Chapter 282: Held On
"Judgement of Shamash!"
"Ki Impact!"
In the vast, boundless dueling arena, the strongest fusion warrior of fifty thousand years ago clashed with the living legend of the present era. One swung a massive sword, the other struck with a palm that could shake the heavens. In this no-man's land, the two forces collided head-on.
BOOM!!!
The earth trembled for thousands of miles. Countless fragments of stone were hurled high into the sky, and at the center of their clash, a bottomless crater appeared.
After the collision, the two figures hovered in midair, gazing at each other. Around them surged an endless torrent of collapsing energy.
"Hua, you've grown stronger—much, much stronger than fifty thousand years ago."
Kevin held his massive sword, Judgement of Shamash, to his side. His cold expression slowly softened, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Fu Hua gave a wry smile and waved her hand dismissively.
"You, on the other hand, are just like before. No matter how hard I try, it still feels impossible to catch up."
"You're being modest. This isn't even your original body. For a Soulium form to reach this level is already astonishing. Besides, aren't you more skilled in mental domain attacks?"
"You want to try it out, Kevin?"
"Isn't that why you challenged me in the first place? This was probably Su's idea, wasn't it?"
Kevin spoke without joy or sadness. He seemed completely unbothered that his old friends were making plans behind his back.
Fu Hua rubbed a strand of her uniformly gray hair near her temple and gave an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, we meant no harm. Su told me about your experience—about your burden. He hoped I could help you... but wounds of the heart aren't something others can easily heal. At best, I can show you my current state of mind. So—will you give it a try, Kevin?"
"...Alright."
After a brief silence, Kevin nodded.
He didn't believe it would change anything, but it was a gesture of concern from Su and Fu Hua, so he had no reason to refuse.
Fu Hua placed her left hand behind her back and slowly raised her right, taking a ready stance as her mental energy began to spread.
In an instant, Kevin found himself standing before a vast lake, its surface as smooth as a mirror. A gentle breeze stirred the air, and the sky stretched clear and high above.
"This is..."
Kevin lowered his sword, and without realizing it, his other hand moved to his chest.
A strange sense of calm settled over him.
Unlike the detached stillness he felt while drifting in the Sea of Quanta, watching countless world bubbles rise and fall, this was a different kind of peace—a state of unity with the world, where all boundaries vanished and he became infinite, just like the boundless heavens and earth...
But the sensation lasted only a moment. Then, the tranquility vanished. What remained was the same familiar void and silence.
In the blink of an eye, Kevin was back on the battle platform Su had constructed.
"Sigh..."
Fu Hua shook her head and let out a soft sigh.
"Kevin, I've been through so much. I've lost a lot too. Because of the God Keys and the need to maintain my original resolve, many memories have already faded, but that doesn't make them meaningless. Through all that loss, I tormented myself, reflected, and eventually came to an understanding. That's how I found my current state of mind.
My soul is full of scars—and maybe still is—but I kept going. I don't know if this mindset can help you in any way. Still, no matter what, we're friends. You are not alone, Kevin."
Fu Hua spoke gently, with the same soft smile on her face.
Kevin fell into a long silence.
Eventually, he nodded.
"Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me."
"So... are we still fighting?"
"Of course. I really want to see what your limits are. It'll help me judge whether, after all these years, I've finally caught up to you."
Fu Hua replied as she resumed her martial stance.
Bang!!
...
After a long bout of sparring—or one could say mutual practice—Su deconstructed the already shattered pocket world.
Kevin, sword in hand, walked along the grassy path toward home, his breathing slowly calming as the Honkai Energy within him settled.
Fu Hua floated beside him, a faint smile on her lips—yes, her Soulium body had been destroyed, which was the main reason the battle had ended.
Back in the residential area, Su had—as always—prepared a hearty meal and was waiting with a warm smile for his guests to arrive.
Then, Fu Hua saw the door of a nearby villa open. Sigurd came out, holding Kiana in his arms.
Kiana curled up in his embrace, arms around his neck, face buried in his chest—looking both shy and clingy like a dependent little bird.
Seeing Kiana not walking on her own, Fu Hua frowned.
"What's wrong with Kiana? Did her condition suddenly worsen?"
"I just did something to promote her blood circulation, but I overdid it a bit. Let her rest and she'll be fine."
Sigurd casually rubbed the small head in his arms as he replied flatly.
"I see. That's good, then."
Fu Hua nodded in relief. Promoting blood circulation was beneficial—no real problem there.
