Hajime was having a difficult time adapting to the trial.
He couldn't escape from the tar and it fully drowned him.
He keep hearing a sinister giggle as he was kept under the sea of tar for who knows how long.
He tried to reach out for the sky and yet everything around him felt heavy. It also doesn't help that he was still emotionally recovering from his past battle with the Templar/Grey Serpent Hybrid.
He couldn't keep his mouth closed because he needed to breathe and accidentally let few amount of tar entered into his lungs, forming a drowned gurgle sound.
Everything was so dark under there and the only light he had was from himself.
He couldn't see what was going on but he knew the tar was changing him.
He could feel himself changing.
It started from his hands as he could feel it turning into sharp claws.
His body was getting hotter by the minute.
Every muscle in his body were getting more tense as if it feels he was getting ripped apart limb by limb.
He couldn't screamed in pain as he needed to get out of that sea of tar.
Complain about the pain later!
GET OUT OF THERE!
As he tried to think to himself.
He tried to swim but the dense and sticky substance was keeping him there.
A small holoscreen appeared in front of him and he scowled.
"Oh? You are still alive? Shame. If you didn't last the metamorphosis, i would have taken your conscioussness over and fight the honkai myself." He kept glaring at the false Himeko. He didn't want more tar entering into his lungs.
"Don't worry. All you have to do now is withstand the effects of the metamorphosis." He tried to grasp at the holoscreen, realizing that he can't hold onto it.
FOR HOW LONG?!
"Who knows? But that's what make it interesting, don't you think, Legacy Bearer?" He couldn't speak to her but she knew what he was thinking.
He didn't want to know why she kept calling him Legacy Bearer nor she calling everything about this her legacy.
He just needed to get out of there.
As he tried to escape, the relief finally came as the tar spit him out, letting him gasped for air.
He coughed out the tar from his lungs and got up from the floor.
He couldn't get a good grip on the ground as he was adapting from the metamorphosis.
Realizing that he has now black sharp claws, he dug them on the ground to get a good grip and stand with small relief in his breaths.
A holoscreen appeared in front of him.
He resisted to destroy the damn screen in front of him as he watched her gave him a mocking smile.
"Good. Now for the hard part of this experiment." He tried to say something but a really painful headache struck him.
It was the most painful headache he encountered in his life.
The sensation was so much that he fell onto his knees and held unto his temples with his dear life.
In his head, all he heard was ringing and screeching.
Then a loud ba-dump, almost sounded like a loud but agonizingly slow heart beat.
But every beat feels like a vice, squeezing his brain out.
He could handle the vice-like headache and burning sensation on his skin.
He could not handle that awful screech.
It was so loud, it began to feel like his ears were bleeding.
His vision was getting blurry so he kept his eyes shut.
He wanted to throw up despite the lack of vision.
He wanted to drop dead but he wouldn't let himself do that. Not when he has come this far.
He wanted to pluck his own eyes out but there is still small amount of sanity left in him.
He wanted to sleep but the damn noise keeping him up, not entirely sure if that was a good thing or not.
He wanted to die but he kept powering it through.
He wasn't sure if it was his voice or something else was screaming.
All he knows that he wanted to scream with the same intensity just so he could hear his own voice, rather than the damn noise.
He could feel his own 'claws' digging through his temple to shut it off.
Making it look like he is digging his own brain out.
He started ground-pounding to keep himself sane so many times that he wanted his fist to bleed.
He could focus imagining blood dripping down on his bruised hands.
SMASH!
It hurt doing so but it worked as the painful sensation in his brain subsided.
COME ON, HAJIME!
He tried remembering his valkyrie's sorrowful faces so that it keeps him grounded.
GET YOURSELF TOGETHER.
He remembered Kiana, Mei and Bronya ran up to him to mourn about their loss.
He remembered how hurt Rita looked when he left her.
He remembered how he failed Mei as he could only remember that emotionally painful event that occured in Nagazora.
He even noticed how Theresa is more outgoing but more tired in the field.
And he knew why.
She didn't want to lose another valkyrie on the field.
DAMN IT!
He stayed strong for the girls as he refused to mourn with them.
The girls needed him more than he needed himself.
After all, why should he be selfish when the girls needed him for their loss of their 'mother'?
YOU LOST HIMEKO.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE!
He remembered how he failed all of them despite that it was never his fault.
He held on to that guilt and he will never share it to the girls.
Watching Kiana, Bronya and Mei lost their innocent light in their eyes ultimately broke him as they kept being more dutiful as his bridge duty valkyrie.
I AM NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU THREE GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN.
NOT NOW.
NOT EVER.
He will reignite their flames in their eyes.
And if he is going to burn for it,
Then so be it.
Wir Kampfen fur die Walkuren.
We fight for the Valkyries.
I will always fight for the Valkyries.
He gave one final pound on the ground to finalize his ideals.
He swore that the world he was in shook a bit as he landed that blow.
He panted in relief as the screech was gone.
Oh good.
Finally...
It's over.
Time to ask
what the hell
was
t̷̛͔̬̮̮͉͎̙̥̻̣͓̳̗͆̿͗̉̽̍̌̓͑ḧ̴͍͇̣̗̮̤̞̙́̾̐̂̄̍̈́̏͐͋̾a̸̧̧̧̗̳̱͚̻͙̩̍̀́̀ͅţ̴̢̆͝.
He rubbed his eyes as he was confused.
He tried to say something but he was tired to do so.
He looked around to see another holoscreen in front of him.
"Good~ Good~ You are still withstanding the effects." He watched her twisted smile.
"You are giving exceptional data for me to observe."
He watched few simulated honkai beasts formed in the area.
"Oh. Don't worry. They are under my command." He watched them turned to him and walked towards him.
"You are still..." He weakly stood on his legs as he didnt want to pass out.
"a̸͉͆̎̅f̴̪̼̰̃̔̾̌̓̂̾̈́t̴̰̹̞̭̦̭̣͋͌̐̔̈̎́͘̚͘̚͜ͅę̸̟̰͙͍̫̼̌̒̾̏̍̔̊̓͆̔̍̉͛͠͠r̶̬̲̻̭͍͓̜̫̮̀͌̿̀̆͠͠ ̵͕̗̻̂̓̃a̶͇̬̻͙̳͔̮̦͗̑̇͗̕̚͠l̵͙͉̤͗̈́̚͜l̵̢̞̟̖̘̟͇̞͉̱̰͙̰̮̲͆͗̈͛͑̂͒͂̃͊͒̽̚̚͠,̸̞̪͈͉̤̗̥̮̮̱̹̗̼́͑̇̏͜ͅm̶̧̛͈̭̳̳̮͛͌̇͝y̸̘͗̓͗̏̄́̆̒͆͋͐͝ ̸̧̢̮͚͕̮͍̗͎̩͉̘̗͆̋̿͂͊̽̓̾̋͝ͅt̶̰̥̩͉͋͊̿͛͂̅̍͘͜͝e̷̩͉̗͇̜̤͋̐͊̑͋̑̄̓̓͗͐͘͘͘s̵͉̤͔͕̭̖̏̃̑́͐̉̑̐͒͆t̵̗̊ ̷̝̗͖̳̽̓͛̊͗͛͂̉͝s̴͎̯̯͓̜̩̖̙͈̟̻̏͂͆̅̕͜͝u̵͔̭̠̱͚̳̭̜̓͂̍͘b̶̡̧̻̥̿͋̓̓̎̓͝j̸̦̭͍͕̈͐̀̊͊̈͂̏̕̕ȩ̸̡͖̞̘̩͖̲͓̙̜̈́̅͌̉̂̍̏͠c̶̼͓͋͐t̶̩̥̝̗̹͓̭̝̐̀̏̒̃.̴̲̻̰͉̪̤̪̔."
He shook his head as he tried to shake 'THAT' off.
"Then again... I could be wrong. It's fine as long as you provide more data." He looked at her through the holoscreen.
S̶̨̳͔̞̜̤̗̭̩̳͎͖̞̜̫̓͌̎͒͗̐̅̉̅͝ḩ̷̧͚̬͛́̏ȩ̶̰̭͕͉̯͇̺̞͉̻̽͋̓͒͊͘̕ ̷͖͓̗̗̣̬̜̄̆͒͂̃̃̅͜ģ̴̙͍͎̳̻̤̼͙̓͊͒͗̊͒̃͜͝a̵̢̛̭̙̪̳̝̚v̷̛̯͍̼̞̲͇̦͙̓̉̃̍̈́͒̾͊͜͝e̶̮̰̣͒̏̽́̈́̐͂͒̑̀͝ ̵̜̫̰̫̯̘̻̼͚͛́͛̌̈́̆̎͂̕̚ͅh̷̲̬̭̮͊̓̊͝ͅỉ̶̛̹̼̜͖̟̓̔̈͂͋̔̑m̷̖̜͈͚̈́͗̂̊͂̈̾̃̅͘͝ ̸̧͈̘͔̮͉̣͓̬̤̙̋̎̎̃̈̚̕ä̵̱̠̮́ ̴͕̲̣̳̞̰̰͕̏̑͛͋̈̎̆̈́̅̌̐̔̈́s̴̡̢͎̦̥͚̹̺̖̥̰̽h̷̖̩͉͙̀̏̂͋̆̍͌̈̀̍͌͂͘r̷̮̗͖̖̀͗̋̎̕ͅư̴̧̡̡̠̣̱̪͕̈́͌ͅͅg̶̱̼̘̲̦̻͖͚̖͕͇̕,̴̛̤̳̭̤̤͕̲̊̄̅͜͝ ̸̡̟́̅̀͆̑̃̍̚͠ḵ̶̢̢̧̘͕͖̱̈́͂ë̶̟͇̹̥̱̯́̍̀̍́̔͒̔̑́̒̃͂̚̕e̸̘̫̤͇̣̿̒͌̅͗̆͝p̸̧̛̛͖͍̝̱̯͊̈̔̔̄̓͑͜i̵͚̊͗͑͋̂̐̓̔̀n̵̢̮̞͎̥̥̗͚͎̱̬̭̋ͅg̷͙͕̪̞̪̝̰̖̠̯̲̞̺̈̋̐͗̆̈́̕͝ ̴̢̙̱̲͍̹̰͓̭̘̮̺̏́́͐͘͜h̴̤̟̫̞̖͙͕̋̎̌̎̑̾̚̕̚ͅȅ̶͍̰̾͗̇̌̈́̎̀̽̓̈̚͝r̷̰͚͎̯̣̰͔̙̐̇̅͆͑̍̀͐̂̈́̍ͅ ̶͉̼̝̳̘̜͇̭̹̪̗̯͑̌̒͒͆̊̾̾͂ͅs̶͉̭̯̳͆̿̂̈̌́͋̀̒̆̋̒̓͝ị̷̛͍̟̹͕̘̞͑͗͐̄͝ñ̴̢͍̝̮̈́̍͂͌̄̂̓̂͊͐͊̉͠i̸̟͈͒̀̈̐̈́̏̾͐̏̄̑͘̕ş̶͔̝͔͙̦͚͕͓̻̽̐͊͑̀̀̉̿̋́͝ț̸̖̮͍̪̻̪͕͈̼̬͖͎̝͗̇͒̆̈́́̀͠ͅe̸̡̢̡̛͉͈͖̘͍̲̥̬͛͋̌̄̔̂̎̓̃͆͠͠r̴̛̛͎͚̫̈́̈́̀̀́́͂͛̒͗̇ ̶̢̛̩̭̼͓͖̟͚̪̃͊́̾̇͂́̓̈́̑̀̕͘͠ṣ̵̛̛͎̮̫̲̓̀̂̍̆͗̿́͆̇̄̕͜ͅm̵͚̗͇͎̤̱̩̱̤̤̠̳̖̭̀̅͆͋̀̾̍̐́̈́̚͠ȉ̷̭̪̞̤̖͘l̶̢͔͙̙̫̩̣͖̝̳̑͜͜͜e̶͚̤̰͒͑̾͂̂͆̾͋̅͒̕͠.̸̨̼̞͈͈̳̭̂̅̏́̄̃͝͝
He wanted to ask but
T̷̳͍̳̔̋́͌͗̿̕͝h̶̢̗̖̝̟͉̊̈́̓͜͝͝ě̸̫̣͈̘̤̹̣̙̆͑̀͆͌͠ ̷̣̱̯̘͔̹̘͚͇̜̃͑́̓̕͘͜v̸͎̖̼̤̟̣̞̗̟̜̮̺̆̇̾̌ȩ̵̢̪̫̹̗͚̰̻͌̐̉͆̒͐ŗ̷̢͓̙̞̹͗̈́̈͒́̃̍̈́̂̿̅͘͠ẗ̷̡̢͔̪͍̦̫̝̣̎̓͠ͅͅi̴̧̻̮͉̯̣̘̘̰̦̼̲̐ͅg̷͕̣̲̥̈́͋̈ǫ̴͖͙̳͖̺̥̠̜̆̈́̄͝ ̶̢̡͕̹̻̦̣͕̥̙̲̓͑̅̏̋̅͆̆͋͘͝ͅc̵͖̟̩̮͋̓̓̇̔̆͂͛̓̓̓̎̃̇̔a̶̲͈̠̭͔͗ͅͅm̸̢͚̔ͅe̷͉̤̩̟̭̖̔͑̓͊͌̔̊̃͌͛͗́͋͘ ̵̧͕̭̩̬͙͙̤͌̾̂̚̕̚ͅb̷̨̬̮̔̿̿͆̇̎̊͗̚̚a̷̢̰͙͖̖̭͕͎͕̰̠̖̦̲͊͜ć̴̖͕̝̥͓̺̼̱̣̻̙̪̥͊͆͒͂̚͘͜͝k̵̼͕̝̹̓̎͑͒͆̋͆̀͒͊̈́̀̅͜͝ ̴̡̻͕̙̝͎̱͇̌͐̈́̊̽̐͘͠ț̶̢̨̝̻̤͍͓͈̖͓̚͝ë̶̢͉͉̩̙̤͚̤͚͍̫̊͒̀ͅn̸̨̺͍̬̫̟̙̳̘͓͓͚͖̹̽̔ͅf̶̫̝̠̩͎̥̂o̵̢̳̳̜̫̼̲̘͛̾͠l̸̹̤͙̰̟̖̑̈͂̌̉̽̓͒̔͆͑̈́̚d̶̻̪̦̩͈̝̳̻̪̾̊͗̀́́̆́̈́̐͜͜͝.̴̛̛͇̯͕̝̦͈͎̥̌̀̒͐́̽̎͗̿͛̏̚͝
