Chapter 186: Don't Let Me Walk Down the Path of Crime
"Phew... It's good that you're okay." Rovel wiped the corner of his mouth, his breathing finally steadying.
He should have realized it sooner. The core ability of the Herrscher of Wind was the creation and manipulation of an Ideal Fluid. The most violent and direct manifestation of this power was [Atmospheric Pressure Manipulation], allowing the user to effortlessly stir up massive, city-leveling storms. But breaking it down to a micro level, Wendy could generate this Ideal Fluid directly around her own body. By freely altering its density and refractive index, she achieved [Optical Stealth] in a purely physical sense.
She hadn't vanished. Wendy had been standing right by Rovel's side the entire time; he simply lacked the means to perceive her.
"Was Rovel worried about me?" Wendy blinked. A hint of genuine, pleasant surprise danced in the depths of her emerald eyes.
"A little. But seeing that you don't seem to be affected by the power of the Gem of Desire is wonderful." Rovel let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.
Perhaps her underlying hatred for Schicksal hadn't festered to an irredeemable point just yet.
"Affected? There should be a little bit of an effect. For example..."
Rovel's eyes widened. A sudden, invisible pressure clamped down on his limbs. The air itself hardened around him like a vice. He couldn't move a single muscle, and the words died in his throat.
Miles away, a sudden gust of wind gently brushed past Bronya's cheek. As if sensing a shift in the atmosphere, the silver-haired girl raised her head, her gray eyes locking onto the photo sticker booth.
"Why have they been in there so long?" Bronya's brow furrowed slightly.
She walked over, her metallic boots clicking softly against the floor. Reaching out, she pulled back the thick curtain covering the booth's entrance.
It was completely empty.
"..." Bronya stood dazed.
Where was Rovel? Where did her big, living Rovel go?
"Project Bunny 19C, search the surroundings immediately," Bronya commanded, her voice dropping to a serious register.
The massive mechanical construct materialized behind her, its optical sensors scanning the area. Soon, the results flashed across Bronya's retinas. Project Bunny 19C had detected a life form moving at a speed exceeding Mach 3, rapidly distancing itself from their current location.
No... it wasn't one life form. It was two.
Calculating their straight-line trajectory, the point of origin corresponded exactly to the empty photo booth.
Rovel had been taken away?
The velocity was absurd. In just a matter of seconds, the two signatures completely vanished from Project Bunny 19C's maximum search radius.
"This is bad..." Bronya frowned deeply. Left with no other options, she immediately opened a comms channel to notify Himeko.
"What? Rovel was taken away?!"
Himeko, who had been lazily enjoying a late breakfast, snapped fully awake the moment the words registered. She nearly knocked over her coffee cup.
Mei, who was sitting nearby, shot up from the sofa in a sheer panic. In her haste, she completely forgot about Kiana, who had been peacefully sleeping with her head resting on Mei's lap.
"Ouch..."
Kiana tumbled off the cushions and hit the floor with a thud. She rubbed her head, looking completely bewildered and entirely unsure of what had just happened.
"Alright, I understand. I'm heading over right now." Himeko nodded, her expression hardening into absolute seriousness as she cut the connection.
"Major Himeko, has something happened to Mr. Rovel?" Mei stepped forward, her hands clasped anxiously.
"Mei, don't panic just yet. Rovel should have been temporarily taken by Wendy," Himeko said, trying to comfort the worried girl. "We'll head over there and investigate the situation first. According to Bronya, Rovel and Wendy have a very good relationship, so at the very least, we don't have to worry about Wendy hurting him."
"Okay." Mei nodded vigorously, her tense shoulders relaxing just a fraction.
The moment Kiana processed the fact that something had happened to Rovel, the sleepiness vanished from her mind.
Without wasting another second, the three Valkyries rushed out to converge on Bronya's location.
Back at the arcade, Bronya looked down at the freshly printed strip of photo stickers in her hand. In the glossy images, Wendy was clinging tightly to Rovel, playfully nibbling on his cheek. The sight left Bronya speechless for a long moment.
Still, she kindly folded them up and tucked them away for him.
It seemed the last prize ticket in Rovel's possession was accounted for. (Not really.)
But the most urgent matter was pinpointing their exact location. If something actually happened to Rovel, who was she supposed to go to for her promised prizes?
"Wendy, calm down. Right now you're just being influenced by the Gem of Desire. These aren't your true thoughts."
Rovel tried to hold down Wendy's wrist, speaking with the most serious expression he could muster.
"Influenced? So what? I'm perfectly happy to be obsessed with a handsome man!"
Wendy's lips curled into a wicked, predatory smile. She applied a fraction more force, pressing Rovel down against the mattress. His body hadn't fully recovered from his previous exhaustion, and in his current weakened state, he couldn't resist her sudden tyranny at all.
The Gem of Desire had indeed amplified the darkest, most intense cravings hidden deep within Wendy's heart.
Only... in the original timeline, what she desired above all else was freedom. She wanted to escape the torment of being used as a mere container for a Herrscher Core. She desired bloody revenge, wanting to rebel against the hypocrites ruling Schicksal.
But right now, the only thing Wendy desired was Rovel.
She knew that once today ended, Rovel would leave the Oceania Branch. She had no idea when, or if, they would ever meet again. Precisely because she had suffered through years of suffocating darkness, she refused to endure it a second time. She wanted to keep Rovel by her side forever, binding him so tightly that he could never leave her.
"Wendy, you're still young! You absolutely must not walk down the path of crime! Wait... I mean, don't force me to walk down the path of crime!"
Rovel desperately tried to awaken her last shred of rationality. After all, if word of this got out, considering her age, he would definitely be the one facing severe legal consequences.
But clearly, his powerless protests only made the Herrscher of Wind more excited.
Just as Rovel was stripped down to his absolute last piece of 'armor,' a savior finally kicked down the door.
"That is quite enough!"
Fu Hua shattered the door inward with a single, precise kick. She stepped into the room and immediately caught sight of Rovel, who was pinned to the bed and nearly stripped bare. A bright flush of red instantly stained her cheeks.
Taking a sharp breath, she ruthlessly suppressed her embarrassment and adjusted her emotions.
"Who is it? Who dares to interrupt my fun?" Wendy scowled, whipping her head around to glare at the intruder.
"Class Monitor! You have to testify for me in court, I was forced!" Rovel shouted, practically weeping tears of joy.
Fu Hua fell completely silent. Was now really the time to be worrying about legal testimony?
Wendy's eyes narrowed, her temper flaring. She slid off Rovel, and in an instant, a violent hurricane whipped up inside the confined room.
The sheer atmospheric pressure blew the windows wide open, shattering the glass. The torrential winds caught Rovel's discarded clothes and sucked them right out of the building, leaving him stranded with only his solitary piece of 'armor' remaining.
Holy... crap.
Rovel scrambled backward and tightly wrapped himself in the thick quilt. He swallowed the urge to curse at the heavens and shouted a warning at Wendy, who was already gathering wind currents to attack.
"Wendy, you can't beat the Class Monitor! Just give up!"
"Me? Avoid her edge?" Wendy laughed, genuinely amused by Rovel's lack of faith.
She was the Herrscher of Wind now! She was once the most outstanding A-rank Valkyrie of the entire Oceania Branch, a prime candidate for S-Rank! And Fu Hua? She was just a student who had only recently been promoted to A-rank. How could someone like that possibly defeat a Herrscher?
Fu Hua didn't waste breath arguing. She calmly reached up and removed her red-rimmed glasses.
[Quantum transmission initiated. System connection complete. Beginning charging...]
"Battlesuit, deploy!"
Fu Hua shifted her footing, her hands flowing into a flawless martial arts stance. In the next second, a surge of energy enveloped her, materializing a sleek, black set of Valkyrie armor across her body.
It was none other than the 4th Generation Valkyrie Battlesuit—[Shadow Knight: Moon].
"It's over." Rovel supported his forehead with a heavy sigh. It looked like Wendy was about to receive a brutal reality check.
Although the Gem of Desire inside Wendy had fully awakened... her physical vessel severely lacked Honkai Energy. She simply didn't possess the reserves required to strengthen her body or properly fuel her Authority. The current Wendy could, at absolute best, barely touch the threshold of an S-Rank Valkyrie.
Against a fully equipped Fu Hua? It was a slaughter.
"Eclipse Mode, activate!"
The moment the command left Fu Hua's lips, a sleek black visor snapped into place over her face. Immediately after, high-concentration compressed particles vented from the battlesuit's reactor at maximum output. The dark armor of Shadow Knight: Moon began to radiate a scorching, orange-red glow.
In the next instant, Fu Hua vanished from her spot.
Wendy didn't even have the time to widen her eyes before Fu Hua's fist slammed directly into her abdomen.
"Inch Force: Heaven Opening!"
Using Wendy's body as the epicenter, a terrifying, hyper-concentrated shockwave erupted outward. The kinetic force passed straight through the Herrscher, violently shattering the reinforced concrete wall directly behind her.
A massive, gaping hole was blown out of the building—right next to Rovel's bed. If Fu Hua's aim had been off by even a single inch, he would have been atomized.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Rovel's cheek. He turned his head to look outside through the newly formed crater. High above the city, even the thick clouds on the horizon seemed to have been neatly split in two by the residual shockwave.
Wendy's eyes rolled back. She lost consciousness on the spot, collapsing powerlessly to the floor.
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