Honkai Impact: Become Their Hero

Chapter 510: Elysia’s Journey of Revenge

Inside the experimental building of St. Freya Academy.

"Tsk! Failed again? As expected, it’s not that simple. Fusing quantum power and imaginary energy into one—at present, only that little white mouse can manage it."

Mobius folded her arms as she stared at the enormous monster corpse before her. It was a fusion of Nihilius and Tonatiuh: Sunshade—two creatures that represented the pinnacle of imaginary and quantum existence respectively.

Recently, Mobius had been conducting experiments in this direction. Elias had given her a portion of his own Imaginary Constructs and Quantum Shadows, allowing this mad scientist to research them however she pleased.

"Go calculate this set of data. Tsk, the survival time was only thirty seconds this round. Looks like we need to adjust the ratio again."

"Y-Yes, Dr. Mobius!"

The Jackal wearing an Anubis mask immediately busied herself. She had now become another one of Snake’s exploited laborers.

However, toward this legendary Flame-Chaser of Fire Moth who bore the Signet of Infinity, who had once imparted knowledge of the Previous Era to her within Elysian Realm, and who stood above her as a mad biologist—

The Jackal’s attitude toward Mobius was practically that of a fan toward her idol.

(As expected of the legendary Dr. Mobius! She can even experiment on imaginary- and quantum-side organisms. Compared to her, my Honkai Beast experiments are basically child’s play! I have to perform well. I can’t disappoint the Doctor!)

The Jackal immediately worked with tireless diligence, though whether such enthusiasm would survive a full month of nonstop overtime remained to be seen.

"Hehe~ Mobius, lend me some materials, will you? This Nihilius clock-hand greatsword looks pretty good. Perfect for installing on my new mech."

Vill-V suddenly slipped over from the other side of the laboratory. Holding a soulium chainsaw cutter, she began slicing into the arm of Nihilius.

On her side of the lab, a gigantic mech had already taken shape. Its black-and-gold color scheme exuded cold dominance, and a massive cannon extended from its chest.

Even without activation, it inspired fear.

Because it was a planet-piercing superweapon.

"You’ve got some nerve. You actually remodeled the star-destroying battleship Elias gave you into a mech? Quite the sacrifice."

"Mm-hmm~ Elias gave me that warship precisely so I could dismantle and analyze its structure, then turn it into something for my own use. Tsk tsk~ These days have been so fulfilling."

Vill-V wiped black machine oil from her face, utterly satisfied with her new—and greatest—masterpiece.

"Besides, that star-destroyer’s practicality was too low. Not only did it consume absurd amounts of energy, it didn’t even have a defensive system. You could say it had no purpose other than destroying planets. You couldn’t even take it out for fun."

"But now it’s different! After I converted it into a godslayer mech, even though the world-ending cannon can now only punch through something the size of the moon, its offensive capability, defense, mobility, and overall functionality have all been massively enhanced."

"Once it’s finished, I’ll send it to slaughter a few Judgment-class Honkai Beasts and gather some combat data. Ah~ what should I name it? Such a delightful problem."

Vill-V’s eyes sparkled brilliantly—only for Mobius to kick her straight back the next second.

"Hmph~ Keep your mechanical cult away from me. Our beliefs differ. And I am absolutely not lending you any materials, Vill-V, so stop bothering me."

"Why so stingy, Mobius?"

"Hehe, Vill-V, don’t overthink it. Mobius is just envious and jealous of you."

"MEI! Shut your mouth!"

The two simultaneously turned to look at the third genius present. At that moment, MEI was busy working in front of a suit of armor.

"Oh? Mobius is jealous of me?" Vill-V tilted her head in surprise.

"Of course. Back in the Previous Era, didn’t you receive unlimited resource support thanks to Elias’ sponsorship? In contrast, Mobius had it pretty miserable back then. She had to stretch every single coin as if splitting it in half."

"MEI! You’ve got the nerve to say that?! Weren’t you the one constantly cutting my funding?!"

Mobius instantly bared her teeth in fury, looking as though she wanted to fight the two of them on the spot.

While she had been living frugally and scraping by, Vill-V had enjoyed unlimited material support from Elias—a level of treatment Mobius wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

And the other one...

Was precisely the culprit behind her frugal misery!

MEI: "Ehehe~"

Mobius: "Ehehe my ass!"

MEI pushed up her glasses and turned back around. Quite a few of her inventions back then had been built using funds she’d shaved off from Mobius’ budget—such as the Key of Blankness and Prometheus.

