Chapter 17: Fairy, Run! It's Nothing But Pain Ahead!

Einstein and Tesla shifted their full attention back to Elysia's livestream.

The audience, too, gradually recovered from the emotional high of The Queen's Descent.

After all—

Mei had personally said that Chapter 9's main story would be even better!

...Though nobody seemed to notice the way Mei had phrased it—it had been a question, not a firm statement.

Not that anyone caught it, or if they did, they chose to ignore it.

Getting back on track,after a short break,Elysia officially dove into Chapter 9: A Journey Toward Tomorrow.

The story picked up immediately after The Queen's Descent,with Theresa leading Raiden Mei and Bronya in battle against the Herrscher of the Void.

At first, things seemed hopeful.

Theresa even had a moment where she geared up for a heroic stand—

only to get flattened immediately afterward.

Of note:maybe to encourage players to pull for the Queen,during this segment, you actually played as the Herrscher of the Void,beating down the main cast.

[miHoYo is evil, they made us beat up Theresa ourselves!][Why does my adorable world's-cutest Theresa always get wrecked?Oh, wait. I'm the one doing it this time. Nevermind, it's fine.][Based on story mechanics, an S-rank Valkyrie equals a Herrscher in power.Since the Herrscher of the Void is far above a regular Herrscher,it's no surprise Theresa couldn't win.]

"..."

"I feel a little bad about this..."Elysia muttered.

But when her energy bar filled enough to unleash the ultimate move,she still pressed the button without hesitation.

On-screen:

The Herrscher of the Void rose into the air,space ripping open behind her.

With her regal, imperious voice, she declared:

"Now begins... your judgment~☆"

Moments later, a massive bombardment rained down from the rift.

Seeing this scene, the earlier teasing barrage of chat messages suddenly shifted tone.

[It's that move! The snap + ultimate—it's exactly like the CG!][I can't believe they replicated it so perfectly... I've never seen a mobile game studio be this serious.][All hail miHoYo!]

While the chat exploded, the story continued.

The Herrscher's overwhelming power was simply unstoppable.

One by one, Theresa and the others fell.

Even the Gem of Conquest embedded within Mei, a fragment of the Herrscher of Thunder,was forcibly ripped away by the Herrscher of the Void.

And of course, as the self-styled "Herrscher of Reason,"the Queen couldn't resist talking smack the entire time.

She was practically the golden standard for flamboyant villains.

Just as hope seemed lost, Fu Hua descended to join the battle.

At this point, Chapter 9's first stage ended.

The writers clearly understood how to break players' hearts—

They always cut off the story at the worst possible moment,making it impossible for players to stop.

"I knew it,"Elysia smiled,"Hua might act a little clueless sometimes, but there's no way she's actually a bad person."

(She referred to Fu Hua affectionately as "Hua"—but the viewers were too engrossed in the story to notice.)

"Come to think of it..."

With Mei and Hua both becoming characters in Honkai Impact 3rd,it felt a little like they were living an alternate life.

It made Elysia's heart itch a little.

If she were made into a character, what would she be like?

Curious...

But unlike Mei and Hua, she wasn't a miHoYo employee,so she could only daydream.

Meanwhile, because Elysia had paused for too long,the chat was already filling with question marks.

"Elysia? What's wrong?"Mei prompted on mic.

"Ah~~ Let's continue the story~~"

Elysia shook off her wandering thoughts and refocused.

Although Fu Hua had arrived to support Theresa and the others—

The Herrscher of the Void was simply too powerful.

Even combined, Fu Hua and Theresa couldn't match her strength.

Then, shockingly—

Otto appeared.

He rescued everyone.

Considering the previous story where Otto was painted as a definitive villain—even awakening the Herrscher of the Void himself—this sudden act of kindness felt utterly suspicious.

"Otto doesn't seem like the type to do charity work.I smell a conspiracy,"Elysia commented warily.

But nothing prepared her for what came next.

With a smile, Otto said:

"Immortal Phoenix, I have not lied to you."

Bang!

Fu Hua, who had only just gained some trust from players—was shot directly in the head.

By Otto.

Elysia: ????

[DID OTTO JUST SHOOT CLASS MONITOR IN THE HEAD?!][OTTO! Come out here and show your HP bar!][Looking over the entire main story—Otto has basically never done a single good deed!Don't call him Otto anymore, call him "Dog-to"!][From my experience, villains like him don't die easily.It'll take dozens of chapters to properly kill him.][Dozens of chapters is fine.I'm not leaving until Dog-to gets smashed. I'll pop champagne on that day!][Champagne +1][Champagne +10086]

Thankfully, the perspective shifted—

To Himeko's team.

Fu Hua was shown to have survived, easing the players' collective rage a little.

As the story advanced further—

Himeko obtained a brand-new battlesuit:Vermilion Knight: Eclipse.

This was part of the newly updated playable content.

Naturally, speculation exploded:

[This new battlesuit must be insanely OP.It'll crush the Herrscher of the Void and bait players into pulling for it.][Heh. I've seen through miHoYo's tricks!][GKD! As a proud Himeko fan, I'm here for Himeko's big moment!]

And it seemed, at first, that these guesses were correct.

The previously unstoppable Herrscher of the Void—

was wounded by Himeko, wielding her new battlesuit.

They even fought on equal footing for a while.

Eventually, Kiana was driven back by Einstein using the Moonlight Throne.

Victory felt within reach.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But just when the players thought the battle was over—

A new scene began.

A somber BGM started playing.

An ominous feeling filled the air.

Himeko, holding a serum that could cure her terminal illness,reminisced silently about her years as a Valkyrie.

"We really stirred up a mess this time, huh."

Alarms blared.

The tension rose sharply.

"Well, time to get some fresh air."

She rose,striding purposefully against the flow of the evacuating crowd.

"Even though you're all still just kids,I still liked being around you.There's still a long road ahead..."

"Good luck, everyone."

The screen faded to black.

Her voice echoed one last time:

"I wish... I could have one more drink..."

And then—silence.

[FAIRY, DON'T WATCH THE NEXT CG!!]Suddenly, a flood of viewers who had already finished the story rushed into the stream.

[If this were any other streamer, I'd egg them on.But Fairy... please, listen to me. DO NOT watch the next CG!][To hell with "wholesome, uplifting, heartwarming"!!I totally bought miHoYo's lies!!]