You Two-The Real Reason the Gem Is on Her Is... / But This World Has Never Been a Good Place (Without Mercy)

"One day? Is... is that impressive?"

After seeing Theresa's description of the Moonlight Throne's combat power, Hua asked cautiously.

The Reason the Gem Is on Her...

"This isn't a question of whether it's impressive or not..."

Beichen was speechless as he watched Hua's comment appear.

That statement sounded pretty arrogant on its own, but coming from her, it meant something entirely different.

After all, Hua was a participant in the Fusion Warrior Project and one of the only surviving Thirteen Flame-Chasers.

If she claimed she could wipe out North America in a day, could that really be called bragging?

Just as Beichen hesitated, another neatly written comment drifted across the screen.

"Please don't misunderstand. I merely wanted to know what level of power this would correspond to in the world of the game."

"The ability to destroy a superpower in a single day isn't something humanity could achieve through its own strength alone."

Beichen replied, caught between laughter and tears.

Because you revealed information, Today's Performance Is Not Perfect was shocked. You gained 740 Crystals!

???

The system notification had sounded at far too coincidental a moment, leaving Beichen somewhat surprised.

However, he quickly realized that Hua hadn't been looking down on the Moonlight Throne just now. Well... that made sense. She was a warrior who took things seriously. She would never entertain such childish, laughable thoughts as pride and complacency.

"I see? Hmm, then it seems this truly is a very powerful weapon."

As another comment floated by, Hua fell silent once more...

"Elysia, what do you think?"

Inside Moth Chasing Fire's reception hall, Hua turned to look at Elysia.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Hua~ Have you finally decided to open your heart to me?"

Her smile was as warm as a spring breeze, as though she had not noticed the seriousness of the situation at all.

Yet Hua was certain that this seemingly carefree companion understood everything.

"Don't you think this game is strange? It has Honkai, Herrschers, Stigmata bearers called Valkyries who fight Herrschers... It's... it's practically like our future."

"Alright, calm down, Hua. When a girl gets angry, she can make mistakes very easily, you know~"

Seeing Hua say so much at once, Elysia sensed that her emotions were beginning to spiral out of control and moved to comfort her.

At Elysia's reminder, Hua also realized that she had acted impulsively, then let out a long breath.

"Sorry. I just never expected to see an entirely new world in a game I had never encountered before. That world also has Honkai, but it seems to be... much better than ours."

"Hehe~" Elysia glanced sideways at Fu Hua and smiled. "Hua, I don't think so~ If possible... I would rather you all could go to a world without Honkai~"

"This... you're right. But I... forget it. I hope that, in the end, we can have a world without Honkai..."

Hua said nothing further and quietly continued watching the Live Stream in her mind...

At that moment, the combat communication had ended. After Theresa's explanation, Kiana understood the Moonlight Throne's formidable power.

As Theresa said:

"So, to fully activate that battleship, it requires the energy of Herrschers—and four Herrschers at that!"

Kiana finally murmured to herself, "That voice in my dream also said it needed four keys."

The combat communication ended there, followed immediately by the stage battle segment.

There was not much to say about this part. Before Ri Duck's freshly acquired two-piece Signature Weapon set, the Honkai Beasts and Zombies were as flimsy as paper.

Most of the time, Beichen did not even need to switch characters as he effortlessly slaughtered every monster in sight.

"So strong... Bronya is really strong!"

Seeing Bronya empowered by the two-piece Stigmata set, Seele could not help but exclaim in admiration...

"Of course. She's the favored child of this version, after all."

"Uh... yes!"

Beichen merely smiled without speaking as he watched Seele's reply appear.

In the end, Kiana and the others fought their way through every obstacle and successfully reached the detector's location.

As the combat communication screen popped up, the game began playing the story again.

Mei and Bronya appeared first.

This is where the detector indicated. But there's nothing here. Could our positioning system be wrong?

Mei, wait.

What is it, Bronya?

The life detector shows a life signal fifty meters to the east.

East... I see her! There's a girl in a wheelchair over there. This place is dangerous—we have to save her quickly!

Once the story segment ended, monsters began appearing in the stage.

Beichen tapped the screen and easily disposed of the enemies, after which the game brought up another combat communication.

This time, Himeko's and Mei's portraits appeared on the screen.

Looks like you found the target.

Hearing Himeko's blunt words, Mei was immediately confused.

The target? Wasn't our target the Gem of Desire? But we only found this girl.

She was not the only one confused. Everyone else in the Live Stream was confused as well.

"A girl? A gem? Could she be... a beautiful girl transformed from a gem? If they designed it like that, it would truly be as wonderful as a fairy tale~"

A pink comment floated gracefully across the screen...

"That... would be a little too detached from reality." Beichen awkwardly poured cold water on the idea. "Although this game is based on supernatural settings, a gem turning into a person is a bit too..."

No, that might not be impossible after all...

After all, one Herrscher had survived all the way into A Post-Honkai Odyssey...

"Exactly. The streamer is right. Perhaps the gem is being worn by that girl or something?"

Beichen was somewhat surprised when he saw Seele's comment.

She figured it out that quickly? Looks like her little brain wasn't half bad.

If she were not so timid and insecure, then with her intelligence, she would have been among the best at Cocolia's orphanage...

"This viewer... I'm increasingly convinced that you have the talent to become a detective."

"Huh? H-Huh?! N-No, not at all! I only..."

Praised once again, Seele was happy, yet worried that she was standing out too much, and thus fell into another bout of inner conflict...

As she sent increasingly incoherent comments amid her confusion,

Beichen tapped the screen again, and Himeko on the combat communication began explaining to Mei and the others:

"According to intelligence just received from the Oceania Branch, this young lady is the Gem of Desire."

As Himeko's words fell, a green-eyed girl with black short hair tipped with green appeared on the left side of the screen...

"Um... my name is Wendy."

Wendy introduced herself somewhat shyly. Just by hearing her timid voice, the people in the Live Stream could not help picturing a girl lowering her head and rubbing the hem of her skirt...

But This World Was Never Beautiful (No Mercy)

Seele and Elysia were utterly astonished by Himeko's frank revelation. Even though they had been arguing just moments ago, neither had expected Wendy to actually be the Gem of Desire!

"Miss Wendy... is the Gem of Desire?!"

"Wow! Did I guess something right~? Hehe, that's a girl's wisdom~"

"How could that be... How could I have guessed wrong? Something must have gone wrong somewhere!"

"Hehe~ Perhaps your mistake was challenging me~"

However, the two people in the Live Stream who knew Wendy's identity and background inside and out remained silent.

The first was Beichen. Seeing how pleasantly the two were chatting, he suddenly felt too embarrassed to interrupt them.

He was rather curious now. If he let the game's story continue until Himeko revealed that the Gem of Desire had actually been implanted into Wendy's leg, what interesting reactions would they have...

The second was Rita. As the vice captain of Immortal Blades, dispatched here by Otto and having completed a perfect infiltration—at least, in her own opinion—

She was currently seated aboard a Schicksal transport drone headed for Arc City, resting her scythe across her thighs with her eyes closed. Many Immortal Blades Members sat beside her; they were the entirety of the hunting squad's strength.

Every member of the squad was an experienced Valkyrie, well-equipped and abundantly supplied, though their combat strength was lacking.

The target they were meant to hunt was K-423, the test subject who had recently wreaked havoc throughout Schicksal Headquarters.

Of course, perhaps she could now also be called the Herrscher of the Void...

During the drone's flight, an Immortal Blades Member turned her head and looked anxiously at Rita beside her.

"Vice Captain Rita..."

"What is it?" Hearing someone call her, Rita opened her eyes.

"Can we really defeat that Herrscher with just us?"

That member's words could be said to voice everyone else's doubts.

Rita quickly realized she could not ignore them, so she opened her beautiful eyes and replied with a smile:

"Do not underestimate yourselves, but do not become overconfident either. Lord Otto learned through special channels that the target is currently in a weakened state. If we seize the opportunity, we may be able to defeat and recover this Herrscher."

"Is that so? That's wonderful... I wonder what sort of channels those were..."

"I don't know."

Rita did not continue the discussion, because Otto had already issued a gag order.

No matter what, this matter could not be mentioned to anyone else...

After ending the conversation with her subordinate, she eagerly focused her attention on the Live Stream in her mind.

By then, the commotion in the Live Stream had already ceased.

As for why, the streamer had stepped in to smooth things over.

His method was to tap the screen and continue the story.

"Let me explain. Three years ago, during an experiment at the Oceania Branch, the Gem of Desire was transplanted into Miss Wendy's leg. Honkai energy crystals were fused with her lower leg bones in the hopes of gaining power equal to that of a Herrscher."

As Himeko slowly explained, the two viewers were both unable to send a single comment...

Too awkward. This was far too awkward!

Even though she had not joined in, Rita could feel just how uncomfortable the atmosphere was.

Fortunately...

That streamer with the youthful-sounding voice was rather good at easing the mood.

The moment the two viewers finished commenting, he spoke up in their defense. "Hmm... according to the story, the gem has fused with her, so it isn't wrong to say that she is the gem."

"Mm... yes."

"Hehe, that's right~"

As the two comments floated past, the entire Live Stream was filled with a cheerful, lively atmosphere.

Seeing this, Rita, who was currently on a mission, was quite surprised.