Honkai Impact 3rd: Yumeji Satsuki's lies

After resting and regaining our strength, we continued traveling a long distance without encountering any enemies. Taking advantage of the moment, I had a brief conversation with Himeko-sensei.

"Honestly, I was quite surprised by your demeanor back then. You didn't have any intention of persuading me, did you?"

We slowed down a bit, keeping some distance from the rest of the group to have a private conversation.

I glanced at Himeko as she spoke and replied,

"I didn't do that because I didn't think you were wrong."

"Hmm? I wasn't wrong, even though I put you in such a dangerous situation?"

Himeko replied with a slightly self-reproachful tone, her face showing a hint of sadness.

"As a teacher, to attack and harm one of my students… Doesn't that make me a terrible teacher?"

Although I couldn't see her expression clearly as she turned away, I could sense what she was feeling. That's why I had to say these words to prevent her from falling into the same abyss that 'I' had once stumbled into.

"Given the circumstances, yes, I should reprimand you and scold you for getting me involved in that mess. But…"

Noticing her expression darken, I didn't stop and continued speaking.

"If I were in your position, I would've made the same choice. I don't know what you think of me, but I'm not some great person just because I have strange, supernatural powers. From beginning to end, I'm still me—a pathetic, weak, oddball trying to hide behind a shiny mask. A 'Yumeji Satsuki' so ordinary that you could easily find someone better than me."

"Are you not being too hard on yourself?"

Himeko-sensei stopped and looked at me with a worried expression.

"Well, is that what you think? I don't dislike being an ordinary 'me' at all."

"Huh?"

Himeko-sensei stared at me, bewildered.

"Oh dear, that expression—are you that surprised, sensei~?"

I teased lightly to lighten the mood, but seeing her overly serious expression, I shrugged and continued speaking.

"Because I'm ordinary, I can't blame you. It's from the perspective of an ordinary person with simple desires like mine that I can understand and accept your wishes so easily.

Himeko-sensei, I don't know what's going through your mind right now, and I won't claim to understand you. I'm not arrogant enough to preach about moral philosophy to someone, especially to my teacher, when I'm just an unstable and problematic kid myself. There's nothing wrong with seeking happiness. There's nothing wrong with yearning for a better world. Clinging to the past is also fine. Denying or trying to forget your past only makes you incomplete. That's why you're not wrong, Himeko-sensei. The root of your desire was never a mistake, so don't ever deny it.

Of course, this is just my personal opinion, so I could be wrong. Accepting it or not depends on you, Himeko-sensei. That's just my two cents."

Himeko looked at me for a while before saying,

"How old are you, exactly? You talk like an old man."

"!! That's harsh~ I'm only 18 years old!"

I smiled awkwardly and exaggeratedly exclaimed. Then, we just kept walking, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

And then…

"Hey! Hey! Yumeji and Himeko-sensei! I don't know what you two are whispering about, but hurry up! You're walking way too slowly!"

Kiana shouted from a fair distance away. It seemed we had gotten so engrossed in our conversation that we forgot to move quickly to keep up with the group.

I smirked at Kiana and then turned to say this to Himeko before running off.

"And don't you have something precious and wonderful right here with you, Himeko-sensei? Though the type of treasure you have might be a bit peculiar and cause you plenty of headaches, haha."

Himeko-sensei widened her eyes before nodding with a faint smile.

"You're right. It seems the important things to me are still here, within reach."

"...Bingo! Besides, you don't have to worry about things like before. No matter how many times it happens, I'll come to knock some sense into you. Oh, and since I hate doing charity work, you better pay me back. Money works perfectly for me."

I rubbed my hands together mischievously, grinning widely.

After that, we ran to catch up with the group. While running, Himeko-sensei suddenly asked me a strange question.

"Yumeji, do you like Kiana?"

"HUH!?"

Wait! What the heck? That's terrifying!! Me, liking Kiana!? That question was so absurd I had to wonder if the impossible scenario where only Kiana and I were the last people on Earth would have to happen for it to be true.

No! Absolutely not!

For me to fall for her, it would only be possible if the apocalypse arrived.

So, I resolutely declared,

"That will never happen. I'm 10 billion percent sure..."

Was I being too harsh?

"...but maybe being good friends is a possibility."

Hmm. Right now, Kiana and I are more like annoying neighbors pretending to be classmates. I think this dynamic will last for a while. But as for becoming good friends? Who knows when that might happen.

Though I think I heard some strange mutterings from Himeko after I ended the conversation with that.

"Something about… a chance?"

---

The road we were traveling on was quite desolate and peaceful. To be sure, I checked the system map to confirm there were no hidden enemies nearby. Along the way, we came across some peculiar sights.

"Oh wow, aren't these the robots from earlier? Why are they scattered all over the place like this?"

Indeed, we kept encountering the wreckage of Sin Mal's robots along the path. All of them were heavily damaged. Seeing this, Bronya seemed a bit contemplative and warned us to stay cautious.

Before long, we heard loud rumblings. Knowing we were close to the source of the battle, we picked up the pace.

The closer we got, the more the sounds of the fight reverberated in our ears.

The tremors from the clash even created the illusion of a minor earthquake.

And just as we got close enough to see what was happening, we saw countless sparks flying, a rain of bullets, and a black-haired girl gracefully dancing across the battlefield.

She moved through the rain of bullets as if she were strolling, and with every swing of her dark sword, a robot was crushed and mercilessly destroyed.

The dance of destruction didn't last long, as soon enough, all the robots had been wiped out by the girl.

At the far edge of the battlefield stood the pink-haired woman from earlier, biting her nails with a visibly displeased expression.

She soon noticed us watching her and turned her gaze toward us, speaking with a hint of self-mockery.

"Oh my, what's this? You again, Bronya. What do you want this time? Are you here to mock me?"

Although her tone was still arrogant, it now carried a trace of fear and unease.

"Sin Mal, tell me, who is that girl?"

Sin Mal glared at Bronya and burst out laughing, as though she had just heard the most absurd question ever.

"Hahaha, has your intellect decayed so much from hanging out with those lowlifes? Can't you even recognize her? That is Chiyou, or at least, her current incarnation."

Everyone except me showed clear signs of astonishment.

"Wait, so that girl is Chiyou? Hold on, doesn't she look like..."

Kiana was even more shocked upon closely examining the black-haired girl's appearance. Indeed, her face was the exact likeness of the Emperor Xuanyuan who had bestowed power upon us.

The only difference lay in their attire.

Bronya turned her gaze toward the black-haired girl. The unmistakable Honkai energy emanating from her was undoubtedly that of Chiyou. After analyzing the data with her detection device, Bronya's conviction in her assessment grew even stronger.

And regarding Chiyou's current appearance… Bronya began piecing together the clues and reached a final conclusion.

"Bronya understands everything now."

"Huh? Understands what?" Kiana, still lost amid the unfolding events, questioned. Bronya replied in a rapid string of deductions.

"The person we met earlier is none other than the soul of Emperor Xuanyuan, while the one rampaging over there is her body. If Bronya's hypothesis is correct, during the process of sealing Chiyou in Jiuzhou, Emperor Xuanyuan sacrificed herself to imprison both her body and Chiyou at the bottom of the sea.

"But over time, her spirit weakened, and her body, constantly corrupted by Chiyou's Honkai energy, eventually succumbed. Chiyou took over her body, awaiting a chance to fully resurrect. With no other choice, Emperor Xuanyuan's remaining soul took refuge in the Xuanyuan Sword gem, which was also tainted by Honkai energy. When Chiyou awoke, the artifact split into two forms: one half, still pure, was wielded by Xuanyuan's soul and given to us. The other half, corrupted by Chiyou's energy, transformed into the pitch-black sword held by that girl."

"Uh? Huh?"

Overwhelmed by the barrage of information from Bronya, Kiana's head began to spin with confusion.

"In simpler terms, that girl is the enemy, plain and simple."

"Ah, I see now! Why didn't you just say that instead of talking about possession and corruption? It was so confusing!"

"Bronya will refrain from further explanations, as explaining to Kiana is an act of self-inflicted suffering."

"I know you're bad-mouthing me!"

Sin Mal glanced at the group with an incredulous look. Despite the dire situation, they were still leisurely bantering, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of respect.

"Kihihihi, I have to admit, your stupidity has its charm. But I don't think you'll have the time to joke around much longer."

With that, Sin Mal raised her scythe, grinning broadly.

"I'll take care of all of you at once—how about a nice reunion? Don't blame me for being ruthless, Bronya."

As Sin Mal prepared to charge forward with her scythe, a dark and sinister voice echoed, freezing her in place with an overwhelming presence.

"Hehehehe! To me, you are the truly amusing one here, little rodent."

In an instant, a black metallic object shot toward Sin Mal at bullet-like speed. It moved too quickly for her to react properly; she barely managed to deflect the attack with her scythe but was still sent flying, crashing hard into the rocky cliff behind her.

Bronya, startled by the unexpected development, quickly identified the object that had struck Sin Mal: a robot arm.

Reluctantly, her gaze shifted toward the one responsible.

They had miscalculated. They assumed the girl would take longer to deal with the robots, but no—she had been toying with them to lure the group closer. The moment they arrived, she ended the game and swiftly annihilated the remaining robots in mere moments.

Now, the battlefield was littered with heaps of destroyed robots. No, calling them "heaps" was an understatement—the mighty army had been reduced to piles of useless scrap metal.

Atop this mountain of wreckage sat the black-haired girl, clad in jet-black battle armor. Her lifeless yet frenzied red eyes gazed at the world with an insatiable hunger.

Despite the overwhelming aura she exuded, she casually toyed with a robot arm in her hand before crushing it with her bare hand and discarding it.

"Greetings, pitiful mortals. The one before you is none other than Chiyou herself."

Her eerie voice echoed, carrying an undeniable authority. Perched atop her pile of "trophies," Chiyou looked down on them like insignificant insects.

"Hmm? Oh my, there's a familiar face here. How amusing. Though, I can't say it brings back pleasant memories."

Chiyou's crimson gaze settled on Yumeji. As she raised her hand, Sin Mal attempted a sneak attack, slashing her scythe at incredible speed. Yet without even looking, Chiyou caught the weapon effortlessly.

"Click."

Sin Mal clicked her tongue in frustration. She could feel how little the demoness regarded her. Before she could retreat, Honkai energy surged from Chiyou's body, leaving Sin Mal gasping for breath. Chiyou casually lifted Sin Mal like a rag doll, spinning her around before flinging her into a distant cliff.

-BOOM!

Sin Mal's body was embedded deeply into the stone.

"The nuisance has been dealt with. Now… shall we begin?"

Chiyou's lips twisted into a chilling grin as she stood, unleashing a maelstrom of Honkai energy that enveloped the battlefield.

"But fighting all of you alone wouldn't be fair, would it? So, why not call upon my loyal steed, forged from these fine scraps lying around?"

The vortex of energy swirled violently, condensing into a black spherical storm. Chiyou stretched her arms wide, her smile unrelenting.

"Come forth, my black knightly steed!"

The black sphere shattered like an egg, revealing a monstrous black warhorse, its body a blend of imposing metal and raw Honkai energy. It was both majestic and terrifying.

"How about we start with a little gallop?"

Yumeji felt a chill run down his spine as Chiyou spoke. He shouted for Bronya to set up a barrier immediately.

Sensing the imminent danger, Bronya hastily erected a shield.

-BOOM!

In less than a heartbeat, a black blur rammed into the barrier, shattering it instantly but successfully halting the monstrous steed's momentum. The resulting shockwave scattered everyone.

After rolling several times across the ground, the group quickly recovered, gripping their weapons tightly as they prepared for battle.

Chiyou, now astride her black steed and wielding her elongated black Xuanyuan sword like a knight's lance, surveyed her foes with an unsettling grin.

"Shall we begin?"

With a shrill, menacing neigh from her steed, the battle commenced.