Chapter 440 Squad Leader, Why Are You Here?

"Ah... um... vomit!"

Kiana kept rolling on the bed, sometimes making groaning sounds, sometimes sucking in cold air, and sometimes suppressing dry heaves.

She was forced by the monitor to spend most of the day in the library, and even her lunch was just bread and boiled water. When it was time for dinner, she was dragged to the playground to practice with the monitor...

After finally finishing the training, she returned to the dormitory and ate five bowls of curry rice made by Mei, and Kiana finally stacked all the debuffs.

Mental fatigue, physical fatigue, and the nausea caused by eating a lot after intense exercise tortured her to the point that she lost all sleep.

"Ahhh! No! I have to go to bed quickly. Uncle Mikael and Mei said that with the record of Canghai City as a foundation, and with that archbishop watching, she might be promoted to an A-level Valkyrie! It would be troublesome if something went wrong because of not sleeping well!"

But what about an A-level Valkyrie?

There was a voice sighing in her heart.

Yeah, so what?

The girl sat up and opened the curtains of the bedroom. The round moon was stuck between the two windows, and it was difficult to move.

The girl was quiet for a rare time, thinking about when she started to dream of becoming the strongest Valkyrie of Destiny.

At first, maybe it was just a simple desire to be competitive and show off. And if you want to become the strongest Valkyrie of Destiny, you must be an S-level Valkyrie. In this process, A-level is just a stepping stone.

But she and her aunt have a bet.

Once she becomes an A-level Valkyrie, her aunt will tell her the whereabouts of her father. Perhaps in the eyes of her aunt, A-level Valkyrie is a threshold of strength. Only with this power can she make corresponding efforts after knowing the truth.

The girl's thoughts had never been so clear. Legend has it that in the past, a hero was deprived of his rationality by the moon, and could only recall everything on a full moon night. Kiana patted her head gently, and it seemed that she did not feel smarter. Obviously, the heroine of the legend was not her.

"It's just an A-level Valkyrie, humph! Look at how easy it is for me to catch her!"

She pulled the curtains and lay back on the bed.

"There is still one day. The first step to becoming an A-level Valkyrie is to have a good dream first!"

Kiana crumpled the quilt into a ball and covered her head, isolating all the weak light and the sound of the universe.

After five minutes, Kiana suddenly sat up from the bed, gasping for air.

The air-conditioning quilt was not thick, but if you cover it hard, it can still make people almost suffocate.

Kiana slowly got out of bed. The feeling of suffocation made her vomit even more, and it was impossible for her to lie down again. Her head became dizzy, as if she was really going to fall asleep.

But half a minute later, with the influx of fresh air, the drowsiness disappeared without a trace. Kiana even felt that she was now much more awake than at the beginning.

Helplessly, she opened the curtains again. The full moon was still stuck between the two windows, as if it had not moved at all.

"Oh... It's so annoying. When can I fall asleep like this?"

Kiana looked at the unchanging moon indignantly, thinking that it must be because it was so big and round that she couldn't sleep.

"Huh?"

Kiana suddenly blinked. She didn't know if it was an illusion that she seemed to see the moon turned into a familiar face...

She blinked hard, rubbed her eyes hard, and when she opened her eyelids again, the first thing she saw was a bunch of colorful pockmarks and small flies.

Well, I used too much force, and my eyes hurt a little.

She closed her eyes again, rubbed them gently a few times, and then opened her eyes without any hope.

"Hey! Mei, why are you here?"

She was a little surprised, after all, she didn't hear the knock on the door.

But when Mei opened her eyes in front of the window, Kiana saw a pair of strange eyes.

The color of the eyes was a rare bright yellow, and the pupils were even more strange. The cross-shaped pupils were rare, and they were not vertical like a cross, but diagonally formed an "X".

It was indeed the first time Kiana saw such eyes, but she was very sure that she should have...

"Kiana, you are a waste!"

While the girl was still staring at the weird pupils, "Mei" had already spoken.

"?"

"You are always the one who drags us down, and you will always cause troubles that you shouldn't cause during the mission!"

"Mei...Mei...Why are you suddenly saying this? Where am I disobedient?"

"You are still quibbling!"

"Mei" suddenly grabbed the collar of her pajamas.

"If you hadn't disobeyed orders, how could you have run into that Honkai Emperor? What on earth do you want to do to be happy? Do you have to drag everyone down to death?"

"No, I don't... I don't, Meiyi, listen to my explanation!"

Kiana wanted to argue, but her words were so weak.

"I didn't mean to, I was just careless..."

"You were obviously being careless on purpose! Is this the first time you've gotten into trouble in a battle? Kiana, you always have to rely on our protection to survive, you're too weak! Weak as you are, you're not as good as Seele, at least she's always so obedient!"

Finally, the girl's scolding stopped, because there was a silver-white drop of water at the feet of the other girl.

But soon, Kiana raised her head stubbornly:

"No! You are not Mei! Mei would not scold people like this!"

Seeing that the girl in front of her finally reacted, the corners of Mei's mouth slowly curled up.

"It seems that you are not stupid, but do you think what I said is unreasonable?"

"Mei" spread out half of her wings behind her, and an arc of electricity was faintly lit in her hands.

"Damn it!"

Kiana punched Mei in the face, but there was no feeling of hitting on her fist, as if she had hit only a cloud of green smoke. Thinking of this, Kiana saw that Mei in front of her really drifted away like smoke.

"This is..."

Kiana vaguely realized something. The next moment, she saw the figure of "The Herrscher of Thunder" appear outside the window, and she even waved to her arrogantly.

"How dare you tease me! Don't run!"

Kiana smashed the window and rushed out, chasing the misty back. She didn't know how many times she circled the academy. When she turned a corner, she suddenly found a figure blocking her way.

"Aunt Jizi? Why are you here?"

"I should ask you this question, Kiana Kaslana, what are you and Raiden Meiyi doing?"

"Uh...Aunt Jizi, why are you so distant...No! There is something wrong with Meiyi, she is..."

Kiana stopped talking halfway because she saw Jizi's eyes.

Bright yellow background, X-shaped pupils...

"You..."

"Kiana!"

"Jizi" spoke first and drank back Kiana's doubts.

"Don't you want to know why I'm here? It's simple, because you and Raiden Mei are our key surveillance targets. The reason why the academy accepted you is that you are also prisoners."

"Ah...ah? Ah?"

Kiana shouted three times in a row, full of incomprehension.

Reason told her that Aunt Himeko in front of her, just like Mei just now, was not the real her.

But, thinking about it carefully, it seems to be right. Mei's body is sleeping with the third Herrscher. Although no one else said it, Mikael still told her that Mei's heart is equipped with a micro-bomb. As long as the third Herrscher completely occupies Mei's body, the bomb will explode.

At that time, she was still clamoring to go to her aunt to argue about this, and was persuaded by Mikael for a whole day before she reluctantly accepted it.

She still remembered what Mikael said:

"The target of the school's surveillance is not Mei, but the Third Herrscher. The damage caused by the Third Herrscher in Changkong City is obvious to all. If you think you can let her occupy Mei's body at will, then go and argue with the school principal. In fact, this is also the only way we can threaten the Third Herrscher and make her stay in Mei's body obediently."

So it was not surprising for Kiana to become a "key surveillance target", but why did she...

"It's impossible, there is also a Herrscher in my body?"

Of course it's impossible, she is Kiana Kaslana, how can she be a Herrscher?

But her consciousness gradually became drowsy, and she couldn't help but think in her mind-if she also had a Herrscher in her body like Mei, it would be...

The First Herrscher?

Kiana quickly ruled out this option.

Today is a full moon night, and Kiana's thoughts are particularly clear. Many things that she didn't listen to carefully in previous classes actually emerged in her mind. She really didn't know when and where the first collapse occurred, but she remembered that Mikael said that Walter, the leader of the Anti-Entropy, was the current First Herrscher.

So that was the Second Herrscher? But the Second Herrscher... eh? The Second Herrscher...

"The Second Herrscher... The Second Herrscher... The Second Herrscher..."

Kiana silently recited the name, and felt that something originally vague in her memory gradually became clearer...

Human consciousness is inherently strange, and memory is the sum of all past experiences, which can only mislead and blur, but cannot be completely deleted.

Even if you "lose your memory", as long as you see certain keywords again, return to certain key places, meet key people... these lost memories will return again - remember! Remember everything!

She also had a strange dream last night. The woman in the dream mentioned the second collapse and the Second Herrscher to her!

And the tone of that woman's speech was exactly the same as that of the guy in front of her who was pretending to be a ghost!

"Hey! Stop pretending! I remember now. You are the one who appeared in my dream last night!"

"Huh?"

The "Jizi" in front of her raised her eyebrows, then frowned slightly.

She pressed her thumb on her brows, then smiled slightly:

"Ah... You, a guy, are really being targeted by many people."

"Huh? Are there others?"

"Jizi" looked at her deeply and said nothing.

Then, the world spun around, and Kiana came to a strange snowfield.

The touch under her feet was indeed snow, and it was as cold as a knife. But Kiana stood barefoot on it and felt a little familiar.

"This is..."

She seemed to have seen this place before, but she really couldn't remember it. If her "feeling" was not wrong, it meant that she had been here a long time ago.

Is it when she was wandering in Siberia with her stinky dad? Probably not. To outsiders, the snowfields of Siberia look the same everywhere, but she is a nostalgic person. At least she would not fail to recognize the place where she had lived for more than a year.

However, none of this is important. What is important is that both the sky and the snow here are suffocating blood red, as if the time of the whole world has been suspended at a certain moment.

"Kiana..."

A call suddenly came from behind. Kiana turned her head in response. She was startled by the sudden appearance of Theresa.

"Huh... Aunt, why are you here too... No! Are you... Are you sick? Why are you still pretending to be someone else!"

After all, it was the weird eyes that exposed her identity. "Theresa" hugged her arms in front of her chest, and the posture was not much different from usual.

"Kiana, give up. Even if you become an A-rank Valkyrie, I won't tell you where Siegfried is."

"No! Ahhhh! You, show me your true form! Why are you pretending!"

"Hehehe!"

"Theresa" took two steps back, avoiding Kiana's grabbing hands as if she had expected it.

"I just used their appearance to say what they wanted to say but never dared to say to you. What? Is the dignified Kiana Kaslana so timid? You don't even dare to listen to the inner thoughts of the people around you? Or do you actually know what they want to say? That's really pathetic!"

"You're talking nonsense! They won't say such things at all!"

"Oh? Since you think that everything I said will never happen, why are you still afraid?"

"I... I don't allow you to slander them like this!"

Kiana rushed forward again, and just as she was about to touch "Theresa", her eyes suddenly went black, and a faint dizziness came, and she actually staggered back to where she was.

"Then again, if you let me continue, I will mention Siegfried, right? Do you really not want to listen?"

"Get lost!"

The girl didn't waste any words. She lowered her head slightly, realizing that she was in a dream. Since this was her dream, the weapons in her imagination could also exist here, right?

Kiana quickly recalled the appearance of the double guns she usually used, but just as she clenched her hands, perhaps the Siegfried mentioned by "Theresa" affected her consciousness, and another gun appeared in her mind unconsciously.

A gun that her stinky father and she used to bake pizza.

The next moment, Kiana felt that she was holding something, hard with a hint of burning, which was really a long-lost feeling...

Correspondingly, "Theresa"'s expression also changed-"No! How could it be! How could such a thing appear in your dream!"

But it was too late...

"Bang!"

The phantom in front of her finally dissipated.

"Hmph! A mere wretch! You dare to be so arrogant in my dream! Come back next time if you have the guts!"

Kiana didn't believe that this guy was really dead. She also knew that if this guy appeared in her dream every night in the future, it would be a very painful thing for her, but she couldn't help but provoke him.

I finally won once, can't I indulge myself?

Kiana smiled with satisfaction, and wanted to raise her chin high and aim at the chubby full moon.

"Oh? Did you really win?"

Kiana's smile stopped.

She really didn't expect that this annoying guy would dare to show up?

But she raised her gun and looked around, and all she saw was blood red.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Kiana fired a few shots randomly around, which naturally couldn't have any effect.

"Why hasn't the dream disappeared yet?"

She couldn't figure it out. This was her own dream. Once a person realizes that he is dreaming, he is not far from waking up.

But now she is still in a dream.

"What's not to understand? Isn't the answer obvious? This is your dream, but this is also my dream. It's not that easy to kill me or leave."

The voice that Kiana hated so much came from all directions, making Kiana unable to help but fire several more shots at the air.

But the flame that could easily kill a several-meter-tall Honkai beast, after leaving the barrel for dozens of meters, was like shooting into the water. Nothing happened except a circle of ripples in the empty space.

"Damn it! Why!"

"Why? Don't you understand yet, Kiana? You are me, I am you, you and I are one. If you don't understand this, how can you get out?"

"Shut up! Who are you!"

Kiana obviously didn't have the patience to listen to her long speech, but she couldn't do anything to the other party.

She was powerless, but she felt that this kind of powerlessness was somewhat familiar... Meiyi seemed to be like this?

It can't be that... the guy who always disturbs her sleep and says nonsense like "You are me and I am you" is really a Herrscher, right?

Impossible.

Kiana felt very sober on the full moon night.

If he was a Herrscher, he should have tried desperately to take control of her body like the Herrscher of Thunder, so why would he have the time to play hide-and-seek with her in her dreams?

"The story about Siegfried just now seems to have been interrupted by you. How about, if you beg me, I can't tell it to you again."

When Kiana didn't notice, a pair of translucent hands gently placed on her shoulders.

"Come on, just say 'I do' and I'll tell you the truth."

"What a beautiful idea! Even if I don't know the truth for the rest of my life, I won't give in to you!"

Kiana roared and turned around instinctively.

Then, she saw the phantom standing behind her, its fingers turning into claws.

"ah!"

She quickly raised her gun, but it was probably too late, as the phantom's claws had already reached her forehead.

"Whoosh——"

A sharp sound of breaking through the air flashed by, and along with a slender red line, the transparent figure disappeared again.

Then, a familiar face appeared in front of Kiana.

Although his hair became snow-white and his eyes changed from calm blue to red of fire and blood, his facial features and figure did not change at all.

"Squad leader? Why are you here too?"

Hua ignored Kiana's doubts and just said with a cold face:

"Don't think about this, come with me!"

After saying that, she picked up Kiana and ran away.

"Hahaha! Hahahaha! I didn't expect you to be here! I didn't expect you to be here too!!"

Listening to the increasingly crazy voice, Kiana's heart suddenly tightened.

But this was obviously the voice of the enemy. The enemy was defeated, and Kiana felt that she should feel comfortable.

But she felt uncomfortable for no reason, as if she was the one who suffered the pain.

"Hahahaha! Kiana, do you think this is the end? And you, do you think you can protect her forever?"

"Kiana, don't listen to her!"

Hua Qing shouted, but this did not make Kiana sober.

"I promise, this won't be the last time we meet. In the days to come, I will keep appearing in your deepest nightmares until you can no longer resist..."

"Found it!"

Hua's violent shout interrupted the singing of the voice. She held a sword that appeared at an unknown time and cut a cross in front of her body, and the light that symbolized the real world instantly poured into the dream.

"Let's go!"

She pulled Kiana and rushed into the light.

It's just... I don't know if she felt something in her heart. At the end when the white light engulfed her, Kiana suddenly looked back, but she saw another person who shouldn't be there.

"Mikael, how could you..."

Hua seemed to hear Kiana's voice. She grabbed Kiana's hand and violently tried to pull her back to reality, but it was already too late.

Kiana saw Mikael raising a pistol.

A pistol identical to the one in her hand.

The man's face was cold and empty, and he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang!"

Familiar fireworks flashed at the muzzle, but the imagined pain did not come.

At the end of this dream, Kiana vaguely heard the voice of the phantom——

"How come...it feels so familiar, you are..."

"ah!"

Kiana sat up from the bed and touched her forehead with lingering fear. Except for the hot forehead, the rest of the area was ice cold.

Immediately, she froze in mid-movement, and patted her head again, as if she didn't understand why she behaved in such an incredible way.

Is it because of the dream just now?

Kiana tried to recall the dream, but found nothing.

She only remembered that her last memory before opening her eyes was actually just closing her eyes.

"Hey! I thought insomnia was so terrible, but why did I fall asleep in a daze? I didn't even give you a chance to stay up late to test my skills!"

She got out of bed, without drawing the curtains, and looked out the window at the dull sky. The full moon was hanging in the southwest corner, and its color was so pale that it almost blended in with the surroundings.