Chapter 83: Escaping Changkong City (Part 1)
Seeing the immediate crisis resolved, Rovel let out a quiet sigh and wiped a bead of non-existent sweat from his forehead.
'Mission accomplished,'he thought with a grin.'Touching Yae Sakura's ears was a massive win!'
His self-satisfaction lasted for precisely two and a half seconds.
In the next moment, a white and yellow blur shot across his vision. Kiana, radiating pure fury, launched herself through the air and planted a powerful kick square in Rovel's side. The impact sent him tumbling into a nearby pile of rubble, throwing up a thick cloud of dust.
"You jerk!" Kiana shrieked, landing gracefully with her hands on her hips. "You used me as bait!"
If Rovel had just been honest from the start, if he'd simply asked her to draw Higokumaru's attention, she would have grumbled but ultimately agreed. But no, he had to use that ridiculously lame excuse to get her to "negotiate." The worst part? She had actually fallen for it! And somehow, against all logic, the absurd plan had actually worked!
What truly infuriated her, though, was that giant fox. It was as if it had some personal vendetta against her. There were three other people on the battlefield, yet it had relentlessly chased her and only her, completely ignoring the cannon shells Bronya was peppering it with. Being run ragged like a chew toy had left her temper frayed.
"Kallen…"
A soft voice cut through Kiana's tirade. Yae Sakura, her gaze fixed on Kiana's face, took a hesitant step forward and gently took her hand.
"Ah?!" Kiana yelped, startled by the sudden intimacy. She instinctively tried to pull away. "Who… who are you? And who's Kallen?"
She was completely lost. Now that she thought about it, the fox had been screaming the name 'Kallen' while it was chasing her. Was that somehow connected to her?
"You… you aren't Kallen?" Yae Sakura's voice was laced with confusion as she scrutinized Kiana's features. The resemblance was uncanny, truly striking, but… it wasn't her. The spirit in her eyes, the subtle contours of her face—they were different.
The fox ears atop Yae Sakura's head, once perked with hope, now drooped in deep disappointment.
"Kallen Kaslana. The most powerful Valkyrie of Schicksal five hundred years ago," Bronya's monotone voice recited, her eyes glowing faintly as she accessed a data file. "She was appointed captain of her Valkyrie squad at the age of sixteen, personally sealed over one thousand Honkai Beasts, and is regarded by later generations as 'The Greatest Valkyrie in History'."
Bronya paused, then turned her deadpan gaze on Kiana. "On a related note, is the idiot Kiana not a member of the Kaslana family? Why is she ignorant of her own ancestor?"
"I'm not an idiot!" Kiana shot back, her face flushing. "My stinky old man never told me anything about that! How was I supposed to know?!"
"You know of Kallen?!" Yae Sakura's head snapped up, her eyes wide with renewed, desperate hope. She rushed towards Bronya. "Then do you know where she is? Please, you must tell me!"
"Affirmative," Bronya stated, her tone unchanging. "According to the data, a monument to Kallen Kaslana is located in Kolosten."
"A… monument?" The word hung in the air, heavy and cold. Yae Sakura's vibrant gaze slowly turned vacant, the light draining from her eyes.
"Correct," Bronya confirmed, oblivious to the devastating impact of her words. "Kallen met with misfortune while protecting the populace. To commemorate her passing, the Bishop of Schicksal at the time erected a monument in her honor."
It was as if every ounce of strength had been violently ripped from Yae Sakura's body. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the dusty ground.
"Seriously… why my kidneys? I wasn't even lying to you…" Rovel grumbled, finally emerging from the rubble and clutching his aching side.
"Mr. Rovel, are you alright?" Mei hurried over to support him, her expression etched with concern.
"I'll live," Rovel managed, wincing. His gaze, however, shifted to the crumpled figure on the ground. "But… she might not be."
Upon fully processing the news of Kallen's death, Yae Sakura's face contorted in disbelief. A choked gasp escaped her lips. Her hands flew to her temples, fingers digging into her hair as if to physically hold her shattering world together. Tears, silent and devastating, traced paths down her cheeks, and a darkness deep within her heart began to stir once more.
