Lights in a Starless Sky - A Honkai Impact 3rd Fanfiction

Act 24: Holiday

(A/N: Like Act 21, this is going to be a long one. Really just because the 'London Holiday' manga storyline is rather short and I want to have a lot more interactions between Perceval and Durandal. Not just because I can't be bothered to split it into smaller chapters, trust me.)

One Month Later:

For the most part, things were quiet for a while. Perceval's return to Shicksal went without a hitch, his exile was unknown to the public and the media. The only ones aware of it were Perceval himself, Durandal, Rita, the Immortal Blades, Kiana, Siegfried and the man who put him on it: Otto Apocalypse. While the Knight was able to restore good relations with the Immortal Blades, his 'friendship' with Otto was irreparable. Then again, it was not much of a friendship to begin with. Every debriefing, there was always high tension between the two. Perceval often snuck deathly glares at the Overseer, while Otto stared back with smug authority. Though, he usually backed down when Durandal sided with the Knight and shot him down with a malevolent stare. Outside of relations, Perceval and Durandal continued to fight against the Honkai as always. Though this time, they did it together. Durandal specifically requested to have Perceval accompany her on her assignments, while she would accompany him on his own. She cited it as 'Keeping an eye on him', due to the Overseer's previously outlandish attempts to keep him 'in check' during assignments. Perceval and Durandal knew the real truth though, they discussed the arrangements beforehand: they were afraid of losing the other, even being out of sight was enough to stress out the two. However, the plan was beneficial not just for them, but for Shicksal in general. The flawless communication and endless strength between the two was enough to easily dispatch any infestation without any trouble at all.

6PM: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Perceval touched down on the ground and cracked his knuckles, vast amounts of people rushed past him in terror from the massive Honkai beast that stood opposite him and Durandal. "Well, it's certainly a big one." The Valkyrie slowly walked up beside him and smiled softly, giving her neck a crack. "No matter, we can take it." She took hold of Perceval's other hand. "Can't we, Perceval?" The Knight chuckled and unwrapped his hand from hers, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. "We can, Bianka." Together, they walked forward through the crowd of desperate people to meet the Honkai Beast

'Padishah', an Emperor-Class Honkai Beast, completely unique yet it looked not unlike an 'Imperator' variant Beast. Its armour was an amber-ish orange, with the characteristic white and purple glow of the Honkai. The pavement beneath it shattered as it hovered towards the warriors of Shicksal, the air tingled with an electric hum as the Honkai radiated from the Beast. Perceval looked up at the sky and noticed a Shicksal dropjet, he could barely make out three Valkyries standing in the jet's opening: Phosdjins, a West-Asian squad of B to A-Rank Valkyries. The Knight sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Did they really need to send them? We've got this under control." Durandal smiled back at him, taking a single step closer to the Beast. "Not that it matters, we'll have this done soon enough." Perceval chuckled lightly under his breath. "Yeah. Let's do this!" Padishah roared with a shrill voice as it rocketed towards them, Perceval and Durandal firmly planted their feet on the pavement and drew their fists back.

"HIYAAAAH!"
"TEYAAAAH!"

Respectively, Durandal and Perceval's fists slammed into the Beast. A deafening crack like thunder sounded as Padishah flew through the air, its body battered and beaten. The Beast crashed into the windows of a skyscraper, glass shattered and tumbled down to the scorched earth. Perceval dusted off his knuckles and smiled proudly. "Another job well done." Durandal chuckled softly and shook her head. "I couldn't have done it without you, Perceval." The Knight nodded and walked over to some people who were trapped under rubble that the Beast had created, he firmly grasped the underside of the thick concrete with his right hand and lifted it with little-to-no effort. "Are you all okay?" The people, although slightly injured, were all smiling and cheering. An older man bowed slightly. "Yes, all thanks to you, Master Perceval and Master Durandal." Perceval gently laid down the slab of concrete and helped up a little girl who's leg was injured, he picked her up and carefully handed her off to her mother. The mother tearfully clung to the girl and smiled at the Knight. "Thank you, to both of you." Durandal walked up beside Perceval and bowed. "It was nothing, just doing what needed to be done." Perceval smiled gently at the mother. "You're very welcome. Just make sure the rest of your family is safe." She nodded and quickly ran off into the distance, the Knight sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "All this praise... I don't think I'll ever get used to it..." Durandal laughed lightly as she twirled her hair around her fingers. "Well unfortunately for you, you're going to have to." Perceval smiled and gazed over at the broken building that Padishah had flown into, realising how much stronger he had grown since his two years in both St. Freya and Shicksal. "I guess so. Being an S-Rank Knight comes with tons of responsibility. It took the Overseer long enough to make me one, though." The Valkyrie nodded firmly, putting a finger to her ear. "Rita, we've cleared the Dubai Outbreak. What's our next mission?" The maid's voice rang clear through the comms, her smooth voice contrasting against the bleak, ruined part of the city that Perceval and Durandal were standing in. "There's no more assignments for today, you both are clear to report back for debriefing." Perceval put two fingers to his ears and cleared his throat. "Roger that, we're en route." The Valkyrie smiled at Perceval and took hold of his hand, her Bright Knight: Excelsis battlesuit rippling in the gentle wind. "Ready to head back?" The Knight stiffened the collar of his Night Sky battlesuit and gently squeezed Durandal's hand, nodding lightly back at her. "Yeah, let's move out." In a streak of stardust and flames, the two warriors launched into the distance hand in hand.