Chapter 86: Kids, I Won the Resurrection Match!

The peculiar youth clenched the Gem of Serenity. Even the Honkai energy that had been converging towards Kiana's body now completely reversed direction, surging towards this mysterious youth like an unbarred flood, rushing towards him at a speed far exceeding what it had before. Even the Gem of Serenity in the youth's hand began to lose its original color, gradually turning into an ordinary, grayish-white rock, which he then crushed directly. "Otto Apocalypse... you are just like him. It's just a pity you took another path, a more extreme one." The youth's voice sounded hoarse and grating, much like the sound of a knife and fork scraping against a dinner plate, making one instinctively want to retch. "...This esteemed sir, may I ask how I should address you?" Otto took a deep breath. His plan had encountered an unexpected hitch at such a crucial juncture. Where on earth had this person come from? The various defensive installations deployed both inside and outside the laboratory had proven completely ineffective; not even a single warning had been triggered. Either all his arrangements had already been dismantled, and even his warning systems had been easily infiltrated by hackers, leaving him deaf and blind, which was why the other party had entered so effortlessly. Or, this person, like the Herrscher of the Void, possessed the power to manipulate space and had appeared here directly by traversing it. The moment the youth appeared, Otto had already contacted the Valkyries outside the laboratory through the device on his person. What he needed to do now was to stall for time through conversation. "My name is Xin Yu. Just a time traveler." Xin Yu lifted Kiana in a princess carry. He looked at the sleeping girl, controlled his facial muscles, and forced out a smile. "Kiana, I'm taking you home." Kiana's eyes trembled slightly. She opened them and saw the familiar youth, his appearance now older and weaker than when she had first met him. "Xin Yu... I... I'm not the real Kiana..." "...So it's still the same world..." "Xin Yu... I am the Herrscher of the Void. I triggered the Second Honkai Eruption. I killed Mom, I hurt Dad, I caused all of that. I... I don't have the right at all..." "Kiana, the only Kiana I know is you... If there's a chance, I will change everything. Trust me..." "...Xin Yu... you... what on earth happened to you?" "I just expended a bit more of my life force, that's all. Just like when I helped you save Raiden Mei back then. It's okay, maybe I'll come back again... Kiana, listen, don't let the pain and guilt of the past stop you from stepping towards the future. You are merely a new life born shouldering the sins of those before you. You have the right to keep living." "You have people you love, and people who love you." "Think about it. Don't you want to walk down the aisle with Raiden Mei, hand in hand, and live out the rest of your lives happily together? Don't you want to see your parents, to act spoiled in your mother's arms? Don't you want to beat Bronya at a game for once? Don't you want to be able to proudly hold your head high and tell Himeko, tell Theresa, that you've grown up, that you've become a qualified Valkyrie?" "...I do." "Then keep living. Your sins will be shouldered by me, your pain will be borne by me. Entrust everything that makes you hesitate to me." Kiana felt the Honkai energy within her body rapidly draining away. At the same time, she could faintly sense the consciousness in her mind slowly disappearing. "Xin Yu... you!" "Kiana, live on. Do you remember what I said back then?" Schicksal's Valkyries had already completely surrounded Kiana and Xin Yu. The three strongest individuals in the encirclement faced Xin Yu directly. Fu Hua, Rita Rossweisse, Durandal. Three of Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries. While one of them was somewhat lacking in terms of raw power, the other two were undoubtedly among the top powerhouses in this world. "If we never meet again, I wish you good morning, good afternoon, and good night." "Xin Yu!!!" Kiana's body suddenly vanished, leaving only Xin Yu standing there. At the same time, his body looked even weaker; he was swaying slightly, as if he might collapse at any moment. "...The alteration of history is truly drastic. Just by doing this much, my lifespan is almost at its end." Xin Yu ignored the Valkyrie squads surrounding him, their weapons all aimed at him, as if they could tear him to shreds with a single command. He sat down on the ground, looking at Otto Apocalypse, who had walked through the crowd to stand before him. Those clouded eyes seemed to see another person through that shadow. "...My friend, your earlier self-address seemed quite out of the ordinary." Otto looked at the figure before him. Though he had the appearance of a youth, in every other aspect, he resembled an old man on the verge of death. Otto's expression was extremely grave. Xin Yu glanced around at the surrounding Valkyries, at these warriors who fought against the Honkai for humanity. "The part of her that was the Herrscher of the Void has been completely stripped away by me. Even if you bring Kiana back again, you won't be able to recreate the Herrscher of the Void." "Don't even think about getting anything from me. I'm about to die. This is the price for changing history." "...Why?" "Because of you, the Herrscher of the Void reappeared. The Honkai she unleashed globally caused many people to die." "...For the lives of the vast majority of innocent people, so even if it meant death, you still appeared at this point in time, is that right?" "Yes." Otto silently gazed at the youth before him, watching the forced smile on his face, watching his eyes gradually close, completely devoid of all life. What could one say to this? His meticulously crafted plan had failed so utterly, destroyed by a time traveler who was unwilling to let so many people lose their lives in the future. This... this was truly the capriciousness of fate. But no matter. With this person's corpse before me, I too can definitely achieve time travel. ... Xin Yu silently glanced down at his feet. It was a gray, rippleless surface of water. He then looked into the distance. It was a pitch-black great sun, or rather, a black hole devouring all things. "I'm back again. It seems my guess was correct. When I reach the end of my life and then voluntarily plunge into the void, I will arrive at this place..." "Mm, it seems I can indeed fight a resurrection match." ... When Xin Yu awoke from his slumber once more, he found that this time, he hadn't appeared in some dark alley or some other place, but was actually lying directly on a beautiful girl's lap. "Xin Yu... I beg you... don't continue this anymore..." Xin Yu looked at the tearful Future Kiana. He tried to sit up slightly, only to find that this Kiana's strength was somewhat frighteningly large; he couldn't even move a muscle. "...Kiana, can you let go of me first? I feel... it's a bit inappropriate for me to be lying on your lap." "Then is it appropriate for you to casually give your life for me, you idiot?!" ... PS: Actually, my original plan was to write a few more chapters to let Xin Yu understand the pain brought by the disaster more directly, and I also planned to have the protagonist fight the Herrscher of the Void directly. But after thinking about it, according to the protagonist's situation, he should go directly to solve the source of the disaster, rather than trying to make amends after the disaster has occurred. So, I sped up the progress a little.