Honkai Impact: Become Their Hero

After violently breaking through the titanium-alloy door, Elias and Kiana finally made their way inside.

The interior was completely different from the outside. The door led to a space filled with advanced technology, making Elias' eyes light up. He thought to himself, "As expected of an Anti-Entropy-related faction—cool~."

At the deepest part of this hidden space, three particularly eye-catching weapons floated in midair.

Kiana: "Are these… Honkai energy weapons?"

Elias nodded, instantly recognizing them.

Three-star weapon: Pulse Katana Type-19.

Three-star weapon: Ion Resonance Sword.

Four-star weapon: Plasma Kagehide.

Two katana-type weapons and one greatsword. Elias had seen them before in the game, so they weren't unfamiliar to him. While he had stored the last one away to collect dust, the other two were instantly dismantled upon acquisition.

Since these weapons were secretly developed by Raiden Ryoma himself, or under Welt's orders, Cocolia had no knowledge of their existence.

Elias gleefully took them all, looking like a child who had just received his favorite toys.

Although they were considered low-tier weapons in the game, they still had an undeniably futuristic aesthetic. More importantly, these weren't just for show—they were real, combat-ready weapons!

As a tech enthusiast, there was no way Elias could resist such cool-looking weaponry.

"A-All of these are Honkai energy weapons? What's going on? Why are there Honkai-related weapons here?!"

Kiana was visibly shaken. She widened her eyes, her brain freezing for a moment, unable to process the situation.

To her, this was just a simple mission to infiltrate Mei's father's company and find evidence to clear his name. Yet, instead, they had 'unexpectedly' stumbled upon traces of Honkai.

Kiana's already overworked brain was starting to overheat, almost emitting smoke from the sheer overload of information.

Zzt—Zzt!

Just as Elias was thinking about how to explain—or rather, how to cleverly mislead Kiana—the nearby monitor suddenly lit up.

"W-What's happening?"

"Relax, that's not a ghost—it's your father-in-law."

Kiana nearly fired her gun in panic, but Elias quickly stopped her.

Because he recognized the man who appeared on the screen—it was none other than Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma!

This wasn't a live transmission but a recording—a record of a father's silent efforts for his daughter.

"Father-in-law? What father-in-law? Elias, when did you—Wait, could it be Mei's dad?"

Kiana finally pieced things together, and Elias nodded.

"That's right, this is Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma. It looks like he recorded this video before being imprisoned. Fortunately, it was stored in this hidden weapon cache, keeping it safe from outside discovery."

Most likely, the system had detected intruders in the hidden armory and automatically triggered the video playback.

The video was entirely about Mei, saving Elias the trouble of coming up with an excuse—because, well… Raiden Ryoma had laid everything out himself.

He explained that Mei had been born with a natural Stigmata, and as she grew older, it awakened further, bringing her immense power but also great harm.

To suppress the Stigmata and protect Mei, Raiden Ryoma accepted Cocolia's proposal to conduct an experiment called "Project-MEI."

The project involved implanting a Herrscher Core, known as the Gem of Conquest, into Mei's awakened Stigmata, using its power to seal it away.

The experiment succeeded—Mei's Stigmata was sealed by the Gem of Conquest, allowing her to return to a normal life as an ordinary girl.

However, Raiden Ryoma later realized that this was all part of Cocolia's scheme.

That woman had secretly planned to artificially trigger the Third Honkai Eruption, and Mei had been chosen as the ideal Herrscher vessel.

By the time Ryoma wanted to stop it, it was already too late. Once the Herrscher Core was embedded in Mei's body, extracting it without harming her was an impossible feat.

So, he took a desperate gamble—using ME Corp's vast resources to develop Honkai energy weapons.

But his goal was never to fight against his daughter, should she awaken as the Herrscher of Thunder. Instead, he wanted the power to stop and save her.

Unfortunately, Cocolia caught wind of his plans and used it against him, framing him for financial fraud and throwing him in prison.

"...How could this be? Mei is actually the vessel for the Third Herrscher."

"Tsk tsk, looks like we just uncovered a huge secret. And it doesn't seem like a good one."

"Elias, things aren't that simple. My old man told me that Herrschers are terrifying. They are the embodiment of disaster—the very essence of Honkai... Ugh, how should I even explain this to you? There's too much to cover."

Kiana clutched her head in frustration, struggling to find the right words.

She thought Elias' calm demeanor stemmed from ignorance—perhaps he had no idea what Honkai really was, or how catastrophic Herrschers could be.

After all, Elias had always seemed like just an ordinary guy, completely uninvolved with Honkai.

But now that he had come face to face with the truth of the world, Kiana decided she couldn't hide it from him any longer.

She wanted to explain the gravity of the situation as soon as possible and persuade Elias to leave Nagazora City.

To get as far away as possible.

As a warrior of the Kaslana family, Kiana had already resolved herself—she would stop the Third Honkai Eruption no matter what.

Unfortunately, what she didn't realize was that when it came to understanding Honkai, if Elias claimed second place, only Kevin could claim first.

(Elias: "What's the big deal? Herrschers? Why be so surprised? These days, who doesn't have four or five Herrschers on their battleship? Kiana, you yourself are the future Herrscher of the Void. Then there's the Flame-Chaser and even the Final Herrscher. Relax~")

As a veteran Captain, Elias knew all too well what Honkai and Herrschers truly were.

"Alright, Kiana. Try to copy the video data, grab the weapons, and let's get out of here."

"Wait, are you even listening to me?!"

"I am. But isn't everything clear already? Mei is being manipulated by the bad guys, turning into something extremely dangerous, and she could bring destruction to all of Nagazora City." Elias shrugged.

"Since that's the case, what we need to do is obvious—stop her, help her, save her."

"..."

Such simple and natural words. Kiana found herself stunned. She blinked in confusion... Somehow, that made a lot of sense~

Elias toyed with the Plasma Kagehide in his hands, slowly drawing half of the blade from its sheath. The dark blue plasma edge illuminated half of his face.

"Elias, you..."

Kiana's pupils shrank, finally noticing the unwavering determination and resolve in Elias' eyes, no weaker than her own.

"In this entire city, we're the only ones who are Mei's friends, right? If we don't help her, then who else will?"

Elias smiled as he spoke. His words struck something deep inside Kiana. Her eyes widened, and she quickly slapped her cheeks to shake off any hesitation.

"...Aghh! You're right! If we don't help Mei, who will? But Elias, I'm not letting you die on me!"

"Heh~ Kiana, don't get too full of yourself."