The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

The moment the flames appeared, fear surged in Asta's heart. 

Then, she looked down at her hands, which were now engulfed in blue fire.

At the same time the flames emerged, she heard a strange sound—and felt death.

Almost instinctively, she reached out toward Pei Guang. 

If Asta hadn't flagged herself for death earlier, even Pei Guang might've been caught off guard by this sudden attack. But fortunately, when she set off that flag, Pei Guang had already started keeping a close eye on her.

He grabbed her outstretched hand and yanked her toward him.

However, the flames covering her didn't dissipate. Pei Guang realized this was a QTE moment: if he failed the quick-time event, Asta could vanish at best or die at worst.

Clutching her hand, Pei Guang instantly used teleportation. His target: the Astral Express.

And as they teleported, Pei Guang noticed that the blue flames looked a lot like a Heliobi: so without hesitation, he incinerated the flames while jumping to the train.

Heliobi with teleportation ability: roasted +1. Mission item for Stelle: roasted version +1.

In that instant, Pei Guang and Asta left the space station and arrived aboard the Astral Express. Everyone happened to be resting in the train's main lounge today, and their sudden arrival drew everyone's attention.

The first to look over was March 7th. The moment she saw Pei Guang, she lit up—until she saw Asta in his arms. 

Her expression froze.

"Oh no! Ah Guang's learned how to abduct girls: this is terrifying!!!"

Himeko, watching the scene unfold, teased, "Hm? Little March, getting nervous?"

March 7th: "No! Of course not! I'm just, you know, concerned. But… Ah Guang and Asta like this… it's kind of…"

She had noticed Asta's expression shift from fear to comfort. 

That wasn't fake. Which meant…!!!

Detective March had a bold deduction!

But before she could voice it, Pei Guang spoke up: "Everyone, Asta was attacked. The specifics…"

He checked his system log. During the attack, he had been hit as well due to pulling Asta close, but the teleportation had been fast enough to prevent any real damage.

[Player Pei Guang was subjected to a special attack from the Duke Inferno Ifrit.]

Hearing Pei Guang's explanation, everyone's mood turned serious. Welt sank into thought. "Ifrit… I've heard of its exploits before. But why would it target Herta's space station?"

Pei Guang shook his head. "Probably because I pissed the Annihilated Gang, or whatever it's called, off and happen to have a good relationship with the space station? I think we're safe on the train though. This is a safe house after all…"

March 7th nodded seriously. "Exactly. The train is safe. So… Ah Guang, how long are you planning to hold her?"

At her words, Asta suddenly realized: she was still in Pei Guang's arms!

When he had pulled her over, she had naturally fallen into his embrace. And after teleporting, the comfort of being held like that, especially given her high opinion and favorability of Pei Guang, had made her instinctively stay.

Yes! Just instinct!

That's what Asta told herself, unsure who she was even explaining it to in her mind, as her body reluctantly pulled away from Pei Guang. But the moment she did, her face flushed red.

This was… the first time in her life she'd… done something like that… 

Recalling that warmth, she…

Asta felt her brain freeze up. And she wasn't alone: Pei Guang, too, was stunned. 

His system didn't show affection levels, but just looking at Asta now made him feel a heavy pressure.

The way Asta was acting… her eyes practically had hearts in them. And if they did have hearts in them, he was screwed. 

The pure romance route would be impossible from that point on.

"Damn it! She's fully stitched herself in! This is so screwed up!!"

As a player, he'd wanted to clear the pure love route—but now the first major NPC had nearly maxed out her affection for him? He was seriously worried that if the bar went up any higher, he wouldn't even be able to spend the night alone.

Thinking about that, Pei Guang turned to March 7th with a deeply moved expression. If she hadn't interrupted just in time, who knows what kind of story branch this would've turned into.

March 7th had been irritated before, but seeing Asta's expression made her even more annoyed. 

But then she noticed Pei Guang's gaze—so excited, so grateful, even a little admiring—and she was stunned.

She'd seen romantic dramas and idol shows before. She'd seen people let go indifferently. But someone being this grateful? 

That was a one-in-a-million situation.

After pulling away, Asta turned to Pei Guang and said sincerely, "Thank you so much. If you hadn't been there, I don't even know what would've happened. But…"

"You're worried about the space station, right? Just before the teleport, I burned the thing that attacked you. But I can't guarantee there aren't more of them. So for now, stay here. The Express is much safer than the space station."

And it wasn't just the Express crew: there were also emissaries from the Garden of Recollection here. 

Right now, Pei Guang was in tight cooperation with both them and the Aeon of Remembrance. Having them watch over Asta to make sure she didn't get abducted again would be no problem at all.

With Asta settled, Pei Guang prepared to return to the space station. Just as he was about to act, March 7th came over: "So? Need any help?"

Pei Guang: "Not for now. I've taken care of the Heliobus that attacked Asta, but I still need to investigate what's going on back there. Asta, just stay here for now~ Once it's all over, I'll take you back to the space station."

"Mm~" Asta murmured.

And so Pei Guang left. 

While he returned to the space station to investigate who attacked, where it happened, and what became of those involved, on another planet, Kafka, currently "hunting Stellarons", received a message from Elio.

"Hm? What? Is that so? I understand."

After ending the call, Silver Wolf, who was playing a game nearby, asked curiously, "What happened? You sound so serious."

Kafka replied, "There's been a deviation in the future."

Silver Wolf: "Huh? Weren't we already following the script? How…"

Kafka's tone turned somber. 

"We acted out our roles according to the script, but someone offended someone they shouldn't have, and did something they shouldn't have. It's fine, though: Elio has already told me what needs to be done next. But I won't be the one busy this time. You will."

Silver Wolf: "Oh? Got a task for me?"

Kafka: "It's simple. Find its location, confirm its coordinates. After that, do whatever you want."

Silver Wolf looked at the info Kafka sent on Duke Inferno, Ifrit, and muttered, "This guy? I've heard of him. His account's loaded, but all that property is no longer his. By the way, what exactly happened? Mind telling me?"

Previously, when helping Pei Guang investigate the property of the Annihilation Gang, she had uncovered a massive amount linked to this guy. That's why she had paid special attention to him. 

Looking him up again now was a piece of cake.

Kafka answered in a soft voice, "The pretty, wealthy NPC you liked, who gave you tons of rewards and could've even ended up with you… got killed."

Silver Wolf: "What the—!"

That single sentence nearly made Silver Wolf curse. Kafka chuckled and added, "According to the script, it would've just been a narrow escape even without him. But he doesn't see it that way."

Silver Wolf: "Say no more. I get it now. That guy's... totally screwed. Won't be long before he contacts me…"

Even Silver Wolf herself felt a pang in her chest just hearing Kafka's description. She couldn't help but curse under her breath.

"What, did you have nothing better to do? If you were that bored, go mess up a few more planets. Why'd you have to provoke him?"

Silver Wolf knew all too well how a player could be both incredibly generous and incredibly petty: especially someone like Pei Guang, who had both the power and the pettiness.

Sure enough, the moment Pei Guang returned to the space station, he sprang into action. He went straight back to the room from before. 

Seeing Veritas still there, he asked without hesitation, "Where's the mastermind? Don't tell me you don't know where it is!"

Veritas, seeing Pei Guang radiating killing intent, quickly explained, "That thing? The wisp of flame that entered the space station is already dead, burned to ash by you."

Veritas had seen clearly what happened: when Asta was attacked, Pei Guang's flame had roasted the flame wisp controlled by Ifrit. 

Ghost fire being roasted was a first for him, but no matter how bizarre it was, he could confirm that Ifrit's consciousness within the space station was gone.

Pei Guang: "Dead? Just like that?"

Veritas: "What died wasn't it, but a wisp of its consciousness projected here via phase-fire. As for the other people it was targeting, don't worry, they're all safe now."

Everyone was safe, and the enemy was gone, but Pei Guang wasn't happy at all. Especially after learning the real body was still out there, he began considering whether he could "do something" to it—something proportionate.

He looked toward his Star Destroyer warship. It had a full energy reserve. 

During his time on Earth, the warship had accumulated a ton of resources. While it could manage one round-trip between Earth and here, firing off another round would leave it short.

And this enemy clearly had ties to the main story. Pei Guang figured his current means couldn't kill it for good. Just like how some stories have "plot armor," this one probably did too.

Still, even if he couldn't land a killing blow, Pei Guang was more than ready to disgust the hell out of it.

With that in mind, he contacted Silver Wolf.