2:35 a.m. In Nagazora City, the only things still diligently working were the streetlights, bleaching the asphalt a pale white.
A burst of frantic footsteps shattered the silence—heavy, messy, like someone had tumbled a sack of potatoes down a staircase.
Kiana skidded to a stop in front of a shop called "Hooray! Homu House." She braced her hands on her knees, wheezing like a bellows. Her lungs burned as if she'd swallowed a fistful of red-hot coals.
Running here at full tilt had been brutal. No car—so she'd had to sprint the whole way like it was a marathon. But she didn't care.
She lifted her head, those bright blue eyes locked onto the tightly shut roll-up shutter. On the sign, Homu grinned stupidly, holding up the cover that haunted Kiana's dreams—
The Homu Adventure Collector's Edition.
"I-I'm not late… right?"
She wiped sweat off her forehead and checked the time on her phone. Fifteen minutes remained until the deadline in the text.
She exhaled so hard she nearly wanted to roll around on the concrete right then and there.
Thank god. She hadn't missed it.
If she had… she felt like she'd instantly turn into a pale gray paramecium and dry out on this street.
She stepped forward and tentatively patted the shutter.
"Hello? Anyone in there? I'm here to claim my prize!"
Her voice echoed down the empty street. From inside came a faint sound—like a chair scraping over the floor—followed by the crisp click of a metal latch.
The shutter slowly rose, revealing warm, yellow light within.
Standing at the entrance wasn't the enthusiastic shop owner Kiana had imagined—some guy in a geeky T-shirt with an oily glow to his face. It wasn't a professional-looking event staffer, either.
It was a woman in a black-and-white maid outfit.
The cut hugged perfectly, tracing an immaculate S-curve through the thin fabric. Below the short skirt were long legs wrapped in black garter stockings. Even in this clearly-not-serious late-night toy shop, she stood as if attending a royal banquet.
Kiana froze for a beat.
She might be dumb, but her taste wasn't broken—this "big sister" was criminally gorgeous.
"Good evening, lucky young lady."
Rita dipped into a slight curtsy, her movement textbook-perfect. She wore a smile that felt like a spring breeze… and in the wine-purple eye visible beneath her fringe, something faintly knowing glittered.
"Congratulations. You've won first prize at our shop. Please, come in."
Kiana got hit full-on by that smile. Any questions like Why is a toy store clerk dressed like a maid? survived for exactly half a second before being washed away by the joy of I'M GETTING THE FIGURE.
"O-Oh! Okay! Thank you!"
Like a husky spotting a meaty bone, Kiana happily barreled inside.
The interior was simple—borderline shabby.
A few shelves held a sparse scattering of obviously bootleg Homu plushies. Some were even missing an ear. But at the very back of the shop, on a table draped in red velvet, sat a dazzling box that seemed to radiate light.
The out-of-print Homu Adventure Collector's Edition Complete Set.
Kiana's eyes instantly turned into searchlights, glued to the box.
But beside it stood another person.
A tall, blonde woman with a figure so good Kiana reflexively glanced down at her own chest—still fairly respectable—then silently swallowed.
The strange part was this: the "big sister" also wore something like a staff uniform—an apron printed with a huge Homu face—but her expression was stiff, like someone forced to attend an awkward reunion with a relative they hadn't spoken to in ten years.
Arms crossed, she stood there radiating pure I want to demolish this store energy.
Durandal watched Kiana rush in, her mouth twitching the tiniest bit.
She actually came.
Someone actually believed it.
Durandal had thought the girl would get halfway here, sense something off, and run home.
And now that person was right in front of her—grinning idiotically at an empty box Rita had bought off a roadside stall five minutes ago for five bucks.
"Um! I'm here to claim my prize!"
Kiana rubbed her hands together, trying to look less desperate. But her gaze stuck to that box like it was superglued.
"Can I… take it now?"
Rita stepped forward and positioned herself neatly at Durandal's side, playing the perfect straight man.
"Of course. But before you claim the prize, we'll need to verify your identity."
She produced a very "high-end" looking tablet—currently being used as a cash register.
"Name?"
"Kiana Kaslana."
"Age?"
"Sixteen!"
"Occupation?"
"Student! Chiba Academy!"
Kiana answered at machine-gun speed, like she was racing through a quiz.
Durandal turned her head away. She couldn't bear to look.
This wasn't "simple." This was "missing a screw." If Schicksal's intelligence network was built to target people like this, then Schicksal should just disband the department and save the budget.
What Durandal didn't realize was that she was just as simple as Kiana—only in a different direction.
"Good. Information confirmed."
Rita smiled and tapped a few times—actually uploading this unbelievably roastable record into Schicksal's database.
"Now, the final question."
Rita's voice dropped slightly. The spring-warm gentleness suddenly carried a chill.
"Miss Kiana—your friend, the one with the unusual summoning ability… didn't accompany you tonight?"
