"This... what did you just feed me?"
"A piece of cheese." Lynelle offered a faint smile. "Effect is, it restores 30% of the eater's overall condition, including vitality and energy."
"Of course, this thing has its drawbacks. The moment it's taken out, it starts multiplying immediately, and you have to eat it all for the effect to trigger. So... even though it's incredibly useful, there's no way someone like me could ever use it~"
Watching Lynelle, whose figure was even more petite than Elysia's and whose cherry-red lips were so small, Kevin understood that she probably genuinely couldn't use the thing.
Judging by what just happened, unless you were blessed with a truly monstrous stomach, even someone like him would struggle if he delayed slightly.
He'd probably have to trigger a Honkai transformation and turn into a Honkai Beast just to finish it all.
"I see... Then, what about this one?"
Kevin looked at the other object in Lynelle's hand.
If he wasn't mistaken, since that cheese was for restoring his condition, this strange seed... was probably meant for dealing with Sa.
"This? Oh, this one's not for you to use." Lynelle chuckled. "To be precise, this item isn't meant for you at all."
"Later, when you go to clear out Sa's derived appendages, you'll probably run into a specific person..."
As she spoke, a projection appeared at Lynelle's fingertip, clearly showing her favorite little cleaning assistant Vi-chan.
"If you find her, remember, don't kill her. Bring her back and hand her over to me."
"Is this... Su's counterpart?" Kevin studied the image for a moment before nodding. "Understood. You want her alive."
"Mhm. Her name is Vita, though she prefers to call herself 'Vi-chan'. If we're just considering dealing with Sa... she's quite useful."
"Useful?"
Kevin's eyes held a trace of doubt. He had a feeling Lynelle's words carried another layer of meaning. And in fact, Kevin wasn't wrong.
After experiencing the rather 'smooth' Miss Sparkle, Lynelle was quite confident in Vi-chan's... physical attributes.
Of course, that wasn't what Lynelle was referring to right now.
The 'useful' she mentioned pertained to Vita's unique connection mechanism with Sa. In the original storyline, Sa used this to control Vita, and Lynelle could naturally use it as an opportunity to set a trap for Sa.
"Anyway, just remember to bring her back~"
"Acceptable." Kevin nodded, saying no more. He simply raised his hand and pressed it against the cherry blossom tree beside him.
Instantly, the bubble world's outer shell began to strengthen under the continuous infusion of energy, becoming extremely resilient.
"Kevin, you really don't need to specially reinforce the defenses for me... Judging by past situations in the Sea of Quanta, as long as Sa doesn't come for me directly, no one can threaten my safety. Besides, if you waste energy like this..."
"It's fine. Sa cannot defeat me, and she wouldn't dare to try."
Kevin didn't stop his actions, his tone devoid of fluctuation, as calm as if stating a simple fact.
"Just stay here quietly. I'll be back soon. Also, if you get too lonely, you can search within this bubble world for a girl named Seele. She's here in this world bubble too."
As he spoke, Kevin's body began to gradually shift towards his Honkai form.
"Going straight for the Chimera? It seems Kevin is truly angry this time... Well, what's done is done."
The pink-haired girl mused silently.
--+--
Far, far away from the world bubble where Lynelle resided, in another bubble world that appeared prosperous and thriving.
A gray-haired girl with crimson eyes was strolling down the street, quite comfortably munching on a bucket of popcorn as she walked.
Although this world bubble might face an apocalyptic catastrophe within six months, as one of the prime instigators, the lovely Miss Vita firmly believed that destroying world bubbles was just her job.
Personally, she considered herself someone who truly loved life.
For instance, in this line of work, she almost always completed her tasks right at Sa's deadline.
The extra time she scrounged was naturally used by Vi-chan to experience the local culture and customs.
"Mmm~ The food culture in this world bubble is really quite good. I should note down the recipes and take them back for the children.
That way, by the time I return after next, they should have recreated the same delicious food, right?"
Just thinking about the 'motherly affection and filial daughters' blissful life awaiting her back at Phosphorus, Vita couldn't help but let a smirk tug at her lips.
Then, this comfortable life was abruptly shattered by a shrill screech that suddenly echoed in her mind.
"???"
Startled, Vita spilled popcorn all over the ground.
With a grimace, she hastily covered her ears, but unfortunately, Sa's voice sounded directly in her mind.
So, Vi-chan's pained ear-covering only attracted the attention of several concerned native inhabitants of the world bubble.
Of course, Vita had no mind to deal with these locals right now, because the frightened Sa had started dumping massive amounts of information into Vita's head, akin to a high-speed divine recitation.
"Wh-what in the world?"
This was the first time Vita had seen Sa so panicked, and she began to fluster a little herself.
She tried her best to calm her mind and extract useful information from the massive, chaotic stream from Sa. Soon, she started to get a rough idea.
"A truly terrifying existence is hunting you… and you want me to intercept them for a bit?"
Vita was utterly dumbfounded: "Huh? An existence even you can't defeat, and you want me to intercept them?"
Sa transmitted another large chunk of information.
"Oh… so that's how it is. You mean it's not that you can't defeat them, but you've determined that transferring energy reserves has a higher priority than defeating the enemy. …You should have said so earlier, now I understand."
After digesting this information, Vita immediately showed an expression of sudden realization.
As everyone knew, because Sa had overeaten, and coupled with her own existence being modeled after the Cocoon, under such immense scale, Sa had nearly lost her 'self', becoming an entity that thought like a machine, only executing fixed optimal solutions.
The plan to revive Purusha required vast amounts of energy, which was why Sa had been constantly devouring within the Sea of Quanta.
Therefore, when encountering a powerful enemy, prioritizing the preservation of these world bubbles she used for energy production, along with the energy already generated, was naturally Sa's optimal solution.
In this context, Sa being unwilling to spare the effort to deal with a troublesome enemy personally was a normal occurrence. In fact, Vita had already handled several similar incidents.
Completely unaware that Sa might genuinely be scared, Vi-chan nodded with practiced ease.
"However… my dear Master~"
Vita's eyes shifted craftily, her voice instantly becoming syrupy sweet.
"If you want me to block this enemy, you should at least give me some power, right? Otherwise, with this weak body of mine, I'm afraid even facing the local factions in this world bubble might result in a 'defeated CG'."
"So… wait, wha—?"
Before Vita could finish, massive amounts of energy began flooding into her body through the connection pathway linking her and Sa.
Simultaneously, a strange, transparent sensation suddenly surged within her soul – the Authority bestowed upon her by Sa.
"Th-this much power?"
Feeling the surging power within her, Vita couldn't help but widen her eyes.
She now felt that her past self, who laid out elaborate plans just to trick a bit of power out of Sa, seemed a bit like a clown.
After all, strictly speaking, she now actually possessed the ability to sever the connection pathway between Sa and herself. It's just that Vita didn't act on it immediately.
"What kind of guy has Sa managed to piss off… Ah, forget it, never mind."
Vita's gaze swept her surroundings.
The power brought by the Eyes of Bodhi had already allowed her to take in the entire situation of the world bubble at a glance. However, she didn't seem to find the enemy Sa mentioned.
"I'll go have a symbolic fight with that person first. With this much power, losing is definitely impossible, but I can pretend to be defeated, see if I can scam a bit more power out of Sa…"
Vita forcibly suppressed the smirk threatening to break out, mentally planning her next moves.
"But where exactly is Sa's enemy? I don't… Ah, found him!"
Soon, using her omniscient vision, Vita located a strange white-haired man in a desolate area of this world bubble.
Thanks to the convenience of her Authority, she could easily determine that this man wasn't a native of the world bubble. And his aura felt a bit… dangerous? But it probably still fell within manageable limits.
It never crossed Vita's mind that Kevin might simply be holding back his full presence to avoid destroying the world bubble outright. Feeling rather inflated, she thought to herself.
After all, achieving a goal she'd pursued for so many years suddenly through such a windfall – anyone would get a little full of themselves, right?
With that thought, Vita's figure flickered, appearing a thousand miles away right in front of Kevin.
"Outlander, your journey ends he—"
"You are Vita?"
"?"
Vita blinked, not understanding how this white-haired guy had already identified her after just one glance.
"You… you know my name?"
"Oh, then it seems I haven't found the wrong person."
The white-haired man nodded.
"Didn't expect him to know me. Must have gotten the info from Sa…" Confident, Vita swung her arm. Peacock tail-feathers fanned out instantly behind her like a skirt.
They say there's a saying: the stronger the power, the longer the skirt. Clearly, Miss Vita also believed in this theory.
"Well then, under Sa's orders, I am here to stop— Gwah!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Vita felt the world spin.
Then, like a dazzling shuttlecock, the newly-transformed gray-haired girl was hurled violently into the sky, spinning seven or eight times before barely managing to halt her momentum.
O.o?
Vita blinked in confusion.
Did I subconsciously hold back just now? Or am I just too unused to wielding such powerful force after so long without it?
Ah, whatever. I was planning to get a 'defeated CG' first anyway, scam more power, then turn the tables.
I'll just treat this as practice for using the Authority… I remember this Authority seems to have an ultimate move…
Like a player who rushes into a game without reading the tutorial, gets beaten by a bot, and then hurriedly goes back to check the guide, Vi-chan quickly rallied herself.
Streams of cyan light gathered on her tail feathers, and she dove down from the sky towards the white-haired man once more.
A moment later, a spinning Vita once again began to question her life choices.
"If you have no other power…"The white-haired man, who looked somewhat like an incubus (referring to his form), gazed at her calmly.
"Then come back with me. Cease this pointless resistance."
"Dammit…"
Only now did Vita realize that the situation seemed somewhat different from what she had imagined.
Her estimation of this mysterious white-haired man's strength seemed to have been… slightly off.
I can't hold back anymore… or I might genuinely crash and burn.
Vita warned herself. At the same time, the girl's red eyes began to grow increasingly 'vivid'.
"Since you're so eager to see me at my full power, then experience it…"
"The Wings of Omniscience shall shroud the heavenly palace!"
A giant cyan "peacock" materialized before Kevin.
"This form… Hah."
A trace of emotion finally surfaced in Kevin's tone, though it was one of nostalgia.
"I'd really like to see the look on that guy's face if he saw a female version of himself could also transform into a giant peacock…"
As his words fell, the man's figure vanished once more.
"Pity the Judgment of Shamash isn't here. Otherwise, it might have been even easier."
Like an elderly villager casually catching a runaway goose, within moments, the massive cyan peacock found itself subjected to several flares, its beautiful tail feathers firmly gripped by Kevin.
"Will you continue to resist, Miss Vita? Or do you possess other abilities?"
Setting down the now forcibly reverted Vita, Kevin inquired with utmost politeness.
"Sa! Where are you?! Is this monster-like guy someone I can handle?!"
Vita didn't speak, merely frantically mentally calling out to her irresponsible creator.
However, Sa remained silent this time, clearly having entered a 'read but not reply' state.
Well then, under the circumstances, the choices left for Vita were quite clear.
The gray-haired girl offered a pleading smile and raised her hands.
"If I surrender now… is it still too late?"
"It's timely. Because a junior, who is very important to me, specifically requested your safety." Kevin nodded.
Just as Miss Vita was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Kevin's next sentence immediately made her heart, which had just settled, plummet straight to her feet.
"However, that junior only required you to be alive. She did not specify in what manner you remain alive. That is left to my discretion. For example, losing your limbs, kept barely clinging to life, also counts as being alive."
"So, tell me. That girl named Griseo, whom you captured… What have you done to her?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.