Chased down by the forces of Fire Moth, the fate that belonged to the "Seele" of the previous civilization soon arrived.
To ensure the elimination of this dangerously powerful Herrscher, Fire Moth didn't hesitate to deploy both of their strongest trump cards at this stage—the elite warriors Kevin and Elysia—simultaneously.
Though "Seele's" strength and authority were formidable, she had to face Kevin, the greatest outlier of the Previous Era, before even reaching her full potential.
So, the outcome of this battle wasn't hard to predict.
"Seele" was defeated by Kevin without a shred of doubt.
As the Herrscher known as "Seele" hovered on the brink of death, the Herrscher consciousness's suppression over the host consciousness, Lunelle, loosened noticeably for a brief, fleeting moment.
Regaining awareness temporarily, Lunelle found herself in control of the body once more, though somewhat bewildered.
But when Lunelle, in the simulation, reopened her eyes within the body of her beloved wife Seele, what greeted her was the cold, dark muzzle of a gun!
And a certain all-too-familiar savior from the Previous Era!
Seeing the suddenly humanized expression on Lunelle's face, Kevin felt a flicker of confusion.
However, due to the heavy bloodshed caused by "Seele," he was all too aware of the danger she posed. In the end, he didn't allow any doubt about "Seele's" remaining humanity to stay his hand.
And so...
"Herrscher! Pay for your sins!"
BANG!!!
A gunshot rang out.
The simulation's final image froze on Kevin mercilessly delivering a headshot to the defenseless Lunelle.
Then, the space shattered like glass, and Lunelle's consciousness was ejected from the immersive simulation.
The evaluation and results of this simulation began to surface one by one.
--+--
[You have died!]
[Simulation Evaluation: You had touched upon the future of the previous civilization's Seele, yet when the chance arose to alter that fate, you failed to seize it at the crucial moment. You did not change the destiny of a truly significant story character.]
[This Simulation Rating: F]
[Simulation Settlement: Pay the price—remove the host's RT!]
[Safety Net talent triggered.]
[Settlement altered!]
--+--
[Safety Net Settlement: Original penalty canceled. Host receives Safety Net reward: Minor Honkai Energy Resistance.]
[Due to the host achieving an F rating in the simulation, the special permanent talent [A → A+] is bound.]
--+--
[A → A+ (Quality: Unknown / Permanent): One of the unique permanent talents granted by the Safety Net (Gold).
A seemingly ambiguous and odd talent, it appears to enhance the host slightly through some indescribably miraculous means.]
[Influenced by this permanent talent: Host's Charm +1, Honkai Energy Affinity +1.]
--+--
[Due to certain unknown reasons, special changes have occurred in the host's relationship log.]
[Host's Special Relationships:]
[The Will of the Sea has noticed your presence and finds your aura exceptionally familiar, deeming you a rather endearing little creature.]
[The Cocoon of Finality senses that you have preliminary value for investment but does not yet qualify for sustained attention.]
[Within the Sea of Quanta, a particular entity has confirmed your identity, but due to formidable obstacles, it cannot manifest in the real world for now.]
--+--
After the simulator finished announcing all the prompts, Lunelle had finally completed a simulation with a normal time span—no longer dying within seconds.
Still, as her consciousness was ejected, a part of her lingered in the sensation of snuggling close to her wife Seele, feeling a twinge of reluctance to let go.
After all, this was the first time in her life she'd been held close by her wife—especially her top favorite, Seele—and it was Seele who initiated it!
Even though Lunelle knew full well that this wife was merely an empty Herrscher shell driven by apocalyptic instinct, and everything she'd experienced was just a simulation...
But... it's like when many young soldiers step onto the battlefield for the first time, and the enemy they face just happens to be the very person they admire most.
In situations like that, rookies often find themselves overwhelmed—whether from nerves, lack of combat experience, or other reasons—and end up getting disarmed by the object of their admiration right then and there!
Lunelle's situation was somewhat similar.
Meeting her beloved Seele for the first time in any real sense, even if it was just a sugar-coated bullet meant to lure her into an abyss... in the end, Lunelle couldn't resist swallowing that sweet bait.
Anyway, that sugar-coated bullet was big, white, soft, and sweet.
And then, naturally, the bomb exploded, blowing Lunelle to bits on the spot!
If you asked Lunelle afterward whether she regretted the choices made in this simulation, she'd tell you without hesitation:
Regret? Not a chance!
Compared to all those previous simulations where she dropped dead instantly, this one was downright amazing, okay?
Especially that moment when her beloved Seele first pressed close in her consciousness—Lunelle could still savor the lingering sweetness.
After all, snuggling with Seele's Herrscher persona until death was far more delightful than just dying instantly.
Fortunately, Lunelle wasn't really someone with a head full of trashy thoughts. This little bout of madness... once was enough.
Absorbing the 3 points of stamina converted from the 3 points of Honkai Energy Affinity, Lunelle's strength surged by dozens of pounds in the blink of an eye.
Honestly, being able to feel herself grow stronger so directly felt pretty great.
Thinking back to her days as a guy, when each hard-won "safety net" only boosted her strength by a tiny fraction—barely a mosquito's leg worth—Lunelle couldn't help but pity her former self, who'd been satisfied with such meager gains.
Truly, in the world of Honkai, it's only as a girl that the real benefits flow!
Having tasted the advantages of being a girl once more, Lunelle had to acknowledge this harsh truth.
Then she began reviewing everything that happened in the simulation, quickly pinpointing the root cause of her utter lack of progress.
Of course, some might say, "Didn't you fail this simulation because you couldn't resist temptation? What other reason could there be?"
Ahem... Digging deeper, that certainly was part of why Lunelle accomplished nothing.
But as the person involved, while carefully recalling the memories of her consciousness being overwhelmed, Lunelle caught a subtle clue.
After all, the Herrscher persona was essentially a copy of Lunelle's original consciousness.
To fully take control of the simulated body, the Herrscher persona had to merge deeply with Lunelle's core consciousness through special means, thereby gaining control.
That's why, in the previous simulation, the Herrscher persona had immediately lunged at Lunelle without a word, clinging tightly to her core consciousness the entire time.
While being forcibly snuggled by "Seele," aside from the intense pleasure, Lunelle also gained insight—through this consciousness-level contact—into the very trigger that gave birth to the Herrscher persona.
And Lunelle never expected that the trigger for the Herrscher persona's emergence was really a fleeting murderous intent she'd felt toward that scumbag trying to claim Seele!?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.