Following the signal tracking on her phone, Sakura finally entered a room that was on the verge of collapse.
However, she did not find her employer's daughter inside. Instead, she saw a passage that looked like a vortex.
And the last signal on the tracker also disappeared into this vortex.
In other words... it was time to work overtime again.
Originally, because of Leo and the others, she had thought she would still have time to buy cake for Rin, but now it seemed she would have to spend a little more time.
Of course, she could also apply for support; after all, the battle just now was quite a consumption for her as well.
But she and the employer's daughter could be considered acquaintances, and the other party had once bought cake for Rin. If she left her in the lurch, she wouldn't be able to get past the hurdle in her own heart.
So, after leaving a secret code on the spot, she walked towards the vortex.
Although Leo and the others had told her that this place would collapse, meaning the code she left might not necessarily be useful.
But she was just doing what was humanly possible; anyway, she mainly relied on herself.
Thus—
"Where is this?"
Gazing at the strange silver moon in the sky, she keenly perceived the danger within.
Taking out her phone, she confirmed the time... It was absolutely not the time for such a bright moon to appear in the sky!
In other words, she was undoubtedly still within a [Honkai Domain].
Her gaze fell from the bright moon in the sky to the ground, and she discovered she had arrived at...
...A maze?
Looking at the pink curtains surrounding her, she used the long sword in her hand to lift the nearest pink curtain beside her, and then—
"What the hell is this?"
Upon sensing that her physical blade could not attack the opponent, she immediately retreated rapidly, giving the ghost shadow absolutely no chance to close the distance.
With the experience accumulated from walking between life and death, she could realize that this ghost shadow was not right.
Sure enough, after the ghost shadow flew to the spot where she had stood before, it immediately self-destructed.
Visually, the power of this ghost shadow's self-destruction wasn't great; it only caused the surrounding pink curtains to be buffeted by a wild wind.
But even though Sakura was already far away, she still felt her mind tremble...
...Was it an attack on the mind, or perhaps on the soul level?
Realizing this, she couldn't help but become even more vigilant.
Fortunately, a signal appeared on her phone again. Using this, she didn't need to continue lifting curtains.
But even so, this place was completely a maze; she often walked into dead ends and could only turn back to retrace her steps.
However, her speed was fast enough. As long as the signal location didn't change, she would be able to see her employer's daughter in another minute or two at most... Hopefully, she wouldn't see another suspicious vortex this time.
And just as she was thinking this, she discovered that the signal on her phone...
...Suddenly started moving!
Seeing this, she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
In her view, whether this young miss had woken up, or the existence here had begun to move her employer's daughter, it was a troublesome matter.
The only thing that made her slightly happy was that this time she should be able to find the person.
It was just that in such an environment, if it were the former and this young miss woke up wanting to find a way out herself, that would be a big problem.
After all, even a powerhouse of her strength had to be cautious, so if it were an ordinary high school girl, how could she possibly survive?
Therefore, she directly ran at full power. Sometimes she didn't even care if there were pink curtains ahead; she lifted them without hesitation.
Anyway, she also discovered that not every pink curtain hid a ghost shadow behind it. There were also empty beds, or a high school girl... She remembered these people; if there was a chance later, she would naturally come to save them.
But right now, she didn't have the time.
Thus, the originally quiet and peaceful Medical Room began to boil because of her rampage.
In the distance.
"Something is approaching us!"
Keenly sensing the rampage in the distance, Kiana revealed a vigilant expression.
At this moment, she was carrying Chishima Eiko on her back, standing behind Leo.
"I'll handle the enemy; you take her away first."
Revealing a resolute expression, Leo naturally assumed that their actions on this side had attracted an attack from the monster guarding this place.
"Mhm!"
Kiana understood that now was not the time to waste time. Turning around, carrying Chishima Eiko on her back, plus another maiden they had found, she sprinted towards the [Teleport Anchor] in the [School building].
Of course, the reason she ran so decisively was also because Leo had promised her that once his [Resurrection] counts were used up, it would be her turn to handle the enemy.
—They wanted to maximize the use of the [Resurrection] counts!
"Let me see... who is guarding here!"
With his long sword held horizontally in front, the phantom of a [Homu] doll appeared behind Leo.
After sensing the doll suit taking effect, he understood that the enemy he was about to encounter would be female... This was also the reason why he could avoid being confused by the fox's illusion!
As long as he looked at whether the [Homu Sword Sage Suit] took effect, he could judge the enemy's gender.
Precisely because of this, after he sensed that his enemy's gender had shifted, he understood that what he was facing was not the fox, but Sakura.
