Seven Nights! / Honkai Emperor

"Hm? It was killed? By who? I thought the only thing left in the city was the defensive artillery?"

"Y-Yes, Young Master Ishiu!"

"...Huh?"

Meanwhile, Ishiu had already engaged the Chariot-class Honkai Beast.

This Honkai Beast was no different from the ones simulated in the training room. It had little intelligence, and its attacks were monotonous—either smashing wildly or using sonic attacks. For Ishiu, even with his eyes closed, dodging them would have been easy.

But the one thing giving Ishiu a headache was his crappy little blade. It simply could not do much to a Chariot-class Honkai Beast.

Even if he plunged the entire blade into it, the wound would only be 1.4 meters deep. Compared to that giant's size, it was like a cut on a finger—painful, sure, but nowhere near fatal.

Honkai Beasts were different from humans. They had no hearts. To kill one, aside from blasting it apart with heavy weapons, the only option was to cut off its head.

Seven Nights!

Ishiu looked at the katana in his hand, its durability nearly depleted, and could not help sighing. If only Honkai Beasts had a weakness.

Huh? Wait! Speaking of weaknesses, he seemed to...

Ishiu slapped his forehead. He suddenly remembered the eyes that had changed after he came to this world.

To this day, Ishiu had no idea where those strange eyes had come from. Every time he used them, the world in his vision underwent a tremendous change. Those spiderweb-like threads... he had once tried touching one with his finger, and then... the thread he touched had been severed. The thread's true form—a wall—had been cut apart as well. All with just his finger.

If his guess was correct, then these eyes should work on this Honkai Beast too.

After realizing that, Ishiu stopped hesitating. He closed his eyes slightly and opened the door in his mind.

The next second, when he opened his eyes again, his originally black irises had turned ice-blue.

The world changed once more in Ishiu's eyes.

"As expected... you have 'threads' on you too."

Ishiu looked at the Chariot-class Honkai Beast. Just as he had expected, countless densely packed threads had appeared across its body.

However, compared to its enormous body, there seemed to be rather few of them.

But that did not matter. As long as he could see the threads, that was enough.

Ishiu casually tossed away the Plasma Katana, which was nearly scrapped, then pulled out the dagger Bronya had given him from his pocket.

Since his target was those threads, the weapon's quality did not matter. After all, he could cut them easily even with his fingers. Besides, a dagger suited Ishiu better.

"Roar—!!!"

The Chariot-class Honkai Beast raised its thick arm and brought it crashing down on Ishiu like a pillar holding up the sky.

Yet Ishiu, who had dodged so swiftly before, stood there like an idiot this time, utterly motionless.

The shadow above him grew wider and wider, while the howling wind by his ears became more violent. Holding the dagger in a reverse grip, Ishiu raised his head slightly.

"I see it... the thread."

Just as that massive arm was about to fall, an ice-blue arc flashed past.

Flash Blade - Seven Nights

A dazzling blade light instantly tore through the sky, like a meteor rising from the earth—brilliant and blinding.

This was the fastest slash Ishiu could currently deliver. A strike bearing the name Seven Nights: when unsheathed, a hidden dragon lurked in the abyss; when unleashed, it bloomed in a single fleeting instant.

The next moment, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast stood there as if it had gone stupid.

Then, a beam of light emerged from its body.

No... more accurately, it was light shining through the middle of its body, which had been cut in half.

"Whew... Am I seriously this awesome?"

After landing, Ishiu turned around to look at the power of his strike, and even he was a little shocked.

But acting that cool did not come without a price. The hand holding his blade now ached faintly from using Seven Nights.

Ishiu knew this was because the technique was too powerful while his physical condition could not keep up. If he were strong enough, using Seven Nights consecutively would not be a problem.

Looks like I'll have to double my physical training from now on.

And every time he used these eyes, they seemed to consume his mental strength. He had only used them for a dozen or so seconds just now, yet he already felt a slight discomfort in his head.

"Y-Young Master Ishiu? D-Did you do this?"

At that moment, a voice came from behind him. Ishiu turned around and saw a tactical squad equipped with mechs and weapons approaching. The person at the front was staring at him in astonishment.

The Chariot-class Honkai Beast's body, cleaved in half by a single strike, was still standing there and had yet to fully dissipate.

"What do you think? I'm the only one here, aren't I? If I didn't do it, was it supposed to have committed suicide?" Ishiu laughed.

"B-But how exactly did you..."

"Enough. This isn't the time to talk about that. I've dealt with the Honkai Beasts here. We should get back to the front lines as soon as possible." Ishiu interrupted the leader. He had no time to chat; he still needed to help Cocolia deal with those Honkai Beasts.

"O-Oh... okay." The leader nodded instinctively, then gave Ishiu a startled look. Suppressing the questions filling his mind, the group followed the same route back, only this time with one more person.

Twenty minutes later, they returned to the front lines and quickly joined the battle against the Honkai Beasts.

As for Ishiu, Cocolia called him over. Since both sides had remained in contact throughout, nothing Ishiu had done had escaped Cocolia's notice.

The moment Cocolia saw Ishiu, she looked him over from top to bottom and side to side, as though she were meeting him for the first time.

Ishiu felt a little awkward under her gaze. Scratching his head, he said, "Mom, why are you staring at me? We're still fighting Honkai Beasts."

"What do you think I'm looking at? I'm checking whether you grew three heads and six arms. Otherwise, how did you manage to kill seventeen Honkai Beasts and a Chariot-class Honkai Beast?" Cocolia looked at Ishiu with complicated eyes. "If I hadn't seen the footage sent from the control room, I wouldn't have dared believe it was real."

"Well... I already told you I could kill Honkai Beasts. You just didn't believe me."

"How was I supposed to believe you? A few weeks ago, you nearly got rammed to death by a Charge-class Honkai Beast, and now you're killing Honkai Beasts one at a time with a single slash. Pretty impressive, huh? Can you explain why to your mother?"

"Um..." Ishiu pursed his lips and used an excuse he had hastily come up with on the way over to fool Cocolia. Though the reason was a little far-fetched, Cocolia had no choice but to believe it.

Don't ask. If you ask, it was a dream message from the ancestors.JPG.

After that, Ishiu once again brought up going to the battlefield.

Having witnessed Ishiu's capabilities this time, Cocolia did not reject him immediately. After hesitating for a long while, she slowly said, "You can go to the battlefield, but you must promise me that no matter what happens, staying alive comes first. You are not allowed to charge deep into the Honkai Beast horde, not allowed to leave the main force, not allowed to..."

Cocolia listed over a dozen things he was not allowed to do in one breath, making Ishiu feel like his brain was about to explode.

"...That's all for now. Also, I'll assign you a captain. You must stay close to her later. Do not fall behind, understand?"

As Cocolia spoke, she tapped the light screen a few times. Before long, a familiar figure walked over to Ishiu.

Honkai Emperor

"Lord Cocolia, do you have any orders?" Bronya was wearing combat armor and had a laser rifle slung across her back, giving her the air of a girl at war.

"Bronya, I'll have Ishiu join your squad later. Help me take care of him." Cocolia said straightforwardly.

Bronya frowned upon hearing that, but she did not say anything. She simply nodded and replied crisply, "Understood."

On the battlefield, a qualified soldier could not question any order from a superior, even if that order seemed utterly absurd.

After giving a few more instructions, Cocolia had Ishiu leave with Bronya.

"Ishiu, I don't know why Lord Cocolia wants you to join my squad, but I believe she is not someone who acts without reason. So whatever you want to do, you had better get my permission first. Otherwise, I have the right to remove you from the squad at any time."

After walking for a while, Bronya turned around and spoke to Ishiu with a serious expression.

"Okay." Ishiu nodded. Too bad he did not have a phone, or he definitely would have taken a picture of Little Pudding right now.

Bronya looking so heroic was seriously amazing!

"Mm." Bronya was fairly satisfied with Ishiu's attitude. She nodded, then led him back to her squad.

Bronya's squad was stationed in the second line of the battlefield. The first line consisted of unmanned mechs, which formed a defensive wall at the front to hold back the incoming tide of Honkai Beasts.

The Seven Nights clan stood at the second line, directly attacking the Honkai Beasts.

"Do you know how to use a gun?"

"A little."

"Then use this." Bronya took an Energy Pulse Pistol from the armory and handed it to Ishiu. "This gun reloads automatically. It is a little slow, but it has targeting assistance, so it is suitable for beginners."

Ishiu took the pistol and examined it in his hand. It had a rather futuristic design and looked a little like a water gun, but Ishiu knew that if he really treated it like one, then water had gotten into his brain.

So I'm shooting a gun today. Why does that make me weirdly excited?

"Alright, assess the situation yourself from here on. As long as you don't charge up there to die or run away in the middle of battle, do whatever you want. As long as you can kill Honkai Beasts." After saying that, Bronya carried a rifle taller than herself and rushed toward the battle line.

Ishiu rubbed his nose and followed after her.

Cold Little Pudding... had a unique charm too~

"Um, I'm actually better at close combat..." Ishiu said tentatively.

That immediately earned him a look from Bronya as though she were staring at an idiot.

"You mean you want to rush into a horde of at least five thousand Honkai Beasts and play a close-range game with them, one slash at a time?"

"Uh..."

"Don't be stupid. Unless you want to die, stay behind me obediently."

"Alright."

Ishiu scratched his head, feeling that Bronya had a point. He could kill one Honkai Beast with one slash, but there were so many of them that even if he were made of iron, he could not possibly kill them all. At most, he could take down a few hundred.

Besides, he was not Superman. Where was he supposed to get endless stamina? There were no twenty-five crystals here either.

So for the rest of the battle, Ishiu obediently followed behind Bronya and began fighting the Honkai Beasts from the second line.

There were many Honkai Beasts, but the Qiye Family was not weak either. Especially those unmanned mechs—they were not only powerful, but could also join together to form protective shield barriers.

More than once, Ishiu saw a massive white mech smash a Honkai Beast's head apart with one punch.

Titan Daddy, forever the GOAT!

And when these mechs were destroyed by Honkai Beasts, they would activate their self-destruct functions, taking several Honkai Beasts with them at once.

Thus, the scales of victory gradually began tipping toward humanity.

Until... a massive Honkai Beast appeared.

"Strong Honkai Energy reaction detected! All second-line personnel, fall back! Fall back!"

An anxious voice rang out through the communication channel, but at that moment, everyone's eyes turned in unison toward the Honkai Beast that had suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

That Honkai Beast stood roughly fifty meters tall, nearly twice the height of a Chariot-class Honkai Beast. The moment it appeared, the world itself seemed to lose its color.

A powerful sense of oppression surged into everyone's hearts.

That was the king standing at the pinnacle of the lower-class Honkai Beasts—the Honkai Emperor!

"┗|｀O′|┛ Roar!!"

The Honkai Emperor let out a furious roar. Then the floating crystal behind it suddenly plunged into the ground. Its Honkai Energy surged to its peak, and six purple beams erupted from beneath the earth, shredding dozens of mechs in front of it into pieces!

"Fall back!" Cocolia's voice echoed through the communication channel.

Everyone kept firing while slowly retreating.

"First Squad, you may use 'that' now!"

"Understood!"

At first, Ishiu had no idea what "that" Cocolia referred to was. But soon afterward, a thick blue beam shot out from the other side of the battlefield.

When that light appeared, the world seemed to dim in an instant. Carrying a wave that seemed capable of destroying everything, it directly vaporized everything in its path with its terrifying energy.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, it violently pierced through the Honkai Emperor's head and continued forward, melting every Honkai Beast along its path.

"Holy shit! What the hell was that?!" Ishiu's eyes widened in shock. That destructive power was far too terrifying. The Honkai Emperor had looked so formidable just moments ago, yet it was instantly wiped out.

"That was the Positron Cannon. It is a weapon the Qiye Family spent a long time developing. Its power is immense, but the cost is also extremely high. Under the current circumstances, it can probably only be used once per battle. From here on, it will be up to us." Bronya calmly explained from beside him.