"What?!"
"You're joking, Amon, right?!"
"Lily! Get on my back! We're running!"
"Oh Lord, I swear in the name of the Tathāgata—this must be God's punishment—!"
"Stop babbling, Tugamin! Run!"
"I can't help it—!"
The crowd erupted instantly.
Some dragged their children and tried to flee. Some pulled out handguns and took defensive stances. Some cursed what they thought was a publicity stunt. Others even raised their phones to record.
"What a farce…"
Otto sighed softly, not specifying whom he meant.
He pulled Cecilia to her feet and retreated toward a railing at the edge.
"No! Everyone! Run! That zombie conjured a scythe out of thin air! It—it's coming from that side! Get out now!"
Gunshots crackled in the distance.
Then came screams.
Each scream cut off abruptly—like a snapped violin string.
At that point, what was left to misunderstand?
The scream was from someone whose throat had just been slit. The instant he cried out, someone—or something—had severed his vocal cords.
"My God!"
"Why are you still standing there?! Run!"
"Just outrun the others!"
"Oh True Lord, please send a holy son like Jesus to purge these zombies from the earth—!"
"Ahhh—!!!"
The crowd suddenly split apart.
A man clutched his neck, eyes bulging, purple veins crawling across his face. He let out a shriek—but it lasted less than a second.
He didn't even have the time to fully become a Dead Walker.
He simply curled up and collapsed at everyone's feet.
"Urgh—!!! Lily, what are you—?!"
Another scream.
The man who had carried his girlfriend stared in disbelief before collapsing, a gaping hole blasted through his chest.
The woman who had been on his back froze for a few seconds.
Then she turned toward the crowd.
In her hand, a blood-drenched heart still twitched weakly. Her skin was corpse-pale, as if she had crawled straight out of a coffin.
Purple Honkai patterns glowed faintly across her face. Her eyes were dull and glassy, like those of a dead fish.
"AAAAAAH—!!!"
One person finally broke and bolted toward the park exit.
As if a switch had been flipped, the crowd surged like a tidal wave, trampling toward escape.
"Hey, Tugamin! Don't leave me!"
"Sorry, Kashan! I'm afraid of dying like that!"
"Tom! Killing people won't help! Those zombies aren't eating anyone—they're just slaughtering! They won't stop because you kill—ah!"
"Sorry, old friend. Maybe the corpses will slow them down."
Amid the chaos—
Only Cecilia and Otto remained still.
Cecilia looked uneasy. She turned toward Otto, about to ask something—only to see that he had closed his eyes.
As if sensing her gaze, Otto opened them and raised a hand.
A massive golden lance gradually formed in his palm.
"Mimicry: Black Abyss White Flower. A simulated version of your former weapon," he said, placing the lance in her hands. "Follow your heart. I'm behind you."
Cecilia nodded.
As she grasped the lance, a familiar yet distant sensation traveled through her fingers. The handle still seemed to carry the warmth of his palm.
She steadied herself and stepped forward, blocking the approaching Dead Walker.
"Stop!"
Naturally, it did not comply.
It raised its scythe high, clearly intending to cleave her in two.
Cecilia met its gaze calmly. There was no fear on her face—only resolve.
She should have been afraid.
Her fragmented memories were not enough to justify such composure.
But the image of Otto standing calmly behind her—and his simple promise—filled her with boundless courage.
Brother will protect me.
No matter what.
Even beneath a Honkai fission bomb—
…A what?
The unfamiliar term surfaced suddenly in her mind.
She tried to grasp it—
But her hands did not pause.
She lifted the lance to block, pivoted smoothly, and thrust forward.
The spearhead pierced straight through the Dead Walker's skull.
As it collapsed, the purple light in its eyes flickered.
For a brief moment, clarity returned.
It looked down at the heart it still clutched tightly in its hand.
Then—
Nothing.
Cecilia frowned—not from the sudden tragedy. Her current memories were too thin to process the complexity of betrayal and loss.
She was troubled by the word that had surfaced in her mind.
Again.
Every time.
Memories were like drifting mist—present yet unreachable. The harder she tried to recall them, the faster they slipped away.
She glanced back at Otto.
Behind him stood a massive cross—Judah's Oath in restrained form. He leaned casually against it, holding her light yellow-green down coat, offering her a faint smile.
Brother is behind me.
Her heart settled instantly.
Meanwhile, more Dead Walkers staggered forward, slowly encircling her.
At first, there weren't many.
But under Honkai erosion, dying women rose from the ground, their eyes turning crimson, purple patterns spreading across their necks.
The numbers increased.
"Then come."
Cecilia murmured.
She rotated the lance—awkwardly, not yet fully accustomed.
Golden mist began to spread from its tip.
Some Dead Walkers hesitated instinctively, sensing danger.
Most did not.
They stepped into the mist—
—and their flesh began dissolving almost instantly.
Arms reaching forward decayed mid-motion, stripped to white bone before they could even strike.
This was the "Black Abyss" aspect of Black Abyss White Flower.
Though severely weakened due to being a Mimicry construct, in Cecilia's hands it still retained its corrosive authority.
The Dead Walkers' momentum faltered under the golden haze.
Cecilia pressed forward, thrusting repeatedly, felling several in quick succession.
"Her technique is still rough…" Otto murmured.
Indeed, her movements flowed smoothly—but he could tell she relied heavily on muscle memory. Several times, Dead Walkers closed in dangerously, saved only by the mist's passive corrosion.
Against fodder, it was sufficient.
Against a Herrscher—or Kevin—
She lacked a decisive finishing strike.
Cecilia seemed to sense that too.
She frowned.
In the next instant, she vanished from their sight.
Only Otto could track the faint afterimage as she leapt high.
With several agile bounds, she reached elevated ground—then inverted the lance and plunged straight down into the center of the encirclement.
A surge of Honkai energy exploded outward.
Golden mist erupted in all directions.
Corrupted bodies disintegrated instantly. One after another, Dead Walkers emitted their final wails before collapsing into nothing—no flesh, no bone remaining.
Cecilia wiped imaginary sweat from her brow.
She turned toward Otto, almost like a child seeking praise after completing a task—
Then her eyes widened.
A crushing pressure descended from behind.
Her shadow stretched forward on the ground—suddenly engulfed by a far larger, inhuman silhouette.
The owner of that shadow raised a massive circular object overhead—
—and brought it crashing down toward her with brutal force.
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