Early morning, the moment of dawn, when the golden rooster announces the day.
St. Freya Academy welcomed another busy day.
On a workday, Yunduo was sitting at the living room table, eating toast bread baked by Mei.
Suddenly, she saw Kiana, looking confused, shuffling out of the bedroom.
Wearing an orange and white sports jacket paired with loose casual pants, the aura of an athletic girl permeated the air.
However, the way she walked, clutching her butt, would make anyone who saw her feel strange.
At this moment, Mei, carrying a plate, noticed Kiana carefully sitting down on a chair and asked doubtfully, "Kiana, what's wrong? Did you hurt your butt?"
"...Mmm~ I think I really did get hurt."
Kiana whispered, secretly glancing at Yunduo, who was calmly eating her bread.
"How did you hurt it? Do you need to go to the Academy Infirmary?" Mei asked worriedly.
"It's not serious. I just accidentally bumped it myself."
Kiana swallowed her anger, not wanting Mei to know that her butt hurt because she had been spanked.
After Mei walked away, she gritted her teeth and whispered next to Yunduo's ear: "You fiend, what exactly did you and the Herrscher of the Void do yesterday? Why does my butt hurt this morning, and why are there handprints!"
"It's exactly as you imagined."
"Wha—?!!"
Kiana's eyes suddenly widened, as if struck by lightning. She never imagined that after lending her body to the Herrscher of the Void, the two of them would play such wild games in the middle of the night!
Seeing this, Yunduo knew Kiana had misunderstood. She slowly explained to the blushing Kiana: "She tried to attack me, so I administered a slight punishment and spanked her a few times. You were collateral damage."
"Nonsense, of course I know I'm collateral damage, but you can't hit her butt! Her butt is my butt!"
"Alright, alright. Next time, I'll punish her in a different way."
Yunduo readily agreed, and only then did Kiana contentedly start munching on the toasted bread... After school.
As agreed, the group went together to the storage room in the corner of the Academy.
Because there had been too many sudden events recently, they hadn't entered the Challenge Space for a long time.
Pusing the door open and stepping into the familiar, dusty room, Kiana sighed, "It still has that stinky, dusty smell everywhere. I remember it clearly; nothing has changed at all."
"It's a blessing in disguise that the Honkai Beasts didn't manage to break into this innermost area during the last Honkai Beast Tide."
Theresa said this, scraping off a layer of dust with her finger, which startled the clean-loving girl into immediately pulling out a tissue to wipe her hand.
"Bronya wonders what she will gain this time. Bronya hopes to become stronger so she can kill more Honkai Beasts during the next Honkai Beast Tide."
"Don't worry, Bronya. As long as the Headmaster manages to pass, we'll get new Mecha at the very least, and the safety level of our Academy will increase by another level," Mei said slowly.
"You two are too hateful. Can you stop treating Anti-Entropy's things as your own?"
"At least have some sense of shame! These Mecha were something I worked so hard to research, and you guys get them in a few minutes."
Tesla grumbled gloomily from the side.
"What do you mean 'you' and 'us'? We're all one family. Maybe in the future... Tesla, you understand, right?"
Theresa winked, dropping a heavy hint.
It was the same familiar group.
Headmaster Theresa, the team's brain and class monitor Fu Hua, the Kiana trio, the slacking Yunduo, the designated cute one Tesla, and the maid Miss Rita. Besides these eight, light footsteps echoed in the utility room.
The shrine maiden, with hair the pure color of cherry blossoms, looked at the room filled with clutter and dust. Resisting her obsessive-compulsive urge to clean it, she asked hesitantly, "Is this... Theresa-chan, the Challenge Space you mentioned?"
"The mysterious place that can help me grant my wish?"
It wasn't surprising that Yae Sakura was doubtful; the utility room, before entering the Challenge Space, was simply too chaotic.
She had imagined it would be, at the very least, a space filled with high technology, or something like a Stigmata Space.
"Eh~ Yae Sakura-oneesama, don't worry, we will definitely help you."
"We haven't entered yet. Just wait a little longer, we'll go in soon."
Theresa finished speaking and nodded toward Yunduo.
Yae Sakura had specifically sought out Theresa after the Honkai Beast tide ended.
Because she owed her life to her, Theresa had been worried about how to repay the favor.
Unexpectedly, not long after they had parted at the Changkong Branch, she came knocking, explaining right away that she knew about the Challenge Space and that Yunduo had sent her.
Saying it could fulfill her long-held wish.
Though she didn't know what it was, Theresa agreed readily.
"Aunt is getting carried away again, just like a child, hmph!"
Kiana grumbled as she watched Theresa hopping and skipping about.
Yunduo took a light breath and silently thought of the Challenge Space.
In the next second, under Yae Sakura's surprised gaze, a pure white light flashed before everyone's eyes.
The stars shifted, and she suddenly lost all sense of time and space, her soul seemingly drifting upward.
In just the span of a thought, when Yae Sakura looked up again, the world before her had turned pure white.
It was a whiteness that transcended nature, a whiteness that transcended dimensions, a whiteness that made it impossible to look away.
She murmured to herself, "Is this the Challenge Space?"
It seemed Theresa hadn't lied to her!
If it were really possible, then Rin... At that thought, Yae Sakura's long-sealed heart began to beat violently. The heavy thumping sound was exceptionally clear in the silent space, noticeable to anyone nearby.
Her palms broke into a cold sweat, and her calves trembled unnaturally from tension and excitement.
Before Yae Sakura could react, a mechanical voice rang out within the Challenge Space.
"Ding! Special item detected: Oath of Sakura!"
"Challenge Mission Act 5: Special Challenge · Sakura Samsara, activated!"
"Only the item holder and one other challenger are permitted to enter!"
"There is only one chance for the challenge; failure cannot be undone!"
"Please select the challengers..."
Everyone was stunned to hear this, not expecting Yae Sakura to be carrying a special item.
Furthermore, it was a special challenge that only allowed two people to enter, with no second chances upon failure.
According to the Challenge Space's explanation, everything else was the same as previous missions.
There were just two additional restrictions, but in exchange, the rewards would exceed their imagination!
Instead of a background prompt, they only received two mission objectives.
"Objective 1: Save Yae Rin!"
"Objective 2: Redeem Yae Sakura!"
Hearing the prompt in her ears, Yae Sakura was actually at a loss for words, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.
That name, the name most familiar to her...
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