Vill-V did not choose to activate a shield. Instead, she crossed her arms to block the incoming attack.
The gravity gun was merely a method for Inori to restrict the two of them—she did not enjoy long-range gunfights. Although Vill-V herself couldn't react in time, the automatic defense systems on her body made their own judgments. Four mechanical arms extended in front of her, and the buffering spiral devices began to operate in sequence.
Clang—clang—
There was nothing fancy about it.
Just two pure forces colliding head-on, the resulting shockwave blasting apart the clothing store's glass doors and the street lamps outside.
If the thug had still been conscious, he would have doubted his entire life.
These weren't two people—this was clearly a clash between two tyrannosaurs.
Bang!
"Ah..."
Vill-V was sent flying by a single punch.
Even with the buffering from the core device, she had to take several steps back before dispersing the tremendous force.
"Ow, ow, ow... I almost instinctively activated Herrscherization."
Vill-V groaned, her blood surging as tearing pain spread through both her arms and body.
If it had been Hua, she might have used technique to neutralize the force.
But Vill-V could only endure the impact head-on.
Looking down, even the buffering system capable of stopping multi-ton trucks had been knocked offline. The four magic mechanical arms had completely fallen apart.
(Expert: Hey, those arms are meant for precision instrument operation, not for fighting! You smashed them like this—do you want me to work myself to death later?!)
"That's ridiculous. You keep saying your fists are hard, but they're seriously hard, aren't they?"
This was Vill-V's first time engaging in direct combat with a martial artist. Now it seemed she had overestimated herself.
Even with the assistance of mechanical arms, she still couldn't fully block an A-rank Valkyrie-level strike.
After all, mechanical arms weren't some invincible shell.
In ordinary battles, these arms might make normal fighters feel like they were outnumbered.
But against Inori—who possessed both extraordinary combat awareness and immense strength—they were completely useless.
Inori wasn't relying on brute force alone. She also used refined techniques similar to Shenzhou martial arts—what could be called internal force.
With this, she could unleash ten times the effect with just a fraction of the strength.
And Vill-V could tell—this punch was exactly the same as what Hua had once demonstrated to her.
Glancing at Hua, who as a former martial artist could clearly see both Inori's and Vill-V's abilities, Hua murmured softly, "Vill-V... so weak."
Ugh... sorry for having such terrible martial arts skills.
Although Vill-V had indeed asked Hua to observe and give her guidance, it still felt like Hua was looking down on her.
If only her Herrscher physique could also boost her martial talent.
No wonder the original Vill-V only danced when fighting.
In terms of fighting talent, she really wasn't even as experienced as Pardo from Dusk Street.
Hua also recognized the familiar outfit—and the equally familiar techniques.
"That person is..."
But Magician placed a finger against her lips, stopping Hua from continuing.
"Hua, the stage atmosphere is just right. Ruining it so easily would disappoint our lovely audience~"
If it were Conductor, she would have stopped immediately and said something like, "Ah, what a misunderstanding—we're all on the same side," to ease the tension.
But Magician would never stop just like that.
Pushing limits was part of the fun.
Of course, Magician had already noticed the elite uniform of the Mad Hatter Party on the girl.
So... her competitive spirit was ignited.
After all, this was a beautiful girl she had personally funded and nurtured. If she lost badly, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
Just imagining every graduate from St. Freya Academy easily suppressing her in the future gave Vill-V a strong sense of crisis.
(Expert: Researchers were never meant to appear on the battlefield.)
"A-rank, huh... reaching A-rank at this age... mm, mm, quite a promising girl."
The graduation evaluation at St. Freya Academy was naturally based on the standards of future Valkyries.
But this era was not like the future—it didn't have such a high baseline of Honkai energy.
Even reaching B-rank in a lifetime was extremely rare. Just look at the soldiers of MOTH who participated in the Honkai Eruption.
Even when facing apocalyptic disasters, the number of B-rank fighters MOTH could field could be counted on one hand.
Of course, MOTH also held back resources—but it still showed just how valuable B-rank fighters were, let alone A-rank.
Watching the girl from the Mad Hatter Party approach her, Magician revealed a smug yet playful smile.
"Hoho, you're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're actually walking toward me?"
(Conductor: Please, you're the one who should be running away. Recognize your own strength.)
After all, St. Freya was an all-around training academy that Vill-V had painstakingly built. Its technology was revolutionary—combining Three-Body-level science with Honkai methods, turning ordinary people into all-around superhumans with ease.
So Inori decided to use... twenty percent of her strength. After all, she had already realized that the two in front of her were on her side.
In the past, Inori never held back during sparring.
Only after crippling several people did she realize she couldn't apply underworld survival rules to friendly matches.
So now, whenever sparring with allies, she would adjust to their pace. After all, in St. Freya Academy, there was only one person who could force her to go all out.
Thus, the two who both understood the situation but pretended otherwise began to fight.
"Ora ora ora ora ora!"
"Muda muda muda muda muda!"
...
Their close-range exchange was rapid and relentless, the clanging sounds continuous like a string of firecrackers.
Inori quickly realized—the girl in front of her had absolutely no martial skill.
After a few probing moves, she began treating it like a game of patty-cake—after all, they were all from the Mad Hatter Party. Injuring someone would be awkward.
But soon, something felt off.
"Heh—this time, it's a road roller."
"Wait, we're having a proper sparring match—what's with bringing out a road roller?!"
I'm sincerely holding back, and you're smashing me with a road roller?!
"Dear audience, this is also part of a lucky magic trick~ Next up—will it be a crane, or an excavator~"
Don't ask. She was just trying to find heavy machinery to dig Zeo out.
Facing the road roller descending from above, Zeo became one with the ground.
On the beam of the clothing store, a man in a black cloak lay prone.
When the bandits were looting the store, he had taken the opportunity to sneak in and hide there.
He was also the mastermind behind inciting the conflict—known as Third Brother by the young boss.
Earlier, using the smoke as cover, he had fired lead bullets from a sniper rifle, causing the two sides—unable to see each other—to develop hostility.
As for how he achieved this—it was because he could bend high-speed lead bullets mid-flight.
This wasn't gun kata.
This Third Brother was an esper—and the true young boss of Kowloon Stronghold in this district.