The battle was over without any suspense.
A crude railing pierced through the girl's chest. Asakura Miyuki's face lost its fierce expression and returned to its usual appearance.
No blood flowed from her wound, and her body had no warmth.
Only her face was filled with a smile.
She looked at Kiana, who had killed her, with no resentment in her eyes.
"Kiana-san, for the last person to be you... that's really wonderful."
Her dark world had come to an end, dying at the hands of the person she admired.
Asakura Miyuki couldn't feel any physical pain. Her zombified body didn't provide her with that function, only sincere happiness.
She made one last request in her life, "Can you hug me?"
"..." Kiana remained silent, lifting Asakura Miyuki's upper body into a hug.
As a Kaslana, she didn't need to fear the Honkai energy on her, much less worry about being infected by the Honkai disease.
Her wish granted, Asakura Miyuki looked up at the pitch-black sky and left her final words.
"My life was as dark as this sky."
"When I was little, my dad would beat my mom, and my mom would take it out on me. I wanted to escape that hellish home, so I studied hard."
"I got into Senba Academy through my own efforts, thinking I could finally see the light, but it was just the beginning of another darkness."
"I made a best friend at school, but because I spoke up for a classmate, I became the target of bullying."
"If it weren't for you, Kiana-san..."
Asakura Miyuki wanted to raise her hand to touch Kiana's face, but she no longer had the strength.
"I might have ended my life long ago."
"It was your appearance that gave me the courage to live on."
Kiana: "Then why..."
"I originally wanted to get revenge on them, but compared to the resentment in my heart, I still wanted to be with you more."
A pale hand took something out. It was a scented pouch.
"This... is my gift to you. I hope you and Mei will be happy."
Her hand dropped. The girl's lips were curved in a smile as she quietly fell asleep.
Kiana took the pouch, clutched it tightly in her hand, her eyes filled with an indescribable sadness.
Three-Year Sakura, that was the name of this gift.
In the culture of the Far East, it symbolized a blessing for love.
She liked this gift very much, but she didn't like losing a friend.
"Kiana..." A voice came from behind.
Raiden Mei stood in the light, looking at Kiana's back with some concern.
"I'm fine, Mei, you guys don't need to worry."
She needed some time alone.
...
"Oh my, I didn't expect our little princess to reunite with her old friend so soon."
A tall woman stood on a high place, looking down on the entire night view of Nagazora City.
Her eyes seemed to pierce through the veil of the night, seeing everything that was happening on the ground below.
Schicksal A-rank Valkyrie Karin, responsible for gathering intelligence in the Far East region and monitoring Kiana Kaslana's movements.
But her identity was more than just that.
"Blood Rose, have you become Schicksal's dog now?"
A silver-gray-haired girl had appeared behind the Valkyrie at some point, calling out her other name.
Back when Bronya was the feared Silver Wolf of the Urals, she had fought this woman, who was also ranked in the top ten on Charon's List, multiple times, but none had ended in a decisive victory.
She never expected that in this distant Far East, her former rival would appear again.
"Don't put it so harshly. I'm now devoted to the great cause of saving the world." The Valkyrie spread her hands, indicating she had no ill will.
"As for you, your adoptive mother seems to be up to something incredible."
Karin's eyes narrowed into a slit as she sized up Bronya.
At her level, she naturally couldn't see the whole picture, to have everything in Nagazora City as clear as the lines on her palm.
But from her Valkyrie intuition and the intelligence she had recently gathered, what Cocolia was planning was related to the Honkai and was very likely to cause massive casualties.
Bronya: "This has nothing to do with you."
"Oh, it seems you're well aware too," Karin said, feigning ignorance.
Suddenly, the Valkyrie's face turned stern. "Silver Wolf, I hope you know what you're doing."
With that, the woman let herself fall backward, disappearing from Bronya's sight.
...
Schicksal Headquarters...
A certain golden-haired man, who was in a SOLO match with the Far East Fox Demon, paused his game to review the intelligence from the Far East.
'Kiana's classmate Asakura Miyuki zombified... meeting... gift...'
Text and images were all there, including records of Kiana's recent daily life and changes in her interpersonal relationships.
When he saw the new male in her network of relationships, and Kiana's opinion of him, Otto's expression finally changed.
"It seems our little princess has finally reached the age of troubles."
The innocence of youth, the purity of love.
Boys and girls of this age are always easily moved, their untainted hearts falling in love with the opposite sex for various reasons.
Otto didn't know if the Kaslana family had a puberty phase.
But looking at this very interesting love triangle...
"Shall we let our little princess have a romance of her own?"
As a victim of love, Otto knew full well how powerful emotions could be.
He was bound by the chains of emotion, which was why he had willingly lingered in this world for five hundred years, searching for a way to resurrect the Saintess.
And Kiana...
"..." Otto felt this had great potential.
The most ruthless thing isn't hatred, but indifference.
Kiana's current feelings for this young boy Brian were a mix of admiration, hostility, and reliance.
With proper guidance, the situation could be steered into what he hoped for.
It was worth a try.
A new plan began to brew. His status as the Schicksal Overseer meant he had a high enough fault tolerance.
Success would be a huge gain, failure would be no loss.
The report at the end of the intelligence file about the recent anomalies in Nagazora City did not enter Otto's eyes.
The importance of the entire city was less than a single hair on Kiana's head. Since this place couldn't pose a threat to Kiana, there was no need to pay attention to it for now.
Before long, the room was once again filled with passionate music.
The brave Schicksal Overseer once again began his challenge against the Far East Fox Demon.
Today, he would definitely make that damned Far East Fox Demon kneel and lick his boots!
"Kallen, grant me strength!"
Outside the door, his secretary Amber heard the voice and couldn't help but sigh.
"Lord Overseer, you should be handling your duties."
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