In a city utterly devoid of life yet filled with zombies and Honkai Beasts, a silver-haired boy quietly appeared out of nowhere- like he always existed here but just was invisible before.
"What….the fuck?"
Adam blinked repeatedly as he surveyed his surroundings. Even though it 'seemed' that he succeeded, he still cursed with no hesitation whatsoever
Because….Weren't the zombies and honkai beasts around him too numerous!?
After the disaster started and until he reached Chiba Academy, he had deployed a field that automatically absorbed and devoured any nearby beings that were made of honkai.
He also did the same after Raiden had stopped crashing out.
And since the born Herrscher didn't remain in the city, no more honkai beasts should have spawned- especially so when the concentration of honkai energy had been reduced so much by him, Raiden, and Sirin
More importantly….
"T-this….W-why?"
He breathed out with struggle, sharp pain flashing throughout his body as both of his hands felt utterly cold.
The concentration of honkai energy was too high
Too high. If 1000 HW would be the norm….Then right now, Nagazora city has 10000 HW, ten times as much!
How? Why? When?
"I-is this what honkai corruption feels like?"
Face twisting and expression grimacing, he tremblingly and barely managed to raise his hands.
Sleeves receding by themselves, his arms were revealed before his eyes-
His previously muscled, fair-skinned arms have been entirely covered with pinkish-red lines. They overlapped each other, forming a beautiful yet twisted circuit-like shape that crisscrossed over his now pale and deathly skin
….If Adam wasn't slowly losing the feeling of his arms, he would think that these patterns are beautiful too
"Is this really honkai?"
Trying not to think about the pain that pierced his soul and remained the same despite [Pain Control], the silver-haired boy's eyes narrowed
This honkai….Shit, it felt too aggressive!
If the honkai he experienced in the past was a gentle flow that would leave him alone if he was above qualification X and would only fuck him up if he became reckless and went above his limit….
Then this one is like honkai that is actively trying to kill him, invading him even though he has Qualification X and should normally be able to control it.
In short, even though he can control it with some difficulty, this honkai, like a jealous ex, is still trying to kill him!
"What a fucking joke! I'm both a Herrscher and a MANTIS with Adaptation, yet I'm still being corrupted?!"
Adam cursed once again with gritted teeth, frustration overwhelming the pain as he stomped his foot on the ground.
The pain and corruption themselves weren't enough to make him lose his composure.
What truly made him lose it is the fact that he doesn't know what the hell is going on!
The unknown was the most primordial fear of mankind- and this was also the case for people with extraordinary powers like him
"Great Sage, what's going on?"
Since he didn't have the means to quickly identify the problem in this perilous situation, he could only ask his partner, the one who was in charge of collecting data
[Judging from the data gathered, teleportation has partially failed]
Adam looked around at the familiar yet unfamiliar city.
"You call this failed?"
Lips twitching, he seriously doubted if this was a failure.
Either he teleported to a parallel world, or his teleportation took decades, and Nagazora and the world became unrecognizable
[Teleportation to wanted location has failed. But teleportation to target location has succeeded]
"....What does this even mean-"
WHOOSH
Blue eyes widening, Adam barely had time to react before he noticed a sharp object heading straight towards him, all the while displacing the air.
He could clearly feel the trajectory of the attack, his mind already reacting instinctively-
In his gaze, the world slowed down to a standstill. He was still in the same position, yet everything felt different.
The echo of his own heartbeat penetrated deep in his hearing as the world became saturated in color. All around him, colors overlapped as his heart contracted and expanded, as if in rhythm with his own view of the world.
'This….'
Why didn't I sense it?
He wanted to ask and rid himself of the confusion, but-
Adam tried to mobilize magic, MA energy, magicules, Aura, anything-
But everything felt stunningly still.
It felt like trying to push the water of an entire sea.
-It felt as though the entire world was crushing him with a pressure akin to diving deep into the Mariana Trench butt naked without actually dying
Normally, he should be able to mobilize energy.
