Chapter 181: Inherent Spirit Equipment! Astral Express Sets Sail!
"Hmm? Faith?"
Ren looked at Yomogawa Ayame, Mumei, and Horobi with some surprise.
In the wake of the global purification, all three of them had developed a powerful, palpable faith in him.
Mumei's was one of reliance and sibling-like adoration.
Yomogawa Ayame's was one of pure, divine worship.
Horobi's was one of absolute loyalty, devotion, and... intense, burning desire.
Hiss!
Ren felt a bit of a toothache.
He wondered if he had the characteristic of a male lead in a cheap h-anime, possessing a weapon that acted like a potent aphrodisiac.
This was just him overthinking. Horobi was purely conquered by his strength in all aspects—physical, mental, and sexual.
"If there's faith..."
His Redemption Wings emitted a soft light, sprinkling it upon the three of them.
Under everyone's gaze, they grew angelic wings and halos, just like Seitenshi.
At the same time, he also transformed the three of them—and Seitenshi—into his clan, the Time Order Clan.
From Neko (Mao) and Rory Mercury, he had already learned about the abilities possessed by the Time Order Clan.
There were only two abilities: Time Acceleration and Time Deceleration.
But unlike Ren's arbitrary, god-like control over time, their time acceleration could only be applied to themselves, and time deceleration could only be used on external objects close to their bodies.
It was a unique time control ability, and it was quite practical for combat.
Moreover, the strength of this ability within the Time Order Clan would increase as Ren's own, the King of Chronos's, abilities improved.
"From now on, you are my Redemption Angels, and also members of the Time Order Clan."
"This world is your world, and it needs to be managed by yourselves. Horobi, Mumei, you two should assist Yomogawa Ayame well. Especially you, Horobi. Yomogawa Ayame's overly kind personality needs you to educate her on the harsh realities of leadership."
"Yes!" Horobi and Mumei replied in unison.
"Since that's the case, we'll be leaving."
Ren, Seitenshi, Saiki Kusuo, Vivi, and Mikasa chose to return.
Yomogawa Ayame gazed in the direction Ren had left. "Will Lord Ren return?"
Horobi didn't speak, but the longing in her eyes was unconcealable.
Despite only a few hours of... "interaction"... Horobi couldn't forget that burning, overwhelming sensation. She was very infatuated with that feeling.
It was like she had been a rootless duckweed on the sea of lost souls, and was suddenly lifted high by a towering, unshakeable stone pillar, gaining a new, stable, and pleasurable harbor.
Ren, seeing their thoughts, glanced at Mumei and opened the Chat Group.
[Ren: "Mumei, will you still return?"]
[Mumei: "Of course. Mumei, perhaps you can call me 'Onii-chan' (elder brother)."]
[Mumei: "Yes! Ren Onii-chan!"]
Mumei's lips curved into a sweet, genuine smile. She said to Horobi and Yomogawa Ayame, "Onii-chan will return."
"Onii-chan?" Horobi and Yomogawa Ayame were puzzled. Isn't Biba Amatori dead?
"It's Ren Onii-chan..!"
"!!!"
...
Ren, who had just returned, continued to enjoy Chinu's feeding, leaning back as she placed a piece of food in his mouth.
He was truly seamless in transitioning between the women. Ren had evolved into a perfect time management master.
[Ren: "Seitenshi, Vivi, Saiki Kusuo, Mikasa, have you returned safely?"]
[Seitenshi: "Ren-san, I'm back."]
[Vivi: "I've also returned to the Alabasta Kingdom. Thank you!"]
[Saiki Kusuo: "Mhm."]
[Mikasa: "Thank you for your concern."]
[Mikasa: "I have a question I'd like to ask."]
[Aqua: "What question? Let this goddess help you answer it! The only reward needed is to join the Axis Order, oh!"]
[Mikasa: "…"]
Mikasa always felt that the Axis Order wasn't a good thing; everyone in the group said so.
[March 7th: "Ahaha, Aqua is really a persistent person."]
[Ren: "Ignore her. Just ask directly if you have anything."]
[Mikasa: "May I ask, is the A-rank ability I obtained from the roulette, named 'Inherent Armament: Iai Katana Narukami', very powerful?"]
[Nami: "Never heard of it."]
[Exusiai: "An A-rank ability is already very strong! My 'Gun Creation' is an A-rank ability."]
Inherent Armament... Iai Katana Narukami.
Ren was both familiar and unfamiliar with this name.
He racked his brain for a moment before finally recalling the origin of this ability.
