Then came Mei's appearance. She briefly explained the current mission to Bronya.
Defeat the Herrscher of the Void.
These words nearly crashed Bronya's mind.
The Herrscher of the Void? But Kiana is right here… So, this is the Second Honkai Eruption?
Then why are Kiana and Sister Mei here in this era?
Bronya fought alongside the two, as if returning to the beginning of the story, but this moment didn't last long.
A massive wave of Honkai Beasts attacked, and the three gradually found themselves overwhelmed.
At that moment.
Dozens of mechs descended from the sky, and in their midst floated a man.
[Old Yang?]
[Shouldn't we call him Young Yang?]
[Was Old Yang this handsome when he was younger?]
[Is this Welt Yang acting in person?]
[Probably. They likely used some special effects. Swapping faces is too easy these days.]
[True.]
— —
As the plot progressed.
Both Bronya and Seele felt this world was off, and extremely dangerous.
Mei suddenly halted. "Wait, there's a massive surge of Honkai energy at the center of the battlefield."
The camera cut, transitioning the scene.
Welt Yang hovered in the air, coldly gazing at the fallen Herrscher of the Void, his words dripping with arrogance. "The mighty Herrscher of the Void, driven to such a pathetic state by humans."
"But it doesn't matter anymore. Your power…"
A glowing core shimmered in Welt Yang's palm, and behind him appeared abilities identical to those of the Herrscher of the Void.
"Will be mine!"
…
Bronya and her group arrived at a scene of utter devastation.
Seeing this, Kiana had only one thought—run!
But it was too late.
Mechs appeared out of nowhere like they cost nothing, catching the group off guard.
Suddenly, a beam of light struck Mei.
The next moment, a new mech emerged from the smoke.
Its color, its appearance—it was practically a mech version of Mei.
[I want this.]
[How much is it? I'll take it.]
[miHoYo, do you even know how to make money? Hurry up and put this on the market!]
— —
Kiana roared in fury, while Seele collapsed to the ground in shock.
Fortunately, Bronya wasn't swayed by emotion and led the two to escape to the Babylon Lab.
Soon after.
Upon reaching the lab and finding no sign of Welt Yang, the three finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Once temporarily safe, Bronya's mind calmed.
She first tried calling for backup, but the backup was also calling for backup.
"Why? Why did the First Herrscher become humanity's enemy?"
"Why? You're still asking why? Because he's a Herrscher! His soul was consumed by Honkai long ago. That face is just a tool to deceive humans!"
Kiana shouted, nearly frantic. "He killed Mei! Mei!"
Bronya didn't respond, only thinking to herself,
"Something's wrong, very wrong. Neither Welt Yang nor Kiana seem like themselves…"
[Putting Old Yang aside, is Kiana okay?]
[She's not out of character yet. If Mei turned into a mech, you bet Kiana would drop dead right in front of us.]
[This Kiana doesn't feel like Kiana.]
— —
Bronya knew the only real thing in this world.
She went to Seele's side, finding her quietly hiding in a corner.
Seele's shoulder was injured, blood dripping down her arm one drop at a time.
Bronya pulled out a bandage. "It's okay, Seele, just a small wound. Bronya will patch you up!"
Seele barely registered the pain in her arm. "That person… she… she's dead…"
"Seele, don't think about it anymore."
Bronya tightly embraced the girl in front of her, whose body was trembling uncontrollably.
The relentless artillery fire and scattered corpses were slowly breaking her spirit.
Seele was still that timid, fragile girl who would hide in a box when scared.
But she was trying to be strong, to not worry Bronya or cause her trouble.
"Just hold on a little longer. This is the last world. Bronya will take you out of here soon.
Back to reality, to school, to the amusement park, to the beach… We promised to go see the sea together. Bronya will keep her promise to Seele."
Bronya gently patted Seele's back.
Perhaps sensing Bronya's warmth, Seele gradually stopped trembling. "Thank you, Sister Bronya. Seele's okay now."
Calmed down, Seele immediately noticed something was wrong. It was quiet—too quiet.
Bronya turned her head and saw the lab was now empty except for the two of them.
Kiana had vanished.
At that moment.
Countless mechs surrounded them.
A fierce battle was about to erupt.
But under the relentless bombardment of the mechs, Bronya felt her strength waning.
Suddenly, a familiar pain surged through her body.
She understood a pain worse than death was descending upon her.
"Seele, run!"
The world plunged into darkness.
When Bronya opened her eyes again, her body was encased in black armor.
"Bronya, what's happening?"
At her side, Welt Yang approached leisurely, as if strolling through a garden.
"Seele, where's Seele?"
"You can still think? Hmph, interesting." Welt Yang's gaze sparked with intrigue as he looked at Bronya.
"Congratulations, Valkyrie. You survived the Second Honkai Eruption. I don't know who this Seele you're talking about is, but it doesn't matter. You're the only one who survived."
"What?!"
"The Valkyries on the front lines, the guards in the rear—all of them are dead. I destroyed Schicksal."
"You killed them? You killed Seele!"
Welt Yang seemed pleased with Bronya's expression. "Your eyes are filled with shock, sorrow, and hatred—just like mine once were.
She must have been someone important to you. Good. Engrave this moment in your heart. Hatred, confusion, despair—these are the pillars of everything, the purest and most powerful force."
Bronya stared at Welt Yang in disbelief, unable to accept that he would do such a thing. "Why? Why would you do this?"
"Because it's my mission. A man named Welt Joyce entrusted it to me in 1955 with great care."
"1955? That's when Anti-Entropy was founded."
"No." A flash of sorrow mixed with hatred crossed Welt Yang's face. "That's when Anti-Entropy was destroyed."
He then recited a string of names: "Welt Joyce, Lieserl Albert Einstein, Frederica Nikola Tesla, Emma Planck, Erwin Schrödinger…"
[I know this is supposed to be sad, but seeing these names…]
[These are the most familiar strangers.]
"I remember every one of their names because remembering them is the only thing I could do.
They were killed one by one by Schicksal's Valkyries while I could only shamefully flee.
Like a terrified, weak beast."
Bronya seemed to grasp the full scope of the events.
Based on her knowledge of Einstein and Tesla, Welt Yang's actions now were completely contrary to their original intentions.
"The founders of Anti-Entropy would never have entrusted you with such a mission…"
Welt Yang let out a cold scoff. "You're right. They were gentle yet powerful people.
Even after Schicksal took everything from them, they could set aside their hatred and keep fighting for their ideals.
And so, they paid the price!"
With that, Welt Yang took off his glasses.