Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

"She agreed, though she didn't seem very happy."

Mei nodded in reply.

"May I ask...why?"

Sakura asked.

"That was a...problem child."

Mei hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

"But don't worry, she should be easier to get along with than Qianjie, Aponia and Mebius... probably."

"So you're saying she's a super problematic person like these others? And it's even said that she's probably..."

Sakura said helplessly.

"Her official partner is still being considered, so you can help her get acquainted with the team for now. Although she is young, she has extensive frontline combat experience and is not a novice."

Mei stood up and patted Ying's shoulder helplessly.

"But he was a good kid... I guess."

I really hope you can give me a definite answer.

Sakura sighed and left the office.

……

"You...are a newcomer?"

"I'm."

"How old are you?"

"...at least bigger than you look."

"Pfft! Sorry, I have a younger sister who is exactly the same age as you. Well, I mean, she looks like she is."

Are you underestimating me?

"No, it just feels a bit closer."

"...What's your name?...Senior."

"Sakura. My name is Sakura, what's yours?"

"Merudina".

……

And so, this was their first meeting.

"What's today's task?"

Melutina and Sakura moved through the darkness, and Melutina asked.

"Killing. Most of the work of the poisonous pupa is killing."

Sakura said without turning her head.

"The person we're targeting this time is a middle-aged man. He's already killed three Fusion Warriors."

Three?

This was no small matter of casualties; even Melutina was taken aback.

"Who is the target? How could they possess such power?"

"His name is Lyle. He seems to have experienced the Seventh Honkai, but as for why he was able to kill three Fusion Warriors... you know, the fire burned everything, including his past."

Sakura shook her head helplessly.

"..."

Melutina fell silent for some reason, but Sakura didn't say anything more either.

The two of them were leaping between the rooftops when suddenly Sakura stopped and reached out her hand to signal Meltina to stop.

"It's right here. Intelligence indicates that the man will be trading something here at 11 PM tonight."

Sakura climbed through the window, keeping an eye on the security cameras and guards while waving to Melutina.

"Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump?"

Melutina probably understood.

"Once we've confirmed his face, we can take action immediately."

Sakura handed a photo to Melutina, who took it. A middle-aged man with a gloomy face came into view.

"...I always felt it would be this kind of face."

"I think so too."

Sakura shrugged, gripping the hilt of the Frozen Prison Blade.

"One hour left, right below us. When the time comes, we'll storm in."

.........

"...Mr. Lyle, everything is here."

A flustered man handed a cloth-wrapped object to the white-haired middle-aged man in front of him.

"Please, I'm begging you, please don't look for me anymore. I can't go back to being a Moth to Flames... so please don't..."

"Humph."

Lyle took the item and weighed it in his hand, showing absolutely no interest in what the man was saying. But suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked up at the ceiling.

"It seems you really don't need to go back."

"Varied……"

"Frosty Prison, I draw my sword!"

As the Honkai energy of the ice erupted, Sakura and Meltina descended from the sky.

"You...you...you are Forget-Me-Not from the Poisonous Chrysalis?!"

The man with a panicked expression seemed to recognize Sakura, and his face instantly turned pale.

"It's you? How could it be you?"

Sakura's expression changed as well. She recognized the man; he and Mei had once sat in the council seats of the Firemoth, and were among the higher-ups.

“…Sakura-senpai.”

But Melutina's attention was on the man in front of her.

"Your attack... has completely failed."

"what?"

Sakura turned around, her pupils shrinking. The attack had clearly been launched at the entire room, and the high-ranking person's body was now frozen, but Lyle was completely free of any trace of ice.

"Oh...it's a poisonous pupa."

Lyle licked his lips and sneered.

"Further words are useless, prepare to die!"

Sakura didn't want to say anything to him at all, and swung her sword again, her movements so fast that Meltina couldn't even see it.

"So young."

However, the man's voice came from behind Sakura.

"How could this be..."

Sakura instantly twisted her body and kicked out, but missed again.

"You know me, right?... Me... I clearly saw that woman face-to-face during the Seventh Honkai Impact... even though I was surrounded by Honkai energy..."

Lyle dodged the attack and tilted his head, seemingly believing that the two already knew about him.

"But my body doesn't have a single scratch... Isn't that strange? My daughter has been turned into a monster, but I haven't been affected at all."

"Excessively disqualified".

Melutina's expression turned pale as she recalled one of Dr. Möbius's research reports.

"what is that?"

Sakura, separated from Lyle, asked Melutina a question from behind.

"According to Dr. Mebius's 'Overview of Honkai Energy,' in this era, everyone carries some Honkai energy, regardless of the amount."

Melutina explained,

"Theoretically, everyone has Honkai energy resistance, but some people have it stronger and some have it weaker. However, theoretically, although the possibility is very small, it is indeed possible for a creature to have zero Honkai energy."

The premise was... the complete lack of Honkai energy resistance. Few people have read the doctor's dissertation afterward, but theoretically, a creature with absolutely no Honkai energy resistance could be considered "another kind of Honkai energy resistance" because of this aptitude.

If fusion warriors like us are considered to absorb, then for him, it's about repulsion. He repulses all Honkai energy, so he's unaffected.

Such people... are referred to in the biological community as—the excessively disqualified.

Chapter Twelve Lyle II

"Lyle? I've heard of him. Didn't they say Sakura was sent to handle it?"

Kevin stood with his arms crossed in front of May's desk.

"...And Melutina. They lost."

"...They lost? The two of them?"

Kevin's expression wavered slightly, but then it turned serious.

Are they alright?

"Sakura was attacked by the Third Divine Key, and Meltina brought her back, but she was also seriously injured."

Mei shook her head.