Honkai Impact 3rd: Beginning with Handcrafted Black Tech to Save the Pre-Civilization, Chapter 3

"It can't be wrong. The Honkai Energy concentration here is the highest in this settlement. Looks like the person we're looking for is here."

The woman with most of her face hidden beneath a hood, leaving only her mouth and a few strands of pink hair visible, placed a hand on her waist and said softly, "Elysia, isn't it a little too rash for us to come here unannounced?"

"Is it?" The girl called Elysia was still looking around at the church's interior decorations. Although the place was completely bare, she was still enjoying herself. "Sakura, you're a little too nervous. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think."

"You're too optimistic, Elysia." Sakura sighed. "The other party's subordinates managed to steal the tactical case without either of us noticing. That alone proves there are deep secrets hidden behind this. They may know far more about the Moth to Fire than we can imagine. Our files might even be sitting on his desk. We have to be cautious when facing an enemy like that."

"But everyone here says that Lady Aponia, who runs the sanatorium, is a beautiful and kind nun," Elysia said with a smile. "How could someone like that be a bad person?"

Sakura sighed and said nothing more.

Elysia was simply like that. She always treated everyone with kindness, but Sakura couldn't do the same.

Fortunately, she had already requested support from above. Even if the other party's strength exceeded expectations, as long as they stalled for enough time, they should still be able to deal with it.

Just then, Sakura raised her head slightly. Her keen senses were telling her that two people were approaching.

Judging from their footsteps, however, neither of them seemed to pose any threat...

The girl was still thinking when the two people appeared in her field of vision.

"So it really is you."

Seeing those two unfamiliar yet familiar faces, Ai Yue took a deep breath before he managed to control his emotions.

He stepped forward and stood in front of Aponia, taking the initiative to speak. "I didn't know that two members of the Moth to Fire had come all this way. What brings you here?"

Chapter 5: Damn It, I'm Surrounded by the Flame-Chasers

The instant he saw the guests, Ai Yue knew everything was under control.

Unlike Sakura, who had hidden her appearance beneath a hood, Elysia had made little effort to conceal herself. She had merely put on a simple hat, so Ai Yue recognized her at a glance.

Although he still didn't know why Elysia had come here, as long as her personality was the same as Ai Yue remembered, tonight wouldn't end in the tragic massacre of the original plot.

Elysia blinked curiously at the young man before her. "Hello! Have we met somewhere before?"

The faint nostalgia in his eyes didn't look like the reaction of someone seeing her for the first time. Yet after thinking carefully, Elysia still couldn't remember where she had met him.

"No. I've only heard of you." Ai Yue smiled. "My name is Ai Yue, and this is Aponia, the sanatorium's director. May I ask your names?"

"If you already know we're from the Moth to Fire, how could you not know who we are?" Sakura frowned and took a slight step forward. "Stop pretending. What exactly are you planning?"

Ai Yue was taken aback. He hadn't expected Sakura to be so hostile toward him. "Miss, is there some misunderstanding between us?"

"Oh, Sakura, don't rush." Elysia tugged at Sakura's sleeve, then looked at Ai Yue and Aponia with a bright smile. "Why don't we sit down and talk?"

Sakura glanced at Elysia and seemed about to say something, but Elysia shook her head at her, clearly unwilling to change her mind.

Sakura could only back down and follow Elysia's arrangement. After all, Elysia was nominally in charge of this mission.

Thus, the four of them sat down. However, since the church only had rows of long benches facing the main hall, the two sides had to sit separately on two parallel benches. They looked like spies meeting for a secret exchange.

"Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet." Elysia spoke first. "My name is Elysia. As you can see, I'm a cute young lady~"

"Sakura." Compared to Elysia, who was striking a cute pose, Sakura was much colder. She didn't even remove her hood. "Just call me Sakura."

"Sakura is a little shy." Elysia didn't press her. She merely raised a hand to her mouth and leaned in as if sharing a secret. "But she's actually a very gentle person."

"...Let's talk business first." Sakura cleared her throat and changed the subject. "How did you learn our identities?"

"I happened to know a few rumors about the Moth to Fire. The two of you came to Twilight Street without making much effort to hide yourselves, so it would've been difficult not to notice." Ai Yue shrugged. "Of course, the main reason is that I saw your case."

"So you really were the one who stole the tactical case!"

Sakura sprang to her feet, but Elysia pressed her back down. "Sakura, calm down. It won't hurt to hear what Mr. Ai Yue has to say next."

"The theft of the tactical case was actually a coincidence. But I doubt you'd believe me if I explained it that way, so I suggest we talk about something else first." Ai Yue sidestepped the question instead of answering it directly. "Miss Elysia, the Moth to Fire sent you here to carry out what kind of mission?"

"Mm, that's not something I can easily tell an outsider." Elysia shook her head slightly. "Mr. Ai Yue, I'm personally quite willing to trust you, but we haven't reached the point where we can share everything with each other yet."

Clearly, although Elysia was gentle and kind and willing to treat everyone with the greatest goodwill, she wasn't so thoughtless as to tell a stranger she had just met everything.

"All right. Then I'll put it another way." Ai Yue changed tactics and pointed at Aponia sitting beside him. "As you can see, Miss Aponia is highly respected in Twilight Street and is also well informed. If you want to learn about Twilight Street, she's the most convenient person to ask."

Since the Moth to Fire had sent someone like Elysia to carry out the mission, it clearly wasn't something as simple as hunting down or eliminating ordinary people infected by Honkai. Those sorts of dirty jobs could be left to the Poison Chrysalis.

For Elysia to be involved, it had to be something requiring someone with a good image and strong communication skills. Such missions generally had little to do with violence, which was why Ai Yue seemed so relaxed.

Of course, considering that Sakura was here as well, there was probably a less clean backup plan. Still, Ai Yue believed Elysia would do everything she could to prevent that situation from occurring.

If things really reached the point where force was necessary, he could only unleash Brother Jie.

"Then, Miss Aponia." Elysia didn't hesitate this time. "Do you know why the Honkai Energy concentration in this sanatorium is so high?"

As she spoke, she took out a detector. Its warning light was pale red, indicating a "Honkai Energy concentration capable of harming the human body."

Aponia glanced at Ai Yue, then nodded. "I do."

She rose and walked toward the door they had entered through. "It's somewhat troublesome to explain. Please come with me. But keep quiet. Everyone is already asleep."

Sakura and Elysia exchanged a glance, and their expressions grew somewhat more serious.

The other party's reaction, as well as the "sanatorium" mentioned earlier, both hinted at the truth behind everything.

The four of them silently passed through the corridors and inspected each room. Aponia carried a lantern and occasionally exchanged a few words with patients who woke from their dreams, soothing them until they fell asleep again.

It wasn't until they left the final ward and reached the rear courtyard that Sakura finally couldn't hold back. "They're all...?"

"Yes. Every one of them." Aponia's expression remained calm. "Every single person here is a homeless patient with Honkai Sickness."

Sakura fell silent.

She wanted to ask Aponia whether she knew what would happen if so many people infected with Honkai Energy were gathered together. But when the words reached her lips, she couldn't bring herself to say them.

Because she understood the feeling of being unable to stand by and watch someone die. If she were in Aponia's place, could she really ignore them?

Of course, compared with concentrated treatment that could cause enormous trouble in the future, there was another method that was safer—and far more cruel...

"Taking care of so many patients must be hard, right?" Elysia, however, was focused on something else. "Miss Aponia, you've had it very difficult."

"It's all right. With everyone's help and donations, we can just about keep going." Aponia spoke calmly. "But that isn't what you wanted to say, is it, Miss Elysia?"

It wasn't only Aponia. Ai Yue had also noticed that ever since Elysia saw the patients, she had been paying attention to the Honkai Energy Absorbers he had given them.

"Oh my, you noticed." Elysia wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, she said, "By the way, may I call you by your name directly?"

Aponia paused, but still nodded.

"Then, Aponia." Elysia spoke slowly. "Do you understand the consequences of doing this?"

"Gathering a large number of patients with Honkai Sickness in one place will cause an even more serious outbreak of infection, correct?" Aponia nodded. "I didn't understand before, but I learned later."

"Let me guess. A kind person told you?" Elysia took something from her pocket. "For example, the person who made this?"

In her hand was a Honkai Energy Absorber, identical to the one each patient possessed.

Aponia almost instinctively looked toward Ai Yue, but she managed to restrain herself at the last moment.

That split-second reaction was enough for Elysia to reach a conclusion. The pink-haired beauty shifted her gaze to Ai Yue. "Could it be that you know the person who made these, Ai Yue? Or... was it actually you?"

She naturally dropped the word "Mr." from the way she addressed him.

"If I say it was me..." Ai Yue sighed before continuing. "What will the Moth to Fire do?"

Ai Yue wasn't surprised that Elysia had obtained a Honkai Energy Absorber. He hadn't only supplied them to Aponia's sanatorium. Many wealthy people were willing to pay a high price for them to avoid dying from Honkai Energy infection.

Ai Yue sold Honkai Energy Absorbers for two reasons. One was to earn the capital needed for continued research. The other was to attract the Moth to Fire's attention in advance and change Twilight Street's future.

The Moth to Fire had only now traced the Honkai Energy Absorbers back to Twilight Street. They could already be considered slow to react.

"Then of course we'd invite you to join the Moth to Fire." Elysia smiled and extended a hand. "What do you think? Interested?"

"Is that your mission?" Joining the Moth to Fire was Ai Yue's goal, but he didn't take Elysia's hand. "If that's all, there was no need to make such a grand appearance."

As he spoke, he glanced at Sakura standing behind Elysia.

If this was the entire mission, there was no need for the two of them to come together. Yet Elysia's mission didn't look like something that would require Sakura as a backup plan either. Could it really have been a coincidence?

"You really do know a lot. I'm becoming more and more interested in you." Elysia smiled. "Sakura and I do have different missions, but the clues ultimately pointed to Twilight Street, so we came together. As for Sakura's mission, you'll have to ask her."

"'On that day, she fell from the sky. The people on the ground looked up and gazed in awe, and thus they saw the starry sky.'" Sakura was silent for a moment before reciting something that sounded like a line of poetry. "Have you heard this song?"

Ai Yue looked at Aponia. Didn't I tell you to sing a different song for the children?

"It's the lullaby I sing to the children," Aponia said. "But I haven't sung it in a long time. Is there something wrong with the song?"

"I don't know." Sakura looked at Aponia with a complicated expression. "But I'm afraid you'll have to come with us too, Miss Aponia."

Aponia seemed to understand something and slowly asked, "After I return with you, will I be able to come back?"

Sakura didn't answer, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.

Unlike Ai Yue, it was obvious that Aponia would hardly receive favorable treatment if she went to the Moth to Fire.

"Then, I'm afraid I'll have to refuse." Aponia shook her head. "The patients and children here need me."

She didn't ask whether the patients and children could be taken along, because it was obvious that such a thing was unrealistic.

Sakura remained silent, but her body lowered slightly, clearly prepared for something.

Perhaps for personal reasons, she didn't want to do this either. But a mission was a mission, and it had to be completed.

"Oh, don't make the atmosphere so tense." Elysia hurriedly stepped in to mediate. "There has to be another solution, right?"

"Exactly. The children are still asleep. At the very least, don't start fighting here, right?" Ai Yue also tried to ease the tension. "There's still something we can..."

He stopped before he could finish, because Aponia rarely took the initiative to extend a hand and grab Ai Yue's right wrist. She then slowly pulled him toward her side.

"I'm sorry, Miss Elysia, but I can't let you take him either." Aponia's tone remained calm, but there was a trace of firmness in it. "Ai Yue is indispensable to the sanatorium. The people here all need her."

"Huh?" Aponia's sudden change in attitude caught Elysia off guard. "Wait, let's talk this out. There's no need to..."

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Just as Elysia was considering how to ease the tense atmosphere, a sudden voice cut in, making the already strained situation even more volatile.

A masked man stood in the shadows. No one had noticed when he appeared, but the obvious irritation in his voice could be heard by everyone.

"I don't care what you want to do to that woman." The masked man, Kalpas, slowly stepped out of the shadows. "But you'd better not hurt Ai Yue. Otherwise—"

Extremely dangerous.

That was Sakura's first impression when she noticed Kalpas. He stood there, yet he gave off a ferocious, inhuman sense of brutality.

This wasn't to say that he looked as savage as a wolf or tiger. He was more like some terrifying force that could not be resisted—like a volcano about to erupt, or a typhoon tearing across the sky.

It was something no human strength could possibly oppose.

An ordinary person would tremble before such an existence and lose all ability to resist. But Sakura was different. She was a swordmaster tempered through countless trials, and a transcendent who wielded extraordinary power.

Thus, when faced with Kalpas, she instinctively chose to strike first.

The loose cloak hiding her identity had become an obstruction, so Sakura simply tore it off, revealing a pair of long ears standing upright atop her head.

At the same time, the long blade at her waist was exposed before everyone.

"Heh, interesting." Kalpas's voice was filled with agitation. "You brought this on yourself!"

However, in the next instant, a small cylindrical object rolled into the open space between them.

"Bang!"

With a soft pop, thick smoke instantly spread in every direction, enveloping the entire rear courtyard.

Ai Yue recognized it at a glance. It was the improved "Instant-Burst Smoke Bomb" he had developed, capable of producing smoke covering a ten-meter radius in an instant. But he seemed to have given only two of them to Pardofelis.

Before he could figure out what was going on, he felt another small hand grab his left arm.

"Brother Yue, we came to save you!"

Chapter 6: The Sinful Man

Pardofelis wasn't stupid.

If one put it in the terms of a martial-arts novel, she had learned how to move like a cat as a child and eventually become a legendary thief, so she could at least be considered a martial-arts prodigy.

Therefore, when Ai Yue merely took a hurried look at the case before rushing her off to the neighboring settlement, Pardofelis had already noticed that Ai Yue was hiding something from her.

After all, she had clawed her way through life alone from such a young age. How could she fail to notice changes in other people's emotions?

It was just that Pardofelis often hated trouble, so she deliberately pretended not to understand.

But this time was different. This time... this time, she might have gotten herself into trouble!