Honkai Star Rail: But I can touch Castorice

The scythe and the Flame-Reaver's weapon clashed, and the Flame-Reaver's strength naturally surpassed that of Derick's first clone. The force of the blow sent it crashing heavily to the ground.

The Flame-Reaver prepared to press his attack when a searing ray of heat shot out from the side. He tilted his head to dodge, letting the ray miss its mark. Turning to look, he discovered the attack had been unleashed by Oronyx. With an ally suddenly appearing, the Titan couldn't just stand by and watch. As the Flame-Reaver moved to attack Derick's first clone, he had quickly launched a supporting attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Derick immediately manipulated his clone to stand up from the ground. It swung its scythe, and spears formed of energy descended from the sky.

"You've learned Nikador's skills as well?"

The Flame-Reaver swung his sword, creating a blade of light that slashed through the energy spears released by the clone.

Oronyx, who had been quietly accumulating energy, suddenly unleashed a blinding flash before the Flame-Reaver's eyes.

Caught off guard, the Flame-Reaver was successfully struck by Oronyx's attack. In the next moment, the dark monster he was fighting vanished, and in its place appeared a clear sky and a complete, pristine city. The Flame-Reaver knew this was a vision of Janusopolis's past, shown to him by Oronyx to disrupt his combat judgment.

He hastily brought his weapon up to guard his chest, but Derick's first clone suddenly appeared at his side. Its towering body swung the scythe in an upward arc. The sharp point pierced through the Flame-Reaver's shoulder blade, and after a full rotation in the air, his body was brutally pinned to the ground.

After pinning him, Derick even had the clone smash its fist into the Flame-Reaver's chest.

"It's finally over."

Up in the sky, Oronyx let out a sigh of relief. Although this enemy was indeed powerful, with the appearance of this unknown creature and their mutual assistance, they had finally managed to take him down.

"Next time Derick and the others come, I'll have to properly apologize. This was truly my fault."

He was optimistic, but Derick knew that such an attack was hardly enough to cause significant damage to the Flame-Reaver. Pinned as he was, it wouldn't take long for him to break free.

So, at this critical juncture, it was time to make the most profitable choice.

Just as Oronyx was basking in the relief of his narrow escape and the Flame-Reaver was preparing to break free, Derick manipulated his first clone to open its massive jaws and bite down on the Flame-Reaver's arm.

Hey!

Seeing this, even the Flame-Reaver couldn't help but widen his eyes. No one wants to be casually eaten. So, even while pinned firmly to the ground by the scythe, the Flame-Reaver shifted his body, trying to dodge the clone's massive mouth. But he was a step too slow. Derick's first clone still managed to bite off his left hand.

A searing pain shot through him. At the same time, the Flame-Reaver broke free from the scythe's hold. Leaping into the air, he kicked out at Derick's first clone, sending the three-meter-tall body flying into the distance.

"…"

The battlefield situation changed in an instant, far exceeding Oronyx's imagination. Weren't we supposed to be winning? How did it turn into this?

He truly was not a combatant and had no understanding of the tides of battle. Oronyx's nerves tensed up once again.

The Flame-Reaver glanced at his own missing left hand. Although it could be regenerated later, the feeling was certainly unpleasant, and it would affect his fighting ability in the short term.

"Hmph!"

He let out a furious snort. The light from his blade flashed, and he simultaneously created several illusory figures that charged towards Derick's first clone.

Having devoured the Flame-Reaver's left hand, Derick felt his first clone had done quite well. Facing the Flame-Reaver's rage-fueled attack, he couldn't be bothered to resist.

Several dark energy blasts appeared, piercing straight through Derick's first clone, like wedges nailing it to the ground.

The Flame-Reaver knew this dark monster's regenerative ability was incredibly strong; trying to kill it would be a waste of time. He decided to deal with Oronyx first and then find a place to seal this dark monster away later.

"It's over."

The Flame-Reaver pointed his sword at Oronyx.

Oronyx said nothing.

Just as the Flame-Reaver was about to deliver the final blow to Oronyx, a purple dragon descended from the sky.

"ROAR!"

Polyxia landed heavily on the ground, her claws slamming down in front of the Flame-Reaver. She opened her mouth and spat out a thick stream of draconic breath. Derick hadn't been controlling his first clone because his main body was about to arrive, and he didn't want to waste any more mental energy.

Facing Polyxia's breath, the Flame-Reaver raised his sword, forming a dark pillar of light to block it. When Polyxia's attack ended, the Flame-Reaver retreated to a safe distance.

"Oronyx, do you still not need our help?" Derick shouted to Oronyx at that moment.

"Yes… I was wrong…"

Faced with Derick arriving to support him, Oronyx nodded in admission.

"Why did you come back?" The Flame-Reaver's voice was filled with an unbridled fury.

Once, and then a second time, his attempts to finish Oronyx had been interrupted. The Flame-Reaver was both furious and a little aggrieved.

It was a good thing the Flame-Reaver didn't know the relationship between Derick and his clone, or his anger and sense of injustice would have risen to another level.

"I predicted you might come, so we came back. I didn't expect you to actually follow my thoughts," Derick said loudly, holding the Spear of Retribution as he stepped forward.

After speaking, he charged towards the Flame-Reaver with his weapon in hand.

"You think your little self-destruct trick will work without that other immortal creature to hold me back?" Without Mydei to distract him, the Flame-Reaver dared to fight Derick head-on.

Besides, he had come all this way and gained nothing, even losing a hand in the process. The Flame-Reaver felt that if he didn't have a proper fight with Derick, the frustration in his heart would never dissipate.

But deep down, he also had a strange feeling.

Could this person, Derick, have been sent specifically to counter me?

His offensive methods were one thing; finding ways to harm him wasn't too difficult. But for every single one of his attacks to be anticipated by Derick, who then managed to find him… that was truly bizarre. The Flame-Reaver even had a feeling that he was trying to destroy the Flamechase Journey, and fate had specially arranged for this person to come and stop him. Otherwise, he couldn't explain Derick's situation.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Derick's attack reached him. With his left hand bitten off by the clone, the Flame-Reaver needed time to recover and could only use his right hand to fight Derick with a single-handed sword.

This brought the battle to a stalemate.

But one shouldn't forget, Derick was not alone.

As Derick's Spear of Retribution clashed with the Flame-Reaver's longsword, Castorice promptly arrived at the Flame-Reaver's other side, swinging her scythe towards his missing arm.

Kicking the cripple on his good leg.

Since you have a missing arm, I definitely won't let that advantage go.

Derick and Castorice coordinated their attacks. Derick blocked the vast majority of the Flame-Reaver's strikes, while Castorice seized the opportunity to attack his missing left side.

The Flame-Reaver was forced back again and again.

But his retreat was cut short.

Polyxia opened her draconic maw, breathing a stream of fire that cut off the Flame-Reaver's path of retreat.

The three of them attacked the Flame-Reaver together, putting him at a disadvantage in the fight.

Oronyx watched this unfold, a wave of joy washing over him.

They finally have him suppressed.

There won't be any more accidents this time, right?

Just as he was thinking this, Oronyx noticed that Derick's first clone, which had helped him attack the Flame-Reaver earlier, was slowly getting up.

The Flame-Reaver, currently preoccupied, couldn't maintain his restraints. So, with Derick multitasking, his first clone broke free from the ground.

Excellent!

Seeing this, Oronyx was overjoyed.

Then he saw the first clone swaying as it moved towards him.

Hmm? What is it doing?

Oronyx was puzzled. Then he saw the first clone closing in on him.

A running start, a jump.

The first clone rushed to Oronyx's side.

What is happening?

Oronyx was still confused when he suddenly felt a sharp pain.

He saw the first clone open its mouth and bite a chunk out of his body. His once perfectly round sphere now had a corner missing.

"…"

Oronyx wanted to scream out a question, but by then, Derick had already directed his first clone far away.

Got the goods, time to bail.

