I Am Honkai

One minute prior, 10,000 meters above Tengu City, an airship known as the Fraxinus was locking onto the landing point of the new "Spirit."

The streamlined alloy hull gleamed faintly, hinting at some sort of cloaking system.

"Control error, beyond standard indices—strong Spacequake detected. Landing position confirmed..."

"Fortunately, it's not in the city center—it's in the coastal region south of Tengu City!"

The command bridge of the airship was a scene of bustling activity.

The bridge was half-oval, with the captain's chair positioned centrally near the door. On either side were gentle staircases leading down to the lower level, where crew members operated intricate electronic consoles. Screens placed around the bridge illuminated the otherwise dim area with a distinct glow.

"Detect the Spirit's designation."

From the elevated captain's seat, a voice that sounded unexpectedly young and cute came through, issuing orders with a tone of authority. The voice belonged to a red-haired girl dressed in a deep red uniform, her twin tails held up by a black ribbon. She had the youthful look of someone around thirteen or fourteen years old, like a middle schooler, an age hard to reconcile with the commanding role she held.

"Analyzing Spirit energy fluctuations for comparison..." The fingers of a middle-aged, balding operator flashed over the touchscreen. Suddenly, he showed a look of surprise.

"Commander! This is an entirely new reading, no previous records—a Spirit appearing for the first time!"

"A new Spirit?! Excellent! Get Shido on this right away, before AST (Anti-Spirit Team) messes things up."

Crunching down on a lollipop, the red twin-tailed girl, Kotori Itsuka, spoke with excitement. The Spirit wasn't in Ratatoskr's database, which meant this was a first appearance. Since this Spirit hadn't previously manifested, it also meant AST hadn't attacked it yet, and it likely harbored no hostility toward humans. This was the ideal candidate for Shido to make contact with and neutralize!

This also meant another potential admirer for her brother… Kotori sighed at the thought of even more competition, then glanced back. "How strong was the Spacequake?"

At that moment, a small black dot on the central screen rapidly expanded, plummeting to the sea outside Tengu City.

In the next instant, a deafening explosion—followed by a blinding flash.

The flash was so intense that everyone in the bridge reflexively squinted and raised their arms to shield themselves—except for...

"What's happening?" asked a lethargic-sounding woman near Kotori, seated at the commander's left side, sounding as if she was just murmuring to herself.

"Hm? What was that, Reine?"

"Oh, nothing… It's just that this Spirit seems very powerful."

The woman, known as Reine Murasame, looked half-awake, a teddy bear with stitches sticking out of her uniform pocket. She had disheveled silver hair, with dark circles under her eyes, as though she hadn't rested in days.

"Agreed. The scale of this Spacequake… It's the largest in the past twenty years."

Kotori, visibly concerned, observed the massive crater-like Spacequake stretching from the coastline up to the city. The radius of destruction must already exceed 30 kilometers.

Since the "Eurasian Great Air Disaster" and the "Southern Kanto Great Air Disaster" decades ago, Spacequakes had continued to trouble the world, but at a much smaller scale. The most severe ones these days had barely reached AA class—only Berserk had achieved this intensity.

Most Spirits—designated code names like Efreet, Diva, Princess, or Hermit—typically only reached levels C or B.

Even the infamous Nightmare, infamous as the "Worst Spirit," only created C-class Spacequakes. The quakes weren't the sole measure of a Spirit's potential threat, but they were the easiest way to assess the immediate danger.

Kotori wiped cold sweat from her forehead, genuinely questioning if her brother could handle this.

After a few tense moments, Kotori, masking her apprehension, watched the screen intently.

"This scale… the casualties are going to be high," she said, slumping back in her captain's chair.

On the monitor, a drastically altered view of Tengu City filled the bridge—what was once a bustling urban center was now a void stretching from the coastline into the city.

Buildings, roads, railways—everything within the Spacequake zone had vanished, leaving behind a smooth, deep crater. The sheer magnitude of the destruction created a landscape as if it had been surgically carved away.

"Commander, this Spacequake is rated above AAA, and is confirmed as S-class."

The tall man standing to Kotori's right, speaking in a cultured, almost servant-like tone, gave a slight bow. His wavy blonde hair and sharp features hinted at a non-Japanese heritage.

"Current threat level: SS. Spacequake rating: S-class. Spirit designation: unknown. Angel: unknown."

"That's hardly helpful, I could see that much," Kotori shot back, ignoring the flamboyant gentleman by her side and focusing her gaze on the icy-blue figure descending from the sky onto the seafloor below.

"So powerful… so mature… and so... big!" Kotori murmured, contemplating. "Are we still the juvenile forms, while she's fully grown?"

...

"Strangely, this energy surrounding me hasn't harmed me at all…"

Floating in mid-air, Esdeath looked around, genuinely perplexed.

This energy wasn't attacking her but seemed to assist in amplifying her destruction of the world below. Was this world's consciousness already that eager to submit to the Empire?

"Hmm?" Detecting something, Esdeath looked up. "So, the armed forces of this world are finally making a move?"

Far off on the horizon, a few lights resembling stars suddenly appeared.

Esdeath then saw dozens of young girls in tight combat suits, each carrying various weapons and flying toward her at high speed with the assistance of their jet thrusters.

"A specialized unit of only women, like the 'Sisters of Battle'? Wait a minute, what... what are they wearing?"

Esdeath's eyes widened as she noticed the revealing outfits of these young women. Their suits left large areas exposed—their thighs, abdomens, collarbones, and even their chests were left unprotected.

AST (Critical Error).jpg

"Are you sure these are combat suits and not some kind of provocative outfits?"

Esdeath could hardly be blamed for thinking this. Since her transformation into the Herrscher of Ice, she hadn't yet participated in the Astartes' external wars of conquest, leaving her with a limited view still influenced by her experiences under the former Empire.

Back then… well, such revealing attire did exist, but it was generally associated with the pleasures of the elite.

The Sisters of Battle and Sisters of Silence she'd encountered in the Empire—the only female combat units she knew—were all rigorously and fully armored.

Even in the Imperial Assassination Corps and her personal "Jaegers" unit, Esdeath had never seen anyone dress so provocatively.

Wearing something like that on the battlefield? Was it supposed to charm the enemy into surrendering, or did they believe that the less fabric, the greater the defense?

"A new Spirit has manifested; she's not in the AST database. Stay on alert, everyone!"

The stern-looking woman leading the group, a young warrior with a black ponytail, observed Esdeath for a moment before issuing her command over the radio.

"Yes, Captain Kusakabe!"

"No matter if she's new or documented—if she's a Spirit, she must be killed!"

With cold, expressionless eyes, a short-haired silver-haired girl gazed down at Esdeath below.

Ryouko Kusakabe sighed, glancing at Origami Tobiichi beside her. This powerful young subordinate had an unyielding, reckless fighting style whenever facing a Spirit, disregarding any commands.

But there was no time to worry about that now; she'd talk to Origami after the mission. Kusakabe raised her weapon and shouted, "Commence Spirit Expulsion Operation!"

Instantly, dozens of young women squeezed their triggers in unison. In the next moment—bang bang bang!

Hundreds of mini-missiles, firing from the jet thrusters on their backs, descended upon Esdeath, who stood on the seabed below.

Esdeath merely looked up, her face expressionless.

In the next second—Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions roared around Esdeath, one after another, as blasts of fire engulfed the already devastated seabed in a new cloud of smoke and debris.

Seeing no movement through the smoke, one AST member exclaimed with excitement, "Captain, did we succeed…?"

Squelch!

Blood sprayed.

"Koho!"

With a sputtering breath, the AST member named Koho glanced down at the icy blue hand piercing her chest, her eyes blank as she lost consciousness.

"You… how dare you…"

"Dare what, exactly? What, did you expect me to stand still and take your attacks?"

Frozen blood droplets dripped down from the sky. Esdeath pulled her hand free from the woman's chest, casually flicking the blood off with a faint smile.

Before their eyes, her body rapidly froze, ice crystals spreading across her flesh until her corpse was brittle and covered in frost.

"You chose to join the military. As soldiers, were you not prepared to die in battle?" Although Esdeath smiled, there was no warmth in her voice.

The moment the frozen body struck the ground, it shattered into blood-stained ice fragments with a sharp crack.

"You damned Spirit, you deserve to die!"

Esdeath's smile was naturally taken as a taunt by the AST members, whose eyes were filled with anger and hatred.

For years, they'd always had the upper hand, relentlessly pursuing Spirits who rarely fought back. They hadn't suffered casualties in a long time.

But this new Spirit had killed one of their sisters right from the start, her intent to kill evident. How could they not be enraged?

"Spirit? So that's the name you've given me?" Esdeath chuckled. "If this world has only opponents like you, then Robert was being overly cautious."

Ignoring the AST's furious barrage of attacks, Esdeath took a calm breath. The exhaled air solidified into icy crystals as she blew it forward.

Hoo—!

The freezing breath spread out, instantly enveloping the fiery projectiles and chilling the air in a wide arc. A few AST members who couldn't avoid the frost were caught in it.

"You're all too weak! Too weak! Where are the supernatural beings of this world? Are they hiding behind mere mortals?"

Within moments, the propulsion systems on their backs were frozen solid, trapping their bodies in ice. They fell to the ground, shattering into blood-streaked ice roses.

"Miko! Kumi! Rina…" Ryouko Kusakabe's hands shook as she shouted, her frustration growing as she saw her companions perish in an instant.

"So many of your soldiers have died, and you can't stay calm. And you call yourselves soldiers? I see no battlefield aura on you at all—are you new recruits?"

"Eh, no matter. This fight is dull and pointless. If that being won't come out, I'll force them to!"

Ignoring the fury in their eyes, Esdeath extended her arms wide.

"Freeze! Grand General of Frost!"

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

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