Honkai Impact 3rd: Yumeji Satsuki's lies

With an earth-shaking neigh, the dark knight charged forward at a gallop.

The immense pressure shook the terrain, and the relentless pounding of the warhorse's hooves echoed as though intent on crushing everything beneath them.

Ordinarily, the most effective way to counter such a direct attack would be to simply hurl oneself to the side.

Yes, that would usually be the case—but sometimes, there are those who challenge conventional wisdom and perform seemingly insane feats.

For instance, the crimson beast with fiery red hair now assumed a stance akin to a lion preparing to strike. She steadied her massive greatsword close to her shoulder, her hands tightening their grip as her muscles rippled visibly through the fabric of her diving suit.

Then, as if perfectly timing her strike, she swung her greatsword in an attempt to block the oncoming dark knight, who was charging at an incredible speed.

-Clanggg!!! BOOM!!!

A deafening screech pierced the air, accompanied by a burst of sparks as steel clashed against steel, threatening to rupture the eardrums of everyone nearby.

The sheer impact of the collision caused the surrounding ground to crack and splinter like a spider's web.

"Urgh!"

Gritting her teeth, Himeko poured even more strength into her arms as she held her sword firm, trying to withstand the immense weight of the dark iron steed.

The knight atop the black horse remained utterly composed, unbothered by the fact that her opening charge had been thwarted.

If she wanted to, she could easily crush the one before her by increasing the force of her charge—or more simply, by swinging her black blade to sever the unprotected neck just within her reach.

However, she refrained from doing so. Was it arrogance? Perhaps, but that was only part of it.

The black knight grinned wickedly and turned her blood-red eyes upward.

There, Kiana had already sprung into action as soon as the sound of the warhorse's charge echoed. Acting on pure warrior instincts, she immediately dashed forward at full speed. Without breaking stride, she launched herself upward by forcefully kicking off the ground. Running along the cave wall, she pushed off with another powerful kick, creating a shockwave strong enough to propel her toward her target.

To be precise, she hurled herself toward the enemy's unguarded back, aiming both pistols at her.

Indeed, those who defy conventional logic are difficult to predict. However, the truly powerful have always stood outside the bounds of common understanding.

Just before Kiana could fire her first shot, the black knight turned her head sharply, her crimson eyes locking onto Kiana as a manic grin spread across her face.

The knight pressed down hard with her foot on the iron steed, propelling herself upward. She leaped back toward Kiana, raising her black sword overhead like an arrow preparing to pierce her prey. Her target: Kiana's throat.

Kiana wasn't naive. Although briefly surprised, her sharp combat senses quickly assessed the situation.

She crossed her arms and fired her left pistol. The recoil pushed her body to the side, allowing her to evade the sword's deadly trajectory.

Not stopping there, Kiana aimed upward with her right pistol and fired again. The recoil increased her falling speed, positioning her directly below the knight, who was hurtling upward like an arrow.

"Neko-Charm!!"

Kiana kicked forward as she fell, conjuring a massive cat's paw aimed to smash into the knight like a sledgehammer.

-BOOM!

Unfortunately, the enemy was cunning enough to twist her body like a drill, using the black sword to generate a small whirlwind that mitigated most of the impact.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Kiana somersaulted midair to stabilize herself before landing gracefully on the ground.

Despite her irritation, a faint smirk formed on her lips as she observed the battlefield. She knew someone who never missed a good opportunity was already preparing to strike.

"Target acquired—opening fire."

A mechanical voice rang out, cold and emotionless, as Bronya unleashed a thermal cannon blast. The shot struck the airborne knight, leaving no room for escape.

-BOOM!!!

Bronya, standing beside her mech, had clearly prepared her heavy artillery. Her precision ensured that the first significant blow of the battle was hers.

---

Chiyou wasn't truly a being of clear rationality.

Her actions were driven purely by the primal instincts of a Honkai beast—a desire for destruction, pure and untainted.

In truth, calling the black-haired girl Chiyou was inaccurate. Chiyou lacked any defined personality; thus, the dominant consciousness belonged to Emperor Xuanyuan, who had endured a millennium of solitude in the lightless depths of the sea.

Corroded by the whispers of the Honkai Will and bereft of any spiritual anchor, her mind had been eroded, drowned in the madness of a destructive urge.

Even the greatest of heroes would fall to the cruelty of time and isolation, let alone a young girl who had yet to understand love.

The hatred that festered within her, distorted from loneliness, combined with the Honkai's destructive invasion, meant Xuanyuan was no longer herself.

Yet the truth remained—this person was once a hero of ancient times.

Her experience on the battlefield far outstripped that of anyone present, an undeniable reality.

Believing petty tricks and gimmicks could work against her was a grave mistake.

After escaping Bronya's cannon blast, Xuanyuan—or rather, Chiyou—had shielded herself with a Honkai energy barrier to minimize damage. She landed gracefully on the ground after the explosion.

With her malevolent grin intact, her blood-red eyes scanned the battlefield, partially obscured by smoke from the blast.

Thinking she was distracted, a figure used the cover of smoke to close the distance swiftly, skillfully masking the sound of their steps with feather-light movements.

The tip of their sword nearly reached her chest, yet she didn't even blink.

-Swish!

In an instant, she caught the blade barehanded. A few drops of black blood trickled down, but she showed no sign of pain. With a sharp pull, she yanked the sword toward herself and delivered a devastating knee strike to her opponent's stomach.

Yumeji, the one who took the hit, grimaced in pain but remained composed—he had anticipated such an outcome.

While his right hand, holding the sword, was restrained, his left hand was free.

Clenching a small pebble imbued with flame energy, he hurled it with precision.

The pebble, charged with explosive force, flew toward her face like a ticking bomb.

However, as previously mentioned, against a veteran of her caliber, such tricks were futile.

With a flick of her black sword, she summoned a gust of wind that blew the pebble far away. It exploded with a fiery burst several meters above her head, accompanied by a deafening roar and bright flash.

Watching the explosion, Yumeji clicked his tongue. He hadn't expected his attack to hit its mark. His true aim was to use the blast's intense light and sound to momentarily disorient her.

Even so, the battle continued. Using the recoil from the gust, he withdrew to a safer distance, his sword still in hand.

He licked his lips as he observed her, the enemy still standing with an air of calm arrogance.

She glanced across the battlefield, her crimson eyes quickly assessing the situation.

Two were busy engaging her warhorse, while the sniper and the one before her were cautiously keeping her in check.

Smirking at the man in front of her, she scoffed at her earlier concerns. He was far weaker than the opponent she remembered.

Having evaluated the battlefield, she swung her sword, releasing a wave of gravitational force that caused everyone to stagger slightly.

With another swing, she summoned a wave of ice, hurtling it toward the man standing before her.

*******

Looking at the incoming wave of ice, I exhaled a frosty breath as the temperature plummeted.

"Boost."

A red aura flared up, stabilizing my body temperature almost instantly. The icy surge was now less than a meter away from me.

Yet, I remained steadfast. Gazing at the bloodstained sword in my hand, I shifted my stance into the formal kendo posture.

Raising my focus to its peak, I closed my eyes to block out visual information and covered my ears with blood to muffle the sound.

I recalled the lesson Fu Hua once taught me about breaking apart large, solid objects.

Back then, she demonstrated splitting a massive rock cleanly in half with a single karate chop during a special training session, one I had begrudgingly attended after skipping too many practices for various reasons.

"Do you know the key to breaking something like this?"

Naively, I answered, "Strength." And for my ignorance, I was thoroughly beaten into the ground.

"Strength? Ridiculous. Martial arts were created by the weak to overcome the strong. Measuring it against the unfairness of physical development is absurd. What truly matters is identifying the 'point.'"

At the time, her words went over my head, but after a series of bone-crushing defeats (courtesy of her one-hit knockouts), I began to grasp their meaning.

The key lies in consistency and targeting the 'critical point.'

With this understanding, I transitioned from a kendo stance to a thrusting position.

I had to aim for the bullseye, the clearest metaphor for the 'point.'

Yet, every object's bullseye differs, which means I had to rely on something more primal to find it—instinct.

By placing myself in a near-death state, I could push my survival instincts to their maximum potential.

I disengaged the Boost shielding my body, letting the deathly chill engulf me. Channeling the red energy into the tip of my blade, I twisted it into a spiraling vortex.

1 meter left.

...

The frost started to freeze the soles of my shoes.

50 cm left.

My skin grew pale, and a thin layer of ice began clinging to my legs.

The toll of the death knell drew closer.

20 cm left.

Just as the icy spikes threatened to pierce my throat, I felt it.

And then...

"Shatter!!!"