Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail-Chapter 498: Slay All (IV)

The moment they stepped out of the restaurant, the shift in atmosphere was immediate, the enclosed warmth and relative quiet giving way to the open, bustling energy of the festival once more. The cold air brushed faintly against Sunny’s face, carrying with it the mingled scents of cooked food, snow, and the faint metallic tang that seemed permanently embedded into Belobog’s environment. The noise returned as well, a layered blend of voices, movement, and distant music that settled over the senses without overwhelming them entirely, though it came close.

Sunny had barely taken a few steps before something — someone — moved sharply toward him from the side, an attempt at collision that was neither subtle nor particularly well-executed. His body reacted before his thoughts did, shifting just enough for the incoming figure to pass harmlessly by, his movement efficient, minimal, and entirely unbothered.

He turned his head slightly, already knowing what he would find.

Looking at Ilya, Natasha’s ward, Sunny allowed a slow, smug expression to spread across his face, the kind that existed solely to irritate.

"Nice try, brat. You could have gotten Seele if you targeted her instead."

Ilya sent him a look of immediate disdain, his entire expression scrunching with childish irritation as he crossed his arms, clearly dissatisfied with both the failure and the response.

"Stupid big fat mongrel..."

Sunny coughed at the word mongrel, the reaction involuntary and just pronounced enough to betray a flicker of thought beneath his otherwise composed exterior. For a brief, absurd moment, he wondered if the kid somehow knew, if that insult had carried any deeper meaning than it appeared to on the surface. The thought dissolved almost as quickly as it formed, dismissed as unlikely, because Ilya was many things, but subtle was not one of them.

Seele, standing beside him, shook her head faintly, her expression settling into something that mixed mild exasperation with familiarity.

"Ilya, where’s Nat? And don’t try to bump into people just because they’re an annoying asshole who deserves it."

Sunny felt an immediate, visceral offense rise within him at that statement, his expression tightening slightly as he processed the sheer audacity of being insulted so casually and so accurately at the same time. He might be annoying, and he might, under very specific and entirely justified circumstances, qualify as an asshole, but he certainly did not deserve to be treated like some background character in a poorly written school drama who existed solely to be shoved around.

He was the one who did the bumping.

Ilya, entirely unbothered by Sunny’s internal indignation, stuck his tongue out at him in a gesture that was both childish and completely sincere before answering Seele’s question with a dismissive shrug.

"She’s still in the clinic. Something about being the only Underworld doctor, something about ’what if somebody gets injured?’ The usual."

His gaze shifted back toward Sunny almost immediately after, narrowing slightly as though reassessing him, before flicking toward Seele with poorly concealed judgment.

"Also, your taste sucks. Even I can get as strong as this loser in, uh... five years! Yeah, that’s more than enough time!"

Sunny and Seele exchanged a brief look, a silent moment of shared acknowledgment passing between them before Sunny’s lips curled into something distinctly unpleasant, his expression sharpening into a grin that carried just enough edge to make his intent clear.

"Really? Well, people as strong as me have to worry about me becoming their enemy, you know? Why don’t you just stay a weakling forever and forget about reaching me?"

The words were delivered smoothly, almost casually, yet the underlying provocation was unmistakable. It was the kind of statement designed not to intimidate, but to irritate, to prod at something that would inevitably react.

Instead of shrinking back or showing any sign of doubt, Ilya did the exact opposite.

He started barking.

"Who’re you calling weak, huh?! Huh?! Wanna fight?!"

Sunny inched back a fraction, not out of fear, but out of a genuine and immediate discomfort with the situation, his expression shifting into one of cautious confusion as he raised a hand slightly in a half-hearted gesture of refusal.

"You, duh. And no, I’m good. See ya later!"

Without waiting for further escalation, he turned and walked away, Seele following easily beside him, the two of them slipping back into the flow of the festival with minimal effort. The encounter faded behind them quickly, absorbed into the broader noise and movement of the city, though the lingering absurdity of it remained.

After a short stretch of silence, Seele glanced at him with a faint smirk, her tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"Stop teaching kids to act like you."

Sunny blinked at her, his expression shifting into something that bordered on genuine disbelief as he turned his head slightly, regarding her with clear skepticism.

"What? There is a wide gap in mannerisms between that brat and I. You might want to get your eyes checked."

Seele rolled her eyes in response, her expression flattening as she adopted a mocking tone that was almost perfectly imitative.

"’How about becoming my slave in my super duper secret organization on a quest for world domination?’ Sound familiar?"

Sunny’s jaw tightened slightly, his teeth clenching as he processed the accuracy of that statement, the memory surfacing with uncomfortable clarity.

"Yes..."

To be fair, he had only been testing her at the time, pushing boundaries, exploring possibilities, seeing how far she would go if given the opportunity. It had not been a serious proposition, not entirely, though he could admit, if only to himself, that the concept had not been entirely unappealing. Having a subordinate was not inherently a bad idea, especially one as capable as Seele, though her tendency toward rebellion made the concept far less practical than it initially seemed.

Their movement slowed slightly as their attention was drawn toward a nearby workshop, its exterior modest yet distinct enough to stand out among the surrounding stalls. The interior was partially visible through the window, filled with various tools and mechanical constructs that hinted at its purpose.

Seele lingered for a moment, her gaze settling on it with mild interest before she turned toward Sunny.

"Want to go in?"

Sunny shook his head without much thought, his tone carrying a casual disinterest.

"Not necessarily."

Seele nodded once, as though acknowledging his response, before immediately disregarding it.

"Then we’re going in."

"Fuck!"

His protest came too late to have any effect, Seele already moving forward with a faint snicker as she pushed the door open without hesitation. The sound of the door shifting drew attention from within, and as they stepped inside, the scene that greeted them was not what either of them had expected.

Gepard, Captain of the Silvermane Guards, stood near the center of the workshop, his posture tense in a way that was distinctly uncharacteristic as he engaged in what could only be described as a struggle over a small object. The object in question appeared to be some kind of dragon toy, its design simplistic yet detailed enough to suggest care in its creation.

Opposing him was a young teen who, at first glance, appeared to be an almost exact replica of him.

The resemblance was uncanny, extending beyond mere similarity into near-identical features, the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes, the same general structure of face and expression, though hers carried a level of detachment that set her apart. Gepard was clearly holding back, his grip firm yet controlled, careful not to apply enough force to damage the toy as he attempted to pry it away.

The moment Sunny and Seele entered, Gepard froze, his focus snapping toward them in an instant, his grip loosening reflexively as the girl pulled the toy back toward herself, holding it close to her chest with an expression that remained entirely emotionless.

Sunny cleared his throat slightly, the awkwardness of the situation settling in as he spoke with a hint of dry humor.

"Forgot to lock the door? And to flip the sign to closed?"

Gepard’s expression shifted into something that could only be described as mortified, his composure cracking just enough to reveal genuine embarrassment.

"Yes. To both of those..."

A brief silence followed, the tension easing slightly as Gepard straightened his posture, regaining some semblance of his usual demeanor before gesturing toward the girl.

"Don’t mind her. She’s, uh... usually like this around new people."

He hesitated for a fraction of a second before continuing.

"This is Lynx. My younger sister."

The girl — Lynx — did not respond to the introduction in any visible way, her gaze fixed steadily on Sunny and Seele without blinking, without shifting, her expression entirely blank.

Sunny blinked once, processing the information with mild surprise as he registered the existence of a third Landau sibling, something that had not previously been within his awareness.

Gepard coughed lightly into his fist, attempting to move past the awkwardness.

"Well? What brings you to our humble abo— wait, we don’t live here. Humble shop?"

Sunny’s response came easily, his tone casual as he gestured vaguely.

"Well, Lil’ Geppie—"

"Please don’t call me that..."

"—Seele and I were just wandering around like nomads. You know what a nomad is? Anyways, now we are here."

Seele shot him a brief side-eye before sighing faintly, choosing to redirect the conversation.

"Is Serval not here?"

Gepard nodded, his expression settling into something more neutral.

"She went over to Qlipoth Fort to visit Madam Cocolia."

The name lingered in the air for a moment, drawing Sunny’s attention inward as he reflected on it briefly. It had been over a year and a half since he had last seen the previous Supreme Guardian, and even then, her condition had been concerning, though he had never fully understood the nature of it. The possibility that she was undergoing some form of transformation, something akin to the Nightmare Creatures he had encountered, surfaced briefly in his thoughts, though he did not dwell on it.

His gaze shifted instead to the toy dragon still held in Lynx’s arms, his expression becoming faintly appraising as he tilted his head.

"The dragon isn’t too bad. Personally, I prefer the big and gritty types, that rampage around and aren’t too smooth. I actually know a dragon. Well, he’s three dragons at the exact same time, and he goes: ’RAHHH—’"

Seele’s foot connected sharply with his shin before he could continue his boisterous shout, the impact precise and entirely intentional.

Sunny flinched slightly, his bravado collapsing almost immediately as he corrected himself with visible reluctance.

"Y-yeah. He goes rah."

Gepard exhaled quietly, his tone carrying a hint of wistfulness.

"I can’t say I’m not a bit jealous. I’ve never seen a real dragon before."

Sunny crossed his arms, shaking his head as he dismissed the idea with a casual certainty.

"Nuh-uh. They’ll probably want to kill you, and they’ll probably succeed. Actually, I saw one burn down a city just a few weeks ago. Though, it was a pretty flammable city..."

The comment lingered with an unsettling casualness, though he seemed entirely unbothered by its implications.

Lynx looked down at the dragon in her hands, her expression unchanged as she observed it for a moment longer before speaking in a tone that was as flat as her gaze.

"...Gepard, you can keep this."

Without waiting for a response, she pushed the toy into Gepard’s hands, the motion abrupt yet controlled.

Gepard stared down at it, his expression caught somewhere between victory and confusion, unsure of how exactly he had achieved the result he had been struggling for moments earlier.

Then, without another word, Lynx turned away and walked deeper into the workshop, her steps quiet, her presence receding into the background as though she had never been central to the scene at all.

Sunny, Seele, and Gepard remained where they were, their gazes lingering in the direction she had gone, the silence stretching just long enough to become noticeable, though not yet uncomfortable.