He nodded toward the distant flames.
Buried beneath those ruins was his life-support chamber, which once held hundreds of bodies for his use.
Hua said directly: "…Fine, then I'll kill you once more. Since half of Schicksal couldn't finish you off, this time I'll try destroying the whole thing."
"…Wait." Otto stepped back slightly.
Hua said: "What, scared? When you shot me in the head back then, how did you not think this day would come?"
Otto said seriously: "You're not a bad person."
Hua immediately replied: "You still have the face to say that. Of course I'm not a bad person—I'm acting on heaven's behalf."
Otto crossed his arms, wearing an expression of understanding: "Then we can reason. Yes, I killed you—I admit that's my crime. When you came for revenge just now, I didn't resist—one life for one life, we're even."
"Heh heh heh heh…"
Hua laughed loudly, completely out of anger: "You… I thought you were going to say something… Even? I only killed one of your bodies, and now you're standing perfectly fine in front of me. How is that even?"
"I'll kill you until you're reduced to ashes, until you can never revive again, Otto!"
Otto said: "—Aren't you standing perfectly fine in front of me too!"
"What?"
Before Hua could react, he continued: "I killed you once, and you killed me once; I revived, and you were reborn. Isn't it because I carefully treated your body that you had the chance to be reborn?"
"If we really calculate it, not only do we have no grudge, I even saved your life, friend."
"You… I…" Hua was momentarily speechless.
Otto continued: "You've caused enough chaos at Schicksal, haven't you? Not everyone here is evil like that. People like Durandal, the Valkyries who wholeheartedly fight Honkai—they shouldn't be made to suffer sacrifice and pain, right?"
"Pah!"
Hua's face flushed red and pale in turns. She seemed to want to say something but didn't speak.
Finally, she spat at Otto's feet in contempt and turned to leave.
"…Where are you going?" Otto asked.
Hua said irritably: "None of your business."
Otto continued: "I want to give you a suggestion."
Hua turned back with disdain: "You… what good suggestion could you have?"
Otto said patiently: "Old friend, old friend… After all, we've known each other for a while. In this world, I'm one of the people who understands you best."
"I can see you're confused, aren't you?… You've just awakened and still don't know who you really are, still not adjusted to your identity and position."
"You need someone familiar with you, someone who knows and understands you; you need him to correct your direction, to find your anchor."
Hua was immediately startled: "Hey… you're not thinking of coming with me, are you?"
Otto gently shook his head: "No, no, no. I mean the past you: Before you died, you left a Fenghuang Down as a backup. I know where it is, and coincidentally, its current holder is also someone you know."
He showed a friendly smile: "It's in Kevin Kaslana's hands."
Hua offered no words.
She turned and flew straight into the sky, heading toward the coordinates Otto Apocalypse had last given her.
She flew at full speed, constantly accelerating, like an arrow slicing through the sky.
In her mind, she pondered Otto's words.
She had to admit Otto hadn't lied to her—he had completely healed her wounds.
Since suffering severe injuries five hundred years ago, her body had never been this healthy, powerful, and light.
She slightly accelerated further, tearing through the air, feeling this unique exhilaration.
"With me now, even against Kevin… No, what am I thinking? Of course I'll win!"
"Thinking carefully, I never beat him once before, but we never fought seriously either. In Honkai adaptability, that guy is stronger than me; in combat technique, I have the edge. I lost because of his Judgment of Shamash, but if I use Fenghuang Down well…"
"It's hard to say who would win."
The voice in her mind told her that her Fenghuang Down was not perfect.
Hua said irritably: "Naggy. Of course I know!"
The Fenghuang Down she was using now was one she had stolen from Otto Apocalypse during their fight—merely one of its many clones, with limited power.
She muttered to herself while hurrying on.
Soon, she arrived at the coordinates Otto had given.
Looking at the dilapidated ruins, she was puzzled: "Why would a guy like Kevin hole up in a place like this?"
She scanned with her consciousness: "Oh, quite a few people underground. Strange—the consciousnesses here are all lifeless, no emotions at all. Strong reactions only from… two, no, three, no… more now!"
The voice in her mind told her: You've been discovered!
"Crow's mouth!"
As soon as she spoke, over a dozen mechs surrounded her.
Mechs?
She couldn't control those things.
So she decided to dismantle them all!
In just a few minutes, she smashed every mech to pieces.
She looked toward the ground, as if seeing through to the massive structure deep underground. The smile slowly faded from her face.
"…We're old comrades who fought for many years, after all."
She said softly.
