Collapse City, Starting by Making an Anime Version of Honkai

Thirty-Third Chapter: It's Not the People Who Are Corrupt, But the Army

[At the same time, Sirin, who only brought back a simulated Herrscher of Flames, called it useless. The puppets she created were almost completely wiped out, but Sirin's goal had been achieved. Destroying human cities allowed Sirin to gather enough power.

"First—"

"Let's start with this continent!"

Several towering pillars of purple light rose from the Tower of Babylon. Bishop Otto of Destiny immediately noticed a violent Honkai energy reaction in Siberia, spreading outwards at a rate of 200 km per hour.

"Is she planning to destroy all of Siberia in one go?"

Bishop Otto realized that he didn't have much time left. He immediately ordered all troops to be notified. It was time to meet the Second Herrscher.]

"Is the final battle finally here?!" Kevin exclaimed excitedly.

The movie had been running for over an hour, but the tight plot and lack of dull moments made it feel like no time had passed at all.

"Looks like Bishop Otto is about to make his move," Su said. Although he understood Otto's goal, he didn't know in what form he would participate in the war.

[Unfortunately, the movie's plot didn't develop as they expected. The scene suddenly shifted to a month earlier, at the B-17 military supply base in Siberia.

A young lieutenant named Cocolia caught Captain Alexei selling military supplies and stealing weapons. Despite the conclusive evidence, the corrupt higher-ups of the military instead confined Lieutenant Cocolia, while Captain Alexei went unpunished.

A month later, perhaps out of guilt, Captain Alexei came to the confinement room. He told the passionate young lieutenant everything. It turned out that General Ivan, who was presiding over her court-martial, had ordered the military supplies to be sold on the black market.

Cocolia couldn't stand the corruption within the army. She argued with Captain Alexei, pointing out that because of the country's corruption, orphanages weren't receiving enough subsidies.

"Do you know how many orphans are starving like I was when I was a child?!"

Faced with Cocolia's soul-searching question, Alexei also had his own difficulties. He took out a pocket watch from his chest, looking at the photo inside. He didn't want to do this either, but his meager salary couldn't support his family, nor could it support his soon-to-be-born daughter.

"For me, I can pay any price to protect them!"

Just as Cocolia lamented that the once-upright Captain had also fallen, and that principles could really be abandoned to achieve important goals.

At that moment, the confinement room suddenly collapsed. Cocolia hid behind a wall, watching the departing Honkai Beasts.

A weak cry for help pulled her back to reality. Alexei, buried under the rubble, was still thinking about his wife and daughter before he died, but he never got to see his daughter born.

Cocolia found the car keys on Alexei's body and escaped Siberia with Alexei's wife.

"The children at the orphanage are still waiting for me. No matter the cost, I have to escape from here!"

In the end, during the Great Collapse launched by Sirin, 500,000 Honkai Beasts ravaged the Siberian Snowfield, and only a little over a hundred people survived.]

"It's impossible to say who's right and who's wrong."

The movie posed another difficult question to the audience.

Was Alexei wrong for wanting to protect his family?

Was Cocolia wrong for wanting to serve her country and protect the children in the orphanage?

If they were both right, then who was wrong?

"It's not them who are wrong, it's the corrupt army and the corrupt country," the rational Mei concluded.

"Bronya..." Kiana called out cautiously. She didn't expect her stinky old uncle to be so bold. He clearly knew that Bronya had never met her parents, yet he portrayed Bronya's father as a bad guy who stole and sold military supplies in the movie.

As for how Kiana knew, Alexei's wife's signature drill hair was recognizable to anyone who knew Bronya.

"I'll pay for my uncle's debt! You can hit me or scold me, just come at me! If I even frown, I'm not a Kaslana!" Kiana patted her chest, looking righteous, but she closed her eyes in fear.

"What ambition! Bronya, if you can't bring yourself to do it, I can do it for you!" Little Knowledge, sensing the fun, quickly joined in.

