Theresa and Himeko naturally used encrypted comms for their conversation, so the two up in the sky had no idea these two shameless old ladies were plotting for custody of their future children.
Even without encryption, Fuli and Bianka, whose eyes held only each other, had no attention to spare for them.
Slender fingers brushed over the wound on the side of her neck. Under the effect of the Prosperity—cough, Flourishing Crystal, the mark quickly vanished without a trace.
Suppressing the restless excitement and fighting spirit within her, Bianka asked softly, "What was that just now?"
"Divine Departure. An A-Rank technique I created myself."
Fuli rested the Black Swan on his shoulder, answering briskly. "It can't compare to your systematic art that commands multiple A-Rank skills, but does it at least catch your eye?"
A systematic art, with multiple subordinate related moves, could already be called a school or style.
The most typical example was the Raiden family's secret Hokushin Ittō-ryū, with subordinate moves like Three Paths of Withered Oak, Four Phases Severing Self, Eight Thundersteps, and the ultimate secret technique Crimson Leaves Shower, Void Emptiness.
Bianka's Durandal-Style Lance Kata was undoubtedly of this type. In contrast, Divine Departure was an independent technique—a single move with no system behind it.
"Divine Departure? I'll remember it."
Chewing over Fuli's words, Bianka looked solemn.
The Power of Domination covering her body surface still hadn't dissipated. Active A-Rank skills had a high consumption cost. If Fuli wanted to break her defense, he would have to use it repeatedly, which would serve to drain his energy reserves.
"Something's wrong..."
Theresa, watching from below, scratched her head in confusion.
"What is it, Auntie?"
Kiana asked in puzzlement, her gaze still fixed on the battlefield, afraid to miss a single detail.
Theresa said perplexedly, "Given Durandal's personality, shouldn't she have admitted defeat by now?"
Regardless, Fuli's strike just now had already breached Bianka's invincible defense.
If he hadn't held back, the wound on her neck wouldn't have been as minor as it looked.
In other words, regarding their prior agreement, Bianka had actually lost.
"Perhaps she's unwilling to accept it?"
Bronya offered her deduction. "Durandal was hit by Bro's sneak attack. Subconsciously, she must have reservations about that."
Himeko sighed. "That shows you don't understand that child."
regardless of the reason, for that big white goose, defeat was defeat.
She should have dashingly brushed back her golden hair, readily admitted she underestimated the enemy, gone back to Schicksal to double her efforts, and returned to the Hyperion a week later to wipe away her shame.
"If it were anyone else, I would indeed simply admit my defeat."
As if echoing the conversation on the deck.
With Fuli's sword-wielding figure reflected in her eyes, Bianka spread her palm toward the sky.
The lance [Bright Star], equipped with the Valkyrie Gloria armor, appeared in her hand. The Soulium-forged blade flashed with a cold, brilliant light.
"But with you, I'm not resigned to it."
Pointing the lance tip at his slender figure, she repeated in a low voice.
"No matter what, I'm not resigned."
Even to the point of violating some principles, I want to take you back to Schicksal.
"Then you're going to have a lot of unresigned moments in the future."
Fuli's clothes swayed in the sea breeze as he moved the blade from his shoulder to point diagonally at the sea surface.
The boy didn't feel he was bullying anyone. Bianka had come into contact with the Honkai more than four years earlier than him. In the previous loop, he had only formally entered the Honkai side for two years.
Calculating carefully, he was the one at a disadvantage.
A cluster of waves rose and fell. The instant the water droplets splashed.
"Here I come."
The Judgment Lance of Heaven, generated by imaginary mass, charged forward to kill, colliding with a dozen crescent-shaped slashes condensed from the Shadow-Dragging Sword across a hundred meters!
The users of these moves clearly had the same idea: test the waters with seemingly useless leftovers first.
And the result of the test was Bianka's victory.
Taking the lead, the Judgment Lance of Heaven used gravity to firmly pull and trap all the Shadow-Dragging Slashes. Bianka herself coordinated by applying multiple repulsive forces to spin the lance tip in a spiral, forming a massive, twisted golden tornado. With a terrifying impact force enough to pierce three mountains, she continued her pig-headed rush forward!
"Combat Tornado!"
Bronya's small face lit up, using a very visual term to describe Bianka's current attack method.