In that instant, the air congealed.
The dumb grin vanished from Kiana's face as she snapped awake.
Even a paramecium could tell how clumsy that turn was.
One second: age and occupation. Next second: straight to Bai Qian, and even calling out "summoning ability" by name.
That wasn't a prize-claiming process.
That was absolutely not a prize-claiming process.
Kiana's eyes finally left the glittering box. For the first time, she looked seriously at the two women in front of her.
The "smiling maid" no longer bothered to hide the playful, cat-toying-with-a-mouse look in her eyes.
And the blonde "clerk," still expressionless, was now releasing a real, mountain-like pressure—heavy enough to suffocate.
"You're… not store employees, are you?"
Kiana took a step back. The silly vibe snapped shut like a switch, replaced by a beast's instinct—
the battle sense flowing in Kaslana blood.
"I knew it. There's no such thing as free pie falling from the sky."
She muttered it, half scolding her own greed, half pumping herself up.
"Oh my. You noticed?"
Rita covered her mouth and chuckled, apparently pleased.
"Our acting was rather clumsy, after all. Especially Lady Durandal—this apron truly doesn't suit you."
The blonde woman called Durandal yanked the apron off in one sharp motion and tossed it aside, revealing a clean, practical combat suit underneath.
"I told you. Taking her directly is far more efficient than playing house."
Durandal's gaze sharpened as she stared at Kiana.
"Kiana Kaslana. Regarding you—and that friend of yours—we need you to come with us."
Her tone wasn't a negotiation.
Kiana stared at the two clearly dangerous women, brain spinning at full speed.
"W-Wait! You just said your name was what?!"
Durandal. Durandal?
That sounded way too familiar—holy crap, that was the "real Kiana" Bai Qian had mentioned!
Kiana's voice cracked from sheer panic.
The shout was so sudden—and so sincere—that Durandal's forward step stalled.
The S-rank Valkyrie frowned, a flicker of confusion in her eyes… and she really did stop.
"Durandal—are you really that Durandal?!"
Kiana glared at the blonde woman like her eyes might pop out.
Durandal.
She remembered now.
That manga was still saved on her phone. Sure, she hadn't understood half of it back then—she'd only watched for the "Sirin getting beaten up" chaos and cried a bunch—but some key information Bai Qian later spelled out…
Even if she died, she wouldn't forget it.
—Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie.
—Bianka Ataegina Durandal.
And the earth-shattering gossip that made her spit cola all over her screen.
The real Kiana Kaslana.
Kiana's throat went dry, like she'd swallowed a chunk of quicklime. She reflexively swallowed, but it only stabbed with rough pain.
Her gaze drifted over Durandal without permission.
Golden hair. An absurd body. An oppressive aura so strong she didn't even need to move—just standing there made it hard to breathe.
And that face.
Completely different vibes—one was a blade forged of steel, the other a fresh strawberry bread roll out of the oven—but if Kiana mentally dyed that blonde hair white, swapped that stern expression for a goofy grin…
That was her.
Aside from the chest being—no, clearly—bigger than hers…
This was insane.
Bai Qian hadn't lied.
This was the woman who could use an Emperor-class Honkai beast like a yo-yo with one hand.
This was the max-level account.
And her?
Kiana looked down at herself.
Chiba Academy uniform, dusty from sprinting, a cheap phone still in her hand like she was about to scan a QR code.
K-423.
Half-finished.
How was she supposed to fight this?
It was like a newbie adventurer fresh out of the tutorial village, holding a wooden stick, turning a corner and slamming face-first into a level-100 Demon King—who also had a fully geared, max-level support with black stockings.
And that maid did not look friendly!!
"What? Is there something wrong with my name?"
Durandal watched the girl abruptly go slack, her face cycling through red-white-green-purple like a chameleon. Her frown deepened.
She hated this kind of inexplicable development.
"N-No! Nothing wrong! Your name is great—really! Super cool! Sounds like the kind of name that can punch ten Honkai beasts to death in one go!"
Kiana stammered, heels inching backward by a centimeter.
"Lady Kiana seems to know a little too much about Schicksal's trump card."
Rita's voice slid in at the perfect moment.
She still stood calmly, her tablet now casually put away.
She shifted slightly, weight on her long left leg. Her skirt swayed, revealing a strip of pale skin—an immaculate "absolute territory" stark against the black garter stockings.
Kiana felt every hair on her back stand up.
The maid was smiling.
A beautiful smile—eyes curved like a cat that had just stolen cream.
But that gaze felt like feathers scraping Kiana's bones, like her secrets were being peeled away by that grin.
"I-I just heard about it! Yeah! I heard about it!"
Kiana shook her head hard, her braid whipping like twin white lashes.