He was starting to hallucinate and
k̵̢̡͈̤̪͔̏̾̽̅̀͛̐̕͝ẹ̵̪̩͚̟̖͇̹̻̳͙̭̽͆́͛̽͌͌̄̉͛̈̈̑͛̃p̵͎͔̬̱̯̘̠̣͕͍͙̳̑̾͒̍̊̒̂͆̚ͅt̴͕̏͌ ̴̰̫̯̼̥̳̜̰͛̂͊͂̅͝s̷̞̯̑̔̾̈́̐͛̐̓͛̆̊͝e̷̜̬̠̫̟̳̙̗̣̖̔̑̒̄̒͊̈́̓͗̈́̽͝e̸̝̦̭͇̲͓̱̊̂̃̓̈͊̍i̴̛̥̗̝̺̖͖͎̙̯̐̊̑͐̂̌͑̏̚͝n̴̛̟̯͐̈̋̅̄̚̕ͅg̵͍͕̫͔͔̼͇̜̿̄̔́̕͘ ̸̤̙͉̱͚̮͇̼̭̮̯́̊̾̎͗̾̔͒̂̔͆̕͜͜H̸̳͚͓͒̂͒͛̀́͌̽͌̊͆͛̀͘ơ̴̩̙̈̈́͐̄̄̎͗̐̎̂̉̅͘͠ņ̸͍̮͙̘̟͓̞̐́́͌͒̿͘͝ͅk̴̮̹̮̘̼̅̊͌̔̔̑̈̔̚͝͠ͅa̴̢̹͓̝̰͗̃͐̎̂̉̈͗̇̑̚͝͝ͅi̶̧̧̨̼̯̜̱̱̤͔͎̜̪̬̾̋ͅ ̸̠̟̦̭̹͍͈̭̜͈̺͚̙́̒̉̔͌̽͒̃͒̇̉b̵̧̡̾̈́͋̾͂͌̔̽ě̶̘̠̦͕͖̱͍̿̔́͒͗̿̃̓́͝a̶̞͖͍̘̠̮̯͇̿̈́͑̽̀̔̓͜s̵͉͇͕̪͇̯̟͂͜͜ṯ̵̨̢̰̗̱͔̘̦̊̈́̈́̚s̵̗̝͔͉̝̹̀̓̅̽̊̑̇̐̃̽̔̚͘ ̷̨̮̜͍͔̗̲̔̈́̑̊̉̕͠ͅa̸̧̢̳͔̟̗͉̽͋s̶̡̨̢̛͍͕̟̺͇̣͙̘̒̏̂̄̑͆͜ͅ ̶̤̲̟̞͕͎̬͎̍͌̍̌͛̉p̵͎̣̔͂̈́̈́͝ȩ̴̨̣̖̤̮̪̰̩̻͎͉̯̬͕͑̿̌̒̃͆͒͂̃͑́͑̿̕ơ̶̻͍̜̯̦͎̹̝̰͉̬̺̠̇̉̌̏p̵̡̠͙͓͕̳̹̖̪̯̹̲̲̰͘ḷ̷̡͈̺̯̼̭̞̮̓́͂͆̉̄́̾̍͒͊̅͜͝ė̶̢͉̼͚͕͎̻̍͠ͅ.̴̧͍͙̝̰̜̼̱̜̳̮̦̲́̇
"My~My~." He heard her chuckled.
"̵̣̮̭̪̳̘̺̽̐́͊͑̕Y̷͓̜̎͛̄̐o̵̝̻̻̹̮̻͙̍̈̔̌̏̿̀̈̓͗̕̚͝ǘ̸̧̧̻̱̟̦̙̅͋͠ ̴̨̪̺̲̼͚͙̰̓d̵̨̢̟͙͎̦̠͚̰̪̮͎̽̈̉̋̎ͅi̶̡̢̡̧̳͙̫̜͑́̽̋͂d̴̥͔͒͒͂n̷̛̙̯̬̞̳̗̘̘̫̜͎͔̏̽̎̃̀̏̕͝͝'̶̧̤͎͇͔̘̦͕̮̹́t̷͎̝͓̿̿̓ ̷̨̧̛̤̠̹̥̣͉͖̞̝͈̭̜̔̀̎́̉̓̀̏̄͜͝ţ̴̛͍̭̱̟͍̞̬͙̼̣͎̬̝̂̆̂̾̾̾̈́̂̈́̓̈́̀͝ͅh̴̩͊́͐̈̿͛͋̃͛͐̌͘į̷̯̪̰̞̣͈̺̱͓̐̍͋͑͗n̵͕̝̤̟̙̣̩̥̦̈́́̔̈̑́̑̈́͒̎̏͛͘̕͘ͅk̷̢̧͈̖̭̬̼̥̔̾͛͛ͅ ̵̹̰̙͒̆́͂̒ĩ̵̛̫̞̙͈͕̭̰̮̅̽̏̔̔̅̀̏͠ ̷̢̙̳̙͕̜͈̥̙̤̲͚͋̓̍̀͛̑͌ͅẃ̵̬̖̯̞̥̖̺̺̰̱̩̜̒̄̏̏̏͘͜͝͝ö̸͇̹͚̠̝̲͖͍̜͎̹́̃̔͝u̴̡̘̗͈̤͙̦̽͆̈́l̷̡̠̰͔̺̗̞̻̬̇͋̒̑̊͛͐̈͘͝͠d̷̢̺͖͖̲̭̤̹̮͙̮͗̂̍̔̍̐ͅ ̶̩̫̱̤̳̤͈̭̄̿̒̍̓͂͂̃̏̍̆͒͜͜m̴̢͈̳͚̟͎̱̺̣͓̪̠̬̳̈́̉͒͋̿̉̐͂̈́̈́̀͝ą̷̫̟̦̜̤̭̘̞̺̔k̵̨̡̛̹̙̳̮̖̟̦̩̺̬̆̀̅̀̅̎͆̃̓͗̍̇͠ͅe̴̢̻̘̫͍̪͖̰̖̩̦͕̳͈̿́͋͐̂̀͌́̃̓́͜͠͝ ̷̧͚̤̖͕̟̈͑͊͗̄̈́͊͒̇̆͑̕͝͝i̶̢̧͓͍͚̭̯̥̱̳̬͚͗̽̌̔̊͠t̸̢̗̘̼͕͔͓̃̇̽̄̏͋̈́͊̏̕͘͝ ̴̧̢͚͚̠̥͇̟̽̀̈́͒̐͐́͊̌͘͜t̴͍͎̩̉͒͆͂̑̄̓ḫ̶̨̧̲͖͎̟̤̣̿̅̓́̅̎̍̽͘͜ͅḁ̸͚̗̜̮͔͌̈͌̈́͒̽͝͝t̶̘͍͉̙͇͔͆̾̌͠ ̸̢̡͙̹̗͈͕̥̣͖̗̜̰͑ͅȅ̷̢̛͕̤̳̝̥̟̤̙͍̉̽̏͌̈́̈́̒̚͠á̶̟̭͈̰̯̪̞̰͎̬̳͊̀͑̌̓͑͘͜ŝ̴̢̧̛̮̰̹̱̮̀̈̈͌̅̐͠͝y̷̛̝̱̯̜̻̔̋̈́̐́̒̃͐̆,̴̛̛̜͓̞͓̭̗̟̟̤͂̌̽̈́̇̑͋̃͜͜͝ ̴͉̤̲̱̔͋̑̒̀́́̆͆͘͝ḑ̵̛͕̤̥̞̦̺̽̄͆̋̋͐͛͒͂̈̈́̕͜͠į̷̞̯͍̫̭͎̟̥̮̥͚͇̳͚̀̽̀͛̅͗̋́̈̑͘͝ḑ̵̣͓̩̉͒̇̑̈́͗̿̊̏͑̇̉̎͜͝ ̸̹̈́͊̊̏͗̐̆̽̓̓̀̿͆̕͠ỷ̵̪̱̜͈̹̮̺̯̻̂ò̸̩̳̟̩̥͕̗̪̠̳̟̞̖̈̉͐̓̂̎̈́̿͛̈̇̓̕͝ų̴̧͚̭͔̤͆̏̐́̔̅̓͝?̴̡̧̱̲̘̗̫̱̥̣͉̼̻̮̺̋̎̀̒̇"̴͚̎̿̍̍̿̈́́̚
He watched her leaned on her free hand and let her observed him going through the mental abuse.
S̵̡̝̬̱̲͓̾̾ạ̶̜̯̭̣̯̯̭̟͎̭͈̾͑̏͗̿͛̈́m̶̛͍̮̦̳̭̼̅̌͗́͝ë̶̬͈̟̼̕ͅ ̵̛̰̠͚̣̗͎̲͎͕̺̈́̋̐͊̂͂͌̐͗̒̆̈́̕̕͜͜w̵͇͉̯̖̦͎͉̾́̋͝ͅó̷̧͍̳͇̠͓̱̬̗̘̲̽͑́͋͋̓̓ͅͅͅr̶̨̧̻̝̳̗̙͙̘̮͖͓̜͗̈́̐͛̑̀̈́́ͅͅd̸̛͕̗͉̞̒́͊̃̀͛͒̚s̶̢̲̱̻̳͓̭͇͓̝̑́̇́̎̂̈͊̆́̌͒̒͘͜ ̵̞̞͚̲̘̱̤̯̻̖̥̂̔̈́̉̅̿̿̉̇̔̀̋̉͝k̵̦̖̟̳̠̟̔ȩ̴̮̦͗̌͒̏p̶̙̅̋̾͐̋̄̈́̅̈́ẗ̶̬̝̮̝̹̻̲́̈́̀ͅ ̶̨̥̜̜̩̜̹̦̖͌͌́ͅf̶͉̗̟͍̖̭̪͖̟̩̯̱̋̋͆͜͝o̷͎̦̝͖̰̞̾̅̂͛̑̽̏̕͝͝͠͝r̴̡̨̨͖̳̥̩̘̭̹̺͍̞̔͋͒́͒͆̔m̵̛̮̟̮̋̐̒́î̸̢̝͕̙̤̖͈͉̳̀͂̄͐̿̌̌͛͆̆̃̂̽̅ņ̷̙̘̳̥͕̼̠̫̩̦̱̔̿̈́̊g̴͔̗͊̍͗ ̴̨̛͕͖̩͎̱͎̳̲͍̏̈́͑̉̉̈́͒̈́į̷̡̧̨̨̛͍̼̥̮̣̩̙͇̌̾̒n̴̙̥̩͈̼͑͂̽́͋́͛͑̃̿̒͊͘ ̸̧͔̣̥͖̻͓̦̟͈̀͂̓͂̈́̀̄̄̈̑͌̃̇h̵͎̹̺̤͓̥͇͚̙̜̤̫̯͓̄̅̌̽͗̈́͘͝ỉ̷̢̡̗̳̬̹̤̲͚̤͚͈͇̩̍̽͒͒̈́ș̶̢̲̩̤͚̓̈́͒̍̊̄ ̸̦̞̻̱͎̫͖̟̰̀͗́̇̉͛̄̚ḧ̵̪̟̙̭̱̤̝̱ͅẻ̵̟̟͈̙̯̳̬͍̻̗̦̼͈͓̿̇̈́̑̔͊͘ͅá̶̧͇̰͓̤͖̫̟̗̯̙͆͊͐̒̿͗̂̋̕d̸̤̤̪͖͈͈͓̺͗̌̐.̶̨͔̦͈̝̼͍̞̩̪̲̔̈́͐̍̆̆͗́̈͒̃͛̽̊
Wir Kampfen fur die Walkuren.
