"The girl named Ji Lin was the first human in known history with the power to resist the Honkai."
A petite girl appeared, wearing a magnificent crown and light, flowing robes. She stood alone against a swarming horde of Honkai Beasts, quelling the disaster with a combat style as graceful as a dance. She saved a primitive tribe from certain doom and then silently walked away, vanishing into the horizon.
Kiana couldn't help but ask Hua Yi, "Where is she going?"
"Ji Lin vanished at the end. Even Schicksal has no record of her eventual whereabouts."
"She's so cool!"
Hua Yi smiled at Kiana's longing tone. As the event concluded, the scene within the virtual reality began to shift.
Being inside the simulation, Hua Yi currently had no way to contact Bronya in the real world, though she was likely monitoring their situation from the outside.
As the scene transitioned from a primitive tribe to an army of knights clad in heavy armor and brandishing sharp steel, Hua Yi's eyes flickered. He continued his introduction based on his own knowledge.
"In 14th-century Europe, massive amounts of Honkai Beasts reappeared, having evolved to be even more powerful. However, the Schicksal organization had already begun to take shape in Europe by then. They formed orders of knights to combat the Honkai and developed specialized weapons to deal with the beasts."
The army of knights before them began to charge. The ultra-long lances in their hands, reaching nearly six meters, showed remarkable effectiveness against the giant Honkai Beasts. Although the knights suffered significant casualties, they successfully intercepted the beasts on the outskirts of the city.
Kiana blinked. "Wait, these knights are all men? Didn't you say the male population is far lower than the female population?"
"Men are far fewer than women now, but that might not have been the case in the pastor at least, the disparity wasn't so exaggerated. Back then, the Honkai wasn't as powerful as it is today.
As you can see, only their weapons are special. The knights themselves cannot use Honkai Energy like Valkyries can. The combat power of the beasts they hunted wasn't that overwhelming either. After all, this was history from hundreds of years ago."
"Oh, I see."
Kiana nodded. Hua Yi watched the scene shift again. The Honkai Beasts that had been fighting the knights were now covered in wounds and locked within massive iron cages.
"In that era, humanity couldn't completely destroy the Honkai Beasts. They could only capture them after neutralizing their combat ability," Hua Yi explained. "The captured beasts were imprisoned beneath the cathedral at Schicksal's European headquarters.
Humanity thought they had secured victory, but they were soon dealt an unexpected and heavy blow. The Honkai shifted form, appearing as a virus. It was then that Schicksal began to suspect that the Honkai might possess some level of intelligence."
The scene changed once more. Hua Yi and Kiana were now walking down a medieval European street. The sky was dim and gloomy. People suffering from severe illness lay powerlessly along the sides of the road,
waiting for death. From time to time, figures dressed in black robes and black scarves, their faces covered with black cloth, would haul away the corpses. It was the only meager remedy they could provide.
"The Black Death swept across Europe. In just six years, it claimed twenty-five million lives."
"..."
The staggering number and the wretched state of the streets made Kiana bite her lip. As she walked somberly beside Hua Yi, preparing to learn more about the situation, a giant cross suddenly fell from the sky.
The cross smashed directly into the stone pavement with a thunderous boom. The sheer momentum gave Kiana a fright, and she turned to look at Hua Yi.
"What on earth is that?"
"The Oath of Judah, Principal Theresa's weapon. However, in this era, the wielder is naturally not Theresa."
Hearing this, Kiana looked up at the sky, trying to find the reckless user who had thrown the Oath of Judah. Didn't that jerk know how dangerous it was to drop things from such a height? They nearly hit someone! Even if this virtual reality didn't actually connect with outside observers, it was still terrifying.
However, Kiana saw nothing. The sky was empty.
After a brief silence, Kiana reached out, driven by a sudden impulse to touch the Oath of Judah. Even though everything thus far had shown that observers couldn't influence the simulation, she felt a need to try.
The moment Kiana's hand brushed against the Oath of Judah, the giant cross transformed into a deep, dark passage leading to parts unknown. Leaning forward, Kiana lost her balance and fell straight in.
In that instant, panic seized her. Her reckless move seemed to have caused an unintended consequence. This definitely wasn't part of Hua Yi and Bronya's plan.
Just as Kiana began to feel a surge of regret, she felt someone grab her hand. The girl froze for a second, then whipped her head around to see Hua Yi's smiling face.
Seeing her enter the unknown passage, Hua Yi had followed immediately. Kiana looked back and saw the entrance to the passage had already slammed shut. If Hua Yi had hesitated for even a moment, he would have been locked out.
This realization sent a strange flutter through Kiana's heart. It was a feeling that left her slightly weak in the knees, yet it wasn't unpleasant in the least. She stared at him in a daze.
And then
"Waaaaah!!"
Realizing they were high in the air, Kiana felt the all-too-real sensation of falling as the wind whipped past her face. She couldn't stop herself from screaming.
She squeezed her eyes shut and ranted through her fear. "Who designed this virtual reality, throwing people out of the sky like this?! Am I going to fall to my death?"
"Don't worry, I've got you."
Hua Yi's voice rang in Kiana's ear. Before she could process it, she felt her feet leave the air. When she opened her eyes, they were on the ground, and she was being held in his armscarried like a princess.
The situation made Kiana's face turn bright red.
"Are you two alright?"
In this space, which Kiana assumed was just another scene in the virtual reality, a character appeared who could actually perceive their existence and initiate conversation.
It was a beautiful young girl with white hair and blue eyes, just like Kiana.
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