Kevin glanced at Hua, who was looking at Carol with a complicated expression, and then at the man with an amazing behind who was casually thrown on the ground by Mikael...
The former was very obedient, while the latter...
"Are you sure? Can I even watch him?"
Mikael didn't answer. Kevin followed his gaze and looked out the porthole. Countless pink petals were drifting like snow dust. The petals were light and airy, and looked like they had nothing to do with pink crystals, but that definitely was Ellie's style.
The petals were caught in the raging wind, and, as expected, were ripped into countless tiny pieces that looked like pollen, almost instantly dyeing dozens of air pillars within a hundred kilometers radius a girlish pink.
Mikael narrowed his eyes slightly, and in the next moment, those air pillars connecting the sea and the sky, creating large spirals on both ends, were frozen—no, using the term "frozen" was certainly vivid, but not accurate. To be precise, Elysia had crystallized all of the air pillars.
The lower ends of the crystal pillars connected to the pitch-black sea, while the upper ends pierced through the thick clouds, allowing a little sunlight to filter down. Then, after losing their support, dozens of crystal pillars collapsed one after another, sinking into the sea.
Mikael softly clapped his hands. But he also knew that it was probably the limit for Elysia. But not so for the Herrscher. Each pillar of air had just been a casual strike for her.
But now, it was finally time for the main character to make his entrance! The spatial rift had only just opened slightly when Mikael stepped in with half of his body.
As for Kalpas... it should be fine. He was knocked out in the Sea of Quanta earlier. He should be obedient for a while.
That voice was exhausted and weak, but Mikael's ears still felt a burning sensation.
Kevin and Hua silently took a few steps back. They watched as the man on the ground slowly pushed himself up, but there was no trace of condescension in their eyes.
That instinctive retreat was caused by a feeling of fear—even though the fight that Mikael had to knock Kalpas unconscious had only been a brief moment, the shockwaves from that clash alone had caused an entire bubble world to collapse.
And from the timeline of human perception, how long had it been since this guy was hit? Just a few minutes, right? He could stand already?
"In that state, you're not going to be a burden?"
Mikael turned his head slightly to the side and gave him a quick glance.
Hua covered her mouth and tilted her head. She thought that no one would fall for such simple taunts... Oh, seriously?
Kalpas's body was still a little weak. His limbs were trembling, but he stood up with his back facing Mikael.
Of course he knew that Mikael was trying to taunt him, but none of that mattered.
All he wanted was a fight right now, a good, equal fight.
The white-haired boy and the little kid in front of him were just targets for slaughter. He had no grudge with them and no reason to fight them.
As for Mikael... He wasn't stupid, just too straightforward. He'd deal with him after recovering for a while.
So the only thing that he could have a good fight with right now was the enemy—Mikael's enemy. Mikael wanted him to become his pawn, right?
Good. He would start by tearing apart his enemy!
Kevin blinked and rested his chin on his hand. These two men standing back-to-back was actually a little... cool!
Kalpas grunted again and took out a wooden sculpture, still stained with blood, from his pocket to cover his bruised face.
The gruff voice was still echoing in the cockpit of the Chasing Flames Three, but the man who had spoken had already disappeared.
In the cockpit, no one was conscious. A pungent odor lingered in the air--the intense g-force had not only caused dizziness, but also incontinence. Kevin covered his nose, suppressed his urge to watch the battle, walked down from the bridge, and began to check for any seriously injured personnel.
Hua's breathing was a little heavy. She started to wipe the blood from Carol's and Himeko's faces.
On Agania Island, Elysia had just emerged from a shower of wind blades, looking slightly disheveled.
Just as Mikael had thought, the earlier attack had consumed all of her power. Now, she could only barely hold on.
"Just hold on a little longer! I'm increasing the Honkai energy input. In another half an hour, I'll be able to teleport Sakura over!"
Across thousands of mountains and seas, Vill-V encouraged Elysia over the communication channel.
And it was Mobius who stated the reality without any mercy:
"In her current state, never mind half an hour. She won't even last three minutes!"
"Wait! This is!" A simultaneous cry of surprise came from the other end of the communication. In Elysia's impression, it was the first time those two had reacted so in sync.
What had happened? She didn't have time to think about it, her legs suddenly gave out, and she dove forward to dodge the Herrscher's wind blade, taking the opportunity to punch the Herrscher directly.
The Herrscher didn't think she would advance instead of retreat. She was hit squarely in the abdomen, but only momentarily stopped moving. She sneered, and grabbed Elysia's fist.
