"Hehe, I'm really getting overwhelmed."
"Who knew fighting could be so much more exhausting than thinking?"
Once the battle began, this Flame Reaver was even easier to defeat than the last one.
Without its damage reduction and resistance, before Lumina in Little Bear's team could even unleash her ultimate and slap it, Pointy-Hat executed a powerful E-Q-E Super-Hard Combo, instantly reducing the Flame Reaver to 1 HP and triggering its HP Lock state.
"If you're not laughing while playing Herta, your family needs to call in an expert."
Little Bear couldn't help but laugh at his own incredibly difficult maneuver.
That E-Q-E combo had left him drenched in sweat.
So hard... That move was just too damn hard.
[Black and White Demons, a match made in heaven.]
[Has Honkai: Star Rail's difficulty reached this level? Using all your strength just to barely pull off an E-Q-E Super-Hard Combo.]
[Herta is the Main DPS, Lumina is the healer. It's obvious who's the top and who's the bottom.]
[Have you seen Lumina's Eidolons? Look at her Eidolons and then tell me who the real Main DPS is!]
[Whatever, 99 first.]
[From the looks of it, the number of fan works depicting Lumina as the dominant partner is catching up to Herta's. Madam Herta isn't trying hard enough. If she doesn't step up, she's going to get... cough cough, I mean, if she doesn't step up, she's going to be surpassed by Lumina.]
"Watch your words, watch your words."
Seeing a particular comment in the chat, Little Bear quickly issued a warning and immediately slapped the user with a mute.
What do you mean, "get... by Lumina"? She's just being surpassed by Lumina. How can you say it so crudely?
Keep that kind of talk private. Saying it on the live stream is like you want my channel to get shut down even faster.
After taking care of that, Little Bear grumbled internally and continued with the story.
Once the battle with the Flame Reaver ended, the game transitioned into another cutscene.
"Wait, something's wrong. Everyone, be careful!"
Trianne seemed to sense something and quickly shouted to the group.
The moment Trianne's words fell, the Flame Reaver's aura surged, and countless shattered vessels materialized from the void. In an instant, under the barrage of attacks from the scattered vessels, the group's united formation against the Flame Reaver was quickly broken.
With their formation broken, the pressure on the Flame Reaver from the attacks suddenly eased.
It fixed its gaze on Calypso, who was possessing Anaxa's body.
Although the Flame Reaver didn't understand why Lumina and Herta's power had diminished so drastically, it didn't matter. Calypso, possessing Anaxa's body, was the one contributing the most to this battle.
At the same time, Calypso was the Flame Reaver's primary target.
The Coreflame within her was the reason the Flame Reaver had come here.
Eliminating her would not only relieve the combat pressure but also allow it to seize the Coreflame, killing two birds with one stone.
Once the Coreflame was obtained, it could leave...
The Flame Reaver had no intention of eliminating everyone here, no plan to silence all witnesses.
First, it was uncertain about the true extent of Lumina and Herta's power.
Second, if Castorice died, what would happen to the Death Coreflame?
Flame Reaver, Flame Reaver... with a name like that, its goal was naturally to collect all the Coreflames in Amphoreus.
The Coreflames were the main objective. As long as they willingly surrendered them, the Flame Reaver would spare them.
But... something like that wouldn't happen.
They wouldn't hand it over willingly.
Therefore... knowing this, the Flame Reaver showed no hesitation or mercy, gripping its pitch-black great sword and thrusting straight at Calypso.
It intended to pierce her chest in a single strike and seize the Coreflame of Reason.
Then leave...
"Watch out!" Trianne was the first to notice, shouting anxiously.
But in this situation, with everyone scattered, it was already too late.
They could only watch helplessly as the Flame Reaver's sword drew closer and closer to Anaxa's body.
"This is bad."
Locked by the Flame Reaver's aura, Calypso could already see her fate.
Her body pierced by the Flame Reaver's great sword... the Coreflame of Reason stolen, Anaxa's body utterly destroyed, and Calypso's soul completely dissipated.
