Chapter 98: Vermilion Knight: Eclipse, A Stunning Debut!
[No way...]
[Auntie Himeko, faced with the choice between saving Kiana and her own life, chose the former...]
[She's choosing to give up her life??]
Himeko's decision caused the entire livestream audience to explode collectively. They never imagined that the serum Himeko had finally obtained for her treatment was the exact same material needed to create the God-Slayer Spear to defeat the Herrscher and save Kiana. One vial of serum, two lives... Himeko made her choice, granting the hope of survival to her student. This wasn't even a Trolley Problem, because the one making the choice was Himeko herself, standing on one of the tracks.
[Wait, it's not necessarily over. Maybe there's another vial?]
[Right! Since Fu Hua gave Himeko the serum, maybe she has a way to get more?]
[Dr. Tesla is a genius, maybe she can synthesize it?]
[Exactly, don't hand Himeko a death sentence so easily! Dammit!]
Although the audience sensed the plot was taking an ominous turn, many still clung to a glimmer of hope. After all, what if there really was more serum? Furthermore, Himeko was a main character, a vital figure in the core cast... Would she really die here? No, that can't be right! It shouldn't be!
Clearly, Himeko's performance across these two chapters had been exceptionally brilliant. Especially when facing Fu Hua, she hadn't forgotten to mentor her student.
["You don't understand the meaning of 'sacrifice is inevitable'."]
["Fu Hua, what is truly terrifying isn't how many lives this world takes."]
["It's how many people become accustomed to the loss of those lives."]
Those three lines had firmly established her image as a true Teacher. Now, seeing Himeko hand over the serum without a second thought... many players realized that they had, unconsciously, fallen in love with her character.
"Choosing to give up her life to save her student, huh... Hmph, Su Mu, you brat, you really know how to flatter an old lady." This part of the story brought a smile to Murata Himeko's face as she looked at Su Mu. "Am I really that grand in your heart?"
Su Mu shrugged: "The Himeko in the game is certainly grand... As for you, Himeko Big Sister, well."
Himeko covered her face, pretending to be heartbroken: "Waaaah! You heartless brat! After all the ways your Big Sister has been good to you! You ungrateful jerk!"
"Oh..." Pardo Felis looked between Su Mu and Himeko, her gaze turning suspicious. "Hmm... I smell tea. I feel like the relationship between Himeko and Brother Su Mu isn't simple..." She scrutinized them with doubt. I have to tell Sister Ellie about this when I get back; our intel needs updating. Pardo made a mental note.
The interlude didn't last long, and Pardo soon returned to the stream. In the game, Tesla also understood the weight of Himeko's choice. Using the excuse of "not wanting to be disturbed," she sent Himeko down to explore further. After Himeko left, Tesla made an unexpected decision. Because the material was so precious and there was only one sample, she only had one chance. Tesla unhesitatingly injected her own arm with a Honkai solvent, using her own body as a test subject!
Her arm began to show signs of turning into a zombie (Deadweight)! Fortunately, Tesla managed to create the God-Slayer Spear without further incident. But her move gave the players a massive fright!
[Tesla is way too brave! Using herself as a lab rat!]
[Damn, Dr. Tesla is putting her life on the line too!]
[If something went wrong, she could have died or turned into a Deadweight!]
[Too risky, but thank god it worked...]
Shocked as they were, the players felt even more respect and emotion. Yes. To overcome this crisis, both Himeko and Tesla were gambling their lives. Even Anti-Entropy, to stop the Honkai, had sacrificed 70% of its mechs in this battle. This loss alone would likely bankrupt them. But knowing the possibility, Einstein and Tesla pushed through all opposition and deployed their elite forces... That courage and determination to stop the Honkai were deeply admirable.
[It's getting better, I can only say it's getting better. Now we have the God-Slayer Spear...]
[This way, there's a way to beat the Second Herrscher!]
[Next, we just need to fix Himeko's health!]
[If we can handle the most difficult Herrscher, there must be a way to heal Himeko!]
[I told you, God Su wouldn't write Himeko to death. He said it's a heartwarming and healing game. There might be setbacks, but it'll be a happy ending!]
Su Mu wasn't actually lying. But the problem was, the players didn't know that this battle against the Herrscher of the Void was merely the "beginning" of the true "setbacks"...
As the plot continued, guided by Fu Hua, Himeko reached the lowest level of the lab. She encountered Schicksal defense mechs, and after a fierce battle, her battered body dragged itself into the final chamber. It looked like a solemn cathedral. It housed Schicksal's Valkyrie armors, with each rack listing names, models, and specs. There were even strange armors like "Moon Rabbit."
But those weren't the focus. Fu Hua told Himeko to look at the most prominent central position in the hall: a vivid red Valkyrie armor. Fu Hua revealed Otto's deep secret—the weapon designed for a direct confrontation with a Herrscher:
The God-Slayer Armor Prototype—Vermilion Knight: Eclipse.
It was not a product of this era, but a legacy of the Previous Era. Schicksal had developed modern Valkyrie armors based on it. But Otto wasn't satisfied; he linked the Gem of Haste to this armor, creating a weapon that could fully replicate the power of the Herrscher of Flame. The final means to oppose a Herrscher.
However, this armor was not a weapon that could be used without a price. While the Gem of Haste granted terrifying destructive power, it would also ravage the user's body and mind, continuously eroding their consciousness. Yet Himeko chose to don it without a single second of hesitation.
After granting access, Fu Hua told Himeko she would do her best to prevent the Gem's erosion. But whether she could master that power depended entirely on Himeko herself.
[Himeko stepped into the armor pod. Light bathed her body.]
[—The world in her eyes gradually turned white.]
[—Like the dawn before sunrise: holy, yet ethereal.]
As Himeko began the equipping process, Pardo suddenly found herself controlling Himeko in a mysterious space. All game sounds were replaced by a sorrowful background track. Himeko's will to live manifested as phantoms of her past. They appeared before her, urging her:
[—Stop here, you've done your best.]
[—You are only a mortal; you've reached your limit.]
[—That girl was born to be a Herrscher.]
[—No matter how hard you try, you cannot change her fate.]
They crowded around Himeko, telling her to give up and not sacrifice her life. These phantoms were Himeko in her various armor forms!
[—You have your own life, a future!]
[—You fool! Don't throw everything away here for nothing!]
The phantoms of survival continued to obstruct her, but Himeko resolutely chose to cut them all down. The path to the deepest level opened.
[—Stop! Stop now!]
[—You are seeking your own destruction! You will kill us!]
At the very core stood Himeko's [Blood Rose]form. Her name there was [Flame of Haste].
["Noisy... are you done talking?"]Facing the echoes of survival in her heart, Himeko faced it directly and answered. ["I know what I'm doing. If it were them, they would make the same choice."]
Around Himeko, the figures of her companions appeared to help her fight the Flame of Haste: Theresa, Mei, Bronya, and... Kiana.
["Since there are things only I can do, I will do them."]
["They are waiting for me..."]
["Our journey... will not end here!"]
With the power of [Fusion Armor: Crimson]erupting, Murata Himeko struck down the Flame of Haste. At that moment, it signified that Himeko, with a mortal body, had faced death and mastered the power of the Gem of Haste. Once Himeko obtained the Vermilion power, Fu Hua finally bid her farewell within the light, until she vanished.
The battle between Himeko and her survival phantoms moved the audience deeply. Himeko didn't want to die. She craved life, craved continuity; that was why those phantoms were born. A hero isn't someone who lacks fear or doesn't dread death. A hero is someone who can look fear in the eye and overcome it. Survival is a human instinct. But Himeko, through her will and resolve, transcended that instinct! More important than her life was a task she had to complete!
["Thank you, Fu Hua."]
[Inside the empty hall, the sound of Murata Himeko's footsteps echoed. Now she had become the one clad in crimson armor, wielding the Godslayer blade... A mortal challenging a God—Vermilion Knight: Eclipse!]
On her way out of the lab, Himeko encountered one last obstacle. However, the Himeko possessing the Vermilion Knight's power swept through the mechs with unstoppable force!
[The giant machine collapsed with a roar. Himeko thrust her greatsword into the ground and let out a long breath.]
[—Her heart was boiling.]
[—Her body had never felt so light.]
[—She felt no pain from her wounds.]
[—Power seemed to surge from within her.]
["Phew..."]
["Everyone, wait for me."]
["...I'm coming back."]
The battle between the Vermilion Knight and the mechs set the audience's blood on fire.
[Too cool...]
[So this is Himeko's new power, Vermilion Knight: Eclipse!]
[The voice lines are so impactful!]
['Burn to ashes! BURN TO ASHES!']
[Auntie Himeko's combat lines are just too stylish!!]
The audience watched as Pardo controlled Himeko, incinerating the mechs with brilliant attacks.
"You really put a lot of effort into this..." Murata Himeko said with surprise. She knew this armor was the highlight of the version, but she didn't expect it to be this magnificent. The Vermilion armor was more than just a powerful, flashy gameplay unit. Its greater significance was the will of the hero Murata Himeko that it carried. It was not just a Valkyrie battlesuit or a card to be pulled from a gacha.
"I don't know if everyone noticed a detail," Pardo said, taking a deep breath and looking at the camera after defeating the mechs. "All of Himeko's previous Valkyrie armors had their evasion key set to dash forward by default. But this time, the Vermilion Knight evades backward."
[Now that Pardo mentions it, I think she's right!]
[True! All her previous armors dashed forward; why change Vermilion Knight to backward?]
[God Su, give us the answer!]
Facing the chat's questions, Su Mu replied: "Himeko's previous armors indeed rolled forward. We designed that as a small Easter egg to show Himeko's image as a brave Valkyrie always ready to charge the front lines. As for the Vermilion Knight..."
"The default evasion is backward, but if you attack immediately after evading, she will chase forward at an extremely high speed..."
As for who she was chasing, the answer went without saying. Su Mu remembered that in his previous life, many players noticed this detail. Whether it was intentional or accidental by the original devs didn't matter. In this life, Su Mu made it intentional. The Vermilion Knight, as Himeko's strongest and final armor, held extraordinary meaning for all Captains.
Himeko's character song: Nightglow. The phenomenon where the night sky away from the sun is not completely dark even without starlight. Back then, the top comment on the instrumental version of Nightglow on NetEase Cloud Music was: "Except for Vermilion, all Himeko forms default to a forward dodge. Battle Storm, Crimson, and Arctic roll forward; Triumph and Blood Rose spin forward beautifully. Ultimately, Vermilion dodges back, simply because she cannot bear to face Kiana with a wounded heart." That comment stayed with Su Mu to this day.
[With this power, Himeko will definitely beat the Herrscher of the Void!]
[Exactly! Herrscher of the Void, get ready for some 'Auntie love'!]
[Go, Auntie Himeko, GO!!]
The power of the Vermilion Knight gave the audience hope. They believed Himeko could defeat the Herrscher and save Kiana.
[Pardo, hurry! I can't wait to see Himeko crush the Queen!]
[FASTER!]
Amidst the urging, Pardo didn't waste any more time and clicked on the next stage!
END OF CHAPTER
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