Honkai, But Spirit Simulator

——After all, his main job was as a paleographer, and Otto's task for him was just to translate ancient scrolls for Edison.

This way, he wouldn't have to suffer in guilt every day.

"However, Bishop Otto sent someone to give me a new task the day before yesterday."

Needless to say, Edison understood this task.

"...Plant a bomb, ha, just like him."

As a translator, the Finn had the right to observe the experiment in the laboratory and make certain corrections.

Edison showed a look of disgust, but then, this disgust turned into incomprehension.

"Perhaps eliminating me is a part of his plan, but... well, maybe that's it? Forget it, I can't figure it out anyway."

Edison deeply felt that he couldn't figure out the logic of that bastard Otto.

Then he simply wouldn't bother looking for it.

"Give him a protective suit! Then, come with me, clean up the mess you made yourself!"

Edison looked coldly at the blond man sitting on the ground in front of him.

"...I understand."

[Awake?]

Welt had just woken up from the back seat of the car when he saw a glowing sphere turning light into the appearance of text.

[Having that nightmare again? Or should I say, memory.]

"...Yeah, the scene of my birth on the day of the Berlin Honkai Outbreak."

Welt sat up somewhat wearily.

"Even clearer than before... 300,000 people, right?"

[That's right. In the Berlin Honkai Outbreak, which was the First Honkai Eruption, the number of casualties was 300,000, with one survivor.]

The light screen changed again.

[As for why it's become clearer this time, it may be because of the Honkai pulse. Aida detected a trace of the Honkai pulse.]

"Is that so? That's really..." Welt wanted to find a word to describe the situation, but his head was too chaotic, so he could only give up.

[Looks like you have something on your mind?]

"Ah..." Welt nodded, "Recently, I not only dream about the Honkai Eruption in Berlin, but also about those... those victims who were in Berlin."

[So? Do you think you are an ominous child haunted by the resentment and hatred of 300,000 people, or a hero who carries the beautiful wishes of 300,000 people?]

Eden Star, floating in the air, asked.

"A hero or something..."

Welt rubbed his nose annoyedly.

"But... maybe I really am carrying their souls... really, really, really heavy."

The victims of the Berlin Honkai Eruption certainly had pain, helplessness, and even despair, but at the same time, they also had the brilliance of humanity... those soldiers, Valkyries, and scientists who sacrificed themselves to stop the Honkai, and those ordinary people who stepped forward.

Welt felt... he had to carry the wishes of these people.

He couldn't let the Berlin incident happen again.

[A very good realization. I thought I had let you grow up too long, causing you to grow crooked.]

"Senior, what are you talking about..." Why does it feel like an old father looking at his son!

[After all, Einstein and Tesla, those two are very difficult to deal with, aren't they? They're simply two problem children!]

"The two doctors are still good. They are willing to bring me along in everything... well, although I feel like I'm a bit of a third wheel."

Clang!

Eden Star slammed Welt's forehead hard.

[Stop talking nonsense, hold this ball. Now I will help you adapt to Eden Star.]

"Ah?"

[Today... you may really need to step forward, Herrscher boy.]

Chapter 47: Watcher

[Are you familiar with power levels 0, 1, 2, and 3?]

"More or less...?"

After choosing to accept the belief that he was carrying 300,000 people, the power belonging to the First Herrscher in Welt's body was gradually awakening.

From physical fitness to analytical ability, Welt's abilities grew rapidly during the short one-hour car ride.

Therefore, the speed of mastering Eden Star is very fast.

"Feels like I can use it."

[Just make sure you can use it.] Eden Star swayed. [But remember this: you need to carefully control Eden Star's zeroth-rated power output. Don't release it unless I tell you to.]

"Huh? Why?"

The zeroth-rated power output was Eden Star's most destructive move. If they didn't use that...

[That ultimate move is unlucky; it's never actually killed anyone when used… Anyway, the incantation time is too long. None of us can buy you time to complete it. You're the only real combat force here, although I guess there's one other… but they don't count as a real combat force.]

"...So, you're saying this move isn't for direct use, but rather to be used as a strategic weapon from a safe location, right?"

[Exactly, Welt, your comprehension is pretty good.]

"Uh..."

[Don't be too nervous. I've arranged most things. If we're lucky, you should only need to go through the motions, and that'll be it.]

"...Uh, what do you mean, 'if we're lucky'?"

At a moment like this, when the atmosphere was already so tense, Liu Bai suddenly bringing up luck... only made things more nerve-wracking.

[Well, I'm not some all-knowing mastermind who can strategize from afar and make decisions from a thousand miles away. I'm actually pretty unsure myself. If you're going to panic, we'll all panic together.]

"..."

The atmosphere was already building up to a decisive battle, and you suddenly tell me this...

What do you mean, "we'll all panic together"?! You damn senior, couldn't you give me a little more confidence?!

[Can't be helped. We're the only two grown men here. If we don't step up, are you going to let those two doctors in front take the heat?]

"I... I suppose not."

"Alright, we're in the city. Looks like the situation's under control."

Tesla turned off the car and looked at the streets outside.

Flames and smoke rose into the air, and they could vaguely see teams of black-suited bodyguards putting out fires and rescuing people.

There was no sign of the fire department, which was strange.

"Dr. Einstein, Dr. Tesla, you're here too?"

A blonde Valkyrie walked over, carrying a white and purple, barnacle-like thing on her spear.

"Ms. Reanna? You're here too?"

"I was originally here on vacation, but I didn't expect to encounter something like this." Reanna gave a wry smile. "Can anyone tell me what's going on? Did Edison lose control of her experiment?"

By the end, Reanna's face was filled with anger.

"Although it looks like it..." Einstein pushed up her glasses. "But this thing... Is it possible for Honkai beasts like this to be produced at this level of Honkai concentration?"

There was indeed Honkai energy leaking in the city, but the Honkai energy concentration at their current location was not high, and it was almost harmless to ordinary people.

"This..."

"Although I hate that Edison bastard," Tesla pushed up her glasses, "I have to admit that she's better than Destiny when it comes to prioritizing people."

Tesla's assessment left Reanna speechless.

Having worked for Destiny for over a hundred years, Reanna naturally knew Destiny's way of doing things.

Tesla's words were harsh, but they weren't wrong.

"...I also have my doubts about this."

At that moment, the communicator on Reanna's body rang.

"A communication from headquarters..." Reanna made a "shush" gesture to everyone and answered the communicator in her hand.

Reanna held the communicator to her ear, but even so, everyone could still faintly hear the intellectual voice from the communicator.

Sure enough, Otto, the Bishop, was directly commanding Reanna, Destiny's strongest Valkyrie.

"My suggestion? My suggestion is not to send troops like we did three years ago! Those ordinary people will only increase casualties after entering the Honkai core area."

The other party's suggestion seemed to make Reanna very angry.

She couldn't understand why the wise Bishop would make such a suggestion.

"I believe that the actions here in North America are quite effective. They have already begun to organize disaster relief in the outer areas. There is no need to insist on this meaningless approach."

Reanna glanced at the black-suited people who were rescuing people. Their actions were very cautious, much better than those Destiny people who would only send troops to drive tanks into the Honkai core area.

It wasn't that ordinary troops were useless, but the commanders of those Destiny troops... simply lacked experience in fighting Honkai, and couldn't do anything but waste the lives of those young lads.

"..."

Afterward, Otto seemed to change the subject, and Reanna calmed down.

But the new topic clearly made Reanna's expression increasingly cold.

"...You're saying that this Honkai outbreak was caused by a mistake by Edison, the person in charge of the North American Branch? Alright, I'll investigate. If that's really the case, I'll personally twist that little girl's head off—literally, Bishop."

Reanna closed the communication with a cold face, and then her expression softened a little.

"...It seems that there are indeed some anomalies."

Otto's image appeared in Reanna's mind.

——From this man, several times her age, Reanna occasionally sensed the Bishop's indifference to life.

Perhaps, to those in power, all human losses were nothing more than cold numbers.

Reanna had to admit that perhaps this was what made a mature and reliable commander, someone capable of securing the greatest benefit with the least amount of casualties.

A competent leader shouldn't focus on leading their brothers and sisters alone, but on leading the entire team forward.

——This is sacrifice.

Honkai wouldn't bargain with them, nor would it show mercy to any life; it was cold and ruthless.

Therefore, so-called "necessary sacrifices" were unavoidable.

This was a desperate battle devoid of any warmth.

But the more it was like this, the more Reanna yearned for a different kind of warmth.

...She'd seen enough sacrifice and tragedy.

Einstein, Tesla, Welt...

It had been a long time since she'd seen such a vibrant young one. The last time she saw someone so full of life was a hundred years ago, that fellow who liked to sign with "H·A" and was full of skeptical arguments.

Ah... it's been a hundred years.

Reanna suddenly became aware of the passage of time.

A hundred years, and Destiny was still lifeless, everyone seemed to have had all their creative cells absorbed by that Bishop.

Everyone was like that "Shenzhou Immortal," rigid and dull.

As a Valkyrie, a war machine, perhaps she shouldn't think so much.

But... even machines have feelings.

And this machine of mine is determined to protect them today.