The troubles of youth are always foolish.
When one looks back, most of them are embarrassing incidents one would never wish to mention for a lifetime.
But before one is able to look back, these troubles are matters bigger than the sky.
It is precisely for this reason that youth makes people ashamed to speak of it, yet leaves them with an endless aftertaste.
However—
"If one is always immersed in a sweet dream, one cannot move forward."
Drawing his blade and pointing it at the fox, Leo's entire body emitted [purple thunder], and his eyes transformed from black into bolts of purple lightning.
"Moreover, what is the price?"
Staring coldly at the opponent, he could sense a strong malice radiating from it.
However, in terms of threat level, he did not feel the despair of an unbeatable enemy from the opponent... he could win!
"Price?"
Letting out a sneer of disdain, the fox spoke in human language: "That naturally is to remain here forever."
"Besides, just like those cripples, aren't you harming them by making them move forward?"
"Even if they move forward, what then?"
"It would be better to stay in the sweet dream I wove for them and be happy forever."
"If we really have to say it, you are the ones appearing selfish."
"To actually destroy their sweet dreams just because you want to leave."
After speaking, it looked at Leo and his group with a playful expression.
And—
"What you say actually makes a bit of sense."
Nodding slightly, Leo smiled: "Then let us be selfish."
"But couldn't you also take a step back?"
"Let us leave, and we won't attack you either. Their sweet dreams can continue as well. Wouldn't everyone be happy this way?"
Facing the fox's moral kidnapping, he would just kidnap it right back!
"..."
Looking at Leo silently, the fox was actually left speechless for a moment.
After all, it really hadn't expected Leo to be this shameless... Aren't the people who come here supposed to be brave heroes?
"It seems you would rather risk their sweet dreams being awakened than let us go."
After speaking, Leo shook his head with a face full of regret.
In an instant, the offensive and defensive momentum between him and the fox shifted.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the fox sitting upright on the altar straightened its body.
"It seems you are even more formidable than I thought. No wonder you could pass the previous two stages."
"Since that is the case, I must also get a little serious."
As it spoke, clusters of suspended crimson demon fire ignited all over its body.
"The first stage, you wanted to filter out the nerds."
While guarding against the fox's attacks, Leo analyzed: "The second stage, you then wanted to filter out the nerds who were 'playful'."
"In this way, by the time they reached your third stage, you could make the opponent retreat in the face of difficulties through the sweet dream. You really calculated quite a good plan."
To be honest, if it weren't facing people like them who came specifically for this, relying solely on the students here, even if some students could pass the first two stages, they would eventually go back obediently.
Even if there were students who exceeded the fox's expectations, it was nearly impossible for ordinary high school students to defeat this fox... High school students in the [Far East] really aren't all supermen on average!
Therefore—
"But one will always encounter spoilers like you. It's truly annoying."
Letting out a helpless sigh, the crimson demon fire surrounding the fox instantly flew towards Leo and his group.
Battle, triggered at the touch!
"I'll protect MEI, you guys don't worry."
A golden phantom appeared around her body. Kiana firmly shielded MEI behind her, deflecting all the demon fire attacking them.
The current her was no longer in the crippled state of the past. This golden phantom was not only more solid, but its duration was also greatly extended.
Used purely for defense, maintaining it for ten minutes or so was absolutely no problem.
It was just that this [Instance] restricted her dual pistols; otherwise, she would definitely let the fox know what it means to say "double guns will give you the answer."
However, even without her, the strength of the other two [tachi] users was not bad.
As the fox launched its attack, Leo's long sword struck later but arrived first. Before the demon fire could smash into his original location, his long sword carrying [purple thunder] had already slashed onto the fox's neck.
And... a hit? No!
Although his long sword indeed sliced through the demon fox's neck, he didn't feel the sensation of cutting into an object.
—Illusion!
Realizing this, he quickly jumped backward.
Sure enough, the moment he moved, a massive pillar of fire erupted at his original spot.
The pillar of fire shot straight to the ceiling, burning a large hole above.
But outside the hole was not the azure sky, but a patch of darkness...
This place was also within some kind of special space!
However, while Leo didn't succeed, Sakura gained something on her side!
"Why are you able to see through my illusion?"
Letting out a panicked and wretched voice, the fox, still standing on the altar, looked at Sakura with a face full of horror.