So he gave up resistance, allowing Sakura's long sword to stab towards him. After all, since the fox could confuse Sakura's perception, it would inevitably try to get close to him itself.
It's just that what the fox didn't expect was... dumbass, I can still [Resurrect]!
If not for the fact that he still had such an ability, they would really have had a hard time taking down that fox.
Especially, if they didn't have Sakura as an external aid, relying solely on him and Kiana would truly be hell-level difficulty... Kiana couldn't use guns in that [Temporary Instance]!
The setting of [Weapon Restriction] was just too bullshit!
So without Sakura, they might have had to spend several [Resurrection] chances just to test out the fox's mechanics.
One could only say, Sakura came at just the right time.
Even now, he hoped to have an external aid like Sakura.
However, he understood that such a possibility was minuscule. Even if he had the passive of [Tiny Miracle], something like this would be hard to succeed.
[Tiny Miracle (C-Rank): Passive · The probability of occurrence for events desired by the player will receive a very small amplitude increase.]
—He couldn't possibly make a low-probability event happen with high probability, right?
And just as he was letting his imagination run wild because of the [Moon Light Concentration], a pink human figure appeared in front of him.
"Mm?"
Widening his eyes, he looked at the tall pink figure before him in disbelief and asked tentatively: "Sakura?"
"!?"
Equally in disbelief, naturally, was Sakura.
She had absolutely never expected that not long after separating from Leo and the others, they would meet again, and in such a bizarre place at that!
"Leo?"
After speaking, she revealed a suspicious expression.
After all, Leo and the others had educated her before that people popping out in this kind of place were not necessarily allies.
Especially meeting again after separation, the probability of not being a teammate was as high as ninety-nine percent!
So—
"Shing!"
She slashed forward with a single strike, though she didn't hack towards Leo's fatal areas, but rather focused on restricting Leo's movements.
"Oh?"
Realizing Sakura's goal, Leo understood that the other party was likely the real Sakura...
...How did she end up running here?
While falling into a state of "wild thoughts," he drew his blade to meet her.
It had to be said, as he fell into this state for long periods, he had conversely gradually adapted to it, and his own actions would no longer be affected by his wild thoughts.
"Clang!"
The teeth-aching sound of metal friction rang out, sparks flying everywhere!
"You want to find your employer's daughter?"
After exchanging a blow, Leo spoke bluntly: "Then rest assured, I have already asked Kiana to take her out."
"I don't believe it."
Although there was nothing wrong with Leo's statement, Sakura wouldn't believe in such a good thing dropping from the sky.
Rather, precisely because of this, she became even more vigilant.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
In succession, she exchanged another three blows with Leo, only this time she focused on probing and no longer attempted to attack Leo.
—She wanted to see if the opponent's fighting style was consistent with Leo's!
Although she hadn't fought Leo, she had seen Leo's battle with the fox earlier.
With her experience, just watching Leo's moves allowed her to judge roughly seventy to eighty percent of it.
His fighting style also had no issues...
"I understand you don't believe it, but right now I don't have the time to prove more to you."
After forcing Sakura back with a forceful slash, Leo spoke up: "I've already asked Kiana to wait for you ahead; you can go chase her."
"I want to continue rescuing the maidens here, otherwise a great disaster will occur then."
While Sakura was observing him, he was also observing Sakura.
Of course, the most critical point was that he used [Tiny Miracle] on Sakura, and he could determine with high probability that the other party was indeed Sakura.
Precisely because of this, he dared to let the other party pass.
Of course, even so, he had instructed Kiana within [Mind Unification] to be on guard.
After all, he could at most ensure the Sakura before his eyes was Sakura, but the Sakura Kiana would see next might not necessarily be... Careful sailing steers the ship of ten thousand years!
"You..."
Seeing Leo speak earnestly, and that he indeed had no intention of stopping her, Sakura became less suspicious of Leo.
More critically, the signal on her phone had truly stopped moving.
Then in that case—
"I'll go save them with you."
She no longer chased the signal. After all, she thought about it: if the person before her really was Leo, then the other party really was saving her employer's daughter. There was no meaning in her running over to confirm; she might as well stay to help.
But conversely, if the other party wasn't Leo but a monster perfectly mimicking Leo, she might not necessarily catch up even if she chased now... This was obviously the opponent's home field!
So now, she might as well stay to observe if Leo's actions were truly to save people.
If the other party wasn't saving people, she could completely take the other party down and use him as a hostage to exchange for her employer's daughter... I really am a genius!
After working out the logic like this, she even felt somewhat pleased with her own intelligence and wisdom!
"You... Alright."
