Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

Bella opened her eyes and saw the two people staring at her. Her first words were a complaint about the doll's height...

The doll Bella strained to lift her head before finally seeing Snow and Kiana's faces. Snow's lips twitched slightly—

"This doll can fly, don't just stand there like an idiot... You're not tired looking up, but we're tired looking down..."

"It can fly... I'll give it a try... Wow—!"

The small, blue-gray puppet seemed to have activated something extraordinary; with a whoosh, accompanied by a scream and a sonic boom, it vanished before Snow and Kiana's eyes...

"...Is this flight mode really that powerful???"

Kiana turned to look at her companion with a shocked expression.

"That's supersonic cruise mode... Let her figure it out herself after a while. This dragon is simple-minded, not stupid..."

The blonde girl shrugged indifferently.

"Alright, so how am I supposed to take this smaller version of Bella back with me...? Speaking of which, this is the Stigmata Space, right? Why are you able to make things here...? And even simulate the physical effects of a sonic boom cloud for a supersonic Bella...?"

Kiana looked at the trails and sonic booms created by Bella, who was whistling and gradually getting hooked on the game, and her lips twitched.

"Although it's called the Holy Mark Space, it's not much different from a divine kingdom... so naturally it can do these things that defy common sense..."

"As for this dragon girl who's gotten carried away with playing... I'll have Rita take her to St. Freya Academy later..."

"Miss Rita...? Won't Otto find out about that maid...? Wait? Is that maid also one of your accomplices?"

"What do you mean 'my accomplice'? She's your accomplice too. We're all in this together. Can't you talk back?"

"I suspect my sister is also..."

Kiana looked at the girl in front of her with suspicion.

"Your sister Durandal doesn't know yet... but when you get to Sky City, I'll make her understand..."

The blonde girl shook her head and looked back at Kiana—

"Is there anything else you want to ask...?"

"Hmm... So, Snow, do you know where my dad is? I haven't seen him at all since then..."

Kiana mentioned her father, a hint of worry appearing on her face.

"He's still alive, but he'll be captured by the World Serpent... because he failed to awaken the true form of the Kaslana Stigmata and has been trapped in the Stigmata Space ever since..."

"I'll get your father out of here. Just keep moving forward... I'll figure out the rest."

"Well... that's enough for now, you should go back..."

Snow looked at the white-haired knight, waved his hand in a farewell gesture, and then the Stigmata World gradually began to collapse and disappear in Kiana's eyes.

"Wait! When are you coming back?!"

Suddenly remembering something, the knight shouted loudly at Snow, who was gradually disappearing.

"When the snake returns..."

Then, the space completely collapsed, and the girl's consciousness was thrown back into her body.

--

The smell of disinfectant stimulated the white-haired girl's sense of smell, causing her to open her eyes again.

As she opened her eyes, her still somewhat confused gaze was greeted by Mei's familiar voice.

"—Great! Kiana, you're finally awake... Don't move, I'll go inform the headmaster and Himeko-sensei."

"Jiuxiao, I'll leave Kiana in your care for now."

The black-haired girl hurriedly ran out, leaving the purple-haired girl and Kiana staring at each other.

"You slept all day, and they couldn't wake you up by any means, so in desperation they sent you to the intensive care unit of the medical department."

"Yes, you should have met her and passed her test, right?"

Before Kiana could speak, Jiuxiao began explaining everything to her and asked her question with certainty.

Kiana opened her mouth, but found her throat dry and unable to speak, so she turned and nodded to Jiuxiao instead.

"Very good. I can tell from your eyes now that you are a true warrior."

Jiu Xiao nodded with some relief, helped the girl up, and handed her a glass of water.

Kiana took the water cup, drank a mouthful to moisten her throat, and asked Jiuxiao—

"So, nothing special happened today, right?"

After thinking for a moment, Jiu Xiao's gaze towards Kiana suddenly turned sympathetic.

"To be honest, there are some..."

Kiana tilted her head.

"Today is the academic exam for the Valkyrie assessment at St. Freya Academy... You'll have to retake it next week... There are eight subjects in total."

"Besides, I remember you used to hardly ever study... well, if you wanted to ask, everyone would help you study."

Seeing Kiana's murderous expression upon hearing that she had to take eight courses a week and pass them, Jiu Xiao rolled his eyes.

