After that little episode in the Sea of Quanta, during the time Lunelle was unconscious, a brief change occurred in the [Special Relationships] column of her status panel—a tiny, fleeting shift.
In the historical records accessible only to the Simulator Spirit, this "minor change" was logged as follows:
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[Special Relationships Historical Change Log (Host Currently Unauthorized to View)]:
[In the Sea of Quanta, a certain entity who confirmed your identity suddenly received a "gift" from you.]
[This existence was immensely pleased with your gift, even to the point of crazily wishing to find you immediately and do something to you!!!]
[Due to certain powerful constraints, this being is temporarily unable to establish a strong enough connection with you to manifest in the real world.]
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But then, Lunelle wasn't one to check her status panel every day.
So as time passed, the description of this accidentally altered special relationship quietly returned to "normal," as if nothing had ever happened...
Right after Lunelle was forbidden by the simulator from actively seeking out story beauties for flirty escapades during simulations, back in the principal's office at St. Freya Academy, Murata Himeko and Principal Theresa were, as per the original plot, engaged in their usual familiar dialogue.
However, since they'd picked up an extra adorable little Seele in Nagazora City this time, and some bizarre incidents had occurred during the battle with the Herrscher, the plot here had clearly diverged from the original course.
After the classic exchange where Theresa scolded Himeko for being reckless, and Himeko teased Theresa right back about her mini stature, Himeko placed a portable data projector—still warm from being tucked away in an indescribable area—onto the desk that nearly matched her own height.
"Now then, Major, report on what exactly happened that night three days ago," said the world's number one cutest—and seriously height-challenged—Theresa.
Theresa stood on tiptoe with some difficulty while trying her best to maintain a stern demeanor as she questioned Himeko, who had personally taken part in the battle against the Third Herrscher.
"Principal, although we were victorious in the operation, the process was... rather abstract, to say the least," Himeko began, then proceeded to recount the details of that night's Herrscher battle to Theresa.
Three days ago in Nagazora City, the Herrscher of Thunder had awakened and instantly slain a certain overeager Templar-class Honkai Beast.
But by this point, the story had already veered sharply from the original plot.
In the original timeline, Mei's gentle persona broke down after Kiana took a hit for her, allowing the Herrscher persona to temporarily take over.
This time, however, Mei's gentle side barely had a chance to react before the furious and impatient Herrscher persona forcefully shoved her aside!
Moreover, when the Herrscher of Thunder awakened this time, Kiana wasn't critically injured.
And from the Herrscher's frenzied behavior, it was clear—though no one knew why—that compared to her usual love-hate dynamic with Kiana, she now seemed far more infatuated with Seele, who was currently "dead."
Thus, there was no scene of the Herrscher of Thunder cradling a severely wounded Kiana while openly groping her chest and delivering the classic line, "The only one who can kill you is me."
The Hyperion, ordered to retrieve the Herrscher, located her via the massive Honkai Energy surge, just as in the original plot, and rushed to the scene.
It then immediately engaged the Herrscher of Thunder, who was in an exceptionally foul mood after "losing her beloved."
Under the Herrscher's venting, relentless assault, the Hyperion fared even worse than in the original timeline, where it nearly fell after a single hit.
As the Hyperion's current captain, Himeko had no choice but to don the Scarlet Fusion Battlesuit to face the Herrscher head-on.
But since the Herrscher wasn't holding anyone in her arms this time, there was no chance for a plot twist where Kiana, cradled by the Herrscher, suddenly powers up and physically tears off her wings.
Just as the battle reached the point where Himeko, even at full power, was about to be overwhelmed, Kiana suddenly stepped forward once more!
However, Kiana's Herrscher of the Void powers weren't fully charged yet, and she hadn't even encountered Otto at this point.
There was no possibility of her abruptly switching from "White Comet" to "Moonbeam" to force an overpowered confrontation like in the early manga.
Heck, Kiana wasn't even "White Comet" yet!
So when Kiana stepped in this time, she didn't follow the original script by flying up to the Herrscher and ripping off her wings in a plot-device move.
Instead, Kiana noticed something: the adorable Lunelle, lying in a pool of her own blood, with such a horrific amount of blood loss, was somehow still alive!
Although Lunelle was on the verge of death, and with her newly awakened talent, she should have been fairly resilient, the Herrscher of Thunder simply didn't know how to hold back.
The epicenter of the battle was practically shaking the earth in every sense.
So even though Lunelle might have survived if left alone, under the terrifying shockwaves of the Herrscher's battle, she genuinely seemed on the verge of breathing her last.
Feeling utterly helpless and that she "couldn't do anything," Kiana had no choice but to step up and try to stop the two from continuing to fight.
As for her method of intervention... Recalling the scene now, Himeko felt it was almost childish, yet surprisingly effective!
To vividly picture it, imagine that meme of two men fighting in the rain, but with the Herrscher of Thunder's and Himeko's faces photoshopped onto them.
At the time, Kiana was like the bystander girl trying to break up the fight, except she was holding the near-death Lunelle in her arms, shouting from the edge of the battlefield:
"Stop it! You two, stop! Don't fight anymore, just stop!"
At first, neither the Herrscher of Thunder nor Himeko, both fully engaged in combat, paid her any heed.
But just as the Herrscher seemed about to win the energy clash, "If you keep fighting, Seele really will die!"
Kiana's sudden, desperate cry in that critical moment struck a chord with the nearly blood-crazed Herrscher of Thunder.
"What? Seele's still alive?!"
Shaken to her core by Kiana's words, the Herrscher of Thunder broke down on the spot, right in the middle of their energy clash.
And as anyone could imagine, when one side suddenly pulls back mid-clash, the consequences are... dramatic.
To this day, Murata Himeko still finds it hard to believe she somehow won that energy clash, having felt certain she was about to meet her end back then.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.