A year had passed, and Jun An once again witnessed Theresa and Himeko using their full power.
Himeko wielded a large, red greatsword. After integrating Jizo Mitama's genes, she had not only overcome her poor Honkai energy resistance but her strength had also leaped to the S-rank level.
Theresa, as Otto's magnum opus from the Kallen resurrection experiments, was a special MANTIS who had perfectly fused the genes of the Parvati-class Honkai Beast Vishnu and also possessed Kallen's genes. The sheer might of her power needed no further elaboration.
Now, even without using a Valkyrie battlesuit, Himeko could lift a greatsword weighing several hundred jin with one hand and swing it effortlessly. Her combat style bore some resemblance to Jun An's – both wielded greatswords with deceptive ease, slashing wildly, the mere force of their sword qi capable of scarring the ground over a dozen meters away.
On the other side, Theresa casually hefted the half-ton Oath of Judah, smashing it around. The lance form, morphed from Judah and swung with monstrous strength in one hand, created sonic booms.
Without a doubt, the combat prowess of these two surpassed 99.9% of the people in the world.
The mere shockwaves from their battle could directly demolish surrounding buildings. No wonder they needed to find an unreconstructed area to fight; their demolition efficiency surpassed even professional crews.
And the reason for such a massive brawl was merely to decide who got to eat under the table on odd days versus even days.
Because there are slightly more odd days than even days in a year, sometimes allowing for two consecutive days of eating under the table, they naturally had to fight for it.
Jun An, the prize himself, watched this spectacle from the Helios hovering a kilometer in the air, avoiding getting caught in the crossfire of these two S-rank powerhouses.
Watching the two, especially Theresa effortlessly crushing concrete walls, Jun An felt a lingering fear as he glanced down at his own crotch. He thought it would be wise to provoke Theresa less in the future. It already felt a bit painful normally; if she used more force... Jun An felt a distinct chill in a certain area.
The final victor, unsurprisingly, was Theresa. Her strength needed no elaboration; after all, the last person to fuse another Parvati-class Honkai Beast on top of Vishnu genes was the invincible Kevin.
Himeko checked the time, helplessly getting up and dusting herself off, instantly crestfallen.
"I've clearly been practicing secretly all year, yet I only lasted half an hour against Theresa. The gap really isn't small at all."
She had originally thought her year of secret practice might allow her to win a couple of exchanges against Theresa. Instead, Theresa had dominated the entire fight through sheer stats, leaving almost no room for suspense.
Moreover, this was just a full-power spar, not a life-or-death battle. Otherwise, Himeko felt it would have ended even faster.
"Hehe, I am the Overseer of Schicksal, after all. How could I possibly lose to a subordinate in terms of combat power?" Theresa, the victor, appeared particularly smug at this moment, grabbing the Captain's arm. "Alright, as agreed, the remaining demolition work is also yours. I'm going on a date with the Captain first!"
"Wait, how is there an additional clause?" Jun An hadn't heard about this before. He thought the 'eating under the table' bet was already ridiculous enough.
"Added it during the spar just now." Theresa observed Jun An's expression. "Of course, if the Captain isn't willing or feels tired, we can rest today too."
Theresa looked at Jun An's face. In just a few days, he looked the same as when he used to help them with office work back at St. Freya – looking somewhat tired but deliberately enduring it.
"It's fine. Don't underestimate my mental fortitude." Although his physical strength was only A-rank now, Jun An was confident his mental strength wouldn't lose to Aponia's.
"But your body still gets tired, right?" Theresa knew that will and body influenced each other. If the body was overworked, even the strongest spirit would be limited by the flesh. In other words, she felt she and Himeko had squeezed Jun An a bit too much.
"Then the first stop on our date will be finding a place to take a nap." Theresa led Jun An onto the Helios, found a comfortable-looking spot, sat down right there, and patted her lap. "Come on."
Seeing the prime loli lap pillow offered, Jun An immediately lay down. Although the floor was a bit hard, a beautiful girl's lap pillow was more healing than anything. Unlike Himeko's lap pillow – due to the size difference, Himeko's posterior and thighs were simply too high for the current Jun An's lap-pillowing needs. Too high, and grabbing it was all flesh. Not like Theresa's lap pillow, which was soft.
"But is this really okay? On our rare date," Jun An felt a little guilty.
"It truly is a rare date," Theresa stroked Jun An's hair, "but being able to nap with the Captain like this, just like before... that was something unimaginable for the me of a year ago."
Theresa gently stroked the Captain's hair, a hint of pain in her eyes. "Only like this, right now, do I truly feel that you've really come back to us... back to the everyday life that was once easily within reach."
Jun An closed his eyes, feeling a pang of guilt. "Sorry for making you wait so long."
"No, it's not the Captain's fault." Theresa gazed at Jun An's face, just like when she first found him years ago – weary, peaceful. "If it weren't for that sudden attack, the Captain wouldn't have sacrificed himself, wouldn't have left me for a whole year. I know it wasn't your fault, Captain."
That attack had come too suddenly, too opportunistically.
Everyone had just finished repelling Kevin, their stamina depleted, and Kiana was at the critical stage of integrating the two halves of the Finality's power. That single strike arrived without warning.
Given the situation at the time, if the main trio and Jun An had dodged, Earth would have been finished instantly. And the only star-destroying level combatant capable of acting at that moment was Jun An alone.
So, naturally, Jun An acted faster than Mei or Bronya, saving not only the Earth but also the people on the moon.
But compared to those sorrowful past events—
"Besides, more important than all that is being able to continue napping with the Captain like this, going on dates with the Captain, telling the Captain my feelings... These were things I wouldn't have even dared to dream of a year ago."
"Captain, you being back is better than anything."
Jun An: "..."
Theresa stroked Jun An's bangs, like petting a cat, and continued expressing her thoughts without pause.
"Did you know? During the time you were gone, I actually thought a lot about what I should say, what I should do, if you ever came back." Theresa sighed softly. "Sure enough, in the end, no matter how I thought about it, all that remained was regret. Regret that I shouldn't have put on the airs of a Headmaster back then, shouldn't have always acted like a guardian, shouldn't have held back my feelings just because the Great Honkai was imminent..."
Theresa blushed slightly, stealing glances at Jun An's expression, only to find him breathing evenly.
Theresa smiled faintly, stroked Jun An's cheek, and leaned down. Their faces drew very close, close enough to feel each other's breath. Just a little closer, and their lips would touch.
Theresa deliberately breathed onto Jun An's lips. "If I'd known, I would have confessed my feelings to the Captain sooner. That way, I could have eaten the Captain while he was still hot~"
"Pfft—"
Jun An, who was only pretending to sleep, instantly lost his composure. He just tilted his head up slightly, and their lips overlapped. Jun An knew he had definitely been tricked.
Theresa, satisfied after the brush of their lips, looked at Jun An triumphantly. "Hehe, the Captain still tries to evade things whenever he's out of his depth, doesn't he?" She poked the Captain's cheek; it was soft and looked quite cute.
Jun An, flustered, retorted, "Wait, what do you mean 'while he was hot'? Don't tell me when I was cold, you actually..."
"How could I?" Theresa, whatever else she might be, didn't have that kind of fetish. After all, someone who could move was much better than someone who couldn't. Besides, the Captain had seen more doujins than her; she only knew the 'cowgirl' position herself, and couldn't even 'go all the way down', though that wasn't possible anyway.
Theresa poked Jun An's cheek again. "Back then, your body was turned to dust, not even a speck of DNA left behind. Just an empty grave with your clothes."
"Then could you please not say such startling things?" Jun An wiped away cold sweat. Thinking about that possibility was genuinely terrifying.
Theresa pinched Jun An's cheek . "Besides, I never did anything like that! Shouldn't you know best, Captain? I was still hurting quite a bit back then."
Jun An turned his face away. True, in his shock at Theresa's potential XP just now, he'd forgotten.
"Alright, no more joking. There's still plenty of time. Captain, just rest easy. I won't tease you this time. It's not too late for our date after you wake up."
Theresa began stroking Jun An's hair like a mother again, and Jun An nodded slightly.
But Theresa still asked, somewhat tokenly, "By the way, Captain, do you need 'mommy-like service'? You know..." Theresa made an 'OK' hand gesture and waved it in front of Jun An's eyes.
Jun An was instantly speechless. "Hey, you're kidding, right? Have you forgotten why I need to rest in the first place?"