past and dazzling the present. Even if we have to carry World Serpent on our back and hold the Elysian Realm in one hand, we're still invincible in this world!"
The white-haired girl's demeanor suddenly turned as commanding as a queen.
"Then yell, 'Shiraki, save me!'?" Seamlessly picking up the quip, her left hand blocked the right hand flicking her forehead, Kiana performing a literal left-right self-battle.
The three exchanged glances, genuinely not expecting that the Herrscher, once obsessed with destroying civilization and the world, would show this side of herself.
They couldn't fully grasp the meaning behind Sirin and Kiana's words, but the three could clearly feel the harmony between Kiana and Sirin, an intimacy outsiders couldn't penetrate.
The hesitation on Delilah's face gradually faded. With Kiana and Sirin's current state, they truly didn't need to worry.
To awaken Sirin's consciousness, Otto had injected massive amounts of Honkai energy and the Gem of Serenity into Kiana's body.
Sirin had previously taken the Gem of Conquest from Mei's body, and after Shiraki saved Himeko, she retrieved the Gem of Pestilence from the Vermilion Knight armor.
To reach the peak of the Void Queen's sublimation, restoring her Emperor-level power from the past, all that was missing was the Gem of Desire in Gray Serpent's hands.
Kiana had considered returning the Gem of Conquest to Mei but decided it wasn't necessary.
Mei was destined to be the Herrscher of Thunder. Once she resolved herself, she could condense the Herrscher of Thunder's core in her body anytime, anywhere.
At that point, the Gem of Desire would vanish.
Giving it to her now would only add to her troubles. If her will was strong, whether the gem was in her possession didn't matter.
For now, it was a fair and friendly deal with Gray Serpent. Kiana felt a bit embarrassed to outright snatch the Gem of Desire, so she'd let World Serpent use it for a bit~!
She'd take it back after Kevin returned to the real world.
The Sirin who had fully recovered Shiraki's memories wasn't the Sirin from the game's storyline. Five cores were stronger than six segments!
Let alone Kevin, fresh out of the Sea of Quanta—even a Kevin who had "devoured" Chiyou wasn't worth worrying about.
This wasn't puffery, oh no~
Tactically, scorn the enemy; strategically, respect the enemy!
After all, the Skyfire Holy Judgment was still in Siegfried's hands!
And even if we take a step back, sure, Kevin's strong, but can't I just call for backup?
Shiraki, Reverie, Kochou Kanae—Shiraki and Reverie in the Honkai world were equivalent to the entirety of Sirin. Limited by physical reality, Kochou Kanae in the Honkai world could probably only unleash the full power of the Herrscher of the Void, but that was more than enough!
Kiana mused that their future development path would be like some cosmic gang.
Take down one Ultraman, and another Ultraman shows up. If the dungeon's too tough, switch to gang-up mode.
This was the multiversal gang!
Er, no, the White Gang!
The Shiraki Gang, that is~!
"That **** Cocolia, I don't know where she gets the nerve to request support!"
Her voice arrived before she did, Tesla with her disheveled hair, perfectly embodying the term "furious big sister."
"Dr. Einstein, what happened?"
When it came to the red-blue CP locked in sync, the calm and composed blue-haired one was clearly the go-to for explanations. Bronya looked at Einstein, whose expression showed slight conflict.
Before Einstein could respond, the furious voice rang out again.
"It's that Cocolia woman, of course!"
Tesla frantically tugged at her hair.
"***, she's been doing all sorts of shady things behind our backs, and now she wants us to team up with her against World Serpent and Otto, talking about mutual benefit? I spit on that!"
"If it weren't for… I'd really want to bash her head in!"
"Against World Serpent and Grandpa?" Delilah looked up, puzzled.
"That woman's been secretly working with World Serpent members, and now it seems she's planning a betrayal, asking us for help. Plus, Otto's target, the Gem of Desire, seems to be in her hands."
"Taking on World Serpent and Otto at the same time? I *** want to know who gave her the guts—does she even know how to spell 'death'?"
Tesla slammed her fist against the Hyperion's wall, venting her pent-up frustration.
Bronya fell silent at the mention of Cocolia, and Mei tentatively asked, "Can't you two doctors just refuse? Why are you so angry?"
"Ugh!" Tesla suppressed her rage with a sigh. "Refuse? I'd love to punch her head in! That woman's in Abyss City!"
"Abyss City?"
"That's our hidden undersea fortress, a relic from the Previous Era, a key base for Anti-Entropy's research on the Sea of Quanta," Einstein explained. "Cocolia's actions will put Abyss City in Destiny's sights."
Delilah's mind raced, processing Tesla's news. Words like 'World Serpent' and 'Gem of Desire' made her expression subtly shift as she glanced at her niece.
Mei and Bronya exchanged a look, also turning to Kiana.
Anti-Entropy didn't yet know about Kiana's deal with Gray Serpent.
Sirin's inexplicable change in attitude was known only to the three of them and Gray Serpent. Otto, naturally, would continue his original plan—
To obtain the Gem of Desire, restore Sirin to her full power, let Kiana defeat Sirin with 'love,' and ultimately gain a controllable Herrscher of the Void.
Seeing the trio all looking at Kiana, Tesla and Einstein glanced over, slightly surprised.
With a thoughtful expression, Kiana rubbed her chin. "That's a pretty important place, huh."
"In that case, let's split into two groups!" Her cherry lips curved, and Kiana snapped her fingers. "Auntie, Mei, Bronya, you go with the two doctors to Abyss City to help Anti-Entropy. I'll head to the Elysian Realm."
Kiana had only promised not to interfere with Kevin's return—she never said what St. Freya's others might do~!
The key was that this Abyss City trip was Bronya's driver's license test.
It was tied to the birth of the Four-Turbo Duck!
Bronya had to go to Abyss City.
On the other hand, this reminded her that she could totally use Otto to retrieve the Gem of Desire!
Otto had schemed against her before—this was barely even interest on that debt.
Looking at Mei, whose face still held traces of concern, Kiana dove into her arms. "Mei, don't worry. Besides Sirin, Shiraki will come find me later too!"
Though their time together was short, Shiraki had left a deeply reliable impression on Mei, someone worthy of trust.
With that, she could completely relax!
Swatting away the white-haired dumpling's soft little hands trying to play with her slime, Mei put on a stern expression, lecturing, "Kiana! You have a boyfriend now, so you can't mess around like this. If Shiraki saw this, what would he think?"
"Uh, he'd want to join in."
Mei: "???"
"Oh, right, Mei, Mei, what do you think of Shiraki? He's not, like, explosively handsome, but let me tell you, he's actually super gentle!"
Her hand swatted away, Kiana pouted, then, thinking of something, tugged Mei's arm to pull her away from the group.
Normally, a best friend hyping up her boyfriend is pretty standard, but looking at Kiana's face, Mei couldn't help but lean back tactically. No matter how she looked, Kiana's expression didn't seem like she was bragging.
"Well, Shiraki's a really outstanding person, isn't he?"
Her heartfelt words acknowledged Shiraki's strength, mystery, and especially his synergy with Kiana, which everyone could see.
"Then, would you consider…"
The breathtakingly beautiful girl shyly clasped her hands behind her back, radiating a bashfulness completely at odds with her appearance, startling Mei. Was this still Kiana?
A faint sense of unease crept into Mei's heart.
The next second, her premonition became reality.
"Since Shiraki's so great, how about, Mei, you become his girlfriend too?"
Her eyes widened abruptly, blood rushing to her brain, her blood pressure skyrocketing exponentially. Mei felt like she'd been struck by five thunderbolts!
"Mei? Mei!?"
Kiana waved her soft little hands, but Mei's eyes had lost focus and light, her slender body trembling slightly.
"And you say you haven't been insectified? This kind of blatant matchmaking is something only a paramecium could pull off!"
Unable to suppress her urge to roast, Sirin immediately seized control of the body, nodded farewell to the bewildered Delilah and others, then opened a portal to imaginary space and bolted.
World Serpent's main base.
An electromagnetic-fringed imaginary gate appeared, accompanied by the sound of stepping on glass. A girl in black-and-white attire gradually stepped into view.
Her eyes bore diamond-shaped cross pupils of flowing gold. With each step Sirin took, circular spatial steps formed beneath her feet.
Before her stood Gray Serpent and a stunningly curvaceous woman in a dark bodysuit with short gray hair. The latter kept her head lowered, her expression hidden in shadow, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Not from fear, but from a hatred called 'Villa Island'!
"Heh~ Let us welcome Her Majesty the Queen's grand arrival!" Gray Serpent's voice was melodious, slightly exaggerated, as he performed a standard gentleman's bow.
Sirin narrowed her eyes slightly, spatial ripples spreading like waves, the entire base's spatial structure feeding back into her mind.
"Very clever. Facing the Yuzuru Hoshizora, you didn't deploy technological constructs, only high-level combat forces plus the Seven Thunders of Purification."
Her queenly, commanding voice made Gray Serpent freeze for a moment.
How did she even know about the Seven Thunders of Purification!?
"Hmph, I'm not one to break my word, as long as you don't violate the fairness of our deal."
Gray Serpent: "???"
Fairness?
Say that again while looking at me!
He clearly didn't have the guts to say it aloud.
"You haven't forgotten what I asked you to prepare, have you?"
"Of course." Gray Serpent clapped his hands.
World Serpent members pushed over a crate sized exactly as Kiana had specified.
Sirin extended her hand, opening an imaginary space gate, swallowing the crate filled with high-explosive grenades and micro-bombs.
These items clearly couldn't be sent in one trip, requiring multiple shipments, so…
"Alright, next, take us to the Elysian Realm!"
An unfamiliar male voice left Gray Serpent dumbfounded, silently staring at the black-haired youth stepping out of the imaginary gate.
Who the hell is this now?