After an immense strike that unleashed his everything, Uesugi collapsed and nearly lost conscious
'Cant fall asleep now', biting his lips, he raised his head to look at Bronya who had also fallen and was unconscious
This battle was truly a combination of luck and power. While Uesugi can be considered a bottom A-Rank Chevalier. The difference in strength compared to a peak A-Rank was too immense
Luckily, whether it's her arrogance or belittlement, she didn't take them seriously which resulted in this result
'There are still two enemies to defeat, but we should escape for now even if the humanoid figure stops us'. Uesugi tried to stand up but his body ached everywhere
His resistance to pain was normal and it was only because of his mental energy that he could stay awake
Bronya may have experience as a mercenary shaping her mentality but her mental strength was not as strong as Uesugi
As expected, a mixture of angry and shocked looks approached as they equipped their weapons, aiming to take their lives
Uesugi tried to mobilize Honkai Energy to block their attacks, but it was futile as it shattered like glass
Despair filled his face as he stared at Bronya and said, "Sorry". Closing his eyes waiting for death
Inching away from his body, a sigh was heard. The ground trembled as a metallic shine rose, rebounding the strikes at Uesugi, and didn't let down its flurry of attacks
Clashes of metal rang continuously and the blinking out Uesugi tried to see their savior but fainted with relief after sensing the difference in strength
Without further ado, the helper extended its metal limbs with a malleability, dodging the white figures' attempt to block it. Blood coughed out as they lay unconscious with a gaping hole in their stomach
Under the shine of the sun, the metallic figure gradually reformed itself into a human form, revealing a middle-aged man in cool clothes unsuited for Siberia's weather
Looking at Uesugi and Bronya, he smiled with gratification and glanced toward the gap of the zombie horde with a glare that pierced a gap in the wall
The receiving end was indifferent and showed no reaction, as the middle-aged man began a staring contest, eventually retracting his gaze and sighing helplessly, before letting out another shine as it returned to its original form
A pair of cannons dropped to the ground and shook greatly before it flew at Bronya's body and merged with it. Yes, it was Project Bunny 19C that Maxim gifted to her and as the helper, it morphed into Maxim's appearance
Unfortunately, Uesugi and Bronya were unconscious and couldn't ask any questions. An eerie scene was played as two figures alive were sleeping in the middle of a group of zombies surrounding them
The long-haired humanoid figure looked deeply at Uesugi before turning to Bronya. Its gaze was penetrative but it seemed to have found nothing from them. Without any expression, it flew to the sky above the horde
A coincidence in the sun's angle caused the figure to be shadowed by its light. When it raised its hand, Honkai Energy suddenly flew towards it and concentrated into its palm
If an Honkai Energy detector were here it would find an astonishing 1000 HW on it.
It was a value that could barely create a Herrscher core, this amount was condensed into an unknown person's hand. If unleashed, then a minor Honkai Eruption would happen in the areas of Siberia which experienced the 2nd Honkai Eruption nine years ago
When the accumulation ended, the changes in the air stopped. Surprisingly, with the naked eye, nothing can be seen on him, yet the zombies below who are said to act on their instinct for Honkai were trembling
With an indifferent gaze, the palm flipped upside down and fell onto the army.
It was silent, an observer would find a long-haired figure raising and flipping its hands in midair which would be bad for movie producers if they tried reproducing it
However, an abnormality happened. Except for Uesugi Shuu and Bronya Zaychik, everyone within a km of Chita began disintegrating, this included the peak A-Rank leader who was walking groggily with indignance
When she reached the battlefield, the scene shook her core as she realized the same thing was happening to her.
"No, I don't want to die without knowing what happened". Screaming horrendously, her last cry rang and closed with her death.
The process was instant, looking at the snowy plains that blew and the non-existent Chita, the humanoid figure flashed and disappeared into the boundless plains that none would venture into from now on
Shicksal would place a ban and name Chita of Siberia a forbidden zone for Valkyries to enter
*****
4 hours later
A groan could be heard from the boy as his eyes gradually opened with confusion when he tried moving, his body ached painfully as he was forced to stop
'From my neck downwards, I lost all my strength'. Inwardly sighing, he tried to twist his head to see the situation
Not surprisingly, shock appeared on his face as he saw except for him and Bronya, not a single soul was in sight
His expression vanished as he felt the humanoid figure was responsible for this.