Although he couldn't quite understand what that final slightly proud look of Sakura's meant, Leo still agreed.
After all, letting Kiana take the people away earlier was the more important matter.
And not letting Kiana wait for Sakura could also reduce the possibility of accidents.
However—
[Kiana: That "Sakura" is here.]
Looking at the pink figure running from the distance, she couldn't help but reveal a grave expression.
Placing Chishima Eiko and the other maiden on the ground first, she didn't wait for that pink figure to speak; raising her hand, she fired two shots.
She didn't ask Leo and Sakura to come for support, because since the opponent would use such underhanded means, it meant there were restrictions on the opponent's side as well.
If they really had one hundred percent certainty of taking her down, then the opponent wouldn't need to disguise.
—When it really came to serious matters, her brain turned quite fast!
Moreover, now was a race against time. If Leo and the others came to support her, leading to monster big shots obtaining physical bodies, that would be the most terrifying thing.
Therefore, she had to solve the monster mimicking Sakura before her eyes alone!
Of course, there was still good news. Since the opponent's goal was to find carriers for the monster big shots, they certainly wouldn't dare to truly harm these maidens.
Precisely because of this, she dared to just leave the two maidens on the ground like this, at most worrying whether any monsters would want to steal these two maidens away.
"Kiana... it's me!"
Not expecting Kiana to be so decisive, the monster disguised as Sakura hurriedly said: "We were fighting together just now, why do you... Ah!"
A giant golden cat paw print crashed down from the sky, giving it absolutely no space to breathe.
Even more fatal was that it had been hit in the leg by Kiana just now, causing it to be unable to dodge even if it wanted to.
Thus, this palm strike of Kiana's hit it directly on the face, causing its face to shatter like porcelain.
"Damn it! How did you discover me?"
"Die!"
Having no habit of answering the enemy, Kiana aimed her dual pistols at the monster and poured out fire like a violent storm.
Now, the monster's body not only shattered like porcelain but was also riddled with countless bullet holes.
And from the bullet holes, countless black viscous substances leaked out, completely wrapping the monster, finally transforming into a humanoid monster with muscles like rock.
"Truly difficult to deal with."
Seeing that her guns only beat the opponent into the second phase, Kiana couldn't help but frown slightly.
After all, she was very clear that under the illumination of that strange moonlight, the two maidens behind her could turn into [Zombies] at any time.
Admittedly, something must have been done to their bodies, causing the [Moon Light Concentration] to rise very slowly.
But no matter how slow, there would always be a stage of zombification.
Of course, similarly, these monsters would also have to rush to transport these maidens into the [75%] area before that.
—Everyone was racing against time!
"!"
Using force with both feet, this monster that looked like a stone man lunged fiercely towards Kiana.
It wound up its arm, attempting to end the battle with a single blow.
Only—
"Neko charm!"
This time, Kiana completely activated her ultimate move. The golden phantom around her body seemed substantial, actually forcefully withstanding the stone man's blow.
Furthermore, as if activating Susanoo, her golden cat claws also transformed into human hands, grabbing the stone man in one go.
—Lifted high, and slammed down heavily!
Even a stone man was slammed dizzy and disoriented by this blow of hers.
But her attack would not stop. With a thought, the dual pistols in her hands actually showed a trend of combining into a giant cannon.
Honestly, with just her [Divine Prayer] ability, she actually couldn't do it.
But she wasn't a soul slice that was captured, but a main consciousness that actively infiltrated this world. Therefore, under Leo's reminder, she recalled the ultimate move of [White Knight · Moonlight].
Of course, mainly it was also because her current numerical values weren't enough; otherwise, she could even simulate abilities from the [Herrscher] period.
However, this was ultimately just simulated through her memory, so it couldn't compare to the damage of the real [White Knight · Moonlight]'s ultimate move.
But right now, when her dual pistols couldn't cause substantial damage to the stone man, this cannon shot of hers was still quite useful.
"Gungnir execution!"
A beam of light crashed down from the sky, directly piercing through the stone man's entire body, dissolving and disintegrating it directly.
With this—
[Leo: Imaginary Energy received. You take them and leave quickly.]
[Kiana: O-Okay...]
With the weakness of her body, even the voice of her mind became weak.
Undoubtedly, that strike of hers just now was quite terrifying, but the price she paid was not small either... a [Honkai fragment]!
If not for using this [Honkai fragment], she really wouldn't have been able to pilot a Gundam and fire a cannon at the same time!
—The demand for [Honkai energy] was too great!
However, her sacrifice was not without return; she resolved the battle with the fastest speed.
After glancing at the stone man to see that it didn't drop anything, she picked up the two maidens on the ground again and ran quickly towards the [Teleport Anchor] in the [School building].
...
[Instance: Chiba Academy · Medical Room]
"That side is settled."
Seeing Sakura's worry, Leo told Sakura the result immediately after receiving Kiana's message.
"Mhm."
Nodding, Sakura glanced at her phone and found that the signal indeed started moving again, and couldn't help but relax a little.
Of course, she didn't dare to relax completely. After all, she still couldn't judge Leo's identity; only after they successfully returned to the [Real World] would she dare to be certain.
However—
"She wasn't injured, was she?"
"No."
Shaking his head, Leo said: "Her strength is not below mine. Even without considering a life-and-death struggle, I really am not her opponent."
If it were a life-and-death struggle, then he could use all sorts of means.
But if only considering a normal spar, he was one hundred percent not Kiana's opponent...
...The opponent's combat experience was not something he could compare to!
"Is that so?"
Seeing that Leo didn't seem to be faking his words, and even had some small pride, Sakura's expression couldn't help but be somewhat subtle.
"Mhm."
Nodding, Leo smiled: "So rather than worrying about her side, our side is even more tricky."
Right now, the two of them each had a maiden tied to them; these were found by them in the Medical Room maze.
And to ensure "equality" between both parties, naturally, each person carried one, instead of leaving everything to one person to carry.
"True."
Nodding, Sakura said: "If what you say is all true, then letting those stronger monsters obtain physical bodies is even more terrifying."
Although she hadn't seen the monster big shots Leo spoke of, since Leo said the opponents' strength was much stronger than that fox, she immediately understood the intensity of those monster big shots.
It had to be said, that fox was definitely the strongest enemy she had encountered recently.
If there were existences stronger than this fox, that was definitely not an existence she could defeat.
—After this, she must report this matter to the higher-ups!
Of course, she still wouldn't report the existence of Leo and his group to the higher-ups; after all, this was what she agreed to before.
Everyone had secrets. Although she wasn't sure which organization Leo and his group belonged to, precisely because she didn't know, she shouldn't leak the other party's information.
"Yes."
Seeing Sakura understood the severity of the matter, Leo said with a serious face: "And if they were still inside the [Honkai Domain], it would be fine, but if they were able to run outside, then the entire [Nagazora City] would face destruction."
Although he hoped not to let the outside world know there was a [Honkai Domain] here before he grew to a certain height.
But if the crisis here really reached a level he couldn't handle, he wouldn't force himself to hold on either.
Precisely because of this, he didn't ask Sakura not to speak of the [Honkai Domain], only asking the other party not to mention them.
—Moreover, with so many students disappearing at [Yae Shrine], anyone who knew the secret of the [Honkai Domain] could guess that a [Honkai Domain] appeared there.
Plus, [Yae Shrine] was just a [Temporary Instance]; once the [Instance] collapsed, it would mean the [Honkai Domain] disappeared.
In his view, the even more massive [Honkai Domain] of [Chiba Academy] shouldn't have been discovered by people yet; at most, some gazes would fall upon [Nagazora City].
It was just that now that Sakura had also come here, he had to consider how to establish a [Bond] with Sakura as soon as possible.
—Sakura... you don't want anything to happen to Rin, right?
"Indeed..."
Revealing a grave expression, Sakura naturally thought of her sister immediately.
If such monsters appeared in [Nagazora City] to wreak havoc, her sister might also suffer harm.
To be honest, she somewhat wanted to take her sister and run away.
It was just that with the wealth in her hands, she temporarily couldn't achieve giving her sister a home free of worries about food and clothing... It was truly distressing.
"But you don't need to be afraid. I came specifically to solve this matter."
Seeing Sakura had already followed his train of thought, Leo said: "As long as we successfully rescue these maidens today, then [Nagazora City] will be safe for at least two months."
"And during this period, as long as I conquer this [Honkai Domain], [Nagazora City] will also be safe."
After speaking, he had a face full of righteousness.
"Is that so?"
Looking at Leo's appearance of not fearing sacrifice, Sakura couldn't help but feel somewhat ashamed of her unworthiness.
In the final analysis, she didn't have any grand aspirations; she just hoped her sister could obtain happiness.
Precisely for this, she joined [Fire Moth]'s secret action unit "Toxic Pupa", just to be able to scrape a living.
To be fair, if Chishima Eiko hadn't been very good to her sister as well, she wouldn't even have risked coming to save the other party.
Under this comparison of the two, she couldn't help but feel Leo's figure was so tall and reliable.
—A true righteous person!
________________________________________
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