Kaboom (Literally)

Vill-V believed her conversation with Lee was going very smoothly, but this rare moment of togetherness was ruined by an urgent communication someone sent to Lee.

And when she saw the caller's name, Vill-V's resentment grew even stronger.

It's Elysia again... Don't tell me she saw a Seraph-Class Honkai beast with three wings and specifically sent an urgent communication to everyone else to complain about it?

Vill-V couldn't be blamed for thinking the worst of Elysia, because she had actually done something like that before.

But the good news was that this time, Elysia hadn't done anything so outrageous.

The bad news was that it would have been better if she had just shown them a Titan class Honkai beast with three wings.

"Lee, it's bad, something's wrong with Sakura!" Elysia's anxious voice sounded the moment the communication connected. "She found out that Rin was captured as a Herrscher. She's already heading towards Rin!"

"Shouldn't Sakura be with you on a mission outside today? How did this happen?"

Lee frowned, immediately mobilizing the fastest aircraft. "Didn't you stop her?"

For the past few months, they had been teaming up with Sakura, traveling around and making it difficult for her to return home.

But nothing could be hidden perfectly forever. Rin's situation being exposed was only a matter of time, so Sakura learning the truth now was within Lee's expectations.

But this time, Elysia was with Sakura. Although Sakura was a strong fighter among the remaining dozen or so MANTIS Soldiers, there should still be a significant gap in strength compared to Elysia, right?

"She knew about Rin before, she just didn't say anything." Elysia's voice was full of helplessness. "So a few days ago, she told Pardofelis that the Cosmic Harmony's ability would be very helpful for this mission, and then—Sakura just used Cosmic Harmony to create a pseudo-black hole to temporarily trap me. I got out as quickly as I could, but time inside the black hole is different from the outside. At her speed, she's probably already close to the city."

".....Have Kevin and Mei been notified?"

"I tried to contact them earlier, but for some reason, I couldn't reach them!"

".....I understand. Leave this to me."

Lee silently hung up the communication.

She hadn't expected that just by coming to see Vill-V's new invention, the situation could progress so rapidly. Check group number: 694936135.

Sakura had left the team to attack the prison and rescue Rin, while Elysia, who was outside, couldn't contact Kevin and Mei, who were almost always online – and they happened to be in the same Fire Moth base in Fortress Two as Rin.

After trying and failing to contact other people in Fortress Two, Lee could basically confirm what was happening now.

"Fortunately, Fortress Three isn't too far from Fortress Two....."

"Lee, do you need me to come with you?"

"It's okay, I'll handle it... If I talk to Sakura properly, she should understand."

Lee thought for a moment. "Mei wouldn't disconnect without a reason. If she did, then there must be a necessity for it. Maybe the enemy is a type that can attack through the network, like the memetic contamination of the Herrscher of Sentience at that time."

"VV, I'll have to ask you to temporarily disconnect Fortress Three's network from the outside, just in case."

The aircraft had already landed outside.

Lee gently waved her hand, declining Vill-V's offer to help, and then set off on the path to intercept Sakura.

In combat, Sakura's speed was among the fastest of the MANTIS Soldiers.

Being fast in a fight didn't mean she was an expert in long-distance running.

Therefore, this classic math problem of Sakura starting first and Lee chasing later ultimately ended with Lee, who used the power of technology, winning.

Several kilometers outside Fortress Two, Lee successfully intercepted Sakura, who had a cold expression on her face.

"Sakura, calm down."

Since she was just going to see Vill-V's new invention, Lee hadn't even brought Seven Thunders of Retribution.

Therefore, she could only stand in front of Sakura empty-handed – fortunately, she was actually a mage now, and her reliance on weapons wasn't that great. Using a sword was actually just a habit for Lee at this point.

But Sakura's reply was only two simple words.

"Move aside."

"Rin is fine, I can assure you!" Lee tried to explain to Sakura, whose eyes were serious. "The reason I didn't tell you before was because I was worried you would be too emotional and do something irrational....."

"Lee, I'm calm, and I know what I'm doing."

Sakura silently tightened her grip on the longsword named Frozen Naraka.

Compared to the Seven Thunders of Retribution that she had used briefly before, she trusted this weapon that had accompanied her until now. "Rin, she didn't do anything... She's innocent. You can't just unreasonably treat her as a disaster and imprison her life!"

"I understand your anger, but Sakura, we can't afford to suffer losses like the Eleventh Herrscher again....."

Lee lowered her head slightly and said sincerely, "Give me a little more time, okay? I promise you, after confirming that Rin is not dangerous, I will definitely let her free from prison!"

".....I'm grateful to you, Lee, for always taking care of Rin. This time, Rin wasn't immediately killed as a Herrscher, thanks to your mercy."

Sakura slowly raised her longsword. "She also told me that she likes you very much – but, no."

"How will you determine that Rin is not dangerous? She hasn't hurt a single person until now. Is that really considered dangerous? The scientists of the Fire Moth are lunatics. They will only treat Rin as experimental material – shouldn't you know this better than anyone?!"

"It's not like that....."

Lee's voice was so faint that it was hard to hear, let alone persuade the furious Sakura.

"I'll say it one last time, Lee, move aside!"

".....Is this the only way?"

Sakura didn't answer. Silence explained everything.

Then, in a dead silence, the silver blade light exploded like a flower, as if tearing space itself, forming a net towards Lee!

Sakura's strike was fast. She was even confident that even Kevin would be trapped by this blow – if she could unleash this strike.

".....?!"

Sakura remained frozen in her attack posture. The blade light that should have been able to tear through everything didn't move a fraction.

Looking at the silent Lee, Sakura realized a fact so strongly at this moment – although Lee liked to fight with a sword, she was undoubtedly humanity's strongest psychic warrior.

"Apologies, Sakura, but..... please give me some time. Everything will be alright."

Lee slowly walked to Sakura's side. "I'll take you to see Rin later. She's fine, really—"

BOOOOOOM!!!!!

A deafening explosion suddenly sounded from behind.

Almost instantly, Lee covered her bleeding ears and staggered two steps in pain, kneeling on the ground.

The power used to restrain Sakura had a flaw, and that was enough for this battle-hardened warrior. In an instant, her figure disappeared from the spot.

"What's.....?"

But at this moment, Lee no longer had the attention to focus on the vanished Sakura.

She just knelt on the ground, looking up at the mushroom cloud slowly rising from inside the fortress.

".....Huh?"