[Belobog]
The only city on the planet Jarilo-VI, standing firm within the cold tide brought by the Stellaron.
It gives the people of this planet a sliver of land where they can survive.
But now, Belobog's city walls are shattered, and the radiance of Preservation has completely gone out.
Despair spreads through the air of Belobog.
"Silvermane Guards, heed my command!"
Just returning from patrol, Silvermane Guard captain Gepard didn't fully understand the situation yet. But when he saw the monsters destroying buildings all around, and the girl floating in the sky, he immediately ordered the Guards to escort surviving civilians to safe locations.
But in Belobog as it is now… what place can truly be called safe anymore?
Seeing the mysterious girl continuing to reap lives, Gepard steadied himself and launched an attack at her, trying to stop her.
But to Sirin, Gepard's attack was far too weak.
She blocked it effortlessly. Her golden eyes, utterly devoid of emotion, turned toward him. With a wave of her hand, two Subspace Lances launched at the same time.
Their speed was terrifying, appearing in front of Gepard in the blink of an eye.
Gepard's pupils shrank sharply. He raised his shield in front of himself while rolling his body to the side.
Whoosh!
The Subspace Lance struck the shield yet passed straight through it, leaving thin bloody cuts on Gepard's cheek and arm.
Dark red blood slowly flowed down.
Gepard touched his cheek. Seeing the blood on his fingertips, he didn't care at all. He stood up and stared at Sirin in the sky.
"I don't care who you are or what your goal is. Belobog is not a place for you to run wild. Leave immediately!"
His words made Sirin laugh. "You just barely dodged my attack by luck, and you dare speak to me like that?"
"Do you know that in my eyes, you're nothing more than a slightly bigger bug?"
A bigger bug is still a bug, how could it ever stand against a god?
After taking down a Honkai Beast, Cocolia looked at Belobog, now mostly reduced to ruins, her expression shifting unpredictably.
She raised her head to look at the girl in the sky, her hands clenching tightly.
As the Supreme Guardian, seeing her city destroyed and her people slaughtered, her heart burned with rage, wanting to rush up and execute that girl on the spot.
But she knew very well that this was not something she, or the current Belobog, could handle alone.
Just dealing with a single monster already required exhausting all their strength, let alone the master of those monsters.
After a moment of thought, Cocolia decisively ran off in one direction.
The way to save Belobog now… there was probably only one option left.
———
[In the Lower District Shelter]
Touching her face, now restored to normal, Stelle said excitedly, "We're saved!"
Learning that Levi was still alive, that he was on his way to save them, and that her face had returned to normal, this was truly a double dose of good news.
March 7th, who had been gathered with the others discussing what to do, turned around to look at her.
"Saved? Saved how?"
March 7th looked confused. Had Stelle managed to summon someone again?
Facing March 7th's questions, Stelle excitedly shared the news with everyone.
"All we need to do now is hide! For something this small, once that guy steps in, it's guaranteed to be solved!"
Dan Heng shook his head. 'Too confident.'
March 7th put her hands on her hips. "I'll trust you one more time. But this time, the person you brought better not be like Kiana again."
Weak and useless when helping us, but throwing heavy punches when hitting us.
If she'd used that kind of power the moment she appeared, they might have already forced their way to the Stellaron through sheer violence.
"Don't worry!" Stelle patted her chest confidently. "This kind of small scene is nothing to him. Let's just hide here and wait."
After all, that Sirin had gone to the Upper District. Right now, the Lower District only had those monsters with little intelligence.
And none of the survivors showed signs of Honkai corruption.
Hiding here was definitely the right move.
"That person… went to the Upper District?"
A murmured voice sounded. Stelle turned around and looked at Bronya, who had her head lowered, her heart skipping a beat.
'This familiar scene…'
'Hey, hey, hey! Don't tell me you're about to change too!'
Fortunately, Bronya didn't transform. She only left behind a sentence saying she was going to the Upper District to help, then left.
"That idiot! Is she trying to get herself killed?!"
Seele gritted her teeth as she watched Bronya run out. Seeing a Honkai Beast appear in Bronya's path, her figure instantly rushed to Bronya's side. She scooped her up and nimbly leapt onto a rooftop, avoiding the Honkai Beast's line of sight.
"Thank you."
Worried sick about Cocolia's safety, Bronya thanked Seele and immediately tried to leave again.
But Seele reached out and grabbed her.
"I'm going with you!"
Bronya turned back in disbelief. Didn't she hate her? Why would she still follow and help?
Meeting Bronya's gaze, Seele turned her head to the side.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm a fighter of Wildfire. Protecting… protecting the lives of Belobog's people is my duty."
After a moment of silence, Bronya looked at Seele very seriously and said, "Thank you!"
"Those two!" March 7th watched their departing backs and said worriedly, "With things like this outside, they're risking their lives!"
'In this situation, how dare they go out?!'
"Maybe…" Stelle thought for a moment. "In their eyes, other people's lives matter more than their own."
"Then don't they know that their lives are also other people's lives to us?"
March 7th grew anxious. "No! I have to go check on them!"
Thinking carefully, there might be many residents trapped somewhere outside, starving and freezing.
She couldn't just sit by and ignore that.
Watching March 7th dash off at full speed, Dan Heng and Stelle looked at each other.
Dan Heng sighed. March 7th was still the same, always telling others to value their lives, yet completely ignoring her own safety.
"Stelle, stay here and wait for rescue. I'll go keep an eye on March 7th, so nothing happens to her."
"No!" Stelle shook her head decisively, her eyes firm. "We're companions, we're the Trailblazing team. I won't let my companions risk their lives outside saving people while I hide away!"
'Companions…'
Hearing that word, Dan Heng was slightly moved.
Without saying anything more, he turned and chased after March 7th.
Stelle followed right behind him.
———
[Upper District]
Sirin controlled the Subspace Lances as they constantly moved around Gepard. Watching him forced into nothing but defensive dodging, she yawned.
"How boring. I thought you'd at least bring me some surprise. Turns out this is all you can do."
Her golden eyes looked down at Gepard with arrogance.
Just dealing with the Subspace Lances was enough to keep him from even approaching her.
His strength amounted to no more than this.
Sirin flicked her finger, and the Subspace Lances returned to hover behind her.
Finally getting a moment to breathe, Gepard dropped to one knee, gasping heavily.
His Guard captain uniform was in tatters, his body covered in wounds, blood flowing freely and staining his clothes red.
'I held her off…'
With no more screams or cries from civilians in his ears, Gepard's heart slowly calmed.
He knew that facing Sirin meant certain death, yet he still did it.
Simply because he is Gepard Landau.
"The cat-and-mouse game is over! Die, bug!"
Sirin sneered as she sent the Subspace Lances flying toward the utterly exhausted Gepard.
Clang!