"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Ryn brushed the dust from Kiana's face. Although not even five minutes had passed from Sin Mal's appearance to her defeat, for Ryn, the time had felt agonizing. What if he hadn't made it in time and Kiana had gotten hurt?
"I'm fine. Even though that kid Sin Mal kept attacking me, this Divine Key called the Xuanyuan Sword seems to have strengthened my body, so Sin Mal couldn't hurt me at all."
Kiana rubbed her face against Ryn's hand, then pulled him over to Himeko's side.
"None of us are seriously injured, but Himeko's condition is critical. She needs immediate medical attention..."
"Let's get out of here first. The branch in Canghai City was also attacked by Anti-Entropy. Theresa went to provide support but found they had already been killed. Based on the weapon markings on the wounds she transmitted, it was likely that Sin Mal who did it."
As Ryn spoke, he knelt down to check Himeko's injuries, then converted some Honkai energy into pure energy to nourish her body.
Honkai is omnipotent, but unfortunately, Ryn didn't have much medical expertise. He could only provide basic treatment to stabilize Himeko's condition.
Then, Ryn altered Himeko's gravitational field, making her float in the air, and sent her out of Chiyou's body first.
"I'll have Judah take Himeko back to St. Freya High School for treatment first. Then we'll go to the Hyperion, and I'll carry the Hyperion to take you all back."
"Okay. It's a pity we didn't find the Stigmata..." Kiana gripped the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand. Without the Stigmata, even if they managed to save Himeko this time, it would only be a temporary solution.
"Let's leave first. We'll have to think of another way for what comes after." Ryn took Kiana's hand, then led Mei and Fu Hua out through the hole he had punched directly through Chiyou's body.
Just as they exited Chiyou's body, the Xuanyuan Sword in Kiana's hand began to glow.
"Finally... finally escaped from that long seal..."
Subsequently, the seafloor began to tremble violently. Chiyou, who was supposed to be dead, opened its eyes.
At the same time, the petrification all over its body gradually dissipated, and the patterns of the Honkai reappeared on its skin.
Chiyou threw its head back and roared, beginning to move its body, trying to climb out from the seabed. Its every movement caused the seawater to churn violently, and the seafloor rumbled intensely.
Ryn released his domain, then quickly took Kiana's and Mei's hands. Kiana and Mei, in turn, held onto Fu Hua. The group held hands and withstood the turbulent undersea currents within Ryn's domain.
"Huh? Wasn't it dead? How did it come back to life!"
"Kiana, now is not the time to be shocked!"
Fu Hua looked at the glowing Xuanyuan Sword in Kiana's hand and understood what was happening.
"Those seals, that sword... The Xuanyuan Sword was the lynchpin. By taking the sword, we broke the seal, so Chiyou has been revived."
"Ryn, watch out!" Mei suddenly shouted, looking behind Ryn and Fu Hua.
But it was too late. Chiyou swallowed the entire group in one gulp.
————————
Ryn woke up, patting his head. Chiyou had played dirty. Ryn had put up a defense, but Chiyou had swallowed his defense along with a large area of the sea around them.
Not long after Ryn woke up, Fu Hua also regained consciousness, followed by Mei and Kiana.
Everyone looked at the familiar scene with a sense of speechlessness. They had just punched a hole through Chiyou's body to get out, only to be swallowed right back in.
"Great, we're back here again. Why does Chiyou like swallowing things so much..." Kiana said, exasperated, as she stuck the Xuanyuan Sword into the ground.
"It's fine. We'll bury it after we get out this time." Ryn raised his hand and released a pseudo black hole directly into the space above, beginning to carve out an opening.
But the Xuanyuan Sword, stuck in the ground, began to vibrate, and a shimmering figure emerged from the blade.
It was a gentle-looking, seemingly frail young woman.
"Young warriors... I am sorry for dragging you into a battle that should have been mine alone. This is all the strength I have left. I entrust it to you. Please, you must seal Chiyou once more..."
The Xuanyuan Sword beside the young woman began to glow, then transformed into rays of light that scattered into the bodies of the group. Afterward, the young woman's figure started to become illusory, but at the last moment, her eyes held a hint of surprise.
"Azure Empyrea?!"
Just as Fu Hua was about to respond, the young woman's phantom completely dissipated.
Feeling that power, everyone could feel their bodies had been slightly strengthened.
"Was that... a holographic projection?" Kiana asked curiously.
"The Bronya's scans indicate it was not a holographic image... more like what is commonly referred to as a ghost."
"Eek~ So scary..." Kiana shrank behind Ryn like a kitten.
"I felt that the ghost had no ill intentions. And she shared her power with us. I feel like I could more easily take down Kika now," Mei said reassuringly.
"She gave you power to seal Chiyou, not for you to go home and beat up Kika!"
Ryn retorted mercilessly. If Ji Lin were still alive and heard that, she'd probably jump out and knock you on the head.
"The phantom from the Xuanyuan Sword must be the legendary Ji Lin! I didn't expect her to be even cuter than the virtual data version. But what did she mean by 'Azure Empyrea' at the end?"
"Maybe she saw one of the azure empyrea bird statues! Don't worry about it. Let's hurry and seal Chiyou!" Fu Hua interrupted Ryn's question, quickly changing the subject.
"Alright, but it doesn't have to be that complicated. Once we get out, I'll just throw a pseudo black hole. With Chiyou's size, it won't be able to escape."
"Okay, let's do that." Fu Hua nodded in agreement with Ryn's plan.
But at that moment, Cortana and Bronya spoke up simultaneously. "Ryn, I'm detecting three high-energy reaction zones." "The Bronya has detected two high-energy reaction zones."
Then Cortana and Bronya calibrated their data with each other. Two had high energy reactions, while another energy zone's reaction was more subtle and had been overlooked by Bronya.
"What, do you suspect something is hidden there?"
"It could be Chiyou's heart, or possibly the location of the three ancestors' remains. The Bronya believes this may be our last chance to find the Stigmata."
"Alright, but we need to move quickly. We have to take care of this before Chiyou reaches the land."