"This... what is this...?"
The terrifying sound of a massive sword cleaving through the building instantly jolted Lunelle awake.
She had been so immersed in the soft sensation of her darling Mei's lap pillow that she had nearly drifted off to sleep.
Right now, Lunelle's delicate, cute face was a shade pale from fright, her body trembling ever so slightly, like a little rabbit shivering in the cold.
Anyone seeing her pitiable appearance would surely be tempted to carefully scoop up this frightened little thing and soothe her in their arms.
But Lunelle's inner thoughts were anything but calm:
'Damn it! This blasted Honkai Beast actually interrupted my time enjoying my darling Mei's fragrant lap pillow! Couldn't it have come a little later?'
'My darling Mei's sweet, sweet lap pillow... just gone like that. So aggravating!'
Bronya, whose attention was always fixed on Lunelle, noticed her beloved little sister's expression immediately.
"Seele, don't be afraid. Bronya will protect you."
Noticing Lunelle's distress, little Bronya promptly stepped forward, placing herself protectively in front of the adorable Lunelle.
Her voice carried a firm promise. Yet, that voice—sounding even more childish than Lunelle's modified tone—talking about protecting others, just didn't inspire much confidence.
If Lunelle were truly a sweet, soft little girl matching her outward appearance, she'd surely feel touched by Bronya stepping up to protect her at such a critical moment.
But Lunelle happened to know all about this Honkai Beast that was ambushing them.
Her earlier fright and pale face were simply because she hadn't expected the thing to arrive so quickly.
So, regarding Bronya's earnest declaration of protection—while Lunelle, keenly aware of her own limitations, wouldn't scoff at it—her inner 'touched-o-meter' for Bronya's 'stepping up when it counts' behavior was definitely dialed way down compared to a normal, delicate maiden.
Fortunately, this was, after all, Lunelle's first time facing such a colossal monster in her life.
The sheer oppressive presence of the Honkai Beast's size alone was enough to make her scalp prickle with fear.
An instinctive dread of huge things made her naturally display a frightened, vulnerable side, which perfectly masked her internally cursing mental state.
Lunelle's frail demeanor also reinforced Bronya's conviction that Lunelle was indeed her precious little sister Seele.
After all, Lunelle's current reaction was so very 'Seele'!
Meanwhile, this impatient-to-die Templar-Class Honkai beast—whether it couldn't stand seeing the girls being affectionate or was genuinely in a hurry to reincarnate—swiftly retracted the giant sword formed from its left hand.
It then transformed and reconfigured at incredible speed, morphing into a sharp, silicon-based lance in under three seconds.
A deep, ghostly purple glint suddenly flashed at the lance's sharp tip.
Then, the behemoth before them, as if possessed by an SSS-rank warrior, thrust its lance straight and mercilessly toward Lunelle's location!
But Lunelle, familiar with the plot, knew full well that while the attack seemed aimed at her, its true target was actually Raiden Mei—standing not far behind her, teetering on the brink of Herrscher transformation!
'Hmm... Bronya senses danger...'
"Project Bunny 19C, Lance Mode."
Bronya, who hadn't had nearly enough time gently stroking Seele's adorable little head, naturally noticed the Honkai beast's transformation immediately.
At her command, Project Bunny instantly materialized from its quantum state. Its dark, gaping cannon muzzle swiftly shifted form, transforming into a long lance forged from Soulium.
Then, the tips of the two lances—one massive, one regular—met in a perfectly precise, head-on clash.
The collision of two terrifying forces erupted instantly, unleashing a shockwave of staggering power.
Project Bunny's other hand morphed into a shield, striving to protect its second commander Bronya and its primary commander 'Seele' from the blast's impact.
During this clash of titans, Bronya could sense that Project Bunny, operating at full power, should theoretically match the Honkai Beast blow for blow.
But, alas, force works both ways.
Project Bunny was a floating quantum-armed machine.
Even if you stacked both adorable little commanders together, their combined weight wouldn't exceed 100kg.
Trying to countercharge against a Templar-Class Honkai beast that conservatively weighed several tons was...
Unless Project Bunny's full power could completely overwhelm the beast, expecting to repel it in a direct clash like this was rather unrealistic.
So, as expected...
'Eh?! Bronya is shocked!'
Bronya, who had just promised to protect Seele, suffered a major setback due to the vast weight difference between her unit and the enemy.
The tremendous recoil from the lance clash physically hurled her back with overwhelming force!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Poor Bronya was sent flying by the Honkai Beast's thrust, literally becoming a shooting star in physical form.
'Wow... that comeback happened way too fast.'
Judging by the powerful crash sounds echoing back, Bronya's flight likely smashed through at least three residential buildings!
"Bronya!"
Seeing Bronya get blasted away like that, Mei cried out in worried alarm.
With Bronya—their heavy firepower—gone, the other three maidens present, relying only on their insufficiently-armed firearms, clearly lacked the ability to face the Templar-Class Honkai beast head-on.
In this race-against-time situation, hoping for Bronya to rush back and save the day in a short while seemed equally unrealistic. After all, Bronya didn't know any moves like teleportation.
Hurled that far away, no matter how much of a hurry she was in, she'd have to patiently float her way back.
Moreover, with the Templar-Class Honkai beast making such a racket, the scattered zombies and other Honkai beasts in the vicinity were naturally drawn by the commotion.
They gradually surrounded the half-standing residential building, packing it tight, layer upon layer.
Without a doubt, given this nearly hopeless situation, if the Herrscher of Thunder couldn't awaken right now, Kiana—a Herrscher temporarily without a battery—might still have a slim chance of survival.
But for Lunelle, whose only advantage was a higher-than-average adaptability to Honkai Energy, this was absolutely a dead end!
Even though Lunelle's rate of growth could already be called terrifying, the escalating dangers encountered alongside the main cast still far exceeded what this fragile little cutie could handle.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.