"It's not over yet!"
At the same time, Bianka, thrusting from the center of the tornado, shouted low and raised her left hand to pull at the void. Fuli, who had already established a foothold and was preparing to use Void Flash Step, was caught off guard; his position shifted several meters to the front right.
Horn of the Divine City. Gathering a gravitational core to manipulate the positions of both enemy and self. It could not only pull both parties to a single point, allowing oneself to accelerate instantly via gravitational boost, but also pull the enemy in rapidly, catching them off guard and making them lose the initiative in battle.
With just this pull, not only did Fuli fail to dodge the attack, but he also stumbled right into the optimal path of the golden tornado!
"It's okay!"
After experiencing the Third Eruption, Kiana had developed a blind confidence in Fuli.
Therefore, even though she had no idea how to deal with this, she still crossed her arms and said confidently, "With just this level of attack, A-Li won't be defeated!"
The girl was right.
The probing attack not only failed to knock Fuli down, but it didn't even break his defense.
Like Bianka under the hail of bullets earlier, he simply stood there steadily. Raising his index finger, the spiral lance tip—capable of boring through mountain peaks—rapidly lost momentum before his eyes, finally stopping steadily half a millimeter from his fingertip.
Immediately after, using Void Flash Step to circle behind, the long sword in his hand once again rested on Bianka's shoulder.
Plum Blossom Blooms Twice. (A repeat performance.)
Even believing Fuli would succeed, this nearly crushing posture of invincibility still left Kiana-cat stunned in place.
She looked left, then right, completely failing to understand, and let out a baffled:
"Eh?"
She was just surprised; the person involved was horrified.
Sensing the peculiar fluctuation on Fuli's body that was identical to her Power of Domination, Bianka almost couldn't hold back from loudly questioning what on earth was going on.
The Durandal-Style Lance Kata seemed like a school, but in reality, she was the only one who could use it.
The Holy Sword's microscopic control over energy, and the spacetime control via the planetary-grade gravity of the internal World Bubble—missing either of these prerequisites made achieving the corresponding effect impossible.
There were degraded versions circulating in the Immortal Blades squad due to the idol effect, but those were purely indirect simulations using long weapons. They simply couldn't and didn't have the power to involve the Power of Domination, which was rated a full A-Rank!
The sound of breaking air rang out behind her again. Unwilling to give up, Bianka gritted her teeth and left her spot, though inevitably losing a few strands of hair.
Fuli was preparing to press his advantage.
"Moyomo?"
At this moment, a cat-cake with a pinecone shell suddenly popped out from somewhere, holding a collection vessel and making a cute noise.
The boy paused, pointing at the golden hair wrapped around the Black Swan.
"Hmph, ha!"
The cat-cake nodded vigorously, its big eyes under the shell looking at him brightly.
Fuli fell silent, then decisively destroyed the hair.
Turning around, he said seriously to Mei, "I don't object to Massive Electric Corp conducting human research. My morals aren't that rigid. But I hope the materials for this kind of research aren't people close to us!"
"Does Durandal count?"
"Bi... Durandal counts!"
"Fine."
Mei felt quite regretful, casually ordering another hiding cat-cake to destroy the drop of blood it had collected behind everyone's back earlier. "But in exchange, now that the battle is over, how about answering the doubts in our hearts?"
"Why do you have Miss Durandal's unique skill?"
Her eyes curved into crescents, her peerlessly elegant face rippling with a charming luster. "Shouldn't you give me (the main point) and everyone else (incidentally) a reasonable explanation?"
Eek!
The feeling of being stared at by a large feline made Fuli's hair stand on end instantly.
Considering that the girl had given him face by responding obediently when he publicly forbade her research just now, and catching a glimpse of Bianka's confused yet slightly expectant cute expression out of the corner of his eye, the boy—remembering that a great man knows when to yield—cleared his throat and spoke:
"It's just an application of the Way of Human Immortals. Temporarily 'devouring' the ability released by the enemy and turning it into my own use, lasting until it's consumed. I named it 'Outer Path' (Gedo)."
The ascension of the Way of Human Immortals.
This was what Fuli mentioned earlier: besides the Fifth Turn of the Peerless Nine Turns, another harvest from the Third Eruption.
