Humans in Collapse: Despicable Strangers (Author: Snow)

Introduction:

In the office of the Archbishop of Destiny

A certain Kaslana, a white-haired, super-strong gorilla, was carrying a certain blond archbishop, pointing at a blond, blue-eyed girl beside him.

Karen: "Yours?"

Otto: "Uh, Karen, I think I can make excuses, oops, let me explain..."

Karen: "With whom?!"

Otto: "Uh... um... ah... um.."

Karen: "Speak!"

Otto: "I...and...you...and your..."

Snow Apocalypse: "Hi Mom!" (laughs)

The nerves of a certain 500+ year old young woman (seriously) snapped with a snap.

Chapter One: The Curtain Rises

"My story has come to an end, my life will wither here, my existence will vanish, and I will fade into obscurity among the stars in the sky." The figure shrouded in black robes strolled along the edge of the building's eaves, chanting softly.

“My soul can no longer sing, my song is like tears that no longer flow, only dryness and silence remain…” In contrast to the poetry in His mouth, the voice of the human figure gradually became more impassioned.

"This is my most arrogant fantasy, this is my most longed-for dream, and now I give it to you as a gift—Stranger from a strange land." The last words were drowned out by the howling wind, and in the end, only the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground and the screams of the crowd came from below. In the chaos, no one noticed that a certain star in the night sky suddenly shone and then went completely dark.

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"My name is Snow, I have no surname, and I'm 16 years old. I live in the villa area in the northeast of Changkong City. I'm probably a time traveler. I'm a second-year student at Qianyu Academy. I have to attend tutoring classes until 8 p.m. every day before I can go home. I don't smoke, and I only drink a little alcohol. I go to bed at 11 p.m. and make sure I get a full 8 hours of sleep every night. Before bed, I always drink a glass of warm milk, then do 20 minutes of stretching exercises, and then I fall asleep immediately. I sleep soundly until dawn, never carrying fatigue or stress into the next day. The doctors all say I'm perfectly normal."

The girl with long, light blonde hair patted her face, looked at herself in the mirror, her bright blue eyes full of vitality and energy, and muttered a self-introduction to herself before her thoughts were interrupted by her vibrating phone on the vanity.

"Hello? Um...yes, teacher, I'm not feeling well today, so I took sick leave. Okay, um, goodbye teacher." The girl answered the phone, and the energetic voice she had just used when introducing herself instantly turned into a sickly and weak tone.

After hanging up the phone, the girl turned her attention back to the mirror in front of her, straightened her slightly messy light golden hair, and tied it with a blue ribbon.

"Hmm... Let me reorganize my thoughts. It's been 16 years since I came to this world. Based on the information I have, this is Changkong City, my school is called Qianyu Academy, and there's a senior student in the academy whose family was recently exposed for her father's economic fraud scandal... Speaking of which, I was even taken care of by that married senior."

"Without a doubt, it's Honkai... but is it Honkai Impact 2 or Honkai Impact 3? We can rule out Honkai Impact 2's second playthrough. I haven't found any chuunibyou character named Houraiji Jiuxiao. So, the only things left are Honkai Impact 2's first playthrough and Honkai Impact 3." Snow's fingers tapped unconsciously on the edge of the sink.

"Hiss... It's best if it's not the first playthrough. I don't have the confidence to kill that old vixen Cocolia before she opens her mouth to Kiana and says, 'Your parents are all dead,' thus avoiding the world-ending ending." The girl's fingers stopped tapping on the table and instead made a rustling sound as her nails scratched the table. The thought of this damn possibility filled her with a great deal of helplessness and anxiety.

“The only good news right now… no, it’s hardly good news,” Snow said, picking up his phone which he had just put aside and glancing at the date.

【2014年3月28日;下午:2:05:00】

“There are still three minutes until the third Honkai outbreak in the story. Phew... At least at the point of the third Honkai outbreak, these two timelines are consistent. So—it’s time to get serious, Snow.” The girl stared at herself in the mirror and muttered to herself.

"Give me the strength to accept what I cannot change—" The blonde girl turned and left the bathroom, walking down the corridor toward the small building where her bedroom was located.

[2:06:30 PM, 1 minute and 30 seconds remaining until the third Honkai outbreak]

The villa was empty; the maids who had been working there had been given a large bonus by the girl under a flimsy pretext and sent to vacation on the other side of the ocean. Fragments of sunlight streamed through the ivy-covered roof of the corridor as the girl walked.

"Give me the courage to change what I can change—" She walked through the corridor, climbed the steps, went up the stairs, and opened the familiar bedroom door. Her adoptive father was not there. At this time, they should be resting somewhere in Europe, the girl thought.

[2:07 PM - The final minute of the third Honkai outbreak]

"Give me wisdom to know the difference between the two—" The hidden compartment under the desk was opened, and a strangely shaped folding sword exuding a chilling aura was taken out. The blade was activated, and a dreamlike sky-blue energy aura appeared before him.

Snow stared at the strange blade before him with a hint of fascination, and then—the world fell into a brief silence.

[2:08 PM Third Honkai Outbreak]

Immediately afterwards, chaos and clamor filled the large city of a million people. The screams of suicide bombers, the cries of the crowd, and the screams of children filled every corner of the city. The emergency phone lines were all busy in an instant, and those lucky enough to get through heard the same screams and cries as those around them. The occasional gunshots that rang out in the streets were completely drowned out by the wave of collapse.

"..." The young blonde girl fell silent as she watched the footage transmitted back from the drone high in the sky. Even though she had told herself countless times and imagined this inevitable scene, when she actually faced this apocalyptic scene, physical and psychological discomfort instantly crept into her brain. An unnamed feeling of nausea and vomiting took over her body's instincts.

"Ugh... Ugh..." The girl, who had been full of fighting spirit, hurriedly ran out of the bedroom and rushed into the nearby bathroom, her willpower succumbing to her body's instincts.

"...cough...cough" Several minutes later, the blonde girl reappeared at the bathroom door, one hand clutching her stomach, the other hand supporting herself against the wall, her face ashen.

"It was still too much of a stretch..."

"Why do I have this inexplicable confidence, having never experienced catastrophe or hardship...? It's because of the power I possess."

The girl stretched out her right hand, her azure pupils fixed on her outstretched palm, where a snowflake-shaped ice crystal was rapidly solidifying. The surrounding temperature began to drop rapidly as the ice crystal condensed, the tea in the nearby cup froze quickly, and a layer of frost covered the window.

"I'm still far from being a Herrscher like Sirinwalt... That's not the main reason for my inexplicable confidence. If we eliminate those factors... then there's only one answer."

"The arrogance inherent in the transmigrator himself..."

The girl's expression was indeed troubled—she had enough reason to be arrogant, a power that belonged only to herself, which had accompanied her since birth and was constantly growing, as well as memories from otherworldly souls that often allowed her to foresee the future. She used this to gain the upper hand—just like the saints and prophets in human religious stories, receiving divine revelation and wielding mythical power.

“Well, this is a good lesson.” The girl’s furrowed brows began to relax. “At least, apart from a nauseating episode, I didn’t pay any unacceptable price.”

Snow composed himself, his face still somewhat disheveled from vomiting, and walked back to his room. The computer screen that had been connected to the high-altitude drone was now completely white, with the words "signal lost" flashing on the screen.

"The signal base station has been destroyed? No... it might be worse. Some Honkai Beasts have already evolved by using the biological prototypes of birds and the like."

"Regardless of which one it is, I should leave. Staying here will only allow more troublesome Honkai creatures to be conceived and born... So, my targets are Kiana Kaslana and Raiden Mei. I need to find them and rendezvous with them."

"Joining the protagonist's team is the optimal solution obtained after several deductions and calculations. It's better than running around aimlessly like a headless fly. Of course, joining them isn't all advantages. As a drawback, I will be revealed as an open card on the field, completely entering the sight of Destiny and Anti-Entropy... No, perhaps there's also that snake hidden in the dark side of the world."

The girl returned to her initial state and began to analyze and weigh the pros and cons.

"I don't have any Stigmata. As an explanation for the source of my power, this simplest excuse can be dismissed. That leaves two possibilities: Herrscher or Fusion Warrior. If I had to choose one, I'd lean more towards the Fusion Warrior. However, in this era, where are there any Fusion Warriors on the surface... I can indeed sense this power called Honkai Energy, but when I try to use these energies..."

