I'm playing Honkai Star Rail

Chapter 83: The Use of the Tiger, a Showdown

For World Serpent, preparations to welcome back their Lord had begun long ago, with various plans being laid out. Cocolia's schemes in Nagazora City aligned perfectly with World Serpent's desired trajectory, so it was only natural for the omnipresent Serpent to slither out from the shadows.

The Serpent had existed for millennia, guiding the world's progress from the darkness. Even that man from Schicksal knew very little about World Serpent at this stage, making it incredibly difficult to find any trace of them. This spoke volumes about the secrecy of the Serpent's operations.

It was precisely with the assistance of the max-stealth World Serpent that Cocolia's plan in Nagazora City could be carried out without anyone being the wiser.

In reality, there were many external support options for tackling the Nagazora dungeon.

For example, Secondary Wings could have exposed Cocolia's entire plan to Schicksal. Even if Otto chose to remain a bystander, that ever-righteous goose, upon hearing what Cocolia was up to, would certainly not stand idly by. She would undoubtedly fly over with the Immortalis Blade overnight.

With one spear thrust, she would send the schemer Cocolia flying and hit her with a devastating combo of sealing punches.

But this approach carried risks.

Secondary Wings had no doubt that, given Cocolia's ruthless style, she would resort to the insane act of blowing up the large-scale Honkai energy reactor the moment she detected the movements of a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie.

In that case, they would likely have to revert to the default method: in her identity as Bronya, she would take Cocolia's head. If Cocolia didn't fall, Nagazora City would. But just causing trouble would hardly be enough to destroy Cocolia's foundation.

No matter how it unfolded, such an outcome would make it difficult to achieve the balance that Secondary Wings and Bronya hoped for.

Therefore, Siegfried's power was essential.

By now, Raiden Ryoma had already contacted the two-person research team of Anti-Entropy through Bronya. But to avoid alerting Cocolia, the pacifist faction of Anti-Entropy had to be extremely careful when sending personnel into Nagazora City, moving slowly and cautiously, just as Cocolia was spreading the Honkai energy.

Secondary Wings' plan was not to act rashly, but to launch a subversive, all-out attack on Cocolia's faction in one fell swoop. Thus, the personnel sent by the pacifist faction of Anti-Entropy could not be mobilized for the time being.

The best choice for external support was undoubtedly a piece already on the chessboard from the very beginning: Siegfried, who was in Nagazora City before the plan was even formally implemented.

Similarly, Kiana had entered Cocolia's field of vision long ago. After confirming that the white-haired girl was the daughter of a Schicksal traitor and now just a wild Kaslana, Cocolia lost interest. There was no need to worry!

This was one of the reasons Secondary Wings brought Kiana into the fold. Cocolia had already investigated Kiana and let her guard down.

"...What do you need me to do?"

After hearing the silver-haired girl explain the whole story, Siegfried remained silent for a long time before looking up, his eyes extremely grave. Knowing that a Great Eruption was brewing, how could he possibly sit still?

In fact, if the silver-haired girl hadn't already provided a solution, he would have wanted to launch an incredible attack on ME Corp right now!

Siegfried's solemn expression was tinged with a hint of strangeness. He had heard the silver-haired girl's plan, and it was highly feasible. It was just that, from the perspective of a daughter stopping her mother from making a mistake, the plan was a bit... ruthless, wasn't it?

He was momentarily intimidated by the silver-haired girl's sharp insight, but Siegfried quickly suppressed it. No matter what, stopping the Great Eruption was the most important thing!

"This is for you."

The silver-haired girl tossed Siegfried a communicator identical to Raiden Ryoma's. "We'll talk about the detailed plan later. For now..."

She sat on the mechanical hand of Project Bunny, her white-stockinged legs dangling and swinging lightly. A cherubic smile appeared on her youthful face, a smile that made Siegfried's heart sink.

"You should probably think about how to get through this current predicament."

Siegfried followed the silver-haired girl's gaze, and his expression suddenly stiffened.

That was a fallen angel!

The white-haired girl was walking over slowly. Her head was bowed, her bangs casting a shadow over her face, and a thick killing aura emanated from her entire body. The braided pigtails behind her rose and fell with the night wind.

The moment Siegfried turned to look, their identical blue eyes met.

In that instant, Kiana moved.

Without a shred of hesitation, she acted on pure instinct—a sprint, a leap, a straight punch!

"Hey, Kiana, listen to your old man's explanation..."

"You rotten old man, finally... finally... I've got you!!!"

The ingratiating voice was cut off by an enraged roar. Siegfried only felt a sharp pain in his cheek, and then he was sent flying.

Seated on the palm of Project Bunny, the silver-haired girl enjoyed the father-daughter drama unfolding before her. She couldn't help but think that Kiana's filial piety was still lacking; she really needed to learn from her.

After the drama shifted from a violent reunion to a heartfelt father-daughter conversation, the silver-haired girl tactfully gave the long-separated pair their time.

[Question: Is it really okay to let them meet like this?]

Seemingly having let go of her over Project Bunny, Bronya asked inwardly. She had learned a lot from Silver Wing, such as Kiana being the vessel for the Herrscher of the Void, and that Siegfried stayed away from Kiana to avoid stimulating the Herrscher's reawakening.

[After all, it was a promise to Kiana. One must be true to their word.]

Even for Elation, one must keep their promises.

[I don't think a single meeting is enough of a stimulus to reawaken the other will. Besides, even if Sirin wakes up, it doesn't matter.]

If she really woke up, Secondary Wings would treat the purple-skinned pufferfish to a Project Bunny-style Ultra Dynamite.

There was no need to fear Kiana getting hurt; the Black Abyss and White Flower weren't just for show. Although the system wouldn't let her use its storage space for free, its own backpack transcended time and space, and items drawn from the system could pass between the two worlds.

Moreover, Secondary Wings could also use the Tiger Talisman on Kiana, separating the purple-skinned pufferfish from the grass-sandal-wearing idiot.

Why was Siegfried afraid of Sirin coming out? Wasn't it because he feared she would occupy Kiana's body? Faced with his daughter's body, Siegfried couldn't bring himself to strike a heavy blow.

Once the yin and yang were separated, there would be no more reservations. He could grill the pufferfish with Heavenly Fire to his heart's content.

Furthermore, the essence of the Tiger Talisman is the balance of yin and yang. It separates the dualistic aspects of good and evil, without affecting the powers possessed by the target—not even Herrscher authorities.

Without the influence of Sirin's will, this meant Kiana could immediately become a Herrscher of Human: Ego, mastering the power of a Herrscher with her own will.

Not just Kiana, but also Mei, or anyone else. Once they became a Herrscher, the Tiger Talisman could be used to split them, immediately adding a Herrscher of Human: Ego to their side.

Thinking about it this way, the power of the Tiger Talisman was really convenient!

After all, it was the power of yin and yang. Anything involving such concepts was never weak.

In Secondary Wings' view, the Tiger Talisman had the highest potential value among the twelve talismans.

"The preparations are complete. Now, we just have to wait."

Wait for the forces of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction to enter the scene silently and surround Cocolia's setup in Nagazora City. This was delicate work that required time.

When the time came, the silver-haired girl would only need to smash a cup as a signal.

And then, launch a magnificent rebellion against her mother-king~!

...

Belobog, Ever-Winter Mechanical House.

"Um, Caelus."

March 7th poked the gray-haired youth who was currently playing the part of "Haruhikage," pointing a concerned finger at the other gray-haired girl who was catatonic on the sofa. "What on earth happened? How did Stelle suddenly end up like this?"

Stelle's usual behavior could be classified as that of a mischievous child. Thanks to that great face of hers, she could give off the impression of a cool big sister when she wasn't talking, but a single conversation would expose her true, scummy nature.

Even when hit with setbacks, she would usually recover quickly. But what March 7th was seeing now—

Her eyes were blank and empty, as if her life had reached its end, with no glimmer of hope in sight. Her mouth was half-open as she lay on the sofa like a corpse.

This change seemed to have occurred after Bronya came in.

"I guess you could say she lost the lady and the army."

Seeing the golden light disappear from between the black stockings under Bronya's skirt, only leaving a deep, profound darkness, the light in Stelle's golden eyes vanished instantly. A river of sorrow, visible to all, began to flow.

She had spent a whole 20 Stellar Jades to buy a phone from Caelus!

She had planned to perform some friendship magic with Bronya to acquire the black stocking treasure chest. But it was over before it even began.

"Why..."

"Why did it have to turn out like this?"

A tiny whisper could only be heard by those right next to Stelle, but the words were accompanied by an extremely deep resentment that was nearly coalescing into a physical substance around her.

"Caelus!"

A strange light suddenly flashed in Caelus's eyes. Stelle, who was walking like a zombie, tilted her head to face him, the river of sorrow turning into killing intent:

"Was it you! Did you steal my black stockings!"

"I swear on the trash cans of Belobog, I have never touched Bronya's black stockings!"

The Stellaron-infused spirit couldn't take any more stimulation. Caelus raised his hand solemnly. He wasn't lying.

Seele did it~!

Hearing Caelus swear on the trash cans, the killing intent emanating from Stelle turned back into sorrow, and noodle-shaped tears streamed down her face.

Waaah~ I've lost so much!

I've lost everything!

"I don't think you need to be so sad. What if Bronya wasn't wearing the stockings from the chat today?"

"Eh?" The aura of resentment instantly dissipated. Stelle blinked blankly, a look of pleasant surprise on her face. "That's right!"

"Recovered? Then hurry up and start drumming. We're performing tomorrow, or the day after at the latest."

Caelus had originally planned to practice for a couple more days, but when Bronya came in the afternoon, the unconcealable worry on her face gave him a bad feeling.

To be honest, Caelus hadn't expected to get a clue about the Stellaron from Serval. He had initially formed the band "Crychic" just to make Cocolia lower her guard against outsiders.

If possible, Caelus wished this kind of luck would happen during his gacha pulls.

Over the past few days, the group had grown increasingly familiar with Serval.

Considering Serval's personality, Caelus chose to have a showdown with her.

Upon hearing the news, Serval was first shocked, then it dawned on her.

Few people in Belobog knew about the existence of the Stellaron, and even those who did wouldn't connect it to the source of the Fragmentum and the Eternal Freeze.

The realization was that she finally understood the reason for the purge of the research department back then.

At that time, many researchers were executed, and many project leaders implicated were exiled to the outlands. She was probably the only one who survived.

In that respect, perhaps she should thank Cocolia for remembering their old friendship and sparing her life.

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