A̴͈͚̩̞͎͇͊͆̍͐̏͂̄͒̋͐̚̚͝f̵̡̣̗̠͎̘͂t̷͍̗̫͚́̏̈e̸̢̙̫̞̼͚̹͔͈̼̮̾̈́͌̈́̇̿̊͒͘̚r̶̪͎̀̐͗̌́̕ ̸̛̜̀̔̅͐͑͐͐̽̑̈̂̈́̔͠t̶̨̨̛̞͍͐͋̆̀͗̽̇̌̇͛͋̅͐̽h̶̨̟͓̘͕̄͊͠a̸͎̪̽̂̓̈́ͅt̴̰̹͔̬̦̰͎͎̰̖̥̉͐͒͠,̶̗̟͓̝̩͇̘̪͕̥̠͇̯͛̓͒͂̏͋̓̔̚͝ͅ ̷̢̙̼̩̲̮͋͒̓̋̎͆͐͑͜͝H̸̝̱̯̮͍̰̬́e̷̢̪̠̭͗̎͂͘͜͜͜ ̷̦̮̓̃̐̀̀̃̚f̷̣̞̣̪̫̱͖͔̜̈́̓̐͆͌͝é̵͓̚͝l̶̦̲̫͖̞̗̦̦̭̹̈́̅͋͗͐̿͊̓̎̓͐l̵̲̙̖̈͌͠ ̴̝̦͍̞͇͖̗̯͎͗̃̕̚͝o̵͉̫̱̲͛̌n̷̢̹͈̑̿͋̆͌̅t̴͖̭̫̯̲̪̥̮͉̟̞͚̞̟́ợ̶̙̙͎̞̖̥̘͓̘̼̆̈́̚ ̸͎̤͖͕̬͌̇h̶̖̊̇́̆̈̎͗į̷̢͖̤̥͕̟̻̿̅͐̑̀̊̎̈́͆̄͛̇̚͜͝ş̷̧͉̲͉̪͙̖̭̼̞͉̈̔̒̒̈́̉͗̇͑̊̄ ̷͖̗͈͈͈̓̈͛̒̔̌̅ͅk̶͔͇̥͈̇͐̂̚̚n̶̨̺͉̰͈̬̗̋̎̉̉͌̑͑̇͋̔̂͝e̴̯̫̽̓̈́̾̿͘e̶̢̢̙͎͕̞̲̘̖̮͖͔͐́̇͒̓̉̈́̌̽͊͠ś̵̹̟̝͓͇̹͕̜̲̞̄̆͒́ ̷̳̟͎͖͖͖͓̜̘͙͎̝̺̗̄͑̾̌́͌̽̐̀͋̚͝ą̴̨̛̛͙̻̬̝͓̬̪̺̙͕̦̳͐̈́͌̾͛̂̉͘͝͝s̴̼̯̎̈͝ ̴̨̝͐̓̉͛͌̈́̅̊͑̋͘m̷͇̜̦̎o̶̢̧̪̩̰͚̫̿̈́͂̾͌̒̓͌̀̇͗̇͛͘͝ͅş̸̠͚̼̥̩͓̖͚̐̑̾̈́̌̑͘͜͜͠ẗ̶̘͓̜͚̞̼̱̭̥͍̥́̆̊͑̓̀̍̒̋̍͌̕͝ ̵̜͉̤̼̳͒̄̐̓̒̄͑̇͑̈́̒̐́ͅḣ̸̡̛̹̥͖̜̮̬̘͇̻̬̍̍̎̅̂͂̉͒̀̐̈́̕̕͜͜ồ̴̢̧͇͍͍͚̱̤͉͛̾̆̎̽̇̓̄͘͝͝ṋ̴̛̦͎̘͍͚͙̮͍͖͖͉̳̘͕̾̐̋͊̓̍̈́̀̃̀̓̕͝ķ̶̡̖͈͙͎͙̳̖͔͖̠̪̞̾͆ͅa̶͍͚̱̺̣͔͈̍͐̇́ͅi̷̢̫̪̠͓̫͌̂̓͝ ̶̡͔̺̮̲͕̱̬̹͕̂͌͊͠b̸̨̛͇͔͕̞̩̞̙̟͚͖̙͕͎́̇̽͂͐̉̌̃̓̀̓ę̶̛̯̦̜͇̩̺̰͎̬̤͎̓͂͛̄̓̓͌̓̋͂̏̚͝͠ā̸̡̞̤͓̤͇͔̺̘͊̏͆͐̊̾͐͂̋͐͘͝s̸̙̯̞͔̙͒͠ţ̵̌̀̐̔́̇ ̶̧̜͔̹̣͖̜̖̠̗͖̜̔̾̑̽̀̆̌̀̃̿̽͜w̴̩̣̩̳̫̖͍̅̄̈́́̅̀͊͊͐̒̀ͅą̶͔̬͙͎̖̭͕̪̈́̈́͆͐͊̿l̶̛͚͇͎͂̒k̷̢̛̼̲̟͙̋̉̽͐͑͐̎́͘̕͘̚͝ẹ̵̢̢̧̲͈̠͚̼̘̰̪͕͎̓̔̓͂̈́͒̉̚̚ḍ̸̨̡͈̭͖̹̞͖̬̃̈́̋̌̂̀̈̄͒͝ ̵̨̫̣̼̬̝͖͆͊̆͋̀̈́͋̀͝ş̵͉̾̆͊̉̒͆͗͑̕͘͠ļ̶̟̯̮͈̺̦͔̌̅͐͐̌͑̄̑̿̅̊̒o̸̧͋̅̊͌͌̚w̷̪͍͒̑̀̔͛̒̈́͊͒̌l̴̡̡̮͙̲̲̬̺͚̹̣̔͛͒̔̆̃̓͐̐͑̔ÿ̶̢̭̝̱̳̳̝̳̘̙̬̠̻́ͅ ̷̨̹̺͇̖͚̭̞͍͖̈́͗͐̓̔͌͆̋͂̉͘̕͝t̷͍̹̉̽́̅̑͗͌́̂̋͋̑̍͜͝ő̴̻̪͓̫̆̕w̴̨̪̹̗̳͓̫̒̃̉̈͆̎̊̑̉̓͋̀͜͝ǎ̸͈̜̜̓̑̇͊́̓̕͝͝r̵͎̠͙̯͍̤̣͍̅̔́̽͑̆́̈́̉̍̌́͋͒̚d̵̡̲̤̬̝̝͉͍͔̞̥̠̓͗̅̋̍̈́̐̀͝ś̴͎̠͙̜̱̪̺̦̔̍̒̽̌͝ ̴̡̝̲̙̰̮̺̙͔̭̔̃̆̍̃̋̐͌̌͆̔̃̕̕̕ͅẖ̸̀̆̈́͊͑̍͂͛̕͠į̴̢̛̞̮̻̖̰̗͂̈́̍̽̉̇́̈́͛̌m̷̞̻̮̭̻̤͇̑̈̈́̇̍̔̔̽̀.̷̢͙̳̯̱͎̟̫̯͕̖͙̜͇͝
After that, the man became an it with no sense of reason.
Rita Rossweisse was doing her best not to kill every single member of the World Serpent, especially Kevin Kaslana.
She honestly didn't care if it would get her killed in result for doing so.
Her anger is however justified as the organization tried to kill Hajime.
They even had the audacity to show her and the valkyries the footage of him fighting the wave alone.
She held both of her rapier and scythe to at least control her anger.
She has done him wrong so many times in the past.
She will not fail him again this time.
Not when she finally got progress with him.
"Captain? I want us to play a game."
"Oh? What brought this up?"
"Forgive me for being selfish, Master Hajime. But I just want us relive our days of you being my handler."
"Oh? If it makes you happy, i don't really mind. But things will be different from now on.
I am not your handler anymore and you are not under Otto's command."
"I don't mind. After all, You being there ease my maiden heart."
She honestly didn't want to win.
She wanted him to remember and at the same time to ease him to their old days.
And She wanted to do him right this time.
She was a fool to ever trust in the Previous Overseer.
Her foolishness costed her an opportunity of a lifetime.
Remembering that painful day, She honestly doesn't know what aches her more.
The fact that He left her on her birthday or the fact that she never got the chance to ask him on a date.
They all arrived at the entrance of the mall and everything was on fire.
She saw her Master Durandal and the original Hyperion Valkyries fighting a large templar size Humanoid fire honkai beast.
"Sire? Is that Kalpas?"
"No... Kalpas is smaller and unlike this one, He doesn't have wings and black sharp claws." The demon looked straight at them and fired black lightning bolts from his hands.
"He certainly never did that as a flamechaser." As Rita overheard the two World Serpent members after they evaded its attack.
The bolt caused a powerful explosion as it hit one of the nearby trees.
As much she wanted to learn more about her enemy, her duties as a maid must come first.
And her masters must come first before ending the fire demon.
Tending To Master Durandal and the other valkyries should be her top priority.
The World Serpent members can get themselves killed, for all she cares.
Both Herscherr of Thunder and Herscherr of Reason were down on the ground after getting hit by the black bolt of lightning.
Kiana looked like she could keep going despite being extremely exhausted.
She watched Master Durandal pushed Kiana away as she took the hit.
Horrified, The Schicksal's maid ran towards to Durandal and helped her up as she watched her collapsed on the floor.
"Master Durandal? Are you hurt?" Rita examined her and saw no wounds or injuries on her.
There was not even a slight burn on her in the field of flames and debris.
So why Master Durandal looked exhausted and defeated?
The peach-blonde shook her head and held on to her lance to maintain her footing.
She took deep breaths as she needed more stamina.
"I am fine. Rita." She pointed at the demon who was fighting Kiana and Raven.
"Just Don't. Let That Thing. Shoot You." She raised an eyebrow as she watched Kiana's fight with it.
To her surprise, It moved fast.
Probably as fast as Kiana's.
She watched Kiana finally got the drop on it and slashed her greatsword.
The Demon didn't get to turn and only fired lightning bolt from its hand behind as if it knew where she was.
"KIANA!" Rita tried to help her but Durandal stopped her.
Sensing her confusion, Durandal let her best friend watched what happened next.
Kiana was struck with its black lightning bolt and tried to move.
Kiana screamed in pain as the lightning struck her.
She stabbed the ground with her greatsword to power it through.
Somehow, She couldn't keep her footing long enough to shake off the attack and fell on her knee.
Kiana didn't look like she was injured but It looked like she was struggling to move.
Connecting the dots, Rita looked back at Schicksal's Strongest Valkyrie.
"Were those paralytic?" Durandal nodded.
"I don't know why but i think we keep getting weaker and weaker as we keep fighting it."
"Is it similar to Elysion Pedion?" Durandal shook her head with difficulty.
"No. If it was, we would have collapsed sooner. We have been fighting it for a while now. This one felt like we are being drained of our Honkai Energy."
She watched both Mei and Bronya finally got up from the ground but extremely exhausted.
"Oh? The effect is temporary?" She turned around to see Durandal took a deep breath and readied her stance.
"Yeah. And all of us are still ready for another round. It is just that...
That thing knows how to shoot its target and really knows how to take a hit well." Rita smiled as she watched Durandal glared with confidence.
But something made her very confused.
"Master Durandal? What happened to your Divine Key?"
"That thing stole it and trapped it there." She followed where she was pointing after being flabbergasted at what she said.
She saw that the weapon was deeply rooted at the ground and there were two women besides it.
What made her more curious is that why Master Durandal didn't get back as it is only being surrounded by a wall of flames.
"You couldn't retrieve it back?"
"Oh, I tried. That wall of flames didn't let me." Rita tried to test her luck and reached out her hand.
To her surprise, her whole arm got weak in the flames.
She immediately withdrew her hand as she begins to feel the gradual heat and let the honkai energy from her stigmata re-invigorated it.
"The herscherrs couldn't do the same as well?"
"They lost their herscherr forms when they tried to step in. And they got weak in the process so they had to withdraw before they get trapped in there."
'I would assume that the demon summoned the flames?" Durandal nodded in confirmation.
"What on earth is that thing if it can summon such absurdity?"
'I don't know. But from the looks of it, it is trying to starve us from the start."
Trying her luck if she could find its weakness, she summoned a tornado of flames with her rapier and directed it to the demon.
The demon just tilted its head as it let the tornado hit it.
Imagine Rita's surprise that it only shook it off.
"I told you. It knows how to take a hit well."
Sensing how dire the situation is, She put on her comms and requesting for backup.
"Hyperion. This is Rita Rossweisse. There is an unknown honkai beast found in the Mall. Probably Emperor Class or higher. Requesting for Back-up. Over."
"Understood, Rita. Sending Fu hua and Theresa to your location. Over." As she heard Amber responded.
Not realizing that the more they call for stronger valkyries, the worse the situation will get.
After all, It can absorb honkai energies as if it is its own.
The humanoid demon stood on its legs, confused at what was going on.
As if it didn't know why it was there.
It looked around and saw many of its kind walking towards it.
They weren't attacking it.
They were just standing there and let the demon tilt its head with a confused growl.
The demon reached out its hand, wanting to feel their tough carapace.
"Oh? They see you as one of their own?" It began to pet them.
"No..." ****** began to observe a bit more.
"They are scared of you." As she smiled, seeing the legs of beasts shaking in fear as they let the demon pet them.
"And yet somehow you aren't killing them. Why is that?"
"I had enough of this!" Raven got annoyed how she isn't managing to knock the demon down.
And the herscherrs aren't helping at all.
Kevin Kaslana couldn't use sliver of his power or else he will risk killing everyone.
Especially Ellie who is down for the count.
So the best thing he could do is to shield his allies from its attack using the Might of An-Utu.
He's even protecting the herscherr as well.
If someone told him in the previous era that he would be protecting the herscherrs in the future, he would understandably have given you a cold glare and a colder reception as if they told him a bad joke.
And he is not amused.
Understanding that her sire is in a bad spot, she decided to use the third Divine Key.
Which was a Honkai Powered sniper rifle.
Kevin nodded as she looked at him as if she was asking for permission.
She smiled and readied her weapon.
She caught it in her crosshairs and charged the weapon.
Intrigued, the demon quickly took it to her horror.
She tried to get it back but he instinctively put up a wall of flames while examining the rifle.
It let another growl and the weapon turned into a slingshot.
She chuckled how amusing the situation was.
The rest of the valkyries either gave an amused smile or weird look as they watched.
"That Divine Key wouldn't listen to all of my commands! What makes you think you can as well?"
Kevin, having the most experienced talking with a divine key, narrowed his eyes at the beast.
Why did the Third Divine Key comply?
The demon nodded in satisfaction and took a few small pebbles and readied its shot.
"Are you seriously going to hit us with that?" Raven cocked an eyebrow with a smile.
It tilted its head and let go to take a shot.
Having the most battle instinct as he knew something was wrong, he pushed Raven to the ground and took the hit himself using his greatsword as a shield
To Raven's surprise, it pushed Kevin Kaslana further back much like how he got hit by one of Elysia's arrows.
