Chapter 89: Vermilion Blade! The Approaching New Version!
If Su Mu were to see this scene, he would undoubtedly slap his thigh and shout, "Holy crap, this is just too entertaining!" He would feel the immediate urge to defect to the Masked Fools and join Sparkle and Sampo at the scene to enjoy the show firsthand.
The relationship between Otto, Kallen, and Yae Sakura was a topic many players enjoyed discussing. In his previous life, poor Madam Green Lily... or rather, Lord Green-Hat (Otto), was not only bullied by the players but also ruthlessly bullied by the official developers. As a villain, he didn't just have to meticulously plot within the game; he also had to endure endless persecution in community memes and fan works.
After Elysia was released, a certain manga panel appeared: Kiana squatting on the ground smoking, with a small green hat on her head, when Otto appears beside her. "Pink hair?" "Mhm." The two squat together and start smoking—kindred spirits in suffering. Back then, the community environment wasn't as extreme, and everyone happily joined in on the "persecute Otto" fun. Whether it was the Otto/Kallen shippers, the Sakura/Kallen shippers, or the Fu/Kiana shippers... many "CP Heads" were generating content out of love. Back then, miHoYo hadn't yet reached its later "unscrupulous" heights. ACG culture was still just a niche subculture.
But later... the ellipsis here carries far too much weight, containing the endless bitterness of Su Mu, an old-school ACG fan and veteran Captain. It was because of those various regrets that he wanted to make Honkai Impact 3rd great again in this world!!
Kallen gripped the controller once more, continuing to push the plot after her earlier disruption. The previously clashing Otto and Yae Sakura were now quiet, an awkward atmosphere hanging in the air.
[Kallen and Yae Sakura spend a period of happy daily life together. However, the good times are short-lived. The consciousness within the Black Box erodes Yae Sakura. The Honkai consciousness uses Sakura's body to manifest in the human world as a terrifying beast—the evil 'deity' Higokumaru.
Otto delivers the Oath of Judah. Kallen eventually succeeds in sealing Yae Sakura and Higokumaru together, but she is severely wounded and captured by Schicksal forces. Schicksal intends to execute Kallen. With Yae Sakura 'dead' and Schicksal's atrocities laid bare... these events cause Kallen to lose hope in living.
Otto is unwilling to see Kallen die and pleads with his father, the current High Overseer. Since the Overseer wants to seize the power of the Kaslana family, he tells Otto that if Otto and Kallen marry, Kallen's life will be spared. In prison, Otto proposes to Kallen—even if it is merely a marriage in name, Otto doesn't care; he only wants to save her life.
However, Kallen rejects Otto's proposal. She intends to use her death to show her resolve and protest Schicksal's tyranny. To rescue Kallen on the day of her execution, Otto is enticed by his sister to release High-Rank Honkai Beasts, hoping to spirit Kallen away during the chaos.
Instead, Kallen angrily slaps him and throws herself fearlessly into the battle against the Honkai Beasts. Even as the strongest Valkyrie, her body is weakened beyond repair after so many trials. Despite this, she resolutely uses her body as a shield to block a beast's attack for a little girl. She... is killed by the Honkai Beast.]
The Holy Maiden Kallen chapter ended there.
After the screen went black, Kallen, Yae Sakura, and Otto remained silent for a long time, unable to snap back to reality.
"In her final moments, Kallen still practiced the Kaslana conviction. She was, without a doubt, a true hero." Otto sighed and closed his eyes, a look of pain and self-reproach surfacing on his face. "But a hero's ending... is a hero's fate."
Seeing Kallen killed by a Honkai Beast made him feel as if a sharp sword had pierced his heart, leaving him feeling suffocated. Precisely because he understood the Otto in the game—even feeling that version of Otto might exist in a parallel world—he felt such poignant grief. To witness Kallen die before his eyes, and to know the culprit was none other than the Honkai Beasts he himself had released... To kill Kallen.
