When the golden light faded, two objects fell from mid-air. They hit the ground with a crisp metallic sound… and were then obscured by the kicked-up dust.
"Hey, hey! Where did Sol and Lucian go?!" Kiana opened her eyes and looked at the place where the two problem gods had just been competing, but there was nothing there. A gentle breeze blew past, stirring up a thick layer of dust on the empty ground.
"Bronya detects that the life signatures of the two gods have disappeared… The instability caused by the spatial tremor is gradually stabilizing… The danger level has been reduced to D-class," Bronya said calmly, her eyes flashing with strings of numerical calculations.
"Uh (⊙o⊙)… so those two are gone…" Kiana asked with a look of pleasant surprise.
"Mhm… yes," Bronya confirmed. Her affirmative answer made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. If that was the case, then it was truly a cause for celebration! The world would no longer face the threat of being destroyed at a moment's notice over a disagreement.
But, now the question was… where did Sol and Lucian go?!
Li Xuan, standing at the side, began to look around. After all, seeing two people vanish into thin air in broad daylight was quite curious. Perhaps because of the disappearance of the two problem gods, the black clouds in the sky also began to slowly dissipate. Golden rays of sunlight pierced through the thinning cloud layer, shining down on this scarred land… as if light had descended after the darkness.
The sand and dust floating in the air, and the quartz crystals formed by the high temperatures of the two gods' battle, sparkled in the golden sunlight. The scene was like a dreamlike wonderland. The three girls were completely captivated by this sight, standing frozen as they gazed at the pillar-like sunbeams.
"…" Li Xuan silently watched this beautiful scene, but his gaze inadvertently caught a glint of reflected light in the sand and rocks on the ground.
What's that?! Li Xuan curiously walked toward the spot where the light had flashed. It was a small pile of sand, looking ordinary and unremarkable. But from a corner of the pile, a small piece of azure metal was exposed. If Li Xuan hadn't been observing carefully, he might not have noticed.
Li Xuan squatted down and reached out with his right hand, which was bandaged to hide the red sigil on its back, and gently brushed away the slightly warm sand. The object beneath was revealed.
It was a pistol, or rather, a hand cannon! Li Xuan recognized it. It was Kiana's weapon—'Mjolnir'! But now, the gun had changed. Its azure body emitted a faint deep blue glow, and it was larger and heavier than before. The hammer and the fin-like part under the muzzle now had a golden sheen.
Li Xuan reached out with his right hand to pick up the pistol. However, as he touched it, the red 'Stigmata' sigil on the back of his hand flashed faintly without him knowing. The next moment, a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind—Seven-star weapon, 'Asgard's Hammer'!
"…" Li Xuan's eyes widened as he stared at the pistol in his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief. Even the weapons he had drawn from the Gate of Vows were five-star at best, which could be upgraded to six-star. But the pistol in his hand was a seven-star weapon!! Seven stars! What level of power was that?
"Hey! What are you squatting there for?" Someone suddenly patted Li Xuan on the shoulder, startling him out of his daze.
"…This is your weapon, 'Mjolnir,' but it seems to have evolved…" Li Xuan struggled for a moment, but after all, this was Kiana's weapon. As a companion, he really didn't want to steal it. "Phew~" He took a deep breath and handed the seven-star divine weapon to Kiana, who was behind him.
"Eh~" Kiana took the pistol from Li Xuan's hand. The weight of it almost made her drop it. "H-how is it so heavy?!" Kiana held 'Asgard's Hammer' with both hands, barely managing to lift it, looking somewhat like a weightlifter.
"…" You talk too much. I wish I had one and I don't! Li Xuan looked speechlessly at Kiana, who was lifting the seven-star divine weapon 'Asgard's Hammer' like a barbell, and silently complained in his heart.
Wait a minute, there's still Lucian's Secret! Li Xuan suddenly thought. He continued to squat on the ground, brushing away the sand. As soon as he cleared the sand, he found Lucian's Secret inside. But, similarly, this weapon had also changed its appearance.
The original black-gray and red body of Lucian's Secret was now a more vibrant red. The originally red muzzle was now an even deeper blood-red, and there was even a leaf-shaped blood-red part attached to it. The muzzle looked as if it had been splattered with blood, enchanting and eerie.
Similarly, when Li Xuan touched it, the name of the weapon appeared in his mind—Seven-star weapon, 'Lucian's Holy Grail'! To be honest, Li Xuan's hands were trembling a little. These were seven-star weapons! And two of them had appeared at once!
Is this what they call a fool's luck? Li Xuan silently watched Kiana tapping and listening to the sound of 'Asgard's Hammer,' his heart in turmoil, and despair.
"Hey! There's another one?!" Kiana said with pleasant surprise when she saw 'Lucian's Secret' in Li Xuan's hand. She snatched the gun from his hand with one hand.
I was so naive… Watching Kiana present 'Lucian's Holy Grail' to Mei like a treasure, Li Xuan's feelings were very complicated. And to think I thought Kiana would let me use the gun. I was so stupid to have expected that from her. Li Xuan silently admonished himself.
"Mei-senpai, watch me test the power of this gun!" Kiana said excitedly to Mei, raising 'Asgard's Hammer' in her hand.
"Okay, okay~" Mei said with a gentle smile, making Li Xuan feel like she was coaxing a child.
"Here I go!~" Kiana raised 'Asgard's Hammer' with one hand and aimed at a nearby person-sized rock.
"BANG!!!" A sound like a thunderclap echoed in their ears. The person-sized boulder didn't even last a second before it shattered into a pile of small rocks. There was even a deep bullet hole in the ground.
"S-so powerful! Kiana!" Mei couldn't help but exclaim. Such destructive power could even defeat a Honkai Beast! Mei turned her head to look at Kiana and said, "Kiana, I…" "Uh… where's Kiana?" Mei turned her head but found that Kiana, who had been standing there, was gone.
"…" Li Xuan, covering his face with a speechless expression, pointed to a spot four or five meters away from where Kiana had been standing.
There lay a white-haired girl with a large bump on her head, and the azure seven-star weapon "Asgard's Hammer" lay quietly in a pile of sand two meters away from her.
Under the sunlight, the azure body of the gun glinted.