Chapter 88: Kiana is a Fraud
In the streets of Arc City, two figures moved through the alleys. Occasionally, they encountered thugs blocking their way, who were effortlessly knocked down by Chase's sucker punches. Even the dogs by the roadside were not spared from a roundhouse kick and pile drivers.
"Chase, what's going on?" Kiana followed behind Chase, asking with some confusion. Having just woken up, she was still a bit bewildered by the current situation.
Ignoring why she woke up to a strange ceiling, the peculiar black-clothed individuals at the door, and the sudden situation where Chase knocked down the two and dragged her away, Kiana still harbored doubts in her heart—where did Chase's displayed abilities come from?
"Unfortunately, it seems we've attracted some attention," Chase said with a serious tone, glancing at Kiana.
One could say that it was expected since she was the target of the mission. Despite feeling that she hadn't done much, she always managed to attract the attention of mysterious forces.
Initially, during the inspection, Chase thought it was the city personnel checking residents without proper documentation, which was normal given the current chaotic period. However, Chase was overly optimistic. Sometimes, one's malice couldn't be concealed. Just as one could feel the warmth of others' goodwill, malice felt like a chilling wind.
Chase was familiar with this feeling, so he wasn't mistaken. After a futile struggle, he chose to take the initiative and strike.
Seele's combat experience from Beloberg was infinitely would have been useful at this moment. Needless to say, Seele has been fighting since she was a child, and Chase's current physique is comparable to Kaslana's, although she is more comfortable and at ease in fighting than him.
Kiana looked at Chase, casting a clear yet foolish gaze. Chase couldn't help but feel that the clever young girl he met initially seemed to have regressed in intelligence.
Chase stopped, and Kiana followed suit, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Her eyes, deep blue like a treasure hunter searching for treasures, were eager for the final answers.
Chase sighed with a hint of helplessness in his tone, "Although I'd like to find a place to sit down and talk with you slowly, I don't think we have the chance now."
In Kiana's gaze, a mix of surprise and uncertainty, Chase looked towards the shadow at the corner of the alley where darkness prevailed. The area where the light couldn't reach seemed even darker and more mysterious.
"Since they're here, why not say hello?" Chase looked at the side, directly asking.
"Clap, clap, clap." Applause echoed from the shadows, followed by the sound of footsteps, neither fast nor slow, resonating in the alley. The sound of shoes hitting the ground was like the echoes of funeral bells, each beat resembling the approach of death.
Kiana frowned, instinctively assuming a combat stance, raising her dual pistols towards the source of the sound.
"I thought it was just an enthusiastic young fellow, but unexpectedly, he has some skills," a woman wearing a black cloak walked out of the darkness, praising Chase generously. Her rose-red pupils were like snake eyes, conveying a sense of imminent danger when locked onto a prey.
Without waiting for Kiana to contemplate, Chase had already pulled out the spatial spear stuck straight into the ground, using it as a sword. With a step, he created a small pit on the ground, charging directly towards the woman.
Raven wrinkled her brows; she noticed that Chase didn't pay attention to her meaning but instead leaned close to Kiana, whispering in her ear. While Kiana maintained a vigilant posture with her guns, she listened to Chase's words, her expression focused as she stared at Raven.
"Are you sure?" After hearing Chase's plan, Kiana's pupils contracted slightly, asking involuntarily.
"Trust me." Chase nodded, his eyes determined.
Did he disrespect the little birdy emo Raven and her properties too much?
Raven felt a bit annoyed. Initially upset about the strangers who damaged her villa island, now these two completely ignored her. Her mood, already unpleasant, became even worse.
Without much unnecessary talk, a spatial void appeared behind Raven, and a spear of spatial energy shot out. Alert, Raven dodged it, then looked at Kiana with suspicion.
Since when did she master the power of the Void?
"Leave the rest to you!!!" Without waiting for Raven to think too much, Chase had pulled out the spatial spear stuck in the ground, treating it as a sword. With a swift step, he created a small pit on the ground and directly attacked Raven.
Raven wasn't in a hurry. Although she was surprised by the decisive actions of the young man in front of her, having lived a life of a mercenary accustomed to bloodshed, Raven wasn't just skilled in sniping. If it came down to close combat, she was not afraid.
Her right-hand claws naturally opened, clashing fiercely with the spatial spear brought by Chase, producing a sharp clang.
Why didn't Raven avoid it? Because she wasn't afraid, so there was no need to.
Feeling the force from the claws made of soulium, Raven was slightly surprised, taking a deep look at Chase. Despite his seemingly tender appearance, his strength was unexpectedly great. No wonder he could be a companion of the Void Drifter.
[Kiana in Void Drifter battlesuit pic: ]
Meanwhile, Kiana, at the moment Chase rushed towards Raven, closed her eyes as if pretending. Her expression became solemn, as if she were trying hard to activate the power of Honkai within her body.
Seeing this, Raven's brows furrowed. In this situation, Raven's intuition told her that if Kiana succeeded, her mission would undoubtedly fail. She had a bad feeling that if Kiana succeeded, her mission's reward would be deducted again. Having just lost her villa island, the now impoverished Raven would have to carefully pick up every coin she saw on the street and tuck it into her pocket.
As for deducting the mission reward, no, no, no!
Raven's attack became more intense. Chase was also a bit overwhelmed, and his hand holding the spatial spear became stiff. Raven's face lit up, taking advantage of this opportunity. With her claws, she deflected Chase's attack with her sharp claws, followed by a swift leg kick that landed squarely on Chase.
Hit, Chase's figure staggered, falling into the skill's recovery time. Raven didn't choose to pursue, immediately switching targets and advancing towards Kiana.
Without a doubt, the conversation between the two at the beginning was probably to delay Raven while Kiana used the Void Drifter's power to teleport them away.
Raven's strength is not weak; if assessed by the Valkyrie rating standards of Schicksal, she would be on par with Rita, who often encounters setbacks, both being S-rank Valkyries. Of course, Durandal doesn't count; if the opponent's strength is considered, perhaps creating a new rank for Schicksal would be appropriate.
Just as Raven was about to approach Kiana, Kiana's eyes opened, and the golden right eye seemed to flicker with radiance. She disappeared from her original position.
Raven was surprised and thought to herself that this wasn't good. Kiana successfully used her Authority to escape, and the mission was considered a failure. Raven's expression was complex, carrying a mixture of five parts indifference and five parts sadness. She turned around, intending to leave, only to coincidentally encounter Chase, who was looking at her awkwardly.
The void spears in Chase's hands began to dissipate, probably because their master had left.
Chase naturally noticed this scene. He looked at Raven with an awkward expression, smiled, and with a hint of inexplicable sadness in his smile, he said, "Um, perhaps I spoke a bit too loudly just now."
Raven also smiled, looking at Chase's expression of grievances. Her mood inexplicably lightened.
...
After a while, Raven looked at the now unconscious Chase in front of her, smiled slightly, and contacted Jackal.
"Hey, Jackal, the Void Drifter got away, but I caught her companion. I think you might be interested."
"...Oh, tell me about it." Disappointed with the response, Jackal's voice still held some curiosity about what Raven found interesting.
"Her companion seems to have a stigma on his right hand." Raven said.
"Bring him to my lab."
Raven handed the limp young man to the puppet soldiers beside her, indicating that they should load him into the carriage.
"I'll take him over; it's on my way."
Meanwhile, in the stigma space, Chase sat on the roof of a small house, legs crossed, silently observing the situation outside with great interest.
"Since it's an organization chasing Kiana and managed to track their movements in such a short time, they must have a lot of intelligence."
Chase couldn't help but think of the gray-haired woman with a cloak, involuntarily feeling curious.
With this level of strength, isn't it comparable to an S-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal?
This organization is really full of hidden talents. Let him explore it.
Intentionally immersing his consciousness in the stigma space, Chase silently watched the events unfolding outside, feeling quite pleased.
It seems that the other party only saw the stigma on his right hand but doesn't know its effect. Perhaps they attributed all the manifestations of the void authority to Kiana? Well, that's quite convenient.
..........
Half an hour later, in the Arc City Pharmaceutical Industrial Zone, in the underground experimental area.
Originally a heavily guarded core area, it was now relatively easy to enter, especially since Chase, the subject of the experiment, had been taken in.
"How is it? Have you found anything?" Raven, still wearing the black cloak and a hood with eye-like decorations, asked while looking at the unconscious Chase in a container filled with a pale yellow liquid, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
Beside her was a woman wearing a dog-head, no, a wolf-head mask, radiating a scientist's stubbornness and madness.
"Honkai energy can be injected, and the stigma is slightly glowing. The situation looks good," Chase said. "This is a complete stigma, and a natural one at that, belonging to the kind that awakens naturally. It has certain research value," she continued, "so I need more data."
With that, she manipulated the control panel slightly, and a mechanical arm extended from the container, its tip equipped with needles containing some unidentified liquid.
Raven looked somewhat impatient on the side, but in the end, she didn't intervene. Her colleague was just like that—genius is genius, but it comes with a kind of madness different from ordinary people.
It's true what they say, genius on the left, madman on the right. That's the way it is.
Just as the syringe in Jackal's hand was about to pierce Chase, who was originally in a coma, Chase's eyes suddenly opened. His pitch-black pupils stared at Jackal, who was somewhat taken aback by this unexpected situation.
The light of the stigma on his right hand flickered, and an invisible force shattered the glass shell of the container, causing the pale yellow liquid to spill out.
Chase's consciousness directly returned from the stigma space. He walked out of the shattered container, smiling, "I dare not let some unknown liquid be injected into my body at will, Miss Jackal. Please forgive me."
Chase, ghostly and focused, didn't want to say much to Chase. When she realized things were going south, she quickly frowned and retreated behind Raven.
She was just a researcher and not adept at combat. Let the professionals handle the fighting.
Raven also frowned, somewhat dissatisfied with Jackal's behavior of treating her as a shield, but she didn't say much. Claws popped out from her hands, assuming a combat stance, but her expression still seemed relaxed.
After all, she had already defeated Chase once before. Although she didn't know how he escaped this time, it wasn't a big problem. She just needed to capture him again. Raven thought so.
However, when she saw the appearance of numerous virtual voids behind Chase and the emerging spears of the void, she was instantly stunned.
Huh???
...
The battle didn't last long because Chase, seeing the situation getting unfavorable, directly released the HSN serum that enveloped the entire area. This serum, capable of greatly neutralizing Honkai energy, was as disadvantageous to Chase, a combat unit relying on Honkai energy, as the Herrscher Killer.
Unable to continue the pursuit, Chase, through teleportation, left the original location and moved to a rooftop in the distance, observing the night scenery of Arc City, the cyberpunk city.
"Speaking of which, I should go find..."
"Are you talking about Miss Theresa?" A deep voice sounded from behind. Chase turned to look and found a man dressed in black with a mask. Despite no rain, the man held an umbrella that covered his entire body.
Chase frowned slightly, puzzled. He had just come out.
"But it's a pity, she lied to you. Her name is not Theresa, and her real name..."
(TN: Guess the name chat!)
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