The Queen had been in a fairly good mood, but this stretch of the story dredged up her days in Babylon, and disgust crossed her face.
Chlorinated Kiana: Shouting about saving humanity while doing it harm behind closed doors.
Chanting that sacrificing the few will save the many.
The height of hypocrisy.
Disgusting.
Chlorinated Kiana: Are humans like that really worth saving?
“Fight for all that is beautiful in the world”?
Heh.
What a joke.
The Queen’s words left everyone silent.
Elysia and Raven had plenty of grounds to argue back, but both of them had seen humanity’s evil at its absolute worst.
Even if Elysia didn’t agree with that last line, she wouldn’t refute it either.
Until you have walked through another’s suffering, do not preach virtue to them.
Elysia lifted her head and looked at Mobius, who was carrying a plate, at that tall, willowy frame.
Gazing straight at her, Elysia said slowly, “Mobius.”
“Mm?”
“Are you still running that experiment?”
Mobius, caught off guard by the question coming out of nowhere, instinctively wanted to snap back—what experiment, and what business is it of yours.
But then she saw the sorrow and pain flooding Elysia’s face.
The words on her tongue, for some reason, slid back down her throat.
It was the first time she’d ever seen this perpetually grinning woman wear such a sad expression.
Plate in hand, face blank, she came to stand before Elysia and said flatly:
“No.
The higher-ups won’t allow it.
The project’s been put on hold.”
At that answer, the sorrow drained out of Elysia in an instant, her lovely little face blooming back into a flower-bright smile that seemed to brighten the whole room.
“Hehe, that’s wonderful~”
Seeing that radiant, sunbeam smile, Mobius said with distaste, “Bizarre.”
But Elysia paid Mobius no mind.
She snatched the plate right out of her hand, lifted the cover, and, without so much as a glance, eyes shut, declared in delight, “A meal made for me by Dr.
Mobius’s very own hands~ I simply must savor it~”
Then she took one bite, and keeled over onto Mobius’s personal seat.
…
There was actually a great deal to be inferred from Chlorinated Kiana’s words.
Theresa said nothing in reply.
She, who knew so much, felt she had no right to argue against Chlorinated Kiana.
She understood all too well what kind of man her grandfather, Otto Apocalypse, was.
Anyone in the world could speak ill of Otto.
Only she could not.
It was a large part of why, after Cecilia’s death, she had announced her departure from Schicksal HQ and traveled to the farthest reach of all, the Far East Branch, to found St.
Freya Academy, striving to raise “warriors who could cherish their own lives while fighting the Honkai.”
Unable to stop it, all she could do was run.
Watching the chat fall silent after the Queen’s words, Xiyue let out a small inward sigh.
Otto, the man behind all of this.
Honestly, even she found him hard to judge.
She’d just have to wait until later, after Otto’s death, when she would play Thus Spoke Apocalypse for the audience and see how everyone reacted.
The thought led to another: by then, the viewers in her stream room would very likely include Otto and Kallen, and probably Yae Sakura too.
Gathering herself, Xiyue carried on with the run. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Are we heading back?
Though… I’m in a wheelchair, so I’m a bit slow to move.”
“Bronya does not believe Wendy-san will hold her back.
Project Bunny, activate!”
“Is that… a robot?
Amazing, it just appeared out of nowhere.”
Bronya called Project Bunny up and had it move into position behind Wendy, then gently lifted the wheelchair-bound girl.
“Project Bunny, lift Wendy-san.
See?
Now you won’t be slow at all.”
“Eh?
I’m flying!”
Wendy spoke softly, her voice sweet, the kind that put you instantly at ease and stirred up the urge to shield her.
Kitty Snuggles: Wahhh, this onee-san’s voice is so soft and lovely!
After everything she’s been through, she’s still this gentle.
Kitty loves her so much!
Wants to Buy an Island: Who knew the ice-cold Bronya could be this thoughtful.
Definitely Not Embarrassing: …
Chlorinated Kiana: Hypocritical humans.
No Exams Thanks: What is your problem?
Why can’t you ever stand to see anyone be nice?!
Chlorinated Kiana: Pathetic.
…
Watching Raven praise Bronya, Xiyue had to admit, Bronya’s charm really was something.
Though who could ever imagine that this same Bronya had once been a notorious assassin out of Siberia?
“Um… Bronya-nee-san, thank you.”
“Also, Wendy, do you see the armor on Bronya’s legs?
In the past, Bronya’s legs were injured in an experiment too.
Bronya spent a long time in a wheelchair.
But in the end, this exoskeleton let her walk again.”
Wendy’s emotions stirred at Bronya’s words, a spark of life creeping into her voice.
“Will Wendy be able to recover one day too?
To walk in the sky, just like Bronya-nee-san?”
Bronya looked at the now-livelier Wendy.
She wanted very much to smile, but sadly she couldn’t manage one, and could only go on:
“Once we reach St.
Freya Academy and remove the Honkai energy crystal from your legs, Wendy will surely be able to walk again!”
“Mm!
Thank you, Bronya-nee-san.
Bronya-nee-san is so kind~”
Watching this exchange again, Xiyue noticed that Wendy, before her Herrscher transformation, was so much like Seele.
Just as soft-spoken, a shy little thing.
A real shame.
A girl this endearing, and in the end she never made the roster.
Xiyue shook her head and pressed on with the story.
The next part was straightforward: Bronya, seeing Wendy, was reminded of her own past, and showered her with all kinds of care and help. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
And it was during this that Wendy, from Bronya’s words, felt trust, and the hatred filling her heart began to ease.
It was because of Bronya’s faith in her that Wendy grew willing to believe in herself just once more, and wanted to follow Bronya back to St.
Freya Academy.
And much like the story, the real Wendy watching the stream, after seeing Bronya and Kiana’s care for her, felt a flicker of life return to her numb eyes, even as, in that very moment, the scientists ran their experiments on her.
Softly, she murmured in her heart, Bronya.
Kiana.
Mei.
But the story that followed soon dragged Wendy back down into despair.
As it turned out, Bronya had lied to Wendy: the Honkai crystal couldn’t be removed at all.
Bronya and Tuna then got into an argument with Himeko.
Kiana: “Then just throw the stupid crystal away!
Don’t tell me a lousy crystal matters more than a girl’s happiness!”
Himeko, who’d been through countless battles, understood what Tuna meant.
But reality wasn’t as simple as Tuna imagined.
“This is no ordinary gem.
You have to understand, the Honkai energy inside that crystal, if released, could wipe out several cities in an instant.
Are you really fine with that?”
“But…”
Kiana was about to say more, but Wendy cut her off herself.
“Kiana-san, please, say no more.
I made my peace with this long ago.
As a Valkyrie, it’s my duty to save more lives with my own.
This is… this is my duty!”
But the Wendy watching knew that those noble words from her future self were nothing but a lie.
Kitty Snuggles: Wahhh, so noble, so noble, Wendy onee-san!
Wants to Buy an Island: However wretched Schicksal may be, it’s thanks to Valkyries like Wendy that the Honkai gets held back at all.
No Exams Thanks: Once Kiana becomes Schicksal’s strongest Valkyrie, she’s definitely going to beat Otto black and blue and avenge Wendy-san!
Rotten Otto, what kind of Overseer is he, anyway?!
World’s Cutest: Every Valkyrie deserves respect, deserves to be cherished, deserves better.
But no sooner had Theresa finished than the wheelchair-bound Wendy on screen changed.
Those gentle eyes turned cold, and a teal light began to radiate from her body.
As Himeko called out the Honkai energy readings, Wendy’s voice went bitterly cold.
Head bowed, she spoke in an icy tone.
“2000 HW, is it?
That should be enough to take out the Hyperion in a single shot.”
“Wendy-san, what are you saying?”
Before Mei could finish asking, Wendy’s expression turned vicious, her eyes brimming with murderous, brutal intent, her aura swelling without pause.
“A pack of hypocrites.
I hate you.
I hate every last one of you!”
“I want nothing more than to kill you all.
Hmhmhm, heheh, hahahaha!”
The scene shifted.
Wendy rose from her wheelchair to hover in the air, her teal eyes blazing with savage light, an ahoge springing up from the top of her head, a pair of teal wings spread behind her, her bare legs wrapped in a tangle of bandages.
Arms thrown wide, she looked down upon Kiana and the other two, a manic grin on her face, her crazed, hate-soaked laughter echoing across heaven and earth.
Thank you all so much!