"That's alright..." The white-haired girl nodded with a sigh, recalling her review for the Valkyrie assessment last time.

"And Snow probably already told you... to tone down that look you're giving me. I do like it, but other people don't see it that way."

"Act like a fool, at least pretend, yes, yes, that's it."

Jiu Xiao nodded as he watched Kiana, who, with his prompting, was constantly reminding herself to adopt a goofy demeanor.

"It feels weird to be back in this state..."

The white-haired knight muttered to himself.

"Anyway, I can just pretend for a month or two at most..."

Jiuxiao shrugged indifferently.

Chapter 96 I'm a lucky winner, I've won, what's there to say?.jpg

Inside the intensive care unit, Mei, who had left to inform everyone, had not yet returned. While there was still time, Kiana and Jiuxiao continued to exchange information.

"Speaking of exams, there should also be practical exams..." Kiana thought of something and tried to move her somewhat exhausted body.

"Don't move around, or you'll fall off the bed. You've been lying down for too long and your body is a little numb..."

Jiuxiao stood up and pressed Kiana back onto the bed.

"As for the practical exam, it's been scheduled for the day after tomorrow because an S-rank Valkyrie from headquarters is coming to assess it. You have plenty of time to recover..."

"S-rank Valkyrie, is that Miss Rita?"

Kiana seemed to remember something and pressed Jiuxiao for an answer.

“That’s right, Rita Losweisse... the vice-captain of the Undying Blade. It seems Snow has already mentioned her to you.”

"Hmm, she said Miss Rita would bring us a... uh, an armed doll?"

“Uh… an armed doll carrying Benares’s consciousness.”

Kiana scratched her head, and said somewhat uncertainly.

"Miss Rita, are you sure you can bring this with you...?"

"We don't need to worry about Rita's problem... Kiana, don't underestimate the maid profession."

Jiuxiao waved his hand, seemingly quite confident in the maid's actions.

"By the way, the doll that carries Benares's consciousness... in the end, you still chose to reconcile with your other self, didn't you?"

Jiu Xiao revealed an interesting look as he sized up the white-haired girl on the hospital bed.

"certainly...."

Kiana paused for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"Forget it, this is your own business, it's none of my concern."

Jiuxiao waved dismissively and moved on to the next topic.

"The Fourth Herrscher will be born not long after this exam ends. I can sense that the Honkai energy around New Zealand is gradually becoming more active..."

“Then Miss Wendy, she…”

Kiana seemed to realize something, and a look of utter confusion crossed her face.

“You want to save Wendy—but you can’t reveal anything special right now, and without the power of the Void, you can’t handle that chaotic situation. Right?”

Jiuxiao noticed Kiana's predicament and pointed it out directly.

“That’s right. If the future unfolds as Snow foresaw and showed... Bronya was about to succeed when she was controlled by Cocolia, causing us to fail at the last minute.”

"By the time Miss Wendy realized what was happening, it was already too late."

The thought of that certain anti-entropy fox immediately made Kiana's fists harden.

"Cocolia... she is indeed a problem. We can't possibly extract the bio-control chip from Bronya right now..."

"Wait...didn't you say Rita would bring Benares's armed doll with her...?"

Jiuxiao slammed his right fist into his left palm, an idea forming in his mind.

"Jiuxiao, do you have a plan...?"

Kiana looked at the purple-haired girl with some anticipation.

"Of course, although Rita can bring that dragon girl over, we certainly can't carry this thing around in public all the time. In the end, the armed doll just makes Benares a little less conspicuous."

“But missions are different. That puppet is probably a modified version of the armed puppet from the last era by Snow. Its full output is enough to rival the destructive power of an S-class Valkyrie. Moreover, if it is controlled by Bella’s own consciousness, this puppet should be able to absorb Honkai energy on its own.”

"Throw her onto Cocolia's ship, let them panic and buy some time. And don't forget what Theresa will do then..."

"You two sisters' auntie is truly a good auntie, she practically sold your older sister out... *slurp*"

Jiu Xiao kept a tight face, trying not to laugh out loud, but eventually broke down.

"Oh right, sis... is it really okay for Aunt Flo to betray her teammates like this???"

"What are you afraid of? Your older sister can take down a Titan in just a few punches. There's no way she'll lose."