Chapter 100: Final Lesson! Honkai Impact 3rd is Too Heartwarming and Healing!
[....An animated short?]
[The second animated short is airing right now?]
[No, I'm starting to panic. I'm starting to panic, brothers!]
Normally, the release of a new animated short should be met with anticipation and joy. But under these circumstances, the audience couldn't find it in themselves to be happy!
Was this a joke?! The scene in the previous stage, where Auntie Himeko looked as if she were walking toward a tragic end... it made people expectant yet terrified, to the point where they almost couldn't bear to keep watching! What if... what if Himeko really dies in this battle?
[Believe, just believe! Family, at a time like this, all we can do is believe!]
[The best way to conquer fear is to face it! Go for it!!]
[MiHoYo is so cruel. They just have to make a good animation, but as the audience, we have to consider so much more!]
Nervousness. Worry. Anticipation. A mess of complex emotions intertwined in the hearts of the livestream viewers. Pardo was nearly holding her breath, silent as she stared at the animation on the screen. Murata Himeko herself was equally interested in the ending; she stopped joking with Su Mu and stared at the screen, wordless.
[As the elevator ascends, piercing alarms and red warning lights bathe Himeko's body in a crimson glow. She grips the God-Slayer Spear tightly and looks up toward the deck. A powerful presence is rapidly approaching.
Outside the Hyperion, the massive Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Benares, is using its wings to slice through the ship's shields. After circling in the air, it forcibly tears a turret from the deck and hurls it toward the bridge. At the critical moment, Murata Himeko secures the God-Slayer Spear in her leg armor compartment and steps out from the elevator.
Facing Benares' attack, the corner of her mouth curls up. "Heh..."
The flying Benares warily watches the bridge, which is obscured by smoke and dust. In the next instant, the turret it had thrown is kicked back like a meteor, striking Benares in the head. The blow causes the beast to lose its balance. Immediately after, a shadow appears above Benares—the powerful Judgment-class beast, despite the massive size difference, is easily kicked down onto the deck by the figure!
Himeko, wielding Surt, stands before the downed Benares, channeling violent energy into her greatsword! Infused with Honkai energy, the blade's surface glows with intense heat. With unstoppable momentum, she is about to shred the beast!
However, as Himeko swings her sword, an Imaginary Space portal abruptly expands in front of her! When she regains her senses, she finds herself inside the Imaginary Space. Within this stagnant dimension, everything seems frozen. Even the Hyperion beneath her feet remains still in the air, like a sculpture.
"...." A chilling laugh echoes from above. Himeko looks back.
The Herrscher of the Void is walking through the air with elegant, measured strides toward her. "Did you think... you could run away?" She stands with her hands behind her back, looking down at Himeko with contempt.
"Hmph, I've been waiting for you." Himeko limbers up and points her greatsword at the Herrscher!]
As the Herrscher and Himeko confront each other, the chat flashes continuously.
[Who's the one running away?]
[LMAO, did she forget the pain as soon as the wound healed?]
[She looked so pathetic earlier, is she trying to look cool again?]
[Mhm, Herrscher, let us see you act cool, then watch you fly away again!]
[Auntie Himeko! Show this nasty Herrscher the power of humanity!]
[Beat her up!]
Pardo couldn't hide her excitement, clenching her small fists to cheer for Himeko. On the other side, Senti literally jumped up: "Himeko, give that loathsome bastard Herrscher a thorough lesson! Go! GO!!" She threw several punches at the air, looking as if she wanted to crawl into the screen herself.
["Are you ready to welcome death?" Facing Himeko, the Herrscher of the Void maintains her disdainful attitude. She reaches out her right hand, and an invisible force instantly seizes Himeko, pulling her violently forward. Under the control of that force, Himeko is unable to move!
"Struggle... as much as you can." Her voice falls, and Himeko is flung away like a cannonball, slamming hard against the spatial barrier! Before Himeko can regroup, the Herrscher snaps her fingers.
In the next moment, several cubes of spatial energy imprison Himeko, rotating continuously while the Herrscher's Subspace Lances act like laser blades, cutting through the cubes and finally smashing them into the ground! Having finished, the lances return behind the Herrscher. She puts her hands behind her back and turns to leave.
"Is this all?" Her tone is full of contempt. Is the battle... already over?]
Seeing the Herrscher toy with Himeko like a doll, Pardo's face turned pale. "Even though she was heavily wounded, the Herrscher still has this much power..."
[Dammit, after coming this far, is she going to lose to the Herrscher?!]
[Spatial powers are just too broken! This Herrscher's strength is the real deal!]
[Professor Himeko, don't lose to her!]
[Professor Himeko!]
Amidst the flood of comments, the visuals in the video suddenly shifted—as if the Himeko in the animation had heard their calls.
[Just as the Herrscher of the Void turns away, a searing blade flies from behind her! It is the standard-issue blade of the Vermilion Knight—Himeko's attack! At such close range, the Herrscher has no time to dodge. She immediately tries to block with spatial energy, but the terrifying power contained in that sword threatens to pierce her defense! Left with no choice, she opens a portal to teleport the blade away.
The previously dismissive Herrscher now stares angrily in the direction the blade came from—
Footsteps. Coming from the distance. Each step is incredibly heavy. Each step sounds as if it is imbued with ten thousand tons of weight. The heavy footsteps echo through the Imaginary Space.
Murata Himeko emerges. Her Vermilion Knight armor is tattered from the previous exchange. She walks with a staggering gait, step by step, out of the crater! Due to Honkai erosion, dark veins have spread across her body, reaching nearly every corner of her skin. Undoubtedly... this represents the end of Himeko's life, the final stage of Honkai erosion.
She grips Surt, her eyes locked onto the Herrscher. "Is your attack... over? Then it's my turn. I hope you don't mind."
The intro to Nightglow, Himeko's personal theme, begins to play. The Herrscher covers her face; she can see that the Himeko before her is a dying woman, a lamp out of oil. Yet this dying creature dares to stand in her way? Ridiculous... Pitiful... LOATHSOME!!
"Hehehe... DIE!" With a cold laugh, countless spatial portals open around Himeko. Subspace Lances fire from within, surrounding her, seemingly seconds away from impaling her!
However, Himeko crouches slightly. At her call, the thrown standard blade flies back, merging with Surt as an auxiliary edge! Flames that seem meant to burn away the darkness and light the path ahead erupt from the sword. With Himeko's swing—
The massive crimson sword whips up a searing storm, incinerating all the Subspace Lances with unstoppable force! The power of the strike causes the entire space to lose its color, turning the world into a landscape of monochrome black and white!
"Kiana, when you wake up, you will find that everything has changed." Himeko's gentle inner voice rings out. "You will find that the world is no longer beautiful, and those ordinary days will never return. But do not give up. Never give up..."
Himeko's giant sword is shrouded in crimson light. After burning the lances... the energy is almost condensing into a solid blade!
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Feeling insulted, the Herrscher attacks again, pressing down with a cube of spatial energy. But in the next instant, the cube is shattered by Surt. The attack the Herrscher was so proud of is like wet paper before the giant sword! The terrifying impact sends the Herrscher reeling backward.
Though it is only for a brief moment, Himeko seizes the opening, raising Surt with both hands and charging! In her haste, the Herrscher transforms her lances into ribbons of light to block the attack! Himeko cleaves through the light, rolls through the air with her momentum, and slashes down at the Herrscher below!
The Herrscher glares hatefully at Himeko in the sky, focusing all her power into a black spiral cone, firing it at the mid-air Himeko! Himeko grips her sword with both hands and slams into the black spiral! All the Vermilion armor's thrusters ignite at maximum power. Amidst successive crimson rings of propulsion, Himeko crushes the black spiral, plunging into the pitch-black abyss!
Within the bottomless darkness, a white screen appears before Himeko's eyes. Theresa, arms folded, gives a smug smile: "Himeko!" Mei, with a gentle smile: "Himeko." Fu Hua, watching her: "Himeko." Bronya, holding a HOMU doll: "Himeko." Kiana Kaslana, her back to Himeko, turns around and gives a toothy grin: "Auntie Himeko, I'm going to be the strongest Valkyrie!"
Those people, those scenes, replay one by one before Himeko. In this moment, the bonds and memories with those precious people transform into Himeko's strength! The power of the Gem of Haste is fully unleashed, forming terrifying wings of fire behind her!
—"Never let you go, it's why I did them all."
The spiral is annihilated by the power of Flame. Propelled by the blossoming wings of fire... Himeko, carrying an extreme heat meant to incinerate all, falls toward the Herrscher like a meteor!
"Kiana! Look up! Keep moving forward! Go and turn this imperfect story into what you want it to be!!"
The Herrscher of the Void stares in horror as the figure approaches, unavoidable. She is swallowed by the blinding white light! The power unleashed upon impact sweeps through the entire Imaginary Space, threatening to shatter the dimension itself!
"Live... Kiana..."
As the light fades, the Herrscher's eyes widen. She sees Murata Himeko before her, looking like charred, withered wood... That final strike did not hit the Herrscher. Surt is embedded in the ground behind her.
"....Final Lesson...."
As Surt shatters into pieces, Himeko's life breaks apart like the sword. She slumps onto the Herrscher's shoulder.
"You...!!" The Herrscher finally reacts, pushing Himeko's body away! However, she sees the corner of Himeko's mouth curled in a faint smile—
The Herrscher suddenly realizes something, her pupils shrinking! The camera pans behind her... Stuck in her back is the God-Slayer Spear device. As the liquid is injected into her body... the power of the spear causes her agonizing pain, as if her body is being torn apart. She lets out a piercing scream!
The Honkai energy within her tears at her body. As the Herrscher's power vanishes, the Imaginary Space begins to collapse! Himeko, lying on the deck of the Hyperion within the dimension, closes her eyes as if falling into a deep sleep. As the space crumbles, her body slides down along with the fragments of dimension.
With the Imaginary Space dissolved, the light from outside shines in. But Himeko's body falls in the opposite direction of the light, plunging into the endless, bottomless abyss...]
Silence. A deathly silence.
Pardo stared blankly as Professor Himeko continued to fall on the screen, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes. The chat in the livestream vanished for several seconds—not due to a system error.
At the same time... Senti stared blankly at the darkened screen. Even as tears rolled down her face, she seemed completely unaware.
"Senti? Senti?" Fu Hua's eyes were red, but she regained her composure first. The impact of the scene was so strong she worried about her sister's mental state.
However, Senti turned blankly to Fu Hua and asked a few questions.
"Old Timer." "Mhm?" "Su Mu said this is a story about the growth of girls, right?" "Right." "He also said there might be setbacks, but it would be a fulfilling story, right?" "Indeed." "He said Honkai Impact 3rd is a healthy, sunny, and positive game, right?" "Mhm..."
Senti took a deep breath. A moment later—
"—OLD THIEF SU MU! KILLING YOU TEN THOUSAND TIMES WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH!!"
She roared so loudly it nearly blew the roof off!
END OF CHAPTER
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