The blade tore through the night sky, blue-white lightning dancing along its edge like a thunderbolt falling from the heavens.
Kiana didn't need even a second to recognize that voice or figure.
"Mei!?"
The blade came straight for Sam, but the armored warrior simply raised an arm to block. Metal rang against metal, sparks lighting up the surroundings, and the sheer hardness of the armor stopped Mei's strike cold.
With no way to push through, she pulled back and flipped through the air, landing in front of Kiana.
"Mei! How could you come here!? It's dangerous!"
The white-haired girl's already anxious heart tightened even further. If Mei was here, did that mean Aunt Theresa had come too?
"I came to protect you, Kiana." Their clash had lasted only a moment, but Mei had already realized that this armored figure was anything but ordinary. Even so, she planted herself firmly between Kiana and Sam. "...This mech called Sam is strong!"
Her meaning couldn't have been more obvious. Kiana wanted to refuse, wanted to tell Mei to run somewhere safe first, but she knew Mei wouldn't listen to her now.
After all, if their positions were reversed, Kiana would've done exactly the same thing.
Sam: ...
The situation had gotten rather awkward. Had her actions just now been misunderstood?
(T/N: Using female pronouns now when using descriptions since… well its in the perspective of the MC, who knows that Sam is Firefly.)
Still, Kiana's condition had stabilized, and Mei was here now. There shouldn't be any need for her to worry anymore.
With that thought, Sam lowered the arm she'd used to defend herself and straightened up. Her engines ignited, launching her into the air, and the heavily fortified dark building once again tore apart like a cardboard box as she smashed a person-sized hole through it.
"He... left?"
Mei, who'd been braced for another attack, couldn't make sense of what had just happened. She didn't dare relax, though, and instead focused even harder as she watched for any possible ambush.
Kiana knew a little more than Mei did. Sam had helped her once before, and while the reason behind that help had been unclear, Kiana could at least assume that Sam's plans required her to stay alive.
For now, that same guess would have to do.
Fu Hua, however, had the faint feeling that Sam had genuinely meant to let them go. Perhaps his connection to World Serpent wasn't all that strong. The fact that the mech directly interfered with World Serpent's plan this time certainly supported that possibility.
They could think about it later. Right now, Kiana really did need to leave. There was no telling whether World Serpent would send someone else after them once Sam was gone.
Kiana had been forcing herself to stay alert while fighting through her physical discomfort, and the instant she finally relaxed, exhaustion crashed over her like a rising tide. The sudden wave of fatigue nearly swept her consciousness away.
"Kiana!?"
Mei noticed her staggering and hurriedly caught her. The two had only just reunited after so much hardship, and there was plenty they wanted to say to each other, but first they had to get out of here.
--+--
After leaving the Heliopolis Shenzhou Industrial Area, Sam quickly returned to the apartment.
Once she'd dismissed her armor, Firefly glanced toward the distant Heliopolis Life Sciences complex and picked up the communicator from the bed. Before she could do anything, though, a familiar call connected to her channel.
"Sam."
Gray Serpent's voice was as low and cold as ever, carrying a strong mechanical quality.
"Gray Serpent, what's World Serpent planning in Arc City?" Firefly asked before he could question her.
"A necessary experiment in the fight against the Honkai."
That was Gray Serpent's entire summary.
"And the Heliopolis industrial area is part of fighting the Honkai too?"
"Correct." A strangely human note of certainty entered Gray Serpent's mechanical voice. "World Serpent exists to oppose the Honkai. Under our Sire's leadership, we'll become civilization's final guardians and claim victory over the calamity of the Honkai."
"You may have witnessed scenes that ordinary people would find unimaginable. But when civilization itself is at stake, necessary individual sacrifices shouldn't be met with nothing but sorrow and pity. They should also be honored with respect and gratitude."
"No matter the cost, humanity will defeat the Honkai in the end," he declared, as though quoting scripture.
"..."
Firefly's silence told Gray Serpent that he'd failed to convince her. She wasn't silently agreeing with him. She simply thought there was no point arguing with a mechanical intelligence whose fundamental beliefs were already written into its core data.
"Sam, do you still remember the purpose of a Herrscher?"
"To destroy human civilization. That's the answer World Serpent gave me before." Firefly's brief response carried an obvious note of distrust.
"Then would you rather trust a Herrscher than World Serpent, which fights against the Honkai?" Gray Serpent asked.
"I don't trust a Herrscher. I trust Kiana. I trust my own eyes and my own judgment."
Firefly didn't let him twist her words.
Gray Serpent fell silent for a while, seemingly speaking with someone else. Then his mechanical voice came through again.
"In that case, Sam, the Serpent will give you another assignment."
Another assignment?
She'd just disrupted one of World Serpent's key operations, yet Gray Serpent was still being this accommodating?
It couldn't be because they feared her strength. Gray Serpent's reverence for Kevin bordered on absolute, and now that Kevin had returned, a man who believed his Sire was unmatched wouldn't have grown more wary of Sam's combat power. If anything, the opposite should've been true.
"Your next assignment is to monitor every move made by the Herrscher of the Void. Until the Serpent recalls you, you'll be granted a certain degree of freedom."
Monitor the Herrscher of the Void? A certain degree of freedom?
'Are they basically letting me roam around on my own?'
Had Gray Serpent just gone to talk to Kevin?
"A certain degree of freedom?" Firefly was a little curious about what exactly that meant.
"Don't interfere with the Serpent's plans," Gray Serpent said, having already expected the question. "Every action the Serpent takes is meant to preserve the seeds of civilization when the final moment comes and ensure humanity's victory."
'I see.'
That really was a huge concession. After thinking it over for a moment, Firefly accepted the assignment. She'd been told not to interfere with World Serpent's plans, but when the time came, she'd still decide for herself what to do.
Once Firefly agreed, Gray Serpent didn't say much more. After offering a few standard lines about World Serpent's mission, he ended the call.
It seemed Kevin had already taken notice of Kiana—a Herrscher who still wanted to save a city after becoming one, a "Herrscher with Humanity."
His feelings had to be complicated right now.
Firefly spared the old ancestor a moment of sympathy, then put the matter aside. There probably wouldn't be any more trouble tonight.
--+--
Time passed, and roughly half an hour later, the air outside the apartment room rippled as a portal opened. Two figures emerged from it.
Kiana was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Sirin's refusal to cooperate made using the Herrscher Core extremely difficult right now.
She might've managed in perfect condition, but she'd only just had most of her Honkai energy drained.
"This... is where I've been staying for now..."
Kiana took a moment to steady her breathing until she finally looked a little less exhausted.
"Let's go inside."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL