"Fairy Bow," Fuli said, playing with the twin pistols Zofia had left behind. "Even though I knew the Kaslana Gun Kata was passed down through generations, seeing these things in the Middle Ages still feels super out of place. Don't you think so, Sis?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, it does."
The secret conversation in the dark space had lasted only an instant. When Kallen came to her senses, the familiar scene was once again before her eyes.
Sorting through the information and modern knowledge she'd received from AL, she shook her head. "Even if you say that, I still don't know what the future world is actually like."
Her hands, however, naturally took the Fairy Bow pistols from the boy. "I'm not in my best shape right now, so I'll have to rely on you guys a bit more, my old friends."
VMMM—!
The Oath of Judah shook its chains in displeasure, forcing Kallen to quickly placate it.
"It's like coaxing a child," Fuli muttered, wondering if he would have to interact with Jizo Mitama like this in the future.
A sentient weapon is such a pain. I need to find a way to properly train it so it can never resist my commands again.
Kallen put away her weapons and put her hands on her hips. "Anyway, let's keep moving!"
Fuli on her left, Otto on her right, Fairy Bow at her waist, and Judah on her chest.
"If gods block my path, I'll kill the gods. If Buddha blocks my path, I'll kill the Buddha!"
"Is it really okay for a nun to say something like that?"
Otto felt like Kallen's every move was aimed at him. In terms of gods, he was, for all intents and purposes, the next Archbishop of Schicksal, a representative of God. In terms of Buddha, the Apocalypses were descendants of the Enlightened One.
"I'm just too excited!"
Hearing this, Kallen twirled her guns and made a proper Taoist salute. "The Tao follows nature. I am the humble Taoist Master Kaslana."
Ballistics is a Tao, marksmanship is a Fa, semi-auto is self, and gunpowder combustion is nature.
[T/N: A pun on a Taoist phrase. Fa means both law and method/spell.]
Thus, praise be to the Metal Storm Heavenly Lord of Infinite Fortune!
"I feel like my sister has suddenly become a lot more lively!" Fuli said, stroking his chin. "Is it because you're about to leave this false world with me, so you're overjoyed and have forgotten yourself?"
He walked over and patted Otto's shoulder, his expression nine-tenths serious. "Rest assured, I swear on the River Luo, I shall take care of thy fiancée. Worry not."
"Brother, pick a different river!" Otto gripped his hand back. "The Luo was sullied by that Sima bastard. I can't rest easy."
"Why worry so much!" Kallen pushed the two clowns from behind. "Go, go, the entrance is right there. Don't waste time."
The trio of schemers bickered as they entered the gate. Fuli, at the front, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
When he came to, he saw the morning star hanging high in the night sky. A bridge, hundreds of meters long but only half a meter wide, stretched to the other side, flanked by bottomless abysses.
Floating platforms drifted above the abyss, each occupied by a ragged, silvery-white skeleton wielding a vicious weapon.
Scanning the skeletons that were gradually standing up, their bodies exuding an aura of conflict, Fuli narrowed his crimson eyes. "This is the Third Heaven, Sagoon (Venus)?"
Just like the Seven Heavens described in mythology, the bubble universe at the lowest level of the headquarters was also divided into seven progressing layers.
Each layer was guarded by a different warden.
For example, the guardians of the Heaven of Venus where Fuli currently was, were made from the corpses of Kaslana warriors who had awakened their Stigmata, supplemented by special techniques and rare minerals.
"It's only you guys, with your minds full of fighting for the people, who would be happy to be messed with and used by those bastards even after death."
The boy glanced back. As expected, Kallen and Otto were gone.
That was the mechanism of this bubble universe. Upon entry, it would perform a forced spatial-temporal transfer, separating intruders onto different layers.
In short, our side will be sending a grand army to storm the levels, totaling three people, advancing on three fronts!
This was why the Vivre Cards were necessary—so they could reunite after being separated.
"But why am I in the Heaven of Venus?" Fuli grumbled.
The Heaven of Venus, the abode of amorous souls.
He didn't consider himself a philanderer. He'd been a loyal simp for eight-year-old Kiana and had never changed his mind!
What? Eight-year-old Fuli was telling little Goose that he liked Kiana the most, while secretly running off to play at the flower shop run by Sister Rita every day?
Baby Li's memory was wiped. Baby Li doesn't know anything.
The boy sensed his surroundings for a moment. Perhaps due to shoddy craftsmanship, the strength of the Kaslana ancestors was far from their peak in life, mostly around B-Rank, with a few at A-Rank or above.
But there were a lot of them. He could see at least a hundred or so, enough to bury him with numbers alone.
In fact, that's exactly what they were preparing to do. Some bare-handed, some wielding fine weapons prepared for them by the church, they were marching forward, ready to chop this intruder into meat paste.
Facing the surging army of skeletons, Fuli calmly extended a hand. "Stop!"
The army didn't listen.
Fuli solemnly drew his sword. "Come out and fight me one-on-one!"
The army didn't stop.
Fuli screamed at the top of his lungs, "So many of you ganging up on a weakling like me, have you no shame?! You talk about fighting for the people, but now hundreds of you are ganging up on me!"
A ghostly soulfire burned in the ancestors' empty eye sockets, as if to say, "Getting rid of an intruder like you is protecting the people!"
"Well then, I have no choice."
Seeing that Kiana's ancestors were beyond reason, the boy sighed faintly, then gave a cunning smile.
BANG!
A two-meter-tall golden cross slammed into the ground. The shattered stones it sent flying whistled into the valleys on either side of the bridge, their fall silent for a long, long time.
This was the mimicked Divine Key, the Oath of Judah, which Fuli had temporarily borrowed (devoured) from Otto using the Outer Path of the Human-Immortal Way.
Compared to the original Divine Key, a god-slaying armament, the mimicked version's rank was at least one or two tiers lower.
In other words, even with an A-Rank Stigmata of Reason, Fuli could unleash the Zeroth Rated Power of the mimicked Judah.
CLAP!
Fuli clapped his hands, and the golden cross opened to the sides like a sword case.
Obsidian chains that severed all Honkai energy connections shot out, but they didn't immediately attack the enemies coming from all directions.
Instead, they shot into the sky, forming a massive golden gear!
The gear emitted a soft, brilliant light, the lines on each cog clearly visible, as if containing endless mysteries.
"Oath of Judah, release!"
What's the difference between using an ultimate without shouting its name and a basic attack?
A bright, wild smile appeared on his clean, handsome face. Fuli opened his arms as if embracing a god.
"Zeroth Rated Power, deploy!"
At the boy's loud call, the golden gear began to turn, pulled by some invisible force. The air around it began to distort, and a mysterious, powerful ripple spread out.
"Gada-gada-gada-gada!"
The Kaslana ancestors clearly sensed something. Roaring, they charged forward, brandishing their weapons.
The sound of bones grinding echoed in the void, filled with invisible anger and despair.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
It was over.
"Purge all injustice from this world! Elysion Pedion!"
A curtain slowly descended from the center of the gear, like a piece of golden silk gently floating in mid-air. It emitted a faint light, enveloping an area of several square kilometers in a dense, solemn, holy atmosphere.
...
The post-mortem Kaslana ancestors were animated by Honkai technology.
As long as the barrier was deployed, even if it was far weaker than the original, they would still have difficulty moving.
And precisely because it was far weaker than the original, Fuli, the user, could still move freely while it was active.
The outcome of this battle, then, was self-evident.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
What must go, will not be held back.
Twenty seconds later, both the Divine Prayer Barrier and the mimicked Judah shattered.
Standing on the bone dust, Fuli wiped away imaginary sweat. "Phew, another successful assassination without anyone knowing."
"What do you mean, without anyone knowing?! You killed all the gods and ghosts, didn't you!"
"Kallen? When did you get here?"
Fuli was stunned. "Yes, I love you too."
"Huh?"
"No, slip of the tongue!" The boy quickly waved his hands, then said warily, "Quick! The password!"
"What password? Just look at your Vivre Card!" The white-haired nun who had appeared beside him rapped him on the head. The intimacy in her gesture couldn't be faked.
"You're ruining the mood, Sis," Fuli grumbled, sheathing Black Swan. "My brother would have definitely played along."
Kallen pointed at him. "Yes, yes, I'm not as good as Otto, alright? Honestly, why are two grown men so close?"
"Hey, I've been surrounded by beautiful girls my whole life. Having a guy around for a change feels novel."
"That sounds really scummy. No wonder you were sent to the Heaven of Venus."
"Did you finish up on your side, Sis?"
"Hmph, of course!" Kallen lifted her chin proudly. "But you're the lucky one, little bro, getting sent straight to the third layer. Unlike me, who had to fight my way up from the second."
The Second Heaven, Mercury, was the domain of the archangel Raphael in mythology. Some punished angels were also confined there.
Just from the description, you could feel the killing intent.
"So, my brother is on the first layer now?"
"You really have Otto on the brain, don't you?"
"You have to care about the people who aren't here."
As Fuli spoke, he took out the Jizo Mitama hanging from his chest and brought it close to the Kaslana ancestors on the ground.
This thing had replicated Mei's Stigmata before, and with that interesting note, he wanted to see if it would react to the Kaslana clan's Stigmata.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
The Stigmata on the white bones still shimmered with a silver luster, but Jizo Mitama showed no reaction at all.
There was, however, an unexpected gain. A black and white gun body, a gilded barrel, and a red Herrscher core embedded at the safety.
That's right, the virtual space's Might of An-utu.
The Third Heaven of Venus was a burial ground for the Kaslana clan. It made sense for the previous wielder of the Might of An-utu to return it to the ancestors for safekeeping after their death.