It seemed to be Touka Toudou's Inherent Armament from Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry (Chivalry of a Failed Knight).
It was a unique profession in that world, the Inherent Armament of a Blazer (Blade Arts User), which could manifest one's soul as a weapon.
It involved manipulating special abilities using magic, and in that setting, such individuals were special existences that only appeared once in a million people.
However, with only the Inherent Armament, it wasn't actually that strong. Touka Toudou's strength lay in her Blade Arts techniques.
[Ren: "Mikasa, after fusing with the Inherent Armament, did you gain anything else?"]
[Mikasa: "Mhm. I also got the Blade Arts techniques 'Raikiri' and 'Takemikazuchi.'"]
There really were Packages Blade Arts techniques.
[Ren: "That's pretty good. You can choose to strengthen them."]
[Mikasa: "Understood."]
[Momonga: "I really envy you all."]
[March 7th: "Silver Wolf! Come out quickly!"]
[Shinobu Kocho: "March-chan, why are you looking for Silver Wolf so urgently? Did something happen?"]
[March 7th: "Something very, very big happened!"]
...
Meanwhile, on the Astral Express.
Just a short while ago, the Astral Express was finally about to completely depart from the star system where Jarilo-VI was located.
It was preparing to set sail again, beginning a new pioneering journey.
[Hello… hello, hello… ]
Pom-Pom's voice echoed within the Astral Express's carriage.
[Thank you for waiting, all passengers.]
[Thanks to the strong assistance of the three Trailblazers, the Rift activity has been reduced to its lowest point, and all new track readings have returned to the normal range.]
[The train is about to depart again. Please sit tight and hold on. Let's say goodbye to this planet one last time.]
Soon, the Astral Express re-entered the starry sky.
...
Dan Heng lay on the futon on the floor in his room, his face pale and pained, seemingly having a nightmare.
"There are five people… three prices… you… are one of them…"
Like a demon's whisper, it caused Dan Heng to suddenly wake up, gasping.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his gaze trembled slightly.
"Dan Heng, the route meeting is about to start."
The voice of Stelle calling came from outside the door.
"Wait a moment... I'll be right there," Dan Heng replied, wiping away the cold sweat.
Outside the door, March 7th spread her hands.
"I told you so, he's definitely sleeping in."
"You know," March 7th lectured, "the people on our train can go days without sleep, but once they do, they'll make up for all of it."
"You, too, will eventually master this skill."
This was March 7th's teaching to Stelle, as someone who had been through it.
Stelle looked puzzled. Is this kind of routine really okay?
"Alright, don't waste such good time in the corridor."
"The Conductor asked us to give a heads-up that the route meeting is about to begin. The usual spot, don't be late. Let's go first."
The two chatted as they walked.
"See? Just like I said, if you wake up one day and don't see Dan Heng, you probably won't see him all day," March 7th said with an 'I knew it' expression.
"That's truly unexpected," Stelle chuckled awkwardly.
"This is just the beginning. If you ask me... you're new here. Once you stay longer, you'll find that everyone on the train is a bit strange…"
March 7th's complaining made Stelle look at her.
If it was everyone, then it should include her too, right?
"Don't look at me like that! Am I not strange?"
March 7th puffed out her cheeks. She admitted that she was very strange.
"I've forgotten all of my past. Have you ever seen a normal person like that? Usually, such people have beautiful and magical backstories. I've made up dozens for myself!"
She wasn't sad or confused; instead, she openly made fun of herself.
This made Stelle admire March 7th's optimism.
Soon after, March 7th and Stelle arrived at the main carriage.
They saw Welt leaning against the wall by the door.
Welt adjusted his glasses and looked at the two. "You both look well."
Stelle was a little surprised. "Mr. Welt, are you also going this time?"
"Yes, I'm going to take a look."
March 7th asked curiously, "Mr. Welt, is there a world you want to go to?"
Welt pondered before saying, "A world I want to go to? My hometown, perhaps?"
"But unfortunately, there's no record of its location in the train's intact travel logs."
"I want to see more other civilizations before returning home, so as not to waste this time spent on the Astral Express."
Welt wasn't sure if he could ever return.
In fact, Ren had been thinking about the same problem after Kiana joined the Chat Group.
The Welt of the Astral Express was indeed Welt Yang, from the Honkai Impact world.
However, he was from a point in time after the Honkai had already ended.
But Kiana was currently still only at St. Freya Academy.
There was a massive time difference in between.
Ren didn't know if the two were in different parallel worlds or just different timelines of the same world.
Ren also didn't know if Welt could ever return to the Honkai world.
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