The girl grabbed the sword blade, slung the backpack from her bedroom over her shoulder, which was filled with food and necessities she had prepared beforehand.

"It's like using a controller to operate a robotic arm to grab something, without that sense of physical contact... The only advantage is probably that there won't be any Honkai energy backlash." The blonde girl closed the bedroom door, walked down the stairs, and headed towards the front door—as the door closed and clicked shut, the young transmigrator girl officially began her journey.

"...At least there are some advantages to having a wealthy adoptive father."

Snow stood at the gate, looking at the quiet streets of the villa district. As the residential area of ​​the city's elite, there wouldn't be many people at home at this time. The frequency of screams and howls of assassins coming from nearby indicated that there were some, but not many, and they were far apart.

"...So, should I go to school, or rather, go demolish the school?" Snow shook his head, secured his backpack, and started running towards Qianyu Academy.

The rapidly moving figure swept past the burning wreckage of the car, passed through the newly formed group of assassins, leaving behind a body cut in two, before being blocked by a group of assassins crowding the street.

"Tsk, a bunch of annoying guys."

The girl stood on the roof of a car not far away, looking at the horde of zombies blocking the way ahead.

"There are too many of them. If we try to fight our way through, who knows how long it will take, and besides..."

The girl turned her gaze to the sky—a thunderstorm was brewing over the city, with flashes of lightning already dancing in the air, and the eye of the storm was her destination—Chiba Academy.

"The Third Herrscher is awakening... Hiss, perhaps taking the day off was a mistake. If I were with that Mei-senpai, at least... No, no... There are no ifs. If the ground is blocked, then we can only go upstairs. As for the occasional survivors who witness it, it doesn't matter anymore. Let them see it if they want."

The girl made a quick decision. Snow pushed off with her legs and jumped onto the wall of a building next to the street. Then, she jumped several times in succession and climbed to the roof. She began to tumble and jump between buildings.

"Mommy, there's a blonde girl flying upstairs!"

"Quiet, Xiao Kong, don't speak, it's dangerous outside." The woman held her young daughter and looked in the direction her daughter pointed. A blonde girl in a white robe was jumping between the floors.

Seemingly noticing their gaze, the girl who was leaping between the buildings stopped and looked in the direction they were looking. The three pairs of eyes met.

“Survivors? Since I’ve seen you, I’ll lend you a hand.” The girl leaped between buildings and finally landed on the balcony of the floor where the mother and daughter were.

Three pairs of eyes met at this moment: excited eyes belonging to children who had seen heroes from fairy tales; fearful and panicked eyes belonging to women who had experienced more than decades of their own knowledge today; and calm but slightly tired eyes belonging to young girls who had crossed most of the city in half an hour.

The girl's bright blue eyes looked at the mother and daughter behind the glass door, deduced the current situation, and finally chose to take off her backpack and put it on the balcony.

"This is about four days' worth of food and water. Combined with what you already have at home, it should be enough to last a week. I can't take you away from here. I need to go to a more dangerous place. Please remember to stay quiet and don't go out. Someone should come to rescue you in a few days."

"Good luck, survivors," Snow said, then turned and leaped away from the balcony of the floor where the mother and daughter were, disappearing from their sight.

"Changkong City, Block 13, Building 7, Room 603, write this address down first." The girl glanced back at the location of the mother and daughter and continued towards Qianyu Academy. At this moment, the thunderstorm in the sky was getting more and more intense, and the blazing white lightning began to flash frequently in the sky. The time left for the Third Herrscher to truly descend was very short.

————————————————+

"Phew... We've finally arrived." Snow stood at the school gate. The once bustling campus was now silent, with only occasional roars telling the survivors that some terrifying and strange creature lurked here.

"Which building is Raiden Mei-senpai in again?" The girl was trying to recall which classroom her senior, who was a year ahead of her, was in when a bolt of lightning struck the rooftop of the building to her left, followed by the booming sound of a hand cannon firing and a declaration full of energy and chuunibyou (middle school syndrome).

"Mei-senpai! Let this savior free you from the deep, dark illusions!"

And then came the angry curses and screams.

"You idiot, what are you doing?! That's not Mei-senpai, that's a Herrscher! And you, give my Mei-senpai back right now!"

"...Penglai Temple Nine Heavens?! Is this a new world line? No...I remember the child in that mother and daughter pair just now. She's Raven's adopted daughter, Xiao Kong, from the ruins of Changkong City in Honkai Impact 3. Tsk...No time to deduce. I'd better find some cushions first. They'll probably have to put on a jumping-off-the-building performance next."

Chapter Two: Kevin Beats Mei

The thunderstorm continued, with violent lightning striking the girls on the rooftop of the school building with pinpoint accuracy. The thunder was mixed with the booming of hand cannons and the shouts of a certain chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur). Meanwhile, in the rain, the blonde girl was also on the move, tearing through the obstacles of the assassins along the way, breaking into the sports equipment room, and dragging all the mats of various sizes down to the ground floor of the school building.

"Phew... all done. Time to go upstairs." Snow gave a playful smile, as if she had thought of an interesting idea. She rubbed her hands together, using the rainwater to wash away the dust, and drew her sword again, preparing to climb the stairs to the rooftop. However, a violent thunderstorm immediately dispelled her idea of ​​climbing up the stairs. Lightning rained down from the sky, thoroughly soaking the entire rooftop.

...Then, everything around fell into a brief silence, with only the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance. The once noisy rooftop fell silent. There were no more booming hand cannons, no more falling lightning, and the shouts of the chuunibyou girl disappeared...Only the sound of rain continued incessantly.

"Tsk... scaling walls and rooftops must be exhausting." She took a running start, leaped, pulled her sword from the wall, and used it as a fulcrum to propel herself upwards. Repeating this motion, the girl leaped onto the rooftop in a few breaths—

The rooftop of the teaching building was covered in black marks left by lightning. Arcs of electricity still crackled and leaped on the metal railings. Her azure eyes swept across the lightning-strewn area, finally settling on the very edge of the rooftop, where the three girls she was looking for were. The girl with white twin ponytails and the girl with purplish-red spiky hair lay on the ground, their hair styled into an afro by the recent lightning strike, and they appeared to be unconscious.

"...Another annoying bug. So—who are you?" The arrogant words came from the black-haired woman who was the only one standing among the three. Lightning crackled around her, proclaiming the majesty and transcendence of an apostle of God.

"...You will have to answer this question yourself." The rooftop, soaked by the rain, froze instantly. The incessant raindrops had somehow turned into sharp ice crystals, slicing across the exposed skin of the two people.

"You are Raiden Mei, the senior I was taken care of at Chiba Academy, and the one who was saved by everyone gathered here."

"Or is it the Third Herrscher, the scourge of humanity, the greatest enemy of all living beings, a monster that will be vanquished by civilization?"

The blonde girl strode toward the Herrscher. With each step she took, the frozen ice crystals on the ground began to spread and transform. The once crystal-clear ice surface turned pitch black, revealing purplish-red patterns and light. The sword she had been holding had vanished, seemingly abandoned by its master somewhere. In its place was a longsword formed from black ice, gleaming with a dark purple light.

"..." She was strong, far beyond what she could handle after her battle with those two troublesome humans. The Third Herrscher looked at the spreading black ice with a livid face. She didn't like this feeling, that suppressed sense of powerlessness, just like that coward in the past... Then—the blonde girl's question rang out again.

"Tell me! Raiden Mei, do you want to be a human who yearns for redemption and light, or a monster hated and condemned by civilization!"

The thunderous shouts and questions snapped the nascent Herrscher's immature and fragile mind, igniting boundless rage within her, burning every nerve and stripping her of her already limited capacity for thought.

"What a joke! I am the Herrscher, the apostle of the gods, the chosen one! The lightning queen destined to trample your corpses! Insect, who gave you the courage to question me! Kneel down, and then—die!" The Third Herrscher, whose reason was destroyed by rage, charged towards the girl surrounded by black ice, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night, vowing to crush the human in front of her.

"Heh, if you can do it... then come forward." The blonde girl leaned forward, wielding her sword in both hands to slash at the oncoming lightning.

[As expected, the newborn Herrscher's personality is immature, fragile, and easily angered. Most importantly, she has little brains.] Snow looked at the Herrscher rushing towards her, pondered, and then swung her sword, parried, and counterattacked with fluid movements.

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