Durandal and Ryn had disappeared mid-fight, leaving the spectating Valkyries completely bewildered.
Since waiting around wasn't an option, everyone could only let Kika proceed with her test.
The lazy genius, Mushoku Kika, thus entered the Memorial Arena floating on a beanbag chair, eating a donut, under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Schicksal's Memorial Arena recorded various powerful enemies that Valkyries had encountered, such as Honkai Beasts like Parvati, Dinisa, and Ashvins.
The Memorial Arena was open to all Schicksal Valkyries. So, while honing their skills against formidable foes, the Valkyries also started competing, which led to the creation of a speedrun leaderboard.
After observing the stage and weather conditions, Kika floated Sabayon directly in front of the monster spawn point.
And then... there was no 'and then'. The moment the data-simulated enemy appeared, it was instantly obliterated by a single blast from Kika.
Congratulations to Mushoku Kika for successfully breaking the speedrun record set by Durandal and others, and for successfully getting blacklisted by Schicksal's Memorial Arena.
Because Kika didn't just eliminate the enemy, she shot a hole through the Memorial Arena itself.
Kika made her external armor invisible and pulled a lollipop from her pocket, sticking it in her mouth.
"Tsk, I told you I have confidence in Sabayon..."
Amplified through the screen, Kika's words, coupled with the blaring alarms at Schicksal HQ, sounded particularly grating.
As soon as she exited the Memorial Arena, Tool-Character A rushed over with a group of people, fuming, and yelled at Kika.
"If you were so confident, shouldn't you have controlled your firepower? Do you have any idea how long the Memorial Arena will have to be shut down for maintenance because of that shot!"
Kika plugged her ears, leaned her head back, and dodged the Valkyrie's verbal barrage with a look of disgust.
Once the Valkyries had tired themselves out from the scolding, Kika grabbed the clothes of a Valkyrie next to her to wipe her face, then said with an air of indifference while sucking on her lollipop:
"I told you from the start you couldn't handle my firepower. Now that something's happened, you come running to blame me. I was already holding back. If you can't handle it, don't play..."
"You, you, you..." Tool-Character A was so enraged by Kika's words that she was speechless.
Rita walked over and lifted Kika from the sofa like a child.
"Alright, alright, everyone, there's no need to be angry. The stronger Kika's firepower, the more at ease we can be on future missions, wouldn't you agree? As for the Memorial Arena, everyone has been fighting in it for so long. It's a rare chance for it to have a holiday, so let's just let it undergo proper maintenance! This is also a good opportunity to get Amber to allocate more funds for a proper upgrade."
With that, Rita left, holding Kika and affectionately pinching and rubbing her. In any case, everyone had already witnessed Kika's strength, so there was no point in staying.
In a place where no one could see, Rita hugged Kika tightly, nuzzling against her affectionately.
"Rita, are you a pervert? Let go, I can walk on my own." Kika slapped away Rita's restless hands.
"My apologies, Miss Kika. You are just so adorable, Rita couldn't help herself for a moment."
Rita reluctantly placed Kika on the ground. Though her words were apologetic, her face was full of regret. However, she quickly resumed her usual elegant and humble demeanor.
"Next, would Miss Kika like to continue touring Schicksal HQ, or would you prefer to rest first?"
"I'll go back and rest. Let me know if there's any news about Ryn."
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Meanwhile, on an edge of Schicksal HQ's floating fortress, a young man and a young woman sat on the cliff's edge, their legs dangling in the air. Their long hair, one crimson-purple and one golden-blonde, swayed in the wind.
Behind them, Schicksal's alarms blared.
Ryn rubbed his chubby little face and looked at Durandal, whose face was just as swollen as his.
"Durandal, you don't seem worried at all. Aren't you going to check it out?"
Durandal rested her hands on her thighs and said with a smile, "That's not an enemy attack alarm, and they haven't messaged me, so it's not an enemy attack or a combat situation. I'm on the combat roster; I can fight, but I can't help with other things. On the other hand, you seem even less worried than I am."
"Because I can roughly guess what happened..." Ryn pointed to the spot where the red beam that had just pierced through Schicksal had dissipated. "Kika must have overestimated the strength of the Memorial Arena's Honkai Beasts, used a bit too much power, and shot right through it..."
"Is Miss Kika's firepower really that powerful?" Durandal said with some surprise. A full-power punch from Durandal herself couldn't penetrate the Memorial Arena, let alone pierce through Schicksal HQ as well.
"Yeah. One shot from her, and you'd be on your knees begging me not to die within three seconds. But her stamina is the complete opposite of her firepower. In close combat, even the gale from you moving at high speed could knock her out..."
"Ah... In that case, Miss Kika should definitely train more. Such a delicate body is not a good thing when fighting the Honkai." Durandal expressed her regret. Such immense firepower, yet with such a fatal weakness.
Suddenly, Durandal's eyes lit up, and she looked at Ryn with excitement. "But if Miss Kika is willing, I can personally supervise her training!"
Thinking of Mushoku Kika, who lazed around in her room all day playing games, stuffing her face with sweets while claiming she wouldn't get fat, and who was all buddy-buddy with Bronya, Ryn couldn't imagine her undergoing Durandal's intense training regimen.
Finally, Ryn shrugged and said helplessly, "I think you'd have an easier time just killing Kika than trying to train her..."
"But, with such an obvious weakness, if she doesn't overcome it..."
"It's fine, Durandal. I will protect them. I am their last line of defense." As he spoke, Ryn created a pseudo-black hole in front of them.
"I'm still not strong enough right now to just steamroll everything. But even so, I'm strong enough to protect them until they've grown up..."
Feeling the pressure from the pseudo-black hole, Durandal looked at Ryn with a hint of resentment. "Looks like you were underestimating me. You didn't even use your full strength..."
"Ahem, we're all comrades, there's no need to be so rough. Besides, I refuse to believe that Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie would fight me like it was child's play... You were holding back a lot too, weren't you?"
"Yes, this was just a test. But we've gotten to know each other through this fight. Let's have another match with no holds barred when we have the time! A fight should always be fought to one's heart's content."
Durandal extended her fist to Ryn, and Ryn smiled as he bumped it.
"But before that, Durandal, come and save the world with me!"
"Hmm?" Durandal paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"Okay."