Chapter 7:

Suddenly, the room trembled.

A soft rumble, like a distant roar beneath the earth, caused dust to drift from the ceiling. Kiana looked up instinctively."…What was that?"

Another tremor hit—this time stronger. A flickering ceiling light swayed slightly, and the floor vibrated under their feet.

From the phone in Kiana's hand, Theresa's voice suddenly burst out in panic."WHAT?!"

Kiana flinched and quickly brought the screen up. "What's wrong, Aunt Theresa?"

Theresa's expression was tense, eyes darting as she read something off-screen."You two need to get out of there—now!"

Kiana blinked in confusion. Mei turned toward the screen too, frowning."Wait, didn't you just tell us to stay put?" Kiana asked, still seated.

"No time for jokes! There's a massive monster heading right for your location!" Theresa barked.

"What?!" Kiana jumped to her feet, shock flashing across her face. Then suddenly become confuse "Another monster?! What kind of monster?"

Before Theresa could respond, Mei sighed and explained, her tone deadpan but calm. "The monster descended from the sky—armed with a shield and spear, standing roughly twelve meters tall."

Kiana's expression slowly shifted into that familiar mix of understanding and not understand."…Ah. So that thing. The big, white armored freak I saw stomping down the highway earlier. Huh."

She glanced back at the screen. "That's bad, right?"

"Of course it's bad, you rascal!!" Theresa shouted, nearly shaking her phone from the other side."Get out of there—take Mei and run! I'll try to send backup but don't wait for them!"

Suddenly, static burst across the screen. The signal began cutting in and out.

"Wha—no no no! Not now!" Kiana tried shaking the phone. "Aunt Theresa?!"

"Kiana—listen—stay sa—GET OUT—!"

The screen flickered, and then everything went black. The emergency call dropped, leaving only their reflections staring back in the glossy dark of the screen.

For a moment, silence settled between them.

Kiana slowly lowered the phone and turned to Mei. The violet-haired girl was already watching her, eyes steady.

No words were needed.

They both nodded.

Kiana clenched her fists, slipping the phone into her pocket. "Alright… let's get the out of here."

Mei stood, brushing the dust from her skirt and tightening her grip on her bokken. "Together."

They turned toward the tunnel entrance....footsteps echoing as the tremors grew stronger.

----------------------------

The ground shook with every step as the Templar-class Honkai beast marched down the shattered boulevard. Its towering, armored frame gleamed under the fire—an unnatural blend of white carapace and otherworldly glow radiating from its core. Its shield, scraped against the asphalt with each slow, thunderous step.

Ahead of it, several human tanks had formed a last-ditch blockade. Turrets turned and locked onto the creature.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Shells exploded against the Honkai beast’s shield in flashes of flame and steel. Smoke billowed, briefly obscuring the beast—but as the dust settled, it stood there, unmoved. Not a scratch.

Its massive shield absorbed every blow.

Above, the roar of fighter jets cut through the air. They swooped in formation, unloading payloads of high-explosive missiles. The street below lit up in a cascade of detonations.

When the smoke cleared, the creature still stood—unshaken, untouched.

It slowly lifted its head, turning its gaze skyward. Its visor glowed, a hum building in the air as an eerie, blinding light began to collect at the center of its mask-like face.

FWOOOOOOM!

A brilliant beam of raw Honkai energy lanced upward, carving a straight line through the sky. One by one, the jets vanished in a white-hot blaze—scattered like ash in the wind.

Then, without haste, it shifted its focus downward.

The beast raised its colossal spear.

CRASH!

With a brutal, precise stab, it drove the spear through a nearby tank—piercing it like paper. A second tank tried to reverse, only to be smashed aside like a toy.

Panicked soldiers spilled out from the wreckage, scrambling across the cracked pavement. Desperation in their eyes, they turned and opened fire with rifles, shouting orders, screaming.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Bullets pinged off the beast’s armor like rain on steel.

It didn’t even flinch.

The Honkai beast took another step forward, its shadow swallowing the soldiers whole.

It was not a battle.

It was a massacre.

From the shadows and smoke, smaller Honkai beasts—twisted animals and corrupted humans, born from Jyahnar's overflowing Honkai energy—emerged in swarms. Their glowing eyes and erratic movements struck terror into the remaining soldiers. Some were former comrades, now twisted mockeries of life. Others were mutated creatures, feral and vicious, tearing through flesh and steel alike.

The few remaining soldiers, still firing at the towering Templar-class beast, now found themselves ambushed from all sides.

"Stay together!"

"They're everywhere—AARGH!"

Screams echoed through the shattered cityscape. Blood splattered against broken concrete. Guns clicked empty. One by one, the soldiers were overwhelmed beneath the weight of the horde.

High above it all, on a floating throne forged from bone-white crystal and pulsating with Honkai energy, Jyahnar sat in silence.

Her long, dark blue hair flowed in the wind, shimmering faintly like ink in water. Her cold, blue eyes scanned the battlefield beneath her with detachment.

She leaned her head against her hand, propping herself lazily on the throne’s arm. Around her, the wind howled—but she didn’t seem to notice.

"Sigh... Humans are so boring," she murmured. Her voice, soft yet sharp, cut through the air like a dagger wrapped in silk.

Another tank exploded. Another squad of soldiers fell.

But Jyahnar didn’t even flinch.

"They don’t even scream in interesting ways anymore..." she said, exhaling a long, annoyed breath.

"They just die. One after another."

To her, human lives were just fragile toys—easily broken, easily replaced. There was no thrill, no challenge. Just a sea of weaklings succumbing to her will.

Then—

She paused.

A sudden spike of energy flared in the distance.She sat upright, her eyes sharpening.

Something massive was approaching the city.

Something... powerful.

A slow, wicked grin spread across her lips.

"Heh... what’s this?" she whispered, rising slowly from her throne. Her body crackled with Honkai energy, and her aura darkened the sky around her.

Her grin widened—manic, delighted.

"Hahahahaha! You humans... really think a nuclear bomb will kill me?" she cackled, her voice echoing through the heavens like a curse.

"Do it. Fire it."

"Let me see your greatest weapon..."

She licked her lips, eyes glowing with anticipation.

"And let me show you..."

"What true despair looks like—when even your final hope cannot touch me."

She threw her head back and laughed—wild and unhinged—as the winds howled louder, and the city below burned brighter.

The wind carried the stench of smoke, blood, and despair—yet none of it stirred her deadened heart.

She turned her head slowly, her gaze falling on the towering humanoid Honkai beast beside her. The creature stood motionless, like a statue wrought from hatred and flesh, pulsing faintly with violet energy.

"Should I let you play with them...?" she murmured to the beast, her voice like silk over broken glass.

But then she frowned, bored. Even the Templar-class Honkai had dulled her interest. Those mindless brutes had slaughtered humanity with too much ease. A creature almost on the level of Judgment would only make things worse—an anticlimactic end to an already pitiful struggle.

Besides... this was her grand debut.

The world had yet to witness the true horror of a Herrscher reborn.

“They think their gods watch over them,” she whispered, rising to her feet, arms spread as if to embrace the carnage below. “But I am the will of this broken world now.”

Her blue eyes lit up, glowing with divine menace.

"Ye shall not be frightened of God, who’s among you is great and old to keep you from sin..." Her voice rose, twisted like a sermon from a mad priestess. "You should be grateful. This—this is the will of the gods!"

Then her laughter erupted—sharp, maniacal, echoing like a curse across the dying city.

The sky itself seemed to tremble.

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Down below, in the skeletal remains of a shattered high-rise…

Kiana crouched beside a broken window, eyes scanning the crumbling street. The air was thick with dust and the distant screeches of Honkai beasts. Burned-out cars littered the roads, and shadows twisted behind the ruins.

Mei leaned against a concrete pillar, catching her breath. Her uniform was torn, stained with blood that wasn’t hers.

Suddenly, Kiana froze.

"...Mei... Mei! Did you hear that?" she asked, her voice hushed but urgent.

Mei blinked, stepping closer. "What?"

"A voice—laughing." Kiana stared out the window, squinting toward the distant city center.

For a moment, silence.

Then faintly... a low, haunting laughter echoed through the air like a phantom wind. It didn’t sound human.

Mei’s brows furrowed. “...Yes. I hear it now.”

Kiana exhaled, relieved. "Phew, I thought I was imagining things."

She turned to Mei, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips despite the tension in the air. “Let’s go. Someone’s laughing in this mess? That means they’re alive, right? Maybe they need help!”

Mei looked unsure. "Kiana... that laugh didn't sound like someone who needs saving..."

Then their eyes met. Mei nodded silently.

Mei stood by the crumbling doorway of the ruined building, her gaze softening as she looked at Kiana. The distant echo of mad laughter still hung in the air like a curse.

“…Sigh. Kiana, let’s go,” Mei said with a faint smile, brushing dust from her sleeves.

She knew all too well how her companion’s mind worked. If she didn’t agree, Kiana would charge in on her own—reckless and foolishly kind. Mei didn’t hate that part of her. In fact… she found herself drawn to it.

Kiana turned with a wide grin, eyes lighting up. “Alright! With Mei backing me up, even Aunt Theresa can’t scold me!”

Mei chuckled softly, unable to resist Kiana’s infectious energy.

Just as the two stepped toward the shattered threshold of the building, a sudden force yanked them both back into the shadows.

“Wah—! Ouch!” Kiana exclaimed, stumbling back and raising her bat defensively. “What the heck was that?!”

“You okay, Kiana?” Mei asked quickly, reaching down to help her up.

Kiana blinked, then turned her head to glare at whoever had pulled them. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw a small figure standing before them.

A young girl, no older than them, dressed in tactical gear. She had drill-shaped twin ponytails of pale gray hair and cold gray eyes that seemed to calculate everything in a heartbeat. Her expression was blank, emotionless—like a machine that had seen too much.

“You have been retrieved. Subject should express gratitude,” the girl said flatly.

“…Who the heck are you supposed to be?” Kiana narrowed her eyes, slowly getting to her feet.

“Bronya Zaychik,” the girl replied without hesitation. “Bronya helped both subjects avoid fatal outcome. Gratitude is the appropriate response.”

Kiana took a step forward, clearly unamused. “Tch. Why should we thank you, huh?! This feels fishy. Suspicious. I’ve seen this kind of setup in movies—act nice, earn our trust, then stab stab in the back!”

“Kiana…” Mei sighed and stepped in, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down. Maybe she has a reason. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“No, Mei! This is how the betrayal arc starts!” Kiana pointed dramatically, as if narrating the plot. “Act One: mysterious girl saves us. Act Two: we trust her. Act Three: she turns into some crazy android assassin!”

Bronya blinked at Kiana’s outburst. Her expression didn’t change—at least not in the way a normal person’s would. Instead, her face slowly shifted into a strange emoji-like blank smile: (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ)

“…It appears Bronya has encountered two subjects. One is rational onee-sama,” she nodded at Mei, “and the other is… idiot. Bronya is unsure how idiot subject has survived this long.”

Kiana’s jaw dropped. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT, YOU SHORT-CIRCUITED MUFFIN?!”

Bronya stared, then replied without skipping a beat, “Subject idiot now attempts comeback. Adding 'short' to insult does not increase its effectiveness. Oh, the creativity.”

(ᗜ ˰ ᗜ)

(Bronya/note: From this point on, this account belongs to bronya (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ))