"A massive commotion... where is the massive commotion?"
With the intel provided by Alvitr, Bronya left the Hermes on standby at the city's entrance. She then rode off through the flooded city, speeding along on a heavy motorcycle transformed from Project Bunny, with Seele riding pillion.
The motorcycle roared past the city's roads and ruins, crushing numerous Honkai Beasts and Zombies left behind in the city. Behind the motorcycle, the overflowing energy wove into a brilliant ribbon of light...
If one were to say there was any truly massive commotion at this moment, it would only be Miss Bronya and her Project Bunny tearing through this Dead City.
"Sister Bronya... we're going so fast, we won't be able to hear any big noises, will we...?"
Seele, clinging tightly to Bronya on the back seat, spoke with a tremor in her voice, her arms tightening around Bronya's waist.
"That's another matter, Seele. Essentially, our operation is hoping for a mutual encounter... While searching for a massive commotion, we are simultaneously creating a massive commotion to attract the other party to come to us..."
"Moreover, as far as Bronya knows... if a fully awakened Sister Mei really wanted to cause a commotion, her noise would absolutely be much louder than Bronya's single motorcycle..."
Before Bronya's words could even finish, a thunderclap in clear skies exploded over the heads of everyone in Nagazora City, and a dark purple bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking down hard onto a rooftop in the distance.
"That's... Senba Academy?"
Looking in the direction of the thunderous lightning strike, Bronya saw a very familiar building... the weather-beaten Academic Building of Senba Academy.
"Senba Academy, lightning falling from the sky, and a Kaslana... Why does Bronya feel this scene is so familiar... I hope Sister Mei is alright..."
"Hold on tight, Seele! Bronya is accelerating!"
Twisting the motorcycle's throttle to the limit, the Project Bunny brand heavy motorcycle trailed a blue ribbon of light behind it, speeding toward the battlefield in the distance, a scene replaying for the second time after many years.
"Eeeek! Sister Bronya, slow down!"
"It's an emergency, no slowing down!"
-
After a long-awaited reunion and a deeply emotional confession, the two, whose minds desperately needed to cool down, seemed to communicate telepathically and arrived at the roof of the Senba Academy Academic Building at the same time.
"Um, oh, hi... Mei, you're here too...?"
Kiana awkwardly greeted Raiden Mei, who had also come to the rooftop to clear her head, not knowing what to say for a moment...
"Yeah... right..."
Raiden Mei, also not knowing how to respond, could only manage a humming sound, and the two just leaned silently against the railing of the rooftop eaves...
"I still remember this place... You tried to pull me up from the edge of the rooftop..."
After a long silence, Raiden Mei took the initiative to break the quiet between them and start a conversation.
"Ah... that, yeah, although in the end I couldn't pull Mei up from outside the eaves, and instead fell down together with Mei..."
Seemingly reminded by Raiden Mei, Kiana also began to recall the events of the past.
"That guy Snow came out of nowhere, kicked us both down, and even scoffed at me, calling me a pain in the ass..."
Looking down at the foam mats below the Academic Building, which had completely lost their original appearance after being battered by wind, rain, and the scorching sun, Kiana sighed...
"But even as I fell, you protected me back then."
Also looking at the weathered mats below, Mei seemed to recall the feeling of being hugged by the young woman from behind, her face flushing slightly...
"Mhm, I am a Knight of the Kaslana family, after all. Protecting others is only natural, especially when it comes to you, Mei!"
"Kiana..."
Hearing these words, Raiden Mei suddenly grabbed the young woman's shoulders and stared seriously into her eyes.
"Promise me, okay? Don't try to fight alone from now on... I know you want to protect everyone, that you don't want us to get hurt... But when have the others at St. Freya not felt the same way?"
"We want to protect you too, Kiana... Every now and then, you should rely on everyone's strength..."
The dark-purple-haired Queen tightly hugged the white-high-ponytail Knight Miss in front of her. The subtle height difference allowed Kiana to experience firsthand what a face-full of chest felt like.
If it were her past self, she probably would have taken the opportunity to feel a little something, but... the present White Blazing Cat only felt a bit stifled, as if she were about to suffocate... while Raiden Mei seemed to be tightening the hug without realizing it...
"Mei... um..."
Kiana, whose head was forced into Mei's full chest, let out a few muffled grunts of difficulty breathing...
"What's wrong, Kiana...?"
Mei looked at Kiana, whom she held against her chest, and didn't seem to notice anything amiss...
And the two, immersed in their high-intensity cuddling, also failed to notice a certain unnatural vibration coming from the ground. It was the tremor of some steed galloping across the earth—
"Halt! You big-chested monster—let go of my cat!!!"
Kicking off the outer wall, she ignored the stairs, and... just like a certain senior from two years ago, the successor even rode a handsome and cool black horse to soar up the building—
"Your... cat?"
Looking at Durandal, who had just charged straight at her, Mei took a closer look and finally recognized the identity of the Valkyrie whose appearance and outfit had changed so drastically...
However, this also meant she missed the best opportunity to dodge or explain—
"Pah pah pah, my little sister!"
Durandal, correcting her inappropriate remark, gradually enlarged in Raiden Mei's pupils—
"Smash her, Krishna! You Herrscher, you're really plotting something sinister against my sister!!!"
The exact same spot, the exact same direction... Raiden Mei and Kiana, with bewildered expressions, were smashed off the rooftop again...
"Oh no! Did I just knock my little sister down with me...?!"
Looking at the suddenly empty rooftop of the Academic Building, Durandal suddenly realized something was wrong...