"Someone big like Lady Durandal is always in the news, right? I'm a good student who follows current events, so it's totally normal I'd know! Hahaha…"
The dry laugh rang painfully in the cramped store.
Even Kiana knew her excuse was garbage—like overnight pizza.
Current events?
If Kiana Kaslana ever followed current events, Bronya would stand up and dance ballet.
"Is that so? I recall Schicksal doesn't appear in public news."
Durandal clearly didn't buy it.
She stepped forward.
Just one simple step. No Honkai energy. No stance. No flair.
But to Kiana, it was a mountain pressing down.
That absolute level difference—pure suppression—made her body react on instinct. Her legs began to tremble.
It was the fear a creature couldn't stop when facing a natural predator.
Run.
She had to run.
Bai Qian had said it: as long as the green hills remain, there will be firewood to burn.
If she could get out—if she could contact Bai Qian, or even contact anyone else…
Kiana's eyes flicked to the exit.
The shutter was half open.
About five meters.
With her explosive burst, if Durandal blinked, she could shoot out.
But the maid—Rita—had already, without a sound, drifted to the shelves, neatly blocking the shortest route to the door. In her hand, she toyed with a scythe she'd produced from nowhere, slender fingers stroking its curve.
A wolf in front. A tiger behind.
And the wolf was basically her "real body."
This was a hell-difficulty start.
"I don't have time to play guessing games with you."
Durandal seemed to lose patience.
She raised a hand.
"Since you know who I am, you should know resisting is meaningless. Come with us. If you cooperate, we won't harm you. Our target is the person behind you."
Bai Qian…
Right. They were here for Bai Qian.
If she got taken, that idiot would have to come out to save her, right? And the group members too…
If she got captured, everyone would mobilize, wouldn't they?
But could the others—besides Lady Herta—really beat Durandal if they all came together?
No.
Even if Bai Qian was sharp-tongued and annoying and always spoiled things…
He was still—aside from Mei—the person who treated her best.
He was the one who told her the secrets.
He was the one who gave her the chance to change fate.
She couldn't let this scary-looking group take him.
Surrender?
Like hell.
Kiana took a deep breath.
Kaslana stubbornness.
And the tiny, occasional flash of something called courage—when a paramecium hit a wall and refused to die quietly.
"Um…"
Kiana lowered her head, voice small as a mosquito.
Durandal frowned slightly, unconsciously leaning in to hear her better.
And in that instant—
Kiana snapped her head up. Those blue eyes burst with desperate resolve.
"Look! A UFO!"
She pointed behind Durandal, expression so exaggerated it was like she'd just seen Godzilla doing pole dance.
Durandal: "?"
Rita: "?"
It was too old.
So old it belonged in some ancient gag manga.
Neither Durandal—the strongest Valkyrie—nor Rita—the perfect maid—had the slightest urge to turn around. They simply stared at Kiana, their eyes even carrying pity.
"You don't believe that either?! Fine! Then I'm going all-in! If you want to take me, first ask the thing in my hand if it agrees!"
Kiana roared, yanking a silver metal object from her pocket.
It was the S.E.E.S standard-issue summoner Bai Qian had given her.
That shape. That weight. Under the dim yellow light, it gleamed with cold metallic menace.
It was a gun.
A real gun—one that looked genuinely lethal.
Durandal and Rita's expressions didn't change.
As battle-hardened Valkyries, they knew firearms well. They didn't understand why a high school girl carried contraband like this, but—
…Did she think pulling a gun could threaten them?
Rita even thought: If she ever does stand-up comedy, I'll attend.
But the moment the gun appeared, it meant Kiana had decided to resist.
Durandal lowered her center of gravity instantly, muscles tensing for a disarm charge. Rita's scythe didn't move yet, but a thin, almost invisible killing intent locked onto Kiana's wrist.
If she raised the muzzle at them—
But then, in the next second, something happened that made both Schicksal S-ranks' brains stall.
Kiana didn't aim at them.
She didn't fire into the ceiling as a warning.
In full view of their stunned eyes, she drove the black muzzle hard against her own temple.
"?!"
Durandal's charging motion froze mid-step.
Rita's smile vanished completely. For the first time, her eyes opened fully—filled with shock.
What kind of tactic was this?
A suicide threat?
"Don't move!"
Kiana's finger curled on the trigger, blue eyes burning with a madness they couldn't interpret.
"Move again and I-I'll shoot!"
She didn't really know how to use this thing. She'd only used it once.
But if she held the determination to die, she could summon the power inside her heart.
If Bai Qian's was a Persona…
Then hers had to be that "Sirin" inside her body watching her little shows, right?!
The Herrscher of the Void—could she beat these two S-rank Valkyries in front of her?!
Kiana didn't know.
Right now, this was the only thing she had left.
"For my friend, I'm loading everything I have into this bullet!"
"Please… help me, the other me!"
And in the next instant—
Kiana pulled the trigger.
....
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