...

Ever since they joined St. Freya Academy, this experimental building had become their domain. As three mad scientists who once stood at the pinnacle of the Previous Era, Cecilia and Theresa had provided them with the highest level of treatment possible.

At the same time, it was also a form of isolation...

After all, it was widely acknowledged that most Flame-Chasers had a few screws loose—especially these three, who were particularly dangerous.

For example, Mobius would occasionally put up posters around the academy recruiting "test subjects."

Vill-V once publicly performed magic within the academy and made an entire teaching building disappear. She then went around collecting materials and somehow cobbled together a nuclear bomb.

As for MEI... recently, the campus hospital reported a rise in food poisoning cases.

The three of them had built quite the fearsome reputation.

Ever since this building became their experimental base, aside from Elias and a select few, no one dared approach it anymore. Though somewhat impolite, the Valkyries privately referred to it as "the demons’ nest."

From a certain perspective... it was a fair assessment.

"Speaking of which, MEI, you’re being quite extravagant too. How many Cores have you connected by now? Can you even wear that?"

"It’s fine. Just thirty pseudo-Cores. The burden is much lighter than a normal Herrscher Core."

The armor MEI was tinkering with was precisely the Key of Blankness. Fifty thousand years had passed. What once carried severe side effects had now reached technological maturity.

And now, a full thirty pseudo-Herrscher Cores were embedded within the Key of Blankness. Although still inferior in hierarchy to a true Herrscher, quantity could eventually bring qualitative change.

MEI conservatively estimated that once she put it on, her combat power would instantly rise to the level of a five- or six-Core Herrscher. Combined with the physical constitution of a Judgment-class MANTIS, the results would be formidable.

MEI: (Even if not T0, at least T1 should be no problem.)

However, there was still one issue unresolved with this armor—how to block the interference of the authority of the Herrscher of Origin.

"...How much time do we have left?"

"No idea. But definitely not much."

"Yeah. For all we know, Elysia might crawl out of Elysian Realm tomorrow and come settle the score with us."

The expressions of Mobius, Vill-V, and MEI all shifted slightly. The reason they had gathered together for research was not solely for science itself—it was to rapidly increase their combat strength.

Now that only Elysia remained inside Elysian Realm, and considering the flaw they had exposed last time, they were almost certain it would not be long before the pink elf would descend as a witch of vengeance.

To ensure they could counter-kill her when that time came, the three of them had respectively prepared modified Imaginary Constructs and Quantum Shadows, a starship-version godslayer mech, and the Key of Blankness embedded with thirty pseudo-Cores.

Fully aware of how terrifying Elysia was in every regard, the three Flame-Chasers had, for once, stood on the same front. According to their joint calculations, even if the Herrscher of Origin was utterly broken, facing the three of them at once would be her limit.

"No need to panic! With preparations like this, what’s there to fear?!"

"Exactly! No matter how strong Elysia is, she won’t be able to do anything to us! Her version is outdated!"

"Mm! Give us two more days and all preparations will be complete. Two days from now, even if that pink fatty comes knocking, she won’t be able to do a thing—at most she’ll just rage helplessly."

And, as expected of three bad women, Mobius and the others had not informed Eden or the rest about this matter.

"Let Elysia deal with Eden and the others first. Not only will it drain her and increase our win rate, it’ll also eliminate those troublesome opponents for us."

"Mobius, you’re so evil. I like it!"

"It’s a good idea. And it’d be best if Mei and the others were taken care of as well. We’ll reap the fisherman’s profit, and in the end, the three of us can compete fairly for Elias."

"Deal!" x2

However, just as the three evil scientists were laughing toward the heavens, fantasizing about their beautiful future, a pink-and-black figure suddenly appeared behind them.

"What a wonderful idea~ But did you perhaps consider that there are no two days... and that I would come looking for the three of you first, Vill-V, MEI, Mobius~?"

"!!!" x3

The voice was as sweet as celestial music, yet it released killing intent without the slightest concealment. The Black Elf, carrying the scent of earth, wore a radiant smile as she hooked her arms around Vill-V and MEI before turning her gaze to Mobius.

"Hi~ did you miss me?"

The same lively and slightly playful catchphrase as before—but now it rang like a funeral bell.

"What?! Elysia!"

"Y-When did you get here?"

"Ah... we’re so dead..."