Seeing that he was immobilized, he entered his mental space and began meditating. Uesugi felt a sense of liberation from using his new move as if the shackles on his mind were shattered
However, the space remained the same and no changes appeared. Feeling disillusioned by his discovery, he sighed and planned on exiting the space when he noticed something from the corner of his eyes
Under the blank figure meditating, a mental energy pool existed, this time no ripples surged from it
Realizing this discovery, Uesugi delved deeper into his consciousness and discovered that his soul was liberated, not his mind.
He felt the manipulation of Honkai Energy and Mental Energy become easier as the mental pool served as a medium to extract mental energy efficiently
Despite sensing it had more functions, he couldn't find anything noteworthy and became frustrated at looking at a treasure without a key to unlock it
Exiting from the mental space, he immediately went into action. While his body was recovering, his energy reserves were fully restored.
The invisible mental energy was shaped into a pan that scooped out a pile of snow before launching it like a catapult. Playing around with it, he made many items using his mental energy
'Finally, for my last test'. Excitement covered his face as he wanted to experiment with his idea.
Strands of mental energy wrapped around his body leaving not a single gap. When it fully enclosed his body, he manipulated the mental energy to move into the air
Flight... Uesugi Shuu flew without his Battlesuit's wings and boosters as he created a superpower known in comics which goes by telekinesis.
'This is freedom!' Excited about his endeavor, he began flying and doing curves in the air when he started to feel exhausted as he quickly dropped himself back to the ground, next to Bronya
Sweat was formed but his happiness didn't fade.
As if sensing the exuberant emotions near her, Bronya twitched and opened her eyes coldly.
Pushing herself up, she touched her head and felt a piercing pain from it.
"You exhausted your Honkai Energy reserves, if you had pushed yourself even further, even with Peak Honkai Resistance, you would have become a zombie". Uesugi said gravely as he realized her condition
Fright appeared on her before it receded. She didn't regret her actions as it was necessary for survival.
Staring at her for a while, he sighed when he knew she wasn't in the wrong.
Uesugi's injury lies in the physical body while Bronya overexerted her Honkai Energy reserves, leaving her to be a normal human temporarily
Currently, they lacked their greatest strengths and in this unknown situation, the best course of action for them was to hide
Taking out the map, they ventured toward Zasopka and hoped for a settlement to stay in. Their journey had occasional talks and teaching as Uesugi taught Honkai manipulation and skills she could incorporate that he saw in the game while Bronya talked about her experience as a mercenary
While they still have not become friends, they are now comrades-in-arms.
The walk lasted for hours when they found another cave to inhabit. The sun began setting and before they settled, Uesugi detected a nearby animal to hunt while Bronya took out the supplies
Sitting before the campfire, Uesugi and Bronya stared at it before the boy turned to look at Bronya. Wondering what to say, he suddenly heard her say, "What is your dream"
This question shook Uesugi as a blank pair of eyes turned towards the starry skies.
Bronya was surprised by his actions but remained silent, she didn't know about her dream and her focus was to become stronger and reunite with Maxim, she was merely curious about someone her age with so much responsibility on him
Uesugi's thoughts flashed as he recollected his memories and motivation in this world. Whether meeting the protagonists or defeating Honkai, he knew how to do that. While the world was worse than the game, he could survive with the system's help and his efforts
Stealing others opportunities would work for him but he avoided doing that because the protagonists relied on their talents, efforts, luck, and characters to obtain their opportunity. He didn't want to ruin the world because of his selfishness
However, why did he want to become strong? He felt fear upon receiving his second mission and gained enlightenment through a strange existence and felt a fire light up in him whenever a strong foe appears
He never considered a goal, he didn't want to dominate nor did he want the strongest title on him. Uesugi wanted...