"Mm."
When they arrived at the Destiny Far East Branch, Theresa had yet to leave. Yaqing took Kevin to a recording studio nearby.
Before long, Yaqing's helpless voice came from inside the booth.
"Kevin, don't sound so... sunny. In the story, you've been through a lot. You wouldn't sound like a high schooler—you're a mature senior."
It went on until evening.
Only then did Kevin finally manage to make that small bit of voice acting match Yaqing's expectations.
Even then, Theresa still had not left.
Anti-Entropy Collaboration and Promotional Video
On Cross Street in St. Freya Academy's commercial district, Moonsea Cafe, with its platinum signboard, was Yaqing's private property. As one of the more expensive places in the academy, it did not receive many customers, especially during class hours.
Yaqing had chosen a seat by the window. Sunlight shone through the glass onto the succulent in its pot.
"Mr. Walter, I've missed you greatly since we parted in New York."
Yaqing still remembered what Otto had taught him as a child: when facing someone unfamiliar, a friendly smile could avoid a great deal of trouble—and keep trouble from finding you.
The brown-haired man seated across from Yaqing adjusted the black-rimmed glasses on his nose and watched him warily. That familiar tone had nearly made him suspect Yaqing was Otto.
"Heh. I have nothing to discuss with Otto's people."
Ziegfried, seated beside Walter Yang, looked awkward. Strictly speaking, he was one of Otto's subordinates too.
"Mr. Walter, you can't put it that way." Yaqing carried himself with extreme elegance, like an English gentleman. He ordered Americanos for Ziegfried and Walter Yang, while ordering himself coffee with sugar and milk.
Yaqing folded his hands on the table and rested his chin on them. With a faint smile, he said, "Just as President Otto would never have imagined that Anti-Entropy's vice president, an organization comparable to Destiny, would quietly work as a history teacher at St. Freya Academy, which Destiny invested in."
Walter Yang was left speechless.
"How about this, Mr. Walter? Shall we make a bet?"
Seeing Yaqing's smile, Walter Yang felt inexplicably uneasy. He asked warily, "What kind of bet?"
"Take a look at the script first."
Yaqing snapped his fingers.
Rita, the sexy secretary who seemed to have appeared from nowhere, walked up to Yaqing's table and smiled as she placed the three Americanos from her tray before them.
"Rita, that's not what I meant." Yaqing said awkwardly.
Rita smiled, took out the proposal from behind her back, and handed it to Walter Yang.
Rita stood quietly behind Yaqing.
Walter Yang accepted the proposal and gave the calm Yaqing and fox-like Rita a suspicious look. "You're letting me see such an important proposal so easily? Aren't you afraid Anti-Entropy will copy it? After all, Anti-Entropy entered the entertainment industry twelve years before Destiny did."
Under the table, Ziegfried nudged Walter Yang with his elbow.
"I trust Mr. Walter's character, and I also trust the character of Anti-Entropy's two doctors." Yaqing stirred his coffee and milk together with a spoon, took a small sip, and smiled. "Besides, I grew up watching the tokusatsu shows the two doctors directed. Arahata's style and battles left a deep impression on me."
"In terms of writing and directing, the two doctors could be called my mentors in life." Though Yaqing spoke respectfully of them, there was little admiration in his tone, as if he were discussing two strangers.
"Heh."
Walter Yang rubbed the lightly textured white paper. At first, he had only intended to enjoy the spectacle and did not think this young master could write a good script. But the more he read, the more engrossed he became.
Especially when he reached the opening section where Walter represented humanity against the Herrscher of the Void, the chuunibyou soul deep within him began to blaze.
Ziegfried, who had already read his own script, could not help leaning over. The moment he saw it, he was stunned.
The script shown to him had merely been black text on white paper. But to show sincerity, the proposal Yaqing gave Walter Yang included rough sketches Patrick had stayed up all night drawing. The uncolored black-and-white comic format shocked Ziegfried even more.
About half an hour later, Yaqing was biting into some bread as he watched Ziegfried angrily shake Walter Yang and repeatedly roar, "It's all your fault! My wife was about to reform Sirin, and then you had to come out and ruin everything!"
Ziegfried looked furious, but he was not using much force.
Walter Yang's brain was rattled into a haze.
"Stop shaking me."
Walter Yang shook his head, trying to clear it. He removed his black-rimmed glasses and looked at Yaqing with an unreadable expression. After taking a deep breath, he said, "I have to admit that your script has already surpassed Arahata."
"Hahaha." Yaqing laughed softly. "To receive recognition from you, Walter, I think this is the happiest day of my life."
Walter Yang said, "Anti-Entropy is willing to cooperate with the Far East Branch. However, I must be allowed to participate in the creation of future scripts."
Yaqing's eyes instantly turned cold, and his smile lost its earlier warmth, as though Walter Yang's words had touched a raw nerve.
"Mr. Walter, are you joking?"
Walter Yang's bearing did not weaken in the slightest as he stared straight into Yaqing's eyes.
"Though the script is excellent, I still do not trust Otto."
Yaqing said coldly, "Mr. Walter, I am not lying."
Ziegfried hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Hey, hey, hey, Walter, Yaqing, don't argue. Let's talk this out properly."
Rita kneaded Yaqing's shoulders, signaling for him to calm down.
"Let's each take a step back."
"I'll allow you to join the scriptwriting process, but you are not allowed to alter my ideas."
Walter Yang considered it carefully before agreeing.
"May our cooperation be sincere."
"Mm."
Several days after partnering with Anti-Entropy, Cheng Lixue finally completed the promotional video after working day and night with Anti-Entropy's special effects technology.
In an instant, the quiet internet erupted with promotion. With Destiny's capital, it could easily ensure that the entire world knew about the release of Destiny's first film, Honkai.
"When did Destiny decide to enter the entertainment industry?"
"Looking at the scale—girls, mecha, tomorrow—it seems like they're trying to challenge Ahalato."
"Ahalato is forever the best!"
"You idiots, can't you see they're collaborating with Walter Yang from Anti-Entropy? Stop stirring things up for no reason."
Online comments were mixed.
In Miss Pink Elf's livestream, three hundred thousand viewers watched at once. Elysia's cute virtual avatar blinked, and the chat was instantly flooded with messages declaring Elysia the most beautiful in the world.
"Hi, dear fans! Long time no see. Did you miss me??"
The comments came without end.
"Mmm~ Today, let's watch the movie promotional video that's been causing so much controversy online~, but~ before the stream officially begins, Elysia has invited a special guest~?"
Elysia mysteriously opened her chat software.
"Who is it? Who is it? Could it be Eden?"
"Probably not. Eden's holding a nationwide concert. Could it be Brother Kalpas?"
"Is it really Brother Kalpas? I'm excited!"
Elysia was completely baffled. Every guest she invited was clearly a beauty, like Eden, Pardo, or Mobius. Why were her viewers so interested in Kalpas instead?
And most of her fans were guys!
Something was off. Very off!
Elysia shook her head. "Nope~ It's a newcomer visiting the stream for the first time~?"
Elysia said to the person joining the call, "Welcome Yaqing to Elysia's livestream for the first time~ Yaqing~ Yaqing~ Yaqing~ Say hello to everyone~?"
"Hello, everyone. I'm Yaqing Schariac."
Yaqing's magnetic voice rang out. The livestream chat fell silent for a brief moment, then exploded into even greater excitement.
"Whoa, that voice is so magnetic! Guys, I'm done for—my ears are pregnant, I've turned gay!"
"Handsome guy, handsome guy, do you have a girlfriend? If you do, would you accept one more boyfriend?"
"I often fall into self-loathing because I can't fit in with this bunch of perverts."
"Wait, Yaqing Schariac? The president of Destiny's Far East Branch and the youngest billionaire among the world's top hundred!"
"My god, a Destiny executive. Fairy Miss's connections have shocked me once again. Last time it was Dr. Mobius, who made it into biology university textbooks. Before that, it was the world-class superstar Eden."
"Not at all~?" Elysia gave a mischievous smile. "The promotional video we're watching today is from Yaqing's company~"
"A young president with a magnetic voice—if he's handsome too, wouldn't that max out the buffs? He's totally the male lead!"
"I knew I came into this world just to make up the numbers."
"Alright, Elysia." Yaqing was not embarrassed, but he did feel somewhat uncomfortable. He was not good at communicating with people.
"Got it." Elysia demonstrated her skillful ability to control the stream, shifting her fans' attention with a single sentence. "Before we watch the video, I have a few questions for Yaqing~"
"Ask away."
"Is this story going to be heartbreaking?"
Yaqing took a sharp breath and answered without changing his tone, "Honkai's story is sunny, positive, and uplifting."
A Hype-Filled Promotional Video
Elysia clicked on the video.
The promotional video began in darkness, with only Otto's magnetic voice explaining the setting to the audience.
"Honkai is a natural disaster that develops alongside civilization. It creates monsters known as Honkai Beasts. Those with Honkai energy adaptability can be infected by Honkai energy and become Dead Soldiers. When Honkai energy reaches a certain level, special beings known as Herrschers are born. Every Herrscher possesses corresponding authority, and likewise, they are humanity's enemies."
When Otto's voice fell silent, the Honkai logo lit up, followed by a heavy beat.
"Run faster, that monster's catching up..."
"Don't... don't leave. Save me..."
Panicked voices served as background accompaniment while a purple ghostly figure let out a piercing, eerie laugh.
Sirin, a shut-in girl watching the video, was stunned by the scene. She remembered that her mother seemed to have asked her to provide voice acting for that stupid uncle's company. She reached into the bag of chips in her arms for a handful, only to grab nothing.
"Bella!"
Sirin shouted loudly.
Hearing Sirin call, the girl who was still cooking did not even have time to take off her apron. She poked her head through Sirin's bedroom door and asked, "Sirin, what is it?"
"Get me another bag of chips." Sirin said spoiledly.
"Okay." Bella quickly took a new bag of chips from the refrigerator, handed it to Sirin, and hurried back to the kitchen to continue working.
"Crunch, crunch."
Another heavy beat rang out.
February 14, 2000, 9:14 a.m. Oulu, Finland.
Gales began to howl, dark clouds blotted out the sky, and the wind destroyed everything in sight. A bustling city became the ruins of civilization in an instant. At the center of the storm's eye, a girl sitting with her knees drawn to her chest stretched out her delicate body, transparent wings growing from her back.
Wind Herrscher Persona.
Elysia's little mouth fell open.
The special effects technology created through Destiny and Anti-Entropy's collaboration was more than a century ahead of the world's film effects. The nearly real scenes almost made Elysia think this was not an anime, but a real documentary.
February 14, 2000, 4:30 a.m. Astana, Kazakhstan.
Meteorites swept through the city as people scattered in panic. The city became an inferno, and the Destiny Central Asia Branch building was severed in half. The statue of a nun seemed to weep. Atop the statue's head, a red-haired girl watched the hell she had created with her own hands and smiled.
Flame Herrscher Persona.
February 14, 2000, 12:10 p.m. Novosibirsk, Russia.
Black fog engulfed the city as people howled in agony. A winged girl stood confused at the city's center, her arms wrapped around her chest. She seemed afraid, yet she also seemed to grieve for the people.
Death Herrscher Persona.
Before you continue