Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

"...I understand. Let him come with me."

Melutina thought to herself, "Wow, there are still kind people like this around," as she reached out and grabbed Joachim's small hand.

"Um, um... Sister, you're a good person, right?"

Joachim was startled and asked in a trembling voice.

"...I don't think so, but at least you're not of any use to me."

Melutina spoke the truth.

“I think we should offer him honest comfort in this situation… Young girls these days are so inconsiderate.”

The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses and said helplessly.

“I’m not as young as you look, sir. Don’t worry, I’m an official from the Firemoth organization, and I’ll find him a reliable person. As for your sister… where did you get separated from her?”

Melutina squatted down helplessly and asked, "I've heard that making eye contact with a child like this is more respectful."

"At, at... at the border of Reston."

Joachim said, clutching the hem of his clothes.

"..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, both the middle-aged man and Melutina fell silent.

"Miss, I remember that according to regulations, the Fire Moth has stopped its rescue efforts in the three major cities and is now focusing on transferring survivors, right?"

The middle-aged man asked.

"...That's right, there are Honkai Beasts gathering nearby. Although the reason was the nuclear bomb, the area has become more attractive to Honkai Beasts due to the residual power of the Herrscher."

By now, Honkai and Honkai Beasts are no longer a secret.

After all, civilization itself is in grave danger.

"Stop, stop the rescue?! But sister, my sister... I beg you, I can die, but my sister... please save my sister! Sister, I beg you..."

Upon hearing this, Joachim was greatly alarmed and quickly grabbed Melutina's sleeve, saying...

"Don't worry."

Melutina looked at Joachim and suddenly felt a pain in her chest.

Please help my sister.

These words pierced her heart like a knife, revealing the past she could neither abandon nor forget.

The past is like an unhealable wound, accumulating inside, as if it will crush a person.

Did your brother also beg Himiko in the same way back then?

“…Give me your sister’s picture, I’ll go. You can’t go.”

Melutina decided to help him this time.

"The photos, the photos are..."

Joachim frantically searched his body, but found nothing; he had left most of his belongings in Reston.

"It doesn't matter if there are no photos, I'll just see if there are any..."

Melutina realized that the photo was probably not going to work, so she said.

"No, no, I have to save my sister! I have to save my sister!"

Joachim, however, insisted.

What a brat!

Melutina had a bit of a headache, but this stubbornness, courage, and impulsiveness that only a child could possess...

It was the most difficult thing for her to deal with.

"I'll go with you too, I can lend a hand. Miss..."

The middle-aged man scratched his head and said.

"My name is Melutina."

Melutina said.

"Oh, oh... My name is Ryusuke."

Ryusuke said,

"It's not easy to mobilize the moths that chase the flame for this kind of thing, is it? The more people there are, the more strength there will be."

"...Do you really know what it means to go to the border of Reston to find someone?"

Melutina frowned and asked.

"...There are always some things that can't be left unattended."

Ryusuke roughly understood what she meant, and he pressed Joachim's head down, saying...

“I’m over fifty years old, and my daughter has been dead for several years. She spent her whole life saving people, and I heard that she died saving people in the end. As her father, I can’t fall behind my daughter.”

"...Mr. Ryusuke."

Melutina has changed her honorific title.

"The Moth of Fire is indeed short-handed in its search, and I will take responsibility for protecting you. Although I don't think bringing you and Joachim along will help my search, my brother died protecting me, and I still can't get over that."

I know some things are non-negotiable, and I haven't taken away your right to choose.

"Miss Melutina... is she a combatant? But I heard..."

"I heard that most of the Fusion Warriors died in the eleventh Honkai Impact, is that right?"

"Melutina asked."

"I'm sorry, that was a very rude question."

Ryusuke realized something and quickly lowered his head to speak.

Let me reintroduce myself.

Melutina removed her large beret, revealing black horns.

"I am Melutina. The Moth of Flame, the ninth of the Thirteen Heroes, Melutina of Purgatory. I swear by my departed friends that I will protect you and ensure your safe return here."

“Thirteen Heroes…”

Ryusuke's mouth dropped open, and just as Melutina was bracing herself for his surprised praise, he said...

Why did the Thirteen Heroes come here to shout slogans?

"..."

Melutina was speechless at the question.

"Uh, uh... they, they don't agree to me eating for free at the base."

Chapter Seventeen: Death Squad

"Miss Meltina, what exactly is Honkai?"

Looking at the desolate scene before him, Ryusuke couldn't help but ask.

"I remember Dr. Mei should have already given an explanation through official channels, because it is a natural phenomenon that arises from the development of human civilization, destroys civilization, and then becomes more and more powerful."

Melutina was already used to this, and her expression remained unchanged.

"So... this is divine punishment?"

Ryusuke murmured.

"Not necessarily. A Herald once said that so-called theology is nothing more than the omnipotent self imagined by mankind. Even if it is divine punishment, it is more like some unknown thing than a god."

Melutina shook her head.

"Or, it could be a system, a phenomenon. To speculate about it in terms of human form, assuming that it is a living being, is far too presumptuous."

"...That doesn't sound like something a combatant would say."

Ryusuke was speechless; he had never known that the frontline personnel of the Fire Moth were so insightful.

“I have a PhD in biology from Metis University, so you can trust my academic qualifications.”

Melutina glanced at him.

"In other words, I am a fusion warrior who was originally a researcher. As a researcher who was once powerless, don't have too high expectations for my combat abilities. So, for my safety and yours, proceed with caution."

"Okay, okay... Um, for reference, how strong of a Honkai Beast could Miss Meltina possibly handle?"

Ryusuke asked.

"Hmm... I'm probably a little bit stronger than an Emperor-level being?"

Melutina gave a pinky finger.

"It's powerful enough already, no wonder it's a fusion warrior."

Ryusuke seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"..."

If the Thirteen Heroes were really just like that, then humanity would have been wiped out long ago.

Of course, Merutina would never say such a thing aloud.

"So, little Joachim, in which area did you lose your sister?"

Melutina turned her head and asked.

"It's nearby... in this dilapidated building..."

Joachim pointed to the building next to him that was half collapsed.

"That's true..."

Melutina was about to say that it was quite far from the city center, but a somewhat familiar aura made her pause slightly.