Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players

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Siegfried departed, ultimately choosing to believe Ana's words.

His trust did not lie with the Pioneers she mentioned but rather with Ana herself. In her eyes, he saw a reflection of his past self—full of ambition and confidence. However, back then, he was merely a puppet on strings.

Now, this young girl had already comprehended everything, surpassing him significantly.

Moreover, as she had said, the future... belonged to their generation. All he could do as an old man was lay the best possible foundation for these younger ones.

Meanwhile, in the hotel's basement, after dispatching Warta, Fu Hua arrived on the scene—but it was too late.

Dr. Markov and Kiana had already opened the safe and retrieved the Serenity Gem. Faced with such perilous circumstances, Kiana chose to sacrifice herself by holding the gem in her hand.

In the hotel basement, Fu Hua had dispatched Vatler and arrived on the scene, but it was too late.

Dr. Magi and Kiana had already opened the safe and retrieved the Gem of Serenity. Faced with such peril, Kiana chose to sacrifice herself by holding onto the gemstone.

Of course, this played right into Otto and Cocolia's hands. The Moonshadow Chapter is crucial for Sirin's awakening; without these events, her malevolent personality would likely remain sealed.

In a sense, Fu Hua inadvertently contributed significantly to their scheme.

"Hurry and leave. While I still have my wits about me, I'll destroy the Honkai Energy Reactor here to prevent further contamination of the city."

The birth of a Herrscher requires vast amounts of Honkai Energy as catalyst. Thus, Cocolia installed a reactor in the basement to supply energy for the newborn Herrscher. Now, only Dr. Magi, nearing his end, can dismantle it.

"Well then, I shall take my leave."

Fu Hua understood there were no other options; she could only bid farewell. Someone needed to handle the reactor, and only scientific experts like Magi were capable of doing so.

"Oh right, there's something I need to ask you about. When that white-haired girl wakes up, please tell her for me."

"Though she may be foolish, impulsive, and naive, her courage truly brought about miracles. Her efforts—"

"—deserve recognition!" Magi gave a thumbs-up, his back turned toward Fu Hua.

"I understand," she replied.

Holding Kiana in her arms, Fu Hua prepared to leave but paused at the door.

"To be honest, sometimes I feel the same way."

With those words, Fu Hua disappeared from the control room.

Sighing, Dr. Magi looked at the console before him and swiftly began operating it. As a doctor leading a laboratory within Schicksal, handling such equipment and researching Honkai Energy reactors were part of his routine expertise.

In no time, he completed setting up the self-destruct sequence. Just as he was about to press the button, a voice sounded behind him:

"Sometimes, miracles aren't solely born from courage; they might have been inevitable outcomes all along."

"Who's there?!"

Magi's pupils contracted as he glanced towards the door, only to find a brunette girl standing there unexpectedly. Dressed casually, she appeared charming and lovely, but that wasn't the focus; the crucial question was how such a young girl could have appeared here.

"A lackey of Schicksal?!" Magi exclaimed sternly, swiftly turning around to activate the self-destruct mechanism for the Honkai Reactor. However, his opponent was faster. In an instant, she reached him, pulling him away from the controls.

"I think we can still salvage this, Grandpa Magi."

The girl's voice instantly reminded Magi of his granddaughter, Rin.

"It's been a while, Grandpa Magi. Please accept my condolences for Rin," she said gently.

"You're..." Magi's eyes flickered with disbelief. As a renowned doctor, he was familiar with most of Schicksal's Valkyries, primarily due to his connection with his granddaughter.

When Rin was still a B-rank Valkyrie, Magi had met this very girl before. She was Rin's friend, not necessarily her closest confidante, but indeed a companion. At that time, Rin had even introduced her friends to him...

"Are you Ana, Rin's friend?"

"That's right."

"Let's tend to your injuries first."

As Ana awaited Magi's response, she summoned the Abyss Flower.

"The Abyss Flower?!" Magi's pupils contracted; shouldn't this Divine Key be wielded by Durandal, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie? How did it end up in Ana's hands?

Since Magi was actually corrupted by the Gem of Serenity's energy, treating him wasn't difficult. Without needing to exert full power, Ana swiftly completed his healing process.

"All that remains now is to destroy this Reactor Core..." Ana pondered, gazing at the device before her.

"Give up, child. Let me activate the self-destruct sequence; it's the only way to ensure the city's safety," Magi advised, already prepared for sacrifice.

One might ask, why not just shut down the reactor instead? It wouldn't work, akin to temporarily halting operations at an active nuclear power plant. Once they left, Anti-Entropy would undoubtedly return to restart it.

"Grandpa Magi, you're not living up to Rin's description of you. You should use your imagination more." Ana said with a relaxed smile.

With a cheerful grin, Ana leisurely asked:

"Could you modify this program for timed and localized explosions?"

"That's certainly possible, but..." Magi hesitated, knowing that merely destroying the control room would serve no purpose.

"No worries! You mustn't forget, I am from the House of Schariac, and furthermore, I'm the current priestess. Leave this to me!"

Magi's pupils contracted slightly.

In Schicksal, the surnames of Valkyries were often insignificant, with some even being mere codenames. This led Magi to momentarily overlook the lineage of the girl before him.

As one well-informed about the holy blood of the Schariac family within Schicksal, he knew quite extensively on the subject.

Although no subsequent member had achieved the same level of holiness as Cecilia, given Ana claimed to be a priestess, it implied—

"You know, this is actually my first time trying it like this," Ana murmured softly. She gently cut her wrist with a finger, drawing out a few drops of blood. As the blood dripped onto the Abyss Flower, it further activated its power.

Previously, Cecilia had sacrificed all her blood under dire circumstances, enveloping the entire Siberian region with its sanctifying effects. However, Ana did not need to do the same.

She only required offering a small amount of her blood, and furthermore, regarding potency, her blood surpassed Cecilia's significantly.

As the blood dripped onto the Abyss Flower, the originally pristine white petals turned crimson, expanding under the influence of the holy blood's power.

Then, Ana thrust this blood-red lance into the Honkai Energy reactor before her.

Before the reactor could explode, the contained Honkai Energy was swiftly neutralized by the holy blood's strength, transforming it into pure, stable energy.

"Please, Grandpa Magi," Ana turned her head, looking at Magi behind her.

Magi's research was crucial. Although the power of holy blood could save ordinary people infected by Honkai, Ana wasn't some blood donation machine.

Thus, she needed Magi's expertise, his medicinal compounds.

Saving Magi essentially meant saving thousands upon thousands of lives.

"Sigh—"

Magi sighed, gazing at the smiling face of this young girl before him; it reminded him of Rin's image. Unfortunately... Rin never had such fortune or power.

Quickly approaching the control panel, Magi began operating swiftly. The process was similar to earlier, except instead of Honkai Energy, he used conventional energy sources. Consequently, the final explosion would be akin to a gas blast.

With this level of controlled demolition, targeting specific areas, the only real consequence would be destroying two unoccupied houses, posing minimal harm otherwise.

"Although I'm interrupting your promise with Rin, I believe your research will undoubtedly save many more innocent lives."

Ana smiled while controlling Abyss Flower, her voice steady.

"..."

Magi remained silent, merely shaking his head. As an old man, he had long reconciled with life and death. If not for his desire to make a difference and save more people, he would have sought release from life long ago. This outcome wasn't entirely undesirable.

"Hah—" Ana uttered softly as she withdrew Abyss Flower. Harnessing the power of holy blood, she created a barrier encapsulating the conventional energy within the original Reactor Core.

Due to the transformation and collision of holy blood, along with normal energy depletion, the reactor's remaining energy was now approximately one-fifth of its original level. In this state, even without causing an explosion, there wouldn't have been any issues.

However, to maintain secrecy, at least from outsiders' perspectives, Dr. Magi had to appear dead. Consequently, the explosion became inevitable.

"Alright, that should do it."

Wiping beads of sweat from her forehead, Ana knew controlling the Abyss Flower indeed required considerable physical exertion. Additionally, using the holy blood further drained her; only after this intense burst did she truly feel the strain.

"Yes, I've completed my part as well," Dr. Magi confirmed. Then, he took out a roll of bandages and meticulously wrapped them around Ana's wounds.

"Grandpa Magi, there's no need for this. With the Abyss Flower, my healing is rapid, and there won't be any scars." Witnessing his actions, Ana felt torn between laughter and tears. Nevertheless, she let the stubborn old man continue, suspecting that perhaps he wished to channel his love for Rin onto her.

"How fortunate! Bianka had Dr. Schrödinger, and now I have Dr. Magi," Ana thought contentedly to herself. It wasn't about one-upmanship at all! Just that having such supportive grandfathers seemed like a standard trope for protagonists, right? In that case, she could now consider herself the protagonist of this Honkai Impact 3 story!

From this point on, the narrative shifted away from Ana's direct involvement.

Fu Hua led Kiana out of the control room. Due to the influence of the Gem of Serenity, Kiana's Herrscher personality awakened, prompting Fu Hua to engage her in battle immediately.

With Otto's Godslayer Armor equipped, Kiana held the upper hand against Fu Hua.

However, as Sirin reveled in her triumph, Fu Hua requested Otto to transmit her own Godslayer Armor. With this, the tide turned, transforming the battle into a one-sided display of Fu Hua's prowess.

A single Short-inch Strike shattered the connection between the Gem of Serenity and Kiana, causing Sirin to fall dormant once again. Undoubtedly, though, this awakening granted Sirin advantages, enabling her to continually infiltrate and harass Kiana thereafter.

"Mission accomplished!" Holding the Gem of Serenity in one hand and cradling Kiana with the other, Fu Hua declared calmly. Under the setting sun, her silhouette appeared exceptionally heroic.

"Clap, clap, clap—"

A round of applause echoed through the air as Ana leaped from a distant rooftop platform and landed beside Fu Hua. She had just briefly attended to Dr. Magi's needs.

Later, she would transport him to her privately established laboratory, funded by the Shaniate Consortium. To construct this facility, she even sought assistance from the World Serpent—a necessary step for gaining real influence and securing her position. Logistics and research must be managed effectively, and fortunately, with Dr. Magi leading now, it could only improve further if she manages to recruit Schrödinger from Bianka.

Of course, that was merely wishful thinking.

Currently, Schrödinger resides within the Sea of Quanta. To contact Doctor Schrödinger, one inevitably has to interact with Kevin... Given the circumstances, approaching Kevin seems unwise.

Not only is there uncertainty about whether she could defeat Kevin in the Sea of Quanta, but more importantly, without backup outside, entering the Sea means risking being unable to return.

Thus, venturing into the Sea of Quanta isn't currently feasible for Ana.

"A truly remarkable performance, Miss Fu Hua."

Clapping enthusiastically, Ana grinned. Naturally, she had witnessed the entire battle between Fu Hua and the Herrscher of the Void. Meanwhile, seizing this opportunity, she performed a major makeover on Dr. Magi—activating the Abyss Flower's transcendent effect.

However, under her precise control, instead of reversing his age completely, she merely restored him to his youthful state.

With that, there was no need for further concern about his well-being.

Using the identity Ana procured from the Ghost earlier, Dr. Magi could now smoothly leave under the watchful eyes of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, reaching his laboratory safely.

And importantly, his laboratory remained protected by both Schicksal and World Serpent!

In short, it was a massive win-win situation for Ana.

"..."

Fu Hua didn't speak but simply nodded towards Ana.

"Try this!" Ana casually tossed a vial of medicine to Fu Hua. It was similar to what Dr. Magi had given her before; however, Ana couldn't recall its exact name.

Nonetheless, Dr. Magi mentioned there were slight differences, with this version being more potent and suitable for someone as formidable as Fu Hua.

Naturally, Ana herself had no need for such remedies, while Fu Hua, known for pushing her limits, would benefit greatly from healing the injuries sustained during her fight with Sirin.

"Thank you."

Fu Hua didn't inquire further, simply accepting the vial, giving it a brief glance before expressing her gratitude and departing promptly.

Watching Fu Hua's retreating figure, Ana shook her head, leaping off the skydeck to leave in the opposite direction. It was time for her to carry out her own mission...