"The people, you say..."
Arthur Kaslana.
An executioner for the Tianming Church, he was also the teacher of both Kallen and her father, Francis, as well as the instructor for the Valkyrie force. At over 70 years of age, Arthur was not a Kaslana by blood but was granted the surname by the Kaslana patriarch three generations prior.
"Kallen!"
Clack!
Two violet-colored, rose-themed dual pistols were produced from Arthur's sleeves and tossed directly to Kallen.
"Grandpa Arthur..."
For a convict to escape was one thing.
To actively provide a weapon to said convict was entirely different in nature.
This weapon was no replica but a genuine artifact from the Previous Era, recovered from ruins. At this time, Tianming had no precise understanding of the Keys of God, and this weapon was considered only slightly inferior in value to the Judgment of Shamash (as Tianming could not yet unleash the full power of a Key of God).
The rose-themed "Arias," stained with the blood of countless foes, were Grandpa Arthur's most cherished possessions, never leaving his side.
"I have grown old."
"The future of the Kaslanas... should not be seated on a high chair in a cathedral."
Evidently.
Arthur did not approve of the Kaslana patriarch who sat alongside the Bishop in the church, passing judgment on Kallen—regardless of whether it was due to compromise or other factors.
Kallen looked down at the dual pistols in her hands.
As a child, she had begged Grandpa Arthur to let her see these weapons. Combined with over a decade of witnessing them in action, she was no stranger to them. They were remarkably similar to the Judgment of Shamash held by the patriarch; these dual pistols could also combine into a melee weapon. However, compared to the [Judgment of Shamash · Greatsword Form], which killed its user with a single swing, the "Arias" were less powerful but far easier to handle.
"I understand!"
Kallen nodded forcefully.
She did not charge directly toward the Monarch-class Honkai Beast.
Even with a suitable weapon, Kallen, whose body was far from recovered, was by no means a match for a Monarch-class Honkai Beast right now.
With the main city under invasion, the Valkyrie force was bound to rush back from afar.
Only with the support of her comrades would Kallen have the confidence to defeat this flying Monarch-class beast.
Until then, she had to conserve her strength as much as possible and deal with the "minions" swarming into the city first. The destruction they could cause was in no way less than that of the Monarch-class beast.
"Lord Arthur!"
Seeing that Kallen had "escaped" from the execution platform, Arthur's executioners could no longer sit still. Letting a Kaslana prisoner go would surely put them in a lose-lose situation.
"You all."
Arthur waved his hand, stopping his subordinates who were about to give chase.
"If it's hard to explain, then there's no need to explain."
"Think carefully."
Arthur pulled out a somewhat bent iron sword that was stuck in the ground... a relic from a soldier who had been crushed to a pulp by the Monarch-class beast.
"What was our goal when we joined Tianming?"
"..."
"Now."
None of his subordinates answered his question, but he himself would no longer remain lost. He had been trapped in a certain prison for far too long.
"The enemy is right before our eyes!"
Thump!
With a great stride, Arthur charged straight toward the still-rampaging Monarch-class Honkai Beast!
---o---
Squelch!
A half-human, half-demon Honkai Beast collapsed.
[Gloomy Arias]
The power of these dual pistols was worthy of their "relic weapon" status. The five-meter-tall Honkai beasts were taken down with practically one shot each.
However...
"No wonder Grandpa Arthur rarely fires them."
The energy consumption was too great.
Even for Kallen, who possessed a Stigma, the strain of using them was immense. Never mind her current weakened state; even the Kallen from the expeditionary force, in perfect condition, could at most fire about twenty shots at her peak.
The principle behind this weapon was the simple and crude compression of Honkai energy—the more Honkai energy was poured in, the greater the power of the resulting bullet.
Of course.
Since it was a gun, it could also be loaded with ordinary bullets.
The problem was that even "enchanted" ordinary bullets were, at best, only effective against the nimble [Assault-class] Honkai beasts in the sky. Against Knight-class or the even stronger Chariot-class Honkai beasts, they were practically useless.
After all, the "Executioners" were an internal purging unit; their opponents were most often their own kind, not Honkai beasts.
"Bang!!"
Despite this, Kallen fired another Honkai energy bullet without hesitation.
Pfft!
A Chariot-class Honkai Beast, about to land a precise pounce on a residential area, disintegrated into scattered particles of light in mid-air. The Chariot-class beasts of this era were truly "medieval" chariots in form; those exceeding seven meters in height were exceedingly rare.
"This can't go on."
Kallen could already feel her body gradually being depleted.
The battle had lasted for over ten minutes.
Logically, the faster members of the Valkyrie force who had received the alarm should have already returned.
The only possible explanation for the current situation was—
"Monarch-class..."
"There are more than two Monarch-class beasts!?"
That's right.
The Valkyrie force had been intercepted.
Arthur was leading the Executioner squad, engaging in guerilla warfare with the griffin-type Monarch-class Honkai Beast.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Valkyrie force, originally responsible for guarding the main city... were protecting the grand cathedral where Tianming's headquarters was located.
Ordinary Honkai beasts naturally couldn't break through.
The problem was that the Honkai beasts attacking the cathedral were also led by a Monarch-class beast—a giant white lion, three meters tall at the shoulder and over seven meters long.
Although it couldn't compare to the griffin in size, this lion's combat power, especially its lethality against humans, far surpassed the former.
Its slender feline body was pieced together from pure white armor condensed from Honkai energy, and its majestic mane was composed of constantly flowing purple Honkai energy particles.
Unlike the griffin attacking the city or the giant eagle blocking the Valkyrie force, the prototype for this [Primordial Species] Honkai beast was actually one of the [Throne Guardians], "Reinhardt." Simply put, Otto had used his [Authority of Reason] to copy the appearance of one of the Four Guardians.
While the combat power of a [Higher Primordial Species] could not be replicated, the oppressive presence brought by its elegant form was very real.
After all, even Otto himself, upon first meeting this [Throne Guardian]... felt the terror of a mouse meeting a cat.
"CLANG!!"
A giant shield was sent flying!
Although Kallen had been constantly saving people, there were simply too many in need of rescue.
The city soldiers meant for maintaining order were not battle-hardened elites. Most of them were old hands just getting by in Tianming's headquarters. They might not even win against humans with the same weapons, let alone face hideous and terrifying Honkai beasts.
Before, when the Valkyrie force was in charge, they could slack off and wait for death, but now...
The shield, made of refined iron, had managed to block one blow.
But the figure holding the shield was directly battered out of human shape by the immense force. This type of Honkai beast, which walked on its lower limbs, had bat-like wings on its shoulders, and looked remarkably like a demon, was the most cunning and difficult to deal with.
Swoosh!
Kallen charged forward.
The panicked civilians had lost their protection, and the narrow alley was far from able to handle such a massive crowd.
If she couldn't stop this thing—
"BANG!!"
The white shockwave made her tattered black nun's habit flap loudly, and the stone slabs under her feet shattered into countless fragments.
With both arms raised high, Kallen used the [Gloomy Arias] as a shield to block the Honkai beast's slashing claws.
However...
"Not good!"
It was a trap!
This thing's strength was far greater than it had just shown!
If it couldn't even break a shield made of refined iron, then as long as she was careful not to be hit in a vital spot, this Honkai beast shouldn't have been a threat to her.
But that wasn't the case.
The pressure and pain shooting up her arms were proof of the immense impact her bones had sustained. As a seasoned warrior, Kallen was certain that her left arm, which was taking the brunt of the force, was at least fractured, if not broken.
This Honkai beast was baiting her.
Among all the humans present, Kallen posed the greatest threat. To force her to act, this creature had decisively chosen to disguise its strength. Judging by the power and speed of that last claw swipe, it could have easily slaughtered the scattered crowd long ago.
The reason it hadn't...
Was because it was after her!
"SHINK!!!"
From the spot corresponding to a human heart, a long, spear-like spike shot out from within the body of the Honkai beast, its face twisted in what looked like a vicious grin. It flew rapidly toward Kallen, whose hands were completely tied up!
Squelch!
---o---
I'm going to die.
Kallen knew her own body well enough.
The Honkai beast's surprise attack came at the exact moment she had concentrated as much Honkai energy as possible into her arms—it was the most appropriate response to prevent her arms from breaking and herself from being cleaved in two.
Her opponent had exploited that.
There was no time to defend against the bizarre "spear."
With such a "large object" piercing her body, she probably wouldn't even have time for her life to flash before her eyes before she was reduced to a pile of flesh.
However...
"I'm not dead?"
After about half a second of wild thoughts, the intense feeling of weightlessness vanished, and Kallen was very sure that she was not dead. The warmth from the back of her knees and neck, along with the strong and steady heartbeat against her arm and chest, all pointed to one thing:
She had been saved.
"Who?"
The sunlight pouring down from the sky made it difficult for Kallen to open her eyes quickly.
Kallen was Tianming's strongest Valkyrie. In a situation like that, even if she were the one doing the saving, it would have been difficult to pull off, even with the [Oath of Judah] in hand.
Who in the world—
"O...tto?"
Familiar clothes, familiar build.
Even with a somewhat comical—no, a somewhat dashing phantom thief mask, Kallen could still recognize her childhood friend.
"I'm not the Ot—"
"Put me down!"
Being carried like a princess was a mortifying experience for Kallen, even in private, let alone in front of a massive crowd.
A strong sense of shyness made Kallen instinctively begin to struggle.
But she quickly realized something was wrong. As the youngest child of the Apocalypse family, although his upbringing had given him a certain degree of "martial skill," that skill was definitely not enough for him to hold her while she was struggling.
That was true even in her weakened state.
Not to mention.
The one who had just saved her from the Honkai beast's claws was undoubtedly Otto.
"You're... injured?"
Kallen stopped struggling.
It wasn't just because her mind, unused to deep thought, couldn't keep up with her actions, but also because of the bright red staining the white on Otto's shoulder. The Honkai beast's claws had torn away the flesh and muscle on Otto's shoulder, revealing the white of the bone underneath.
A wound "deep enough to see the bone" was no minor injury.
To be able to carry her in such a state... heaven knew what kind of willpower Otto was using to suppress the pain.
"No."
Otto lowered his left arm.
As the delicate feeling at the back of her knees was gently withdrawn, Kallen stood on the ground once more. Her body stumbled slightly, an indication that her own condition was not much better.
"It's just a small wound..."
Rip!
Before Otto could finish his sentence, Kallen had ripped a strip of cloth from her own shoulder and was rapidly wrapping it tightly around his.
"..."
This was an experience Otto had never had before.
"This power..."
"Did you use that box?"
The two of them stood atop a high roof, and the Honkai beast from before had apparently not yet found them.
"I did."
Kallen was well aware of the existence of the two boxes.
The [Void Archives] and the [Erosion Core], which had not yet been made into a Key of God, were the two greatest treasures of the Apocalypse family.
"That is forbidden power. You can't control it," Kallen said to Otto with great solemnity.
When they were still young, the "box" had once tempted Otto to use the power of a [mimicked Black Orchid and White Lily] to resurrect Kallen's recently deceased father. They both knew very well what the price of that power was.
"That's right."
"But for you, it's worth it."
"Wha—!?"
Before Kallen could finish, her mouth was forcibly sealed.
This time, it was Otto who interrupted her, but the method was not mouth-to-ear, but mouth-to-mouth... hmm, from words to actions.
"Mmph—"
Kallen tried to break free.
But the situation was exactly the same as before; her strength was completely insufficient to break Otto's "restraint." Her arms were completely held by him, making it impossible to even push him away.
After the second hand had ticked past an unknown number of times...
"You—"
Smack!
Kallen's wrist was caught by Otto.
The attempted slap only stirred a light breeze that rustled a few strands of Otto's hair.
"I seem to have misjudged."
"It seems you don't like the 'damsel in distress' routine..."
A straightforward girl who liked to play the part of a chivalrous thief, yet had no interest in heroes and charming princes. This did not fit with Otto's psychology of love.
To be precise.
It was more in line with her character to play the role of the "prince" herself—this was probably the root cause of the "green Yae Village affair."
Before Kallen, tears welling in the corners of her eyes, could open her mouth to retort...
"As your fiancé."
"I support your ideals, your decisions, your desires."
"But on one condition—"
"You have to be alive first. Alive to become my bride."