Being a Cosplay Master in the World of Honkai Impact 3rd

Then she would cast aside your lifeless shell like garbage.

Everything would seem mechanical—monotonous, yet precise.

"Mother! I... I'm Kiana!" Kiana cried anxiously. "I'm Kiana! You... what's wrong with you?!"

Kiana wanted to stop it all, but she couldn't move. In those emotionless eyes, she no longer seemed to be a daughter, no longer blood-related family.

She was merely a target.

Completely deaf to Kiana's cries, she raised the lance in her hand and thrust it forward!

Kiana watched as the spearhead rapidly filled her vision. She no longer knew what to do. She would die! She would definitely die! She was unwilling to accept it, unwilling to believe that she would die at her own Mother's hands.

Kiana closed her eyes in despair.

"Clang~"

Just then, she suddenly heard a crisp metallic collision. The next second, a gale swept across her face like blades.

Kiana instinctively raised a hand to shield herself from the wind that cut at her face like a knife.

Wind—just wind. No flying rubble, nor had anything struck her.

Only then did Kiana open her eyes to see what had happened!

It was a greatsword! A greatsword stretched out before her had blocked that thrusting lance!

The weapons had collided, but it was not merely the weapons that clashed! Two immense forces had collided as well! The shockwave created by their impact tore apart everything on both sides.

The walls, already battered by the first exchange, now looked like ruins.

Swept away and ripped apart, a massive gap had been gouged straight through the building.

The shattered concrete and twisted steel bars all spoke of the terrifying strength of those two forces!

"Ms. Himeko!" Kiana suddenly felt a little relieved. Judging from that single clash, Ms. Himeko really did have some serious skills.

"This farce should end now, Cecilia!"

With a forceful swing, Himeko instantly overwhelmed the shockwave that had seemed evenly matched. Artoria did not take the hit head-on, instead leaping two meters back and out of the school building.

"Mother!" Kiana wanted to chase after her.

"Don't go, Kiana!"

At that moment, a huge figure stepped in front of her.

Siegfried. At that moment, Siegfried wore a trench coat over gray trousers and a khaki shirt, with tactical magazine pouches hanging from his waist. His outer coat was a blue high-collared trench coat, and he held a pair of futuristic pistols in his hands, like the electromagnetic guns of legend.

"This is too early for you!"

Siegfried pleaded with Himeko, "I'm counting on you, Himeko."

"Got it!"

Himeko was dressed in a red skintight combat suit, perfectly accentuating the curves of a mature woman's figure. Like a rose on the battlefield, she was dazzling and striking, confident and resolute.

Resting her greatsword on her shoulder, she spoke as though talking to herself, yet it sounded more like a promise. "No one will, in front of me—"

"—harm my students!"

"Not even a true Herrscher!"

"Hey! Where do you think you're running?!"

Himeko moved like an arrow released from a bow, charging after Artoria as she leapt out of the school building.

"Dad! Wh-what is going on?!" Kiana asked anxiously. "Why? Why did it turn out like this?!"

"Herrscherfication..." Siegfried gritted his teeth. "How could this happen?!"

"Herrscherfication? What's that?!" Kiana pressed anxiously.

"Why would Mother undergo Herrscherfication?"

"I'm not sure." Siegfried shook his head. "Maybe... perhaps... it's a lingering aftereffect from that battle long ago."

"Perhaps that's why she was unwilling to come back."

Siegfried did not know how to explain this strange phenomenon to Kiana, so that was all he could say.

"I'm going too." Kiana tried to go around Siegfried and chase after them. No matter what was happening, she felt she could not just stand here and do nothing.

"Don't go! Kiana!" Siegfried grabbed her.

"Why?!" Confused, Kiana turned back and asked, both anxious and angry, "Why can't I go?!"

"Because you aren't ready yet!" Siegfried said.

Not ready to fight.

Neither am I...

Not ready to fight the person I love most.

"Please don't go, Kiana." Siegfried knelt on one knee and held Kiana tightly. "Leave everything to Himeko. I know you may not be able to understand any of this."

"But you can't go. Neither can I."

"Not unless it was absolutely necessary."

I don't want to fight Cecilia!

Himeko caught up, but the battle did not erupt as quickly as expected.

Ever since the explosion, the academy had swiftly evacuated the students and gone into lockdown. Aside from a handful of people, there were no other spectators here.

"You don't seem to have lost your mind like we expected," Himeko said, resting her greatsword on her shoulder.

"Of course not." Artoria—or rather, Li Pu.

She planted the Crimson Rose of Ruin in the ground and said, "It just feels pretty bad, that's all."

"This looks better than I imagined." Himeko finally relaxed a little. "You haven't fully undergone Herrscher transformation yet."

Herrscher transformation!

In fact, Mei had not arrived yet when Himeko and Siegfried received the news. The academy had a complete surveillance system, and Otto himself was overseeing everything.

