“Prepare yourselves for this one.”

  The three irls sent Keviioning gnces as he said these words. Sakura was the first oo uand it followed by Hua.

  “Um.”

  “Hey~? Am I the only o of this?”

  Sakura respoo Elysia’s question.

  “You haven’t fought against him yet. Whenever Sir Aleph smiles like that, you expect a tough fight.”

  Hua nodded upon hearing her description. Before the fifth eruption occurred, Aleph occasionally visited her. The two sparred as a way of learning the martial arts he wao pass onto her.

  Hum.

  Tick-!

  Their attention was taken by a clock’s phantom. trary to the usual, Aleph’s left eye became golden. A flintlock pistol resent in his left hand.

  Its sight shifted everyohoughts to the shirl with a gothic lolita dress who acted intimately with Aleph.

  It did not e off as a surprise to Kevin, but the rest were fbbergasted upon hearing how Mei, Mobius, and Aleph’s long-lost childhood friend, Kurumi, became his girlfriends. Aleph did not say anything further aside from Kurumi’s background and power.

  ‘...Am I really as Carole said..?’

  Indecisive.

  That was the word used to describe Hua. Uhe proactive Carole, she was the type to go along the flow. Nine months had passed since her first meeting with Aleph. Yet, she was satisfied with how things are between them. She buried the affe brought by her first crush.

  However…

  ‘Should I really do it?’

  Bang-!

  “Get ready. I will take his attention first. Miss Sakura and Miss Elysia should strike when they see fit. Try not to get caught. As for Miss Hua… you act as the sed vanguard?”

  “Um.”

  Hua’s chaotic thoughts were pced to a halt. The loud gunshot indicated the beginning of their mock battle.

  A bck-red aura appeared on Aleph's body. The clock’s phantom had long disappeared, leaving him standing still a dozeers away from them.

  Bam-!

  Sou-!

  Kevin was the first oo charge at him. Hua followed in his footsteps. The distance of a dozeers was swiftly closed by the two of them.

  Crack-!

  The huge greatsword was dragged by Kevin along the ground. Its dull side cut through the soil while the sharp edge was left untouched.

  Bam-!

  A single vault of his closed the remaining distaween him and Aleph. Kevin grasped the greatsword’s hah his two hands and spun it, direg the sharp edge to Aleph.

  Bam-!

  His bde othing but the air. It crashed deeply into the ground, creating a small-scaled dust cloud.

  Anure dashed straight into the dust cloud. She seemingly knew where Aleph was amidst the visual obstru.

  The honkai energy that came from her body verged at a single point.

  BOOM-!

  Shatter-!

  A rge force easily cleared the dust cloud. It exteo the soil a, shattering them whehe force went.

  Soon, Hua’s and Aleph’s figures were revealed. The tter dodged her punch with a backstep. Her fist was a few timeters away from his face.

  “Good stance. However…”

  Sou-!

  Swoosh-!

  Bam-!

  The greatsword’s huge bde separated him and Hua. It promptly forced Aleph to move away to dodge it.

  “...there’s still a lot to learn.”

  Sou-!

  Sou-!

  Sou-!

  Several pink arrows interrupted his words.

  Bam-!

  Bam-!

  …

  Aleph’s figure turned in a blur as he evaded all of them. Each arrow left a crater on the ground. It forced Aleph to move further backwards.

  Despite not using his elemental sight, his Deathly Intuition pricked the back of his neck.

  ‘It should be ing anytime soon.’

  Kevin, Hua, and Elysia’s attacks had a purpose—to force him at this exact position.

  As to why?

  Hum.

  The sound of a bde uhing had seemingly halted time itself. In this world filled with gray, a fox-eared girl drew her bde.

  However…

  Shatter-!

  A pure white light painted yet another color to this dull world. By the time Sakura could react, Aleph’s figure was long gone. What greeted her was a fsh of bck light.

  Bam-!

  It was a punch. It struck Sakura’s shoulders. As she was holding her bde, she could not put up a det defense.

  Thud-!

  Bam-!

  Colors returo the world. Sakura’s body flew more than teers before stopping. Her katana cut through the ground as she slid.

  Seeing the first pn fail, Elysia moved away from her previous location.

  Flutter-!

  Her current battlesuit—an outfit remi of her Fmechaser attire but with added metallic parts—fluttered along the wind. Three arrows at a time were pced on the bow’s notch.

  Elysia’s relentless attacks acted as a cover for the three of them.

  Unfortunately, Aleph nning something else.

  His figure briefly disappeared before reappearing. He was now less than five meters away from Kevin. Hua attempted to strike at his back when Aleph leaped.

  His real target…

  “This is bad..!”

  …turned out to be Elysia.

  Kevin's words could not reach her in time.

  Aleph used his Blink, reappearing right behind Elysia’s flying figure. Star Rage acted for the first time. He pced both his hands on Elysia’s shoulders.

  Buzz-!

  His cursed energy was ed as the imaginary mass appeared on his body. O reached a few tons, he stopped.

  “I’ll pensate you ter.”

  Bam-!

  Rumble-!

  Just like that, Elysia was struck down to the ground with a strong pull at her shoulder. She was brought along with Aleph's fall. Star Rage does not affect its user's weight, but the imaginary mass bees tangible when Aleph is in tact with ahing.

  A rge crater appeared on the ground they fell onto. A cloud of dust rose up correspondingly.

  “Ahem… You don’t hold back against a cute girl.”

  Aleph was the first oo stand. Elysia was still kneeling in the ter of the crater.

  “Would the honkai beasts hold back if it was a cute girl?” He asked iurn.

  “Yes!”

  “...”

  Aleph did not choose to remain arguing. Elysia was the unstoppable force when it es to retorts.

  Fizzle-!

  An imaginary fizzling sound rang in Aleph’s ears. He extended his reverse cursed teique to her, healing any sorts of injuries caused by their fall.

  “e bace you have recovered. I’ll fight with the others.”

  That night, the abandoned airfield was damaged beynition.