After Durandal's little display, Elysia found herself at a loss for words.
She had intended to gauge the true depth of the other woman's strength, but that single strike Durandal had unleashed with the weapon in her hand far exceeded anything Elysia had anticipated.
Had that blow been directed at her, or at the Fire Moth army, she wasn't sure she could have stopped it.
Moreover, seeing that Durandal's expression hadn't shifted a muscle—neither during the act nor after—it was clear that this was nowhere near her limit.
This meant that, at least for now, if Durandal decided to turn against Fire Moth, no one could easily stand in her way.
Before the conversation had even truly begun, Elysia already felt like she was on the back foot.
Furthermore, Durandal's act of clearing the field was something Fire Moth desperately wanted to do but struggled to achieve.
Elysia knew she could have eventually wiped out the swarms of Honkai beasts on her own, but it would have been a grueling process.
Her stamina was finite; she would have been forced to retreat and rest long before the job was finished.
But Durandal didn't need to rest.
She could have picked them off slowly, just as Elysia did, but she chose to unleash a finishing move that wiped the slate clean, drastically lessening the impact the Third Honkai Eruption would have on human civilization.
Because of this, Elysia couldn't even take the moral high ground to interrogate Durandal's origins.
Regardless of where she came from, her contribution to humanity since the Third Eruption had already eclipsed that of the entire Fire Moth organization.
When a single individual outshines an entire institution, Elysia figured, she was dealing with a monster of a talent she simply didn't know how to handle.
"Ask whatever you like. Don't hold back. We can take it one thing at a time," Durandal said tonelessly, seemingly sensing Elysia's inner turmoil.
In truth, Durandal hadn't overthought her decision to clear the area.
When Elysia asked to speak in private, she simply wanted to be alone with her as quickly as possible.
In her straightforward mind, it was far more efficient to wipe out the surrounding chaos than to go searching for a quiet spot elsewhere.
"Since you're capable of wiping out all those Honkai beasts in an instant, why did you spend so much time killing them slowly with me earlier?"
Since other topics felt too heavy to touch, Elysia chose to start there. She was genuinely curious why Durandal hadn't just used her ultimate move from the beginning.
"Because you hadn't made up your mind yet."
Durandal put away the Abyss Flower. With a mere thought, her Bright Knight: Excelsis armor shifted into Palatinus Equinox, and Krishna materialized beside her.
She had never intended to hide anything from Elysia, so she saw no reason to be discreet now.
Right in front of Elysia, she vaulted onto Krishna's back. Just as she had when they first met, she reached out a hand. "Get on."
Elysia dithered for a moment, struck by a strange sense of déjà vu.
Before she realized it, her hand was already in Durandal's. Using the other woman's strength, she climbed up and found herself tucked securely within Durandal's arms.
It wasn't just the gesture.
As Elysia ran her hand over Krishna's metallic, shimmering hide, she wanted to comment that it felt different than she imagined, but the words died in her throat as another wave of familiarity washed over her.
Elysia fell into a rare silence.
Durandal noticed the way Elysia's gaze lost its focus and realized that the woman's memories were likely beginning to claw their way to the surface. She didn't use their intimate position to disturb her.
Instead, she guided Krishna through the streets of Nagazora City, clearing out any stray or newly spawned Honkai beasts, leaving Elysia alone with her thoughts.
It wasn't until the sky began to bruise with the colors of dusk that Elysia finally snapped out of her trance.
Durandal was currently scouting for supplies to settle their dinner when she felt the person in her arms shift.
Before she could speak, Elysia turned around, cupped Durandal's face, and pulled her into a fierce kiss.
Durandal matched her rhythm almost instantly. Her hands finally moved without hesitation to Elysia's waist, reaching for the skin that always made her heart race at the slightest touch.
After a long moment, Elysia finally let go, leaning her head against Durandal's shoulder while catching her breath.
"Hehe~♪"
Elysia chuckled softly. Now that her memories had returned, her heart was filled more with a sense of relief than anything else.
"Durandal~♪" she whispered.
"Mmhmm." Durandal responded, already sensing what she was about to say.
"So, your origin... it's just like how we entered this simulation, isn't it?" Elysia's tone was certain.
"More or less," Durandal nodded.
"Then without you, and relying only on Fire Moth, Nagazora City would have been reduced to the scarred ruin I see now. And that's only the Third Eruption. I don't know how many more are coming, but if every Eruption results in a major city being leveled, how much more can humanity actually take?"
Though her words were heavy, Durandal could hear the light, almost grateful lilt in Elysia's voice.
"You know, before my memories came back, all I could think about was where you came from and what organization was behind you. I thought if someone as strong as you—and your group—could be recruited into Fire Moth, our chances against the Honkai would skyrocket."
"Of course, you were so impressive I couldn't even find the words to ask. I'm glad I didn't. Looking back, that idea was actually quite ridiculous!"
Elysia let out a self-deprecating laugh. "My memories returned, but I also have this other, entirely different life in my head now. In that version of events, you never appeared during the Second Eruption. I was the one who defeated the Second Herrscher, and I joined Fire Moth shortly after..."
"Oh, right! I even saved Kevin and Mei earlier. You probably won't believe this, but here, Kevin is actually a man. When he introduced himself, even though my memories hadn't returned, my instincts were screaming that he should have been a girl~♪"
Elysia had intended to talk more about her time in Fire Moth, but after a brief silence, she decided to change the subject.
Compared to her life in Schicksal, her experiences within Fire Moth were... less than pleasant to recount.
And Elysia was never one to go looking for trouble or sadness.
Since that timeline had never come to pass here, she figured it was better to just act as if it didn't exist at all.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL