Acting on Himeko's suggestion, the group headed towards the platform in the supply zone.
Though their individual reasons might differ, Himeko was certain of one thing.
Upon discovering the anomaly, Welt would undoubtedly hurry over to provide support.
The Express could only dock at the platform when entering the space station. Furthermore, the area was spacious with low population density, making it suitable for a protracted battle against the colossal Doomsday Beast.
"...The train hasn't arrived yet."
Gazing at the empty platform, Dan Heng's voice was tinged with solemnity and an underlying worry that refused to fade.
The source of the latter concern was primarily those two gray-haired individuals.
It was like they had... oh, wait, these two genuinely seemed to have some mental issues.
They hadn't calmed down for a moment on the way to the platform. Stelle swung her baseball bat around, smashing and banging on things, occasionally prying off parts from damaged equipment. If it weren't for the fact that those devices were already broken due to the Legion's invasion, Dan Heng couldn't possibly have just stood by and watched his future teammate destroy space station property.
As if wanton destruction wasn't enough, Stelle would joyfully collect items like fuses, muttering things like 'Crystals!' 'Hehe, pretty crystals!' 'You were all born to be eaten by big sis~!'
Caelus had fewer episodes compared to Stelle, but that didn't mean his mental state was stable. On the contrary, when Caelus had an episode, it was a major one!
A major one that even the usually calm and composed Dan Heng couldn't handle!
For instance, dismantling crates and flipping stools to use as step ladders, laboriously using a yo-yo to hook some greenery high up on the space station wall, pulling down a handful of leaves and soil.
When passing through the garbage disposal area, he rummaged through pungent trash bags, finding leftover food scraps, half-finished milk tea, and discarded drinks.
Finally, as if completing a challenging puzzle, he meticulously mixed the food scraps, the spoiled-smelling milk tea and drinks, along with the leaves and soil, in a specific sequence.
Then, he'd beam with satisfaction at the result—something Dan Heng couldn't find words to describe—muttering incomprehensible things like, 'This amount of crystal was worth the effort.'
Afterward, he plunged his hand into the indescribable mixture, pulled out a handful, and squeezed it tightly, making Dan Heng's head buzz just watching.
However, the observant Dan Heng noticed something peculiar. Despite holding garbage, dirt, and foul-smelling milk tea, Caelus's hand remained completely clean, without any moisture or residue. Once he opened his hand, the unspeakable substances flowed away like fine sand slipping through his fingers, leaving his palm utterly unstained, still fair as jade.
Both Stelle and Caelus mentioned 'crystals,' which piqued Dan Heng's curiosity. Yet, in his eyes, those things were clearly just mixtures of trash and discarded parts.
To determine whether the problem lay with Stelle and Caelus or himself, Dan Heng braced himself and leaned in to smell the indescribable concoction Caelus had made.
The stench was potent, enough said~!
The smell nearly provoked a physical reaction in Dan Heng, confirming that he wasn't the one with the problem. Recalling Caelus's immaculate hands after handling the mixture, Dan Heng even touched the garbage blend with his own finger to verify.
And then...
He ran off and washed his hands ten times!
Case closed.
These two were definitely the ones with issues!
Due to the urgency of the situation and lack of time, Dan Heng didn't delve further into Stelle and Caelus's conditions. The most important task now was stopping the Doomsday Beast.
Caelus, who seemed utterly mad in Dan Heng's view, also hadn't expected that the system would actually stitch the jigsaw puzzle chests from the Honkai: Star Rail world into this reality. Find the puzzle pieces, put them together, and get a treasure chest. Moreover, because Aha had messed with some functions, obtaining these types of chests wasn't limited to just 'puzzles'; other 'minigames' had also emerged.
From the horrified expressions and repeated attempts by Dan Heng and March 7th to stop him, Caelus could roughly guess what those 'fragments' looked like to others. But the mere difference in perception wasn't nearly enough to make him give up on the crystals. It was impossible.
From his perspective, those things were puzzle pieces and crystals, completely odorless. No! The crystals smelled wonderful~!
"I'll go take a look over there."
While everyone else remained vigilant, March 7th jogged towards the edge of the platform, from where she could see the situation outside the space station.
"ROAR~!"
Just then, a thunderous roar exploded, accompanied by a gale-force wind.
A gigantic dragon-like creature unfurled its silver-black skeletal frame, its wings with membranes like deep blue ink gliding through the profound void of space.
"Is that the Doomsday Beast?"
Caelus stared at the monster outside the viewport, his expression gradually shifting to one of utter shock. "Holy crap."
There was a difference between enemies in a game and monsters existing in reality.
Take Honkai Impact 3rd as an example. According to the lore, even among the lower-tier Honkai Beasts, an underdeveloped Chariot-class was at least 10 meters tall. Normal ones were typically tens of meters, and the Honkai Emperor, the pinnacle of lower-tier beasts, reached a staggering hundred meters. Above them, Emperor-class and Judgment-class beasts were hundreds of meters tall, yet in the game visuals, they appeared only slightly larger than the Valkyries.
The Doomsday Beast was similar. In the game, it seemed barely over ten meters, but in reality, even excluding its wingspan, its main body was hundreds of meters long! Its streamlined form gave a sharp impression, belying its massive size, devoid of any clumsiness.
A true anti-planetary weapon!
"It actually followed us all the way here."
A crimson figure emerged from the platform's elevator shaft – it was Himeko, rushing from the Master Control Zone to rendezvous with the others. It seemed her guess was correct: Stelle and Caelus were the keys to this incident, and the Doomsday Beast was targeting them.
"So what if it's a little big?"
Caelus eyed the Doomsday Beast for a few moments, then silently raised his clenched right fist, extended his middle finger, and crooked it slightly. "Come get some!"
March 7th, who had just drawn her composite longbow, whipped her head towards Caelus, her eyes wide.
Are you really that bold?
It was the look one gave a fragile ADC gleefully taunting the hyper-carry enemy jungler. Seeing this, Caelus grew agitated. "Don't look at me, you're the ADC!"
"March, weren't you going to shoot? Shoot already!"
Caelus's words caused the Six-Phased Ice arrow materializing between March 7th's delicate fingers on the bowstring to dissipate instantly.
"ROAR—!"
The core engine on its chest, driven by dark matter, pulsed with an ominous black light. The Doomsday Beast tore through the outer shield of the supply zone with its claws, diving rapidly towards the taunting 'minion'.
"Watch out!"
Seele's cry was meant as a disguise; in reality, she had begun gathering power the instant Caelus made his provocative gesture. The moment the Doomsday Beast attacked, Seele took a sudden step forward.
Entering a quantum state, like a Spirit of the Sea of Quanta, she pushed Caelus aside in the instant of collapse, narrowly avoiding the rapidly descending draconic behemoth.
"Help me, my other self~!"
Seele once again focused her energy, impacting her Stigmata.
Auto-battle, engage!
"Too slow... !?"
Dark Seele (Veliona), taking control of the body, immediately complained. She had been separated from Seele for exactly three hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-four seconds!
However, before she could finish grumbling, the sight of the sky-blotting shadow rushing towards her left Dark Seele completely stunned.
[???]
[What's going on?]
Only three hours had passed, how did the enemy escalate from small fry to a monster of this disproportionate size?
A mixture of shock and disbelief surged. Sensing the fear in 'White Seele's' heart through their mental link, Dark Seele clicked her tongue. Channeling the power of the Stigmata into 'Obsidian Ripper', the razor-sharp scythe blade flashed, transforming into a dark red blood moon sweeping forward.
[Other Seele, you don't expect me to take care of this thing, do you?]
It wasn't that Dark Seele was scared—well, okay, maybe just a little.
Placing the Doomsday Beast into the neighboring Honkai Impact 3rd universe, it would be at the very least a peak Judgment-class entity, likely even bordering on a higher, apocalyptic tier. Never mind that using this body, she could only briefly exert a fraction of the Stigmata's power; even if she had full control and could unleash its full potential, she still couldn't beat this thing!?
That scythe strike, channeling most of the power Dark Seele could currently muster, didn't injure the Doomsday Beast, but it was enough to divert its diving trajectory.
[Other me, we just need to hold on for a little while. Support capable of defeating it will arrive soon.]
Its charge deflected, the Doomsday Beast plummeted from the sky, landing heavily onto the empty platform. The impact sounded like the heavens collapsing, its terrifying weight nearly causing the entire supply zone to tilt!
"How dare you attack my little bro? I, the Galaxy Baseball Hero, will pound you until you kneel!"
The title popped out of her subconscious, and Stelle decided it fit perfectly. She swung her baseball bat, glowing with a faint azure light, and charged forward.
Her courage was admirable, but the effect was negligible. The size difference between them was simply too vast; Stelle's bat struck the Doomsday Beast's claw, on what amounted to its fingernail.
The result was like an ant trying to fight an elephant – pointless exertion.
Stelle was instantly swatted away by the Doomsday Beast.
"So strong... can't win. Caelus, it's all yours!"
After rolling a couple of times on the ground, Stelle scrambled up, shaking her head.
"Such touching sibling affection!" March 7th quipped, somehow finding the energy to banter even in this situation.
Just then, Dan Heng, who had been wielding his Cloud-Piercer spear, suddenly retreated. March 7th paused, then, as if realizing something, a grin spread across her face. She drew her bow and released the string.
"Watch this~!"
The instant the Six-Phased Ice arrow left the bow, a dazzling light flared in the cosmos. A blazing golden beam of energy slammed down from the breach the Doomsday Beast had created.
It was Himeko's orbital cannon!
"Hehe, Sister Himeko and I are amazing!"
Watching the explosion triggered by the combined force of her arrow and Himeko's orbital cannon, and hearing the Doomsday Beast's agonized howl, March 7th proudly placed her hands on her hips.
________________________________________
I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin