"What nonsense are you talking about…"
Durandal tapped Ryn on the head and chided him, somewhat angrily:
"Ryn, your body is your own, how can you be so reckless! What do you take your own life for!
Excessive mental exertion can cause irreversible damage to your spirit and body. When I was young, Overseer Otto strictly controlled and planned my training progress, deeply afraid that I would over-exert my potential each time and affect my future.
Although I used to believe that I would be like Captain Ragna, ready to sacrifice my life at any moment to fight against the Honkai, and that my life would end as ordinarily and insignificantly as a leaf falling to the ground.
But in mission after mission, I came to understand one thing: we are special…
From the moment we appeared in this world, some things were already set in stone.
We all have a glorious mission, perhaps to defeat the Honkai, or perhaps an even grander goal.
Ryn, we are still young, and our lives are still very long… No one knows when the moment we fulfill our glorious mission will arrive…
But we must be prepared to fulfill that glorious mission. Before that, any action that consumes one's life and destroys one's future is, in my opinion, unacceptable!"
"No, I don't entirely agree with your point of view…"
Ryn nodded, then shook his head.
Unlike his own strength, which came from cheating, Durandal had conquered everyone in Schicksal with her strength and her actions and thoughts, earning her the title of Schicksal's strongest.
Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie is Durandal, and it can only be Durandal.
But… Ryn was not a proper Valkyrie.
"Durandal, it's true that everyone is born with a glorious mission, but not everyone has to dedicate their lives to this 'mission'.
We are human, and what makes us human is that we are selfish and greedy…
So… those glorious missions that require you to sacrifice everything…"
Ryn paused, looking at Durandal.
"You…"
Durandal also looked up at Ryn, her eyes filled with confusion and incomprehension.
Was Ryn, whom she had always considered a kindred spirit in her heart, actually someone whose thoughts were different from her own…
Durandal's eyes dimmed as she lowered her head.
That's right. Unlike herself, who was solely focused on saving the world and fighting the Honkai, Ryn had his own life and family. He wasn't like her, who had nothing and no one to worry about.
However, if that's what Ryn was thinking… then he would surely live a long life, right?
If… if they could defeat the Honkai, if she was still alive, if she could still live a normal life…
Then she would discuss life's major events, try to confess to Ryn, and resolutely pursue love then!
So what if their opinions differed and they couldn't end up together! She was still herself, still the Valkyrie willing to sacrifice her life to fight against the Honkai!
Because I am Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina!
Durandal raised her head again, the confusion in her eyes gone.
"It seems you've thought about a lot of things in just these ten-odd seconds?"
Ryn blinked, looking curiously at Durandal, whose expression had changed constantly before finally becoming firm as she looked at him.
"Yes, I was thinking about my present and future."
Durandal nodded but didn't explain to Ryn what she had just been thinking.
There was no need for more words. When all was said and done, and it was time for a fresh start, she would show Ryn her current thoughts through her actions.
"By the way, didn't you have more to say just now…? What's next?"
"What's next, you ask…?"
Ryn's lips curved upward slightly. He took Durandal's hand and, with the surprised Durandal in tow, started to hop and skip as they flew up into the sky.
"Hey… wait a moment, I haven't activated the light particle thrusters yet…"
Durandal shouted in a panic, then quickly activated the light particle jet thrusters on her Bright Knight: Excelsis battlesuit.
"No, you don't need to."
Ryn held the hand Durandal was about to use to activate the thrusters, holding both her hands and looking at her face to face.
"From here on out… leave it to me, okay?"
"Mhm." Durandal looked into Ryn's eyes, then slowly nodded.
She relaxed her body, entrusting herself completely to Ryn. If Ryn had ill intentions and dropped her from the sky, then Durandal could only accept her fate and blame her own poor judgment.
But Durandal's judgment was not poor, and Ryn wasn't truly crazy.
He gestured for Durandal to wrap her arms around him, then he turned sideways, scooped up Durandal by her knees and waist in a princess carry, and flew higher and farther into the sky with her.
Like a shooting star, they streaked across the sky and then disappeared.
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Under the starry sky above Nagazora City, Ryn appeared silently, holding Durandal.
They were high above, looking down upon the vast earth from the Ninth Heaven.
Ryn's expression lacked its usual gentleness and smiling demeanor, instead appearing somewhat heavy and serious.
He pointed to the deathly silent city below, devoid of a single light, a stark contrast to the brightly lit and bustling major cities surrounding it, and said to Durandal:
"Durandal, do you know this city?
Before the Third Great Honkai Eruption, this was also a super, super prosperous major city, even one of the most important cities in the Far East. It also had a nice name… Nagazora City.
But the Third Great Honkai Eruption broke out here, and the Honkai completely destroyed this city. Even now, a large amount of Honkai energy still permeates this place, lingering for a long time.
There are many places in the world that have been destroyed by the Honkai, but Nagazora City has a different meaning to me…
Because… this place… is my home…"