At this moment, the side of its neck had already been dyed red with fresh blood; it was a blade mark deep enough to see the bone.
If not for its emergency dodge at the very end, its neck would have been completely sliced open by Sakura.
"Shing!"
The only response to the fox was Sakura's next slash. She did not have the habit of answering enemies.
Moreover, she didn't know how to describe this inexplicable feeling in her heart...
It was like anger, yet also like sorrow, as if a treasure critically important to herself had been stolen by a villain.
Precisely because of this, she only needed to follow this feeling that made her unhappy, and she could correctly attack the fox.
If not for the fox's godspeed, combined with the crimson demon fire and the pillars of fire inexplicably erupting from the ground, she would have long since chopped the fox's head off.
"Is this the extent of your seriousness?"
Seeing the fox inexplicably suppressed by Sakura, Leo also moved to land a killing blow from the side.
But unlike Sakura, he couldn't capture the fox's tracks and could only follow Sakura to pursue.
Therefore, he wanted to use words to attempt to draw a sliver of the fox's attention.
"Boring provocation tactics."
Although the fox's tone was very steady, it indeed found time to launch a counterattack against Leo.
It was just that because Sakura chased too tightly, its actions didn't cause much damage to Leo; instead, it resulted in a section of its fox tail being sliced off by Sakura.
"Truly, the mouth says no but the body is honest."
Seeing the fox actually drop materials, Leo took the opportunity to pick up that half-section of tail.
However, the fox tail in his hand unexpectedly turned gradually into flying ash.
—It actually isn't a material? What a pity.
But having said that, he also confirmed that the opponent was indeed a monster within the [Instance], and not someone who sneaked in from reality.
Then conversely, there are indeed existences capable of dialogue within the [Instance]...
This fox cannot be killed yet!
Having figured this out, he pondered how to capture this fox.
"Speaking of which..."
Not continuing to pursue the fox, he suddenly asked it: "How much remuneration did your superiors give you?"
"Is it really worth it to make yourself look neither human nor ghost like this?"
Since the opponent appeared here, they definitely weren't a true high-level executive.
If he could persuade the opponent through words, that would naturally be best.
Only—
"Actually wanting to instigate me to defect?"
Knocking Sakura back with a forward claw, the fox said with a face full of disdain: "The greatness of our goal is not something you can imagine."
"Even if I alone am sacrificed, so what?"
After speaking, its figure twisted, dodging another blade from Sakura.
"Playing religion again?"
Hearing this, Leo couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
"I beg of you, can't you guys do some capitalism?"
At this moment, he understood he couldn't persuade this fox. At most, he could see if he could extract some new intelligence through indirect questioning.
"You are so willing to talk to me... is it because no one over there talks to you?"
"In fact, you have also been out of contact with the organization for a long time, right?"
The reasons that could turn an enemy into a chatterbox were nothing more than these few.
And even if it wasn't, asking this counted as a form of probing.
"..."
Facing Leo's question, the fox chose silence.
But undoubtedly, this also counted as a kind of answer.
"Heh~"
Letting out a light chuckle, the corners of Leo's mouth hooked into a pleased smile as he said: "So, you haven't contacted them for so long, how do you know if their train of thought hasn't changed?"
"Rather than sticking to your own views, why not have a good chat with us?"
"In the end, everyone is a wage earner, everyone is trying hard to live. There's no need to fight to the death, right?"
After speaking, he looked at the fox with a face full of sincerity.
However—
"Even if there is only me alone, I will not give up!"
While speaking, the fox's body emitted a powerful crimson light.
And facing this strong light, even Sakura didn't dare to charge in hard and was forced back by the opponent.
"Sigh."
Seeing the fox so decisive, Leo also understood that persuasion had failed.
Now, he only expected a [Diary] to drop from the opponent's body.
"Sakura, stand behind me."
Understanding the opponent was going to fight for its life, he naturally had to step up.
"I'll create an opportunity for you."
"Mhm."
Seeing Leo so decisive, Sakura, after a brief silence, also chose to agree.
After all, she was also clear that Leo couldn't attack the opponent due to the illusion.
She was the only one present who could accurately attack the fox, so the position of main attacker naturally belonged to her.
To be honest, it was only because she had this ability; otherwise, if she were also trapped by the illusion, this fox would truly be quite hard to fight.
—Fireballs at range, fire pillars in melee, and also knows illusions... simply disgusting!
"Hah!"
With a loud shout, Leo raised his blade and charged towards the fox.
This time, he didn't wait for the fox to move first but took the lead, carrying [purple thunder] as he slashed towards the fox.
The long sword turned into a beam of light, vowing to cut the fox into two segments.
Only... sure enough, it wants to play dirty tricks like this?
Feeling the [Homu Sword Sage Suit] showing its power, he understood he had fallen into an illusion unknowingly.
Thus—
"Y-You, why..."
Looking in disbelief at Leo who abandoned his attack and allowed Sakura's long sword to stab towards himself, the fox let out a shocked voice.
And Sakura's long sword not only pierced through Leo's heart but also pierced its heart.
[Imaginary Energy +299]
"S-See you later..."
Struggling to squeeze out a slight, ugly smile towards Sakura, Leo's head drooped down.
[You have given up hope!]
To be honest, Leo had almost forgotten when he last died, but it turned out this death was actually due to a friendly force.
But there was no helping it; if he didn't use himself as bait, it would really be difficult to end the battle with the fastest speed.
If this fox were allowed to stall for a long time, god knows what demons and monsters would be attracted. Therefore, he could only resort to this inferior strategy.
It was just that over on the battlefield, presumably, Kiana and the others would need some explaining.
"Phew..."
Rubbing his chest, he let out a long breath.
It had to be said, this was the crispest death he ever had. Sakura's blade was fast enough and ruthless enough; it didn't let him suffer too much torture.
Therefore, he just rubbed it a bit and felt no more pain.
Looking around, he found he had been resurrected at the starting point.
It seemed that resurrecting in this kind of [Temporary Instance], one could only start from the beginning after dying.
However, the [Zombies] hadn't refreshed. He didn't know whether to say this was good or bad.
The good part was naturally that he didn't need to fight through again and could rush to Kiana's side as soon as possible. The bad part was that the [Imaginary Energy] he could harvest was less.
But considering almost all the [Zombies] in this [Temporary Instance] were killed by Sakura and he didn't expend much effort, he felt relieved.
[Leo: I'm rushing over immediately, you guys wait for me a moment.]
After saying a word to Kiana and MEI using [Mind Unification], he started running.
As for Kiana and MEI's complaints to him within [Mind Unification], he would temporarily pretend not to hear them.
And along this road, he discovered the entire [Instance] was beginning to collapse from the edges.
However, the speed of this collapse was very slow, distinctly different from what he saw in the previous [Honkai Erosion Point]... Is there still obsession and resentment "retaining" this [Instance]?
In his thoughts, he suddenly realized the "mediocre" boys and girls the fox spoke of.
In the sweet dream the fox wove for them, they could succeed and live the life they wanted.
But with the collapse here, they would have to face reality, so it was no wonder they would be reluctant.
—It really is hard to evaluate!
If Leo were also a mediocre member, he would definitely also hope for the sweet dream to continue, even if the price was ultimately facing destruction.
Only those with true talent and a future would hope to welcome the future.
However, since they were mediocre, they had no room for choice; everything could only drift with the flow.
If the fox won, then they could welcome extinction in happiness.
But now that Leo and his group won, they should wake up.
No matter how reluctant, the moment they belonged to the mediocre, they lost the right to decide.
When Leo rushed back to the Great Hall, he found that the doors had all been opened. Some students ran out from inside, looking around curiously, while some students still remained indoors, unwilling to come out.
Ignoring these students who still hadn't figured out the situation, he continued to run forward. However, before he reached the end of the corridor, he saw Kiana and MEI with faces full of resentment, and Sakura who was too shocked to speak, coming towards him.
"Y-You... really... are okay?"
With a flash, Sakura arrived in front of Leo and circled around him.
However, she found that Leo's clothes were even restored to their original state, without any damage.
—After all, if Leo's clothes were gone when he died, he couldn't be made to resurrect naked, right?
"Rest assured, I wouldn't joke with my own life."
Of course, Sakura wasn't one of his own yet, so Leo didn't mention the resurrection. He would just let Sakura guess this point for herself.
"But I hope you don't speak of this matter to others."
"Mhm, of course!"
Nodding forcefully, Sakura said with a serious face: "Everyone has their own secrets; I won't speak of it."
She understood this was Leo's trump card, so she naturally wouldn't speak carelessly.
Moreover, from beginning to end, Leo and the others hadn't asked her how she locked onto the fox, so she naturally wouldn't leak secrets either.
"It's good that you understand."
Smiling at Sakura, Leo said: "Then quickly go find your employer. It's time for us to evacuate too."
"Contact us again after you're done with your business over there."
"Mhm."
Nodding to Leo, Sakura's footsteps tapped lightly as she flew off to find her employer's daughter according to the tracking software on her phone.
"We should withdraw too."
Taking Kiana and MEI, Leo found a corner and directly left the [Instance].
The rule for them to leave the [Temporary Instance] was also very simple: as long as they successfully [captured] the final BOSS and were in a state of disengagement from combat, they could leave the [Instance] at any location.
Admittedly, they could also wait for the [Instance] to collapse completely and go out together with the students.
But then, they would inevitably be questioned by people, which would be too troublesome.
It was just that vaguely, he felt the matter wasn't over yet, after all...
Why exactly did that fox appear here?
It was clearly just a [Honkai Erosion Point], yet an existence with intelligence popped up. This was too abnormal!
Furthermore, where did all those existences that possessed the third-year students run off to?
In short, until these mysteries were solved, he understood the matter wasn't over.
Fortunately—
"Take it."
After disengaging from the [Instance], Leo received the spoils of war from Kiana after defeating the fox.
A [Diary] printed with crimson demon fire!
"Also, there is a [Honkai fragment]; I'll keep it."
"Mhm."
Due to his constitution being different from Kiana's, Leo had no way to swallow a [Honkai fragment] raw, so this thing naturally belonged only to Kiana.
After all, for those mere 100 points of [Imaginary Energy], he disdained to use it.
"In addition, I seemed to see a fragment fly into Sakura's body, but I'm not certain."
Because she was always positioned at the edge of the battlefield, plus she had to protect MEI behind her, Kiana couldn't guarantee she hadn't seen wrongly.
But if it was true—
"Then let's just watch Sakura's reaction later."
Regarding this, Leo didn't care much.
"Now, we still have a mission that isn't settled."
"Hmm?"
"Look—"
[Real World Mission: Youth, Seize the Day!]
[Current Completion: 90%]
Showing his mission, Leo said: "There must be something we haven't noticed."
"Or perhaps, there are still wraiths attached to these students."
At the start, he thought he had to wait for the [Temporary Instance] to completely collapse for his mission to count as finished.
But now, he saw students in the distance already walking out of the shrine one after another, indicating that [Temporary Instance] had completely disappeared.
Then—
"I will go investigate if anyone is missing."
Understanding her connections were useful again, MEI immediately took out her phone and sent a message to that relative of hers.
However, it was definitely still in the statistics phase right now, so there shouldn't be a response so quickly.
So—
"Let's go into the [Instance] and look."
Leo really wanted to know what the third floor had turned into now... would [Treasure Chests] pop up?
"Mhm."
Understanding Leo's meaning, MEI said: "If people are missing, it is indeed possible they were sent there."
"Are we not leaving anyone here?"
In Kiana's view, accidents might also occur here.
"With Sakura here, it's not a big problem."
After the joint operation just now, Leo confirmed Sakura's strength. He understood that with the opponent here, even if chaos appeared here again, Sakura should be able to solve it.
Moreover, having arrived in the [Real World], he believed Sakura could also call for support there, so they shouldn't need to worry.
"Alright then."
Seeing Leo had already thought it through, Kiana no longer had doubts.
Thus, Leo embraced Kiana and MEI's slender waists, one in each arm.
The next moment, the three of them teleported into the [Instance].
—Just like when he was in the [Instance], as long as he was in a disengagement state, he could enter the [Instance] at any place, and enter with his physical body!
[Instance: Chiba Academy · 3rd Floor]
Compared to before, a very obvious change had occurred here.
The doors of all classrooms on the third floor were opened, appearing as if people had walked out from inside.
"Sure enough."
Seeing this, Leo confirmed that students from the [Real World] had entered here.
At the same time, he finally understood why an intelligent person like the fox was needed to preside outside.
—To provide suitable physical bodies for the monster big shots here!
Those terrifying monster big shots wanted to leave this place, so they must have carriers.
"Let's chase quickly, see if we can catch up!"
Thinking through the cause and effect, Leo took the lead jumping down from the large hole Kiana blasted out.
As for MEI, he understood the opponent would go home via the [Teleport Anchor] to wait for him, so he didn't give extra instructions.
And Kiana, after exchanging a glance with MEI, also followed Leo's footsteps.
"..."
Looking at the departing Leo and Kiana, MEI couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
But she also understood that before the [Stigmata] was researched, she wasn't qualified to participate in battle.
Therefore, she turned and walked towards the [Teleport Anchor], returning to Leo's home.
At this moment, while beginning preparations for the [Stigmata] research, she waited for news from that distant aunt of hers.
Under the silver-white moonlight, Leo and Kiana sprinted towards the [Canteen].
"They couldn't have gone directly to the [75%] area."
While running, Leo analyzed for Kiana.
"Otherwise they would have directly turned into [Zombies]!"
Admittedly, the students selected to enter here to serve as carriers for those monster big shots must be existences with the best [Honkai Resistance].
But again, where in this world are there so many maidens with maxed-out [Honkai Resistance]?
Therefore, among this batch of students, one might not even necessarily find a [Valkyrie] seedling.
In other words, without processing in a low [Moon Light Concentration] area, these students would inevitably not survive to see those monster big shots.
And the area that could process the students was naturally the [Canteen].
No exchange needed; Leo charged directly into the [Canteen] back kitchen, while Kiana headed for the second floor.
The current them were no longer what they used to be. Wanting to slaughter their way through a tiny [Canteen] was naturally simpler than simple.
Only—
"None."
Coming down from upstairs, Kiana shook her head.
"Then continue deeper!"
Understanding they couldn't let those monsters obtain physical bodies, Leo, who had just slaughtered those few "Urgots" in the back kitchen, continued advancing towards the [Canteen]'s next spatial area.
In fact, when he was looking for Kiana before, he had gone to see what the [Canteen]'s next spatial area was.
—Medical Room!
It was just that he had only just entered there when he heard the massive noise erupted by Kiana's battle.
So, he allowed the moonlight to erode him, and after reaching [75%], traveled to the area where Kiana was located.
But it had to be said, this place should be very close to the [75%] area; otherwise, there was no reason he could hear the sound brought by Kiana's battle.
And following this train of thought... the students were indeed here!
Looking at the shoes placed at the Medical Room's entryway, Leo and Kiana exchanged a glance, understanding they found the right place.
Only—
[Kiana: Kill... them?]
In her view, these students were innocent, but she knew even better that if it came to a necessary moment and they didn't kill these students, letting the monsters of [75%] occupy these students' bodies would bring an even more terrifying disaster.
[Leo: Let's see the situation. If they can't be saved anymore, then kill.]
[Leo: But if they still have sanity, save if possible.]
He understood that even if they couldn't be saved, Kiana likely couldn't bring herself to do it.
But he naturally wouldn't criticize Kiana. If it really came to that moment, he would just do it.
After agreeing with Kiana, he drew his blade and charged into the Medical Room, with Kiana naturally following close behind.
Like [Yae Shrine], the Medical Room at this moment also underwent significant changes. The entire space was like a maze, with rows of pink curtains on both sides of the path.
It was just that behind every curtain was not necessarily a bed, but possibly—
"Careful!"
The golden phantom erupted violently. Kiana punched forward, a cat paw print striking towards the ghost shadow popping out in front of Leo.
"Boom!"
With the collision of energy against energy, a not-so-small explosion occurred in front of Leo.
Clearly, this... ghost shadow's purpose was to self-destruct... What is this, dive bombing?
Understanding that behind every subsequent curtain there might be such a ghost shadow, Leo couldn't help but be more careful.
After looking back and exchanging a glance with Kiana, he lifted another curtain.
However, this time, behind the curtain was no longer a bed, nor a ghost shadow, but a slumbering maiden.
Regarding looks, the maiden was truly average; in this situation, one could generally only praise the person's good personality.
But this naturally wasn't the main point. Leo also didn't care about the other party's looks or personality. What truly made him care was—
On the student ID placed on the girl's chest, the name column had written [Chishima Eiko].
—She is Sakura's employer's daughter!
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