Thus, the moment Li Pu began to change, Otto's side had already detected it.

Besides, Li Pu's ahoge had been pulled out right outside Theresa's door.

The first person to learn of this abnormality was actually Theresa.

However, Theresa had not immediately stepped forward to stop Li Pu. Her reasons were similar to Siegfried's. Neither of them was prepared to fight Cecilia to the death.

And knowing Otto's nature all too well, Theresa had immediately gone to Otto to keep the situation under control.

To keep Otto from pulling out some strange weapon and hurling it at Cecilia.

But...

"Herrscher transformation?" Li Pu tilted her head. "Th... that's the definition you came up with?"

"It seems pretty close to what I estimated."

"So this is what you call Herrscher transformation."

"Isn't it? Haven't you undergone Herrscher transformation?" Himeko asked, somewhat puzzled. "You look like you're about to become a Herrscher."

She looked like she was undergoing Herrscher transformation. She probably had not completely become a Herrscher yet, and temporarily did not have a Herrscher Core.

She probably did not even count as a Simulated Herrscher yet.

But judging by her earlier performance, she should have started undergoing Herrscher transformation.

Had their assessment been wrong?!

"Actually, no." Li Pu shook her head. "If I had to define it accurately, it should just be called 'going dark.' I'm probably still far from being a Simulated Herrscher."

"Still, this feeling isn't very good."

"It feels like all the evil in my heart has surfaced."

Going dark—really, it was just what happened after her ahoge was pulled out. But going dark did not mean completely losing her mind. Li Pu's will could still control her body, as well as this power.

Yet it felt more like all the evil in her heart had been awakened and magnified.

Her urge to destroy and her urge to kill had both grown far too strong.

Hatred, anger, killing intent—every kind of negative emotion seemed to have become permanent guests, flooding together in a chaotic mess. They completely erased the last traces of kindness and restraint in her heart.

Li Pu pulled the Crimson Rose of Ruin from the ground again and said, "Come on. Let's start fighting."

"Hm? Why?" Himeko asked, confused. "If you haven't undergone Herrscher transformation, why do you still want to fight me?"

"To scare that kid." Li Pu looked toward the breach.

"You mean the navy guy who parachuted in?" Himeko turned to look at the breach as well, sounding rather displeased. "What? Do you have a grudge against him?"

"No."

Now that she had gone dark, Li Pu seemed to have become less guarded and had no intention of hiding her true intentions. "After learning about the Honkai, I figured that in the future, the captain's position would definitely be mine."

"Now someone suddenly parachutes in to steal my position. Of course I have to find a way to squeeze him out!"

"Besides, that guy was so rude. The moment he showed up, he started getting handsy with me."

"Oh~ I see." Himeko seemed to understand perfectly. "Though I don't think that redhead is much of a threat, don't you think you're overthinking this?"

"Cecilia?! The captain's position belongs to me!"

"Is that so?" Li Pu copied Himeko's pose, resting the Crimson Rose of Ruin on her shoulder. "Then I'm your strongest competitor."

"Want to have a fight right now?!"

"Let's see who will be the future—"

"Captain!"

Green or Not

"A Herrscher?"

Otto looked remarkably calm and intrigued as he said, "This matter does not seem as simple as you imagined, my dear granddaughter Theresa."

"Simple or not," Theresa said, sitting on the sofa and slapping the table, "this is none of your business."

Theresa still could not determine what exactly was going on.

If they were speaking solely of research into Honkai, Valkyries, and Herrschers, Theresa had to admit that Otto's accomplishments in that field were exceptionally high.

But being capable did not mean Otto had any good intentions in this matter.

Based on Theresa's own understanding of Otto, if he did not use this opportunity to dig a pit for Cecilia, that would truly be the sun rising in the west!

"Anyway, no!" Theresa said with her arms crossed. "I'll be watching you right here.

"My dear grandfather!"

"Oh, my dear granddaughter." Otto said with great concern, "You seem to have many misunderstandings about me. Even if there are indeed some things I haven't handled very ideally.

"As the school's academic director, I care deeply about the students as well.

"I will absolutely not allow anyone to harm my adorable students."

"Hmph~" Theresa turned her head aside. Words were useless! If he could be persuaded, she would not need to sit here. Who knew what Otto was really plotting?

Perhaps this incident was not unrelated to Otto, either!

They just had to wait!

With Himeko and Siegfried holding the line, Theresa believed things would not become so serious that they could not be salvaged. But after this incident, the entire academy...

"May be shut down for a long time."

Otto rose to his feet and walked to the window, gazing at the scenery outside.

Though the battle was not taking place here, the powerful tremors could still be felt. They were the shockwaves of combat. It seemed he had somewhat underestimated that boy named Li Pu.

He was stronger than Otto had imagined, and his progress was far faster as well.

He wanted to restrain her and make her work for Schicksal.