Chapter 43: Ich liebe dich
[Siegfried, slumped on a semi-circular bench in the mall, suddenly recalled the strange man he had met in the convenience store a few days ago. What did he mean by "the reality you should be protecting"?
"What am I thinking..." Siegfried laughed at himself. "I'm content to have such a happy and fulfilling family."
"Even if the real world is heading towards destruction, step by step?"
Welt Yang appeared before Siegfried once again.
Just as Siegfried was about to ask the man's identity, the scene around him suddenly began to glitch, flickering between the warm-toned shopping mall and the cold-toned burning tundra.
"Siegfried, for every second you linger here, reality becomes that much more dangerous."
"Or are you planning to give up the fight and drown in this false dream?"
Welt's powerful voice echoed in Siegfried's ears. When he looked at his right hand, it had transformed into a Honkai Beast's claw again. Beneath his cold blue pupils, just as Siegfried was about to understand, he was interrupted by the sound of a massive explosion.
"BOOM!!!"
The large floor-to-ceiling window behind Siegfried suddenly shattered from the explosion, and he subconsciously covered his head and dropped to the ground.
On the other side, Sirin, faced with the shattering glass from the dome, was so confident in her Herrscher abilities that she didn't even bother to dodge. But when she heard Cecilia's cry, she froze.
She saw Cecilia, ignoring her own already scratched face, shielding her in her arms. She whispered comfortingly in her ear, "Don't be afraid. Mama will protect you."
"Ich liebe dich, Sirin."
In the hospital, Siegfried was listening to a doctor analyze his wife and daughter's injuries. Cecilia and Sirin sat on a bench in the hallway. Sirin, leaning against Cecilia, clenched her fists in frustration.
"She held me again."
"Why is her embrace always so warm, and why does it give me such a sense of peace..."
"Mama..."]
"Cecilia is such a gentle person. She can even redeem the little Herrscher. I really, really, really want to meet her!" Elysia clasped her hands together, rubbing them back and forth.
Mobius couldn't even be bothered to argue with her anymore.
"If they really let Cecilia redeem Sirin, it would be a terrible ending," Su analyzed rationally, based on the plot's direction.
Su had a point. There were plenty of movies that forced a happy ending, and most of them were heavily criticized for it.
"How is it a terrible ending~" Elysia said. "Don't you want them to continue living happily ever after? I hate tragedies the most!"
Yàqīng silently averted his gaze, "intently" appreciating the movie.
Mobius, who had been watching Yàqīng's expression, instantly understood.
"I feel like it's not that simple." Theresa didn't believe Yàqīng would make such a foolish mistake as a forced happy ending. Besides, if Cecilia really did redeem Sirin, her own highlight moment would be completely gone.
"Mr. Welt definitely wouldn't believe that humanity could redeem a Herrscher who wants to destroy the world, at least not after his negotiations with Sirin failed. He's already given up on that path," Bronya said.
"But isn't he himself a Herrscher who fights for humanity?" Senti asked, scratching her head, confused.
"That's what Bro... I couldn't figure out either. But I understand now. Mr. Welt must have inherited his Herrscher core from Uncle Joyce; he isn't an original Herrscher," Bronya said, taking a delicate sip from her coffee cup.
Everyone knew without saying that the coffee cup was filled with milk tea.
"Then why did Welt Joyce choose to fight for humanity?" Senti asked again.
Bronya's pretty face froze.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound came from nowhere. Senti looked in surprise at Kiana, who had procured another bag of chips from somewhere. No wonder she felt something was missing earlier.
Seeing Senti notice her, Kiana quickly put a finger to her lips and reluctantly shared half of her chips.
[The camera cut to the outside world. In stark contrast to the beautiful illusion, in reality, Valkyrie Lewis was leading her troops, struggling to hold off a massive horde of Honkai Beasts. Just as Lewis ordered a retreat, Dr. Tesla, piloting a mecha, officially joined the battle to provide support.
And this was the cooperation agreement reached between the acting commander, Theresa, who had returned to the battlefield, and the two doctors from Anti-Entropy.
Tesla would support the southern front with the 'Godfather' mecha, Theresa would support the northern front with the Oath of Judah, and Einstein would remain somewhere, constantly debugging a "prototype," trying to modify the Arahato's engine into a Moonlight Throne.
Einstein knew full well that this rushed prototype only had one-tenth of the original's power, so it had to be used at the right moment.
"The right moment? The situation is only going to get worse!" According to Tesla's projection, in about two hours, both their forces and Schicksal's troops would most likely be completely wiped out.
Einstein seemed to be waiting for news from someone. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she looked up sharply.
"Tesla, did you see that?"
"Yeah... He's back."
Tears were already streaming down Tesla's face.
In their line of sight, Welt's figure appeared once more. He pointed towards a certain location, then slowly faded away.
The scene flashed to a memory, before Siegfried and Welt went to the moon. It was Welt's other plan: to let Sirin absorb the First Herrscher core, while his consciousness hid within it, using the thoughts of 300,000 people to interfere with Sirin.
It was a gamble, and the stake was his life.]
"Truly a worthy opponent, to even be able to factor his own life into his plans." Otto poured wine from the decanter into his glass and swirled it gently. "To be honest, I don't dislike people like him. On the contrary, I respect him very much."
"Hm?" Kallen was puzzled. "Otto, isn't your character in the story a major villain? As a major villain, shouldn't you hate warriors who fight for humanity?"
"Kallen, the Otto in the story wouldn't sacrifice his own life to protect humanity, but he respects the warriors who do."
"I don't get it."
"It's better that you don't." Otto smoothed Kallen's slightly messy hair, his eyes full of love.
[The massive steel body of the Arahato sped across the ashen landscape, piloted by Dr. Einstein. She was approaching the Second Herrscher and would commence the operation in 30 minutes.
Einstein told Tesla to lead the Schicksal warriors to retreat from the Siberian plains in 30 minutes.
In response, she only got silence from Tesla.
After a long moment.
"Hey, don't you die on me, Dr. Einstein."
Hearing Tesla's choked voice, Einstein made a promise.
"I won't."
"Tesla, Joachim, we will definitely meet again."]
"Hey, hey, Dr. Einstein, why does it feel like you're entrusting your last words?" Tesla suddenly had that ominous feeling. She grabbed Einstein's shoulders and started shaking her.
"Dr. Tesla, it seems you are a bit smarter than your on-screen counterpart," Einstein sighed.
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