chsdbacks Page 25
Page 25
“This is a very long process, and I need plenty of time to discuss it with you, but right now I have a lot of things to do and don’t have that much time.”
"I'm sorry... I'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer next time we meet."
Various aspects, naturally including...
——Ye Village.
Her long, slender eyelashes drooped gently, her pink eyes closed, and her delicate long hair fell like willow catkins, fluttering in the direction her head was bowed in the windless darkness.
The priestess who defied the gods took a deep breath, her full chest heaving, even her eyelashes trembling slightly, as if she were extremely unsteady, until finally she slowly exhaled, and her pupils, which she opened again, had returned to calm.
“I can indeed offer you some assistance, but as for this space… I don’t actually have complete control over it.”
"The next time you come here, you'll probably need to go through some kind of test to truly gain this power."
"—That's enough."
……
……
……
……
With one hand on his forehead and his eyes closed, the boy, whose last remaining expression was a carefree smile, experienced a strange sensation as if he were being infinitely stretched and pulled into a more precise and real place. When he opened his eyes again, the blackness he saw had completely faded away, and dark clouds rolled across the sky, with faint silver-white thunder flashing within them.
Reach out.
make a fist.
Something called power seems to have increased dramatically out of nowhere.
Even the substance flowing through the meridians and blood vessels seemed to have been replaced by a convergence of higher-purity energy instead of simple blood.
With another reach, the crimson katana appeared in his palm. The silent erosion had ultimately left behind the right to use the authority.
Including the mark originally belonging to the Herrscher of Thunder, it can now be easily removed. With the active help of the Stigmata, it has transformed from an unqualified bearer—a piece of trash with zero Honkai energy resistance who was forcibly sewn together by Raiden Mei and the Stigmata—into a true Stigmata holder, and naturally no longer needs the Herrscher's help.
That's a bit harsh, but Mei did help along the way; otherwise, it wouldn't have been fast enough to slowly improve his body using only stigmata.
He has finally transformed from a complete waste into a somewhat capable waste.
Stigmata, Key of God.
Do not……
I can no longer call myself a piece of trash.
This is a setup that's enough to fight until the very end!
It was almost impossible to suppress the trembling of her lips. Even when she recalled the pain from before, that endless suffering seemed to have become a kind of tempering and test.
Nothing could compare to the power that truly existed now, and Jiang Cheng immediately got up to continue the battle against Anti-Entropy—Bronya.
When Jiang Cheng suddenly raised his head, what was reflected in his eyes, which had completely transformed into cherry blossom color, was the silver-clad girl being trampled on the ground.
"You're awake, Jiang... Chengjun."
……
PS: From this moment on, I have the foundation to survive—provided that I escape without anyone knowing.
Chapter 38 Jiang Cheng: Can I...can I still run away?
I never questioned the change in the sky.
In fact, Jiangcheng had already made some preparations.
Preparations for the Herrscher of Thunder to descend after I am injured.
To put it somewhat despicably, this is why he chose to agree to Raiden Mei's choice to become the Herrscher of Thunder outside the city, rather than forcibly or dissuading her from using Changkong City as a sacrifice within the city.
He believed he would definitely be attacked on the way, and Raiden Mei would be tried to capture. If he wasn't attacked, and Anti-Entropy was so useless, then it wouldn't matter if the people of Changkong City were spared.
Anyway, the people here are different from those in the academy. The people in the school have to die because Mei's mental problems need to be resolved as soon as possible. Each of them is a nightmare in the girl's heart. The school cannot be broken without destroying the environment. The only way is to connect with the original plot in a physical way—the end of Mei's past. We can also improve the Queen's favorability in the meantime. This way, we can still have room to run away after the problem is solved.
Anyway, it's better than being forced. Regardless of whether I can gain their favor, I absolutely cannot let Raiden Mei or the Raiden Queen hate me.
Ahhh...
It's really awful, but we have no choice but to do it.
We can't delay, or he'll find out.
He can't run away either; he can't leave Raiden Mei for the time being.
Mei herself completely refused to release the Honkai in Changkong City. Because her emotions were pulled back, she will not collapse like in the original plot, which would directly cause the plot to collapse. Even if she runs away, she might be able to settle down peacefully. The main characters might be defeated, and the Stigmata Project would begin in full.
Therefore, some despicable means had to be used—although this also included letting him vent his resentment.
It hurts so much, it really hurts. If I don't cut something and vent my anger... I'm afraid I'll die from the pent-up frustration.
……
Most of what Jiang Cheng encountered after opening his eyes was within his expectations, except for what he saw before him: the girl acting recklessly—
The silver-haired girl was being trampled on.
That lovely face was trampled underfoot.
Her snow-white hair was haphazardly scattered, with a few strands stuck to her face with dirt on them. A few strands of silver hair could be vaguely seen falling to the ground. The back of her head was in direct contact with the sole of Raiden Mei's shoe. Even so, her identity could be determined from her clothing.
At that moment, he was still a pawn of Cocolia, briefly gaining humanity and human emotions in the orphanage. After having a younger sister, he immediately lost them and reverted to a cold-blooded and ruthless killer, mercenary, and tool.
—Bronya Zaychek.
In fact, this guy really has a deep grudge against Raiden Mei.
Even being beaten to death wouldn't be an excessive act of hatred.
Whether he's a serial killer or cold-blooded, it doesn't matter—at least the boy doesn't care about such trivial things.
It doesn't matter whether I kill someone or not.
It doesn't matter how many people are killed.
As long as it doesn't affect him, it's fine.
So many people die every minute of every second in this world, why should we care?
Perhaps they used to have some morality and kindness, but after being beaten down by the world and driven to the brink of madness, even that little bit of compassion is gone.
The core issue is that she directly participated in the torment of Raiden Mei, harming her as an extension of Cocolia's hands.
She was even more foolish to try to capture Raiden Mei, the Third Herrscher, on her own after the Great Collapse of Changkong City. If the girl hadn't been in a vulnerable state at the time, she would be three meters old by now.
In fact, it was Kiana who saved her.
He barely managed to save his life.
Bronya survived only because of the lack of information sharing and because Kiana, who was not yet a paramecium, held a unique position in Raiden Mei's eyes; otherwise, anyone else would have died.
What's troubling Jiang Cheng now is how and what reason he should use to protect the guy in front of him.
Not only must he go against his own heart—the promise to only care about those around him—but he must also go against Raiden Mei's thoughts.
If you replaced this guy with anyone else, he wouldn't have a shred of kindness right now. But Bronya is an important character in the story. If she were gone, the plot would completely veer off course. Even if they ran away to the World Serpent, they wouldn't be able to peacefully wait to cross the end.
The only good news so far is that Raiden Mei seems to have realized she has awakened and has stopped trampling Bronya under her feet.
They rushed over in just a moment.
Her already slender figure, like that of a princess, was magnified countless times in an instant.
You can even feel the girl's breathing and her warm, comfortable body temperature.
It was something faint and light, as soft as a gentle drizzle.
Slender fingertips were carefully climbing up the back of his hand, and then encroaching on his palm.
The Herald who was just moments ago so dashing and arrogant vanished in an instant, with just a turn of his head. The arrogance in his eyes vanished in a flash, as if the wind from his turn was enough to blow away his arrogance. Only pure worry remained in his crimson eyes, like that of a bewildered young beast.
The boy could even see his own reflection in those beautiful eyes—a passerby dressed in tattered clothes, sitting blankly in the same spot, looking dazed.
There's no romanticized imagery to conjure up, nor does it reflect any image of flowing hair or dashing good looks... The only thing associated with beauty here is the girl herself.
Her long, jet-black hair, almost purple, bounced and leaped in the air, then landed right in front of her purple pupils before plunging into the shimmering, rugged lake.
This was no longer the perspective of an observer; at this moment, it was as if the ripples of a lake illuminated by the light of lightning during a rain shower were limited to just one person.
She seemed to have a lot to say.
His lips trembled as he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Jiang Cheng watched this scene clearly, and also felt the ripples in the girl's heart, which was being clenched, from the five fingers connected to the heart and the subtle expressions on her face.
The fingers were restless, moving left and right, as if wanting to do something, but like the lips, they were suppressed before they could act.
Is there something you want to say?
Do you not know how to say it?
Or is it simply that we can't find common ground to talk about?
You should ask, "Are you alright?"
Many options appeared in his mind at the same time, but he couldn't do any of them. At this moment, the boy seemed to become the gentle protagonist in a classic game, and began to hesitate about everything.
Perhaps it was because the emotions in her eyes were so delicate, like a faint flame, that one couldn't bear to make the slightest move, fearing that it would extinguish her.
It's clearly wrong to get so close. I need to find a way to leave this place, escape to the World Serpent, fulfill my promise, and then find a peaceful place to live a life of leisure and comfort.
If things continue like this, the prepared excuses for parting will probably be...
"--not enough!"
……
……
……
The chaotic thoughts in his mind seemed to have been anticipated and were spoken aloud. The boy subconsciously looked up in shock, and happened to meet Mei's gaze, whose eyes were gently lowered. In those pupils, which were as clear as lightning and as clear as an ancient bronze mirror, his entire appearance was reflected, his blank face, and the relieved joy that finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief—a smile that belonged to the girl, a smile that was as sweet as falling into a honey lake from the bottom of her heart.
Previously, he had been so busy and active that he hadn't even been able to see the girl in her entirety. He was merely making empty judgments based on small details, fingers, and lips, like a blind man touching an elephant.
There was no excessive tension.
She was still smiling, relieved and at ease.
It's impossible to describe it with something like an upturned lip, because the girl in front of me didn't seem to be smiling dramatically; it was simply a genuine expression of her joy, and just looking at her face made me feel like I was smiling.
"Great."
It's basically a reassuring smile like this.
Just like when we first met, I reached out my hand to Mei, who was sitting alone by the pond.
"Jiang Cheng, I'm so glad you're alright... I'm sorry, I was the one who was supposed to be in charge of the fight, but I was just spacing out for so long, and you were the one fighting instead."
……
P.S.: Guess what percentage the next bud will reach?
Chapter 39: Rejecting Mei's Confession Once Again
Even though I was the one who was safe and sound, the girl's face wore an expression as if she were the one who had been saved.
This sudden reversal even left Jiang Cheng somewhat dazed, as if he had completely lost the initiative he had never had before.
They were simply being pulled, being swept along, being held by their single hand, stacked like hamburgers.
There's no need to delve too deeply, and no need to be confined to a narrow perspective.
Stories and emotions are based on feeling.
She is laughing.
Mei is smiling.
Just remember this.
Whatever the reason, they are smiling at this moment.
Nothing that would have angered the Thunder Queen happened, and the collar remained firmly around her neck.
Not unrestrained, nor flamboyant, not a single tooth was revealed in the legendary eight-tooth smile; the corners of the lips simply lifted, radiating pure joy.