"Ah, Class Monitor, save me!" Kiana couldn't hold it in anymore. Others might not know, but she knew Little Knowledge very well. Having practiced martial arts since childhood, one punch from her could probably break her ribs.

Kiana hid behind Fu Hua, only daring to peek out her cat-like head.

"Pfft." Bronya was amused by the two living treasures.

Kiana and Little Knowledge, who were just lively, exchanged a look.

"Silly Kiana, Seele already told me about this," Bronya said with a smile.

"Ugh, Bro~nya, don't call me silly!" Kiana immediately pounced on Bronya, tickling her soft ribs.

"Haha... Let... Let go of me... Hahaha."

Raiden Mei shook her head helplessly, watching the two of them fooling around again.

"Ha, they even wrote about that bad woman Cocolia?" Tesla said in surprise.

"Very fitting. Although Cocolia is very assertive in the company's decisions, she's very gentle with the children in the orphanage," Joyce acknowledged. "However, I wish she wouldn't oppose my decisions next time."

Joyce didn't know why, but every time he held a board meeting, Cocolia's response to any decision he made was just two words: no money.

Want to release a sequel to Ahalato? No money!

Want to release a Houmu movie? No money!

Want to make tokusatsu merchandise? No money!

"Heh." Einstein's mouth twitched. If it weren't for Cocolia cutting off his funding, with Joyce's tendency to do whatever came to mind, the company would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Far away in Siberia, Cocolia sneezed.

Looking at the happy children, Cocolia's heart felt at peace.

"That's Cocolia Mommy!" one of the children pointed at the big screen in the orphanage classroom.

"It really is Cocolia Mommy!"

"Mommy, Mommy!"

Anzu looked unwilling but silently supported the child on her back, warning the one standing on the table to get down quickly.

Seele was flustered, trying to comfort a child who had been frightened by a Honkai Beast.

The Arin sisters were like child kings, already sixteen years old, but playing with the seven- and eight-year-olds.

Cocolia smiled at the scene before her.

"I'm so handsome! Let's launch a fierce attack on humanity like this!" Sirin excitedly waved her arms.

But this 'Second Herrscher' quickly received the strongest Valkyrie's punishment from Destiny, being pulled into her arms and having her delicate face rubbed hard.

"Mommy, stop... stop rubbing my face."

Benares, who came to the rescue, was also held back by the strongest Valkyrie with one hand on its head, its small hands waving constantly but unable to touch the enemy at all.

Chapter 34: The Long Night Will Dawn

[February 16, 2000, 22:05. Siegfried, returning to the Destiny headquarters from Anti-Entropy, was greeted by Amber, the Bishop's secretary. He learned from Amber that Cecilia and Bishop Otto were in Siberia, preparing to eliminate the Second Herrscher, and that he would need to board a plane in two hours to arrive in Siberia before morning to participate in the operation.

In those short two hours, Siegfried returned to his home on the floating island, looked at little Kiana's sleeping face, and showed a long-lost smile, gently stroking little Kiana's head.

Little Kiana murmured in her sleep: "Daddy... Mommy... so cold..."

Siegfried suddenly retracted his hand, looking at his right hand in horror. The skin on his palm was already black, and his fingers had turned into sharp claws, flickering with icy blue light, transformed into Honkai Beast claws.

Siegfried shook his head. On closer inspection, it was like an illusion, and his hand was still the same as before.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Kiana got up, but Siegfried was gone.

In the living room, Siegfried received a message from Amber informing him that he was about to board the plane and brought Bishop Otto's operational orders.]

"Little Kiana, so cute."

The one who said this wasn't Elysia, but Kevin. Yaqing, who was sitting closest to Kevin, looked at him strangely and instantly understood that this guy was fantasizing about his and Mei's daughter.

Yaqing looked at him with disdain. They'd been together for five or six years and hadn't even thought about getting married, only fantasizing every day. He even wondered if Kevin was impotent.

