Chapter 56: Spent All Those Crystals—At Least I Got 2,000 Resonance!
Chapter 56: Spent All Those Crystals—At Least I Got 2,000 Resonance!
—
『Your Great Inventor:』 "?"
Otto's text floated onto the screen, his confusion evident.
Did he just witness his own Saint Sigil getting trashed?
『Hokuto:』 "Ahem! Don't get me wrong—I already have a full set. No need for extras!"
The Otto Apocalypse Stigmata set was tailor-made for Theresa's Oath of Judah battlesuit.**
On anyone else?
Completely useless.
And since he already had one full set, getting another copy just meant 1,000 Stigmata Resonance.
What a waste of 2,800 crystals…
Annoyed, Hokuto opened his inventory, selected his brand-new Otto (Middle), and disassembled it on the spot.
+1,000 Stigmata Resonance.
—
『Your Great Inventor:』 "?"
『Hokuto:』 "Something wrong?"
『Your Great Inventor:』 "Is there an issue with this Stigmata? Why did you destroy it outright?"
Because it's you.
Of course, Hokuto couldn't say that out loud—if he did, Otto would probably launch a full-scale investigation into his identity tomorrow.
Best to play it cool.
『Hokuto:』 "Nah, it's just not that useful."
『Your Great Inventor:』 "…?"
On the other side of the screen, Otto narrowed his eyes.
Why did that answer feel oddly insulting?
—
『Hokuto:』 "Anyway, moving on! No more distractions, especially from you!"
Having warned Otto to stay quiet, Hokuto turned back to the gacha screen.
Surely he wouldn't get another Otto.
…Right?
Taking a deep breath, he clicked another 10-pull.
He didn't skip this time, tapping through each result one by one.
Blue… Purple! Blue… Blue… Purple!
Two purples appeared in the final result—
Nursery Rhymes and Dirac (Middle).
Not bad.
Both were Seele's signature gear.
Once he unlocked Swallowtail Phantasm, Seele would already have decent equipment to work with.
At least it wasn't another Otto.
—
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Wow! You got two good ones! Are they useful?"
Seele's excited message popped up—
After what happened last time, she was a little worried that Hokuto would dismantle them too.
『Hokuto:』 "Yup! Way better than Otto."
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Really?! That's great!"
The mood in the chat lightened as Seele happily celebrated his luck.
…Until—
『Your Great Inventor:』 "?"
A single green text appeared.
Hokuto pretended not to see it.
—
『Hokuto:』 "No distractions! I will get my last Welt piece today!"
Click—10-pull.
Results:
Welt Yang (Top).
『Hokuto:』 "WELT, STOP HIDING!"
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "W-Whoa! D-Don't yell, Big Bro… it's scary…"
Seele's shy blue message floated across the screen.
…She had never experienced the pain of gacha failure before.
She simply didn't understand.
Hokuto's entire body tensed.
Three 10-pulls, and still no Welt (Middle)?!
His crystal stash wasn't infinite!
If he had to hit the hard pity just to complete the set—
Wasn't that the same as losing?!
Dammit, Mihoyo!
Stop worrying about your stupid yacht and give me what I want!
Fine. One more pull.
Hokuto clicked 10-pull again—
He couldn't bring himself to watch.
What if Otto's smug face showed up again?
He didn't think he could handle it.
—
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Big Bro! Look! You got it!"
『Hokuto:』 "Wait, really?! Ha! Finally—wait. WHAT?!"
He got Welt (Middle).
And… another Otto (Middle).
『Hokuto:』 "AGAIN?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
It was fate.
The two were destined to be tied together forever.
Truly, a cursed pairing.
But whatever—at least he got Welt.
He disassembled Otto again on the spot.
+1,000 Stigmata Resonance.
…And he couldn't help but feel a little bit satisfied doing it.
—
『Hokuto:』 "Alright, I finally got everything I needed. Just need to upgrade my stuff, then we can start Chapter 5."
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Yay!"
『Your Great Inventor:』 "Hmph. Took long enough."
『Hard Work Always Pays Off:』 "I've been looking forward to this chapter."
With his final upgrades completed, Hokuto clicked into Chapter 5.
—
Cutscene – Prologue to Chapter 5
The screen faded in, revealing a vast, snow-covered field.
Snowflakes drifted gently, covering the ground in a soft white sheet.
Narration began.
The first half of the cutscene mostly summarized Chapter 4's ending, adding minor details to fill the gaps.
But as the video continued—
The scene changed.
[Search: Neural Implant Technology.]
The game displayed a new scene—Theresa standing inside Schicksal's central archives.
After negotiating with the system, she finally found the lead she needed.
[February 7, 2000? Damn it… It had to be then. System, retrieve all related records.]
The glowing database responded, sending a wave of red light across her body.
