Joining MiHoYo, the Savior I Am Was Targeted by Elysia

Before Himeko could answer, a young girl's stern voice rang out from behind him.

"Whether it's Himeko or anyone else, they accepted the Stigmata and joined the Valkyries out of their own resolve."

The girl had long ash-brown hair, and her crimson-violet eyes shone brighter than gemstones.

Her beautiful face carried the gentleness of a lily, but her tone was extremely serious.

"Whether to quit or not should be their own decision, not someone else's opinion."

"You are...?"

"Ragna, captain of the assault squad, and Himeko's teacher."

So this was the legendary Ragna?!

She's so pretty! Why wasn't such a cute girl in the official story?!

Fun fact: Ragna died. The Herrscher of the Void killed her.

They were afraid the angst wouldn't cut deep enough, so they specifically showed us how charming Ragna was, huh?

First they make us like her, then they stab us right through the heart. Same old routine.

I don't care! Ragna is my wife! Even if she's dead, she's still my wife!

Nope. Even if I died, I still wouldn't be your wife.

Huh? What's going on with that comment above? Is that the real person?

Ragna, holding her phone and watching the video in a flower shop, had not originally intended to interact with the viewers.

But when she saw that outrageous comment, she really couldn't hold it in.

Not being very familiar with comment culture, she accidentally exposed herself.

"Whatever. No one will take it seriously anyway."

Ragna silently blocked the comments and continued watching attentively.

"Even if the Artificial Stigmata and the identity of a Valkyrie will kill Himeko, that still can't be a reason for her to quit?"

On screen, Ye Ming continued confronting Ragna, and the assault squad captain showed no intention of backing down.

"Every day, Valkyries face the danger of sacrifice, but the convictions everyone holds are more important than life itself."

Though they were arguing, Ragna did not seem angry in the slightest. Her delicate face still radiated a gentle grace.

Who knew how fierce this instructor had to pretend to be in her daily life for the Valkyries under her command to feel her strictness?

"Of course I respect your convictions... but! Himeko has no reason to..."

Before Ye Ming could finish, Himeko spoke heavily from behind him.

"I do have a reason. My conviction is no less than anyone else's."

Himeko looked at Ye Ming as the feelings she had kept buried in her heart continued to swell.

Then, in an utterly unwavering voice, she began to speak.

"On the day I came of age, my father died in an incident. He was my last remaining family, and I was on the verge of breaking down."

"Just as I was about to perish in a sea of flames, a boy saved me. He stayed by my side constantly, healing the wounds in both my body and soul."

"I can no longer remember how many times I cried in his arms, nor can I count the times he gently comforted me..."

"But I know very clearly that it was because of him that I broke free from my past. It was also because of him that I found the courage to step into the future."

Himeko looked at Ye Ming as though she were looking at the boy who had saved her back then.

But at that time, she still did not know that the word "as though" was completely unnecessary.

"Since you've already broken free from the past, then why...?"

"Because the future I chose is to become someone like him."

"Huh?"

Ye Ming's eyes widened in shock, while Himeko continued explaining.

"Just as he saved me, I want to bring comfort to others who suffer because of the Honkai."

"I want to chase after his back, walk the path he chose, and pass on the flame of hope he gave me."

Hearing that reason, Ye Ming nearly suffered cardiac arrest.

·

Many of you might not know who Ragna is, so let me explain:

She single-handedly shaped the lives of four Valkyries—the original Flamebearer King.

She is the one Himeko, Rita, and Durandal miss. The flame passed on by Himeko and Kiana originated with her.

Have you ever counted the patterns on a Honkai Beast's body?

"Did Himeko want to become a Valkyrie because of me?!"

Hearing Himeko's conviction, Ye Ming felt his heart stop, almost coughing up blood on the spot.

If he did not save Himeko, she would become a Valkyrie because of her extreme thoughts...

If he saved her, she would accept an Artificial Stigmata transplant because she wanted to become like him.

Death by destiny... that name really was no exaggeration.

"I understand. I won't interfere with Himeko's choice."

Ye Ming knew there was no point in continuing the argument. Things had come to this, and he could only resort to his final plan.

"Ragna, I hope you'll all value your lives a little more in battle."

"It isn't that we don't value our lives. It's just that sometimes the situation on the battlefield isn't optimistic."

"It's fine. When that time comes, I'll handle it."

Leaving those words behind, Ye Ming departed from this timeline.

--Are you sure you want to carry out the final plan?

"You saw it too. I have no other choice."

Ye Ming answered the system's doubts while selecting Himeko's memories.

--This is insane. Do you know how much damage it'll do to you?

"I'll be careful."

--This isn't a matter of being careful or not...

The system could not hold back anymore. It was the first time she spoke to Ye Ming in such a distressed tone:

--You'll be present for every battle in Himeko's memories, preventing her from getting hurt, perhaps even ensuring she never needs to fight.

--In a short time, you'll have to experience Himeko's ten-year combat history. Forget whether your body can endure it...

--Your mind will break down in the process too.

"Just... break down?"

Ye Ming weighed the risks against the possible rewards and quickly made his decision.

"It's no big deal."

--????

The system wanted to say more, but Ye Ming had already entered Himeko's time through the scenes within the Time Corridor.

Do any of you know...

How many layers of membrane there are on a Honkai Beast's wings?

How many teeth are inside its mouth?

How many patterns cover its massive body?

How many hard scales make up its sturdy armor?

No one would know...

No one would know something so meaningless, so complicated, and so hard to remember.

Not even Valkyries active on the front lines would notice such things. After all, they had more important matters to focus on.

Unless...

Unless someone was forced to observe them for some reason.

One, three, hundreds.

Once, twice, thousands of times.

Like a song playing beside your ear tens of millions of times—without even trying to listen, you would remember every lyric and every melody.

"This timeline is over too. Time for the next one..."

That was Ye Ming's understanding of Honkai Beasts.

In less than a week of subjective time, he had fought countless varieties of Honkai Beasts, countless times.

Even without any information on Honkai Beasts, everything he saw with his eyes, heard with his ears, and felt with his body was enough to write an encyclopedia of Honkai Beasts.

"System, how many timelines are left?"

--135 timelines

"Almost there... almost there..."

Ye Ming muttered to himself as he continued onward through the darkness.

"Has this extermination operation turned into cleanup work again?"

After Ragna led Himeko and the other Valkyries to the work site, they found that the Honkai Beasts there had already been killed.

This was not the first time they had encountered such a situation. Over the past few years, almost every dangerous operation had somehow ended without incident.

Sometimes, they faced only one-fifth of the Honkai Beasts listed in the mission briefing. Other times, they encountered high-level Honkai Beasts that were already half-dead.

There had also been many occasions like today, when they did not need to fight at all and only had to deal with the aftermath.

"Senior Ragna, I went to ask around. As expected, it was that unnamed hero with black hair and black eyes again."

Himeko, who had returned from speaking with the affected civilians, said seriously:

"He seems to have been helping us from the shadows all this time."

"Do you have any idea who he is?"

"A little, but I can't be sure..."

Himeko recalled:

"A few years ago, a boy broke into our lounge. Do you remember, Senior?"

"Yes, I was just about to mention that."

Ragna nodded.

"He said he hoped we would value our lives more in battle, and that if there was any danger, he would handle it."

"So it really was him!"

Himeko grew a little excited. She truly wanted to meet this person who should have become their companion, their comrade-in-arms.

"But it's strange. I clearly remember that person, yet I can't recall what he looked like."