For example, just now, he 'ate' the Power of Domination Bianka had deployed on her body surface while approaching her, and then used it to defend against the incoming Judgment Lance of Heaven, achieving a perfect replication of the earlier battle situation.
"..."
Confirming that there was no illicit affair between Fuli and Durandal, Mei should have relaxed.
But her expression wasn't great.
Because Kiana, that tuna, had started brainstorming again.
In her head, Fuli, who approached Bianka just now, not only took a deep breath but also lifted the girl's exquisite, delicate chin. "What a mellow scent, Miss Durandal. But compared to the charming fragrance permeating your skin, your crystal-soft, enchanting lips must taste even more tempting."
He leaned down, slowly covering Bianka's half-rejecting, half-accepting cherry mouth with his own lips.
"Peh! Scumbag!" x2.
The person being imagined and the third party reading her thoughts spat at the same time, leaving the surrounding people baffled.
"Huh?"
Fuli was full of confusion. With such a powerful ability, shouldn't they be shouting 'A-Li is so awesome!', 'A-Li, I love you!'?
And then look up at me with admiration? What's with this reaction?
"A very impressive technique, Little... cough, Mr. Fuli."
Bianka's sincere praise, full of heartfelt admiration, arrived just in time, instantly boosting a large wave of affection points.
He said seriously, "Just call me by my name."
"Okay, Little Li."
Hearing this form of address, Fuli didn't think much of it. Western and Eastern ways of addressing people were different.
Just like Kiana's "A-Li" was originally meant to just call him by his surname (Li), but processed by a certain author to seem more intimate (calling him directly 'Li' would be more ambiguous), the girl's address seemed ordinary to him.
Seeing he didn't object, Bianka rejoiced secretly, while keeping that serious look on the surface. "The power of the Outer Path looks omnipotent, but in reality, it tests the user greatly. At least, I don't believe just anyone can perfectly control the technique I painstakingly researched."
She sighed with emotion. "However, once one possesses the corresponding talent, relying on the power of the Outer Path, one would hold at least a sliver of a chance of winning regardless of who they face."
Theresa, who was just envying this skill, resentfully lowered her lotus-root-like arm, extinguishing her plan to ask Fuli for teachings later.
"'Outer Path is devouring, Vishnu is also devouring; since the categories are the same, I can definitely develop a similar ability!'—your thoughts are written all over your face, Lord Principal."
Himeko chuckled and mocked, "As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. If you don't have that diamond drill, don't take on that porcelain work."
"Shut up!"
Bianka continued, "Normally, when an enemy reveals an ability like Outer Path, what I should do is abandon external projection skills and switch to close-quarters combat mode to fight with fists and feet."
As a combat expert with no blind spots in any field, Durandal's mastery of martial arts was also at the peak.
She gave these up. "But the current me is more curious about how much power you can bring out of the Durandal-Style Lance Kata, and how big the gap is between you and me, the original user."
"You want to use me as a whetstone to sharpen your skills?"
"Exactly!"
The girl's gaze was burning.
The usage conditions for the Durandal-Style Lance Kata were too harsh—or rather, it was tailor-made for her.
But because of this, Bianka found it difficult to even find an opponent of the same type.
It was true that Schicksal had virtual training devices that could simulate data, but reality isn't a game. The virtual images created by that thing were toys that broke with one hit for Bianka.
Without an opponent of the same type for mutual reference, making further progress became increasingly difficult.
If wanting to capture Fuli back to Schicksal earlier was just out of a Valkyrie's duty and the strange emotions surging within her, now that the situation had developed to this step—even if it concerned her own interests—Bianka didn't intend to let Fuli mess around outside anymore.
My house is pretty big; you're welcome to come play.
When you're tired of playing, rest well, and continue the next day.
Just imagining such a future, the girl felt as if all 480 million pores on her body were stretching out in sheer delight.
"Since those acrobatic tricks won't work on you, I won't embarrass myself anymore."
The lance she held stirred the atmosphere, an invisible force field condensing at the tip. "Let's decide the winner with one strike. Bet everything you and I have!"
Betting everything is way too heavy, and haven't I already won twice?
Fuli wanted to say this, but the moment he met the girl's burning eyes, he didn't want to say anything anymore.
[Host, just spoil her.]
