Honkai, I Alone Save Everything

"This transaction concerns your sister, who vanished a long time ago."

"…!"

As expected, Bronya froze in place.

After some time, she turned around with difficulty, her voice trembling slightly as she confirmed, "You… who are you talking about…"

Bronya no longer had the capacity to consider how the other person knew about Seele. What mattered was that if there was even a sliver of hope, she would pursue it.

Like a drowning person, she wouldn't let go of even a single straw within reach.

"That's right, I'm referring to Miss Seele Vollerei."

Chapter 29: Another Way

The girl had a dream.

A painful and powerless dream.

In it, she had overslept that morning and received a harsh scolding from her mother.

She remembered that the first class after arriving at school was math… and the new transfer student with white hair was dozing off again.

Then…

Then came the screams from the hallway. Like zombies in a movie, they rushed in, biting the necks of teachers and classmates…

What followed was endless pain and a body that couldn't move.

What happened?

Why was she suffering like this?

Why was she always the one to suffer misfortune?

Her mother had always disliked her, scolding her for even the slightest mistake;

Her classmates had always ostracized and bullied her.

Hate, loathing—this world would be better off destroyed…

Somewhere in the depths of her mind, a voice seemed to be whispering something to her.

Obey Its will and bring destruction to this world…

She felt as if she was just a step away from stepping into some indescribable abyss.

—Then, the dream abruptly ended.

"…!"

The girl's eyes snapped open, and she sat up in bed.

She couldn't help but gasp for breath, two cold sweat beads forming on her cheeks.

"Where is this… the infirmary at the school?"

The girl recognized the place.

But why was she here?

She rubbed her forehead, trying to recall how she ended up here. However, her mind was still a mess after just waking up, unable to piece things together.

Then, two figures came into view.

One man and one woman. She didn't recognize the man, but she knew the other person.

Yuna said with surprise, "You… you're… Mei-senpai from the upper years?"

Raiden Mei's reputation at Chiba Academy was widespread in every sense of the word.

"Yes, Yuna-chan, it's me," Mei nodded and said in a gentle tone.

Seeing this, Ming Yu instructed Mei, "Mei, I'll leave her to you. I'm going out for a bit."

The purple-haired girl nodded, sat by the bed, and softly explained to the girl on the bed, "A disaster occurred in Changkong City. Chiba Academy and the entire city have been destroyed. We will be sending you to a certain place next…"

With a single move, the Herrscher of Thunder easily absorbed all the Honkai energy that had gathered around Yuna, interrupting her Pseudo-Herrscher transformation process.

Without the Honkai energy, the girl could no longer be converted into a Pseudo-Herrscher.

After that, Mei and Ming Yu managed to find a relatively intact infirmary and let the sleeping girl rest there for the time being.

While Yuna was asleep, he and Mei had already reported the situation to Theresa, and the headmistress had made the decision.

—Of course, just as they had recruited Ming Yu and the other three before, Yuna would be recruited into St. Freya Academy as a student.

After all, a girl qualified to be chosen as a Pseudo-Herrscher by the Honkai was, in other words, a chosen one with decent resistance to Honkai energy.

Given that, St. Freya Academy naturally wouldn't refuse such talent.

In any case, that's roughly how Yuna's situation was handled.

Ming Yu left the infirmary, gently closing the door behind him.

He saw the silver-haired girl, currently hugging a Houm plushie and leaning against a nearby wall.

Although she remained silent as usual, Ming Yu, knowing what she had just experienced at the academy, understood that her mood was likely far from calm.

Closing his eyes, Ming Yu asked the shrine maiden possessing him, "Miss Sakura, how did your conversation with Bronya go?"

"I told her what you taught me. She didn't immediately agree to the trade, but she didn't show any signs of refusal either," Yae Sakura's voice echoed in his mind.

The terms of the trade were naturally very simple: on one side, a way to find Seele Vollerei; on the other, a demand that Bronya betray Cocolia.

"I told her at the end that I would find her again after some time to confirm her thoughts."

"That's enough. I didn't expect to succeed on the first try anyway."

After all, given the de facto years of upbringing, it wasn't realistic to expect Bronya to betray Cocolia immediately.

Furthermore, from another perspective, he also needed time to find a way to bring back Seele.

—Every endeavor begins with difficulty. The first priority is how to enter the Sea of Quanta.

The gate to that sea is not easily opened.

According to the original timeline, Bronya opened the passage to the Sea of Quanta through the Pre-Calamity ruins "Abyss City," controlled by Anti-Entropy, using the Pre-Calamity survey facility "Abyss Eye," thus beginning her journey to find Seele.

However, if Ming Yu intended to bring Seele back earlier to sway Bronya, he definitely couldn't take this route.

That underwater ruin belonged to Anti-Entropy and was heavily guarded. As a member of Schicksal, he currently had no way to approach that place.

As for now, the route he planned to try was a different one:

—Schicksal must also possess a way to enter the Sea of Quanta internally. After all, Durandal, when she was still an A-Rank Valkyrie, had traveled to a World Bubble with Rita on a mission.

Of course, if he wanted to take Schicksal's route, the strength and resources of the Far East Branch alone wouldn't be enough.

This would inevitably require him to contact Schicksal headquarters, and naturally, he would come into contact with that cunning Schicksal Bishop.

For Ming Yu, who chose to join the protagonist group by entering St. Freya Academy, this was something he would encounter sooner or later and could not avoid, so he didn't resist it.

Since they would meet eventually, it didn't matter much whether it was sooner or later.

But at least for now, he didn't think his actions would conflict with the Schicksal Bishop who was solely focused on resurrecting Kallen.

Of course, before the unavoidable contact, it would be good to accumulate more leverage.

Well, in any case, he'd put this matter aside for now.

Yuna's situation, or rather, the task assigned by Theresa, was basically completed.

However, he still had another matter to attend to upon arriving in Changkong City.

Thinking of this, he said to the silver-haired girl beside him, "By the way, Bronya, Mei will stay here to take care of Yuna, but I need to go somewhere before leaving Changkong City. Do you want to come with me?"

"...?"

Chapter 30: Secret Commission

Changkong City, East District.

A group of children were scavenging in this district.

Although it was an extremely dangerous ruin, the "teacher" who looked after them had designated a safe zone. As long as they didn't stray beyond its boundaries, they could freely search the streets for essential supplies.

Their current home was a place called the "Nest."

The so-called "Nest" was actually a slum built around a large building. It was densely constructed at a higher elevation from the ground, using easily assembled and disassembled materials.

Though rudimentary, it was enough for them to live.

Living well was the only thing they could do right now.

Of course, not all children dispersed to search for supplies on the streets. A portion of them were always responsible for staying behind in the "Nest," taking turns with other tasks.

For instance, the white-haired young boy currently on lookout duty.

His name was Lyle. His family had been quite well-off originally—or rather, any family that could live in Changkong City was probably not doing too badly.

Of course, he now had nothing, but with the mutual support of his teacher and the other children, he had accepted his new life.

His eyesight and observation skills had always been good, so he mostly served as an observer. If any unexpected situation arose, he would immediately notify the other children to retreat.

—The teacher had once jokingly said that he might be very suitable as a sniper in the future.

Although most of the time there were no abnormalities, Lyle still diligently performed his duties, avoiding any regrets if a situation were to occur.

For example, right now—

Within the boy's field of vision, he saw the figures of two humans.

One seemed to be flashing with electrical light, easily leaping between the tall buildings, while the other was more decisively flying, heading towards the direction of the [Nest].

This had clearly surpassed the scope of ordinary people, but it was also very different from the monsters Lyle had seen before.

As they gradually approached, the young man looked closer, and one of them was someone he had met before.

Yes... it was the person who had brought the flight attendant here.

So, he hurried back inside and called out to Kong, who was in charge of cooking:

"Kong, your acquaintance is here!"

"Brother Ming Yu, and also, Sister Bronya...!"

The petite girl came out of the kitchen and happened to see the arrival of a familiar face. Her usually gentle tone became much more joyful.

She rushed forward, taking three steps at a time, nearly stumbling in the process, before suddenly throwing herself into Ming Yu's arms.

"Mm, long time no see, Xiaokong."

He smiled and patted the girl's head in his embrace.

After leaving Chiba Academy with Bronya, they had headed towards the East District.

The purpose, naturally, was to see Xiaokong, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

Bronya had also met Xiaokong once before, so she understood the intention behind his suggestion.