Not just her, the other two 50,000-year-old iron-blooded warriors present didn't notice anything unusual either.
Only Kiana, still curled up in Sigurd's embrace , had a face so red it looked like it might start dripping blood.
Sigurd just sat down in his usual seat with Kiana in his arms, calmly placed her on his lap, and continued gently stroking her silky hair. Then he glanced at Fu Hua and asked,
"So, your Soulium body just broke like that?"
"Yeah. Kevin's just as terrifyingly strong as ever, there's nothing I could do…"
Fu Hua smiled helplessly.
"And the materials? I'd like to reclaim them."
Sigurd said lightly.
"Eh?"
Fu Hua's spirit form flickered like a TV screen glitching.
Wait a minute... that body was probably completely gone when Su dissolved the world bubble.
Fu Hua turned to Su for help with a pleading look.
Su simply smiled and looked down, studying his tableware like he'd discovered a piece of art.
Fu Hua: "…"
And then, she felt Sigurd's signature dead-fish stare boring into her, which is utterly expressionless, but suffocatingly intense.
Fu Hua put on a bright smile.
"How about… consider it a gift?"
"That was Soulium. It's rare."
"…In any case, it's gone."
"Then you owe me two kilograms of Soulium. I'm writing that down."
Fu Hua's smile froze. She puffed out her cheeks slightly and stared at Sigurd with a pitiful expression.
Sigurd's stare remained unchanged.
Three seconds later, Fu Hua nodded.
"Fine."
"Alright, then let's eat."
"Can I have a new body? I can't eat like this."
"Request denied. What, you think I'm a retail clerk who just hands out merchandise from the shelf?"
Sigurd rejected her calmly.
Fu Hua's eyes grew even more resentful—was he kidding her? Did he think she didn't see how casually that Soulium body was made? He practically kneaded it out like clay. Was this fun for him?
Still, the fact that Sigurd was in the mood to mess around meant Kiana's condition was likely fine. With that thought, Fu Hua returned to her usual smile. Missing a meal wasn't a big deal, after all.
"Ah—"
Sigurd picked up a meatball, patted Kiana on the head, and gestured for her to open her mouth.
Kiana stiffened, then suddenly pushed him away and sat down beside him. Her face was bright red as she said,
"I can feed myself! Don't treat me like a kid!"
Subtly pressing her slightly full lower belly, Kiana bit her lip and grabbed her chopsticks. Under Su's amazed gaze, she began devouring her food like a storm sweeping fallen leaves.
It wasn't graceful in the least, but Sigurd, seeing her appetite return, slowly set down his own chopsticks. A gentle smile appeared in his eyes.
"Eat slower, no one's going to take it from you."
"Mmph mmph mmph…"
"As long as it's tasty. I'll ask for the recipe later."
"Mmph mmph mmph…"
"I haven't introduced these two to you yet, have I? Right—let me explain. This is Kevin Kaslana… No need to stare like that. He's the actual ancestor of the Kaslana family, the strongest fusion warrior of the previous era. This here is Su, also from fifty thousand years ago, like Fu Hua. He's highly skilled in mental domain techniques and the master of Cosmic Juggernaut. Just remember that for now. we'll go into details later."
"Mmph mmph huh?"
Kiana puffed her cheeks, glancing at Kevin while inching closer to Sigurd and mumbling something unintelligible.
Sigurd rolled his eyes and said,
"Of course I'm stronger. If we really fought, I've got more than enough ways to deal with him. Stop worrying about that nonsense! You've got grease all over your mouth!"
Sigurd sighed, took out a clean handkerchief, and gently wiped the soup and oil from Kiana's mouth.
Kiana obediently let him do it, then picked up a meatball and held it to his mouth.
"(๑`･ᴗ･´๑) Mmph!"
"Hmm, not bad. If you like it, eat more."
Sigurd took the bite calmly, then grabbed the plate of meatballs and placed it next to Kiana.
Kiana smiled with curved eyes, like a well-fed little animal.
Fu Hua, Su, and Kevin: "…"
For some reason, the three fusion warriors—who hadn't even eaten anything yet—suddenly felt like they were already full.
<+>
Tn: If you want to see more chapter of this story, please go to my Patreon[1], just for $5 each month, you can read till the latest chapter.
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 331: Interlude – Secret Weapon[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/135034996?collection=95348[3]
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/135034996?collection=95348
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/135034996?collection=95348
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed