"Mei..." Kiana held Raiden Mei's hand, her face full of worry and concern.
"Whew... All right, then I'll leave Mei to you, Mom." Seeing that Raiden Mei had already made her choice, Ishiu no longer hesitated. He stood and headed outside.
"Ishiu, where are you going?" Cocolia asked.
"To fight." Ishiu looked ahead, his eyes seeming to see through the walls to Changkong City below the battleship.
In a low voice, he said, "I'm going to stop those Honkai Beasts."
His voice was calm, as if he were talking about something utterly ordinary.
Ishiu knew he wasn't exactly a good person, but he definitely wasn't a cold-blooded animal either!
At that moment, tens of millions of people in Changkong City were facing threats to their lives. He happened to possess the power to kill Honkai Beasts. If he could still remain indifferent under such circumstances, then he wouldn't be human—he would be a robot cold and heartless toward everything!
"Are you crazy? Do you know how dangerous Changkong City is right now?" Cocolia's expression changed sharply. She grabbed Ishiu's arm, and her voice even carried a hint of pleading. "Ishiu, I know you've become very strong, but no matter how strong you are, what can you do against thousands upon thousands of Honkai Beasts? How many can you kill? How many people can you save? Mom is begging you. It took so much for me to hold you again. I don't want to see anything happen to you..."
Cocolia's words came from the bottom of her heart. Right now, she wished she could send Ishiu to the safest place in the world. How could she possibly watch him risk his life?
"Mom, Bronya could go on missions two years ago, so why can't I fight now? Alone, I can't kill that many Honkai Beasts or save that many people. But every Honkai Beast I kill might save one life, or even several.
"I can't stop this disaster, but I hope I can do what I'm capable of. Even if I only save one person, I'll be able to tell myself that I'm not some useless coward who only hides on a battleship!"
Ishiu knew that Cocolia was somewhat overprotective of him. But no matter what, she truly was trying to protect him. The problem was that Ishiu couldn't remain a little bird sheltered beneath Cocolia's wings forever. Now that he had power, it was time for him to protect them.
In truth, he had another reason for going to Changkong City: Raiden Mei.
Though she hadn't said it, even an idiot could see how guilty and heartbroken she was over the disaster in Changkong City caused by her. Ishiu hadn't tried to comfort her, because any words were pale and powerless before such bloody reality.
The only thing he could do was save as many people as possible, so Miss Mei wouldn't suffer quite so much.
(P.S.: How should I put this? It's not like the Herrscher of Thunder looks bad, but she overlaps too much with Shadow Knight, which disappointed me after I'd been looking forward to her... I hope Mihoyo makes our wife even prettier.)
(P.P.S.: While I'm here, let's talk about my view on the Herrscher of Thunder. I think Raiden Mei's other consciousness, Queen of Raiden, should have originated from Raiden Mei's Stigmata. Both Seele and Raiden Mei possess natural Stigmata, and both of them have two consciousnesses—in other words, split personalities.
But Wendy, who was implanted with the Desire Gem as well, didn't have two consciousnesses. So I speculate that Raiden Mei's queen personality was born from her Stigmata, while the Conquest Gem merely acted as a catalyst, influencing her before the queen personality had fully developed.
As a result, the queen personality fused too thoroughly with the Conquest Gem. When it was taken away by the Herrscher of the Void, the queen personality disappeared as well.
That's probably it. Mihoyo retcons things pretty badly, so I don't know whether this speculation is right. But since this is my book, I'll just treat this theory as established fact. It shouldn't be a big problem anyway.)
The Judas Launcher Appears!
(4K mega chapter)
"This..." Cocolia was left speechless. She couldn't exactly say, Because I like you more, could she? That would hurt Bronya too much.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine. Even if I can't win, I can run. With my speed, no Honkai Beast will ever be able to catch me."
To reassure Cocolia, Ishiu even demonstrated Flash Step on the spot. Seeing how determined he was, Cocolia could only reluctantly agree. More importantly, she knew she couldn't keep him here. If he wanted to leave, she truly couldn't stop him.
"Bronya, go with Ishiu. Make sure you keep him safe." Cocolia looked at Bronya.
"I understand." Bronya nodded. Even if Cocolia hadn't said anything, she would have followed Ishiu.
"And me! I'm going too!" Kiana raised her hand and shouted. Though she wanted to stay and keep Raiden Mei company, the thought of the disaster currently ravaging Changkong City—and the scenes on the tablet still fresh in her mind—made it impossible for her to sit still.
Because the Kaslana family had been heroes for generations!
"Mei, stay here for now. Listen to Mom. She'll definitely make you better." Not wanting Miss Mei to worry, Ishiu deliberately used a relaxed tone and smiled at her.
"Mm, I believe you." Raiden Mei smiled back at Ishiu. Though being left alone in this unfamiliar place made her uneasy, she trusted him.
"Mm, then I'll be going." After saying that, Ishiu bade Cocolia farewell, then turned and pushed open the door. Bronya followed right behind him, while Kiana reluctantly waved to Raiden Mei before following them out.
Raiden Mei watched the three of them disappear for quite some time before turning to Cocolia. "Auntie, then I'll be troubling you."
"Mm... Come with me." Cocolia gave Raiden Mei a complicated look, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath before leaving the infirmary.
Ding—System mission issued: Stop the Honkai Beast invasion of Changkong City and ensure that two-thirds of humanity survives. Mission reward unknown Ding—System mission issued: Killing one is a crime, killing ten is brutality, killing a hundred is evil, killing a thousand makes a general! Please kill one thousand Honkai Beasts during this event. Mission reward unknown
Hearing the system's voice in his mind, Ishiu's lips curled up slightly. It seemed even the system knew he was doing the right thing and had specially issued missions for him. This was where the BGM should kick in.
(The light of justice~ shines upon my big butt~~)
After descending from the battleship and returning to Changkong City, the three of them gained a far more direct understanding of the city's misery than they had from the tablet.
That was chaos.
Lights glowed everywhere across Changkong City, and in some places, flames had already begun spreading.
Ishiu and the others had landed atop a high-rise building, so they could clearly see the state of Changkong City. Deafening screams and cries of alarm constantly echoed in their ears. The combined roar of countless people was enough to make one's heart tremble with fear.
"Ishiu... what should we do?" Kiana looked pale as she stared at the chaos below. It wasn't as if she had never fought Honkai Beasts before, but she had never encountered so many at once, especially with so many people involved.
"Kill!"
Ishiu licked his lips, his expression icy. Wolf Fang in his hand glinted with cold light beneath the chilling moonlight, while his ice-blue demonic eyes had already lit up.
Then, without another moment of hesitation, he pushed off lightly with his feet and leaped from the roof of the hundred-meter-tall skyscraper.
Seeing this, Bronya did not hesitate either. She summoned Heavy-duty Bunny and jumped down after him.
Kiana: "Fuck me..."
Clearly, although Kiana possessed formidable combat ability, she was still flesh and blood and lacked godlike techniques. She couldn't jump from a hundred-meter rooftop without any protective measures.
(Don't bring up the scene in the first chapter of the game where Kiana jumped from a ship. She was wearing White Comet then.)
So Kiana could only miserably choose to climb down through the ventilation ducts beside her.
Flash Step—One Deer!
Just before Ishiu hit the ground, his body abruptly twisted. He transferred all of his downward momentum into his right foot and kicked at the nearest Knight-class Honkai Beast.
Bang—!
Awooo—!
The Knight-class Honkai Beast let out a pained howl. Its enormous body, five or six meters tall, was shattered to pieces by Ishiu's kick!
Ishiu did not stop. While falling, he had already memorized the positions of every Honkai Beast nearby.
"Ah!"
A scream pierced the air. Inside a shop nearby were three people who appeared to be a family of three. Four Charge-class Honkai Beasts had trapped them in the room. A middle-aged man stood before his wife and daughter, desperately swinging a wooden chair in front of him.
But such attacks were completely harmless to Honkai Beasts. As the four monsters drew closer, despair flashed through the man's eyes. At the final moment of his life, he turned and embraced the woman and girl, shielding them beneath his body as best he could, even though it was useless.
Flash Sheath - Full Moon
A brilliant crescent-shaped blade light flashed past like a full moon. The four Charge-class Honkai Beasts immediately halted, and the light gradually faded from their scarlet pupils.
The man waited for a long time, yet the pain he expected never came. His daughter's crying woke him from his daze. He instinctively turned around and saw that the four monsters had already turned into dust, scattering into the air.
"Run. Head east. Someone will meet you there." Leaving those words behind, Ishiu vanished from where he stood, leaving only the sobs of the man who had returned from death's doorstep.
Scenes like that were playing out all across Changkong City. Ishiu never stopped for even a moment. He truly gave everything he had to killing Honkai Beasts, but no matter how many he killed, they seemed endless. Kill one and two would emerge; kill two and three would crawl out.
Bronya stayed close beside him. Wherever he went, she followed. While using Heavy-duty Bunny's long-range attacks against the Honkai Beasts, she carefully watched Ishiu's condition. If anything happened to him, she had to take him away immediately.
Yet the more Bronya followed Ishiu, the more shocked she became. The combat strength Ishiu displayed could no longer be summed up with the word "strong." He was so powerful it was downright monstrous!
No Honkai Beast could withstand a second slash from him. Whenever Ishiu's blade flashed, one or several Honkai Beasts were guaranteed to fall.
Kiana wasn't idle either. Though she didn't stick right beside Ishiu, she was only two streets away, killing Honkai Beasts while remaining close enough to support him.
Kiana couldn't handle Honkai Beasts that were too massive, but dealing with Charge-class Honkai Beasts and Knight-class Tsundere Honkai Beasts wasn't difficult for her.
Gun in one hand and bat in the other, she fought from the east end of the street all the way to the west, as if she had activated some unstoppable combat mode.
Under the three of them's slaughter, although more Honkai Beasts continuously arrived to reinforce the others, their desperate fighting turned this area into a safe zone without Honkai Beasts.
Gradually, more and more people fled toward them, which also put considerable pressure on Ishiu and the others.
Flash Sheath—Six Paths of Thoughtless Calamity!
Brilliant blade light burst through the air, transforming into six sharp divine rays that sliced four Knight-class Honkai Beasts in half and saved a pair of sisters.
"Run east! Someone will meet you there." Ishiu had no idea how many times he had already said those words. Just as he was about to continue killing, one of the sisters—a woman in her twenties dressed in business attire—suddenly cried out anxiously, "Sir, over in Pingyang District, more than a hundred people are trapped inside a football stadium! Please go save them!"
Hearing this, Ishiu abruptly stopped. He looked up at the woman and asked in a low voice, "Which direction?"
"Over there!" The woman pointed in a direction, and Ishiu immediately sprinted toward it without hesitation.
"You little brat, don't run so fast! I can't keep up!" Kiana, who had been bullying Charge-class Honkai Beasts, hurriedly followed when she saw Ishiu run off.
She knew her own limits. By sticking with Ishiu, she could ride his coattails and throw her weight around, since the Chariot-class and Temple-class Honkai Beasts would all be easily one-shot by him.
Without Ishiu, Kiana wouldn't dare face the endless tide of Honkai Beasts alone. She would be exhausted to death even if they didn't kill her.
After running for a while and taking care of a few Honkai Beasts along the way, the three finally found the football stadium the woman had mentioned.
At that moment, dozens of Honkai Beasts surrounded the stadium. The people inside used everything they could find to barricade the entrance, but it was utterly useless. A Knight-class Honkai Beast merely thrust its lance forward, and the sturdy wall was smashed apart like tofu.
