Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider! [41]

The awkwardness passed quickly, thanks to Sora.

Seeing him awake, Robin immediately came over to check on his condition.

After all, Sora had just used a power that was highly prone to going berserk—one that inflicted immense strain on both body and mind.

Robin didn't want him suffering any long-term damage because of it.

But Sora only said, "I've never felt better."

The instability from the Fang Memory had only manifested on the mental level. Now that he had subdued that inner savagery, the Memory's presence became nothing but a power boost.

In fact, Sora now felt that his compatibility with Fang might even surpass that of Joker.

That meant the burden of using the Fang form had grown surprisingly light.

He had a feeling he and Fang would get along just fine—

If Fang could just stop biting his pants leg.

Everything else could be summed up in one sentence:

"Full stamina, a perfect body, and transformation powers! With all that, I'm practically flying high right now!"

If he had as many lives as a certain dumpling-loving Stand user, he might've done a full-on cosplay to demonstrate what "Golden Spirit" really meant.

Unfortunately, he didn't—so he just tucked that idea away as a private regret.

Seeing that Sora insisted he was fine, Robin believed him, but still insisted he remain here to rest for a while.

Even if using that power had left no aftereffects, proper rest was non-negotiable.

And Robin wasn't budging. Not even when Sora and Ouja teamed up to plead their case.

So Sora had no choice but to spend the night resting here—while slipping into the Planetary Library to dig for something he needed.

The books within were few and far between now, but many volumes still remained wrapped in silver light, untouched by time.

Standing amidst the shelves, Sora spoke aloud the keywords most relevant to his search:

[Planet], [Zulo], [Power Convergence Point].

Whshhh!

Books vanished in rapid succession, until only a single, weathered volume hovered before him.

Exactly what he needed.

Sora flipped it open and scanned its contents.

But the location it revealed caught him completely off guard.

"…It's there?"

The place marked on the page was somewhere he'd been before.

The War Foundry.

And now, it was Zulo's base of operations.

That place really can't catch a break.

At dawn the next day, Sora couldn't wait to find Anna and share the intel he'd uncovered.

"You're here this early? Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Anna hadn't expected him to show up so soon.

Her first instinct was to check on his condition.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about your health instead?"

But Sora's concern lay elsewhere.

Anna's face was puffy with exhaustion. Dark circles pooled beneath her eyes, and the redness in them made it clear—she hadn't slept a wink.

"Me? I'm fine." She shook her head, not thinking her state worth worrying over.

In a few days, this planet would meet its end. The pressure of that fact weighed too heavily on her.

"I might've found a way to stop that from happening—"

Sora started to speak, hoping to lift some of that burden.

But Anna cut him off.

"Since you brought that up, there's something I need to show you too."

She activated a projector, casting an image into the air.

What appeared left Sora silent.

The scene was painfully familiar. Battered, scorched, and riddled with craters.

All scars left behind by her arrows from their last battle—proof of her link to the planet and the hope she'd tried to instill.

The location was the War Foundry.

But now, from those very craters—once symbols of salvation—black mist was beginning to pour.

The fog twisted and congealed, slowly forming foot soldiers of the Antimatter Legion.

He recognized them at a glance.

Voidwalkers.

Old acquaintances he'd encountered time and time again since arriving in this world.

But these weren't the same.

Gone was the faint glimmer that had once shimmered on their bodies. These new ones were entirely black, pitch-dark from head to toe, radiating overwhelming strength.

They stood taller, their scarlet eyes glowing with the promise of annihilation.

Even the Stompers—those that had once nearly ended Sora's life—had changed. Their upper bodies were now more than twice as large as before, their arms grotesquely thick and packed with sinew.

A single arrow from one of these reinforced monsters could likely reach across several kilometers now.

That kind of muscle deserved long-range firepower.

…Assuming they even had muscle under all that fog.

Seeing this, Sora immediately recalled one of Zulo's many titles.

Beyond the infamous and fearsome "Lord Ravager," there was another that now rang louder in his mind:

Former Vanguard General of the Antimatter Legion.

Zulo had razed galaxies, snuffed out civilizations—this was someone born to wage war on a planetary scale.

Of course someone called "general" would fight with armies.

And now, with everything he'd seen and learned, the pieces clicked into place.

"So the plan is to steamroll the entire planet with a Voidwalker army?"

A crude but effective strategy—proof that Zulo wasn't just a mindless brute.

After Sora's Fang Arrow had disrupted his consciousness last time, Zulo had backed off from a head-on fight.

Now, he'd pivoted. Abandoning direct confrontation, choosing instead to cleanse the planet through sheer force.

The camp barely had enough people who could fight back against normal Voidwalkers—let alone these upgraded ones.

This wasn't subterfuge. It was open war, laid out for all to see.

A challenge in plain sight.

"…Then what? Let the survivors slowly wither away on the front lines, until their civilization crumbles?"

Sora's voice was low.

Only someone like the Lord Ravager, who glorified war and annihilation, could move so swiftly to exploit his advantage.

Even a dying world deserved to be dragged into battle one last time.

"It does seem, just as you said… the Ravager truly intends to follow through," Anna murmured, massaging her temples.

What she couldn't understand was why this shattered, hopeless civilization was worth that much effort.

"But—there is one good piece of news." She let out a sigh of relief. "The route off this planet hasn't been sealed."

"That's… good news?" Sora blinked. "You say that like anyone here can leave."

Even if they escaped, without stopping all this, the end would come a few days later anyway.

Anna looked him in the eye.

"At the very least, you can."

The air fell still.

Sora and Anna locked eyes. Neither spoke for a long time.

"Sora… we're grateful for everything you've done. To have had you with us during these final days is an honor."

As she spoke, she placed a terminal into his hand.

"This is the official contract for transferring all of this planet's funds stored with the Interastral Peace Corporation. Sign it, and leave."

"There's no need for you to face a battle we have no hope of winning. You've already done more than enough."

"Take it. Take it, and the memories we made here. Let someone out there in the galaxy remember us."

Anna didn't know how this could be salvaged. So instead, she chose to let their last remaining friend go.

"There's nothing left to fight for. The end is inevitable."

In a few days, the world would be nothing but ashes and ruins.

"There's no reason for you to stay and die with it."

"Go. Carry our final legacy to the stars. Let them know—we fought. We never gave up."

She gently curled his fingers around the terminal.

But Sora's response was simple.

"Then aren't you giving up right now?"

"This isn't giving up," Anna said firmly. "It's releasing someone who never should've been caught up in this."

She was resolute.

"…Heh." Sora gave a soft laugh. "So that means all the funds are mine now?"

"Yes." She didn't understand why he'd suddenly agreed, but was nonetheless relieved.

"Alright." He opened the terminal, browsed through the documents, and signed his name.

With this, if he could prove his identity to the Interstellar Peace Corporation, all of Camille's stored wealth would legally be his.

"Then I'm ready to spend it."

Anna blinked. "Spend…? There are no functioning terminals left here. You—"

Before she could finish, Sora handed both the black card and the terminal back to her.

"I want to buy something," he said, voice solemn and clear. "What I want to purchase… is this planet's final hope."

"Give me the bullet."