The next round of group combat wasn't worth much commentary—honestly, it was a foregone conclusion. During strategy planning, Elysia once again chose to go beat up Kevin. Kosmas got taken down by Silas and Pardofelis before he even had a chance to play his self-destruct card. On the other side, however, the duel between Hua and Sakura ended up surprising Silas.
By Silas's prediction, Hua—though still a first-rate fighter in terms of technique—no longer had the physical strength to fully match the skills she had once mastered. That should have limited her performance. Meanwhile, Sakura had long been an assassin. While her physique was weaker than during her MANTIS days, it was still stronger than the average soldier's, and her swordsmanship was undeniably top-class.
Yet Hua managed to hold her own against Sakura. Though she was suppressed the entire match, Sakura was unable to break through Hua's defenses.
Silas knew from experience: the only reason he'd won against Sakura in the previous battle was because she had underestimated him and he'd used an unexpected strike. Otherwise, the result would have been him getting thrashed.
So when Kosmas was the first to be eliminated, Silas and Pardofelis immediately went to support Sakura. After exchanging blows with Hua, Silas finally realized with some astonishment:
"Hua… you've already mastered Taixuan Blade Mantra?"
No wonder Kosmas had chosen to blow himself up without hesitation—he must have noticed too, and knew his odds of winning were slim.
Hua nodded. "But it's only the basics. After all, I've only recently restarted my training in this path."
Suddenly Silas felt painfully inadequate.
"Once this group battle's over, teach me how to use Taixuan Blade Mantra too," he said.
In his previous life, he never had the chance. By the time Hua had mastered Taixuan Blade Mantra, it was already during the 11th Herrscher incident, and back then he wasn't in any condition to learn.
The foundation for Taixuan Blade Mantra was a heart as still as water. But at that time, he had first lived through the annihilation of the Fallen Angels, and then forced the fusion of all their Honkai beasts—leaving him tormented by side effects he couldn't suppress. With his mind so restless and clouded, there was no way he could even begin to enter the discipline.
"Mm. Alright," Hua replied.
With Silas and Pardofelis joining in, Hua naturally couldn't handle a three-on-one. Especially since Silas had no intention of playing fair—he outright pulled a move straight from Otto's "I did not lie, Master Jingwei."
Bang! One shot. Hua—welcome to a new era.
When the match ended, Elysia proudly announced, "See that, Silas? I'm stronger than Kevin~"
Silas glanced at Kevin, who wore a thoughtful expression, then turned back to Elysia. "I'm going to talk with Kevin. Some things… you only understand after talking them through."
Elysia only hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Then… when you've decided on your answer, will you tell me?"
"If you want to know." Silas said. "For me personally, I don't think there's anything I need to hide from you."
If Elysia ever suspected he wasn't from this world, he would choose to admit it openly. But if she never asked, then he didn't need to say anything, right?
Elysia waved at him as he walked toward Kevin, her mind inevitably drifting back to memories of the past.
She had once thought she'd lost him forever—that all she could do was watch him from afar. But thankfully, now she and Silas were drawing close again… closer than they had been in the previous life.
Though… closing that distance any further was harder now than it had ever been.
"Ellie-sis…" Pardofelis stood with her hands on her hips, squinting at Elysia. "I've got something I wanna say to you too."
Elysia snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her. "What's wrong, Felis? Is something troubling you?"
Pardofelis hesitated, her expression wavering. Seeing that, Elysia gently said, "It's alright—any question is fine. After all, for a girl as cute as you, I'd never refuse to answer~"
Biting her lip, Pardofelis finally summoned her courage. "Ellie-sis… what I wanna know is… um, how did you and Bro Silas build the relationship you have now?"
How did they build their relationship?
Elysia blinked, then asked back, "Why do you want to know the answer to that?"
Pardofelis looked away, suddenly uneasy. "Ellie-sis… what I'm about to say might hurt you. Should I really say it?"
"Of course. Felis has always been a good girl—I believe you don't mean any harm." Elysia smiled, reaching out to pat her head.
So Pardofelis drew a deep breath and said: "I know… Sariel once told me she heard from Lilith that Bro Silas confessed to you—but you rejected him."
Rejected him?
I didn't reject him. I just… needed some time to carefully think about my answer.
That was what Elysia wanted to say, but in the end she held back.
By now, she already understood how things had turned out. Silas had long since learned of her Herrscher identity, and because of that, he had "thought it through" and convinced himself he could never like her. So when he told Lilith about it later, it wasn't impossible that his version of the story came across as rejection.
"Yeah… for all kinds of reasons, I 'rejected' him." Elysia admitted.
"Then, this is just from my own observation." Pardofelis lowered her head. "I joined Fire Moth pretty late, that's when I got to know Brother Silas. Back then, I'd often chat with Sister Sariel, or go restock with Sister Mastema… anyway, I also spent quite a bit of time with Brother Silas. But, honestly, I only saw you talk to him a few times, and the content didn't seem much different from when you talked to anyone else…"
Elysia: "…"
What could she say? She didn't want it to be like that either.
Pardofelis had joined Fire Moth during the Tenth Herrscher incident. At that time, Silas had first led the Fallen Angels squad to Africa to suppress the rebels, and after returning to base, he rarely interacted with her.
Silas's birthday parties were never organized by her—he only ever attended Fallen Angels' gatherings. What's more, at that time she had misunderstood his relationship with Lilith. And since she had already begun to vaguely sense her own feelings toward Silas, there were words she felt she simply couldn't say… so things turned out like that.
And after the tragedy with the Herrscher of Binding… forget it. Even if she wanted to talk to him, up until the "Last Banquet," he never came to see her, not even once.
QAQ
Pardofelis noticed Elysia's expression turn complicated—part sadness, part helplessness. It was hard to describe.
She hesitated, then gathered her courage to continue: "So what I want to know is… how did your relationship with Brother Silas change into what it is now? So close… almost like lovers."
She truly was envious—envious of how Elysia and Silas were now, almost indistinguishable from a couple.
"Maybe… because some misunderstandings between us were cleared up." Elysia thought for a while before answering. "After all, the distance between us used to be very close. Later, for all sorts of reasons, we unknowingly drifted apart. But fortunately, in a sense, neither of us truly changed. So, we made a promise. As for the final answer to that promise… maybe it'll only be revealed far, far in the future."
She would save Silas.
Absolutely.
"I see…" Pardofelis mused. "So that means, you two aren't actually lovers right now?"
Elysia narrowed her eyes at her: "Felis… do you realize the way you're thinking right now would get Silas thrown in jail?"
You're not even of age yet, you know!
Pardofelis squinted right back at her: "Aren't you and Brother Silas also underage?"
"But Silas and I are both coming of age this year! If you round it up, that's basically adulthood already! You still have a few years to go, don't you?"
"Uh… rounding up… rounding up, I'd already be twenty, right?"
"Felis… that's not how rounding up ages works…"
On the side, Sakura had been quietly listening. She thought about it—sure, she was technically an adult now, but she was only about a year older than Silas. So the gap… wasn't that big, right?
Hua also silently observed Elysia and Pardofelis. She remembered Silas being very popular inside Fire Moth. Back then, as the leader of the Fallen Angels, his prestige was no less than Kevin's. She'd even seen her squadmates debate who would make a better boyfriend—Kevin or Silas.
But she never imagined… Pardofelis liking Silas was one thing, but even Elysia…?
She didn't really understand.
Meanwhile, Silas had gone to Kevin, where Kosma was also present. The three were reviewing their earlier group battle.
"Kevin, Kosma." Silas began, "What are your thoughts on this round of team combat?"
"I don't see how it had anything to do with teamwork." Kevin said flatly. "It was basically everyone fighting on their own. As expected, adding an extra person always creates a huge impact."
"True." Silas narrowed his eyes at Kevin. "But rather than reviewing those two battles, I'm more curious why you're so insistent on pushing me toward Lilith—or, in other words, so determined to keep Elysia and me at arm's length."
Kevin was silent for a moment, then said, "Haven't you ever loved Lilith?"
Silas fell quiet. How was he supposed to answer that?
The only person he had ever truly loved was Elysia. Even now, his feelings for her remained at the level of "liking." His feelings toward Lilith were probably the same.
Kevin pressed further: "It's hard to imagine. If you never loved Lilith, then how do you explain that tacit understanding between you two?"
"As for that so-called understanding… honestly, it's because I trusted Lilith enough. And Lilith was someone who understood me and could follow my intent." Silas replied. "In other words, she was the one accommodating me. Kevin, sometimes… trust and love are two different things."
"I agree." Kosma said. "Silas is right—when it comes to his coordination with Lilith, he's always the one taking the lead."
Kevin thought for a moment, then said, "But is it possible… that you've spent so much time together, you've grown used to each other's presence, to the point you never realized your true feelings?"
Silas: "…"
What, you know me better than I do now? Or maybe you think you understand Lilith better than I do?
Kevin pressed on. "After the tragedy with the Herrscher of Binding, didn't you spend that night alone with Lilith and the others?"
"Wasn't I with the others too—"
"You held Lilith's hand. For the entire night."
"…"
Kevin glanced at Elysia and Pardofelis, who were staring at each other with narrowed eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to you and Elysia. But… have you really made your choice? No matter how close you and Elysia seem now, there's still a limit. What I saw between you and Lilith… isn't something you can compare."
Silas: "…"
Lilith could get away with that because I had no way to stop her… so I just let her be.
Fine, I'll admit—you have a point.
Lilith did feel more special to him in a way. With Kevin and Elysia, they were characters he had once seen in the "story" come to life. Sometimes, he still felt a trace of distance. But Lilith wasn't a character from the story. From the start, she'd been just an "NPC," who then became a real, flesh-and-blood person he truly came to know.
But that alone wasn't enough reason to slap a definitive label on his feelings.
Silas turned his gaze to Elysia and Pardofelis. "Kevin, I understand what you're getting at. Yes, Lilith is special to me. But so is Elysia. She's the one I once confessed to—and that was the only confession I've ever made in my life."
Kosma's eyes widened slightly. "...Silas, you confessed to Elysia?"
Silas gave a bitter smile. "I misunderstood her. She said she needed time to think about it seriously. I thought that was a rejection. So I let go of those feelings—and I never loved anyone else after that. To be honest, if not for the Herrscher of Binding tragedy, maybe I really would've chosen Lilith. But… what's happened has happened. There's no such thing as 'what if.'"
"I know you two must have talked things through to get where you are now," Kevin said. "And I know how Elysia feels about you. But will she accept many of the choices you've made? During the rebel purge operation, if she had been with you, would she have agreed with what you did? And when we inevitably face the Herrscher of Binding again—if the only options are the same two from last time, will she accept them?"
"She won't." Silas replied calmly. "Because she's Elysia. She'd rather sacrifice herself than let humanity perish. But Lilith… she would. Because she never cared about humanity's survival—she only cared… about me."
"That's exactly why I hope you'll choose Lilith." Kevin said. "You and Elysia will always carry that contradiction between you. You may ignore it now, but it'll always be there."
"Then we'll seek coexistence within that contradiction. Our choices may clash, but we'll understand each other's choices all the same." Silas said firmly. "Kevin, I get what you mean. But I'll tell you this sincerely—next time, keep these kinds of talks between us in private."
He could roughly guess why Kevin sided with Lilith. It was because Kevin saw a reflection of himself in her. Lilith trusted Silas unconditionally and decided to save humanity only for his sake. Kevin was the same.
The difference was—Kevin was a blockhead, while Lilith was a succubus.
As for what would happen if Vill-V overheard this… well, as long as he was around, she wouldn't be able to do anything to Kevin. And eavesdropping always came with a price—knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Vill-V's price would be having to just watch and listen, because if she ever spread it around, Kevin would probably be at her with Shamash in an instant.
That Kevin was his good brother—there was no doubt about that.
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