For Derick to absorb the Titan of Time's energy, he had to have his clone take a bite first. Under normal circumstances, getting Oronyx to agree to that was absolutely impossible.

Since you won't give it to me, I'll just have to take it by force.

Besides, Derick still remembered how Oronyx had suspected him earlier.

He wasn't old, and he wasn't one to let things slide. If someone hadn't offended him, he was very kind. But if they did, Derick felt like he would be at a loss if he didn't get some revenge.

This change in Oronyx immediately drew everyone else's attention.

Seeing the dark monster successfully take a bite out of Oronyx, the Flame-Reaver felt a deep sense of unease. It was just like last time. He had fought Nikador to the death, only for this thing to suddenly intervene and swallow Nikador whole.

If he had known, the first time he saw it, he should have found a device to trap it, then hidden it somewhere no one could ever find, so it would never see the light of day again.

The Flame-Reaver felt that it wasn't just Derick who countered him; that dark monster also countered him in certain ways.

With the battle at this stage, the Flame-Reaver knew he would gain nothing more from this trip. And he remembered that Derick still had his self-destruct trump card. If he really used it, the losses would be even greater. Fortunately, with a person and a dragon by his side, he probably wouldn't self-destruct so easily.

"…"

He endured the sharp pain and regenerated his left hand.

He swung his weapon rapidly, forcing Derick and Castorice back. After pushing them away, the Flame-Reaver used all his strength to attack Polyxia. Her dragon form had ample energy, but her movements weren't very refined, making her the perfect target for the Flame-Reaver to break through.

Just as expected, faced with the Flame-Reaver's attack, Polyxia became flustered. The Flame-Reaver seized the opportunity, broke through the opening to escape, and even managed to slash a wound on her arm.

The Flame-Reaver quickly reached the outside of the Temple of the Three Fates. Having successfully escaped, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At that moment, he noticed he was still stained with Polyxia's blood. The Flame-Reaver reached up to wipe it away. He was about to flick it off casually, but when he felt the weight of it on his fingertips, he froze.

Wait, this blood… the blood of the girl who represents the power of the Titan of Death… it has changed like this.

Was this all Derick's doing? Can his blood change the people here?

A flash of inspiration struck the Flame-Reaver's mind.

To deal with an enemy, there are several options:

Kill, seal, surrender, sue for peace, or… expel!

The Flame-Reaver knew he couldn't kill or seal Derick. The guy would blow himself up at the drop of a hat, and he had a whole host of friends and family around him. When he fought, he never cared if it was a group ganging up on one person.

As for surrendering or suing for peace, the Flame-Reaver would never do that.

He originally thought there was no other way to deal with Derick, but upon getting ahold of Polyxia's blood, a new idea instantly formed in his mind.

"If I can't beat them… then I'll just send them away."

The Flame-Reaver thought to himself.

Glancing up at the sky, the Flame-Reaver prepared to find a place to rest and recover from his injuries, while also planning his next move.

Derick and Castorice rushed worriedly towards Polyxia.

Polyxia had returned to her human form, her arm still bleeding.

"Sister, are you alright?" Castorice asked with concern.

"Hiss… it hurts a little, but it's not a big deal," Polyxia winced, replying to Castorice and Derick.

Castorice quickly tore a piece of her clothing and bandaged Polyxia's wound.

"I'll bandage it for you first. When we get back to Okhema, I'll take you to Hyacine to treat your injuries," Castorice said to Polyxia.

"Mhm, mhm."

Feeling her sister's care, Polyxia nodded repeatedly, a happy smile gracing her lips.

At that moment, Derick's gaze shifted to the sky, to the now-chipped sphere that was Oronyx.

_____

Greetings! ✨ Walnut here!

🔥 AN INCREDIBLE OFFER IS ON THE TABLE! 🔥

We're only 18 members away from our 65-member goal! 🎯

The second we hit it, 10 BONUS CHAPTERS for ALL STORIES will be released to everyone. No exceptions!

🪦 Your membership is the key. Let's make it happen!

100 powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 5 reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!

Secure your early access before it's too late!

👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan