[Himeko]: "Kiana, make sure to take good care of her, alright?"
"Don't worry, Major Himeko," Mei replied with a nod.
The two of them proceeded according to plan.
To prevent any traps from hindering their path later, Kiana and Mei took preemptive measures under Mei's guidance, dismantling the mechanisms along the way.
Before long, they arrived at the stern of the ship.
Kiana scratched her head. "Hmm… Himeko told us to regroup at the stern and then make a concentrated breakthrough, right?"
Mei, however, felt uneasy. "But… I can't shake this vague sense of foreboding."
Kiana, ever carefree, waved it off. "Ah~ Mei, you worry too much!
With me around, what enemy could possibly stand a chance?"
"Alright!
Let's charge through in one go!"
"Kiana, watch out!"
Just as Kiana was about to launch her assault, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast she had previously driven away came soaring back!
Instinctively, Mei shielded Kiana behind her, and the two engaged the Emperor-class Honkai Beast in battle.
"Dammit, why is it so strong?!" Kiana struggled against the powerful foe, eventually collapsing to the ground in exhaustion, leaving Mei as the only one still standing.
"I can't… fall here!
At least… I have to protect Kiana—"
(Third Herrscher activity detected.
Restriction system activated.)
"Go to hell, trash!"
Mei's Herrscher persona surfaced, her face twisting into an unfamiliar coldness.
With a few flashes of her blade, the Honkai Beast was reduced to fragments.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship…
"Mei… Kiana…"
"I have to hurry!" A little girl named Bronya frantically worked to hack into the ship's systems.
[Murata Himeko]: "Kiana~ Stay alert on the battlefield!
Later, the principal and I will properly teach you how to fight!"
Watching Kiana and Mei battle the Honkai Beast on-screen, Himeko broke into a cold sweat from sheer anxiety.
She immediately summoned Kiana over, pinching her ear as she scolded her sternly.
Kiana, knowing she was in the wrong, didn't resist much.
[Kiana]: "Auntie Himeko, I know I messed up~"
[Bronya Rand]: "Huh? There's another version of me? Seriously?"
Staring at the little girl hacking away in the video, Bronya—who had just finished arguing with the Supreme Guardian on Jarilo-VI—was utterly baffled.
[Acheron]: "A Herrscher?"
[Herta]: "Fascinating. Honkai Beasts, Herrschers… This kind of systematic mechanism doesn't seem like something that could form naturally. It appears the Honkai disaster is man-made!"
With only scraps of information from the video, Herta reached this conclusion.
[Jing Yuan]: "It seems a more advanced civilization unleashed this weapon upon that world."
[Honkai Star Rail - Welt]: "Indeed. The Honkai is the creation of another civilization. But in our world, we've already overcome it."
[Tesla]: "Exactly! We will conquer the Honkai! @Welt, why the **** aren't you saying anything? How did we ******* defeat the Honkai? And how did you end up in another universe?!"
[Boothill]: "Well damn, Miss Tesla's got some fire. I like her style."
"Hey, did you notice how Mr. Yang flinched when he saw Tesla's message? What's their deal?
And apparently, Mr. Yang leads some big organization too!" March whispered excitedly to Stelle.
Stelle was equally eager to dig into Mr. Yang's past secrets—this felt almost as important as rummaging through trash bins!
Dan Heng could only sigh and facepalm, muttering something about respecting privacy.
Meanwhile, Himeko found herself intrigued by her alternate self—a warrior and a responsible teacher with such interesting students.
Smiling faintly, she took a sip of coffee.
[In the nick of time, Bronya arrived and rescued Mei, who had collapsed after using her Herrscher powers.]
After reporting the mission status to Himeko and ensuring Mei was stable, Kiana carried Mei on her back as they pressed forward with Bronya.
"Mmm… What happened? Bronya? Is the operation going smoothly? Where's Kiana? Is she hurt?" Those were Mei's first words upon waking.
[Kiana]: "Mei… You really are the best! Thank you for worrying about me! I love you the most!"
The previously dejected Kiana instantly brightened upon seeing Mei's concern for her.
[Honkai - Bronya]: "Mei-neechan really dotes on Kiana~"
Watching their interaction, Bronya couldn't help but think of her own Seele.
[Seele Vollerei]: "Bronya-neechan is so amazing! Seele finally found you!"
Drifting through the Sea of Quanta, the young girl trembled with emotion as she typed those words into the chat.
Bronya stared at Seele's message in shock, barely registering when her Houkai plushie slipped from her hands and hit the floor.
[Elysia]: "Wow♪ What a touching reunion between two beautiful sisters~ And such pure affection between two lovely maidens—truly wonderful♪"
[Kevin]: "...Elysia?"
[Elysia]: "Oh? Kevin from outside the Elysian Realm? It's been so long♪"
The memories within the Realm were also watching the video—for them, this was a rare chance to learn about the current era's developments.
Especially for a certain sharp-tongued serpent and a certain self-proclaimed "genius."
[The trio continued advancing through the ship's interior.]
In this unmanned vessel, Bronya noticed its technology bore strong traces of Anti-Entropy design.
Drawing from her experience with them, she hacked into its mechs, planning to put them to good use.
"Whoa! So cool—let me pilot it!" Kiana exclaimed upon seeing one of the mechs.
Bronya eyed her with skepticism. "No. Safe operation requires over 10,000 hours of training and mastery of electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, and aerodynamics."
Kiana blinked. "Huh? You're lying! This thing looks easier than riding a bike!"
"Kiana, don't—" Mei tried to stop her, but Kiana had already charged into enemy lines in the mech.
After wiping out several foes, Kiana smirked at Bronya. "Heh, so? Where does my piloting rank in Anti-Entropy?"
"Unranked. Probably dead last."
"But I took out so many enemies!"
"And then broke the mech and accidentally hit the self-destruct button?" Bronya deadpanned.
Upon reaching the bridge, Bronya summoned Project Bunny and began hacking the main system.
"This is too weird… No password? All control protocols are unlocked."
In the main computer, she found an email:
"Dear Kiana,
This ship—the Moonlight Throne—is finally returned to you after 14 years.
You will ascend the throne and shape a new world.
But first… you must find the 'Four Keys.'
The Thunder of Conquest.
The Flame of Pestilence.
The Storm of Longing.
The Silence of Death.
P.S.: The navigation system's password is your birthday~"
Himeko frowned. "Kiana, do you know anyone who'd send you something like this?"
Kiana scratched her head in confusion. "Nope… Not at all. I don't remember having friends rich enough to gift me a battleship."
Himeko muttered to herself, "The Thunder of Conquest… The Storm of Longing… Why does thissound familiar?"
Unable to reach a conclusion, they decided to steer the ship toward St. Freya Academy—only for Bronya's bio-chip to suddenly malfunction.
After great effort (and without harming Bronya), they managed to restrain her until she regained control.
[Theresa]: "Anti-Entropy! What are you scheming?! You even installed control programs inside Bronya?!"
Furious over her student's safety, Theresa unleashed her full authority as headmistress as she demanded answers from Anti-Entropy.
[Einstein]: "Our apologies, Miss Theresa. This was our oversight—but as for Anti-Entropy's executives… Their actions are largely beyond our control."...
< Next up: Learning about another world—stay tuned for *Tales of the Starry Sky*>