Theresa's figure flickered and vanished—
The screen panned toward an open doorway.
A young girl peeked inside, half-hidden behind the doorframe…
—
『Your Great Inventor:』 "Hmm? Isn't that Kiana?"
As the CG reached its final moments, the screen showed Kiana peeking through the door, causing a green text to float across the chat.
Of course, it was Otto.
The very same Otto who had just locked 712 of Theresa's 713 database search results.
『Your Great Inventor:』 "So, she snuck in while Theresa was inside? Heh… Curiosity is human nature. But for that, she will pay the price."
"Pay the price"…
Did Otto already figure out that Kiana was the protagonist of Chapter 5?
Hokuto thought about it for a moment.
Yeah, that was probably an easy guess.
The game's camera angle had shown Kiana stepping into the archive, while Theresa had already vanished.
That alone was a big hint that the upcoming story wasn't about Theresa.
—
[Huh? The screen's starting to disappear? I need to hurry and follow inside!]
On-screen, Kiana stepped forward and entered the data archive, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
[Virtual space construction complete. Date: February 7, 2000. Time: 3:00 PM.]
As soon as Kiana entered, the environment began shifting into digital code, the entire world collapsing into cascading data streams.
Then, gravity suddenly reversed—
Kiana plummeted into the blue abyss.
[Location: Siberia. Babylon Laboratory.]
—
『Hard Work Always Pays Off:』 "Siberia… Babylon Laboratory? Could this be…"
A neatly formatted text appeared in the chat.
Durandal.
Hokuto saw her message and chuckled.
『Hokuto:』 "The moral of this story? Always close the door behind you!"
『Hard Work Always Pays Off:』 "…Please continue."
She didn't press further, and Hokuto moved on with the game.
Unbeknownst to him…
Outside the stream, Durandal was contacting Otto.
She wanted to ask for permission to keep watching.
—
"You haven't arrived in Sky City yet, correct?"
"Correct."
"Then I have no reason to stop you. You may relax as you see fit."
Otto's response caught her completely off guard.
He… actually agreed?
She had expected him to refuse, so she had prepared arguments to justify herself.
And yet…
"Why?"
Otto smiled faintly on the other end of the call.
"I have no intention of interfering. However, if you seek answers, be prepared for the consequences. Whatever happens next is yours alone to bear."
"…Understood."
—
Meanwhile, back in the game…
The mission began.
[Hello? Hello?! Is anyone here?! Dammit, no signal… This place is such a mess. I was right behind Theresa, but now she's gone too…]
Alone in the vast Siberian wasteland, Kiana muttered to herself.
[The only thing I can see is that big tower… Guess I'll check it out.]
With that, the game prompted Hokuto to move forward.
He ignored all the enemies, steering Herrscher Bronya's bike straight toward the next objective.
—
Before long, he reached a frozen iron bridge.
Another dialogue scene played.
[Wow, it's been forever since I've seen this much snow. Back when Dad was still around, we lived in a little village just like this.]
[Every winter, we'd have snowball fights! One time, he threw one so hard, it shattered a boulder that was two meters tall!]
[Wait a second… If I hadn't dodged that… wouldn't I have been crushed?! Dad, what the hell were you thinking?!]
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "A snowball fight? That sounds fun! Back at the orphanage, we used to play in the snow too! But… shattering a boulder? That's a little scary…"
Seele's message floated across the chat.
『Hard Work Always Pays Off:』 "Kiana… really misses her father. Heh. I feel the same way."
…Durandal.
Hokuto paused for a moment.
Even without her memories, she still longed for family.
When the game finally reveals Siegfried and Cecilia… will she remember her real name?
That's gonna be… complicated.
…But that was a problem for future Hokuto.
—
[Then… four years ago, out of nowhere, Dad just vanished. I searched everywhere—from Europe to Asia—but not a single clue… Dad, what kind of dumb thing are you up to now? Ugh, I really miss him…]
The self-monologue ended, and Hokuto resumed gameplay.
Herrscher Bronya sped across the bridge—
Then.
A brand-new Ice-type Honkai Beast emerged!
…And promptly got one-shot.
Herrscher Bronya's charged attack annihilated it instantly.
Not even a threat.
With the battle over, Kiana cheered herself up and prepared to keep going.
Then, a new transmission played.
[Huh?! My communicator's picking up a signal?!]
[Failed to stop the target… I was injured in the battle… temporarily unable to move. Target is heading for Babylon Laboratory. Remaining Valkyrie units, pursue the target immediately.]
The voice was faint and distorted.
But Kiana recognized it immediately.
[That voice… It sounds like Theresa! The signal is coming from nearby! I need to check it out!]
—
『Your Great Inventor:』 "Oh? Theresa? Hmm… Just a fabricated illusion."
A green text drifted across the screen.
Otto, being Schicksal's Overseer, was all too familiar with the functions of the database.
He immediately saw through the deception—this Theresa was just data.
Wait, is this old man actually explaining things for once?
Hokuto glanced at the viewer list and noticed Durandal.
Ah… I see.
So he's deliberately pointing it out to mislead a certain Kiana.
Whether Durandal fell for it or not was unclear.
But…
One person in the chat definitely did.
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "A fabricated illusion? Huh? How do you know for sure, Mister Great Inventor?"
A blue text followed immediately after Otto's message.
Oof.
Even though Seele meant no harm, her perfectly timed question made it seem like she was interrogating Otto.
And the great Overseer—
…didn't respond.
Hokuto barely held back his laughter.
Hah! Otto Apocalypse, silenced by a teenage girl?
This old man really has no idea how to handle kids, does he?
『Your Great Inventor:』 "Hmph. Have you already forgotten? The last CG mentioned a 'data space.' Isn't that common sense?"
After a long pause, Otto finally responded.
His answer seemed flawless—a completely correct statement that revealed absolutely nothing.
He even flipped the question back at Seele.
And it worked.
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Huh? Oh… um… that makes sense! (⊙o⊙)..."
Seele's reply floated across the screen.
And with that, Otto's crisis was averted.
…Shame.
Hokuto had been hoping for some quality entertainment.
A teenage girl cornering a five-hundred-year-old mastermind?
Now that would've been fun to watch.
Oh well. Back to the game.
—
Gameplay resumed.
Herrscher Bronya waited patiently in the snow, until Hokuto steered her toward the glowing yellow path.
The landscape was blanketed in white, with faintly glowing blue grass scattered across the ground.
Snow-covered pines and jagged rocks lined the frozen path.
Even though the map's textures weren't top-tier, the icy atmosphere was more than convincing.
The only other living creatures in this frozen wasteland were Honkai Beasts and roaming Deadwalkers.
Hokuto ignored them all, driving straight toward the mission objective.
As he descended a steep slope…
A lone figure appeared in the distance.
A small silhouette, standing motionless in the snow.
She carried a massive cross on her back.
The moment the game registered her presence…
A red subtitle appeared on-screen.
[Is that… Theresa? Theresa, is that you?]
The screen faded to white.
—
CG Cutscene Begins.
Theresa's voice echoed through the cold.
[Damn it… I was careless. I didn't expect the Second Herrscher to have this much power.]
On-screen, Theresa knelt in the snow, her surroundings buried beneath frost-covered pines.
The center of the screen focused on her—
Her body glowing with golden light.
[I have to complete my regeneration… quickly…]
The camera zoomed in—
Theresa's face came into view.
One of her eyes was shut tight, her right hand gripping her severed arm.
From the wound, golden energy leaked out.
—
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "What?! The Headmistress is this badly injured?! That's horrible… Who did this to her?!"
Seele's concern appeared in the chat.
Hokuto thought for a second before responding.
『Hokuto:』 "Didn't she just mention the 'Second Herrscher'? The answer's right there."
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "The… Second Herrscher? I see. Okay, I understand."
—
Theresa continued murmuring.
[I have to eliminate the Second Herrscher… before Overseer Otto sends her after me…]
But before she could finish her sentence…
A new voice called out to her.
[Theresa! You're hurt!]
Theresa's eyes snapped open.
[Huh? Who are you?]
The camera angle shifted, switching to Theresa's perspective.
Kiana's face filled the screen.
Her eyes full of worry.
[What do you mean, 'who am I'?! We just separated a minute ago!]
Kiana crouched down, reaching out to touch Theresa's arm.
[I'm your niece! Kiana!]
But…
Instead of a heartfelt reunion…
Theresa's lips curled into a smirk.
[Kiana… Kiana Kaslana? Hah! Foolish Second Herrscher. You think illusions will fool me?!]
The camera zoomed out.
Theresa floated into the air, golden chains spiraling around her.
[My niece, Kiana, is only one year old.]
—
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Wait… Kiana is only one year old? What's going on? Is this… another illusion?"
Seele's confusion filled the chat.
Hokuto and Otto both sighed.
One already knew the full script.
The other was the very person who covered it up.
Both of them knew the truth.
『Your Great Inventor:』 "…Just keep watching."
『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Oh! Okay!"
—
Theresa brandished Judas' Oath.
Golden chains surrounded her, forming a protective barrier.
[You dare trick me with illusions?! Prepare to be destroyed!]
With that, the CG ended.
The game transitioned to combat mode.
Standing before Herrscher Bronya…
Was none other than the future headmistress of St. Freya Academy.
Theresa Apocalypse—fully armed and ready to fight.
End of Chapter 56