The best-case scenario, perhaps, was leaving behind an intact corpse.
But... now was not the time to give up.
Calypso understood that the swordsman before her was after the Coreflame.
But the target was the target, and Calypso couldn't be sure if he would attack the Children of Humanity after seizing the Coreflame.
Even if victory was already decided, then...
Calypso clenched her jaw, pressing a hand to her chest, preparing to hurl the Coreflame from her body before the Flame Reaver's sword pierced her, buying the Children of Humanity some time to escape.
Squelch—
Calypso pressed her hand into her body, grasping the Coreflame of Reason that sustained Anaxa's life.
"Century Gate..."
Trianne knew. Trianne was also obedient, knowing she shouldn't use the Century Gate recklessly.
But Trianne also knew she couldn't just stand by and watch her friends be eternally separated.
If she only opened the gate once, it should... be fine.
Trianne raised her hands, arms outstretched, and shouted the technique's name, calling upon the power of the Passage behind the Flame Reaver.
"Shh~ Little Trianne, remember, when you're in danger, a savior will descend from the heavens to appear."
Just as Trianne was about to unleash the Passage power within her body, creating a Century Gate to teleport the Flame Reaver a hundred thousand miles away, a gentle, warm little hand lightly rested on her shoulder.
A surge of power flowed into Trianne's body through her shoulder, calming her heart while simultaneously shattering the Passage power she was about to release.
"?!"
"Lu... Sister Lumina!"
Although the inner peace felt very comfortable to Trianne, the dissipation of her Passage power threw her into a panic.
Quickly turning her head, Trianne saw Lumina's gentle smile.
If she had seen this smile at any other time, Trianne would have thrown herself into Sister Lumina's arms to bask in that warmth.
But... but here, in the middle of a battle, in a battle where... Anaxa and Calypso were about to be pierced by the Flame Reaver, it felt completely out of place.
"Don't worry, it's alright."
How could Trianne's thoughts possibly escape Lumina's notice?
With a light smile, she gently ruffled Trianne's little head.
Then, she turned her gaze to the Flame Reaver in front of her, who was thrusting toward Anaxa's body. At this moment, he seemed to be affected by the Aeons, his movements extremely slow... if you placed a small turtle next to him, the turtle would probably reach the finish line first.
Clearly, this was Lumina using the power of [Aeons] to slow the flow of time in this area, which was why the Flame Reaver's movements now appeared exceptionally slow.
Across the entire battlefield, only Trianne and Herta were unaffected by this power of [Aeons].
Trianne was intentionally spared by Lumina, while Herta remained untouched because Amphoreus's power of [Aeons] completely failed to penetrate her defenses, thus having no effect on her.
Lumina stepped forward, walking slowly to stand in front of Anaxa, shielding him.
Watching the Flame Reaver's sword, its blade glinting with cold light, thrusting toward her current position, Lumina's face was filled with a gentle, faint smile.
She gripped her ornate staff and slowly raised it.
Clang!
The next second, the power of [Aeons] was released, and the Flame Reaver's sword blade struck Lumina's ornate staff directly.
With a soft sound, the Flame Reaver's sudden assault was effortlessly blocked by Lumina with the staff in her hand.
Lumina smiled at the Flame Reaver, then with a gentle exertion of her palm, she swung the staff, sending the Great Sword—and the Flame Reaver himself—flying.
As if struck by a massive force, the Flame Reaver was sent hurtling backward at incredible speed. With a loud boom and a tremor that shook the ground, he crashed violently into the great tree that the Grove of Epiphany leaned against.
"Are you alright, Miss Calypso?"
After doing all this, Lumina turned back to look at Calypso and asked her gently.
Although Calypso was currently in Anaxa's body, it wasn't a problem.
Lumina could see the essence of a soul through the body.
Therefore, even with Calypso possessing Anaxa's body, Lumina could still see Calypso's soul within.
"..."
A hero descending from the heavens, a hero saving a damsel in distress, her body standing at the forefront of danger like a high wall, erecting a barrier of absolute safety.