To Kevin's surprise, it actually stung as an immortal.
The sensation felt the same when he got hit by Former Herscherr of Thunder's falling meteor.
Only smaller.
He gotta give it to Vill-V.
She sure knows how to make a good weapon.
"What the hell? Did you seriously..." Finally trusting her instincts, she dogded its shots.
"Gee... Thanks for giving it a weapon, Raven. And we were just having an easy time taking it down." Mei gave Raven a glare as the demon prepared more dense pebbles in its hand. Only this time, the pebbles were giving off black electricity.
"How would I know if it's going to do that? There was no record that the form was used in the battlefield."
Questions remain in Kevin's head as he walked slowly towards Raven.
How did it talk to the divine key?
Why ask it to make it weaker?
Why not kill them when it had the chance?
Ms. Guide looked with deep sorrow as she watched the demon kept taking more and more hits from the abuse.
"Let's see if this makes you tick..." The false Himeko changed into a blonde man wearing a white suit with a black right sleeve and black gloves.
She watched as 'him' kept firing shots at it using simulated judgement of shamash.
"Oh? You are still standing after that? "
Assessing Hajime's memories, He was Otto Apocalypse.
The only different is that his eyes still has small tints of pink in them.
The very same man that made the valkyrie's life worse for the past few months.
The man she was certain that he would mindlessly attack his own teacher for the things he have done to the girls.
But to Ms. Guide's surprise, she watched him stayed still in front of him.
What intrigued her the most was that the 'demon' stood in front of group of honkai beasts as if he was protecting them from him.
"Oh? You resisted the temptation to kill me? Impressive..." 'Otto' smiled.
"But why protect the beasts? Why not run away?" As Ms. Guide muttered.
"Hmmm... I wonder..." The blonde man formed a golden pistol in his hand and shot at one of the beasts.
The 'demon' just watched it disintegrated from its sight, which prompted it to scream in rage.
Enraged by this cruel act, the demon lunged forward to him and started to slash at 'Otto'.
The blonde man dodged one of the slashes and quickly took aim at the 'demon'.
Sensing the attack, it quickly evaded from his aim and gave him a huge slash at his torso.
"Oh? Your battle instincts remains intact." Ms. Guide widened her eyes as she realized what is going on.
"I see... Your morality is still there. You see these beasts as weaklings and me as a monster that they need defending from.
You are not a soldier. You are a guardian. Disappointing..." Ms. Guide nodded his theory in confirmation as she found the main vow in Hajime's memories.
Wir Kampfen fur die Walkuren
The words were so heavily emphasized that it almost covered up the entire screen.
She assumed that the demon saw the beast as something it needed to care for.
Due to the loss of reasoning, she assumed that the valkyries are the weak beings that are in need of defending.
Seeing how these beasts are weaker than Otto, she can see why it needs to protect them from him.
She smiled as she reached a conclusion.
Hajime still wants to protect his friends.
He is just only confused at the situation.
"You have a very strong mind, Hajime." She complimented the man.
"Defending the weak... You really are a fool.
Humanity doesn't need someone to defend it from Honkai. It needs more soldiers, not heroes.
You have disappointed me, Legacy Bearer.
And here i thought you would make a great successor."
Ms. Guide watched 'Otto' formed into a colossal green and black Humanoid snake after evading one of the 'demon's' attacks
"I don't know about that, my dear ******." Ms. Guide smiled at the demon.
She turned back to the floating memory tab and chuckled to herself.
"Looks like you are not alone anymore, my dear Ellie." She swirled her wine with a fond smile as she looked at the tab of Miss Pink Elf.
"Now you just need to defeat *** to proceed to the next trial." As she watched him taking so many abuse from the giant black and green serpent, holding a long staff.
"Time for you to sleep forever, lab rat.
You are not worthy.
Your consciousness is now mine to take!"
Ms. Guide couldn't do anything else but prayed for his success.
Elysia finally woke up from the explosion that sent her tumbling to the ground.
What weirded out her is that her body feels great.
She stretched out her limbs to relieve the tension in her shoulders.
"The girl can admit that what's the doctor ordered." She said that with a smile.
And for the first time in her life, she feels emotionally great.
As in she can't sense the emotional burden of being a herscherr.
There was no need for her to resist for a while.
It felt like something or someone took that burden away and gave her a break.
As she wanted to see why was that, she turned around.
To her horror, she saw everything was on fire.
One cute girl was on the floor, passed out with a glowing Divine Key stabbed to the ground.
She examined the blonde girl and was relieved to see that she was okay and safe.
She turned to the divine key and asked.
"Did you do this?" The key responded with a glow which indicated that it was a yes.
She gave her thanks as she picked up the blonde cute girl, bridal carry style and smiled.
She watched the rest of the cute girls fighting some sort of humanoid Honkai beast.
"Did Bianka save us?" To her surprise, the divine key responded with a different glow which indicated that it was a no.
The key gave even more glow which confused her more.
"He saved us? Who? Kevin?" She looked at the only male in the mall, which was Kevin.
"..."
"No? That's weird...:" She tried to take the lance away but the key politely asked her not to do that as he asked her to take care of the people he sends.
Elysia raised an eyebrow to that but respected her decision.
She carried her outside of the prison of flames which didn't do any damage to her.
The heat was intense but it didn't hurt.
She can only describe the heat as a warm bonfire in a snowy day.
She placed her outside of the mall, away from the danger as she wanted to save more cute girls.
She can see Raven, Kevin, Mei and Bianka fighting the beast.
She even can recognize the two Herscherrs she witnessed saving the city few weeks ago when she was stuck in Soukai, examining it.
She would assume that these two Herscherrs are under Kevin's command and they are helping him neutralize the beast.
As much as she wanted to help them, She needs to save Hajime from danger first.
After all, she wants another date with him in Soukai.
She immediately went back to the area where she placed Hajime.
She was horrified to see that the man was gone.
Only her crystal remains and some small scorched marks on the ground and wall are found.
Maybe Bianka took him to a safer area.
I need to ask her first. After all, it wouldn't be cute of me to quickly assume something without confirming it.
She immediately went to the tired girl.
She helped her up in reflex and Bianka gave her a grateful smile.
"Thank you, Elysia." Ellie cutely smiled and watched everything that was going on.
"What is going on, Bianka?" Bianka gave her a wide eye look which prompted her to giggle.
"How about we put a stop on our dance for now? Looks like they need our help more." Bianka appreciated the gesture and told her that beast was shooting them down with black lightning. And it took Raven's 3rd Divine key as a weapon and attacking them, using its slingshot form.
She couldn't resist giggling as she heard the absurdity of the situation.
What surprised her more is that it is using the 3rd divine key as a toy.
Elysia examined the beast and realized that it reminded her of Kalpas.
Only a bit more gentle.
She described it that as it wasn't making that much of a mess, unlike Kalpas who like to summon a giant fire tornado and to chuck a debris at any Honkai Beast he sees.
