Chapter 271: Have Personality, Brother

Due to a chance encounter, she gained the ability to transform, though she never realized it until a future crisis, when she awakened her power as a War Maiden to save others—

This was Hana Hikari's original fate.

A classic trope.

But Jia Ji is certain: no matter how many times, even if no companions were by her side, only herself alone, the being known as "Hana Hikari" would still choose to fight to the end.

Unlike me, a character with a villain's script, Hana was born to do great things—this is tied to the very essence of her soul—

"I believe Hana is a deeply affectionate child performing actions impossible unless one loves humanity profoundly; in other words, as long as someone needs help before her, she will act without hesitation."

Jia Ji could vaguely sense the girl's soul—though slightly uncertain—radiating a brilliant, steady warmth like the sun.

And this world of "War Maiden's Final Song" possesses certain traits unique to web novels: superpowered infants and idiotic villains that respawn en masse with every map change, and villains who threaten to destroy the world keep popping up one after another.

And because of this, as long as Hana continues forward, no matter what she does, as long as she refuses to let tragedy unfold beside her, her peaceful daily life will grow ever more distant.

Jia Ji came to this world with his own purpose—he must return to his own world to prepare for the coming apocalypse, and he cannot keep rescuing Hana from every problem, as he did this time.

So she must grow strong enough to face the future, trained until she possesses the power to protect herself and the friends she cherishes.

"How about it? A pretty girl can't get by without martial arts."

While learning other skills isn't impossible, the problem is the person standing before her only knows how to punch—hundredth-degree hand-to-hand combat expert.

By now, Hana naturally no longer doubts the truth of Jia Ji's words; she believes in this burly, intimidating man who crossed worlds solely to help a stranger like her fight Noise.

Still, starting to punch right now felt far too sudden.

Jia Ji reached out his large hand and, with unstoppable force, yanked little Hana up from the hospital bed—the girl was about to cry out, for even though she was healthy, she had only just escaped life-threatening injuries…

"Huh?"

Hana moved her limbs in surprise, "How? My body doesn't hurt at all—and I feel full of strength?"

Just moments ago, Jia Ji had delivered the Evergreen Pavilion's healing medicine and an orange to her at a speed no ordinary person could react to—the medicine had already fully taken effect.

"Incredible—I knew you were…"

Just as Hana was about to marvel at the wonders of this otherworldly technology, a knock came at the door.

"Hana, I'm coming in~"

"That voice… is Mirai!"

Hearing it, Hana's face lit up, and in walked a girl her own age—short black hair, a large yellow bow tied at the back, quieter and more composed than lively Hana, clearly the type who excelled at studying.

But while Hana Hikari beamed, Jia Ji frowned—had he really run into her just now?

Unlike clueless Hana, her best friend Konohana Mirai was far smarter—or rather, more perceptive and intuitive.

Explaining things to her would take forever unless he spilled everything about the "Manjukyo" and the "War Maidens," and Jia Ji, who detested hassle, had only one choice—

"Sorry, I'm borrowing Hana."

As the saying goes: train them young!

A massive humanoid shadow flashed past, startling Mirai, who had noticed nothing before.

With a fierce rush of wind, the shadow and Hana Hikari vanished from the room, and the window on the twelfth floor stood wide open.

"Don't worry, Mirai—"

Mirai rushed to the window but saw no one—only Hana's final words echoed.

"I'll explain later! Whoa! So high!"

This isn't fair…

The black-haired girl unconsciously tugged at her necktie until it was a crumpled mess, her expression filled with worry.

They'd never met before—why did she feel Hana was about to change into something strange…

————————

The utterly capricious individual, carrying Hana Hikari—who had only just recovered from her injuries—leapt into a quiet park, where no one except a few birds would ever know what was about to happen.

Jia Ji carefully scanned the girl from head to toe, still clad in her hospital gown, then nodded.

"Your foundation is poor—you've never trained before; your waist, legs, and feet are all weak. If you're going to learn, you'll have to start with horse stance…"

Hana Hikari's head spun.

Only kids in a dojo start with that, right?

"But—"

Jia Ji changed tone, "I don't have time to teach you basics from scratch. Didn't I just say you have a fragment of Gungnir inside you?"

Hana nodded blankly, not understanding the connection.

Jia Ji smiled, using only ordinary human strength—he whipped his forearm like a whip through the air, the sleeve snapping with a sharp crack, the shockwave making several large trees before him shudder violently.

He was no longer the same man he once was. Back then, teaching the Cursed Children like Enju, he'd simply demonstrated once and left them to figure it out themselves—success depended entirely on their innate talent.

But now, Jia Ji had confidence: under his expert guidance, Hana Hikari could become far stronger than she ever was before—vastly stronger.

"If you know anything about Eastern martial arts, you'd know modern fist techniques evolved from spear arts. Training fists is training spears. And how many spears can rival the 'Eternal Spear—Gungnir'? So I'll teach you fist techniques first."

Using Gungnir to wield spear arts?

His reasoning was a bizarre fusion of East and West—anyone with even basic knowledge would think he was utterly delusional. Who learns to run before they learn to walk?

How can you ever master fist techniques without training the basics?

Even when Jia Ji first began training in Beidou Shenquan, he spent months drilling horse stance under Long Quan's instruction—he shouldn't be ignorant of this principle.

But if it's Hana Hikari… then learning to run before walking might be possible—if…

"Sing, Hana!"

—Only if you transform!

(End of Chapter)