Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

When Rita spotted the guardian protecting the Divine Key, she was understandably nervous. But upon realizing the so-called "guardian" was just a tiny little thing, she instantly channeled her inner Tom Cat, breathing a sigh of relief.

Seriously, what's there to be afraid of?

Rita felt completely at ease, though slightly ashamed. Perhaps her recent string of losses had made her jumpy. But come on, she was a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie! She was strong!

With renewed confidence, she looked at the small, white-haired figure wielding a toy-like flaming greatsword and smiled.

This battle will be my comeback! Don't blame me for picking on someone smaller than me!

"Lady Rita, are you sure you can win?" Alvitr, part of the Valkyrie squad accompanying Rita on the mission, asked worriedly.

""That toy sword reminds me of Mr. Siegfried Judgment of Shamash. If it was Mr. Siegfried in front of me, maybe I would be in a bit of trouble."

"but would y--"

"Nah I'd Win" Rita replied confidently, charging towards the small figure with her scythe.

Her previous losses were purely due to bad matchups. As an anti-personnel specialist, she'd faced opponents like the Herrscher of Wind, whom she couldn't easily approach, or the Herrscher of Ice, whose resistance was too high, or the incredibly agile Elysia, whose speed she couldn't match.

But this little one? It didn't fit any of those categories.

Sure, being small could mean being agile, but Rita doubted this little thing could outspeed her. It was wielding a greatsword, even if it looked like a toy, and greatswords weren't exactly known for their speed. As for resistance, it didn't look like an ice-type like herself.

And even if it was, so what? She'd lost to the Herrscher of Ice because she was the peak of ice powers. This little thing barely registered on the Honkai energy scale. How could it possibly compare to a Herrscher?

Close-range combat, not agile, probably a fire-type… it was the perfect matchup for Rita! A complete advantage!

Maintaining a serious expression, but internally giddy with excitement, Rita swung her scythe at the small figure, who remained motionless. Rita's smile widened.

So slow! But that's to be expected. After all, I'm incredibly fast!

Finally, the miniature Kevin-based automaton reacted, its small blue eyes glancing at Rita before raising its Cleaver of Shamash.

Rita was ecstatic.

Just what I was waiting for!

As an agile, anti-personnel Valkyrie, her specialty was using feints and exaggerated movements to deceive her opponents, creating openings for a sudden change in tactics.

And the scythe, with its unique shape, allowed for a wide range of attacks.

She parried the greatsword, then swiftly moved to disarm the automaton.

"Go, Lady Rita!" The Valkyries behind her cheered.

Rita, feeling confident and eager to prove her worth as an S-rank Valkyrie, prepared to end the fight with a single, decisive blow.

However—

The moment her scythe touched the Cleaver of Shamash, Rita's smile vanished.

BOOM!

An overwhelming force sent her flying, crashing through countless buildings.

A trail of scorched black marks, seared into the ground by intense heat, marked her trajectory.

"Huh?" The Valkyries, now acting as cheerleaders, were dumbfounded.

What just happened?

Weren't they supposed to be witnessing "Lady Rita's triumphant victory"?

The miniature Kevin with Cleaver of Shamash glanced at the Valkyries. Meeting its cute little eyes, the Valkyries froze, then, as if on cue, turned and fled.

The Equipment: Living Form or in short ELF, its expression unchanged, watched Rita's flight path.

—As an ELF based on Kevin, though lacking his Chimera genes or even the Ice Hog (parvati) genes, its raw strength was unmatched among ELFs. It could overpower most S-rank Valkyries, even Schicksal's strongest S-rank with a Divine Key would struggle against it.

And its imitation Cleaver of Shamash, though lacking a Herrscher core and unable to operate at full power, was still incredibly powerful, thanks to advanced technology.

Kevin's preferred fighting style was overwhelming force. The Cleaver of Shamash ELF, based on him, took that principle to the extreme.

Rita, buried under rubble, stared at the miniature ELF in disbelief.

If not for her Argent Knight: Artemis battlesuit's incredible defense and her years of combat experience, that single blow would have turned her into dust.

Even so, Rita could feel the pain of broken bones beneath her armor, unable to move.

While agile fighters did have an advantage against strength-based opponents, if they couldn't land a hit, it was all for naught. And against an opponent with overwhelming strength, a single hit was all it took to end the fight.

Rita had clearly underestimated the destructive power hidden within that small body—a power that even Durandal would treat with caution.

