studiobondurri Chapter 354 Stop, Himeko, the outside is full of Herrschers.
Chapter 354 Stop, Himeko, the outside is full of Herrschers.
“Stigmata, especially natural Stigmata, can be understood as a special anti-Honkai gene pool existing in the bodies of specific groups of people…”
Faced with a group of curious children, Old Yang, who seemed to be the most knowledgeable among the adults, pushed up his glasses and pointed with his cane at the three-tomoe pattern on Yae Sakura's back, talking eloquently.
"Those who possess Stigmata have a unique resistance to Honkai, and with training, they can unleash special abilities. Incidentally, Schicksal's artificial Stigmata are made based on natural Stigmata and referencing the physical conditions of various Valkyries... However, if artificial Stigmata are overused, it will cause the wearer's bodily functions to gradually collapse, resulting in various terrible side effects, including lifespan reduction and erosion."
"Professor Walter, did Professor Yae suffer from mental problems due to overuse of Stigmata?"
Upon hearing Welt's words about "life-shortening erosion," Kiana, who aspired to become the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, shuddered.
Walter shook his head slightly, his expression somewhat solemn.
"Judging from the Honkai energy disorder detected by the pocket watch, it seems that Yae Sakura has activated the hidden Stigmata of the pseudo-Herrscher for some reason. This sudden Stigmata is just a symptom; the real problem is that abnormal gene expression has led to bodily dysfunction, which in turn has affected her consciousness..."
A silence fell over everyone, and the atmosphere became oppressive—the three little ones who squeezed past Siegfried and Baiji to stand in front of Old Yang, except for Bronya, couldn't understand what Welt was saying. But they at least understood one thing: this long-eared Yae-sensei, whom they had almost forgotten was a pseudo-Herrscher rather than a human, must be suffering from a rare disease caused by a Stigmata, a very dangerous one.
"Professor Walter, is there any way?"
Old Yang coughed softly.
"Difficult, there's absolutely no precedent. If things go wrong, Yae Sakura could turn into a Herrscher-level Honkai energy bomb and heal directly. If things go wrong, she might even kill St. Freya..."
"Huh? What do we do then? Is Yae-sensei beyond saving? Is she possibly going to blow the school to the heavens?"
Kiana nervously covered her head with her hands.
"Are we just supposed to watch Yae-sensei die? I can't accept that!"
"Kiana, it's just difficult, but it's not like there's no way to fix it!"
While Kiana's nervous demeanor made him want to laugh, Welt tightened his expression and solemnly put away his pocket watch.
"It's not entirely hopeless... If we could ask Sunday, who's skilled in tuning, for help, perhaps we could use 'Harmony' to straighten out the chaotic flow of Honkai energy on Yae Sakura's body..."
Walter suddenly turned his gaze to Sora, who was still sitting on the hospital bed, holding Mei in her arms.
"Although I don't know if Sunday will work out, or if he'll be willing to help, we can only try for now... Qiong, you're in charge of asking Sunday for help—"
"But Uncle Yang..."
Qiong raised her hand with a troubled expression.
"I don't think I have Brother Zhou Tian's current phone number."
Walter: ...
Isn't that a coincidence? He didn't have any either.
Seeing Qiong's statement, Walter took out his phone and dialed March 7's number, hoping to relay the message to Sunday through someone else—however, he couldn't get through at all.
"Um, Uncle Yang?"
Qiong stood up, laid Mei down, beckoned to Lao Yang to come closer, and lowered her voice.
"what's up?"
When Qiong called him, Lao Yang went to Qiong's side.
"I just saw what was in Yae Sakura's mind..."
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"There might be danger here, you all need to leave quickly!"
Inside the infirmary, Walter, wielding a cane made from the Star of Eden, shooed away Siegfried and the hesitant Kiana and Bronya—as for Mei, Sora had just woken her up and had Baiji take her away.
"But Professor Walter, what about your Ashbringer and Seele?"
"That idiot Kiana is right! Seele, leave with Bronya!"
Unlike Kiana, who hesitated, Bronya eagerly reached out to Seele, intending to take her inseparable sister away.
But Seele chose to shrink behind the dome and refused her hand.
“Sister Bronya, Brother Qiong and Uncle Yang risked their lives to help Seele, and Seele wants to help them too... Moreover, Seele has a Stigmata that can help, and Seele can’t just sit idly by!”
"Xier, you..."
Bronya's perpetually expressionless face trembled slightly, revealing a rare look of helplessness and astonishment in her small gray eyes.
Of course, it only lasted for a moment.
"Then, Bronya is with you..."
"Bronya, we can talk about it later! Don't worry, Bronya, Qiong and I will take good care of Seele, so don't worry about us!"
"But Bro—"
boom!
Before Bronya could finish speaking, Walter hurriedly slammed the infirmary door shut—the sound of the door closing was like a thunderclap exploding in Bronya's head, instantly blasting all her thoughts and unfinished words into a blank.
Simply put, Bronya's brain and the chip implanted in it were unable to process the information at hand. The fact that "Seele rejected her" was like a computer encountering an unresponsive program... causing her to completely crash.
"Bronya, shall we go with Dad and Mei to find Auntie and Aunt Himeko first? Auntie said Himeko is packing her things at your dorm..."
Bronya did not respond to Kiana. She was too engrossed in thinking about what had just happened to notice the changes around her. The sounds and light from the outside world seemed distant and blurry, as if separated by a thick layer of frosted glass called "Seele rejected her." It was a state of complete paralysis, a vacuum after her cognition had been completely overturned.
Logically, such a thing should not happen... It has only happened once, and that was the beginning of all the tragedies.
That damned X-10 experiment! Seele participated in the X-10 experiment in her place! The result was that Seele became unobservable due to quantization, lost the ability to walk, and ultimately led Cocolia's mother to focus her attention on Raiden Mei, who had awakened her Stigmata at the age of 8 but was sealed by Raiden Ryoma and still carried the Conquest Gem...
"Seele, open the door!"
Bronya's fist slammed against the door. If the door wasn't opened soon, she would have to consider the possibility of forcibly breaking down the door and taking the disobedient Seele away—after all, Teacher Welt... no, the leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance hadn't asked Seele to stay, had he?
Why did Seele make this choice? Could it be that because they haven't seen each other for so long, Seele has been poached by Brother Qiong... no, by that gray-haired baseball bat guy?
Impossible, absolutely impossible! Seele must have just thought of herself because she heard that Yae Sakura-sensei had a stigmata and was in danger. That must be it?
"Bronya, hurry up! Dad, why don't you pick Bronya up and walk faster?"
It's difficult for people to empathize with each other. While Bronya was still considering whether to forcefully break down the door and evacuate with her sister, Kiana Kaslana had already decided to retreat as required after the door closed.
"No problem! Little girl, come with me!"
Without saying a word, Siegfried picked Bronya up in his arms.
Bronya was startled when she was hugged, but since the other party was Siegfried, she couldn't just throw a heavy shot at his face, so she could only struggle—but how could her strength compare to Siegfried's even with only one arm left?
"Put Bronya down, Bronya is going to find Seele!"
But Siegfried did not stop. The sound of Kaslana and her father's footsteps and Bronya's flat protest echoed in the empty corridor... but soon, the piercing alarm drowned out everything.
At Walter's request, evacuation alarms sounded on campus for the second time that day.
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Walter looked at the doors and windows he had temporarily reinforced into blast-proof doors and windows and shook his head slightly—no, it's still not safe enough. In case of an accident, these kinds of walls could still be blown up and leak energy out...
How about adding a protective layer of Azure Star building materials that Lady Black Tower has been tinkering with? No, forget it, we can't afford to fail completely... Don't forget, even if we don't know why there's no outside help, he's still the reliable senior, Walter Yang!
"Uncle Yang, when do we start?"
Unlike Qiong, who for some reason wasn't acting like her usual hyperactive self, sitting on the bed waiting for Lao Yang to give orders, Xi'er, who was always gentle and quiet, was eager to try at this moment—although she was still a little nervous.
Seeing Seele like this, Welt was also a little puzzled: what exactly made Seele (her personality) a quiet and well-behaved girl willing to disobey Bronya in order to help save Yae Sakura? They didn't seem to be particularly close, did they?
Was it just because he said, in order to cover up for Qiong's sympathy, that a natural-born stigma holder was required?
Walter glanced at Seele, and thought, "Hmm, that's definitely Seele's expression..."
“Seele, don’t panic. The most important thing right now is to restore Yae Sakura’s will to live and to regulate the Honkai energy within her. Entering Yae Sakura’s Stigmata Space requires a sound plan; acting rashly could make things worse…”
As Old Yang spoke, he took out two Hom hats that Bronya and Theresa would definitely love.
"Here's what we'll do: later, you guys go into the data space of Teacher Yae's Stigmata and try to wake her up and bring her out! Whatever you do, don't stray too far from Qiong. Qiong is confident he can handle anything. Seele, you have to be careful. I'll be watching everything from outside!"
Old Yang patted Xi'er on the shoulder and gave her a look that contained encouragement and care—after all, you can't stop children from taking risks. It's best to supervise them during their adventures, otherwise how will they grow up?
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"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"
In mid-air, Seele's eyes turned red and blue in fright.
"Seele, grab my hand!"
Qiong frantically waved his hands at Xier in mid-air, trying to grab her and find his balance as he fell—he had some experience with falling from great heights for reasons he didn't want to reveal.
At worst, I can just pull out my Flame Spear and land a quick attack.
"Brother Qiong, what do we do?!"
After grabbing onto Sora, Seele, overly nervous, clung to Sora's outstretched hand like a drowning person grasping at a straw.
"Um...does landing shamelessly count as a success?"
"what?"
Seele's red and blue pupils narrowed sharply: You're kidding, right? You're definitely kidding, right?
Even though I know it's the Holy Mark Space, a spiritual world, I might still fall to my death or be scared to death!
"Haha, how could we let you fall like that?"
As soon as Walter Yang finished speaking, a cloud of Houmu suddenly appeared below, slowing their descent.
Seeing that the speed had stabilized and the feeling of weightlessness had subsided, Seele, whose face was flushed, stopped screaming and simply tightened her grip on Qiong's hand.
Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Qiong became even less concerned.
"Seele, were you scared just now?"
Seele nodded.
"A little..."
"Since I'm just killing time anyway, how about I perform a mid-air act for you..."
wow-
Before Qiong could finish speaking, the two of them were hanging from the tree.
"It hurts a bit... Uncle Yang, couldn't you turn it into a trampoline or something? No, it has to be in mid-air and can't it just refresh on the ground... Seele!"
Qiong rubbed her head, jumped down from the crooked tree, and complained about Lao Yang's "imperfections," but immediately shut up and rushed up to catch Xi'er in a princess carry when she saw that Xi'er was about to slide down the tree.
"Aha! I caught it! I'm so fast!"
"Brother Qiong..."
Qiong was still boasting about her reaction speed to comfort the overly nervous Seele, completely unaware of Seele's flushed face as she panted heavily.
For Seele, a strong sense of protection enveloped her. The weightlessness and fear of falling from a great height made her see the outstretched hand of Qiong as a lifeline and entrust herself to him completely—and Qiong did not disappoint her. Before she hit the ground (although even landing face down in the Stigmata Space wouldn't be a big deal), Qiong caught her with his strong hand.
Now that things are back to normal, she should logically jump down to carry out the task they volunteered to take on. But a shy blush uncontrollably crept up her cheeks and earlobes: she subconsciously wanted to curl up, close her eyes, and bury her burning cheeks in Qiong's chest to hide her embarrassment.
How to describe it? It was an unprecedented experience, a unique blend of panic, shyness, and trust, and...
"Hmm, it still smells the same... no, that's not right, it seems to smell even better than last time—"
"Huh?"
Seele, who originally wanted to lie down a little longer, immediately struggled to get up from Qiong's arms after hearing the ogre's words from my other self.
Qiong looked at Seele, who suddenly struggled to get up, with a reassuring smile.
"Xier, what's wrong? Are you scared? If you are scared, I feel it's not too late to leave now."
Xi'er blushed and avoided Qiong's gaze.
"No...no need! Saving lives is the priority! Brother Qiong, let's hurry and find Teacher Yae."
Seeing that Seele persisted, Qiong didn't think much of it, but just sighed that Seele had become brave, which was a good thing.
"Alright, let's go then. If we encounter any danger, just watch me! Uncle Yang, which way do we go next?"
If Hiyomaru could step forward and face Sora now, Sora would be overjoyed, because it has no chance of winning no matter what. It's just a matter of how many times it can take revenge for that bite, and finally beat it into a silly fox monster, and refine it into a Jizo Mitama...
Stop, Himeko, the area outside is full of Herrschers.
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Finally... one million words!
I got Sid yesterday, and I've been focusing all my time on leveling up the character...
P.S.: This chapter was accidentally posted in Volume 5. I'll take a look at how to revise a chapter from Volume 5 later...
How could I get so excited that I made such a basic mistake?