Honkai Impact 3: Deadwood

——October 2016, 10——

——05:40 am——

After dozens of rounds of fighting, under the joint siege of Ji Zi and Fu Hua, Xilin, who was already beaten to a pulp, could only barely cope with the attacks of the two throughout the whole process.

The exquisite swordsmanship displayed by the two men and the repeated attacks launched by the armored red-haired woman with the power of the "Plague Gem" left Xilin no time to fight back.

Just taking on those sword moves that had almost no flaws when the two of them worked together was enough to overwhelm Xilin. She felt completely humiliated and tortured by being beaten one-sidedly.

What made it even more difficult for her was that even with the energy provided by two Herrscher Cores at the same time, the Honkai energy in her body was still decreasing.

The "Key of Space" plus the armor with the power of the "Gem of Disease" were used to defend against the attacks from the two and repair the constant damage to the body, which was drastically consuming the power of the "Herrscher Core" in Sirin's body.

"Heh, what's wrong, you bastard Herrscher? Are you planning to surrender?"

Ji Zi shook back her rain-soaked crimson hair and panted as she mocked Xilin.

"Damn it! Damn it! They're just bugs that stole my gem!"

Although she still refused to give in, Xilin's heart couldn't help but waver at the thought that she might be defeated.

If I continue like this...I will lose...Will I...lose? Lose to the woman who stole that idiot's body, lose to the tiny human who stole the power of "God"? How is it possible!

Xilin was gasping for breath as she faced off against the two men. Realizing that she had to separate and defeat the two men, Xilin was suddenly guided by a strange feeling. As if she had thought of something, she subconsciously opened her lips and called out, "Bella... That's right, Bella!!!!"

Thinking of a way to resolve the siege of the two, Xilin hurriedly stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers. Under the power of the "Quiet Gem", her most loyal follower who had been defeated by the little guy before was immediately resurrected.

As waves tens of meters high exploded on the sea, the white dragon rushed into the sky and returned to her queen.

"Oh? What? You don't think we'll be scared if you call a little pet out to help you, right? Fu Hua, use the power of the "Key of God" to cooperate with me, let me go over and kill it with a knife and let it go back into the sea to sleep."

"Well, leave it to me."

Fu Hua, who was controlling the captain's body, nodded. The two who had formulated the tactics were about to make a move, but Xilin got ahead of them and pretended to be calm and laughed strangely: "Hahaha~ Do you think I need to call for help to deal with you two stinky humans?"

"Oh? Really? Then who was the one talking to himself over there with trembling legs?" Hearing Xilin's words, Ji Zi responded sarcastically with disapproval.

"You!! Humph! Bella, chase them, catch up with that broken ship and kill everyone inside without leaving a single one alive!" Silin pointed at the direction of Hyperion's retreat with gritted teeth and shouted orders to the followers behind her.

After receiving the order from its master, the giant white dragon roared, and flapped its wings behind it, which were huge enough to cover the sky, and quickly flew into the deep space on the other side of the rainstorm.

"It's bad. Theresa and the others are all seriously injured and can't fight. If Hyperion is caught up by that guy, I'm afraid..."

Ji Zi, who had seen through Xilin's vicious tactics, gritted her teeth and clenched the red giant sword in her hand: "Fu Hua, leave this to me. You quickly take your body back to Hyperion and use the "Key of God" to lead everyone to retreat!"

"..."

"Go to the French branch... No, go to the Shenzhou branch. It's your hometown and you're more familiar with it. And if that dragon chases you, the Valkyrie troops guarding there will be enough to deal with that guy."

"..."

"Ok?"

Unable to get a response from her companions, Ji Zi had to look back cautiously while guarding against a sneak attack from the Herrscher. Then she saw the young man behind her half-kneeling on the ground in pain, and the situation did not look good.

"Fu Hua! Are you okay!?"

"Ahem... my body... is out of control..."

In order to successfully control the body of an old friend, Fu Hua has used "Yu Du Chen" to block out most of the pain this body brought her, retaining only the most basic perception necessary to control the body of another.

But even so, the pain brought by the remaining part of her perception during the battle gradually exceeded the limit of what she could bear, and this intense pain was still constantly increasing, as if it was going to devour all the perception of this body... making her unable to even stand.

But if it were just this, perhaps there would be some room for maneuver in the battle, but Fu Hua knew very well that Ji Zi's current situation was not much better than her, who was suffering from great pain now.

Her body has also reached the limit of what a human can endure.

Considering all the strategies she could think of, Fu Hua knew that she was clearly in a dilemma.

If the body standing side by side with Himeko now was her own and not that of an old friend, she would definitely choose to persuade Himeko to retreat, let her go to protect Hyperion, and she would stay here to hold back the Herrscher with all her strength.

Unfortunately, what she is controlling now is Zhi's body, so she cannot give up herself easily, because that would be tantamount to giving up Zhi's life. This is her bottom line that she cannot give up no matter what.

But if she retreated first as Jizi said, Jizi who stayed here would inevitably become a victim of her and Hyperion's escape. Once Jizi was defeated, the "Disease Gem" mounted on her armor would fall into the hands of the "Hershers". At that time, it would be a fantasy to defeat Sirin who possessed three "Hershers Cores".

What to do... How to choose...

No matter how much I think about it, I can't come up with an answer...

Fu Hua felt desperate as she realized she had reached a dead end. Time passed by, but she could do nothing...

"Xiaozhi...tell me...what should I do...?"

The girl who couldn't make a choice called out silently, her vision soaked with tears, and Fu Hua felt only darkness before her eyes...

She just wanted to make up for the mistakes she made...

She just wants to protect the person she wants to protect forever...

Obviously, she didn't want things to turn out like this...

The body supported by the sword tilted uncontrollably, and Ji Zi's anxious voice echoing in Fu Hua's ears seemed to be getting farther and farther away from her...

The word "give up" gradually appeared in Fu Hua's mind, making her feel disappointed with herself and everything she had done so far...

Twigs…

What on earth should I do?

Is it all I can do... abandon my companions and run for my life?

The unknown silence tortured the girl's lonely soul and made her feel exhausted...

In the endless darkness, she just felt numb...

……

But that kind of pain, loneliness, numbness and despair... were completely dispelled the moment someone appeared.

In the chaotic vision, Fu Hua seemed to see a hand covering her/his hands that were leaning on the sword. From the fingertips of that hand, there came a constant flow of warmth that made her feel extremely at ease.

That's the man's hand.

"It's okay, Chiyuan, I'm here."

I heard the gentle whisper of an old friend, and at the same time, as my vision gradually brightened, the urgent calls of my companions became clear again.

"Xiaozhi... That's great... You're okay..."

The girl's consciousness, which was originally in endless darkness, was guided by the voice of an old friend into a spiritual space composed of blue sky and clear lake water.

"Fu Hua!? Fu Hua!? Are you okay? If you can still move, do as I say and return to Hyperion!"

"..."

Himeko, who was staring at the movements of the Herrscher, called out loudly, without noticing the figure of the boy slowly standing up behind her.

"Hey! Fu Hua! Fu...!?"

Suddenly, Ji Zi felt someone patted her shoulder. The sense of security made her turn around. In her golden eyes, she saw that the black-haired boy had stood up again and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.

"Himeko, don't worry, I'm fine."

"Fu... No, you are... Captain...?"

That familiar tone and the reassuring aura that only that person could have made Ji Zi immediately recognize who was standing next to her and controlling that body.