As the golden light dissipated, two objects fell from mid-air. They hit the ground with a crisp metallic sound and were then obscured by the kicked-up dust.
"Hey, hey! Where did Sol and Lucian go?!" Kiana asked, opening her eyes and looking towards where the two problematic gods had been competing just moments ago. But there was nothing there. A gentle breeze blew, stirring up a thick layer of dust on the empty ground.
"Bronya's scan detects the disappearance of the two gods' life signals. The instability caused by the spatial fluctuations is gradually stabilizing. The threat level is now reduced to D-class," Bronya Zaychik stated calmly, strings of numerical calculations flashing in her eyes.
"Uh... so you're saying those two are gone?" Kiana asked, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise.
"Yes, that's correct," Bronya Zaychik confirmed. Her affirmative answer brought a wave of relief to everyone. If that was the case, it was truly a cause for celebration! The world no longer had to face the threat of imminent destruction at the drop of a hat.
However, the question remained... where did Sol and Lucian go?
Li Xuan, standing to the side, began to look around. A disappearing act in broad daylight was naturally quite curious. Perhaps it was because of the disappearance of the two problematic gods, but the dark clouds in the sky began to slowly disperse. Rays of golden sunlight pierced through the thinning clouds, illuminating the scarred and battered land... as if light had finally come after the darkness.
The dust motes floating in the air and the quartz crystals formed by the intense heat from the two gods' battle glittered in the golden sunlight. The scene was as dreamlike as a fairy tale land. The three girls were completely captivated by this sight, standing frozen as they gazed at the pillar-like sunbeams.
"..." Li Xuan watched this beautiful scene in silence, but his gaze inadvertently caught a glint of reflected light from the sand and stones on the ground.
What's that?! Li Xuan walked curiously towards the spot where the light had flashed. It was a small pile of sand, looking perfectly ordinary, but a small piece of an azure metallic object was exposed at one corner of the pile. If Li Xuan hadn't been looking closely, he might have missed it.
Li Xuan crouched down and extended his right hand, which was wrapped in bandages to hide the red mark on its back, and gently brushed away the slightly warm sand, revealing the object underneath.
It was a handgun, or rather, a hand cannon! Li Xuan recognized it. It was Kiana's weapon—Mjolnir! But now, the gun had changed. Its azure body faintly emitted specks of deep blue light. The frame was wider and heavier than before, and the hammer and the fin-like parts under the muzzle now glowed with a golden luster.
Li Xuan reached out with his right hand to pick up the handgun. However, the moment he touched it, the red "Stigmata" mark on the back of his right hand flashed faintly without him knowing. The next moment, a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind—7-star weapon,
Asgard's Hammer!
"..." Li Xuan's eyes widened as he stared at the handgun in his hand, filled with disbelief. Even the weapons he had summoned from the Gate of Vows were 5-star at most, upgradeable to 6-star. Yet, the handgun in his hand was a 7-star weapon!! Seven stars! What level of power was that?
"Hey! Li Xuan, what are you crouching for?" Someone suddenly tapped Li Xuan's shoulder, startling him out of his daze.
"...This is your weapon, Mjolnir, but it seems to have evolved," Li Xuan said, a struggle in his eyes. But this was Kiana's weapon, and as her comrade, he really didn't want to snatch it. "Hah~" He took a deep breath and finally handed the 7-star Divine Weapon to Kiana behind him.
"Eh~" Kiana took the handgun from Li Xuan. A heavy weight pulled her down, nearly causing her to drop it. "Wh-why is it so heavy?!" Kiana exclaimed, barely managing to lift Asgard's Hammer with both hands, looking somewhat like a weightlifter.
"..." You're the one talking. I wish I could have it!
Li Xuan thought, speechless as he watched Kiana lifting the 7-star Divine Weapon like a barbell.
Wait a minute, what about Lucian's Secret?! Li Xuan suddenly remembered. He continued to crouch on the ground, brushing away the sand. As soon as he cleared the pile, he found Lucian's Secret, as expected. But similarly, the weapon had changed its appearance.
Lucian's Secret's originally black-gray and red body had become even more vibrant. The red muzzle was now a deeper, bloodier red, with a leaf-shaped, blood-red component attached to it. The muzzle looked as if it had been splashed with blood, exuding a bewitching aura.
Similarly, when Li Xuan touched it, the weapon's name appeared in his mind—7-star weapon, Lucian's Holy Grail! To be honest, Li Xuan's hands were trembling slightly. This was a 7-star weapon! And two had appeared at once!
Should he call it a fool's luck? Watching Kiana tap and knock Asgard's Hammer to listen to the sound, Li Xuan felt his heart crumble with despair.
"Hey! There's another one?!" Kiana said, a little surprised when she saw Lucian's Secret in Li Xuan's hands. She snatched the gun from his hand.
I really am naive... Watching Kiana present Lucian's Holy Grail to Mei like a treasure, Li Xuan's feelings were incredibly complicated. And I thought Kiana might let me use the gun. I was a fool to expect anything from her.
Li Xuan silently admonished himself.
"Mei-senpai, watch me test out this gun's power!" Kiana said excitedly to Mei, raising Asgard's Hammer in her hand.
"Okay, okay~" Mei replied with a gentle smile, looking as if she were humoring a child.
"Here I go!~" Kiana said, raising Asgard's Hammer with one hand and aiming at a nearby rock that was as tall as a person.
"BANG!!!" A thunderous roar echoed in their ears. The human-sized boulder didn't last a second before it was cleanly shattered into a pile of small rocks. The shot even left a deep crater in the ground.
"Wh-what incredible power, Kiana!" Mei exclaimed in amazement. Such destructive force could even defeat a Honkai Beast! Mei turned to look at Kiana and said, "Kiana, I—" "Huh? Where did Kiana go?" Mei turned back to find that Kiana, who had been standing there a moment ago, had vanished.
"..." Covering his face, a speechless Li Xuan pointed to a spot four or five meters away from where Kiana had been standing.
There lay a white-haired girl with a large bump on her head. And the azure 7-star weapon, Asgard's Hammer, lay quietly in a pile of sand two meters away from her.
Under the sunlight, the azure body of the gun glinted with a blue light.
(End of chapter)