Central Europe, the scars of the Earth... beyond the "Garden of the Quiet Box."
"How are we supposed to deal with this kind of thing?"
Fu Hua looked at the extremely conspicuous shadowed scene before her and asked the two comrades at her side.
Hearing this—
"The Fourth Herrscher should be inside the 'canopy,' and we need to find a way in."
Kevin Kaslana said in a deep voice: "Or simply break through this 'canopy.'"
As he spoke, the sword of fire was already in his hand, and the searing aura began to spill out.
Fu Hua wasn't lacking either. With the Garuda factor integrated into her body, she had recovered her full combat power and also possessed the attributes of fire.
But the other one—
She had to stand a little farther back.
At that moment, the pink-haired maiden raised her left hand and lightly patted her own cheek, as if to wake herself up that way.
But unfortunately, such an action had no real effect, only a psychological one.
Of course, she wasn't complaining at all right now. When it came to actually getting to work, she was dead serious.
As soon as they saw it, she carried a longbow of rather ornate design in her right hand, and she too looked ahead, speaking slowly: "Kevin, your attack would be too strong.
If there are survivors inside, the consequences alone could kill them."
"Then... if you want to pierce this 'canopy,' I'll do it."
Hearing her say that—
"Are you unwilling to keep your strength hidden, Alicia?"
Kevin neither approved nor denied the other's view, but turned his head and asked.
In response, the pink-haired girl shrugged. "Oh, everyone's working so hard, wouldn't it be embarrassing if I kept being lazy?"
She cracked a small joke.
Immediately, the playful look left her face.
"Everyone, get ready to enter."
"Got it!" ×2
Seeing Alicia now holding that beautiful longbow in her free hand, Kevin and Fu Hua's eyes narrowed slightly, and their expressions turned serious.
The next moment—
"Buzz~"
Alicia held the bow in her right hand with her index finger straight.
Enormous pink-purple energy began to condense at her fingertip.
That "crystallized Honkai energy, extremely high in density."
If launched, its power—
Kevin and Fu Hua were already slightly bending their legs, taking a defensive stance.
The three main combat forces of the New World Serpent joined hands for the first time.
"Suddenly~"
"!!!" ×3
A look of surprise appeared on all three of their faces.
Ahead, from within the "canopy," a horizontal tornado, like a shield machine, rushed straight toward them.
Faced with such a contingency—
"Ay~"
Alicia let out a soft sigh and immediately shifted her aim.
However—
"Leave it to me!"
Kevin stepped in front of her, and the "Judgment of Heavenly Fire" in his hand had already transformed into its form of calamity and ruin.
"唪~"
The fireblade swung, and a tyrannical dragon of flame rolled straight into the black-purple vortex.
"Boom!"
The two forces immediately began to clash.
However—
"唪~"
Kevin took a step forward and slightly increased his own output, and the rolling fire dragon directly crushed the resistance of the black-purple vortex.
Immediately after—
"Ah~"
Kevin hadn't expected the formidable opponent to be so fragile, so he immediately reacted, raising his sword and flicking it.
"唪~"
In an instant, the column of flame suddenly shot farther, like a blade of fire magnified countless times, slicing through the periphery of the "canopy" like a cover.
In the sky, the clouds were cut open into a gap.
And the strange black-purple "canopy" was revealed.
Bearing witness to this scene—
"Kevin, you look stupid doing that."
Alicia dispersed the crystallized Honkai energy in her hand and complained with a touch of irritation.
"Sorry."
Kevin responded with this, then immediately looked at his two comrades behind him.
"It's time."
"Understood!"
"Alright~"
Ahead, the gap in the "canopy" had already begun to close.
The three slipped through one after another, advancing swiftly.
Moments later, they had traveled dozens of kilometers in just a few breaths, drawing close to the edge of the "canopy."
Finally, before it could fully close, they entered successfully.
At that moment, the three looked back at the "high wall" slowly sealing behind them, all with slightly surprised expressions.
Because, looking from the inside out, its edge zone didn't appear as a black-purple stain.
Only where Kevin had "shaken hands" with it... forced open... there was a flowing mist of black-purple along its edge.
As if the protective camouflage color at that spot had been destroyed and the camouflage effect had entered a short period of failure.
However, once the gap completely sealed, all related functions were restored.
And at this moment, if one looked around, or even farther—
"It's so beautiful here."
Alicia murmured.
She spoke to the two comrades.
Tranquility, peace, warm sunlight, no conflicts or wars.
The encompassing beauty here stood in complete opposition to the impression the outside world had of it.
In this "box court," it was as if the weary could peacefully enjoy old age, and the suffering could wash their souls.
If only a few uninvited guests hadn't forcibly intruded today—
—
At the same time, in the central zone of "Quiet Hakodate."
Squatting by a wooden bed with her cheeks resting in her hands, Xi'er gazed at the sleeping face of the gray-haired girl before her, feeling extremely at peace.
But—
"Ticktick"
Behind her, the massive black-purple mist seemed to condense into substance, completely restraining the Reloaded Bunny in its quantum-robot form, preventing any movement at all.
"You saved my life, so... I'll give you a chance too."
Xi'er spoke without looking back: "Be Bronia's 'support' and protect her. Don't worry about anything else."
"Not to mention... destroying my 'final life.'"
At that moment, Xi'er stood up and then looked at the Bunny.
She slowly raised her right hand, and the tips of her five fingers scraped across its robotic arm.
"Chi chi chi~"
As if metal had met highly concentrated sulfuric acid, the robotic arm of the Reloaded Bunny was corroded with five obvious "scars."
But soon, all these "scars" healed again.
"I don't want to turn you into a mute puppet with a sealed heart, Iron Grain... even if you couldn't talk in the first place."
Xi'er withdrew her right hand and looked straight at the Bunny's electro-mechanical eye. "Don't do anything extra until I return."
"Otherwise... you know the consequences."
After that cold warning, Xi'er's figure dissipated like mist, scattering into thousands of phantom butterflies and vanishing on the spot.
Bronya still showed no sign of waking, sleeping deeply.
Just now, something had happened, and Xi'er had forced her to "sleep."
But Bronya was asleep, while the Reloaded Bunny remained.
It had... seen the cracks in the sky and the shocking flames.
There was no other way, Xi'er could only give a cold warning.
Of course, she was no longer naïve and had already left behind her contingency when she had just stroked the Reloaded Bunny.
At that point, the restrictions on the Reloaded Bunny instantly dissolved.
Floating in the air, it seemed to be thinking.
But eventually—
It chose to remain an "accessory."
First priority: ensure the safety of Bronia Zaychik.
That was the wish (command) of Xi'er and "Xi'er."