Even though, under thought acceleration, his manipulation wouldn't have time to affect anything until he stopped accelerating his thoughts….He would still be able to connect with it and take corresponding actions
Energy, after all, responds at the speed of thought. It's just that the time it takes itself to move according to that thought varies.
'.....'
Adam couldn't see the attack. He couldn't sense it. He could extend any sense or extraordinary vision ability barely beyond a few centimeters away from his body.
But, judging from the sound it made when it attacked-
[Calculating trajectory….Calculating wind distortion…Surmising….Cross-referencing with known cases in database....]
His trusty partner immediately responded to his call.
[....Judging from the way it changed the atmosphere around it, density has been determined, shape has been determined, vague outline determined.... Pelimery conclusion is that this is an attack from a temple-level honkai beast.]
'.....Is a temple-level honkai beast so strong?'
The silver-haired boy asked with sarcastic intent; however, his gaze was dull and vacant.
Because, right at this moment, he was in no mood to joke. He had absolutely no desire to be casual and lighthearted.
-Just from this attack alone, he felt a strong sense of crisis
What steroids did this honkai beast eat?
Although this attack wouldn't kill him, it would still injure him.
Of course, he had no doubt that his regeneration would work, and he would be able to walk it off without any major scruples.
However, who could say for sure whether his regeneration will be instant? All of his energies except honkai energy felt as though they were refusing to manifest in this world, so would his regeneration also work at a snail's pace to heal him?
In a foreign place where he couldn't use any of his energies and where any enemy felt like a boss-level monster, Adam didn't want to risk being injured and unable to perform at his top form.
Of course, mobilizing energy inside his own body is possible. However, even that felt painfully slow.
'.....'
His beautiful, dull blue eyes stared ahead blankly.
The thoughts in his brain seemed stuck. He couldn't muster any energy to think
When too many thoughts generate and converge in a short amount of time....Undoubtedly, the brain just blanks out. Though he himself didn't have that protective mechanism since it wasn't necessary, from a psychological perspective- it still happened
'Ah, whatever.'
The world around him slowly returned to normal- time sped back up, and colors became fainter
His whole being tensed, energy rushing at a snail's pace towards the predicted impact point, mind and body prepared to receive a blow that would hurt like a bitch-
"Why are you just standing there?!"
The sharp, loud shout of a girl barely reached Adam's ears when his body was tackled to the ground roughly.
He and the assailant tumbled and smashed on the pavement with undignified movements. Though he looked disheveled, he did avoid that attack
"Holy-! Damn, thanks for the save-!"
The silver-haired boy barely held back his instinctive curse and immediately turned to his savior to thank her-
"...."
Only to freeze as her face came into view
"...Why….is it you…?"
His blue eyes glazed over, staring intensely at her face blankly
Long white hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes, a school uniform, and that familiar face-
However, compared to the person he interacted with some time prior, this familiar figure didn't have a silliness or idiocy- on the contrary, she seemed mature, elegant, and…reliable.
"What are you in a daze for?!"
The familiar girl who looked like 'Kiana' shouted once again at him, instantly pushing herself against his body with force and rising upwards.
"RUN!"
She grabbed his hand, and with a swing of her leg, she burst into an intense sprint, all the while dragging him along
"Okay, okay! Don't be so rough!"
Adam inwardly cursed againas he almost stumbled and fell.
Since he didn't want to kiss the ground and become food for these level 100 honkai beasts, the silver-haired boy focused intently, trying to circulate the energies he could wield internally
'Finally…!'
Feeling a burst of strength and speed, he redoubled his efforts as he tried to keep up with this familiar woman.
"Sorry, I can't be gentle when there are so many beasts and zombies eyeing us!"
Upon hearing this sarcastic reply, even in this perilous situation, Adam's eyebrows twitched.
However, strangely, he felt more at ease.
Oh yes....Being in the presence of a familiar person in an unfamiliar place is indeed a good way for the nerves to calm down.
…
..
.
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A/N:
Guess which world Adam 'accidentally' traveled to?
Those who guess correctly will get.... a coin, since I've already given out cookies.