Chapter 16: Kevin? I only need one hand to finish him!

Chapter 16: Kevin? I only need one hand to finish him!

Xuan eyes peered opened as he looked around, finding himself in a familiar room to him, covering his face with his palm, he groggily went over to the couch besides the bed, sitting down contemplating what had just happened.

The Herrscher of Sentience, at this moment entered the room looking at the somewhat tired Xuan curiously.

She came back in with a bag, which meant she must have gone out to get food.

"You're back so soon?"

"So soon? How long has it been?"

Xuan replied exasperatedly before checking the time on his mobile phone. However, he realized he had no idea what time it was when he left.

The Herrscher hummed, checking the time on her mobile phone before raising a finger, indicating that Xuan should answer himself.

"One minute?"

Xuan tiredly tilted his head, raising an eyebrow as the Herrscher shook her head.

"Then... Ten minutes?"

"No?"

"An hour?" Xuan hazarded a guess, and as his voice trailed off, Senti nodded in agreement.

She placed the bag containing snacks on a small table nearby before taking a seat beside him.

"I see, the time difference is about the same, not much of a difference," Xuan muttered to himself, his hand resting on his chin.

As they conversed, neither of them noticed an orange spear-like mark at the back of Xuan's shirt, flashing with a dim light before fading completely.

—

Parallel World.

After the events of the battle with the Herrscher of Domination.

Kiana was lying on a medical bed provided by St. Freya, her eyes opened, flashing with on orange light for a moment as she sat up on the bed.

She kept her hands on her cheeks as her mouth curled up in a weird smile. "Finally, after so long~"

"I've finally found you, my dear~" As she said those words, her eyes glowed with even greater intensity with a chilling laughter.

"I'll come you when I'm done with everything, so, just wait for my arrival obediently. Hihihi~"

—

Back to the main world.

Xuan, feeling a shiver down his spine, interrupted the conversation with the Herrscher of Sentience. "Whii... What was that?"

 Puzzled, he looked around the room before the Herrscher sitting close to him brought his attention back. "Like I said..."

 "...Tell me about the parallel world you went to for the mission."

"Huh..? Ah... It happened after you were deceived by Hua. Kiana turned into a salarywoman who works for the world for free."

Xuan spread out his hand with a shrug, having nothing more to add, knowing she had already seen most of his memories regarding HI3rd.

"You—What do you mean, 'deceived by Hua'—"

[Ding!]

[Host Xuan rewards for the completion of the parallel world quest has been calculated.]

"—Ahh—speaking of which, I have yet to claim my rewards," Xuan promptly ignoring Senti faced the system as he tapped at the system, ignoring the fuming Herrscher beside him.

[Mission: Everlasting Flames]

[Mission Objective: Help Kiana Kaslana subdue the Herrscher of Domination who has been limitedly strengthened by Honkai.]

[Reward: Choose one of the following Herrscher Cores]

[Herrscher Core of Reason, Herrscher Core of Void, Herrscher Core of Flames, Herrscher Core of Sentience, Herrscher Core of Domination.]

"Huh? A Herrscher core, just like that?" The Herrscher of Sentience neared Xuan on the sofa, her eyes widening as she saw the popup.

To confirm she wasn't mistaken, she blinked, then rubbed her eyes, but the rewards remained the same. "Hmm... What should I choose..."

Xuan pondered, examining each desirable Herrscher Core.

He truly desired the Herrscher Cores of Reason and Void for their versatility. However, at the same time...

He glanced at the Herrscher of Sentience beside him, whose gaze was fixed on the system screen—

—Specifically, on the Herrscher Core of Sentience.

She seemed almost drooling over it.

'Hmm... if Shiki grows stronger, it's equivalent to me growing stronger. Plus, there should be more to the powers of Sentience...'

Through the Soul Contract, if the Herrscher beside him grew stronger, he would also undergo the same changes since they were bound to each other.

Her having a Herrscher Core would give them both more advantages.

Besides, with a system like this, he could acquire other cores sooner or later.

'So, why not satisfy her and increase my affection meter with her?' Xuan thought jokingly as he giggled.

Selecting the Herrscher Core of Sentience, a red diamond-like object appeared in front of Xuan, who tossed it in front of the surprised Herrscher.

"Eh...? You're giving me this...."

"Then, I'll gladly accept."

The Herrscher didn't dwell on it much as she grabbed the Herrscher Core levitating in the air.

The moment she grabbed it, the Core entered her ethereal body.

Then....

Like a Xianxia cultivator, she sat down in a lotus position, absorbing the Herrscher Core.

Seeing that Senti was undergoing her evolution or enhancement or whatever it was through absorbing the core, he went to the bed, lay down, and played some mobile games.

"Though I must say.... all these games are really tasteless..."

"Maybe I should really introduce some hehe boi spicy games...."

After some minutes of no response from Senti, she opened her eyes, clenching and unclenching her fist. "Hmm, just so so...."

"But I guess this will do."

"Oh? You're already done." Xuan sat up on the bed, eyeing Senti. "I thought it'd take longer than that." Xuan pursed his lips, then clicked his tongue while shaking his head.

He continued, "Tsk, tsk. Such a large Herrscher core, and you absorbed it with no visible change? That's disrespectful to the core."

Xuan looked at her chest, finding it as flat as ever, he sighed in disappointment.

The Herrscher of Sentience stood tall, her non-existent chest puffed out with her hands on her hips, saying confidently, "Impossible! My strength has increased by thirty percent!"

"Eh.... Is that so... Then, what are the odds going against that Kevin guy?"

"About sixty-forty. Me sixty, him forty."

"Oh? Confident are we.... But wait... wouldn't making a God Key with this core be more effective than you absorbing it?"

".... Right..... But, I've already absorbed it, so what now?"

"....."

"....."

"Fuck." Fu Xuan slumped back onto the bed, realizing he had missed out on a huge advantage and wasted his chance.

"No big deal. I can create something like Mortal Transcendence using my authority," The Herrscher, though realizing that was an option, jumped onto his back, massaging his shoulders as she coerced him.

She learned from him, after all.

—Meanwhile...

Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, who had just been admitted to the St. Freya Academy, walked along the scenic paths, marveling at the grandeur of the academy.

Just as they were walking, both Kiana and Mei spotted someone oddly familiar: a person with gray hair tied into a ponytail.

No doubt about it, it must be that person.

However, the individual was walking toward them with dark clouds above their head, though they couldn't see it.

But before anything else, Kiana lunged at the person, grabbing their shoulder.

"Xuan... I knew you weren't dead! I'm glad you're still okay." Mei also looked at the person, smiling in relief.

"?" The person raised her head to meet Kiana's gaze before tilting their head to the side.

"I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. I don't know you at all.... Besides, my name is Fu Hua."

 "How can it be...." Kiana's eyes widened for a moment, but then she remembered. "Wait... are you Shiki then... his sister?"

She recalled that he had a sister who also resembled him, so it must be her!

However—

"Shiki? Who's that?"

".... Sorry but I'm not the person you're looking for," Fu Hua replied, pursing her lips. "Besides, I'm in a very bad mood right now. Please excuse me."

Perhaps because Kiana was clinging to her too much, Fu Hua said the last line with a threatening tone.

"Kiana-chan, I think we really got the wrong person..." Mei intervened, pulling Kiana back and trying to lead her away from Hua.

"Sorry..... It's just impossible for someone to look exactly the same in this world, Mei-senpai~" Kiana took the opportunity of Mei holding her and clung to Mei's arm like a kitten, refusing to let go.

"Wait! Did you say there's someone who looks just like me?"

Fu Hua, hearing those words escape Kiana's mouth, tightly gripped Kiana's shoulder, her face contorting as she leaned in close, breathing heavily.

"Ah! Ghost!" Kiana, startled by Fu Hua's sudden return and scary expression, wanted to grab Mei and Bronya to run, but was held firmly in place by Hua.

"Can you please tell me more about the person you're talking about?" Fu Hua asked Kiana kindly with a not-so-threatening smile.

Swallowing nervously, Kiana felt that if she didn't speak, she wouldn't make it out alive.

"His name is Fu Xuan, male, 17 years old, looks exactly like you, and is my class president at Chiba Academy in Nagazora City. He also has an older sister who looks like you, named Fu Shi but he calls her Shiki. That's all I know. And during the Third Eruption, he's most likely... gone."

Kiana quickly spilled all she knew about Fu Xuan in one breath. Seeing Fu Hua relax, she immediately grabbed the other two and fled.

"The Third Eruption, a male, and likely gone? Then the person in the surveillance couldn't be him, but his sister, Fu Shi..."

Fu Hua muttered as she watched the trio run off, organizing her thoughts.

"Fu Shi, huh. Better not let me catch you!" Fu Hua's eyes glowed red as she pondered.

Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Sentience, lounging in the hotel, had no idea she was taking the blame for Fu Xuan.

——

Editor's note:

I think it's confirmed, we're having a yandere Kiana.

*Chuckles* 

Welp, rip Xuan.