RUMBLE—
A brilliant light flashed through the gap in the tightly drawn curtains.
Theresa rolled over, drowsily hugging her pillow.
She was wearing hooded bear pajamas, revealing two small legs as smooth as jade, her lazy posture utterly adorable.
"...Is that thunder outside?"
But the alarm hadn't sounded—she had great confidence in the academy's security system.
She had been busy all day again with the academy's finances...
Forget it, back to sleep.
"—Wait!"
Theresa shot up from her sleep.
That fluctuation was clearly powerful Honkai energy!
Theresa threw open the curtains and gazed into the distance. On the horizon, under a misty night sky, flashes of light continuously erupted.
Just as Theresa was about to rush out, an alarm blared from the Central Dogma area of the Grand Cathedral.
It was a facility secretly constructed when St. Freya Academy was first established. Its true nature was an entrance to an Imaginary Space stitched onto the real world.
It stored top-secret information from the Far East Branch, and even from Schicksal itself.
"Hm? A diversionary tactic to lure the tiger from the mountain? Heh, you think such a petty trick can fool me?"
Theresa hopped "heave-ho" off the bed, put on her custom-made nun's habit, slung Judah over her back, and rushed towards the Central Dogma.
If Theresa knew that Wa Yi Te had turned her Valkyrie dormitory into a pile of rubble, she would have undoubtedly jumped up in a rage and charged over with Judah at the ready.
Well, her main concern was for her students, of course. She absolutely was not furious because he had destroyed a building.
Adding another burden to the academy's already struggling finances... was merely a minor hardship.
At the same time.
Yae Sakura and Higokumaru also stood on the edge of a rooftop, looking down upon St. Freya Academy.
Their silhouettes were framed by the moon; one was tall and slender, the other had a large, protruding belly.
The night wind blowing in from the sea lifted their pink hair. Higokumaru narrowed her eyes, a look of eagerness on her face.
Ever since arriving at St. Freya, she had rarely shown herself—walking around with a big belly would draw stares no matter where she went.
Regardless of the emotions behind those stares, they would not put Higokumaru in a good mood.
This would easily trigger her killing intent, and once that killing intent was triggered... something would start to flow.
Not the sweat of pleasure, but the amniotic fluid of pain.
But not now.
Watching Wa Yi Te being pummeled by Kiana in the distance, her own blood began to boil, and she wanted to jump in and spit a few fireballs.
The emergence of this thought did not trigger the buff Ye Feng had placed on her.
Higokumaru was not a battle maniac.
But she was an amalgamation of humanity's negative consciousness; wanting to fight and kill was normal for her.
She had been cooped up for days, and it was driving her mad.
—She couldn't even see Ye Feng.
After all, she could always vent her frustrations on Ye Feng—by fighting, I mean.
Higokumaru could attack Ye Feng with all her might, and the worst that would happen is she would end up drenched in fragrant sweat.
It was a good way to relieve stress and release emotions.
But things weren't like they used to be.
More and more people were arriving, and Ye Feng couldn't even be bothered to flip Higokumaru's "card" anymore.
Should Higokumaru go find him herself?
Impossible!
Doesn't the Herrscher of Corruption have her pride?
And so, her negative emotions piled up yet again.
Right now, all Higokumaru wanted was: Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!
Just find some guy who wouldn't trigger her "passive" and kill him.
"Can I go slaughter him?"
Higokumaru's twin-tails swayed as she spat a ball of fire from her mouth.
She subconsciously directed the question at Yae Sakura.
"No. You are a Herrscher. You must not act unless absolutely necessary."
"Did that scoundrel Ye Feng say that?"
"...."
Ye Feng hadn't mentioned it.
Yae Sakura fell silent for a moment. In her impression, her benefactor didn't seem to care about anything.
He possessed a state of mind that transcended humanity, completely indifferent to the affairs of the world.
...Except for lewd things.
At this thought, ripples formed in the depths of Yae Sakura's placid eyes, and her expression became somewhat... helpless.
Actually, Yae Sakura's impression of Ye Feng was still quite good.
Yae Sakura had witnessed many of Ye Feng's "battles." Now, she increasingly felt that if her benefactor were to truly force her, she would probably kneel, put her hair up, and untie her miko attire... although she would feel a little sorry for Kallen.
But the body in that world... it belonged to her benefactor in the first place, didn't it?
Her heart, however, still belonged to Kallen.
Yae Sakura rested a hand on the hilt of Sakura Fubuki at her waist and closed her eyes, clearing the tangled thoughts from her mind.
This was not the time to think about such things.
Seeing Yae Sakura's silence, Higokumaru's temper flared.
If this were the old days, she would have eaten her in one bite!
"Yae Sakura, are you trying to oppose me?"
"No. You and I are not enemies now."
There was always a trace of gentleness in Yae Sakura's eyes when she looked at Higokumaru, which had a noticeable calming effect on the short-tempered Herrscher.
Yae Sakura gazed at the distant battlefield. "He is no match for Kiana. Let's go back."
"No, I'm going to—"
"!!"
Yae Sakura glanced sideways, and a majestic, cherry-blossom-colored light bloomed in her pupils. Higokumaru was suppressed as if she had encountered her natural predator.
In the next second, a dull ache began in her large belly.
"Tch."
Higokumaru flicked her twin-tails and said defiantly, "If that scoundrel Ye Feng hadn't given you the authority to control me, I could take on ten of you!"
Though she cursed Yae Sakura with her mouth, her body was very honest, dissolving into a ball of ghostly fire and dissipating into the air.
The night wind blew past. Yae Sakura's gaze was沉凝, and her figure blurred and vanished as well.
On Chiyou's island.
Night had fallen, but Ji Lin was not asleep.
She had brought Fu Hua, who had preserved the consciousnesses of Cangxuan and Danzhu within [Fenghuang Down].
"They should be able to wake up now, right?"
Ji Lin's eyes were filled with anticipation.
Fu Hua, however, was looking in the direction of the artificial island. St. Freya Academy was only a dozen nautical miles away, and she could sense the fluctuations of Honkai energy.
"What's wrong?"
Lacking a physical body, Ji Lin's senses were much weaker.
"It seems there's trouble at the academy. I'll go take a look."
Fu Hua left behind two glowing feathers and headed back.
Ji Lin's phantom reached out a hand, her lips moved, but in the end, she lowered her arm, watching her departing back.
As for Rita, she had temporarily gone to England. There was a nine-hour time difference with the Far East, but she still entered that world every night... she was hesitating about whether to return to headquarters.
The Valkyrie dormitory had been completely reduced to rubble.
"BOOM—"
Kiana's entire body pulsed with a vermilion glow. She brought a fist down, and the ground rolled like a wave.
Bricks and soil were thrown into the air, revealing the bedrock beneath.
Wa Yi Te barely dodged, but he was still sent flying by the shockwave, tumbling across the ground and coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
"...What kind of monster is she?"
Three punches from Kiana had shattered his Herrscher dream.
Right now, all Wa Yi Te wanted to do was run.
This girl was absurd. All his abilities were ineffective against her, and her strength was terrifyingly immense.
Wa Yi Te had no doubt that if this woman caught him, she would tear him in half with her bare hands. It was more horrifying than facing a thousand Emperor-class Honkai Beasts!
Kiana walked forward slowly. Flames ignited in her azure eyes, and an energy shield like a "blood aura" erupted from her body.
The rubble around her began to float as if freed from gravity, and space itself seemed to whine in protest.
The light from her lower abdomen was especially dazzling!
Kiana's hair came loose, flowing in the night air without a breeze.
She looked down at him.
"When you get back to Anti-Entropy, remember to tell everyone: the game of cat and mouse is over. You people shouldn't be here. Stay in line, and no one gets hurt. Otherwise, you will all die."
Wa Yi Te didn't even dare to utter a threat. He turned and fled for his life.
He was lucky; he didn't encounter anyone on his way and successfully escaped the demonic den of the Far East.
But what he didn't know was that a figure had been following him the entire time.
"If I follow him, I should be able to find Cocolia... My benefactor's missions are always for women."
Yae Sakura murmured to herself before her form dissolved into the shadows.
---o---
In a bright and clear classroom.
Clothes with a distinct Xianzhou style were folded neatly on the floor.
Qingque sat in a chair, her legs spread like a frog's, propped on the armrests on either side.
She stared up at the ceiling, the light gone from her pupils.
She hadn't won a single game.
The blow to Qingque was undoubtedly immense.
She had been the one to unearth "Celestial Jade" from ancient Xianzhou texts and recreate it.
In the past, everyone had always held back when playing, so there were wins and losses.
But this time, even using her full strength, she had still lost miserably.
Her armor had been stripped off quickly, and then came the "eating" of the Celestial Jade tiles.
She was stuffed full.
And these Celestial Jade tiles vibrated!
Ye Feng stood up. Looking at the limp Qingque in the chair, he smiled. "That's all for today. You're welcome to come find me for a game of Celestial Jade anytime."
With that, Ye Feng left the classroom.
Of course, he wasn't being so kind as to let Qingque off easily. It was just that Mei and the others had arrived.
Otherwise, the game of Celestial Jade would have continued.
"Hi, Mei. You're here."
Ye Feng walked over, as refreshing as a spring breeze. A haughty little bug was trailing beside her.
"Oh, and Kiana's here too."
This greeting made the little bug a little unhappy.
He clearly saw me first, so why did he greet Mei first?
Also, what's with the "and"?
"Hmph."
Kiana crossed her arms, giving Ye Feng the cold shoulder.
Just when her opinion of him had started to change and she wanted to share her joyous victory from tonight with the scoundrel, he just had to say something so infuriating!
Mei also seemed a bit distracted. She waved at Ye Feng. "Good evening, Mr. Ye Feng."
"Hm? Why do you all look so down?"
"Um..."
Mei's eyes darted towards Kiana's lower abdomen.
The mark Mr. Ye Feng had left there was not only a source of power but also proof of how much Mr. Ye Feng... valued Kiana.
Their relationship was truly harmonious.
After all, one could tell just by watching how Kiana interacted with Mr. Ye Feng—she was completely at ease, without any barriers between them.
And Mr. Ye Feng was infinitely tolerant of Kiana.
If Kiana could hear Mei's inner thoughts, she would surely point at her own nose and retort: Me and him, getting along well? You've got to be kidding!
"Mei, did something happen to you guys?"
"...Yes, it did."
"Let's go to the kendo hall and talk."
"Yes, Mr. Ye Feng."
Ye Feng started walking ahead with Mei.
Kiana, seeing that neither of them was paying attention to her, couldn't help but blink. Wait, what about me?
You dog Ye Feng, you're ignoring me on purpose, aren't you!
Kiana glared daggers at Ye Feng's back.
I'll glare him to death!
Ignore me, then. I'm perfectly happy with that.
Kiana wanted to turn and leave.
But seeing Ye Feng and Mei walking side-by-side, she felt a pang of unease.
Then another thought struck her: I get it. He's trying to get rid of me so he can make a move on Mei. Hmph, I'll stick to you like glue!
"Kiana? What are you doing standing there? Come on."
Suddenly, Mei, who was up ahead, turned around and called out to Kiana.
The little bug looked at Mei's smiling face, and her heart instantly melted.
As I thought, Mei is the best to me.
Not like that bastard Ye Feng, who only knows how to piss me off!
The little bug quickly walked over, just in time to hear Mei say, "Let's go eat the noodles Mr. Ye Feng made."
"Huh?"
Kiana froze, her heart trembling violently, as if something beautiful was shattering.
Has Mei already been... by that scoundrel Ye Feng? Damn it, what have I been protecting all this time!
She began to twist her waist awkwardly.
"Th-That's not... good..."
"They're very delicious, you know."
"Wh-What? Delicious? O-Of course not! It's disgusting." Kiana stammered.
"What are you two talking about?"
Ye Feng suddenly stepped between the two beautiful girls, interjecting.
Mei lowered her head, remembering the scene in the hot spring with Ye Feng. She said shyly, "...Didn't we talk about it before? Next time, we'd do it with Kiana..."
The little bug stood frozen in place, her heart wailing in sorrow. It's over, it's over. Mei has really been eaten by this dog Ye Feng, and he's even... educated her to be like this.
Kiana, as if struck by lightning, dazedly followed them to the kendo hall.
It wasn't until Ye Feng went to the kitchen to cook noodles that the little bug snapped out of her stupor.
"Wait, the 'noodles' Mei was talking about are actual noodles?"
"Hm? That's right."
Mei, who was sitting properly in a seiza position, tilted her head.
"Ugh......"
"Kiana?"
"Phew~~ Thank goodness..."
"Thank goodness?"
"N-Nothing! I'm so jealous of you, Mei. I've never had that guy's personally cooked noodles before."
Kiana breathed a sigh of relief, though she didn't seem to understand why she was so relieved.
But regardless, the little bug was full of energy once again.
And Mei, upon hearing that Kiana had been here for so long without ever having eaten Mr. Ye Feng's personally cooked noodles, couldn't help but feel a little thrill of delight.
After they finished the noodles, while Mei was resting, Kiana quietly slipped into the kitchen.
She stood at the doorway with her hands behind her back, looking pretty and cute as she watched Ye Feng wash the dishes.
"Little bug, you're here."
As if he had been waiting for her, Ye Feng gave her a smile.
Kiana lowered her head, tapping her foot lightly on the ground.
"You... didn't make a move on Mei."
"Not yet."
Kiana walked over, her eyes staring straight at Ye Feng. "Not yet? You're not allowed to force Mei in the future!"
"You're quite the domineering one, Kiana. Is that how you ask for a favor?"
"Ngh~~"
Kiana wrapped her arms around Ye Feng's neck and said with a look of disgust, "Is that okay, my~ dear~?"
The little bug started swaying her hips, silently convincing herself: This is all for Mei's sake.