Fuli casually put away the Key of Destruction.
Kallen saw it but didn't think much of it, blinking her beautiful eyes as she leaned in. "What are you doing with that pendant (Jizo Mitama), little bro?"
"Oh, this."
After the boy explained, the Saintess said generously, "Then why not try it on me? You might not believe it, but since Schicksal was founded, I should be the strongest of the Kaslana clan."
She cheerfully pulled open her collar, revealing the silver-white, shield-shaped Stigmata engraved on her E-cup front armor.
Hearing this, Fuli's gaze slid down her slender, swan-like neck.
Just as it passed her perfect, butterfly-shaped collarbones, he bashfully looked away.
A great humiliation! A great humiliation!
Moreover, my brother's life is still on the line. Doing this now is too exc—too depraved!
"You can't aim at the Stigmata if you look away, you know?" the silver-haired beauty's voice echoed softly.
"Alright."
The boy, looking back, told himself, See no evil, see no evil.
He took off Jizo Mitama and carefully placed it over the natural Stigmata.
"!!!"
Kallen's body tensed abruptly, but she paid it no mind.
Her ice-clear eyes were fixed on the surface of Jizo Mitama, as if to confirm something extremely important.
—No miracle occurred.
Just like before, Jizo Mitama only vibrated slightly twice before falling completely silent.
AL wasn't lying. I'm really not...
Kallen's eyes fell, crestfallen.
This dismal display lasted only a moment before Kallen returned to her usual liveliness.
She said nonchalantly, "Looks like I don't fit your criteria either."
Fuli said with a straight face, "If it's for choosing a partner, your appearance is a perfect match."
Looking at her, the boy felt like he was seeing a grown-up Kiana.
And one who had developed super well!
How well? He had just had a hands-on experience!
Full marks!
Brother! Your fiancée is amazing!
"Pah, you little creep. If you're lusting after my body, just say so."
Kallen, having straightened her collar, had her eyes half-closed.
The boy asked, confused, "Did something happen in the Heaven of Mercury? I feel like you're not in a good mood, Kallen."
"Yeah, some little pervert touched my natural Stigmata and didn't even call me 'Sis' afterwards. Of course I'm not in a good mood."
Kallen complained, then stared at the Key of Erosion in his hand with interest. "Speaking of which, this is Jizo Mitama, right? Is Sakura in there too?"
If I obtain the Key of Erosion, can I... just as Ella said...
"Yep. That could be considered a crime committed before a wife's grave just now, right in front of Miss Yae Sakura."
Fuli handed the Divine Key over. "How about it? Want to try communicating with the will inside?"
He muttered, "It still ignores me to this day. I have to unlock the rated powers myself. I'll get my revenge sooner or later."
[Take it! Quick! Possess it!]
[As long as you have it, you will no longer be a puppet in a virtual world! You will be a real person!]
Facing the Divine Key so close at hand, Kallen reached out, urged by the throbbing in her heart.
Her fair fingertips brushed over the gem-like surface, then changed course, lightly lifting the boy's chin. "No, thanks."
She smiled. "I'm not the real Kallen Kaslana from history, after all. Using someone else's identity to talk to their original lover is just too despicable!"
"Achoo!"
In the real world, a frantic Kiana suddenly sneezed.
"Indeed. A fake is still a fake."
Fuli, taking back Jizo Mitama, agreed.
"Alright."
Kallen stretched lazily, her exquisite features smiling like a painting. "We've delayed long enough. It's time to find that good brother of yours."
"Right! Brother!"
Fuli slapped his thigh, thinking that the Saintess's beauty was too distracting; he had almost forgotten the last member of their iron triangle.
Not that he could be blamed. Everyone says brothers are like limbs, and women are like clothes.
But you can still go out with a missing arm. Can you go out without any clothes on?
And as for the forgotten unlucky bastard, what was our Lord Otto experiencing?
The First Heaven, the Moon.
Sunlight shone through the clear blue sky onto the ground. A gentle breeze swept through the ancient, snow-covered streets.
The distant sky seemed to be draped in a thin silver veil. Faint snowflakes drifted down, landing lightly on the ground and disappearing in an instant.
Otto stood stunned in the street. People came and went, bustling with activity.
No one paid any mind to the man who had suddenly appeared. Even the laughing and playing children who accidentally bumped into him only apologized in their childish voices before continuing to run through the streets with their friends.
Otto had no right to scold them for being rude. His gaze was also fixed on the end of the gray stone street.
A tall nun with blond hair and blue eyes stood there. Her radiant, holy golden hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall. Although it looked a bit curly, it didn't seem like the nun was neglecting her appearance. Instead, the wavy hair exuded the charm of a mature older sister, revealing a noble, elegant, and graceful temperament.
Softly telling the children gathered around her knees to go play, she spoke leisurely, "It's been a while, my dear brother."
"Risa Schariac!" Otto gritted his teeth.
...