Honkai, I Alone Save Everything

After using electromagnetic force to maneuver the armored vehicle to a safe area, Ming Yu focused his attention on the Honkai Beast before him.

When it came to combat power, Joyce, who had not yet awakened his Herrscher abilities at this moment, and the two doctors, who were originally powerless, were indeed far inferior to him.

Perhaps due to the long passage of time, the Honkai Beasts of this era were significantly weaker in both strength and numbers compared to modern ones, so dealing with them wasn't too difficult for him.

He cleared out the area where the traffic jam had occurred, which should be the last place with active Honkai Beasts.

The barnacle-shaped Honkai Beast, paralyzed by the electric current, finally reacted and attacked him again, but Ming Yu easily grabbed one of its tentacles.

An excessive amount of current was directly transmitted into its body through physical contact. After a violent tremor, the Honkai Beast finally lost its life and fell to the ground.

"Phew, in any case, this should be the last one around here... I should head back to Joyce and the others."

Ming Yu clapped his hands.

After a period of serious training at St. Freya, his strength had improved considerably, and clearing these Honkai Beasts was no problem.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his heart suddenly felt a jolt.

Specifically, it was the same feeling he had when he saw Rita on the Hyperion some time ago – an intuition of a powerful individual approaching.

As expected, soon after, a golden figure descended from the sky and landed in front of him.

With blonde hair, blue eyes, and curled Roman bangs, she wore a white knight's uniform adorned with golden decorations.

She held a beautiful white spear, which was the Sixth God Key: Abyss Flower.

Landing in front of Ming Yu, she directly introduced herself:

"I am Reanna Brigantia, a Valkyrie from Schicksal headquarters. I have been ordered by the Bishop to handle the Honkai problem in New York."

"Hello, I am... Ming Yu, belonging to the North American branch."

He recognized that this heroic and valiant Valkyrie was the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal in this era, and the current wielder of Abyss Flower.

Furthermore, unlike Kallen Kaslana from five hundred years ago and Cecilia Schariac in the future, this Reanna had held the position of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie for a century.

This was not because of any special constitution; even the most special constitution could not compare to the bloodlines of Kaslana or Schariac.

The real reason was that she had undergone physical modifications by the Bishop of Schicksal. Over a century, she had undergone thousands of surgical procedures, continuously replacing various internal components with Soulium, ultimately transforming her body into the Soulium body it was now.

She was tireless, her strength surpassed that of ordinary people, and her combat effectiveness did not decline with time. This also allowed her to wield the power of Abyss Flower.

In a sense, rather than calling her a Valkyrie, it was more fitting to regard her as a machine, a tireless war machine.

Reanna said with a smile:

"I originally rushed here to clear out the nearby Honkai Beasts, but I didn't expect you to have already finished them. You did well, young man."

"Thank you for the compliment... So, have you eliminated the Honkai Beasts in other areas of New York?"

Ming Yu asked.

Reanna nodded noncommittally.

"As expected of an S-rank..."

Ming Yu thought to himself.

To single-handedly and rapidly clear out the Honkai Beasts in most areas of an entire city was befitting of Schicksal's chief Valkyrie.

"However, simply clearing them out once won't completely resolve the crisis happening in this city. Ming Yu, I am now requisitioning you as a soldier under my command to remain vigilant against Honkai creations in the coming time."

Reanna said seriously.

As long as the source of the Honkai energy was not completely resolved, Honkai Beasts would continuously appear in various corners of the city.

Given the tragedy in Berlin three years prior, she did not intend to request reinforcements from headquarters to dispatch inexperienced troops to New York until the situation here was clarified, to avoid any accidents.

"I have no objections. However, I still have some companions over there. It would be best for us to act together for now."

Ming Yu pointed in the direction of the road.

Joyce and the others were still waiting there.

Reanna nodded and said cheerfully:

"Let me meet them."

Chapter 38: The First Herrscher to Fight for Humanity

What happened next largely followed history. Schicksal's chief Valkyrie Reanna and Joyce's group joined forces and rushed around New York City together.

They evacuated civilians, treated patients infected by Honkai energy, and cleared out Honkai Beasts.

Because her entire body was now composed of Soulium, the tireless Reanna could freely use the Abyss Flower's zero-rated power multiple times to treat the populace and ensure their survival.

The group temporarily stayed at a crowded clinic that housed many refugees. Due to another sudden Honkai Beast attack, Ming Yu and Reanna temporarily left the clinic to clear out the surrounding areas.

At this time, Dr. Schrödinger, who had already undergone partial Honkai transformation, should have also arrived, helping Joyce awaken his Herrscher powers through semi-coercive means...

Ming Yu mused as he dealt with the Honkai Beast in front of him.

He would not interfere with Joyce's inevitable path to awakening as a Herrscher.

"Young man, your combat posture is very skilled, and your strength is quite good... A Schicksal knight of this caliber couldn't possibly be unknown. Why have I never heard your name before?"

Reanna also hurled Abyss Flower, easily piercing the Honkai Beast before her, and asked during a lull in the fighting.

"...It's because I was assigned to relatively safe locations before, so I didn't have many opportunities to earn military merits."

Ming Yu's mouth twitched.

This character immersion in the virtual scenario is really not detailed enough...

"Oh right, why did Senior Reanna choose to modify her own body?"

He changed the subject, diverting Reanna's attention.

After all, this wasn't reality. As a data projection, she wouldn't stubbornly question his identity.

And as a Valkyrie who had been active for a hundred years, Reanna's Soulium body was not a secret within Schicksal.

As expected, Reanna pondered for a moment and didn't pursue the matter of Ming Yu's identity further, instead replying:

"Because war is war, it only ever brings destruction, and that... will never change."

Even if you have good intentions, you must endure the uncontrollable sacrifices that come with it.

"The Honkai is there, we can't negotiate with it, and it won't listen to any reason—it doesn't fear its own sacrifices, nor does it pity ours, it doesn't even care what happens to this planet."

A century of fighting against the Honkai had made her deeply understand one truth: unless humanity completely and utterly disappeared from Earth, leaving no one behind, the Honkai would never stop.

She said calmly:

"So, from the very beginning, this was a battle of no return. At that time, I found the Bishop and voluntarily became his experimental subject. This way, I could always stand on the front lines against the Honkai, thereby reducing the sacrifices of others."

Having gained a form of immortality, as long as she wasn't defeated by a Honkai Beast, she could fight in this war endlessly.

At the same time, near the clinic.

Einstein was barely controlling the just-decoded Star of Eden, forming an energy shield to confront the approaching girl.

But it was clear that someone who had rushed their preparations wouldn't be a match for a girl who had gained the power of the Honkai.

The girl, whose body was already over half corrupted by Honkai energy, mocked her mercilessly:

"Heh heh... A pretty boy hiding behind girls, do you really want to watch Einstein sacrifice herself for you like this?"

She had two pink cat ears on her head, her left eye was corrupted, and her right hand and exposed chest were also fully beastified by the Honkai.

The newcomer was none other than Dr. Schrödinger, clearly severely infected by Honkai energy.

Unexpectedly, even in this state, she had managed to retain a semblance of sanity.

And everything she was doing now was not without purpose—

"Listen, if you really want to prove you're different from those Herrschers mentioned in ancient texts, if you want to prove you won't lose to your own Herrscher instincts... no..."

The corners of her mouth curled slightly as she changed her approach to something more provocative:

"If you want to prove you're still a man with some guts, then pick up your weapon and defeat me head-on!"

"..."

The man with deep blue hair in front of her remained silent for a long time.

After Schrödinger completely revealed his identity as a Herrscher, he had indeed abruptly realized a forgotten voice from his past.

That voice was ceaselessly tempting him, urging him that destruction and consumption were his true duties, and the impulse to destroy surged from every cell in his body, as if trying to seize control of him.

Destroy, annihilate, burn everything.

Revenge yourself upon the Schicksal organization that has tormented you for three years, upon this world—

But at the same time, countless voices flashed through his mind: soldiers, children, psychologists, ordinary housewives.

Joyce realized that those voices belonged to the ordinary people who had perished in Berlin.

Many memories flooded his mind.

The moment he was born in Berlin, all he saw was devastation, the aftermath of war.

Unwilling to accept this, he walked through the disaster sites, picking up fragments, absorbing the broken pieces of souls into himself.

At the moment of his birth, a gentle voice, like falling petals, had whispered to him, urging him to engrave the souls of these sufferers into his body—

"Engrave their thoughts into your soul."

[Image here, viewable in updated version]

[Image here, viewable in updated version]

He had done as he was told, and at this very moment, the thoughts of three hundred thousand people coexisted within him.

As the voice of the Honkai will began to lure him, the thoughts of those three hundred thousand people decided not to remain silent any longer.

This was a victory for the ordinary people; their thirty thousand thoughts helped him completely overcome the temptation of the Honkai will, allowing him to maintain his self.

He stood up and walked to Dr. Einstein, taking the Star of Eden from her hands.

Due to the urgency of the situation, Dr. Einstein hadn't taught him how to use the Star of Eden, but the moment he touched it, Joyce immediately understood how to wield this legendary God Key.

Its usage, the secret to its activation, everything was laid bare before him.

Joyce understood; perhaps this was his innate [ability].

Schrödinger fired a beam of Honkai energy from her Honkai-beast-transformed right arm, and at the same time, Joyce unleashed a gravity wave using the Star of Eden. The two dangerous energies collided, neither yielding to the other.

"What's wrong, Welt? Have you already used all your strength? Is this all a so-called [Herrscher] is capable of?"

Joyce's transformation delighted her, but it was still far from enough.

If she couldn't even kill him, how could she save everyone in this city and confront the conspirators behind it all?

"Dr. Schrödinger, you... are not my enemy."

The blue-haired youth closed his eyes slightly, then opened them again, sighing as he spoke.

"Ridiculous. I genuinely want to kill you right now."

"No, I don't disagree with that... You do want to kill me, and if you truly succeed, it would be another kind of good outcome for everyone."

The death of a Herrscher was never bad news.

Joyce said calmly:

"But even if you genuinely want to kill me, you are not my enemy. I am certain of that."

"What exactly are you trying to say? And what do you think you are?"

Schrödinger questioned.

"...To be honest, I don't even know what I am right now. At this very moment, countless voices are whispering, shouting, and chattering within me."

Joyce closed his eyes, as if listening to the voices inside him, and then stated with firm resolve:

"One voice has been tempting me to destroy everything, but at the same time, many more voices are encouraging me to bring blessings to this world and make it a better place.

"The only thing I can be sure of is that if you kill me, they... the last remnants they left in this world will also vanish without a trace. So...

"Dr. Schrödinger, if you truly intend to fight me to the death, I won't stand idly by. After this battle ends, I still have to realize the most beautiful possibilities among those countless voices!"