Amid the boundless void, surrounded by darkness on all sides, Kallen was getting drowsy enough to nod off.
By now, three full hours had passed since she, Dan Heng, and Welt had headed out.
And throughout those three hours, it had been Welt leading the way.
Which, in theory, did make sense.
After all, Welt was currently the most senior Nameless aboard the Astral Express, and he had ventured out to scout the path before. So having him take the lead was, by all appearances, the correct choice.
Well… that was how things should have gone.
Unfortunately, reality had other ideas.
Three hours had passed since the trio set out, but instead of making progress, they had somehow managed to reach a staggering negative one hundred percent.
That was right. Not only had they failed to use their previous heading to locate the way out of the Nihility—
because they had wandered around outside for too long and happened to run into another shift within the Void itself, they had now completely lost their bearings.
In other words, not only had they failed their mission, they couldn't even find their way back anymore.
Kallen, for her part, was a little speechless.
Because only someone like her, someone who held authority over Nihility itself, could detect that sort of thing.
She could feel every malicious churn in this gray-black chaos around them.
But in truth, the two people walking ahead of her—Dan Heng and Welt—still hadn't realized they were lost.
Kallen: "..."
What were you supposed to do when your pig teammates didn't realize they were pig teammates?
Forget it. The Void was as comfortable for her as home turf. When the Express crew truly ran out of options, she could step in then.
With that thought, Kallen followed the other two at an unhurried pace.
Meanwhile, the pair in front seemed to have begun discussing matters.
The first voice she heard was Dan Heng's.
"…Mr. Welt, are you certain we're still going in the right direction?"
"I feel like I can barely sense the Astral Express anymore."
Dan Heng's voice was soft, but in this silent domain it came through clearly enough.
Kallen was a little surprised.
Oh? So there was at least one lucid person here?
Looks like when the Xianzhou Alliance said a High Elder could rival an Emanator, they hadn't just been making things up.
At the very least, even with only half a dragon's power, Dan Heng still seemed to have some substance to him.
Well… in Kallen's eyes, he certainly had the makings to surpass Welt one day.
And Welt answered him like this:
"Dan Heng, you can relax."
"From my experience going out with Himeko before, this is all perfectly normal."
"I've recorded our path ever since we left. Once we find the exit, retracing our steps won't be a problem at all."
Dan Heng fell silent for a moment. His golden draconic eyes flickered faintly in the gray-black confusion.
In the end, he nodded.
"If you say so, Mr. Welt, then I'll trust it."
His voice remained calm, but the faint uncertainty that had lingered in it earlier had already dissipated for the most part.
After all, who was Welt?
A veteran of the Astral Express, a man who had survived countless crises and traversed innumerable dangerous regions of space.
His judgment, his experience, his capabilities—those had all been proven with time.
Dan Heng felt that trusting the most experienced person present was, in itself, the most rational course of action. There was no need to cast doubt on a senior over something like this.
"Then let's keep moving," Welt said, turning to continue toward the direction he believed was right.
Dan Heng followed.
And Kallen, bringing up the rear—
Kallen's steps faltered.
No, wait a second.
Dan Heng, you believed that that easily?
Weren't you the clear-headed one just now? I can barely sense the train anymore.Are you sure this is the right direction?
Weren't those your own words?
How did a couple of casual reassurances make you fold so fast?
Kallen's mouth twitched.
Suddenly, she felt she might have overestimated Dan Heng's clarity of mind.
Or perhaps, more accurately, she had overestimated the crew's ability to judge anything inside a Nihility zone.
Because Kallen knew perfectly well—
everything Welt had just said was wrong.
At that moment, another thought occurred to her.
What would have happened to the Astral Express if she hadn't come out with them?
Welt would have led Dan Heng deeper and deeper into this Void, farther and farther off course, until they lost themselves completely.
Then they would exhaust their stamina, exhaust their Path energy, and finally be swallowed by Nihility.
And the ones left on the train—Himeko, March 7th, Stelle, Pom-Pom—
they would wait.
