Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"What! A St. Freya student is bullying my City Guard?"

"With the Raiden family's backing?!"

"What?! You were even mocked by the entire Kengan Association!"

Bronya was flabbergasted, feeling as if she herself had committed some heinous crime.

Did every new person in this house mean another person to lord over her?

Theresa was one thing, but now Mei-neesama's father was getting involved, and even the Kengan Association—Noldrei's personal factory for producing believers—was mocking her City Guard.

Was there no justice? Was there no law?!

"Alright, just put up with it for now. I'll talk to some people. I have something coming up, so I might not be able to look out for you for a while."

Without waiting for a reply, Bronya hung up.

Little Bronya clutched her chest and collapsed to her knees, sobbing to Seele.

"Seele, they're all bullying Bronya-oneechan! I can't take it anymore! I've already stepped down to become a net admin, why are they still hounding me like this?!"

"I can't take it! Seele, I have to go find you!"

But to her surprise, 'Seele' just looked at her gently and said, "Bronya-oneechan, you don't have to worry about my safety. Your friends will find me. Your own business is more important. The friends from the orphanage won't abandon Seele either."

Tears immediately welled up in Bronya's eyes. How could she bear to leave such a sweet Seele in the Sea of Quanta?

No, she had to participate in Noldrei's Eye of the Deep operation. It was a rare opportunity, and Bronya had a reason she absolutely had to go.

"Seele, just wait. I will definitely come and save you."

Seeing Bronya's spirits lift, Noldrei retracted his 'Seele' avatar.

He instructed Bronya, "Once you're in the Sea of Quanta, you must listen to your seniors' guidance and don't act on your own. We'll have to find the right time to rescue your friend, understand? Also, come here for a second. I'm lending you this useless thing for now."

With that, he took out the Core of the Herrscher of Death. A very useful item.

Then again, the core's power itself wasn't very suited for direct combat.

Who knew, maybe when Bronya arrived in a parallel world, the Herrscher of Death's ability would automatically trigger, creating some incredible super-virus and wiping out everyone there?

Bronya was too young to grasp the Emperor's "sinister intentions." She carefully accepted the Herrscher Core. If not for her modified body, she wasn't sure she could withstand its power.

"How do I use it?"

The small girl was a little excited. Was her luck finally turning? Was she about to wield the power of a Herrscher?

Noldrei waved his hand dismissively. "Don't get any ideas. It'll just keep you from dying. After all, you're the weakest one on this mission."

Bronya was used to it. She had long grown accustomed to such taunts.

That's right, she was the weakest one in the family. So what? She was the youngest, what's wrong with being the weakest?

As for Wendy, Bronya had already completely disowned her from the "loli" club.

Developing a figure like that at such a young age? She must have been pumped full of too many body modification hormones from Schicksal's Valkyrie program. She couldn't be counted among normally developing humans.

"Little Bronya, for this mission, I'm sending Durandal, Kiana, and you with me. I'll leave Academy City's affairs in the hands of Overseer Otto. Overseer Otto is loyal and true; he will surely be able to keep Cocolia and those Anti-Entropy folks in check!"

The mention of Anti-Entropy set Noldrei off. He had repeatedly ordered them to speed up the promotion of limb-grafting technology. But the Anti-Entropy Sovereign was particularly fond of quantum-state Stigma Battle Suits, even making himself a super cool, metallic-looking set.

The most infuriating part was that the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, with his Herrscher of Reason abilities, could use his own Stigma power independently, building his own Stigma Space network.

This meant Kiana couldn't obtain genetic information from the people who used the battle suits specified by Welt Yang.

When Noldrei called Welt a traitor to the empire, he genuinely meant it.

'Are you really serious? You're just going to dump Academy City on Otto? Aren't you afraid he'll turn it into his personal experimental playground?'

Bronya was genuinely scared. Couldn't Noldrei at least leave a failsafe or two?

But no, he had to do it this way, completely unconcerned about the things he held in his hand.

"Relax, I know what you're worried about. But the current Otto can't do the things you're imagining..."

"And besides..."

Noldrei trailed off.

If he didn't leave this place for a while, how would the Will of the Honkai dare to send down a Herrscher Core? How could he continue to fleece the Honkai?

Compared to the problem of Otto causing trouble, Otto certainly didn't want the Honkai to keep hiding either.

After all, given Noldrei's lifespan, Otto would probably never see the next Herrscher descend in his lifetime.

So, Noldrei's departure was a necessary step for the birth of the next Herrscher.

Not only was he leaving, but he was doing it with great fanfare, announcing that His Majesty the Emperor was embarking on an expedition to a parallel world, where he would promptly slaughter everyone.

He would also give the Honkai a little demonstration of just how efficiently humans could destroy other humans.

"Why do I suddenly feel a bit cold?" Bronya didn't know what she was about to face, but she soon found she was no longer in control of her own body.

A tentacle had slithered into her clothes at some point, inserting itself directly into her spinal cord.

Little Bronya blinked, then finally gave up all resistance and struggle.

What was there to see had been seen, what was there to be used had been used. As for what she would become, and whether Seele would even recognize her in the end... none of it mattered anymore.

Bronya could feel the Herrscher of Death's core integrating into her spine along with Noldrei's tentacle.

Unlike before, where Honkai resistance was a concern, a new, living Stigma was being constructed within her body.

The trial for the Stigma Battle Suit was instantly pushed to the fifth stage.

A direct confrontation with—Kiana Kaslana.

A giant eye floated in the sky of the Stigma Space. Even just tilting her head up slightly, Bronya could feel its terrifying pressure.

It was as if every cell in her body was answering the giant eyeball's summons.

But that was an illusion, a trick caused by the genetic information influencing the Stigma user in reverse.

Chaotic thoughts uncontrollably seeped into Bronya's mind.

Bronya's resistance was futile. It was the first time she had felt such despair, facing Kiana directly in the Stigma Space.

She heard it...

From the depths of her bloodline...

A distant call...

"Little Bronya, you're so weak. I thought you were already weak, but you're even weaker than I imagined..."

Bronya was instantly dumbfounded.

Being mocked in reality was one thing, but now she was being mocked in the Stigma Space too?