With three sharp hisses, the behemoth from the deep sea revealed its form.
It was a creature with a long, barrel-shaped body and a powerful tail, resembling a thick, short, three-headed serpent.
Its skin was covered in hard scales that shimmered with an eerie blue light. Its three heads were raised high, each crowned with a sharp horn that pointed to the sky like a sword. Every swing of its tail could stir up monstrous waves, making the surrounding sea tremble.
"It's a Sea God Serpent," Himeko noted from the watchtower, raising an eyebrow. She lifted the small megaphone, courteously provided by Elysia, and aimed it at Kiana below. "Idiot!"
"Don't call me an idiot, Ms. Himeko!" Kiana retorted indignantly, the tip of her silver-white pigtail flicking up towards the heavens.
"Then take a look at who was the first to answer when I shouted." Himeko was unfazed. "Pop quiz. State the characteristics of the Honkai derivative designated 0514—the Sea God Serpent."
"Why do we have to have tests even when we're out having fun? You're a naturally evil old hag, Himeko... Ouch!" Kiana, the unlucky child who just got flicked on the forehead by an invisible force, grumbled as she frantically searched her memory for everything she'd learned at St. Freya over the past month.
She counted on her fingers. "First, an adult Sea God Serpent can grow to about thirty meters and can control the sea within a certain range. The strongest among them can even possess combat power comparable to an A-rank Valkyrie in the right environment. Second, Sea God Serpents are more easily drawn to creatures that are either massive in size or possess a large amount of Honkai energy, which triggers their appetite and bloodlust. Lastly, although few people understand why they provoke it, the Sea God Serpent is an extremely, extremely grudge-holding creature."
"How grudge-holding are we talking?" asked Miss Pink Piggy, who had failed her xenobiology class, raising her hand curiously.
Kiana put on a stern face. "You have already courted death!"
Bronya, who had already come ashore, was startled. "What the hell?! It holds that much of a grudge?!"
Bronya glanced over and saw that even while tangled up with Fuli, one of the Sea God Serpent's remaining two heads was still glaring intently in her direction. It had clearly remembered that it was Project Bunny's shot that had awakened it.
Mei, just emerging from the tent, looked on helplessly. "You guys... you always manage to come up with something new."
The little red dragon coiled around her slender wrist, cosplaying as an Ouroboros bracelet, was eager for a fight, but its master calmed it down with a few gentle taps on the head.
It was just a sub-A-rank mob. Why use Cybertron to kill a chicken? It's not like Fuli was going to be caught by some Blue Silver Grass entanglement.
Sizing up the three-headed serpent thrashing in the waves, Mei felt a long-lost spark of the master chef's interest. "We haven't decided on the main course for tonight. How does that thing taste?"
Kiana recalled, "The book says it's fishy, smelly, and its blood is poisonous. Killing it also pollutes a small area of the sea. It's basically a mini-Xiangliu from a Sea of Quanta slice, and its creator is the Tang San of the literary world."
Mei instantly lost interest.
She turned, and her cool voice drifted across the hundreds of meters to Fuli's ears. "Yuan, lead it farther away before you deal with it. Don't let it ruin everyone's mood."
"No problem!"
By now, with the help of the Stigma of Reason, Fuli had gradually mastered the art of using Theresa.
He pulled on the "bra-strap rudder," and the "surfboard" beneath his feet dodged a venomous strike, riding a wave to accelerate into the distance.
The Sea God Serpent hesitated for a moment. It didn't follow, but instead turned back towards the beach, seemingly deciding to take care of the small, easy-looking target, Bronya, first.
How could Fuli let this beast bully his adopted little sister? He snapped his fingers, and the unconscious Theresa's lips parted, unconsciously uttering two words:
"Judah!"
The black and gold cross, which had sunk into the sea, immediately answered its master's call. Dozens, even hundreds, of chains shot out like Moses parting the Red Sea, wrapping around the forty-meter-long, three-headed serpent. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't break free.
CLAP!
Fuli pressed his palms together, and the Shadow-Chaser sword ki materialized into twenty-four meteoric swords.
They soared and swooped through the air, forming an impenetrable storm of blades.
With perfect coordination, Judah flung the Sea God Serpent into the maelstrom.
"Domain Expansion—" Fuli's voice was low. "Malevolent Shrine!"
The Domain Expansion was fake, but the slicing effect was real.
Under the baptism of the all-consuming storm of blades, the once-imperious three-headed sea serpent was reduced to nothing but useful materials for equipment, medicine, and armor. The rest was finely minced.
Fuli then opened his mouth, and the devouring power of the Way of the Human Immortal manifested as a small, dark singularity in front of him, serving as an extra digestive organ.
All the remaining parts of the Sea God Serpent were sucked into it, preventing environmental contamination and, as a bonus, causing the boy to let out a small burp.
He smacked his lips. "Yep, definitely tastes awful."
"Don't you dare eat trash like that again!" Mei's voice drifted from afar, her tone a mix of concern and reprimand. She was clearly worried.
Her man couldn't be an indiscriminate eater; his standards had to be a billion times higher.
If he ate leftovers today, he'd be looking for a mistress tomorrow!
"Hehe."
Fuli said nothing, simply maneuvering Theresa to continue gliding towards the shore.
The recovered Judah transformed into a tiny cross wrapped around its master's wrist, sparkling in the glittering waves.
A moment later, the boy and his "surfboard" reached the finish line.
"Hmph, I win!" Fuli raised his chin proudly. Just as he was about to pick up Theresa, whom he had abused the entire way, he was met by a pair of sapphire eyes filled with fury.
"Y-You're awake?" he stammered, glancing guiltily at the "steering wheel" he had been gripping for so long.
The little white-haired girl stood on her tiptoes, glaring at him, and said, word by word, "The previous race... was this principal's victory!"
"Wait, wait!" Fuli protested. "You were unconscious the whole time! I was the one who brought you to shore!"
It was true that he was wrong for taking liberties with her, but he had definitely won the race!
One thing at a time!
"That's right," Theresa sneered. "Standing on this principal, using this principal as your mount... was it comfortable?"
"Please don't change the subject," Fuli said with a straight face.
It was very comfortable. Thanks to her flat front armor, she made a great surfboard. If it were someone like Himeko, Mei, Kallen, or his great-aunt, the water resistance alone would have been a huge problem.
"Who's changing the subject?" Theresa gritted her teeth, rubbing her reddened back. "You rode me back to shore. That's a fact, right?"
"It was a moment of necessity, a moment of necessity."
That was a lie.
After dealing with the Sea God Serpent and releasing the little dolphin, Fuli could have easily swum back while carrying Theresa.
But the feel of her under his feet and the handling of the "rudder" were just too good. Before he knew it, he was already at the shore.
"Since you were standing on this principal, you were upright, while I was lying flat. By that logic, the one who reached the finish line first was clearly me."
It was like a ski race finish; the first thing to cross the line is the ski, not the athlete on top of it.
"Ah, I can vouch for that," Himeko said, raising her hand. "The first thing to reach the finish line was, indeed, Theresa's forehead."
"Auntie is the champion!" Kiana cheered.
A cold sweat broke out on Fuli's back. He remembered the price of defeat.
Anything but that! Being tied up and forced to listen to my own cringey history, having my phone's browser history displayed for all to see... GAH! A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated!
"Little Li ♪~"
With a sweet voice, Elysia made her grand entrance.
"Great-aunt, save me!"
But when Fuli looked over hopefully, the object in her hand made his vision go black.
"Give me back my phone!"
"A bet's a bet!" the Pink Elf said with utmost seriousness. "I don't remember raising little Li to be a scumbag who breaks his promises to girls!"
"I might believe you if you wiped that smirk off your face! Besides, we're the same age!"
As Fuli protested loudly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned to see Kiana, her brow furrowed.
"Fuli," she said with incredible seriousness, even the idiot-hair on top of her head was standing straight. "I think... I've discovered the conspiracy behind almost every competition in the world!"
"Do tell."
"In competitions, they always make the runner-up fight the champion. Of course they're going to lose," Kiana said, her expression grave. "Look, in the race just now, you, the runner-up, were up against Auntie, the champion. How could a runner-up possibly beat a champion?!"
Himeko suddenly had the urge to pry open the girl's head and see how her brain worked. "By your logic, the exams at St. Freya are also rigged. How could anyone get first place when so many people are taking the test with Fu Hua?"
Bronya was more direct. "Idiot Kiana, stop occupying a hospital bed if you're not sick."
"What do you mean she's not sick? Isn't she sick all the time?" Theresa said, sitting on Judah with her arms crossed. She suddenly realized the conversation was getting sidetracked. "Wait, we should be talking about a certain someone's punishment! Don't let this idiot Paramecium lead us astray!"
"Hehe." Kiana-cat scratched the back of her head and gave Fuli a goofy grin, her innocent eyes seeming to say, 'This is the best I can do for you, sis.'
Such profound idiocy!
And so, in the faraway Pacific, on an island that no detection instrument could find, was where Fuli could be found.
"Hehehe~"
"Kekeke!"
A powerful beat dropped as the girls, grinning mischievously, slowly surrounded the boy, who was now bound by Judah's chains.
"Gah! Bianka, save me!" came Fuli's cry for help. The only one who could save him now was that righteous Paladin.
"Little Li?"
Durandal, on a mission somewhere in the world, suddenly looked up, but the feeling was gone in an instant.
After a moment's hesitation, the girl continued on her way.
Perhaps she had just imagined it.
Time passed in a flurry of noise and laughter, and soon it was evening. The rising tide washed against the shore, the rustling sound soothing the soul.
A moderately sized bonfire was lit at the border between the beach and the dense tropical forest. The barbecue grill was laden with carefully prepared food.
In the end, Theresa didn't expose Fuli's dark history. Instead, she asked about the technique he had used to control her body—the Stigma of Reason.
Even if he had taken advantage of her while she was unconscious, and the effect would mostly be lost once she woke up, being able to forcibly control the body of an S-rank Valkyrie was still an absurdly powerful ability.
The boy, having been spared (no exaggeration), honestly told her about the virtual space. After hearing the story, Theresa just sighed softly, muttering things like "Grandpas are idiots in every world," and "Now how does the seniority between me and Fuli work?" before returning to her usual carefree self.
Ultimately, with the entire Apocalypse clan wiped out and Otto having long since abandoned his physical body, Fuli was the only person in the world who possessed the Stigma of Reason.
And Theresa wasn't about to murder him for it.
Watching the principal's tiny back as she skipped away, Fuli was baffled. "The human heart is truly hard to fathom."
"Miss Pink Elf isn't hard to figure out!"
A fragrant breeze wafted over, and the star-and-moon maiden with curly pink hair sat down across from him, her legs neatly together.
"Is little Li hungry? Want something to eat? Your great-auntie has some right here!"
She held a plate with some grilled meat that had been dipped in seasoning.
Fuli rubbed his stomach. "Actually, yeah."
In order to digest the awful meat of the Sea God Serpent, he had cranked up the power of his Human Immortal Art, which had also digested all the other food in his stomach. He was now ravenous.
"Then let your great-auntie feed you." Elysia picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks, then paused for a moment and put it back down.
Fuli was confused. "What's wrong?"
"No! I can't!" the girl said seriously. "If I just feed it to you like this, there's no surprise at all!"
"Huh?" What kind of surprise do I need? I just want to eat like I'm taking revenge!
Elysia insisted, pouting. "Close your eyes, little Li! If you close your eyes, you won't know what Miss Pink Elf is going to feed you next! That way, it'll have the surprise of opening a blind box!"
"So, a gacha game simulator, huh? Fine, fine." Fuli obediently closed his eyes, thinking how strange it was that he would subconsciously listen to this great-aunt he had only met a few times.
"Here, open your mouth, ahhh~"
"Ahhh—"
"Perfect!" Elysia pumped her fist and picked up a piece of salmon.
She didn't feed it to Fuli directly. Instead, she put it in her own mouth, and slowly brought her cherry-blossom lips, holding the food, closer to the boy's.
Their faces grew closer, and closer, about to touch...
On the beach far away, Kiana, who was being chased by a blindfolded Bronya wielding a baseball bat like it was a watermelon, caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of her eye.
She gasped, nearly getting hit in the head by the bat.
"That was close!" she couldn't help but exclaim.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Fuli subconsciously opened his eyes.
And saw a stunningly beautiful face just inches from his own.
"Ah!" The girl across from him blinked, swallowed the food herself, and tapped her head. "You found me, little Li. Ehe~"
But it wasn't over!
After swallowing the meat, Elysia leaned forward and took the initiative, planting a greasy "Mwah!" on the boy's cheek.
Fuli: (ᗜ˰ ᗜ)
Thanks to Kiana's warning, many people were now looking in their direction.
The moment they saw this, regardless of the others, Mei's three spiritual energies erupted in a fiery rage. Vicious lightning crackled around her, and in the next second, she was ready to tear this cheating cat to shreds!
But in the next instant, the girl strangely calmed down.
"Your great-auntie, you know~ ♪"
That's right! This was the power of the "elder" card and the "family" card!
It could be used for both offense and defense!
No worries! No regrets! Invincible!
They were just family members messing around and feeding each other. At worst, Elysia was just a rather unrestrained elder.
—But if she was going to be unrestrained, then she had to be fought with unrestraint!
Facing the smug Pink Elf, Fuli, who understood this principle well, was silent for a moment.
He leaned his head forward, and in front of everyone, with a deadpan expression, planted a loud "smack!" on her soft, fragrant cheek.
Hah! A taste of your own medicine!
"Eh?"
This time, it wasn't just the onlookers; even Elysia herself was frozen in place.
"Eh?" She raised a small, trembling hand and touched the spot where he had kissed her.
"Ehhhh—!"
A blush spread from her neck all the way up her face.
She's blushing! She's blushing! The high-attack, paper-defense Pink Elf is blushing!
A pure, untainted garden of pink flowers bloomed in the dark abyss, like a brilliant night sky among the stars and moon. Her fine bangs covered her smooth forehead, and beneath her long lashes, her mismatched eyes, like agate, were crystal clear and bewitching. Her moist lips were slightly parted with a hint of happy indignation, outlining her natural purity.
Forget Kiana and the others; even Prometheus and Dr. MEI, who were watching in secret, were stunned by such a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
A sliver of jealousy towards Fuli arose in everyone's hearts. It had nothing to do with love, but was simply a pure human desire for something that embodied all beauty.
But soon, this intoxicating silence was broken by the person herself.
"Guhehe! Ahaha! Little Li kissed me! Little Li kissed me!"
Elysia jumped three feet in the air, skipping around everyone in circles, ecstatic, her heart blooming with joy like a chirping songbird.
After a few laps, she zipped back in front of Fuli.
"Ooh! Is this little Li? So cute! A kiss! ♪~"
"Ooh! Is this little Li? So cute! A kiss! ♪~"
She stood on her tiptoes, held his delicate, clean face, and a rain of kisses fell upon him, completely unstoppable.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Fuli, who had thought the matter was over, was not having a good time.
It was one thing to be restless, but what was this direct assault? High attack, low defense, but with a powerful counter-attack trigger?
"Stop—mmph!"
He tried to stop her, but several times accidentally caught her actively approaching cherry-soft lips in his own.
He had no choice but to close his mouth and desperately signal the others with his eyes to stop watching and help!
Receiving the signal for help, Kiana finally snapped out of her daze. With a displeased look on her face, she rushed over and, using her monstrous strength, pulled the inseparable pair apart, ignoring the large bump on her own head.
"Aww... okay then (´▽｀)ノ♪~"
A reluctant Elysia looked a bit disappointed, but she quickly produced a small megaphone from somewhere and began to broadcast what had just happened to everyone.
At the same time, she couldn't help but recall the dream she had before, the one Prometheus and Dr. MEI had called the "previous playthrough," the dream where she had died early.
'Come to think of it, I think I wrote some journal entries back then, didn't I?' she thought.
'I hope no one else finds them. Even for Miss Pink Elf, having someone peek into my heart would be very embarrassing, you know ♪~'
03.28 - I absorbed too much Honkai energy from the Third Eruption and couldn't move, so I was chased by Deadwalkers. But Miss Pink Elf wasn't scared at all, because the safest place in the world is in little Li's arms.
03.29 - While escaping, we passed by an abandoned shrine. It looked like someone had a wedding there before. Hehe, I'm suddenly a little jealous of that girl named Kiana.
03.30 - We finally escaped to the outskirts of Nagazora City. The different species Honkai Beasts we encountered were scary, but with little Li here, they weren't scary.
Little Li is the best ♪~
"So, forget me, and live a good life, okay!"
—Excerpt from Miss Pink Elf's Nagazora Escape Log (Previous Playthrough).