After Bronya expressed her wish to go to the seaside, Mei led the group, weapons in hand, fighting through Honkai Zombies all the way to the coast of Nagazora City. They didn't encounter any large creatures like Honkai Beasts, so they simply steamrolled through the Honkai Zombies.
"Ahh~ it's nice to come to the beach once in a while~" Li Xuan spread his arms, embracing the sea breeze. No matter the world, the sea always carried a faint fishy smell. He hated eating fish…
"Yes, Master~" Maid Liv, in her timeless and immaculate black and white maid outfit, stood beside Li Xuan, her soft body leaning against his. A faint, girly fragrance drifted into his nose.
"Ugh…" Li Xuan's body visibly tensed up. Happiness had come so suddenly that he wasn't quite used to it yet.
Liv suddenly wrapped her arms around Li Xuan's left arm, pressing something incredibly soft against him… It made him feel so awkward he didn't know where to put his hands and feet…
"Tch! Go explode, you normies!" Not far from Li Xuan and Liv, Kiana mumbled to herself, biting a handkerchief in frustration. Why was a cute girl like Liv always with that smelly guy Li Xuan… If it weren't for Mei-senpai, I would have already… hmph!
"Mei-senpai~" Kiana turned and hugged Raiden Mei, who was talking to Bronya, and started acting cute.
"Ugh… It's so hot! Stop hugging me…" Mei then pushed Kiana's approaching face away with a look of disgust. Seriously, Kiana was too reckless; she was in the middle of a conversation with Bronya.
"…" Seeing Li Xuan and Liv together on one side, and being pushed away by Mei on the other, Kiana felt like she had taken ten thousand points of critical damage. Just a mere Li Xuan… Kiana scribbled in the sand with a dry twig, her back looking desolate under the sun.
Meanwhile, on the other side…
"Bronya, can you tell me what kind of person Seele is?" Mei asked, sitting with Bronya on the sparkling sand under the sun. She was genuinely curious about this girl, Seele. What was she like? Bronya seemed to care about her so much.
"Yes, Bronya can tell you, Mei-neechan…" Bronya said calmly, her eyes fixed on the shimmering, tide-ebbing sea before them.
"Bronya thinks… anyone who has seen the sea would fall in love with her," Bronya said, gazing at the ocean, her voice steady.
"It embraces all things, nurtures everything, making one feel incredibly calm and warm."
"But once the life it protects is in danger, the sea will stir up giant waves… revealing its immense power." Bronya paused. "Seele is just like the sea…" she continued.
Bronya looked at the calm sea under the sun. She hugged her knees, the armor on her legs reflecting the metallic glint of the sun. This was the price she had once paid for power.
Bronya buried her face between her knees, her voice still detached as she said, "Bronya knows… the strength in Seele's heart."
"Because Seele is just like the sea—she has a gentle and kind heart."
Under the autumn sun, the girl named Bronya sat on the golden sand. She curled up like a wounded animal, letting the cool autumn wind blow against her frail body.
"It's okay~ Bronya, we will definitely see her again," Mei said gently, looking at the huddled Bronya. Mei reached out and stroked Bronya's slightly curly hair. "You still have us now, don't you? Kiana, Li Xuan, Liv, aren't they all our friends?"
"…" Bronya remained silent. After a long while, she lifted her head, her delicate face slightly flushed, her eyes red. "Yes!"
......
Beep, beep! Beep!
A piercing alarm sounded in Bronya's ears.
"Bronya detects a strong Honkai energy fluctuation! Recommend immediate evacuation…" Bronya stood up, her expression grim.
"Waaah! I told you we shouldn't have come out!" Kiana threw down her twig, slightly panicked. Who knew what would appear this time…
"What's wrong?! Is something else coming out?" Li Xuan walked over with Maid Liv. A faint blue shield materialized around his beautifully decorated, bright yellow ancient-style Xuanyuan Festive Garb. Pinned to the right side of his collar were two emblems: the five-star Knight Never Dies by Bare Hands and Nan'gong's Trial…
He had been pleasantly surprised to discover when studying Nan'gong's Trial, which he'd gotten from a wish on the day of the carnival, that it was a perfect match for Knight Never Dies by Bare Hands! Nan'gong's Trial's ability made Li Xuan even stronger in unarmed combat! For every Honkai Zombie he killed, his attack power would increase by five hundred percent, with a maximum boost of five thousand percent! And the attack range of his punch would increase by one hundred centimeters, meaning a single punch from Li Xuan would hit all creatures within a one-meter diameter…
"Master, I will protect you this time!" Maid Liv said firmly, once again pulling two silver Smoothbore Guns from her maid dress as if from nowhere…
"Beep! Bronya detects an increase in Honkai energy fluctuation! Everyone, get out of here quickly!" Bronya hastily prepared to retreat from the beach, controlling the Project Bunny 19C that appeared behind her.
"Everyone, quick, we need to… get, going~" Just as Mei was about to urge everyone to retreat, a wave of drowsiness washed over her, making her eyelids feel heavy…
"Eh?! So sleepy… Yawn~" Kiana said with a yawn. Li Xuan and Liv beside her were slightly better off, but it was clear they wouldn't last much longer…
Thump~
With a synchronized sound, everyone fell to the ground, unconscious.
By the sea closest to them…
The previously calm surface of the sea suddenly formed a whirlpool, from which a giant wave surged towards the beach.
Splash!~ The wave, with its white crest, submerged everything on the beach, including Li Xuan and the others…
The tide receded… and the group on the beach had vanished.
"Bronya-oneechan~"
A girl's whisper seemed to echo from the depths of the sea…
(End of Chapter)