The Jizo Mitama statue, which had fallen dormant, began to pulse with a malevolent energy.
"Hahaha, my deepest thanks to you all!" a triumphant, malicious voice echoed from the statue. "If it weren't for your little revelation, she would never have been so easily corrupted by my influence!"
Higokumaru's spectral form materialized once more, its eyes gleaming with wicked glee. This time, it wasted no time. To ensure there would be no more interruptions, it opened its monstrous maw and swallowed Yae Sakura whole.
"Oh no, it ate her!" Kiana cried out, instantly realizing the situation had escalated.
"It's not as bad as it looks," Rovel said, rolling his shoulders and stretching his joints. "The only reason we held back against this fox was because of Yae Sakura. Now that she's inside it, our objective is simple." He cracked his knuckles. "We just have to make it spit her out."
"Oh, right! Why didn't I think of that?" Kiana slapped her forehead. She had sensed it during the chase—the fox itself wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. They had only been cautious because they didn't understand the full situation.
"Because Kiana is an idiot," Bronya added with surgical precision. "It is normal for her to overlook the obvious."
"You're the idiot!" Kiana immediately retorted.
"Alright, you two, let's focus on the enemy," Mei interjected, her voice gentle but firm. That calming, motherly tone was becoming more and more pronounced.
As the four of them squared up, their auras flaring, Higokumaru instinctively took a step back. A sudden, powerful sense of foreboding washed over it. This felt… very, very bad.
"Inch Force: Heaven Opening!"
"Time to see what I'm really made of, Kiana-style!"
"Project Bunny, ride on!"
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū: Moonlit Shadow Dance!"
A whirlwind of coordinated attacks erupted. In a matter of seconds, Higokumaru was brutally beaten back into its statue form. The Jizo Mitama trembled and fell silent, its malevolent energy completely suppressed. The fox didn't dare make another sound.
A moment later, Yae Sakura's form was gently expelled onto the ground, unconscious. When she slowly came to, her eyes were still clouded with sorrow.
"Kallen…" she whispered, her voice cracking, still trapped in the nightmare of her loss.
"What do we do now?" Mei asked, turning to Rovel.
"We can't just leave her here," Rovel said with a shrug. "I guess we're taking her with us. I don't see any other option."
Kiana had no objections. Bronya, however, had a major one.
"Why do I have to carry her?" Rovel asked, staring at Bronya, who had just unceremoniously dumped Yae Sakura into his arms. He was hoping for a reasonable explanation. Project Bunny 19C could easily carry a person; wouldn't that be far more efficient?
"The Bronya has determined that Yae Sakura cannot be trusted," Bronya answered flatly. "Her emotional state is highly unstable. In the event she experiences another outburst, she could potentially damage Project Bunny."
"Hm? But what about that time I…" Rovel began, a hopeful glimmer in his eye as he recalled a certain past event.
"That was an emergency situation," Bronya cut him off, her expression unchanging. "An emergency measure was taken to ensure the safety of Houtarou and the Haxxor Bunny Heavenly King."
She mercilessly shattered his hopes, then fixed him with her signature dead-eyed stare.
"You did not actually believe you had already earned the Bronya's complete trust, did you? ( ᗜ ‸ ᗜ )"
Rovel's shoulders slumped in utter defeat. The number of dejected people in their party had just increased by one.
The group traveled onward, finally stopping to rest just short of the outermost perimeter of Changkong City.
"The Descender encirclement is just ahead," Bronya reported, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Estimated numbers have already exceeded five million."
Five million Descenders… Rovel's mind reeled. That had to be more than half the entire player base of the game. He remembered Yuki mentioning that the initial sales of game helmets and pods were around ten million units. Even though that was a terrifyingly huge number, they had sold out almost instantly.
"Hmph! These Descenders… not a single good one in the bunch!" Kiana grumbled, crossing her arms unhappily.
"Ahem!" Rovel coughed pointedly, glaring at her. "Watch the friendly fire, would you? Don't lump us all together."
How did he always manage to catch these strays?
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]