The voice in her mind reminded: He doesn't seem to have noticed your commotion on the surface at all.
"Hmph!" Hua snorted lightly: "I changed my mind—sneaking in is no fun. I want to fight my way in openly. He's now the head of an organization, the Lord or whatever. If I go to see him, wouldn't that make me seem inferior?"
"I want him to come see me!"
Meanwhile,
inside the base.
Jackal stared at the monitor showing a pile of scrapped mechs and the mysterious woman standing atop them.
"The patrol drones were all taken out by this guy… Hey, zoom in. Let me see who this is!"
The operator zoomed in as ordered.
"…Hua?!"
"No, didn't she die? Where did this one pop out from?"
Otto's conspiracy!
The thought flashed through Jackal's mind, and she seized it immediately.
"Otto's scheming again… We agreed on an alliance, right? This bastard's addicted to backstabbing! Connect me to Schicksal headquarters! Quick!"
At that moment, the mysterious woman on screen looked up, her gaze meeting Jackal's through the monitor.
"Hey, can you hear me? This thing should have audio, right? Hey? Hey? 123123—"
Jackal: "…"
Hua continued: "Forget it. Get ready—Schicksal's already been taken care of by me in one go. Next is your turn."
"…Huh??" Jackal was completely baffled.
And Hua directly invaded the base interior, shouting loudly: "Kevin! Come out and see me!"
She punched the ground again. Even a hundred meters underground, Jackal felt the building tremble slightly.
Looking back at the monitor: The micro-drone had crashed, the lens covered in cracks.
And Hua was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn it!"
"Alert all combat units—Level One combat readiness! I'll command personally. I'm going to slaughter her!"
"…And."
"Absolutely… do not disturb the Lord over something like this."
"All units, this is Jackal. Intruder is near Channel 7 on B2 layer! Mech Regiments Three, engage immediately—kill on sight."
"Repeat—kill on sight!"
Mechs quickly mobilized within the base.
Hua also heard the order over the broadcast.
She casually shattered a mech: "What kind of wolf is this? Quite the big mouth."
As soon as she spoke,
the broadcast sounded again: "Intruder has reached the junction of Channels 5 and 7. Regiments One and Four, surround her! Drive her to the spiral zone!"
Hua said impatiently: "So noisy. Is this guy stupid? Who broadcasts their own tactics…"
Jackal's voice came over the broadcast: "Scared yet? Surrender if you are—I'll leave you a whole corpse!"
Hua said: "So you can hear me."
Jackal said: "Every sound in this base can't escape my ears—got it? Daring to provoke World Serpent—you're dead!"
Hua snorted lightly and retorted without mercy: "A rat hiding its head but showing its tail—your lines sound pretty convincing, though."
Jackal was clearly angered: "Did you hear 'surround her'!? Get her!"
As her words fell,
over thirty mechs appeared around Hua.
Hua said helplessly: "Here we go again… Don't you ever learn? These things can't do anything to me!"
She turned into a phantom and charged at the mechs.
No mech could withstand a single attack from her.
Even she herself was helpless: "Don't you pay for building mechs? Using them as cannon fodder?"
Jackal retorted rudely: "Cut the crap! This is tactics—understand?"
Hua destroyed all the mechs and countered: "Where are your tactics now?"
"Coming right up—wait for it!" Jackal pressed a switch: "Electromagnetic net—deploy!"
The next moment,
all doors in the channel closed.
The mech wreckage vibrated with a low hum, and a sea of blue current instantly filled the floor.
"…Damn it!" Jackal was unwilling.
On the monitor, Hua floated calmly in the air.
She even mocked: "Idiot, I can fly. Did you think electricity would paralyze me?"
Jackal snorted coldly: "…You can only be smug for a few minutes."
Suddenly, scalding heat flowed in from all directions.
Jackal continued: "Ever used a microwave? Huh? Eaten roast chicken? So what if you can fly? In my electromagnetic oven, let's see where your wings can take you!!"
Sigh…
Hua floated in the air and sighed, scratching her head: "…I fell for it."
She only had one Fenghuang Down now—its power was weak. Beyond visible range, she basically couldn't control precisely, so she couldn't manipulate Jackal.
Fortunately, the temperature here wasn't too high yet, leaving enough time to think of an escape.
"You think this is the end?" With Jackal's shouting, the scattered mech wreckage began undulating like waves. Small self-destruct robots crawled out from the mechs: "Wrong—wiping out every last one is my style! Now what are you going to do!"
Hua had to admit time was indeed running short now.
She immediately searched for weak points in the channel, gathered her strength, and punched.
Boom—!
Jackal stared dumbfounded at the monitor.
The high-hardness insulated wall she prided herself on now had a massive hole.
"What kind of destructive power… Is she even human?"
A thought slowly emerged in Jackal's mind.
"It can't be… the real Hua… the Lord's… No, impossible…"
Sweat beaded on Jackal's face.
If it really was, then she absolutely could not let the Lord know…
"No hiding reserves—all the assets prepared for capturing Herrschers—bring them out… everything… today we must—"
Jackal's command was not yet issued
when interrupted by the man who suddenly appeared behind her: "No need to waste time."
She turned—World Serpent's Lord was right behind her.
"L-Lord!"
"I'm here!"
Kevin's words were not for Jackal but to inform Hua inside the base.
The two smoothly met.
Hua smiled and said: "Where did you find that subordinate? Quite interesting."
Kevin said: "She's very useful—not in combat, though."
The two walked out of the base to the surface.
Hua said speechlessly: "Oh, still the same old tune. To defeat Honkai, use everything that can be used, right?"
"…"
Kevin stopped.
Hua continued walking forward, completely unaware.
"Who are you?"
To Kevin's question, Hua answered very naturally: "I'm Hua, your old friend."
Kevin said seriously: "…Hua would never call me a friend."
"Oh."
"…"
Hua was silent for a moment, scratching her head: "Honestly, I died once before—Otto shot me in the head. I just woke up, and many things are still unclear to me."
"I remember you. We fought side by side fifty thousand years ago. So I thought… we should be friends, right?"
Kevin said: "You feel different from Hua."
Hua nodded: "Yeah, I feel that too. When I look back at old memories, I always think: What's going on? How did it turn out like this? Hmm, probably rebirth let me see many things clearly."
"Let's think of it this way, Kevin: I'm a better Hua than before."
"…" Kevin silently drew the Judgment of Shamash.
Hua said excitedly: "…You really get me. I was thinking the same."
Kevin raised the greatsword toward her: "Friend or foe—choose."
The audience had expected a legendary battle between the two.
Instead, the screen went black and directly cut to a distant desert.
Many in the fan group sent messages.
"??? What happened? The fight? Kevin and Hua's showdown?"
"No way, is the company this broke now? No budget left for fight scenes?"
"Sigh… No fight is no fight, but this Hua is really cute. I love her!"
"Yes, yes, yes. I think this Hua is so fun and hilarious. Never knew Hua had this side before."
"Definitely because last episode had too many fights, so this one ran out of budget. I'll go buy some Honkai Impact 3rd merch in a bit."
"I'll buy too. I've been looking forward to this fight—hope they make it up later."
"Just for Hua's personality, I'll buy her merch. When Hua streams, I'll send rockets."
"Love it! This Hua is way more interesting. Following now."
"…"
Not many messages were sent in the group.
Everyone was quickly drawn back into the plot.
Hua lay in the shadow cast by a massive rock, eyes closed, humming a song. She called this conserving energy.
She did need to conserve energy—hours ago, she had sparred with the strongest warrior and was at her most exhausted.
Win or loss aside, at least she had fought to her heart's content.
And she had achieved her goal.
The scene switched to after the battle with Kevin.
She asked Kevin: "Not fighting anymore?"
Kevin sheathed the Judgment of Shamash: "Mm, that's enough."
Hua was still excitedly saying: "How was it? That move—Transforming Sword into Cloud Eagle—was impressive, right? You definitely didn't expect I could dispel Shamash's flames like that."
Kevin asked: "…Transforming Sword?"
Hua explained: "Oh, it's the Hua vigor from our old fighting style back then. I gave them new names—to fit in, you know. Sigh, plenty of chances, but my opponent was you—too hard to catch openings."
Kevin asked: "You still want to fight?"
Hua quickly waved her hands in refusal: "No, no. I'm not a battle maniac. This is fine. Now you believe it's really me, right?"
"…"
Kevin made a meaningful gesture—he raised his right hand to his heart, then looked toward the distant sky, where there was nothing.
"?" Hua looked at him puzzled.
Kevin said: "…Yes, you're here."
He extended his hand. At some point, a feather floated in his palm—one of the countless clones of Fenghuang Down.
"I'm returning it to you, Hua," Kevin said softly.
The feather slowly drifted toward Hua. She grabbed it: "Ha, I hadn't even said I came for it—you guessed pretty accurately. Thanks!"
Kevin looked at her and asked: "Where are you going?"