Elysia's eyes narrowed. Blood splattered on her face, making her look even paler, but she wasn't flustered—she fell into a familiar embrace, feeling the familiar body temperature and the familiar scent...
Mikael leaped back and kicked the severed hand that had been ripped away by a Void lance back to the Fourth Herrscher, along with a trail of blood in the air.
Until that moment, the Herrscher still had a self-satisfied smile on the corner of her mouth. And then her chest collided with the severed right hand, and she was sent flying several kilometers away. Like a skipped stone, she created countless splashes on the ocean's surface.
Their figures passed by each other. Kalpas's footsteps unconsciously paused for a moment... after all, it was hard not to make the connection with Mikael's earlier words:
"Hey, that person looks a little familiar!"
Elysia buried half of her face in Mikael's chest. Even though her tone was cheerful, she still sounded muffled. Even Mikael's chest muscles seemed to vibrate from it.
"Yeah, you've seen him before... well, what do you think of my recruit..."
Mikael kept his eyes on the fight in the distance, and wondered in his heart, "Why is Elysia so quiet today?"
He lowered his head slightly. Elysia was resting her head on his shoulder. Their eyes met. She pursed her lips and lightly poked Mikael's cheek:
"Do you like quiet girls like Hua more?"
"!" Elysia lightly pinched Mikael's ear: "You didn't even say 'no'!"
"Hey! That's not it, Ellie, listen to my explanation..."
Elysia turned her head away, indicating that she wouldn't listen.
"That... wasn't it that I thought that you would get along better with Eden, so I asked you and Pardofelis to go find Eden and ask her for... for an investment!"
"And then? Then you secretly left with Hua to find that Kalpas and even specifically asked Vill-V, Mobius, and Sakura to keep it a secret from me! If it weren't for Aldemir picking up your phone, I wouldn't have known that all of this had happened!"
Mikael was speechless for a moment. He didn't really understand why he had made such a childish arrangement back then.
Elysia snorted heavily, turned around in his arms so she was facing outward, and then turned back a moment later, silently wrapping her arms around his neck.
Mikael took a deep breath and held it. His heart was beating faster and faster, and his whole body was getting hot.
Perhaps such an embrace was already too intimate. He had already handed off the only threat to Kalpas. No one was disturbing them anymore, and the atmosphere instantly became amorous.
Elysia pressed her face against his ear, and softly called his name.
The exhaled air touched his earlobe, and Mikael felt a little ticklish. He wanted to scratch it with his hand, but his hands were occupied. He was also somehow intoxicated by this feeling.
"Don't leave my sight from now on!"
Elysia suddenly pouted and said in a sulky manner.
Mikael naturally agreed readily, but his attitude was slightly perfunctory.
Mikael suddenly felt a coldness on his cheek. He was slightly surprised, and his heart began to pound even faster.
It was Elysia who had pressed her cheek against his. It was just a brief moment, before she quickly separated, but Mikael felt like his body had become as light as a feather. If he hadn't been held down by someone, he would have floated to the sky.
Elysia pursed her lips. She seemed to have something to say, but he waited for a moment, and could only hear--
"Mikael, where are you looking?"
Mikael shifted his gaze in a panic and made eye contact with her again.
Although that playful banter seemed natural, Mikael still managed to catch the brief flash of fear.
What was she afraid of?
Before Mikael had the chance to think carefully about it, Elysia began to giggle.
"What are you laughing at?"
Elysia reached out and smoothed out the wrinkles on his forehead. "I was thinking... since I'm not allowing you to leave my sight anymore, then what will happen at night..."
Mikael lightly bit his lip, and a wave of heat spread through his body, making his head spin. He was unable to speak for a long time.
The sea breeze passed them, leaving a shrill whistle and an endless chill. But in the world of those two, it was completely silent. Their bodies were heating up...
"Sigh! Vill-V, you just keep listening here. I'll go ask Phyllis to rearrange our sleeping accommodations."
But in the end, someone refused to eat that dog food, rudely interrupting everything.
Elysia's cheeks instantly turned crimson.
A small drone flew over them, and Mei's voice came from it:
"While it's nice to see how well you two interact with each other, Mikael, there's something that probably requires your attention."
As Mikael turned his gaze towards the direction of the shadow, the high, rolling wave connected to the black-gray sky, almost as if they were one. Under the force of gravity, they crashed down uncontrollably in a arc shape, as if the sky had fallen.
"Ellie, what do you think about me freezing a part of the ocean for you?"