And wait.
And keep waiting.
And when no one returned, they would come out searching.
And then they, too, would lose themselves in this gray-black chaos.
And the Astral Express—
would be wiped out, crew and all.
Kallen's pupils contracted slightly.
Well, damn.
So if she hadn't come along, the Astral Express really would have overturned here.
That realization made her expression turn a little subtle.
Honestly, she had always thought that an organization like the Astral Express, which had roamed the galaxy for so many years, ought to have had enough ability to deal with all kinds of crises.
But now it seemed this newly reawakened Express was still much too green.
Forget it.
She had already followed them around for three hours. Rather than continue watching them march farther and farther in the wrong direction, she might as well just end this now.
"Mr. Welt."
Welt stopped and turned to look at her.
"Miss Kallen? What is it? Are your wounds bothering you?"
There was real concern in his tone. He had no idea that whatever Kallen was about to say was going to be wildly embarrassing for him.
"No," Kallen said, shaking her head. "I just wanted to tell you—"
Boom.
She never got to finish the sentence.
Because at that instant, a tremendous force surged up from the Void beneath her feet.
A flood of Nihility.
Kallen's pupils tightened sharply.
This was a shift in the Void-domain itself.
"What's happening?!" Dan Heng's voice rang out from ahead, alert and tense.
The spear, Cloud-Piercer, was already in his hand, its point gleaming coldly in the gray-black murk.
But that flood was clearly coming for all three of them.
Gray-black mist surged in from every direction, as though some unseen power from the abyss had violently stirred it to life.
It rolled, it roared, it emitted a low hum that instinctively inspired fear.
"Dan Heng, Miss Kallen—close in!" Welt shouted through the churning current, his voice as steady as ever, though now edged with gravity.
At that moment, the power of the Star of Eden had already formed in his hand, a gravitational field spreading out around them into a spherical barrier.
But the flood struck too hard.
Far too hard for a single gravity field to handle.
The gray-black mist slammed into the barrier and gnawed at it.
Cracks began to spread across its surface.
Welt's brows knitted together.
He poured more power into it, and the cracks were patched over for the moment—only for new ones to appear somewhere else.
"Mr. Welt!" Dan Heng called from one side.
Half his body was already swallowed by the gray-black fog.
He swung his spear, silver arcs cutting across the darkness as he tried to drive the mist back.
Kallen looked at the scene and frowned faintly.
Naturally, she herself was in no danger.
This Void-domain was home ground to her. No matter how violently it churned, she was still the one who ruled this house.
But Welt and Dan Heng were different.
In their current state, Nihility might not kill them outright—but scattering them apart was absolutely within its power.
Kallen's lips moved slightly as a thought crossed her mind.
If she didn't step in now, then Welt and Dan Heng really would be in trouble.
At the same time, this environment was also something she could make good use of.
She took a slow breath.
Then she made her choice.
With a thought, the Preservation Path around her completed its shift.
Nihility once again welled up around her.
And Kallen became, once more, the Void Witch feared across the galaxy.
That said, this time she deliberately kept the authority of Nihility at a very low output.
Still, it was enough.
"…If we head this way, we should be able to bring the Astral Express out of Nihility very soon."
At this point, the three of them were already on a path extremely close to the outer edge of the Void.
And Kallen had finally reached her conclusion.
She pointed in a direction where, at the far end, there was a faint layer of light.
Both Welt and Dan Heng chose to trust her immediately.
Because not long before this, Kallen had finally stepped in.
Using the power of Nihility, she had not only pulled Welt and Dan Heng out of danger, but had also successfully located both the exit and the Astral Express within this realm.
Now the train was following right behind the three of them.
And with Kallen's help, they should soon be able to leave this Nihility-field that had trapped the Astral Express for three months.
Void stirred around Kallen once more.
But this time, the Nihility in the vicinity no longer came after them. It was almost as if it were deliberately parting to make way.
Before long, they reached what resembled a boundary.
It was thin—so thin it was almost transparent—but it could still be sensed.
"This should be the exit," Kallen said, turning to the other two.
"As long as we break through this boundary, the train can leave this Void-domain."
Welt and Dan Heng exchanged a glance.
Then they struck at the same time.
The pseudo-black hole and Azure Dragon Soars the World—attacks from the two strongest men on the Express—smashed into the boundary together.
Boom!
The boundary shattered beneath the force of their combined attack.
Its fragments dissolved into countless points of light and vanished into the void.
And beyond it—
was a normal starry sky.
At last, the Astral Express followed behind the trio and slowly departed the Nihility-field.
When Kallen, Dan Heng, and Welt returned to the train, Himeko was already waiting at the entrance to the observation car.
She watched the three of them come in, and her gaze lingered on Kallen for a moment.
Although she had not gone out with them herself, she could still tell from within the train exactly whose efforts had made their escape possible this time.
She stepped forward.
"Miss Kallen, thank you so much for this mission."
"If it hadn't been for your help, the Astral Express might truly have been in grave danger this time."
That was the truth. Himeko had seen it clearly.
Everything the train had done before had been rendered meaningless by the shifts in the Void. Without Kallen, they might really have been doomed.
Kallen, however, did not seem especially moved.
"The Astral Express saved my life once. I helped the Astral Express through a crisis. Isn't that fair?"
She paused, then added:
"And besides, I count as a passenger now."
"As a member of the Astral Express, helping the train is simply what I should do."
Himeko looked at her and laughed softly.
Miss Kallen had always been like this. She had been the same on Penacony too.
Looks like, because of Miss Bianka, she truly did feel warmly toward the Path of Trailblaze.
"No matter what, the Astral Express won't forget this debt," Himeko said in the end.
Kallen waved a hand and said nothing more.
Then, as if remembering something, she turned back to Himeko.
"By the way, Miss Himeko—where is the Express planning to go next?"
At that, Himeko's brows drew together slightly. Clearly, the train's condition still had its problems.
"According to the original plan, we should head to the nearest repair point first."
"But now…"
She paused and checked several data readouts.
"The train's communications system is still nonfunctional."
"It may be because it was immersed in Nihility for too long. The signal reception module appears to have been affected."
"In other words, although we've left the Void-domain, we still can't contact the outside world."
"But fortunately, the train's other systems are gradually recovering. Continuing to travel for a while shouldn't be a problem."
And just as she finished saying that, a cough sounded from near the floor.
Everyone turned.
At some point, Pom-Pom had arrived at their side.
Then the conductor spoke up.
"Pom-Pom thinks nobody needs to worry too much."
"Even though the communications system is broken, the navigation system still works."
"Pom-Pom just checked. The train's current position… isn't all that far from Herta Space Station."
The car fell silent for a moment.
March 7th was the first to react.
"Really, Conductor?!"
"When has Pom-Pom ever lied?" Pom-Pom's ears twitched. "At the train's current speed, and with the remaining reserve energy, reaching Herta Space Station will be no problem at all."
The voice wasn't loud, but each word landed with certainty, like an official declaration.
"So, Passenger Kallen."
Pom-Pom turned to face her directly, looking absolutely serious.
"You don't need to worry about the company."
"When we arrive at Herta Space Station, the Express crew will ask Madam Herta for help. At that point, the matter of you being ambushed—we'll help you seek justice."
Huh.
So the Astral Express was actually this kindhearted?
Kallen was honestly a little surprised.
While she herself wasn't especially afraid of the IPC, she knew perfectly well what kind of presence the company represented to most of the galaxy.
And the Astral Express—though aligned with Trailblaze—was hardly a major power in its current diminished state. Going up against the IPC shouldn't have been easy for them.
Yet even under those circumstances, the Express was still willing to stand on her side.
That was genuinely unexpected.
Though, unfortunately for them, once they actually reached the station and learned what had happened over the last three months, their faces probably wouldn't look any better than now.
Still, Kallen didn't mind much.
"In that case, I'll thank all of you in advance," she said.
Meanwhile, Dan Heng and Welt—who had just survived the ordeal—remained comparatively quiet.
Unlike the others who had stayed on the train, they had personally witnessed Kallen use the power of Nihility.
And the difference between Preservation Kallen and Nihility Kallen had been far too great.
Of course, power itself had no good or evil.
But that wasn't what concerned them.
"Miss Kallen," Welt finally said after a pause.
"May I ask, however impolite it may be… when exactly did you step onto the Path of Nihility?"
The answer was already right in front of them.
Kallen was a walker of Nihility. That much was fact.
No wonder she had remained unharmed after lying unconscious in the Void for so long. She had always belonged to Nihility.
Kallen let out a light laugh, then admitted it freely.
"Of course. That isn't really something worth hiding."
"I stepped onto Nihility after Bianka died."
"Because Bianka was the most important person in my life, and after she died, I felt that everything had lost its meaning."
"And the way she died was far from a peaceful one. I couldn't accept reality at the time, so I became a Self-Annihilator."
The entire Astral Express fell silent at once.
No one had expected to hear such information from Kallen so suddenly.
Over the last three days, out of consideration for both Pom-Pom and Kallen, everyone had tacitly avoided bringing up Miss Bianka at all.
And now Kallen was saying—
Bianka had not met a good end?
That subject was more than a little alarming.
Pom-Pom was the first to break the silence.
"…Passenger Kallen, may Pom-Pom ask how that child passed away?"
"She died by choosing death of her own will, so that Trailblaze would not become Finality," Kallen answered.
At that, Pom-Pom and the rest of the crew all sank into silence.
They did not fully understand what she meant. They did not know the relationship between Trailblaze and Finality.
But the general meaning was clear enough.
Bianka had died for Trailblaze.
After a long while, Pom-Pom finally spoke.
"…Then that child must have been an outstanding Nameless too."
Then the conductor looked up at Kallen again.
"If there's ever a chance, Pom-Pom would really like to hear her story from you."
Kallen didn't refuse.
"Of course. If the Conductor is interested, then once the train settles down, I can tell it to you slowly."
Pom-Pom nodded at once.
"Then it's a promise, Passenger Kallen. You're not allowed to go back on your word!"
"I won't," Kallen said softly.
That exchange let the others breathe a little easier.
At the very least, it seemed Pom-Pom and Miss Kallen were both in a much better state of mind now.
But at the side, Welt was far less calm than he looked.
Because he had suddenly remembered something.
Back in the Void-domain, when Kallen had used the power of Nihility—
he had seen her eyes.
Those had been the eyes of someone driven by an immense obsession, and one who already held a wish for death.
Originally, when Kallen only used Preservation, Welt had not sensed anything wrong.
But the moment Nihility appeared, that overwhelming sense of déjà vu in his heart had reached its peak.
Otto Apocalypse.
A man Welt had never wanted to think of again.
Back in his home world, Otto had committed countless acts so unforgivable that Welt had often wanted nothing more than to beat him to death—all for the sake of bringing back the saint he had held in his heart.
And now, on Miss Kallen—
Welt had seen Otto's shadow.
Welt: "..."
That couldn't be right.
Although, from the moment Miss Kallen had used Nihility, the bad premonition in his heart had only grown stronger.
Still… Miss Kallen was a saint of Preservation. How could that dog Otto possibly be compared to her?
For a moment, Welt even felt ashamed of his own suspicions.
Forget it. Miss Kallen had never shown any sign of betrayal. For him to sit here doubting her felt deeply unfair.
And yet, for some reason, Welt had the distinct feeling that the road ahead to Herta Space Station was not going to be safe at all.
Well.
Hopefully it was only his imagination.
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" 150
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 255
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (This matter is completely finished.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 155
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 96
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi 51
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 105
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (This matter is completely finished.)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 100
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 120
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 105
After Maxing Out Every Class 110
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 95
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 60
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 57
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 75
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 86
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 70
Honkai: The Fire Devil 70
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/30
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 60
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 36
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin