Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Yukinoshita Yukino pulled out her phone and started snapping pictures of His Majesty the Emperor like crazy.

It wasn't because she was captivated by Emperor Noldrei's stunning visage. It was because she needed to confirm whether her inability to see Noldrei's face was due to a physical limitation or a perceptual one.

Turns out, it was definitely a physical thing.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, I remember hearing that if a Stigmata reaches Stage Four, it can manifest a person's spirit into physical reality. Some Valkyries with innate Stigmata have this ability naturally; they can manipulate Honkai energy to achieve this."

"But if he can actually manipulate physical reality, doesn't that mean he's already surpassed Stage Four of Stigmata BattleSuit synchronization?"

Yukinoshita Yukino's question didn't faze Hiratsuka Shizuka. She herself wasn't even sure if she'd scratched the surface of Stage Three, let alone Stage Four.

This abstract, mental, step-by-step process was incredibly difficult for anyone to grasp.

Hiratsuka Shizuka said, puzzled, "But he called himself 'the Emperor in your hearts.' And just now, it felt like some kind of force was affecting our Stigmata BattleSuits. It's urging me, making my blood boil, pushing me to follow his ideology."

Even now, she couldn't fully control her body, feeling her blood and breath boiling in unison.

Yukinoshita Yukino felt something similar. She didn't know how he was influencing her body, but right now, she was undoubtedly the weaker one among the masses.

And this vast gap in power would build a new societal structure, unprecedented and unimaginable to her.

Or rather, it was a structure that had always been lurking in the shadows, but because the Honkai was pressing down on everyone, no one had paid attention to the human element of reality.

He continued his speech, continuing that hair-raising narration.

"As you've all witnessed, everything the news has said is true. I am both the Supreme Council Chairman of Academy City and the local Emperor of this land. Now that Dr. Tesla has mastered the method to control Honkai energy through biotechnology, she will not stop her research."

"Everyone willing to sit here, or stand on this stage, is dissatisfied with the rules of reality. You yourselves are dissatisfied with this stagnant era."

"Some might argue that the technological age is progressing, not as stagnant as I claim. But ask yourselves honestly, has there really been change? Is it the kind of change you were hoping for? Definitely not! If it were, you wouldn't have so readily accepted the rules of the Kengan Association."

"We are tired of social rules devoured by money and reputation, tired of the endless oppression of modern industrialization. But it's not enough. The pain accumulated in your hearts is not enough, broken families are not enough, historical suffering is not enough, national bloodshed is not enough, even the betrayal of classmates and colleagues is not enough."

"Artificial Stigmata, antibodies formed in the human body against Honkai factors, granting people the power to use Honkai energy to alter physical reality. These people became Valkyries, forces to fight against the Honkai."

"Stigmata BattleSuits, Dr. Tesla's latest research, cloning and replicating individuals with antibodies, then undergoing secondary screening, modification, and bio-cultivation. Using neural links to eliminate rejection, granting people the power of external Stigmata."

"When Dr. Tesla created this power, she suddenly had a different idea."

"Why must we use this power to fight the Honkai?"

"I believe many of you have also often pondered similar thoughts? Why not have a disaster? Why not completely destroy this cruel life?"

"There is nothing left in this world that I care about. Yet, some people are always oppressing my spirit and body, using the material wealth I created to prevent the destruction of this world? What the hell?! Why?!"

"These damned bastards! Why won't they let me destroy this unsettling era?! Because these bastards know, we can only destroy ourselves, we can't touch them in the slightest!"

"But now, I allow you to say 'no' to them!"

"Liberate the thoughts in your hearts, unleash the beasts within you, go and seize, dominate this damned world, and make it operate according to your will!"

Yukinoshita Yukino stared wide-eyed at the scene.

The breathing of people around her grew heavier. She could even see the urge in them to clench their fists and rush into the arena.

"Even I'm getting tempted…"

She murmured, naturally and unconsciously blending into this atmosphere.

Yukinoshita Yukino hadn't expected this person to make such an appeal, one that, logically, was undoubtedly the logic of a bandit.

But it struck a chord with many numb aspects of modern life. Yukinoshita Yukino didn't have the experience of a typical office worker, but she was well aware of how people around her perceived her.

Like firefighters and police – beyond the high salaries and benefits, it was the power that organizational systems brought that could benefit everyone.

It was just that they needed to maintain fire safety and security to make their organization's requests for government funding more legitimate.

There were indeed some noble individuals among them, but if salaries weren't paid properly, their organizational capacity would quickly plummet.

No one would risk their lives for a few hundred bucks a month to save wealth worth millions or billions that didn't belong to them.

Yukinoshita Yukino's own family was in politics; how could she not know how many truly noble people there were among them? The emergence of model figures was a compromise because material wealth wasn't enough to go around – these were all propaganda tasks of the Japanese Government.

"You might say, my dear Council Chairman, I have nothing left, how can I participate in this struggle? Your Academy City executives destroyed male-female relationships, destroyed the families that sustained us, destroyed the unchanging daily routine. What should we grasp to change our own situation?"

"Don't worry, everything is within Academy City's plan. Everyone will have their own Stigmata BattleSuit, but you need to pass the Stigmata BattleSuit trial first."

"Now, you should cheer for the next battle! Until you can touch the moment of changing physical reality, you won't truly feel the greatness of Dr. Tesla!"

Suddenly, the flesh behind Noldrei twisted and swelled, growing astonishingly long, membranous wings of flesh.

Like a Western dragon soaring in the sky, the wings flapped, lifting Noldrei's body.

"Now, please welcome our first guest, the Student Council President of Academy City United. Perhaps… you can see something you desire in him?"

Noldrei handed the stage over to the people here, and that chosen individual had already arrived at his designated spot.