Prometheus's teasing voice came to his ear. He ignored it, assumed the draw stance for Flash - One Blade, and said in a deep voice, "Good!"
The two stood apart in the air, their brows sharing a singular calmness.
"Flash - One Blade: Infernal刹!"
"Countercurrent! Horn! Judgment! Adjudication!"
Without warning, six god-speed sword draws transcending time collided with the blazing golden holy lance of adjudication and condemnation. The fluctuations generated by the impact turned into tangible shockwaves spreading in all directions.
Every strike of the god-speed draw contained sharpness that transcended time, as if capable of slicing through all restraints placed upon the body; the holy lance was like the embodiment of justice, every thrust stirring gravity and the atmosphere. Golden light carved dazzling trails on the sea surface, indestructible as if blessed by the Lord.
As the clash continued, the momentum of both grew stronger and stronger. The surrounding air began to twist and deform due to the violent energy fluctuations. Ocean waves were pushed high into the sky by shockwaves and then smashed down heavily, pressing the sea surface down neatly for hundreds of meters around, creating a magnificent fault line that wouldn't naturally dissipate for a short time!
As time passed, anyone with eyes could see that in the exchange of attacks, Bianka held the absolute advantage.
Even though Fuli used five Shadow-Dragging Swords in coordination with his main body to slash out Flash - One Blade: Infernal刹, after the Soulium lance crushed through them like rotten wood, the Power of Domination covering his body surface was also breached by this force from the same source.
But before that, the outcome had already been decided.
"..."
Facing two Shadow-Dragging Swords flying up and down with ease, Bianka, who had several white dots marked on her vitals, opened her mouth and let out a bitter laugh. "You win again."
Achievement Unlocked: [I Have Faced Defeat Three Times]. And this time, she was sincerely convinced.
"Just exploited an information gap, you—"
Before Fuli could finish speaking, the golden-haired girl in front of him plummeted toward the sea as if she had lost all her strength.
Subconsciously, he reached out and caught her by the waist. Warm fragrance and soft jade entered his embrace, but what he met was Bianka's exquisitely beautiful face, now showing an expression of astonishment.
Their breathing suddenly quickened, and they seemed to be able to smell each other's scent.
Snap!
Mei crushed the intelligence gathering device tightly gripped in her hand.
...
Fuli reaching out was purely a misunderstanding.
He simply thought Bianka had exhausted all her strength in the previous clash, so he went over to help.
It was a pure instinctive reaction, completely unrelated to lust.
"It's true."
Back on the deck, the boy was very serious. "So, can you stop looking at me like that?"
Mei wouldn't listen.
Of course she knew what he said was true; helping someone in that situation was definitely pure kindness.
But Fuli coming into contact with other women was also an established fact. Therefore, the girl just gave a cold "Oh" and continued to browse the combat data recorded earlier.
Bianka was also a bit embarrassed. She hadn't expected that just as she was preparing to land on the Hyperion, she would be misunderstood by Fuli.
But seeing Mei's cold demeanor, she immediately felt displeasure rising in her heart.
"The heart that helps others should never be criticized."
The Knight Princess came before Fuli and thanked him solemnly. "Thank you for your help. I hope you won't let this misunderstanding extinguish the warmth in your heart, and that you will still extend a helping hand to the weak when you encounter similar situations in the future."
The sun above the Pacific draped over her shoulders. Her golden hair, tipped with faint coral, seemed to ignite, blooming with a dazzling and righteous light.
"Helping the weak is the Kaslana conviction."
Kiana mumbled.
"Then let me be one of those who practice the Kaslana conviction."
Bianka responded seriously.
"People practicing that conviction wouldn't run to someone else's turf to arrest people for no reason."
Bronya tried to give her a taste of her own medicine.
"The premise of practicing conviction is that the two sides are not hostile factions. I will not be defeated by your sophistry."
The Knight Princess said in a deep voice, "Moreover, I did not harm the innocent. The target has been Little Li alone from beginning to end."
"And the result was a shameful defeat."
Theresa whispered.
Bianka shook her head. "A temporary defeat is by no means shameful. If there truly comes a day when I look around and find myself invincible, that would probably be even lonelier."
"Don't worry."
Fuli answered decisively, "As long as I'm here, you will never be lonely on this path!"
"Little Li..."
...