Staring at Su Yu in front of her, Kiana parted her lips.
The frozen heart inside her seemed to crack open—just a thin fissure—like something warm was about to pour in.
But then—
"Oh my, Kiana… you really are so weak it's laughable."
That voice coiled around her like a venomous snake. Every syllable carried bone-deep cold, instantly freezing the tiny warmth she'd just felt.
Su Yu's embrace was right there—his body heat, that line "my heroine"—like a key that had almost opened the lock on her heart.
"And just because this man says a few words, you're going to cling to life again?"
The Herrscher of the Void's laughter was sharp and grating, dripping with condescension.
"You know it, don't you? You've always known."
"As long as you live—as long as I'm inside your body—sooner or later, this man, this ant… will die because of you."
"Just like that red-haired woman!"
"No…"
Kiana's pupils constricted violently. Her heart felt like it was being crushed in an icy grip.
Himeko-sensei's final silhouette flashed through her mind.
Those blood-soaked scenes—wounds she didn't dare touch even in dreams.
"Ah… so you still haven't realized what my return truly means."
In that instant, an unfamiliar force—something that wasn't hers—seized control of her body.
Su Yu was right there in her vision, completely unguarded, smiling at her—his face close enough to touch.
Kiana realized in horror that her right hand was lifting without her permission, curling into a fist.
Honkai energy might be suppressed in this world…
But this body itself was still the strongest weapon there was.
That punch lined up with Su Yu's heart.
"Don't!"
She screamed inside her head, fighting with everything she had to claw her way back into control.
The fist stopped—barely—only a few centimeters from his chest. Her joints shook violently from the strain, trembling like they might snap.
The smile on Su Yu's face froze. Stunned, he stared at the hand she'd raised—now quivering in midair like it was wrestling an invisible enemy.
"K-Kiana…?"
Kiana bit her lip so hard she tasted blood—metallic, like rust.
She knew this feeling too well.
This was exactly how it had been—watching her own body become a weapon that destroyed everything.
She's back.
That demon was really back.
And this time, what she wanted to take…
was Su Yu.
The person who had finally given her a home.
Finally given her hope.
"No… absolutely not…"
The terror in Kiana's eyes hardened into resolve.
She could accept being a monster.
She could accept being cursed by the whole world.
She could even accept vanishing from this world like a ghost.
But she could not—not again—
hurt the person most important to her.
"Su Yu."
She jerked that uncontrollable hand behind her back, pressing it down with her left hand. Her body swayed violently from the struggle.
Su Yu stepped forward, trying to steady her—but her movement forced him to stop.
"Don't come closer!"
She shouted, voice shrill and ragged.
Then she lifted her head and forced a smile so ugly it looked worse than crying.
"Even though our time together was short…"
As she spoke, she began to back away—one step at a time.
Behind her was the edge of the rooftop.
One more step and it was a bottomless abyss.
The gale tore at her white hair. She looked impossibly thin—fragile enough to shatter.
"But… thank you, Su Yu."
Thank you for the pizza.
Thank you for taking me to buy clothes.
Thank you for threatening Griseo into drawing comics for my sake.
Thank you… for being that idiot anchor who was willing to see a ghost.
"Goodbye, Su Yu."
She closed her eyes—like a bird embracing release—
and leaned back into empty air.
The world slowed to a crawl.
The wind, the singing, the cheers—all drifted far away.
In her mind, memories played like film—every small moment from this past week.
In those endlessly stretched seconds, time felt like it had been forced into slow motion.
Fragments of ordinary, colorful life lit up inside the dark—
The black umbrella he'd offered her when they first met.
That steaming bowl of rice in the tiny restaurant.
His awkward yet stubborn back, blocking the fitting room like a shield.
At the milk-tea shop, how he'd dared to threaten that scary-looking little girl—just to protect her smile.
And just now—here, closest to the sky—how he'd told her she was his heroine.
In the last moments of my life, meeting you… made me truly happy.
If there really is a next life… I want to be an ordinary girl, and meet you again.
Goodbye—this brief, warm dream.
Just as her body fully lost balance—about to fall into the abyss—
a hand seized her wrist with a force so brutal it felt like it would tear muscle from bone.
"BOOM—!!"
Down in the dome, Eden's concert hit its peak.
Tens of thousands of cold fireworks erupted around the stage at once—golden pillars shooting into the sky, turning the night as bright as day.
That brilliance—mixed with a tsunami of deafening cheers—surged upward like a flood and swallowed the darkness whole.
In that explosion of light, Kiana's eyes snapped open.
The world wasn't dark anymore.
It was dazzling—deafening—burning hot.
And in the center of that riot of color—
Su Yu had half his body over the edge of the rooftop.
His knees were jammed against the rough concrete lip, his pants torn, blood seeping through.
But he moved like he couldn't feel pain at all—his whole body stretched taut like a bow pulled to its absolute limit, the veins on the back of his hand bulging as he held her.
The wind shredded his hair, backlit by the towering radiance below.
His face was blurred in the glare—
except for his eyes.
Those were terrifyingly bright.
Inside them burned something hotter than the fireworks themselves—
the raw, primal fury and obsession of a human being who refused to let go.
The scene overlapped—strangely, perfectly—with another rooftop years ago in Nagazora City, where someone had once grabbed Raiden Mei at the edge.
Only this time—
the one being held wasn't Mei.
And the one holding on wasn't a Valkyrie with Kaslana strength.
It was just an ordinary man.
No superpowers.
A bit afraid of heights.
A guy who usually just typed at a keyboard and complained.
The wind, the singing, the fireworks—everything became background noise.
Kiana could only hear his voice—dragged up from the deepest part of his throat, broken and hoarse, tasting of blood as it tore out of him:
"I am absolutely—absolutely, absolutely—NOT going to let you die!!!"
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it