Chapter 135: What Happened?
Something's not right!
Something is very not right!
There's a problem!
A big problem!
What on earth is going on?
"Heroes! Heroes! Heroes!"
"Praise the sun! Praise the great Supreme Guardian, Lady Bronya!"
After defeating Cocolia and sealing the culprit Stellaron, Bronya had led the group back to Belobog without a moment's rest, ready to clean up the mess left behind by the series of events. However, the moment she passed through the heavy, imposing city gates and her short boots touched the stone-paved street, Princess Bronie froze on the spot, staring in utter astonishment at the scene before her.
A massive crowd had gathered. Lights and cheers filled the air as citizens lined the streets to welcome them. They chanted "Immortal Heroes," and praised "Supreme Guardian Bronya" and the "Brave Squad from Beyond the Sky." Their reputations echoed throughout the world.
"Wh-what is going on?"
Bronya wasn't the only one lost in confusion. March 7th, Dan Heng, the other Seele, and Stelle were also baffled.
"You guys... weren't you wanted by the Silvermane Guards?"
Through the "A Loving and Harmonious Astral Express Family" group chat, Welt had a rough idea of what the young members of the team were up to on Jarilo-VI, but he didn't have all the details. Now, faced with this grand welcoming ceremony, with the city's streets empty of all but the cheering crowds, Welt's eyes widened. A strange expression on his face, he looked around at the people, his gaze sweeping past his teammates before landing on Bronya, the local.
Is this how Belobog treats its wanted criminals?
Unaware of Welt's gaze, Princess Bronie was the most bewildered of them all. Her mind was a complete blank.
What happened?
What happened?
What happened?
She couldn't... she couldn't understand it at all!
"I don't know!" said an innocent-looking March 7th, blinking her eyes as she entered a state of "uh... uh... uh..."
A citizen holding a basket enthusiastically tossed fragrant flower petals at the group. The petals landed in March 7th's hair, a beautiful contrast to her dreamy pink locks.
"Hehe~ I don't know what's going on, but it feels pretty great!" Stelle reached out and caught a whole flower, sniffed it a few times, and nodded with a blooming smile. After playing with it for a bit, as if dressing up a doll, she tucked the flower behind Caelus's ear.
Dan Heng silently watched Stelle enjoying the atmosphere, sighed, and pressed a hand to his forehead. He marveled at how carefree Stelle could be. After a moment of silence, he turned to the other gray-haired figure. "Caelus, is this the 'surprise' you were talking about?"
At his words, everyone's gaze—including Bronya, who was just about to ask a citizen what was going on—immediately shot towards Caelus.
"Maybe? But it has nothing to do with me. I didn't do it, so don't talk nonsense."
Caelus plucked the flower from behind his ear, gathered Stelle's long hair, tied it into a high ponytail, and then tucked the flower stem in like a hairpin. He was admiring his handiwork when he heard Dan Heng's question and paused. He threw up his hands and shook his head frantically in a triple denial. "But I do know who is responsible for this."
"Who?" Bronya grabbed Caelus's wrist and asked urgently.
"Bronya," Caelus said, revealing the name of the "culprit" as if solving a mystery.
"???" A row of question marks popped up above Princess Bronie's head. The others also looked completely baffled.
"Me? But I didn't do anything," Bronya retorted, her face a picture of bewilderment.
"Probably the Bronya from a parallel world," Caelus stated bluntly. That's right. Everything was done by "the Bronya from a parallel world." What did that have to do with him, the Trailblazer Caelus? Caelus used his skill: Holy Cut!
For the next act, he had to control the boundary of the relationship between "Caelus" and the "Silverwing" to a distance that was neither too far nor too close. On a side note, regarding the consciousnesses of the little bird (Raven) and the Little Duckling from the Honkai Impact 3rd world, both the Silverwing and Raven had completely turned off their "auto-battle" function the moment Stelle stepped onto the Path of Preservation. The Little Duckling was no longer inside the Silverwing's body before Sampo appeared to applaud "Miss Sparkle." After all, the Little Duckling couldn't be allowed to see the next act. Once the Silverwing joined the Express and they became more familiar, he could let the Little Duckling come over and communicate with Bronya freely.
"The Bronya from a parallel world!?"
"The me from a parallel world?" Bronya's eyes widened, her face a mask of disbelief and astonishment.
"Yes. Her situation seems to be similar to Seele's," Caelus said, controlling his expression as he continued to explain.
"Similar to Seele's situation..." Bronya and the other Seele looked at the other Seele, who was obediently following behind them like she was walking on cotton, and then they looked at each other.
"Caelus, are you saying...!?"
Thump!
The sound of a cane hitting the ground forcefully. Welt's reaction was even more dramatic than Bronya's. "Yes. That Bronya also possesses the special energy within Seele, called Honkai energy."
