Chapter 65: Only Now Did Hua Realize Something Was Wrong...

Chapter 65: Only Now Did Hua Realize Something Was Wrong...

With Theresa's command, the gameplay interface transitioned back to real-time action.

This stage finally allowed players to control a Valkyrie again.

However, it was still a trial character—Crimson Impulse.

As for the enemies in this stage?

For once, they weren't Honkai Beasts or Deadwalkers. Instead, they were autonomous mechanical constructs—as well as some… floating, unidentified mechs.

These mechs all shared a distinct title: Asleikr.

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Hmm? If we're judging by the usual cute girl standards… why do these enemies look so… unique?"

As soon as the Asleikr appeared on the battlefield, Elysia's pink text floated across the screen.

Clearly, she wasn't a fan of their appearance.

And instead of saying something outright negative, she chose to call them "unique"—a polite way of avoiding criticism.

After all, these Asleikr were merely experimental prototypes, reverse-engineered by Otto using Pre-Civilization technology.

Naturally, they couldn't compare to the real thing—either in aesthetics or functionality.

 『No Matter the Cost, Humanity Will Prevail Against Honkai:』 "These mechs have a lot of room for improvement."

A bright white comment drifted across the screen. Even without voice playback, the sheer presence of the sender could be felt through the text alone…

And yet, the remarks from these two Pre-Civilization Ancestors left someone feeling rather speechless.

 『Your Great Inventor:』 "Aren't your standards a little too high? Sure, these Asleikr have a simple design, but they're only the first-generation mass-production models. If we keep refining them—"

Otto was well aware of their limitations.

After all, these machines were merely early experiments—stepping stones toward a greater goal.

If, one day, Schicksal's Asleikr could be mass-produced and outclass Anti-Entropy's mechs, it would be a major breakthrough—not just for Schicksal, but for humanity as a whole.

 『No Matter the Cost, Humanity Will Prevail Against Honkai:』 "Do you really think these machines—no matter how much you refine them—could ever replace Valkyries?"

As Kevin posed his soul-piercing question, a pink comment floated by.

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Alright, alright~"

The peacekeeper of the chat had arrived—none other than the charming and adorable Elysia!

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Let's not argue, okay? These Asleikr still have so much room to grow! If we put our hearts into improving them, I'm sure they'll become much cuter in the future!"

With Elysia stepping in, Kevin naturally let the matter drop.

As for Otto… well, of course, he wouldn't bother getting into a pointless debate.

Who would've thought?

A single casual remark from Elysia managed to prevent a heated clash between Schicksal and World Serpent's leaders.

Hokuto watched this unfold and couldn't help but admire her.

Seriously… that's so Elysia.

But all things considered, Otto using Pre-Civilization tech to develop his own Schicksal mechs—only to produce something like this—wasn't surprising at all.

Honestly, Kevin and Hua were being nice just by not getting angry.

—

 [Tch, one after another—this never ends…!]

On-screen, the CG cutscene was playing, showing Himeko's Asleikr allies getting shredded by particle cannons.

 [Hah… It's finally here.]

With the threat neutralized, Himeko lifted her head.

The screen cut to a new scene, revealing the long-awaited arrival of the Hyperion.

As the camera panned, the massive warship appeared, flanked by several escort ships—each one far smaller in comparison.

 『No Matter the Cost, Humanity Will Prevail Against Honkai:』 "So this is their Hyperion? Hmm… This is much more acceptable."

As the Hyperion entered the scene, Kevin's bright white comment floated across the screen.

His evaluation of the ship was fairly positive.

Not exactly praise, but compared to his scathing disapproval of the Asleikr, this was a huge improvement.

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Wow! That ship is huge! I bet it'd make a really fun vacation home~"

Hot on Kevin's heels, Elysia's pink comment appeared.

Though… her focus seemed a little off.

A warship as a vacation villa?

Hokuto thought about it for a moment… and honestly?

If Theresa approved it, he'd totally be on board.

The idea of taking a group vacation on the Hyperion actually sounded… pretty nice.

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking.

And as for why?

Well… Chapter 9's ending would explain everything.

—

After taking down the last few enemies, a conversation scene popped up between Himeko and Tesla.

 [Looks like this is the control room! It's all yours, Tesla… Doctor?]

 [Hmph, what a bunch of antiques. Give me five minutes—no, two minutes tops!]

Even though Tesla tried to sound tough, she was clearly rushing.

Still, Himeko wasn't satisfied.

 [Can you make it faster? The ones outside aren't as patient as I am.]

 [Just hold them off! Oh, and ditch that oversized machete—you need something more suited for bug extermination!]

The screen faded to black.

When it lit up again, the player-controlled unit had changed.

Instead of Himeko, it was now a red, custom-built mech.

This thing was far superior to the clunky mass-production models from earlier.

Hokuto simply pressed the dodge button, effortlessly mowing down enemies with Gatling gun suppressive fire.

With the defensive system disabled, the mission cleared successfully.

However, before the results screen appeared, a CG cutscene started playing.

Himeko sat in the cockpit, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Her gaze was dazed as she stared at her own palm.

The screen then switched to her POV.

 [Damn it… Not now… Is time… running out?]

At that moment, Himeko's glove was stained red.

There was no doubt whose blood it was.

 『Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect:』 "Captain… no, Teacher Himeko. What's going on? Is this… a side effect of using the mech?!"

As the reality of Himeko's condition sank in, Hua's blue text appeared on screen—filled with worry.

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "I don't think so~"

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "That red-haired girl named Tesla may sound impatient, but I can tell she's actually a very caring girl~ She's probably just bad at expressing it."

Seeing Elysia's assessment, Hokuto had to admit—

She was spot on.

No, Himeko coughing up blood had nothing to do with Tesla.

In fact, even before the battle began, Himeko had already detected something wrong with her body.

And now, choosing to fight despite her condition…

Her fate had already been sealed.

That was exactly why, after confirming the mission objectives with the temporary command center,

She had intended to charge in alone.

However, Tesla refused to let her have her way, insisting on deploying mech reinforcements and going with her.

Himeko reluctantly agreed.

And just as she was about to leave the command room, Tesla smirked and threw a mocking remark her way.

 [Looks like your little suicide mission isn't happening.]

 [Hah. I have no idea what you're talking about.]

As soon as the exchange ended, a blue comment floated across the screen—appearing almost simultaneously with the dialogue.

 『Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect:』 "Himeko-sensei? Why… why does she want to die?"

A system notification immediately followed.

 『System Notification:』 [Due to your livestream content, "Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect" is feeling shocked. You have received 840 crystals!]

And the sender of that comment full of concern?

None other than Hua—who saw someone else's shadow reflected in Himeko.

—

Sometimes, Hua couldn't help but see Himeko and Captain Himiko as the same person.

Both had brilliant red hair and admirable qualities.

At times, she even wondered—was Himeko actually a clone of Himiko? Or some kind of consciousness transfer experiment?

Of course, Hua knew that wasn't possible.

After all, Captain Himiko had died as a Herrscher, and her Herrscher Core had been turned into a God Key.

So in the game—Himeko was simply Himeko.

 『Hokuto:』 "Looks like this viewer really likes Himeko, huh?"

Seeing Hua's reaction, Hokuto immediately guessed who she was thinking of.

And with that in mind, her emotions weren't surprising at all.

After all, Himiko was someone incredibly important to Hua.

There was no way she'd want Himeko to meet the same fate…

But this was a Mihoyo game.

And the way the story was progressing… was basically foreshadowing something tragic.

 『Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect:』 "I just… see the shadow of a senior in her. If possible… I truly hope Himeko can make it through this safely."

Hua's sincere wish floated across the screen.

Honestly, seeing her so concerned, Hokuto almost felt guilty about spoiling the future.

 『Hokuto:』 "…Maybe. Let's keep going."

With that, he clicked ahead and started Chapter 8-3.

—

As soon as the gameplay screen loaded, the player-controlled character changed from Himeko to Fu Hua, returning from her battle against Benares.

 [Otto, I've arrived at HQ. Awaiting instructions… No response? What's going on?]

 [Lady Fu Hua, this is Rita. The Archbishop has already entered the laboratory. He has instructed me to assist you. I am sending you my coordinates now—please rendezvous with me.]

As the transmission ended, Honkai Beasts suddenly spawned on the map.

Of course, Fu Hua wasn't about to let these creatures run wild inside Schicksal HQ—

Without hesitation, she launched into battle, tearing through the enemies with her fists.

