Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

"..."

Leanna gripped the cup tightly, remaining silent.

When will they arrive to join us?

"Melutina asked."

"It's almost there."

Leanna said that she had arrived here earlier, and as she was speaking, Joyce and the others appeared at the station.

“Hey Joyce, you look sharp…”

"...Huh?"

Melutina's words caught in her throat. She lowered her head, and a black spike protruded from her chest.

Melutina felt her vision suddenly go black, and she collapsed to the ground, blood spreading everywhere.

"Meddy!"

"Dr. Linnaeus!"

"Melutina!"

Einstein, Joyce, and Schrödinger all happened to witness this scene, and all three of them exclaimed in surprise.

"My old friend Melutina..."

Originally, it should have been Leanna who vanished, and Otto Apocalypse who stood there, holding the Abyss in his hand, with a false sense of compassion.

"I'm sorry... Although I can't get the key from you, at least I can avoid one more variable."

"O...Tor..."

Melutina's eyes slowly turned into vertical pupils, but Otto didn't see it.

“My old friend…you are truly clever; such a scheme can only be used once. Forgive me for taking advantage of your kindness.”

Otto's smile vanished, replaced by an unusually somber expression.

“You are one of the people I respect most, but for my purposes, I can sacrifice anyone, even…you.”

"This isn't what we agreed on...you didn't tell me this would happen..."

"Another person who has appeared here," the Finn said, trembling.

"You only said you didn't want Dr. Edison to claim the groundbreaking research for himself... You didn't say she would die, you... you didn't say Dr. Linnaeus would die either..."

"You did this?!"

Tesla, who rushed back after hearing the commotion, stared at the man with red eyes.

“I…I didn’t…I didn’t want to…but he…he threatened me with my child…I had no choice, I didn’t know it would…”

"You talk too much nonsense."

Otto impatiently swung the Black Abyss again, piercing the Finn's body.

"Sorry……"

The Finn's eyes instantly lost their luster, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Otto"

Schrödinger, with half a Honkai Beast's body, charged forward madly, but...

"What a futile struggle. Don't you know the power of the Black Abyss White Flower? You're just a Herrscher who hasn't even mastered its powers yet..."

Otto gave a mocking smile.

“My old friend has fallen, and you… cannot stop me.”

.........

"you……?"

Planck looked at the boy on the private jet in surprise. She only realized when she arrived at her destination that the boy had been following her all the way in the storage compartment.

“Joachim, you…”

For a moment, Planck didn't know what to say. She didn't want to take the child to meet up with Melutina and the others, but nowhere was safe now.

"It's alright, Professor, I definitely won't cause you any trouble! My father has been threatened by bad guys... so I absolutely have to see him!"

"What did you say?!"

.........

"Oh, there are so many traitors... Soul Steel Inhibitor, are you working for my old friend?"

Although Joyce and the others were already lying on the ground, Otto was unable to advance any further because of what was in front of him...

The hotel owner.

“No, I am Dr. Planck’s man.”

The hotel landlady shrugged.

"Dr. Schrödinger, is there enough time?"

"Perfect..."

Schrödinger picked up the Black Abyss White Flower he had just seized.

"Enough time for me to fight to the death! Black Abyss White Flower, Zero Rated Power, Force Start!"

"Tsk, doing unnecessary things again..."

Otto was speechless, and was about to take action when he was stopped by the hotel owner.

"Hey, tyrant... don't even think about going there. If I wasn't worried about Leanna, I would have ruined your body long ago."

“How arrogant…and all rule is tyranny.”

Otto snorted coldly.

"I'm just here to clear some stumbling blocks today."

In those few short seconds, Schrödinger completed her final task, and her figure vanished.

Instead, Walter Joyce stood before Otto Apocalypse.

Chapter Nine: The Song of Walter Joyce

I don't want to be a hero.

That's a title only great people can have, and I am not one.

In the chaos of that time, I reminisced about the past.

Carl Gustaf, while it's uncertain whether that can be considered "himself in the past," is at least a crucial component of "Walter Joyce."

He is a gentle person.

He saved many people, including Liesel Albert Einstein.

Even on his deathbed, he came to Berlin to save someone.

Ironically, he was the one who triggered this disaster.

He awoke from the ruins, having forgotten everything.

That was the price he paid; he accepted too much and bore the weight of too many people's wishes.

So, should he be considered a hero?

Yes.

But does he want to be a hero?

No.

.........

"With great power comes great responsibility... Although some people say that, I don't think that's true."

When discussing this topic with a fellow book lover I often chat with at the library, she smiled softly.

It wasn't that she was pretending to know what she didn't, or feigning world-weariness; rather, a heavy and understanding expression appeared on her face.

"Why are you so certain?"

"Because most people who think this way end up going astray. In the end, only those who feel inferior to themselves and believe that they do not have the ability can fulfill their responsibilities with trepidation."

She wagged her finger.

"Hey, why worry so much? Sometimes, being a hero is just about going with the flow. When you have nowhere left to retreat, you can become a hero."

"There's no way to retreat...?"

"When you have someone important to you by your side, you naturally have nowhere to retreat."

.........

“You are right, Dr. Linnaeus.”

Walter Joyce lifted his coat, stretched out his hand, and the Star of Eden was already in his grasp.

"The time has come, the day to devour the tyrant of the heavens. Otto Apocalypse, no... Alpha the Clown, witness the shattering of stars!"

"Varied……"

The crimson light devoured everything, and in the end, even the light disappeared.

Eden Star, Zero Rated Power —

It resembles a black hole.

That was once the power belonging to a certain red-haired herald, and also the weapon of the singers of that era.

Few people remember them now, but in the hands of the same gentle man, it's as if they've acknowledged him—

The Ninth Divine Key, the Key of Devouring, responded to him.

"This is impossible!"