Kiana had been taken back by Otto.Theresa made the bold decision: attack Schicksal and rescue Kiana.
[Chapter 7: Lift the Sword of Rebellion]
Elysia controlled Himeko, swinging a massive greatsword across the deck of the battleship.
Watching wave after wave of Schicksal mechs fall, Elysia couldn't help but feel a tiny surge of exhilaration.
"Himeko's controls feel really nice~~ Once I finish the story, I'm definitely pulling for her!"
In truth, Himeko wasn't very popular in Honkai Impact 3rd at the moment.
Even though she was one of the original trio and the first fully playable character in the story, her gameplay performance was… lacking.It hurt her popularity a lot.
Plus, Himeko's character setting wasn't as immediately charming as the others.
To put it bluntly, if you ranked the current Valkyries by popularity, Himeko would likely be dead last.
But now that the story gave her more and more presence, people were slowly warming up to her.
No one had yet realized how treacherous the writers truly were.
Only Mei, who knew the real script, was struggling to hold herself back.
Time passed.
When Elysia piloted Fu Hua, clad in the Fourth Generation Valkyrie Battlesuit "Shadow Knight: Moonblade," and defeated a Judgement-class Honkai Beast—
Chapter 7 officially ended.
"Piece of cake~~ Operation Save the Beautiful Girl is going smoothly~~"Elysia hummed a little tune and happily rated the mission "super easy."
Without hesitation, she dove straight into Chapter 8.
"Wow, so many missions where I have to use Himeko~~"
Elysia advanced with Himeko, sighing cheerfully,"But hey, strong, reliable, mature Himeko-senpai is pretty lovable too."
[Himeko-senpai? It's Aunty Himeko!][Himeko: Anyone who calls me aunty clearly hasn't been hit with Heavenly Scorching Fire!][Fairy really is gentle to everyone.][Not gonna lie, miHoYo's writers really know what they're doing.Back in the day, I always skipped story. Now, I'm glued to every line.]
"Let's hurry and clear the missions so I can pull for Himeko~~"
Elysia had just made this cheerful decision when—
A CG featuring Rita appeared, immediately drawing all her attention.
[Ah… this is such a headache...]
Rita pulled off her glove one-handed, her voice dripping with mysterious allure, her face half-shrouded in shadows.
[Looks like it's time to clean up.]
[After all, Lady Durandal does love cleanliness.]
As the words fell, red light flared—Rita stylishly cut down a wave of Honkai Beasts,then elegantly lifted her maid skirt in greeting toward Fu Hua.
Graceful, dangerous, and impossibly captivating.
The viewers in the stream immediately erupted in chatter.
"I like Rita too~♪"
[Honestly, Fairy, is there anyone you don't like?]
"I love everyone in Honkai Impact 3rd! Especially Mei~♪"
Without a hint of hesitation, Elysia shifted her attention back to the game.
As more characters appeared one after another,the story climbed toward its peak.
Elysia was practically bouncing in her seat.
"Soon, we'll rescue Kiana~~ and everything will go back to being sweet and happy! Cute girls showering the world with sugar~~!"
She couldn't wait to see what would happen next.
The story pressed onward.
Through Rita's and Fu Hua's conversation, players learned something:
Fu Hua's reason for helping capture Kiana seemed complicated...not as simple as it appeared.
Elysia was delighted to find that Chapter 8 had short animated clips inserted every few scenes.
This greatly boosted immersion and was something players in this world had never experienced before.
Many industry professionals secretly took notes while playing.
Everyone wanted to borrow from Honkai Impact 3rd's runaway success.
"Himeko and Dr. Tesla got captured by Rita?"
"Feels like… everything's happening according to Otto's plan."
"My Hyperion… my poor ship…"
The story had already progressed to Otto awakening the Herrscher of the Void.
The Hyperion trembled violently—and Mei vanished from its bridge.
Then came the scene of Kiana embracing Mei.
At first, Elysia should have been thrilled.But upon seeing Kiana's disturbingly unnatural expression—
A wave of foreboding rose in her heart.
Sure enough, as Kiana spoke,signs of her Herrscher transformation began to surface.
The battle commenced.
"Mei vs. Kiana?!"
Elysia instinctively dodged Kiana's attacks several times before she even processed what the plot was doing.
"It's probably fine, right? If I just control Mei and knock Kiana out, she'll return to normal?"
"After all, Mei sounded so confident just now~~"
Her natural optimism quickly soothed her nerves.
Meanwhile, real-world Mei, still linked in the call, remembered what was coming in the CG cutscenes—
and visibly twitched.
She could practically feel the malicious intent of the scriptwriters oozing out.
Seriously, why did she have to sound so smug right before eating dirt?
As Elysia played, in-game Mei kept trying to reach out to Kiana emotionally during the battle,desperately pleading while dodging and blocking.
Everyone watching—both Elysia and the entire chat—became completely absorbed,hoping Mei could save Kiana through the power of love and friendship.
Only Mei knew…
The pain that was about to come.
Suddenly, the screen shifted—
CG animation began.
This time, thanks to the collaboration between Hokuto and Durandal, the quality was absolutely top-tier—an industry-leading masterpiece.
On screen:
The Herrscher of the Void Kiana seized Mei by the throat.
"Kia... na..."Mei croaked, struggling.
For a moment, the golden light vanished from the Herrscher's eyes.
She clutched her face, releasing a tortured wail.
But seconds later,she laughed—mocking, cruel.
Above her head, golden cubes spun, fusing into a monstrous vertical eye.
Black lightning crackled.
A dark portal opened—one that even light seemed unable to escape.
From its depths, a massive Honkai Beast burst out.
Its claw, sharp as a spear, slashed at Mei and sent her flying.
Then, mercilessly, it struck at her again.
At the last second—
Anti-Entropy Titans charged in, shielding her just in time.
Dozens more Titans stormed the battlefield behind them.
The music swelled.
The Herrscher of the Void unfurled her golden skirts dramatically,the sheer pressure of her presence suffocating.
The Queen had descended.
A great battle was about to begin.
The livestream chat collectively froze.
This wasn't just good—
This was studio-quality animation.
This was beyond what anyone thought a mobile game could do.
Honkai Impact 3rd hadn't just raised the bar.
It had obliterated it.