Even in the midst of combat, she explained the sudden appearance of the Honkai Beasts.

 [Honkai Beasts here too… Kiana, was it you who summoned them?]

The moment she finished speaking, the last of the monsters were cleared.

Fu Hua then ran forward, quickly meeting up with Rita.

After a brief exchange, they mentioned Durandal leading the Valkyries in a defensive operation against the invading Honkai forces.

Rita then conveyed Otto's orders—their mission was to calm down Theresa's faction, which had seized the air terminal.

 [Understood. But I have one condition—you are not to harm them.]

After brief negotiations, the stage ended.

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Hmm~ Fu Hua really isn't very honest, is she? If she's so worried about them, she could just say so~"

As soon as the cutscene finished, Elysia's pink comment floated by.

Clearly, she had a soft spot for Fu Hua, especially since this version of her was so similar to the one she knew.

After all, they were both composed, dependable, and undeniably charming beauties.

Hokuto, on the other hand, suddenly found himself curious—

What would Elysia's reaction be when she finally saw the scene where Otto says, "Immortal Phoenix, I did not lie."?

—

As soon as Chapter 8-5 began, a conversation screen appeared between Himeko and Tesla.

 [We're about to enter Schicksal's defensive perimeter. Do you have a battle plan, Dr. Tesla?]

On-screen, Tesla's expression was stiff, as if she were silently asking:

"The hell are you looking at?"

And her tone?

Yeah, she definitely sounded like she was picking a fight.

 [A battle plan? I think we should just give Otto a direct call, have him shut down all of Schicksal's Honkai reactors, roll out a red carpet to welcome us into the lab, and pop open a few bottles of champagne for celebration. What do you think?]

After Tesla's sarcastic rant, Himeko didn't say a single word.

Even her expression turned dead serious.

 [Hmph. What other plan do you expect? Smash everything in sight until we reach our goal.]

 [Hah. You know… I actually kind of like that idea.]

Himeko closed her eyes, sighing helplessly.

 『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "…That's a pretty straightforward plan."

A blue comment floated by—Seele's reaction was clearly one of exasperation.

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "It really is! Ah~ This twin-tailed girl named Tesla reminds me of a friend of mine. Though… he always wears a mask. I can't help but wonder—does he have the face of a beautiful girl underneath?"

Right after Seele's comment, Elysia's pink text followed.

 "Pfft!"

Hokuto nearly burst out laughing.

After cross-referencing all the hints Elysia had dropped, he was certain she was talking about Thousand Calamities.

As for the idea that he might have the face of a cute girl under that mask?

That was just way too vivid of an image.

Only Elysia could come up with something like that.

—

Himeko and Tesla continued their mission, soon reaching the terminal control panel.

Before hacking in, they inevitably got into another conversation.

 [Do you always talk this aggressively?]

 [Not always. I just can't stand idiots like you. The type who knows they don't have much time left, so they rush to take the most dangerous missions—thinking they can sacrifice themselves to pave the way for their comrades. People like you are way too easy to read.]

 [So… you followed me just to say that?]

 [Don't flatter yourself. I once knew someone even dumber than you. People like you just piss me off.]

 […I see. Still, thank you, Tesla.]

 『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Hmm~ So much like her. Just as bad at being honest."

After Tesla's tsundere moment, Elysia's pink text once again appeared on screen.

It was obvious—she had a soft spot for these types of characters.

Because she could see right through their harsh words to the concern hidden underneath.

With the conversation finished, Hokuto continued the mission, quickly eliminating the remaining enemies.

Soon, the mission completion screen appeared.

After clicking to proceed, the final cutscene of the stage began playing.

Tesla raised her iron fists, grinning smugly as she stood in front of a pile of wrecked mechs.

 [A bunch of scrap metal. Calling them mechs is an insult to Titans.]

Before she could keep gloating, a long, drawn-out "Oh~" echoed through the speakers.

The camera panned upward.

A pair of elegantly poised, black-stockinged legs stepped into view.

 [So this is Anti-Entropy's latest mech? Hmm… Looks like cleaning this up will be a little troublesome.]

A massive explosion followed.

And then—

The calm yet authoritative voice of a maid.

 [This is the end, Major.]

The screen cut to Himeko's perspective.

Standing directly in front of her—

Fu Hua.

 [Please surrender.]

—End of Chapter 65—