"I met her by chance on the fifth day after we arrived in Belobog. At the time, I thought I had run into our Bronya. It was only later that I discovered her identity."
As he spoke, Caelus put on an embarrassed expression. "I'm sorry for hiding this from everyone. It's because I promised her that I would keep her existence a secret until the crisis on this planet was over. She said she wanted to help the people of Belobog resolve the crisis."
Regarding the Silverwing's identity and how to explain her motivations, Caelus had considered many versions during his time in the Underworld. The version he was telling now was the one he had carefully selected and polished. It was all the truth, just a little vague, a little lacking, a little broad in concept, and a little misleading. The premise was that Caelus had accidentally discovered the Bronya from a parallel world. For unknown reasons, she had come to this world, and after learning about the dire situation on Jarilo-VI and the Stellaron, she wanted to help this world.
As for how that "Princess Bronie" knew about the Stellaron? Why she wanted to help this world? And what exactly did she do? Caelus's answer... Caelus didn't know! You'd have to ask the Silverwing!
To tie up all the loose ends of the entire event was not too difficult for the current Caelus, who was deep in character and whose acting skills had reached their peak. The first thing he had to do was to minimize "Caelus's" involvement in the series of events as much as possible. And in fact, that was the case. The events in the Overworld had nothing to do with him! Whatever explanation the Silverwing gave, that was the Silverwing's problem. It had nothing to do with him, Caelus.
"So, you don't actually know what she did?" Dan Heng's brow furrowed.
"I asked that Bronya if she wanted to cooperate with us to seal the Stellaron. She didn't refuse, but she didn't agree either. She said she had her own plan and didn't tell me what it was." Caelus's expression became serious, as if he were deep in thought. "But seeing the current situation, I can roughly guess some of it."
Welt's and Bronya's expressions immediately changed. One was an experienced and reliable Nameless, and the other was the heir to the Guardian with a considerable degree of political acumen. Both of them instantly realized the cause-and-effect relationship between the current situation and the actions of the "parallel-world Bronya."
"That Bronya... used the time when we took our Bronya to the Underworld to take her place, didn't she?" Dan Heng also quickly came to this conclusion, his voice heavy.
"What!?"
"What?"
March 7th and the other Seele were shocked and incredulous.
March 7th wrung her small hands together and said worriedly, "Caelus, aren't you worried that Bronya might do something bad?"
"She's a Bronya from a parallel world, after all," Caelus said, patting Bronya's shoulder.
"But even if it's a parallel world, what if the other 'me' is a bad guy?" March 7th had seen plenty of movies and TV shows about parallel worlds. In one superhero series, there were many instances of superheroes from parallel universes turning into villains.
"I talked with her a lot. I'm sure she's not a person with malicious intent. And she has proven this with her actions." Caelus pointed a finger at March 7th's delicate earlobe.
March 7th quickly understood what he meant. The deafening roar of the crowd made her expression gradually turn strange. The people and the guards were shouting in unison, their faces filled with fervent adoration, reverence, and loyalty. There was no doubt that these people loved and revered "the great Supreme Guardian, Lady Bronya!"
Simply having the identity of "Bronya" could not earn this level of recognition and respect. Everyone was calling out Bronya's name from the bottom of their hearts. What had that Bronya done to be so loved by the people and the guards?
Bronya was also pondering this question. If nothing unexpected had happened, and she had announced the truth about the Stellaron, her path to becoming the Supreme Guardian would have been fraught with difficulties, with the people's doubts and the nobles' interference. But now, the way people looked at her... Even if she hadn't gone to the Underworld with Caelus and the others, Bronya still didn't know how she could have achieved this.
"Everyone... let's go!"
Her heart was in turmoil. Bronya quickened her pace, walking towards the dilapidated but still-standing Qlipoth Fort. There was no doubt that her parallel-world self was there.
The others, except for Caelus and Seele, looked at each other, then followed closely behind Bronya. Just like the first time they were summoned by Cocolia, they walked up the long flight of stairs in front of Qlipoth Fort. But now, the stairs were covered in battle scars. Many places were shattered, and the dark red stains were dried blood. The wounded had already been sent for treatment. The guards standing guard here saw Bronya and the others and gave them a respectful military salute.
After entering the castle, some of the guards found it strange. Had the Supreme Guardian just gone out?
Creak!
The scorched main doors, damaged by the fires of war, were pushed open. It was the familiar administrative hall. The bookshelves and their collections on both sides were surprisingly intact. This was thanks to Cocolia having frozen the entire room.
"Welcome, triumphant heroes!"
A clear and pleasant voice came from the high platform. Bronya stopped and looked up. Behind the Supreme Guardian's desk, a graceful figure in a silver robe stood up and spoke with a smile.
Bronya's mouth opened slightly, and she stared blankly at the elegant and mature figure, their silver eyes meeting.
Truly, identical!
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