Thanks to all the power stones, this fic has reached its highest ranking and feeds my ego to the max.
Enjoy the rest of the side quest chapters!
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In the middle of a godforsaken land with almost nothing to see but sand and dust flying in the wind, a jeep could be seen in the distance. This armored jeep had the same design as the one Eden used when she left the HQ of MANTIS. The Jeep's body was customized with a matte black finish, a heavy-duty bumper with a built-in winch and tow hooks, and red halo headlights, giving it a stealthy, formidable look. It featured oversized off-road tires, a lifted suspension, and widened wheel arches for enhanced off-road performance. The doors were replaced with tubular frames for better visibility and an open-air experience. Inside, custom red and black seats and a roll cage indicated its serious off-road capabilities. An LED light bar on the roof and additional bumper lights provided extra illumination for night drives.
Inside this black jeep were Mei, Aponia, Kiana, and Fu Hua. Sitting in the back seat were the silent Aponia and Fu Hua, the second-in-command in terms of battle prowess. In the passenger seat was Kiana, the leader of the MANTIS Org. and the hope of the future humanity to fight and prevent the Angels or Herrschers from wiping them away.
Currently, though, Kiana was more like a dog than a tuna, as she stuck her head out of the window of the jeep to feel the breeze of the wind. Kiana did feel the breeze in this forsaken land, but she also received and felt the dust and sand dunes that the wind was carrying into her face. This made her cough as she caught some sand in her mouth and got blinded for a while because of the sand going into her eyes.
Seeing this for the first time, Mei and Fu Hua laughed lightly at first, but when Kiana did not stop her shenanigans and kept on going, both of them just stared at this idiot, not understanding why she wasn't stopping. Did she like getting hurt or what?
"Close the window; Mei is having a hard time driving because of all the sand entering," Fu Hua reprimanded, but that was a lie as there wasn't much sand entering to hinder Mei's driving. She just wanted Kiana to stop fooling around and looking like an idiot.
Kiana frowned at first and wanted to retort, but she saw Mei nodding with a wry smile, so she relented and closed the window of the jeep with a pout.
Mei just smiled at the pouting Kiana, while Fu Hua ignored her and looked at Mei. "Anyway, what kind of core did you pick?" she asked curiously, pointing at the black briefcase on Kiana's lap.
Mei turned her head away from the front view as she didn't really need to drive safely or maneuver that much because there was nothing in front of them except sand and the occasional Honkai beast and zombie trying to block or attack them.
However, Kiana easily killed these pests by shooting them with her twin pistols while ignoring the zombies, as they were former humans. They did get run over by Mei, who seemed to put extra effort into killing the Honkai beasts based on the heads exploding and her expression when killing them. Why was she like this? Because those things were the minions of the theoretical Will of the Honkai. She was mad at these things with extra A and D.
Mei then returned her sight forward. She was about to answer but stopped as a zombie suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of them. She tried to dodge the zombie, but as usual, the zombie got hit and rolled over by the armored jeep. She cringed hearing the sound of the zombie getting squashed.
"Really, Mei?" Kiana asked in a teasing tone, giving Mei a smirk.
"Want to drive?" Mei asked jokingly while she continued driving without looking away from the road. However, Kiana did not get the memo.
"Really? Yatta!" Kiana asked in an excited voice, and before Mei could answer, Kiana was already trying to move from the passenger seat to the driver's seat. Luckily, Fu Hua stopped her, and the reason was simple.
"Kiana, I told you! You're not allowed to drive because we'll end up back at the MANTIS HQ without realizing it or even remembering how we ended up back," Fu Hua explained flatly to everyone.
Kiana stopped and then stared at Fu Hua. "That only happened once. It won't happen again," she retorted with a smirk on her face as she proceeded to move again.
"See! That's how bad of a driver you are; you don't even remember that it happened," Fu Hua explained further.
Kiana was about to retort again, but Mei stopped her, saying she was just joking when she asked if Kiana wanted to drive the jeep. This made Kiana pout and Fu Hua laugh lightly. Even if Mei wanted to be replaced as the driver, no one in their group could drive properly. Mei was chosen because she was the smart one and could figure things out easily.
"Back to Fu Hua's question, the core inside the briefcase is the core of the Herrscher of Thunder," Mei answered with a smirk.
"You..." Kiana was about to say something but stopped, not wanting to make Mei remember what happened to her family.
"Don't worry, Kiana. I've already moved on from that," Mei said, smiling warmly and thanking her for being considerate.
"I see. Using the weapon that killed the people of Higashi, including your family, against the enemy that killed them is quite poetic," Fu Hua nodded sagely, understanding the irony behind it. She felt good being philosophical about this, but Mei shut her down.
"Eh? Not really, I just really want to role-play as a Narukami," Mei retorted, blushing in embarrassment over this childish reason.
"I see," Fu Hua replied simply, but she was also embarrassed after being all smug. Kiana wanted to retort, but she was stopped again. This time, it was the silent Aponia, though that didn't stop Kiana from cursing inwardly.
"There won't be a fight or battle," Aponia retorted, unable to help it because they were disrespecting her Lord by comparing him to a lower being.
"And why is that?" Kiana asked with a frown.
"Because I saw it in my vision," Aponia said with a manic expression, making the others shudder.
"But your visions have been unreliable most of the time," Kiana retorted, believing it to be a fact.
"I have already said enough, as it will happen soon," Aponia replied, clasping her hands as she prayed that nothing would go awry for telling them this.
"Aponia, can you tell us what you saw in your vision?" Mei curiously asked. Kiana and Fu Hua perked up, awaiting Aponia's answer.
Aponia nodded and told them she saw Eden and her Lord buying instruments with two other girls she didn't recognize. Another vision was of her Lord embracing them in his arms.
Hearing all this nonsense made the trio of listeners frown, especially the latter, as they were not worshippers. Why would her Lord embrace them?
"The Lord loves all women equally," Aponia answered their woes. She wanted to say not all women, but she wanted to make her Lord look better in their eyes.
"We don't need your Lord; we can handle ourselves," Kiana said proudly, which Fu Hua and Mei agreed with.
"It's okay; you don't need to accept yet, but let me tell you this: in the Lord's care, you will be happy and free of worry," Aponia further explained before going silent. She hoped this conversation did not change the future vision she saw.
"Hmph," Kiana made a tsundere sound as she ignored Aponia, not even bothering to reply.
Mei, on the other hand, wanted to ask why men were not included but stopped as Kiana pointed in a certain direction.
"That's Eden! And she's with someone," Kiana shouted loudly, recognizing Eden's silhouette but not the other person's.
"It's really him! The Lord and Savior is upon us," Aponia shouted, clasping her hands and starting to pray.
"Start honking, Mei," Fu Hua suggested as she watched Eden and the other person with narrowed eyes.
Mei nodded and started honking nonstop until Eden noticed them.
They were happy that Eden noticed them, but their faces turned to frowns when the trio of Fu Hua, Mei, and Kiana saw that Eden was running towards them frantically. Their frowns turned to shock when they heard Eden shout:
"The Will of the Honkai is here!"