The effortless grace in resolving the crisis, the devastating beauty of her backward glance—in that moment, Calypso saw it all.
Beauty, charisma, and power. Even Calypso, a Titan, was momentarily stunned.
"I'm fine." The daze didn't last long.
Snapping back to reality, Calypso shot Lumina a grateful look.
She strode past Lumina, her expression turning grave as she looked at the Flame Reaver, who seemed to be embedded in the tree from the powerful impact.
"Children of Humanity..." Calypso began, her tone like that of a wise elder.
"While the Black-Robed Swordsman is incapacitated..."
"I understand." Before Calypso could finish, Castorice grasped her meaning. She re-formed a Scythe, preparing to join the others and finish off the Flame Reaver while he was immobilized.
"Hmm... while the Black-Robed Swordsman is incapacitated, let's hurry up and run."
Just as Castorice readied her charging stance, preparing to launch their strongest attack with the others, Calypso's faint voice reached her ears, causing her to freeze on the spot.
"Huh?"
Castorice suspected she had misheard, letting out a soft, questioning hum.
When she realized she hadn't misheard—that Calypso had indeed said those words—she turned to her with a look full of confusion.
"Hehehe, as long as the Black Tide remains, he cannot die."
"Children of Humanity, retreat is the wisest course."
After her heart-piercing strike failed earlier, Calypso understood: the Flame Reaver was unkillable.
He would return again and again.
Therefore, rather than wasting energy on him, it was better to use it for escaping and traveling.
"I... I understand."
After a moment's thought, Castorice glanced at the Flame Reaver and nodded.
She sheathed her weapon and walked over to Trianne, checking her injuries.
Seeing that Trianne was unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Teacher Trianne, let's go."
"The Coreflame... Hmm, we should have it by now."
She glanced uncertainly at Calypso, who was using Teacher Nakesha's body, then strode forward and led the way out.
Since everyone was unharmed, and even Calypso, a Titan, had said so, Castorice wouldn't be foolish enough to stubbornly insist.
Besides, even Sister Lumina hadn't objected to Calypso's words. If Castorice kept insisting, she'd probably be seen as... a fool whose brain had rotted from being cooped up at home.
After the battle just now, Castorice finally understood.
Lumina wasn't just some ordinary little physician... well, alright, she probably was a physician.
Recalling the healing ability Lumina had unleashed earlier, Castorice silently added a mental note.
Lumina's healing abilities were strong, but her combat strength was even stronger.
Castorice hadn't even been able to react to the Flame Reaver's sudden charge.
Only Teacher Trianne had reacted in time, preparing to cast Century Gate to teleport the Black-Robed Swordsman away.
At that moment, Castorice had been terrified, but she was completely powerless to stop it—not that she had any reason to.
Fortunately, Lumina intervened later. In a fleeting instant, she suppressed the passage power of Teacher Trianne's Century Gate while effortlessly deflecting the Black-Robed Swordsman's charge.
And afterward, she even effortlessly flung the Black-Robed Swordsman away, briefly incapacitating him.
To accomplish so much in a fleeting instant... even Lady Aglaea, with this place filled with her golden threads, would likely struggle to do the same.
Sister Lumina's strength... might far exceed Castorice's imagination.
"..."
Thinking back to how she'd stood before Lumina, vowing to protect her, Castorice's face flushed slightly.
Fortunately, Castorice was walking as she thought.
Having put some distance between herself and Lumina, she avoided any follow-up attacks, and the blush on her face quickly faded.
"Little Herta, Little Calypso, Little Stelle, and Little Mem, let's go too." Watching Castorice's retreating figure, Lumina seemed to notice her flushed face.
With a faint smile, she waved her hand and gestured to the others.
"Mem..."
No one objected. After nodding to each other, they quickly left the dangerous area.
Only Mem lingered, staring at Lumina's back, her thoughts unreadable.
"That power just now... it felt so familiar."
Mem muttered to herself internally.