"Kevin, if you like children, get married quickly," Su said, acting as Yaqing's mouthpiece.

"Mar...riage..." Kevin fell into deep thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to marry Mei, but his current salary wasn't enough to support a family. He didn't even have a house or a car yet.

Mei knew that Kevin was strong-willed at heart. He wanted to give her the best, which was why he worked so hard.

Siegfried was originally smiling, but when he saw in the story that his outstretched hand made little Kiana feel cold, he couldn't help but calm down. He asked himself, if he had to give up the opportunity to embrace his family in order to protect the world, could he do it?

Siegfried thought for a long time, and he gave up. He wasn't Siegfried Kaslana from the story, nor did he have such a lofty goal. Compared to saving the world and Cecilia, he would choose Cecilia without hesitation.

Suddenly, a soft hand grasped Siegfried's clenched fist. Siegfried looked up and saw Cecilia's smiling face.

[February 16, after three hours, Honkai energy had eroded the entire Siberian Snowfield. Due to the high concentration of Honkai energy, Destiny's satellites were unable to locate the Second Herrscher.

Therefore, Otto ordered the entire Destiny Valkyrie force to be divided into two teams.

The Northern Force was the European General Force, led by Siegfried Kaslana, totaling 203 people.

The Southern Force was the African Branch and the Oceania Branch, led by Cecilia Schariac, totaling 212 people.

Otto's battle plan was to use heavy weapons to sweep the entire Siberia carpet-style, estimating the elimination of 90% of Honkai Beasts, and then have the two forces enter Siberia from the north and south sides to search for the Second Herrscher's location. After successfully locating it, they would concentrate all their forces to eliminate it in one fell swoop.

Otto and Cheng Lixue, along with ten guards, would be in the command post in western Siberia, providing support at any time.

"This is the first battle to save the world. Destiny is with you all!"]

"Well said, well said, now the final battle is finally about to begin!" Kevin excitedly snatched the popcorn bucket from Yaqing's hands and grabbed a handful, stuffing it into his mouth.

Yaqing was dumbfounded. He looked at his empty hands, then at Kevin, and finally at Mobius. This popcorn bucket wasn't really his; he had taken it from Mobius to eat a few bites, and now the entire bucket had been taken away by Kevin.

Mobius's fair forehead showed bulging veins, indicating that she held a grudge against Kevin.

"Hey, Mobius, do you want to eat mine? It's so sweet?"

"No!" Mobius gritted her teeth.

"Finally, the final battle is about to begin. I hope Otto doesn't hold us back," Welt Yang sighed.

"Speaking of which, will you appear later, Yang?" Dr. Tesla said with some uncertainty.

"Yes."

Welt Yang's expression suddenly became a little strange. In the later story, he seemed to be holding them back as well.

[February 17, 7:50 AM, Cocolia and Bronya, on the run, were unexpectedly surrounded by Honkai Beasts. The car also ran out of gas. Just when Cocolia thought they couldn't survive, they met Cecilia.

Under the Abyss Flower's gunfire, a few mere Honkai Beasts quickly perished, becoming casualties of her weapon. After rescuing the two individuals, Cecilia was notified by Bishop Otto that the bombardment was imminent. Her rescue operation would be terminated immediately, and she had to evacuate to a safe zone at once.

Faced with Bishop Otto's orders, Cecilia could only reluctantly agree.

Before Destiny conducted a carpet bombing of the Siberian Snowfield, S-Rank Valkyrie Cecilia personally led a team to search for and rescue any possible survivors. However, even she only managed to save a dozen or so people...

Five minutes later, the decisive battle between humanity and the Second Herrscher officially began.]

"Ah, Lady Cecilia."

"Who on earth is dating such a beautiful and gentle girl?!"

"I will kill Ziegfried in this lifetime, no matter what!"

"Same here!"