Cocolia spent three days secretly shifting a portion of the forces under her command to Nagazora. Her goal was to ensure she could defeat and recover Raiden Mei once the girl awakened as a Herrscher.
Although Cocolia had more troops at her disposal, she could only go this far for the time being to avoid attracting the attention of Nagazora's management and to bypass the intelligence network of St. Freya Academy.
Mei was destined not to become a true Herrscher in such a short amount of time, so there was no need to overrate her power. It would be enough to simply conclude the operation before St. Freya Academy arrived.
To prevent St. Freya Academy which had already taken notice of Nagazora due to a previous unexpected minor Honkai event from taking further action or directly discovering Mei's existence, Cocolia began artificially increasing the Honkai energy concentration in the suburbs of Nagazora.
Since an outbreak had already occurred once, a spike in Honkai energy at a nearby location shortly after wouldn't seem too far-fetched.
Cocolia felt her plan killed several birds with one stone. Not only could she use the Honkai to accelerate Mei's awakening process, but she could also ensure St. Freya Academy wouldn't suspect her. Furthermore, a Honkai outbreak in the suburbs of Nagazora wouldn't jeopardize the lives of the citizens. Even if everything came to light in the future, she would at least be able to face Bronya.
That was how it was supposed to be.
But things changed far too quickly.
Three days. In just three days, the Honkai outbreak which in Cocolia's original plan was supposed to be limited to ten thousand square kilometers in the suburbs of Nagazora and not exceed 50 HW had exploded tenfold. It reached 500 HW, and its range of influence had completely blanketed Nagazora.
Had St. Freya Academy not previously installed Honkai energy concentration control devices within Nagazora, this outbreak might have been even more sudden and violent.
Even so, Nagazora had no time to mount a proper defense. Beyond arranging a massive number of flights, trains, and various other transport methods, the city had no strength left to organize search and rescue teams.
Many of the elderly and disabled who couldn't move easily were eroded by the Honkai and turned into Zombies. Meanwhile, Nagazora's defense forces barely managed to establish a line on the city's outskirts to block the Honkai Beasts attacking from the suburbs. There was no one left to manage the interior of the city.
In this disaster, nearly a hundred thousand people turned into Zombies because they couldn't escape in time. Compared to this massive outbreak that had reached 500 HW and was still rising, and compared to Nagazora's resident population of millions, this casualty count was considered relatively small.
In future records, perhaps this incident would be viewed as a successful case study of humanity predicting a Honkai outbreak early. Perhaps it would become a shot in the arm for humanity's fight against the Honkai. But for now, Nagazora held nothing but ruins and destruction.
The Honkai was ultimately a disaster meant to destroy humanity, not a tool for humans to wield. When the rough statistical reports of this disaster were placed on her desk, looking at the casualties and economic losses, Cocolia was speechless.
She felt only a sense of powerlessness.
Back then, watching that child from the orphanage vanish into the Sea of Quanta, and watching Bronya lose her legs and her emotions in the attempt to find her, Cocolia had felt this same powerlessness.
She had sworn never to let the children get hurt again.
Now, the children were indeed unhurt. Bronya, who had an extremely high adaptability to Honkai energy, wouldn't turn into a Zombie because of a 500 HW outbreak. With Project Bunny 19-C at her side, she should be able to guarantee her own safety.
The dead and injured were those hundred thousand elderly and weak.
She had become an utter sinner.
Cocolia let out a pale smile and gradually clenched her fists.
Since they wanted to fight the Honkai, sacrifice was inevitable. Compared to those elderly and weak who didn't have much life left anyway, it was enough that her children remained safe.
...
"Get out of the way! If you're already dead, then stop blocking the road!"
Kiana fired continuously with her Artemis' Guardian pistols, gunning down the Zombies that were swarming like the undead. Having fought the Honkai with her father since childhood, she wasn't about to hesitate when facing Zombies. As she ran through the streets of Nagazora with Raiden Mei, she couldn't help but speak out in irritation.
"Where on earth did that guy Hua Yi run off to? Why can't we contact him? He couldn't have turned into a Zombie, could he?"
Kiana's words made Mei's heart hammer against her ribs. Then, remembering how Hua Yi looked when he destroyed that giant Honkai Beast, the girl calmed down slightly.
"He won't. He's very strong. We probably can't contact him because the cell towers nearby are destroyed, or maybe the Honkai energy is interfering with the electromagnetic signals. Let's just find a safe place first."
Raiden Mei could hear Kiana's ragged, heavy breathing. In truth, she was exhausted herself. Kiana at least had two powerful pistols, so killing Zombies wasn't too grueling for her. But Mei could only rely on her wooden sword. Every strike required her to exert almost all her strength, and she felt quite drained.
Hearing Mei's words, Kiana could only nod despite her worry for Hua Yi. Together, they began searching for a relatively safe hiding spot.
If they kept pushing themselves, they might get injured before they even found Hua Yi. That would just turn the situation into one where Hua Yi had to find a way to rescue both her and Raiden Mei.
Kiana and Raiden Mei could deal with Zombies, but they couldn't face a large Honkai Beast head-on. Hiding and resting was the better choice for now.
Ideally, they needed a high place. Cell signals might be better there, and they might finally be able to reach Hua Yi.
That guy who talked so big back then... nothing better have happened to him.
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