"All nearby Honkai Beasts have been silenced."
Looking at the message from Cortana on his phone, Ryn sighed. After a long fight, they were finally all dealt with.
As soon as she heard the fighting was over, Kika collapsed onto the ground, and her exosuit Sabayon dissipated. She propped herself up with her hands, trying to stand, but found that she had no strength left...
Kika waved a weak hand at Ryn and said, "Come and help me up, I'm out of energy..."
Ryn walked over and pulled her up. The weak Kika immediately slumped against him.
Ryn adjusted his position to make it more comfortable for Kika to lean on him, then said with a smile, "You seemed so energetic when you were shooting. How did you become so weak right after you were done?"
"Shut up... The bloodline of the Mushoku family doesn't feel fatigue or exhaustion in battle, but once the battle is over, all the fatigue piles up at once... This allows us to attack with all our might during a fight, but sometimes in difficult situations, we can drain our own bodies without even knowing... That's why people from the Mushoku family often die in the middle of a battle..." Kika said a lot in one breath, leaving her a bit breathless now... She rested her head on Ryn's shoulder, which made her feel relaxed and at ease...
Leaving no trace, solely for the purpose of fighting the Honkai. This was the motto of the Mushoku family, and also their death sentence.
Ryn patted Kika's head. He couldn't judge a family's philosophy, but their dedication to fighting the Honkai was worthy of his respect.
Kika felt the touch on her head. She had no strength to resist, nor did she want to... She opened her mouth and bit down hard on Ryn's shoulder.
"Ouch, what are you doing..." Ryn cried out in pain, but he didn't push Kika away. Although Kika was delicate and easy to push over, if Ryn dared to push her away now, Kika would dare to faint on the spot.
"Hmph, that's what you get for touching my head." Kika bared her teeth at Ryn, then looked at the bite mark she had made. *'Leaving no trace, solely for the purpose of fighting the Honkai.' Hmph, she, Mushoku Kika, would insist on leaving her own mark.*
Ryn bumped his head against Kika's on his shoulder, then took out his phone to ask Cortana. "Cortana, did Kiana and the others run into any trouble?"
"While you were fighting, they encountered the Girl-Weapon Bronya and successfully repelled her. Kiana and Mei were not injured and are now resting on the rooftop."
"Good, as long as they're not hurt. Let's go and meet up with them. Come on, get on, I'll carry you."
After confirming that Kiana and the others were fine, Ryn knelt down in front of Kika, motioning for her to get on his back so he could carry her. Kika didn't think much of it and climbed onto Ryn's back, then suddenly froze for a moment, sat up straight, punched Ryn, and said in shame and anger, "Carry me on your back? What are you thinking! Turn around! Carry me in your arms... I'm wearing a short skirt..."
"But you have safety shorts, don't you..." Ryn replied subconsciously, but seeing Kika blushing like a human steamer, he didn't say anything more. Kika wrapped her arms around Ryn's neck. Ryn put one arm around her waist and the other under her legs, lifting her into a princess carry, and started towards the rooftop.
As he ran, Ryn suddenly bounced Kika in his arms and said without thinking, "Mushoku Fat Kika, you really live up to your name, you're quite heavy."
Kika, who had been leaning against Ryn's chest, listening to his heartbeat, still blushing shyly, suddenly felt her blood pressure skyrocket. The previously weak and exhausted her suddenly found her strength, and she tightly squeezed Ryn's neck, saying angrily, "Nonsense, you bastard, do you even hear what you're saying! A beautiful girl can't get fat! How could I be heavy!!!"
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Mei stood by the edge of the rooftop, hugging her shoulders and looking around Senba Academy. Kiana was leaning against a wall, drinking a beverage she had snatched from a vending machine on the way.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed. Thunder descended from the sky and struck Raiden Mei. In the flash of lightning, a single horn grew from Mei's forehead, and a pair of ugly, tattered wings sprouted from her back. Her eyes turned purple-red, and lightning crackled in her hands. The Stigmata Consciousness had succeeded. She had usurped the authority of the Gem of Conquest. She had become the Herrscher of Thunder...
"Mei! What's wrong!" Kiana threw down her drink, picked up her baseball bat, and ran towards Mei.
Mei turned sideways, looking at Kiana out of the corner of her eye, a strange arc on her lips.
She smiled at Kiana and said, "This is the first time we've met, Ki-a-na!" As soon as she finished speaking, Mei raised her hand and summoned a bolt of lightning, striking directly at Kiana.
"You're not Mei! Herrscher of Thunder! Give Mei back to me!" Kiana dodged Mei's attack, swinging her baseball bat as she charged forward.
Facing Kiana's attack, the Herrscher of Thunder smiled and dodged. She had no intention of hurting Kiana, attacking at a speed that Kiana could definitely evade. This Kiana was always lovey-dovey with Ryn, making Mei feel both heartache and envy. When Mei was sad, the Herrscher of Thunder was not happy, so she wanted to punish Kiana a little to vent her frustration.
And then, the Herrscher of Thunder, with zero combat experience and holding back at every turn, was closed in on by Kiana. Kiana swung her baseball bat and hit her directly on the head, leaving her dizzy and disoriented... The Herrscher of Thunder, who had just finished fighting for control and was still in a weakened state, was knocked out by Kiana's blow. The Herrscher of Thunder went offline on the spot...
After the Herrscher of Thunder went offline, Mei's consciousness reawakened. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a disheveled Kiana, smiling at her. When Kiana saw that the Herrscher of Thunder's horn and wings had disappeared, she knew that Mei was coming back. She was about to talk to Mei and ask how she was doing, when Mei trembled and backed away... Mei didn't know what had happened while she was unconscious, but she was sure she had hurt Kiana... Although she had been comforted by Kiana and Ryn many times, now that she had really become the Herrscher of Thunder and really hurt Kiana... she was still so scared. What if she had killed Kiana!
"Kiana... don't come near me..." Mei backed away step by step... until she reached the railing with nowhere else to go. Mei looked down from the rooftop. Maybe if she just jumped, she could stop hurting others... Just as Mei was hesitating whether to jump, her hand touched the railing. The entire railing instantly dissolved into a quantum state and disappeared... Mei, caught off guard, fell.