Mobius and the other two turned their heads stiffly, like malfunctioning machines, toward the Black Elf at arm’s length. In that instant, they deeply understood the meaning of beautiful fantasies and cruel reality.

...

"Although I’d love to properly catch up with everyone, there are quite a few people I need to visit next. If I drag this out too long, it might attract attention, so... you three can die once first~" (^▽^)

Mobius, MEI, and Vill-V had no time to don armor, activate the mech, or summon their pets.

With a smile on her face, Elysia swung the Staff of Origin with full force and sent them flying in a single blow.

"You three really hid things from me so well~ I can’t even imagine how many episodes I’ve missed. And my dear Dr. Mobius actually buried the adorable elf thousands of meters underground. How delightfully wicked of you~"

"E-Elysia, listen to my excuse—no, I mean, my explanation!"

"Cough! If we surrender now, can we get a lighter sentence?"

"It was all Mobius’ fault! She planned it! I’m innocent! Just spare me, okay?!"

Although facing three Flame-Chasers at once was supposedly Elysia’s limit, as the saying went—blackening triples your strength! Coupled with the overwhelming disparity in momentum...

Mobius and the other two instantly understood their chances of victory were zero.

"Nope~ Have you prepared yourselves for repentance?"

Elysia declared that today, no one would escape. On the day the Black Elf descended upon the world, any Flame-Chaser who had snuck ahead would perish.

The Staff of Origin in her hand whistled through the air.

Though her crystal magic would have been far more powerful, the Black Elf declared that it simply wouldn’t be satisfying enough!

...

Magic time? As if!

This was physical time!

Today, she was going to use this staff to smash these backstabbing girlfriends into pieces!!

Ten minutes later...

"Phew~ This is good enough for now."

Elysia glanced at her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction. Then, humming an unknown yet beautiful tune, she skipped out of the mad scientists’ laboratory.

Inside, the scene could only be described as tragic.

Vill-V’s upper body had been stuffed into the barrel of the world-ending cannon, leaving only her butt and legs hanging outside. She was completely motionless.

MEI was tightly bound and suspended from the ceiling, her eyes rolled back and her tongue lolling out, wearing an utterly miserable expression. She too had long since fainted.

But the most tragic of all was Mobius...

Her once-proud E-cup slime, due to resurrecting too many times, had now become flatter than Fu Hua’s.

Worse still, Mobius had been changed into her most hated pink dress, then forcibly photographed in all kinds of shameful poses by the Black Elf. Elysia had even declared she would have Griseo draw the three of them into doujinshi later!

Strolling through the Valkyrie academy, the Black Elf’s journey of revenge had only just begun.

"So~ who’s next?"

(Forget it. I’ll just make a wish. Please let me encounter a lone cheating cat, Eli Gate.)

Elysia made her wish devoutly—activating her authority at the same time. She knew that although she was three times stronger in her blackened state, facing too many Flame-Chasers at once would still be troublesome.

And as the daughter of the stars and moon, the Herrscher of Origin, the world immediately responded to Elysia’s wish.

"Meow~ the sun feels so warm today. Too bad Boss Elias went off to the sea to work. Otherwise, lying on the grass together for a nap would be so comfortable. Huh? Why did it suddenly get dark?"

A certain lazy, slothful cat Anchora lay sprawled on the grass. Suddenly, she felt the bright sunlight being blocked. Slightly displeased, she opened her eyes—only to see a Black Elf standing before her.

"Hi~ Pardofelis. Long time no see. And farewell."

Elysia raised the staff in her hand high above her head. She truly felt regret in her heart—what an adorable cat Anchora. Such a pity she liked to sneak ahead. She could no longer be kept.

"E-E-E-Elysia?!!"

In an instant, Pardofelis’ fur stood on end. She slapped herself first to confirm she wasn’t trapped in a nightmare.

The next second, she sprang to her feet faster than the Staff of Origin could descend—then immediately dropped to her knees at light speed.

"Elysia, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! I shouldn’t have snuck out, and I shouldn’t have hidden Boss Elias’ situation from you! I’ll never dare again! Please, be magnanimous and spare me just this once!!!"

The Staff of Origin halted midair.

"...Still as skilled at begging for mercy as ever, Pardofelis."

Elysia’s eye twitched. Looking at the teary-eyed girl kneeling before her—who had already wrapped both arms tightly around her long legs in desperate pleading—her emotions were indescribably complicated.

Pardofelis, where was all this cowardice when you backstabbed me?!