Elysia was surprised that no one hasn't gotten knocked out from the battle yet as most of the time, Kalpas can often disintegrate honkai beast very quickly.
She saw Kevin summoned Ice Pillars and watched him sighed in relief as he didn't destroy the whole building.
Just enough to stop the 'demon' as Bianka named it.
"Master Durandal! The three Herscherrs got extremely wiped out from the battle." Elysia watched the three Herscherr were placed near Bianka.
She saw them panting deeply as if they ran a marathon while the cute brunette went back to fighting.
"Mei! You alright?" She asked the Herscherr of Thunder and the latter responded with a weak nod.
"As much as Bronya wants to know who she is or why she knows Mei's name, Bronya is more concerned at the enemy." Kiana weakly stood on her legs in which Bianka told her to rest, despite that she was in the same state as them.
Seeing how they all needed the help, Elysia volunteered to get Divine Key and returned to the Current owner after telling the weapon that she is needed elsewhere.
She smiled as she watched Bianka used the healing right and stabbed it to the ground near the trio.
"All right. Time for a plan."
"Oh~ Before that, Can i ask where did you put Hajime? I couldn't find him anywhere."
"He wasn't with you?" Elysia was shocked to listen that from her.
Before she gets to say anything, she immediately recognized the intense honkai energy emanating from Kevin.
"Quick! We need to get out before Kevin summons a giant ice pillar." Bianka widened her eyes and took the Silver haired and Grey Haired Herscherr while Elysia carried Mei and the divine key away from the mall.
"RITA! GET OUT OF THERE!" Rita widened her eyes, sensing how dire the situation will get after hearing Bianka's tone.
Raven followed them outside.
All women barely got out of there to where Elysia safely place the blonde sleeping girl as they witnessed an ice pillar was summoned.
To Elysia's surprise, the ice blocks were slowly chipping away and the flames were beginning to rise.
At least the ice block held back that much...
"Girls! Are you okay?" She turned around to see a smaller silver haired girl and Hua in a white martial arts outfit.
"HI HUA~!" The said girl turned to see Elysia waving her with a smile as Hua widened her eyes and froze.
She just stood there as Elysia approached her slowly.
"Is something wrong, Hua? You look great by the way." Hua clenched her fist and tries to say something but no words came out.
Only tears.
"Is it..." All of them sensed another ice Pillar was coming and it was coming right at them.
Before Elysia gets to defend them from Kevin's attack, The demon burst through the wall as if it was holding Kevin's Ice pillar attack back.
It turned to see the girls were behind it.
Most of the girls only saw the demon loudly stomped on the ground with certain strength which caused a small seismic shift.
The attack neutralized the wave of ice in front of it.
They were just lucky that its attack saved them from result.
But Elysia saw something entirely different.
The demon turned to see that the girls were behind it and it summoned the wave of flames to at least save them.
After all, why summoned the flames now when it could've just done that earlier?
She finally saw the demon up close while the rest of the girls immediately backed away.
When she looked closely, she immediately realized what was going on.
She turned to Hua with a cute smile.
"Let's catch up later. Is that okay Hua?" Hua blinked her eyes but nodded nonetheless.
She ran back towards Kevin.
"Kevin~" The silver haired male turned around to see Elysia with a smile.
"What is it? I am busy, Ellie." Elysia giggled as Kevin was having a hard time blocking the small and black lightning spheres.
"Let me handle this." Kevin widened his eyes at her.
"But..."
"Just trust me, alright?" Kevin sighed and nodded.
The two flamechasers immediately backed away from the demon's attack.
"What do you need me to do?" As they arrived at the entrance of the mall to the demon's apparent confusion.
"I want you to keep everybody out. I like our dance to be a private one." Kevin raised his eyebrow at her but nodded.
Kevin went outside and put up a giant wall of ice so that anyone wouldn't interfere's Elysia's work.
"You too, Kevin~" She giggled as she watched Kevin left the ice wall with a sigh, leaving Elysia with the enemy.
"Still kindhearted as ever, Hajime." She deeply sighed with a frown as she looked at the demon, tilting its head at her.
"...?"
"Still recognize me? It's me, Ellie." She tries to approach slowly but the demon just only aimed its slingshot at her while slowly backing away.
"...…...!"
"Still jumpy? I guess it's understandable." Seeing why Elysia didn't attack it, it lowered its weapon and asked with a growl.
"...?"
"Yeah. I am not going to attack you. After all, i never shot at you once. See? No weapon." This seemed to put the demon at ease.
"..."
"The key told me that you asked her to heal me and that girl. Thanks Hajime." She took a step trusting that the demon won't attack her like a feral animal.
"..."
The demon only put the weapon down after turning it back to a rifle.
"At least the keys respects you. That's great."
"...…...…"
She finally walked towards to the beast and saw faint of the real man asleep inside of the flaming body.
"Your flames weren't meant to hurt anyone.
It was to take away the burdens i have for being myself, wasn't it?" She leaned towards to him but the lack of emotional response broke her heart.
"..."
"I feel honestly a bit refreshed after that nap." She tries to joke but again, the silence hurt.
"...…..."
"I want to ask how do you know about me being a herscherr. I never told you anything about it. Also how do your flames work exactly? Does it absorb honkai energy much like my crystals? Is this how you defended the people from the Honkai wave? I also wanna know how are you able to decrease your honkai corruption level."
"..."
"I see." She sighed in defeat as she wanted to talk things out first.
Maybe he already turned and the decreasing infection was the sign of that.
"Not a day in and you already broke my heart twice." She summoned her bow with a heavy heart.
"...…"
"You are a cruel man, Hajime."
Seeing how confused the demon is, She decided to give it a pink crystal flower as a parting gift.
The demon slowly held the crystal and kneeled to give it a hug.
Elysia frowned at the sight while readying an attack.
As she aimed, she saw the flames gradually decreasing in size and they were getting sucked to the crystal.
Realizing this, she immediately stopped.
That's it!
I can still save him.
I just need to avoid places that is riched in Honkai.
As she took another step, there was a honkai wave spawn surrounding them.
She sighed as this complicates things.
After all, she needed Hajime's Honkai corruption level to drop.
And this wave isn't making her job easier.
She summoned another crystal in her hand and the demon turned its head to her as she was beginning to sense the killing intents of the mob.
"How about we play a game of catch, Hajime?" She waved it in front of it and ran.
"If you win, you get to keep me and my crystals as toys." As she further ran, prompting it to follow her.
Elysia sighed in relief as she helped it escaped from the swarm of honkai beasts overcrowding both of them.
All she can do is sweep them out to at least help 'Hajime' recover.
Author's note: Yo. Author here. As much as i would like to express my enthusiasm of the work, Stuffs in real life has been taking away a lot of my emotional energy. Do not worry. I will try to keep you guys updated. To those who recognize me (AxlCstro) or this work from in Ao3 at least, yep... same dude. Just decided to crosspost. So please enjoy.