On the edge of the urban district of Nagazora, atop a line of emergency fortifications.
"Who... who are you? Forget it, even if I knew now, it wouldn't matter. Thank you for helping us. If it weren't for you, this final line of defense would have been breached hours ago. Many more would have died. Thank you... thank you so much."
A woman in her twenties, in the prime of her life, leaned weakly against a wall. She looked out at the scarred, cratered land below. If Honkai Beasts didn't vanish after being killed, there would be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood composed of thousands of beasts of all sizes.
The woman expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the young man standing silently beside her with a sword.
If he hadn't appeared hours ago, countless Honkai Beasts would have swarmed into the city from the outskirts. At that time, the evacuation of Nagazora had not yet been completed, and the death toll would have been staggering.
The Nagazora Defense Force simply didn't have the strength to hold this position; he had held the line alone.
"Don't relax. Hang in there."
Seeing the woman's complexion begin to change, Hua Yi knit his brows. He reached out and forcibly began absorbing the Honkai Energy that had eroded into her body to stop her from turning into a Zombie.
Possessing seven Stigmata allowed Hua Yi to go this far. He had already consumed a massive amount of energy in the battle against the Honkai Beasts. Absorbing energy from the outside served as a form of replenishment, but it was also a case of drinking poison to quench thirst.
Unlike the stable Honkai Energy provided by his Stigmata, the energy in the air was far too violent. Every part of Hua Yi's body was currently wracked with pain.
"Stop... just stop. You must be exhausted, right? Kill me before I turn into a Zombie. This area is safe for now. You can rest... please, you have to survive."
The woman's voice was broken and halting. She wanted to push Hua Yi away, but she couldn't muster the strength. She had given everything in the battle. There were dozens of people on the fortifications initially,
but now all her comrades were dead some killed by the beasts, others committing suicide once they felt the Honkai Energy would turn them into Zombies. She was the only one who had held on until the end, but with the battle over and the tension in her heart easing, she could finally hold on no longer.
"I told you, hang in there!"
Hua Yi ignored the intensifying pain that felt like it was piercing his very bones and soul, increasing the speed at which he absorbed the violent Honkai Energy.
"You... you don't even know me, and I don't know you. Why go this far?"
A sob entered the woman's voice.
"Does saving someone need a reason? I want to do it, I can do it, so I did... I'm sorry. There were too many Honkai Beasts earlier, I couldn't look out for the others."
"Don't apologize. You're a hero... A hero fighting the Honkai. You're the last person who should be apologizing."
Hua Yi didn't answer, continuing to push himself through the pain.
Just then, his phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, Hua Yi took a deep breath. While maintaining the Honkai Energy absorption, he pressed the answer key.
"Hello?"
"Hua Yi! Where the hell did you go? As long as you're alive... Where are you now? Mei and I are coming to find you."
"...I'll come to you instead. Give me your coordinates. I'll find you before the sun sets."
Hua Yi worked hard to keep his voice steady, but it was unavoidably quieter and slower than usual. Fortunately, Kiana was so overjoyed to know he was alive that she didn't notice the difference.
Kiana gave him a location, and after Hua Yi told them to be careful, he quickly hung up.
His forced, suppressed breathing became ragged again.
He was too tired. Although he had the help of the Nagazora Defense Force earlier, their conventional weapons weren't enough to kill the giant Honkai Beasts over ten meters tall. Hua Yi had consistently done the heavy lifting.
The beasts were simply too numerous. Though most were low-level and Hua Yi could kill a single one easily with his Crystal Nitrogen Sword, a hit from any of them would wound him and drop his combat effectiveness. This kind of high-intensity, persistent combat with no room for relaxation was a mental and physical ordeal.
And now, he had to endure the agony of absorbing Honkai Energy. Honestly, Hua Yi could feel his body screaming a wail far more intense than any he had experienced during his most frantic training sessions.
He felt a bit fortunate, though; if he hadn't trained so crazily back then, he would have likely passed out by now.
"I feel much better. Since your friends are still in Nagazora, you should go find them quickly."
Under Hua Yi's efforts, the woman's transformation into a Zombie had been successfully reversed. This was a miracle that would have shocked the entire world, and yet it had occurred on this apocalypse-shrouded fortification.
The woman had returned to normal, though her stamina was still depleted. However, she now had the strength to push away the hand Hua Yi had placed on her shoulder to absorb the energy.
"Do you think I'd just leave you here alone?"
Hua Yi was tempted to laugh. How could he possibly abandon the person he had worked so hard to save the sole survivor of the Nagazora Defense Force?
"Then leave her to Bronya."
Another girl's figure appeared on the fortification. It seemed she had heard Hua Yi's words. A massive machine appeared behind her, its giant arms picking the survivor up.
"Bronya will do her best to take her to safety. Project Bunny 19-C can absorb ambient Honkai Energy to create a relatively safe environment. There is no need to worry about her becoming a Zombie."
In this moment, there were many suspicious points regarding Hua Yi's appearance on the edge of Nagazora with a Crystal Nitrogen Sword, and the same was true for Bronya and the giant machine behind her.
But neither of them asked.
"Okay, I'm counting on you."
Hua Yi didn't leave immediately. He watched as Bronya and the survivor disappeared from his sight.
Thud.
The Crystal Nitrogen Sword Hua Yi had been holding fell heavily to the ground, emitting a dull sound. Hua Yi leaned on the greatsword and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"If the Honkai Energy from an Artificial Stigmata is this violent, I can understand why the lifespans of Valkyries are so short. Do they also suffer this level of pain in silence? I hope the energy from an Artificial Stigmata is a bit more docile than what's in the air. This really is quite a torture."
Hua Yi left, heading back into Nagazora. He left behind a pool of blood, a temporary fortification miraculously preserved in the middle of a massive Honkai disaster, and a victory that might be remembered, or might be buried forever.
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