The reason those hundred-plus people had not yet been slaughtered was because three girls in somewhat revealing armor were desperately resisting.
They surrounded the crowd, each standing in a different direction, doing everything they could to stop the incoming swarm of Honkai Beasts.
It was obvious that they were quite capable. They could easily kill Charge-class Honkai Beasts, but there were simply too few of them. Against dozens of Honkai Beasts, merely protecting themselves was already difficult.
At that critical moment, Ishiu finally arrived. He was the fastest, like a shadow in the night. Silently, he appeared behind the Honkai Beast horde and raised Wolf Fang in his hand.
Flash Sheath—Moon Dance
The dagger in Ishiu's hand swept rapidly through the air, blade lights flashing one after another. In an instant, his frenzied slashes killed every Honkai Beast around him!
"Who are you?" Ishiu's invincible display naturally drew the attention of the three girls. When they watched him cut down every Honkai Beast that had made them suffer so much as easily as chopping vegetables, their mouths fell open in shock.
"Me? Just an ordinary passerby." Ishiu sliced the last Honkai Beast in half, casually twirled his blade, and smiled at the three girls.
"Uh..." The three girls were speechless. Ordinary passerby, my ass. What ordinary person could slaughter dozens of Honkai Beasts in a few dozen seconds?
But since Ishiu was handsome and looked cool while fighting, the three girls didn't dwell on it.
"Seriously... Ishiu, weren't you way too fast? Couldn't you leave a few for me? I was only a little late, and you killed them all." Kiana and Bronya, a step behind, finally ran into the football stadium. Looking at the dissipating Honkai Energy, Kiana spoke helplessly.
"Are you an idiot? What are they, crayfish? You want me to save a few for you? There are plenty outside if you want to fight." Ishiu mocked.
"Idiot. Don't run so fast next time." Bronya walked expressionlessly to Ishiu's side and threw him an icy glare. "You are not allowed to leave Bronya behind again."
"I was just eager to save people... All right, all right. Next time, I'll wait for you two, okay?" Ishiu shrugged and casually tugged Bronya's drill-like twin tails.
"Ishiu, do you want to die?" Bronya's face instantly darkened. She pointed her gun directly at Ishiu's head, though the safety was still on.
"Mm, I do want to die. But I want Bronya's cuteness to kill me. Who told you to be so adorable?" Ishiu wasn't afraid of Bronya at all. Instead, he grinned and teased her.
It was also his way of relaxing. Over the last hour, he had no idea how many Honkai Beasts he had killed. His body and mind were exhausted. If he didn't tease Little Pudding a little, he was going to die~
"Smooth talker." Bronya glared fiercely at Ishiu, but when she turned away, a faint blush rose on her cheeks.
"All right, let's get back to work." After resting for a bit, Ishiu felt somewhat better. He looked at the three girls nearby but had no intention of going over to talk, because there was no need.
His mom had said that the people conducting rescues in Changkong City were either Anti-Entropy or Schicksal. The armor worn by those three girls was clearly not Anti-Entropy technology, so there was no need to make conversation. It was enough to know that they were also fighting for this city on the verge of collapse.
So Ishiu waved at the three girls, then prepared to leave with Kiana and Bronya.
Bang—!
Just then, a huge golden cross suddenly fell from somewhere in the sky and landed at an angle in the ground, surrounded by a faint golden glow.
"Don't be afraid, Seventh Squad! Your greatest and most magnificent Headmaster is here!"
(Laugh.)
(P.S.: Another four thousand words paid back. Still thirty thousand words owed... Somehow... the debt seems to be getting bigger?)
Theresa: I'm Your Great-Aunt, Brat
Along with a somewhat youthful yet valiant voice, a petite figure in a black nun's robe descended from the sky and landed right atop the golden cross.
With the girl's sudden appearance, the scene fell silent for a moment. After a full two or three seconds, the little nun seemed to finally take in the situation. She blinked and cutely said, "Huh? Where are the Honkai Beasts?"
Before you continue