That sense of despair, regret, and agony was something Otto could barely imagine. At this moment, he finally understood why the version in the game would later become so radical and cold-blooded... if it were him, he would undoubtedly make the same choices as the in-game Otto. To resurrect Kallen, he would pay any price. Even if the resurrected Kallen hated him, he wouldn't care. He only wanted her to live. Beyond that... he asked for nothing.
Meanwhile, on major forums, the players who had finished Holy Maiden Kallen had completely exploded. Some lamented Kallen's death. Some were furious with Schicksal. Some felt pity for Otto's experiences... and then there were those who:
[Dammit! Writer, I'm going to kill you! Wasn't torturing Kallen enough?!]
[Not only is her father gone, but the Schicksal organization she trusted has strayed from its path, betraying its original faith! Even Otto has become a stranger to her. Finally, she meets Yae Sakura in Yae Village and has a moment of peace...]
[Only for Sakura to be controlled by the Honkai, forcing a tragic battle between lovers. Kallen uses all her strength to seal Sakura and Higokumaru, giving Sakura a chance to live in the future... only to be captured by Schicksal while wounded and sentenced to death...]
[And finally, she dies to protect a civilian!]
[I'm literally dead inside! Does anyone remember the launch slogan for Honkai Impact 3rd? Fight 'for all that is beautiful in the world'!]
[Others' beauty ≠ My beauty? The inequality is real!]
[So the plan is to protect others' beauty, then turn around and stab us multiple times?]
[Otto is pitiable too! It's too tragic; he could only watch helplessly as Kallen died before his eyes, unable to do a thing!]
[No wonder Otto became like that later. Anyone would go crazy seeing that...]
It had to be said: this Holy Maiden Kallen arc was a massive slap in the face to many players. Kallen, the Holy Maiden—looks good, right? Bam! She's gone! Yae Sakura, the shrine maiden—looks good? Her being cute with Kallen—looks good? Bam! Lovers-turned-enemies! And Otto? Loving but unable to have, watching his beloved die before him, having released the beasts himself... Wow, this Honkai Impact 3rd is so "fun." "Fun" my ass! I want to "love" this damn writer to death with a gunshot!
Yae Sakura's status is unknown, Kallen is dead, and Otto has gone mad. The players are dead inside. And the writer? What is the writer doing?
Writer Su Mu was currently looking at the completed animation for "Final Lesson" on his computer, wearing a mysterious smile. The writer was delivering "output."
In Pardo's livestream, after playing through the Holy Maiden Kallen arc, even Pardo felt a wave of discomfort. "This is too tragic... Brother Su Mu is simply a heartless monster!"
Kiana Kaslana suddenly seemed to realize something and slammed the table: "Wait! So that means this story isn't 'heartwarming and healing' at all? It's not 'beautiful' at all??"
Pardo looked at her as if she were a marvel: "Uh, President Kiana, you only just realized that?"
[It started back in Chapter 6...]
[Mhm, the main story started sharpening the blade for Auntie Himeko, and this Chronicle side story just straight-up stabbed us multiple times!]
[Everlasting Memory was a hit, The Forgotten followed, and this Holy Maiden Kallen arc just dropped the act entirely!]
[Honkai Impact 3rd is so fun! It's so heartwarming and healing! Hahaha!!]
"Actually, it's true," Pardo followed up. "Even though Brother Su Mu is ruthless with the 'blade,' he truly created Otto as a complex villain. A thousand people will see a thousand different Ottos... I have to say, after this chapter, many people will probably become fans of Otto."
Kiana curled her lip: "That guy is pitiable, sure, but I can't wait for him to kick the bucket." Pardo laughed: "President Kiana, liking a character and wanting them to die aren't mutually exclusive things."
After the Holy Maiden Kallen arc, the Sakura Samsara story also opened, though it took place within a Stigma Space. In the Sakura Samsara Open World, players could enter Yae Village and experience an immersive, Japanese-style world. Within this Stigma Space, players helped Yae Sakura and Kallen defeat the Honkai consciousness, allowing the two girls to eventually live a peaceful and happy life.
[Living a happy life in a Stigma Space? I'll call this the writer's final bit of tenderness!]
[Kallen is dead in reality, but here, at least she can be with the person she loves. Sigh...]
[Mhm, compared to this, the real-world Kallen is even more tragic! If the real Kallen hadn't given everything to seal the Black Box... this Stigma Space wouldn't even exist, right?]
[But come to think of it, where did this Stigma Space come from?]
[It's a powerful strength passed down through the Stigmata. Yae Sakura might become someone's Stigma in the future, but whose?]
[Maybe there will be an explanation later?]
As the story progressed, Pardo met her companion "Higokumaru" and began a unique adventure. Pardo had a lot of fun with it; Higokumaru's voice acting was lively and cute, always calling her "Big Sis." It was essentially the mascot of Yae Village.
In the later plot: Higokumaru's memory gradually returned. It turned out it was once the consciousness within the Black Box—the Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era—who had killed millions. The two found the box sealing Higokumaru's power at the top level. Higokumaru decided to give up on revenge, transforming that power into the Divine Key: Jizo Mitama, only to be controlled by it and turn back into Higokumaru (Beast form). After Sakura defeated Jizo Mitama, Higokumaru regained her sense of self and was forgiven by Sakura.
Later, Jizo Mitama was taken by Kallen, who had lost her memory. Sakura caught up and awakened Kallen's memories. Higokumaru planned to have Sakura use Jizo Mitama's power to project herself into reality, but Sakura gave up on resurrection and cast Jizo Mitama out—to St. Freya Academy. She then chose to continue living in the Stigma Space with Kallen and Higokumaru. The Sakura Samsara story ended there.
After finishing Sakura Samsara, Pardo remarked, "The Stigma Space story feels more like a supplement to the main history, showing another possibility for Kallen and Yae Sakura..."
Kiana scratched her head: "Since Kallen and Yae Sakura have a possibility of living happily together, does that mean Kallen and Otto also have a possibility of defecting from Schicksal together?"
"Well, about that, President Kiana, I don't know either," Pardo stuck out her tongue. "I don't know what Brother Su Mu has planned. But I think since he can write a story like Sakura Samsara to show another ending for Kallen and Sakura, he should be able to write a story like that for you too, right?" She added, "I'm actually looking forward to an ending where Otto leaves everything behind and leaves Schicksal with Kallen."
With the Sakura Samsara story concluded, Pardo chatted with her fans for a while before ending the stream. Inviting Kiana and Mei to stream together had yielded great results. The viewership was much higher than before, likely due to Honkai Impact 3rd expanding its reach again because of the "Queen's Descent" animated short. Overall, Pardo was very satisfied with the results.
"Good work! President Kiana, Sister Mei! It's getting late, let's go out for dinner!" The stream had gone from morning until night. Pardo offered to treat Kiana and Mei to a big meal.
"Actually, Pardo," Raiden Mei offered an idea after some careful consideration on the way to the restaurant. "Next time, you could actually invite Su Mu to the stream. I think many people would love to see him appear."
Pardo's eyes went wide: "That's right! Sister Mei, you're a genius! If I invite Brother Su Mu, wouldn't the popularity of the stream just explode? President Kiana, what do you think?"
"Eh? L-Likely... I guess..." Kiana was clearly distracted. Looking out the car window, President Kiana was plotting her next move: how to firmly tie Su Mu down so the "bad women" wouldn't spirit him away.
"Then after the next version update, let's drag Brother Su Mu into a stream!" Pardo made up her mind, planning to invite Su Mu as a special guest. "Hmm? I remember the next version update has a name, right? Right, right."
"The 'Vermilion Blade.' That should be the name."
END OF CHAPTER
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