Undeniably, Rita had failed spectacularly, even worse than her previous defeats. Against Herrschers, she'd at least put up a fight. This time, she'd been one-shotted.

"Ugh…" Rita coughed up blood, filled with regret. Why, oh why, do I keep running into monsters? And this one's even worse than the others! Is a comeback that difficult?

Rita, down for the count!

…

While Rita's comeback attempt had encountered a minor setback, Durandal was exploring the city streets.

The Honkai eruption had plunged London into chaos, but thankfully, being in Schicksal's core territory, reinforcements from HQ arrived swiftly. Valkyries quickly intervened, evacuating most of the civilians to designated safe zones.

She'd hoped to find the white-haired girl there but, unfortunately, while there were plenty of girls with white hair, none matched Durandal's description.

This meant only one thing—the girl was still in London, among those who hadn't been evacuated.

The thought that the girl might be in danger worried Durandal.

BOOM!

A loud explosion caught her attention. She turned towards the source—Rita's location.

Something happened?

…Probably nothing serious. Rita didn't call for backup, so she must have it under control.

Reassured, Durandal continued her search.

…

Back at the scene of Rita's spectacular failure—

"Ugh…"

A white-haired girl emerged from a nearby alley, glancing at the battered Rita and the Cleaver of Shamash ELF. She instantly understood what had happened, scratching her cheek.

"Looks like I arrived just in time."

Not a moment of sympathy for Rita, the newcomer was 'Kiana'!

Having sensed the commotion nearby, she'd come to investigate. And what a sight to behold—Rita, utterly defeated by the leaver of Shamash ELF. Fate works in mysterious ways.

"You're not looking so good." Assessing Rita's condition, [Kiana] raised an eyebrow. If only I had the Gem of Serenity right now…

But it didn't matter. Jiang Qiao had other methods.

A partial manifestation of the Authority of Truth created an incomplete Stigmata of Life (and Death). Its power flowed into Rita, stabilizing her injuries. The rest… well, Schicksal's medical technology was advanced enough. Rita could handle the rest herself.

"Now, for this little thing…"

Jiang Qiao looked at the leaver of Shamash ELF guarding the Key of Infinity, pondering his options.

…Direct confrontation is an option, but inefficient…

Even for him, in Kiana's body, taking down this thing would take time.

There has to be a faster way…

"Hmm… let's try this!"

The white-haired girl smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye.

He snapped his fingers.

Bang!

With a strange whooshing sound, azure spears shot towards the ELF, which narrowed its eyes, clearly recognizing the threat. But as it raised its sword to counterattack, the girl laughed:

"You're not fighting me~"

Her white hands clasped together. A pocket of Imaginary space materialized, enveloping the ELF and the spears.

The ELF, though confused, remained unconcerned. For it, everything could be solved with overwhelming force. Even Imaginary space couldn't withstand a single strike.

However—

In the next instant, strings of ones and zeros floated in the air, materializing into objects that rained down. The ELF instinctively raised its sword, but as the objects drew near, it froze.

"Hahaha" "Hahaha"

Accompanied by cheerful, childish laughter, the objects took shape—miniature ELFs, identical to the Cleaver of Shamash ELF, but… these automatons were modeled after Elysia, MEI, and even… Su.

Seeing these ELFs charging towards him, the Cleaver of Shamash ELF instinctively took a step back.

Logically, these shouldn't affect it. It was just an ELF based on Kevin.

However—

"If you want to create an ELF based on a specific person, you need that person's data." [Kiana] watched with amusement as the 'Kevin' automaton was surrounded, unable to move, recalling the details of ELF technology he'd read out of curiosity.

Generic ELFs were fine, but those based on specific individuals, often created as tributes or memorials, tended to inherit the original's weaknesses.

Like Little Ancestor inheriting Hua's frugality, Fairy Elysia inheriting all of Elysia's flaws, or Ruoshui, based on Cheng Lixue…

Considering this, Jiang Qiao had taken a gamble—World Serpent, in creating 'Kevin,' must have used his data. It was the only way to fully replicate his power.

And the result—the Cleaver of Shamash ELF had inherited Kevin's weaknesses. Its resistance to certain individuals was significantly reduced.

Of course, if these newly created ELFs attacked, the little guy wouldn't hesitate to fight back. But this "soft" approach, this "friendly" assault…

The Cleaver of Shamash ELF internally surrendered.

I give up!

And so, in a rather humiliating fashion, the Cleaver of Shamash ELF was defeated.

Rita, witnessing this "battle," stared at 'Kiana' holding the miniature ELF in silence.

…Why… why didn't you just fight it?!

Recalling her own one-shot defeat, while Jiang Qiao had effortlessly won with such a bizarre tactic, Rita wanted to cry.

"Where's Durandal?" [Kiana] asked, slightly confused. Shouldn't Durandal be the one dealing with this little Kevin?

"Lady Durandal… she… she had something to do," Rita replied, though she'd contacted Durandal as soon as she'd recovered. With Durandal's speed, she should be…

—Speak of the devil.

They stopped talking, turning towards a figure rushing towards them—a blonde girl.

It was the Golden Saintess Durandal—Bianka Atagatina.

Seeing Durandal, Rita nearly burst into tears.

Having narrowly escaped being obliterated by the Cleaver of Shamash ELF, the sight of Durandal was incredibly comforting. If she hadn't foolishly taken Durandal's place, she wouldn't be in this state!

Thankfully, judging by Durandal's excited expression, she still cared!

She must be worried about my injuries, Rita thought, dragging her battered body forward, eager for a comforting hug from Durandal, hoping to soothe the trauma of nearly being sent to the afterlife.

"Lady Durandal…"

The next moment, they passed each other.

The blonde girl rushed towards the white-haired girl, her blue eyes trembling.

She paused, then spoke in a trembling voice:

"I knew it—"

"I wasn't mistaken! It really is you!"

During their previous encounter, thanks to Jiang Qiao's reveal, Durandal had learned she had a younger sister she'd never met. The news had been bittersweet.

She'd already moved on from her past.

But she'd always held a secret hope for this sister. She'd tried to learn more about her from Rita, but due to Rita's "spy" status, she couldn't take pictures, only provide verbal descriptions.

Of course, Schicksal did have the means to access such information, and as an S-rank Valkyrie, Durandal had the authority to request it, but to avoid unwanted attention, she hadn't.

Until their chance encounter in London.

Meeting [Kiana] she'd felt an uncanny resemblance to Rita's description of her sister, and upon approaching, a strange, blood-related familiarity.

Of course, until a proper reunion, she couldn't be certain.

Until now.

Looking at those blue eyes, that delicate face, those lips, that expression… Durandal couldn't deny it. This girl was just like her! As she drew closer, the blood connection became even stronger.

She wanted to reach out, but hesitated, afraid of startling her.

She wanted to speak, but even for someone not usually at a loss for words, seeing her "sister" for the first time left her speechless.

Thankfully, [Kiana] broke the silence.

The white-haired girl, looking at the emotional Durandal, smiled brightly:

"Sister."

Considering the best approach, Jiang Qiao chose the most fitting term for this body, the most effective word in this situation.

Undeniably, it was a critical hit for the sister-complex-ridden Durandal.

Hearing that sweet, affectionate word, Durandal felt as if she'd been struck by lightning, her mind blanking.

She had imagined being called "sister" by her long-lost sibling. In fact, since learning about her existence, Durandal had often rehearsed their reunion in her mind.

She'd worried her sister might not be the type to call her "sister."

But now, meeting her for real, hearing that word, Durandal felt… overwhelmed.

If not for maintaining her composure, if not for her usually reserved nature, if not for the inappropriate setting, Durandal would have rolled around on the ground like a giddy schoolgirl, expressing her joy like some kind of… unusual creature.

"L-Little sister…"

Though ecstatic, she managed to maintain her composure, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her "sister."

But the next moment, Durandal's heart skipped a beat.

The girl stepped closer, her delicate face inches from hers, close enough for Durandal to feel her warm breath. Those familiar blue eyes, so like her own, sparkled like a clear stream, a playful smile gracing her pink lips.

Both [Kiana] and Durandal, even by girlish standards, possessed enviable figures. And now, standing so close, their bodies brushed against each other, sharing warmth and a subtle fragrance.

A cheerful, almost elfin voice, soft yet playful, spoke:

"Sister… are you… nervous?"

Durandal's cheeks flushed crimson, steam practically rising from her face.

With anyone else, she would have stepped back. Durandal valued her personal space. Even Rita couldn't get this close.

However—

Facing her "sister," she couldn't bring herself to move.

Her mind swam, her limbs felt weak.

Help!

Is my little sister… this aggressive?!