As Mei started the train, Frélle felt a gentle shudder. She looked up, watching the scenery begin to move outside the window. A warmth enveloped her, and for a fleeting moment, she felt a sting in her nose.
She really... had escaped...
From that hellish place... from that place where she had to be on edge at all times...
It all felt like a dream. Frélle had fantasized about this moment on countless days and nights, fantasized about being able to stand under the sun without any restraints...
But her hopes had been dashed time and time again, until she no longer dared to even fantasize, until even her dreams were mired in the day-to-day...
Sniffling softly, Frélle lowered her head. The last of her bread was crushed in her hand. Soon, she reined in all her emotions and returned to her frail demeanor.
Opposite her, Sirin watched, stunned. She had taken in all of Frélle's subtle changes. Although she didn't know what she was thinking, Sirin subconsciously felt a surge of pity.
She seemed... so pitiful?
No, this girl isn't pitiful at all!
Sirin shook her head vigorously and reluctantly tore her gaze away.
Fine, she's passed the initial inspection, hmph...
Footsteps approached. Shu and the others entered the carriage. When he saw Frélle, Shu paused for a moment, then remembered he had brought this child back with him.
The train had several carriages specifically for any survivors they might find on the road. They were old-fashioned hard-sleeper cars with high-density living arrangements, each capable of housing nearly a hundred people.
Right now, there was no one there... should he have Frélle stay there?
Shu hesitated, then looked at Frélle. "From now on, you'll eat with us. As for where you'll sleep at night... do you have any preferences?"
After all, she was a noble. It was inevitable that she would have some noble sensitivities, even though the clothes she was wearing were tattered beyond recognition.
I have to get her a change of clothes... I'll borrow a set from Bronya.
Frélle quickly shook her head. "I don't need anything... I can sleep on the floor..."
Shu: "..." She's still acting.
"You don't have to be that pitiful..." Kiana tutted from the side, a hint of pity in her voice. "How about... you sleep with me...?"
Shu immediately whipped his head around and glared at Kiana in disbelief.
Kiana immediately shut her mouth and gave Shu an embarrassed smile.
"I'll take you to the survivor carriages later. You can pick a bed there," Shu said, his gaze returning to Frélle. He had ultimately decided to treat her like a normal survivor.
"Before that, take a shower. I'll find you a set of clothes that fit..." Shu instructed. Suddenly, his expression froze.
Almost simultaneously, Kiana and Sirin looked up with puzzled expressions.
The simultaneous pause of the three of them also surprised Frélle. But just as she raised her head to see what was happening, only three people were left in the carriage.
Shu was gone...
She wanted to ask what had happened, but the next moment, her peripheral vision caught a shining star outside the window.
A star? It was daytime... how could a star be rising...
BOOM—!!
That wasn't a star! It was a second, shining sun!!
A massive explosion thundered through the sky. The blinding light made Frélle instinctively shut her eyes. Her ears rang, and her brain was almost turned to mush by the sudden, deafening sound.
She wasn't the only one. Sirin, on the sofa opposite her, was also clutching her ears in pain, her eyes squeezed shut as she collapsed onto the sofa. The giant Homu she had been hugging fell to the side.
Kiana was the only one who was slightly better off. She stumbled, quickly patting her ears with one hand while shielding her eyes with the other, and managed to make her way to the window.
The train was still moving along the tracks. To the side of the train, it was as if a constantly rolling wall had appeared. Kiana had to crane her neck to see the full extent of the "wall."
It was a giant mushroom cloud!
A tactical weapon just exploded?!
That was Kiana's first thought. At the same time, she had a good idea of where Shu had gone.
Sure enough, the next moment, a storm suddenly swept across the land, carrying all the smoke and dust into the distance. The giant mushroom cloud was blown away in an instant, revealing a ball of fire floating in the air.
The wind and fire held up their king in the sky, facing off against the distant enemy with a furious might.
Without the bright light and noise, Kiana immediately pressed her face against the window, her eyes wide as she carefully watched everything outside.
Sirin, having recovered, shook her head. She jumped barefoot onto the floor without a care for her image and quickly ran to the window, peering out with Kiana.
Frélle hesitated for a moment, then got off the sofa and crept to the corner of the window, observing the outside world.
Shu floated beside the train. The wind he had stirred up billowed his flame-like outer robe, which seemed to merge with the greatsword in his hand, a sword that looked as if it had been forged from holy fire.
And opposite him, the shadowy, incomplete figure of a person slowly emerged from the smoke.
Shu frowned. The divine patterns in his eyes flowed with light. The [Hope] within him and the Honkai energy in his core had already begun to boil.
It was a crude puppet, its posture as if being pulled by strings. It looked rather pathetic, with one arm missing and numerous large and small damages all over its body.
And the aura emanating from this puppet... Shu couldn't be mistaken. It was a Herrscher.
Shu had frozen just now because he had sensed the fluctuation of a Herrscher's Honkai energy. The sheer amount and concentration of Honkai energy had appeared so brazenly next to the train that Shu had attacked with almost no hesitation.
The instantaneous attack seemed to have hit empty air, raising that giant mushroom cloud, but Shu was certain he had hit his target.
And indeed, it seemed that his strike had only grazed the opponent.
"State your purpose, Herrscher." Shu raised Shamash. His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed throughout the land.
The puppet's head trembled. Even though its face was completely smooth, Shu could still see the immense shock on it.
No answer?
The wait didn't last half a second. Shu narrowed his eyes, and Skyfire once again erupted in a brilliant, dazzling light.