After Yae Sakura completely awakened from her seal, she realized that everything around her had changed.
Her former home, Yae Village, had long vanished into the river of time.
And she no longer existed as a human.
Like a wandering ghost, she drifted unconsciously through Changkong City.
Without realizing it, the Pseudo Herrscher gradually moved toward a certain area.
Though she did not know it herself, this body was indeed being drawn in by Honkai Energy.
And at this very moment, the place where Honkai Energy was gathering most intensely in Changkong City happened to be where Gu Yu and the others were.
Amid the fierce battle, Honkai Energy overflowed across the battlefield.
Although Gu Yu's Stigmata had absorbed quite a lot of it, the remaining Honkai Energy still gradually drew the unconscious Yae Sakura to this place.
When Gu Yu saw the pink-haired shrine maiden walking toward them from afar, he took two steps forward and shielded everyone behind him.
"Be careful."
"Bronya understands."
After controlling Project Bunny and taking her companions to a safe location, Bronya stared at the shrine maiden approaching Gu Yu.
"This one is not friendly."
"Yeah, something feels off."
Ever since Kiana said she felt a little cold, Raiden Mei had begun paying attention to the area around them.
Having practiced swordsmanship for years, she could naturally tell from Yae Sakura's movements that this girl was far from ordinary.
Even setting aside the fact that she could walk freely through Changkong City, where Honkai Energy overflowed and Meele and Honkai Beasts were everywhere, Raiden Mei could tell that the girl was definitely a powerful swordswoman.
Whether it was her pace, breathing, or posture, the shrine maiden was unconsciously guarding against everything around her.
If anyone casually attacked her, she would surely draw her katana in an instant and cut down the enemy.
"Pseudo Herrscher... Yae Sakura."
Gu Yu frowned slightly as he watched the vacant-eyed girl continue approaching him.
"There is nothing here that you seek."
Gu Yu had not forgotten why Yae Sakura had willingly sacrificed herself in the original story.
In the Honkai Impact 3rd manga, Theresa learned several months later that Yuno, the Pseudo Herrscher, was still in Changkong City, and came there intending to eliminate her.
During the battle, Theresa had been too careless and fell into Yuno's trap, suffering severe injuries after Yuno struck her directly with Herrscher Toxin.
Yae Sakura had followed Kallen's scent and saved Theresa. Then, moved by Theresa's unconscious words, she ultimately chose to turn the Herrscher Core into a Stigmata and give it to Theresa.
But now, Gu Yu had turned Yuno from a Pseudo Herrscher back into a human ahead of time.
And Theresa, whom Yae Sakura had once mistaken for Kallen's reincarnation, was not here either.
Then...
After hearing Gu Yu's words, Yae Sakura asked indifferently.
"Yes, what exactly am I seeking?"
"Perhaps what I seek..."
At that moment, Gu Yu looked at the pink-haired shrine maiden before him, and his pupils suddenly constricted.
"—Is your body, sir!"
Just moments ago, Yae Sakura had been wandering like a lost soul, her eyes vacant.
But in the blink of an eye, she had drawn the katana at her waist and slashed directly at Gu Yu.
"Crackle, crackle, crackle."
Unfortunately, only after delivering that strike did Yae Sakura suddenly realize...
—Her attack, which should have hit without fail, had been blocked on the spot.
Gu Yu raised his left wrist before Yae Sakura. After manifesting armor over part of it, he barely blocked the slash with armor forged from God-given Ore.
"One after another... do none of you know how to rein in your killing intent before attacking?"
"Henshin!"
The instant he transformed, Gu Yu drew the Card Holder Sword and swept it out in a single slash.
"Before you attack next time, I suggest you restrain your killing intent a little, Miss Yae Sakura."
"No, perhaps I should call you this instead."
"Corrosion Herrscher—Higanbana."
The moment Gu Yu sensed Yae Sakura's killing intent, he had guessed one possibility.
In the original story, Yae Sakura had indeed suppressed Higanbana. Though the two Herrschers were almost symbiotic, Yae Sakura had been the one in control.
And Higanbana, a righteous Herrscher who should have had a far greater presence, could only helplessly resort to temptation, trying to coax Yae Sakura into giving up resistance and handing over her body.
But Gu Yu had not forgotten that the original plot was only the original plot.
From the moment he transmigrated, the entire storyline had already become a tangled mess.
Bronya, who was not supposed to lose her memories, now really seemed to have forgotten her true identity.
Yuno, who should have died at Theresa's hands several months later, had now been saved by him.
Since these plotlines had changed—who knew whether Yae Sakura could still suppress Higanbana as she had in the original story?
That was why Gu Yu, having remained cautious, had been able to use the new ability he had evolved after Absorb Honkai Energy, [Partial Armor Manifestation], at the critical moment to summon God-given Armor and block that slash.
"Interesting. Someone in this era actually knows me?"
After missing her strike, Higanbana, controlling Yae Sakura's body, narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Kid, the Stigmata in your hand seems to have absorbed quite a lot of Honkai Energy."
"Compared to Sakura's body, yours seems more suitable for me to use!"
After realizing that the enemy before her did not seem easy to defeat, Higanbana sneered and released an enormous amount of Honkai Energy.
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"Under my power, you will..."
"Fall with Sakura!"
"Heh, I roughly understand the situation now."
Seeing the black Honkai Energy around Higanbana, Gu Yu immediately gathered Honkai Energy onto the Knight Emblem on his right hand.
"If you want to change battlefields, then come at me."
The next second, the Honkai Energy around Higanbana contaminated the entire battlefield.
And in Kiana and the others' eyes, both the pink-haired shrine maiden and Gu Yu, who had just transformed, stood motionlessly on the ground like statues.
PS1: First, sorry. I got even more stuck today than yesterday. I only figured out how to write the next ten thousand words after sorting out the timeline.
PS2: But I still shamelessly have to ask for votes! 13/26
[Long post warning! Endless rambling warning! Those who do not want to read can skip this.]
[Also, this chapter's word count is part of the normal update. Everything after this... can't be put in the PS. When will the five-hundred-character PS limit be removed...]
First, about Kiana wanting the belt...
Didn't I mention this before?
But for some reason, there are still readers who find it strange and uncomfortable. Where exactly did I give the impression that the belt would end up in someone else's hands...?
Let me explain the setting first. The belt is bound to the Stigmata, so nobody else can use it. It cannot even be pulled off.
[Major Heisei Rider spoilers ahead. Anyone who does not want spoilers, watch out.]
Those focused on this have probably watched Kamen Rider, so think about it: under what circumstances does one Rider hand their belt over to someone else?
Let's just take a few examples from the early Heisei era.
Riku Kuuga → Yusuke Godai Kuuga. Riku was killed by the archaeological team before he could awaken. Daguba removed the belt, and it was taken by Godai.
Makoto Hikawa G3 → Toru Hojo G3. Hojo threatened the higher-ups in the police department and set Hikawa up, causing him to lose the right to transform into G3.
Ren Akiyama Knight → Shinji Kido Knight. The former died protecting the latter. Ren Akiyama asked Shinji Kido to continue fighting in his place, then entrusted the Card Holder to him.
Takumi Inui Faiz → Yuji Kiba Faiz. Takumi temporarily gave up fighting and entrusted the belt to his reliable good friend, Yuji Kiba.
Takumi Inui Faiz → Hayato Kusaka Faiz. The former was ambushed and fell unconscious, and the latter took the belt.
Hayato Kusaka Kaixa → Yuji Kiba Kaixa. The latter ganged up on the former, beat him to death, and took the belt.
Mutsuki Kamijo Leangle → Go Kiryu Leangle. The latter stole the former's transformation device.
Sou Yaguruma TheBee → Arata Kagami TheBee. The former ignored his teammates and lost his qualification to transform.
Looking at these situations, belts generally change owners in the following ways.
The original owner dies in battle, is plotted against and loses the qualification to transform, gives up fighting and abandons the belt, has the transformation device stolen outright, or is mentally unfit to transform.
Applied here, that would mean Gu Yu dies in battle, Gu Yu is plotted against and loses his transformation rights, Gu Yu gives up fighting, Gu Yu's belt gets stolen, or Gu Yu is mentally unfit to transform.
Um... let me address this together with the next point.
I did not handle yesterday's scene well, so let me apologize first.
But speaking of that, everyone should think carefully about Yuno's character setup.
She nearly fell into darkness during a massive disaster. After someone saved her, she discovered that her entire family had died and her hometown was gone. Because Honkai Energy invaded her body, she herself possessed exceptional talent...
Change the gender and place her into a Rider setting, and as long as your values are not warped... you get what I mean, right? .jpg
If you do not get it, I only need to mention a few names.
Shiro Kazami.
Ryu Terui.
Isamu Fuwa.
If I used this character to betray the protagonist, that would undoubtedly be poisoning the story. Do I look that stupid?
Though... maybe I kind of do?
Damn it, then I need to explain this even more clearly.
This must be said: novels, especially fan webnovels, film and television works like tokusatsu shows, and game scripts like the Honkai Impact 3rd story are all narratives, but their mediums make them vastly different.
Why do I say that?
If a Kamen Rider series has a bad plot, at least you can watch the actors' performances, their appearances, the Rider suits, the fight scenes, and the special effects.
Even if Honkai Impact 3rd has plot problems, the character models and artwork can still forcibly keep the revenue going.
Even if the plot goes wrong, these two mediums still have other aspects that are not completely worthless.
That is why people can complain about Zi-O while buying belts, or curse the Honkai Impact 3rd writers while continuing to spend money.
It is not because these fans are idiots. It is because even without the plot, these things still have aspects worth spending money on.
But webnovels are different, friends. Webnovels only have text. If the plot blows up, then there is truly nothing left.
Under those circumstances, if I wrote the protagonist dying in battle, being plotted against and losing his Rider belt, becoming so devastated that he gave up fighting, having his belt stolen, or being mentally unfit to transform...
Webnovels operate on immediate payment. If I dared to serve up poison that nasty, you would definitely leave on the spot. I am still confident about that.
Writing webnovels is like walking a tightrope for someone inexperienced. And if people below are still shouting about plot developments that will never happen...
Well, if you insist on doing that, there is really nothing I can do.
PS3: Since someone questioned why the sound effect is written as [KamenRide] rather than [Kamen Rider]...
I will not say much. Look at the image.
The MASKEDRider in the image was the old Heisei era's term for [Kamen Rider]. Starting with the new Heisei era, the English was uniformly changed to [KamenRider], followed by the Rider's name, Decade.
The card name is [KamenRide], underlined in black below. Anyone who has heard the sound effect should understand.
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