Honkai: Strijder (Honkai Impact 3 Male MC)

Crack—

Inside the lab at the base, surrounded by such a dense concentration of Honkai energy that even Kiana and Bronya felt discomfort, a faint metallic cracking sound suddenly broke the silence.

"The metal chamber is splitting open! Hey, what's going on with you? Did something go wrong!?" Kiana shouted in a mix of panic and horror.

Hera paused, staring at the data that far exceeded her expectations. 

Ignoring Kiana, she muttered in astonishment, "How…how could this be? So many unpredictable factors, yet he managed to control them all? It's as if… it's as if he knew exactly what the outcome would be from the start, like a script written to perfection!"

Clutching her hair, Hera's grin spread wide in astonished delight.

This was it. Only such a genius, one who could make her tremble, could achieve the unimaginable!

Hera wanted to burst into laughter. Only a genius of his level could give her a glimmer of hope.

Kallen! Kallen! Kallen!

It's so close now. All of her hope rests on Sigurd. Who else but him could surprise her like this?

Suddenly, a massive surge of Honkai energy started seeping out from the tiny crack, causing the dark metal chamber door to gradually split wider under the increasing pressure.

"Kiana, get out! It's going to explode!"

"Huh? But Sig is still in there—"

"He'll be fine; the experiment is over. If we don't move, we're the ones who'll be in trouble."

"Alright! Hera, follow us!"

Despite her dislike for Hera, Kiana's kind nature prevented her from just leaving her to face the blast. She reached out, offering to help Hera escape.

But Hera pushed Kiana's hand away with a shrug.

"I'm not leaving. I have to witness this moment with my own eyes! In fact, only I am worthy of being the first to see his transformation, the first to congratulate and praise him!"

Hera raised her arms like a zealous devotee, a radiant smile on her face.

Kiana's expression darkened.

"What do you mean, 'only you are worthy'? Say that again if you dare!"

"Little pet, run along now. Unlike you, he and I are friends—the only ones in the world who truly understand and appreciate each other!" Hera said, confident, even a bit arrogantly, grinning as if she held all the cards.

Kiana's face grew even darker. For some reason, her irritation with Hera surged to an entirely new level.

"Kiana, don't bother with her! Let's go!" Bronya grabbed Kiana's arm, gave Hera a long look, and then dashed out of the lab with Kiana in tow.

Boom!!!

Barely a second after they exited, an unimaginable force shattered the confined experimental pod, sending the ceiling soaring and tearing apart the orphanage building above it.

Roar—

Kiana and Bronya, sprawled out on the snow outside, were buried under a cloud of snow blown loose by the explosion. They could vaguely hear an earth-shaking dragon's roar echoing in the distance.

Moments later, the previously overwhelming Honkai energy vanished in an instant, as if some being had absorbed it all.

Kiana and Bronya pulled themselves out of the snow, exchanged a look, and rushed back through the fading smoke toward the center of the giant crater.

Soon, they saw Sigurd.

He stood there, bare-chested, his feet planted firmly on the ground, examining his right hand as if observing changes within himself.

To Kiana and Bronya, he seemed slightly taller, his face a bit more refined and cold, with some lean, well-defined muscles—though overall, the changes appeared minimal.

Opposite Sigurd stood Hera, beaming with joy.

"Congratulations. You now have the power to challenge me directly. Your transformation is astounding, but your brilliance is even more so. I, Hera—no, I, Otto Apocalypse, acknowledge you as the most extraordinary genius of this era, Sigurd!"

"…Can you get me some clothes?"

Sigurd's response to Hera's praise was uncharacteristically cold.

Hera scratched her cheek.

"Come on, don't start copying Amber's attitude now. You're killing the moment here."

"Do you have clothes or not?"

"Everything around here got blown to bits; where would I find clothes?" Hera spread her hands, shrugging helplessly.

Sigurd stared at Hera, and she stared back. The tension hung in the air, and the awkwardness was all on Sigurd. Standing there unclothed, it was impossible not to feel uncomfortable—especially with Hera, whose… inclinations were well-known.

Just then, a blushing Kiana approached, fidgeting, and held out a pair of gray pants.

"Here, I found this on the way here. Hurry up and put it on."

Tsk! How could he stand around like this, shirtless in front of everyone? If he's going to show off, at least wait until it's just the two of us behind closed doors!

Kiana, distracted and bemused, thought to herself. 

She couldn't resist stealing another glance at those well-defined abs and—something else she couldn't quite describe. 

A subtle, involuntary grin almost slipped across her lips.

Sigurd shot her a sidelong glance, sensing Kiana's strange inner musings, and looked over at Bronya. 

Bronya kept a straight face, her gaze wandering, as if she was too embarrassed to make eye contact.

'At least Bronya acts normal and knows how to be embarrassed,' he thought. As for Kiana… well, that would be something to deal with later.

"Follow me. I'm going ahead to check things out," Sigurd said calmly. 

With a wave of his hand, two drones flew over, carrying the "Key of Thunder" and the "Judgment of Shamash" to him. 

As soon as he grasped them, the Key of Thunder transformed into a black gauntlet wrapping around his right hand, and the Judgment of Shamash morphed into a massive flaming sword.

'He's mastered two God Keys instantly?' Hera narrowed her eyes, growing even more curious about Sigurd's transformation.

Sigurd stepped forward, and in a blink, vanished, leaving only two deep footprints in the ground.

<+>

The Honkai energy burst had temporarily disabled the Titan units, causing an overload in the Hive System's data, leaving it unable to respond and just floating in the air.

In contrast, the dwindling number of Honkai Beasts absorbed enough energy to push past their size and power limits, advancing to the peak of low-level Honkai Beasts—Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. They proceeded unimpeded, quickly reaching the area where Wendy was.

If Wendy were still in her berserk state, the beasts might have ignored her, maybe even worshipped her. But now, she had slipped out of that state.

No longer in a near-Herrscher form, she was merely human to the Honkai Beasts—an intruder to be eliminated. 

One of the Honkai Beasts raised its massive forelimb, preparing to crush her and the immobilized Rita into pulp.

Wendy cast a regretful look at the pale-faced Rita and felt grateful that Seele and Rozaliya had been taken away in time. Then, she closed her eyes, resigned, allowing her body to fall and death to take her.

'So this is the fate of a Valkyrie…' Wendy and Rita thought simultaneously.

But instead of the ground, Wendy felt herself being supported by a hand that held her limp form.

Boom!!!

Wendy opened her eyes, seeing a blinding flash of fire as it obliterated the impending death blow, even tearing through the clouds above, bathing her in sunlight.

"You…"

The familiar, handsome profile, the clear blue eyes, and the silver hair shining in the sunlight—Wendy couldn't deny that her heart skipped a beat at the sight.

"Not dead yet? Or have you turned into a Herrscher by now? If you did, I'd just kill you and extract the gem myself."

Sigurd looked down, gazing at her with detached curiosity, like a naturalist assessing a mildly interesting specimen.

"..."

His cold words brought Wendy's heartbeat crashing back to normal.

"Scram!" Wendy spat.

She had always been known among her team as kind and gentle. Even when experiments failed or when facing hostile researchers, she had never cursed. Not even against the always-up-to-something Rozaliya, Liliya, or Kiana from the orphanage. At most, she would roll her eyes at their antics.

But this guy—this guy alone drove Wendy to forget her usual patience. If she weren't completely drained, she would've gladly strangled him on the spot.

Sigurd frowned.

"You seem to still have plenty of energy…" he muttered, sounding slightly disappointed.

Wendy felt her blood pressure spike. 

Her forehead throbbed as she gritted her teeth and hissed, "(▼へ▼メ) If I were a Herrscher, the first thing I'd do is come for your life!"

As Wendy fumed, more Honkai Beasts focused their attention on them, closing in with their overwhelming size and power. 

But Wendy saw only Sigurd's serene, unwavering blue eyes, and strangely, she didn't feel a shred of fear in their gaze.

Maybe his dependable, all-capable image had already carved its way into her heart?

Lost in thought, Wendy watched Sigurd lift the flaming greatsword, his fiery presence seeming to set the very sky ablaze as he effortlessly reduced every threat to ash in a sea of flames. 

Her eyelids grew heavy under the increasing weight of exhaustion until, finally, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

<+>

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