Christmas Special: You Were Born After I Had Aged
"Bianka? Bianka? Bianka!"
"Waaah!"
The little golden-haired girl was pulled from her sleep. She still had drool hanging from her lip as she rubbed her hazy eyes. A man, also golden-haired, wore a priest's robe and held a book, a faint smile on his lips.
Bianka hurried to get up. "Ah, sorry."
"Hmm... was the training too heavy lately?" The man wasn't angry. He closed the book with one hand and smiled at Bianka. "Then take a day off."
"No need..."
"It's fine. It's just some unimportant theory classes. Perhaps I'm too boring as a history teacher?" The man said to the slightly sleepy Bianka. "If you're interested in what comes after, go find it in the database."
...
The training load had indeed increased lately, but she had requested it herself. She hadn't been a Valkyrie for long and always thought about catching up to others, especially the fallen Ragna. The man's attitude toward her was different from other Valkyries; Bianka could tell. She didn't intend to accept it complacently. Doing her best was her response.
"The database..."
Bianka walked into the database. The sight of so many physical books made her frown. That man seemed to particularly enjoy keeping things with "class," including that priest's robe. The books left Bianka unsure where to start, and she didn't plan on flipping through a pile of books older than she was. She was there to learn; the database's simulation system would be more professional and faster.
"Speaking of which, what was I supposed to learn?" Bianka tapped her finger on the touchpad. She stood on her tiptoes, searching for the history knowledge the man mentioned. But history couldn't be summarized in two words, especially history related to the Honkai.
Suddenly, the screen was filled with red warning signs. Bianka froze. Before she could react, the simulation system started automatically. Blue particles covered the surroundings, and the environment changed at high speed.
What appeared before Bianka was the... corpse of a vast city.
...
The little girl moved warily through the ruins and rubble, checking her surroundings almost every step. In a strange and clearly unsafe environment, the scouting skills she had learned were put to use.
This was just a segment of "history" simulated by the database. But even if it was fake, due to the high degree of realism, one could be injured. She had tried to end the simulation, but the system didn't respond, indicating a malfunction.
Bianka finger brushed past shocking claw marks on the wall of a collapsed house. Blood and bodies were everywhere. She could hear the roars of Honkai Beasts in the distance. It seemed a large-scale eruption had occurred not long ago.
What concerned her was the presence of many battle marks nearby. But this city was unlike any location in her memory where Schicksal had suppressed an eruption, and the architectural style was completely unfamiliar.
Lacking knowledge of the environment and having no weapon—"one cannot make a meal without rice." No matter how much training Bianka had, she was just a ten-year-old girl. It would be trouble if she met a beast.
Picking up a brick as a weapon, Bianka frowned at the setting sun at the end of the city. At night, visibility would be narrower; the city would be a playground for beasts and Zombies. Fortunately, she didn't see any Flying-class beasts. Those small flying creatures were no less lethal to humans than the large ones—perhaps even more so.
The tiny figure stayed low and entered an uncollapsed high-rise. She planned to avoid beasts on the top floor; the open view would also help her judgment. But there were more Zombies in the hallways than outside—people who had turned instantly during the eruption. It made things difficult for Bianka.
Sneaking behind a Zombie, Bianka raised the brick and slammed it onto the back of its head!
"Bang!"
"..."
She stared silently at the half-brick in her hand. The Zombie, its head dented, paced sluggishly, turning to reveal a horrific face. Not only did the blow fail to drop it, but all the Zombies on the floor were drawn by the sound and discovered her.
"Howl... HOWL!"
The Zombie let out a fetid roar, swinging its rotting arms at her. Bianka bit her teeth, dropped the brick, and dodged the arm. She leaped up and slammed a fist into the Zombie's face!
"Bang!"
After dropping it, she stepped on a desk and sprinted for the stairs!
"Boom!"
Another Zombie was in her path. Bianka kicked away its arm, used its head as a stepping stone, and leaped over the crowd!
"Hmph!" Reaching the stairwell, she smiled confidently at the slow Zombies behind her and rushed for the roof without hesitation. There were a few more on the stairs, but she handled them easily. She rushed up twenty floors, slammed the iron door shut, and leaned against the railing, panting.
It seems physical training didn't go to waste.
Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a sound of flapping that made her blood run cold echoed nearby. Bianka turned in panic. A swarm of Flying-class beasts surged toward her like migrating birds in the twilight! Their streamlined bodies made them as fast as bullets. Their elytra, capable of slicing steel, shredded the railing in an instant. Bianka fragile body was about to be crushed into meat in the next second.
Oh no...
Bianka put her hands in front of her, her eyes wide.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two consecutive gunshots rang out like piano notes in the ruins. One hit the lead beast, while the other struck a gas pipe on the roof. The surging gas disrupted the attack.
Then...
"Schwing!"
A cold light sliced the red sunset in half. In Bianka hazy vision, the beasts were like birds with broken wings, shattering in the air and falling into the red sky.
A person stood before her, holding a short blade and a handgun. Purple-red blood dripped from the blade to his feet. The man in the helmet turned slowly, his blue visor watching the stunned little girl.
The sun vanished in a world without light.
Christmas Special: I Was Born After You Had Aged
"Hey! Who are you! Schicksal? Anti-Entropy?"
"..."
The man in the helmet and power armor didn't care about the little "tail" behind him shouting questions. He confirmed that all the beasts were immobilized, checked his gear, reloaded, and wiped the blood from his blade before sheathing it.
Only then did he turn silently like a ghost to face the suspicious Bianka.
"Your gear isn't Schicksal's, and it doesn't look like Anti-Entropy's... And where exactly is this place?"
The man had scanned her from head to toe while she spoke. He stood there without making a sound, looking quite terrifying in the dim night. He walked forward, tucked Bianka under his arm, and leaped from the roof before she could react!
"Aaaah—"
The fierce wind and sense of weightlessness accompanied the rapidly approaching ground. Bianka instinctively screamed, but a gloved hand covered her mouth.
"Whoosh!"
The ground receded quickly. The deafening wind made her ears ring. She realized she was moving through the city like a bird, the scenery below flowing rapidly. Flying-class beasts were shattered before she could even see them clearly.
Landing in an open area, the man put Bianka down. She looked around and saw she wasn't alone; over a dozen people were there, likely survivors the man had rescued.
"Stay here. Don't move."
That was the first thing he said to her. After dropping her off, he turned back toward the city.
"Wait!" Bianka grabbed his coat hem. "Is no one taking them to a shelter?"
"..."
"Speak! Are you a mute?!"
The man turned, staring silently at Bianka through the helmet, until...
"Boom!"
An explosion echoing through the city changed Bianka expression and made the survivors even more terrified. The man looked back toward the city. That explosion was close! A massive shadow pressed its hand onto a skyscraper, dust falling from between its claws. Hot white mist puffed from its fangs. The ground shook like an earthquake as it walked.
A yellow eye watched them from between scales. Bianka vision was better than others; she could clearly see that in the fangs of the creature—which was half a head taller than a fifty-meter building—was the upper half of a human. The gear on the body was the same as this man's.
It stuck out a purple tongue, rolling the "snack" into its mouth. The reason no one was leading them to shelter had been found.
Was it an illusion? Bianka felt as if she saw the monster's lips curl into a sneer after discovering them. A fear like being dropped into an ice cellar surged in her heart.
Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
"Take them away."
Before her fear could take root, the toneless words were dropped. A dark shadow stepped out from her side, charging without hesitation toward the mountain-like monster.
"Hey! Are you crazy!"
Bianka watched the back that showed no hesitation, then turned and waved her small hand to the others. "Follow me!"
As she led the others away, she looked back to see the tiny figure dodging the claws. But as if her eyes were playing tricks, the claws appeared on the path the man used to dodge. He was struck in the waist, the impact sending him crashing into a building!
Bianka couldn't bear to look further. "Dammit!"
...
Bianka had studied disaster evacuation, and her grades were excellent. She did her best in everything. Even in unfamiliar terrain, she was more professional than others.
After leading the group to a safer spot, she asked urgently, "Do you know a nearby shelter?" The lead person nodded frantically. She turned immediately. "Go to the shelter!"
"Little girl, where are you going?"
"I'm not a little girl, I'm a warrior!"
Bianka ran toward the previous direction without hesitation, leaving their calls behind. She wouldn't tolerate running away, even if this was just a simulation. If she told herself it was fine to run this time, there would be a second time. She wouldn't stand by while others fought.
"Bang!"
Before she entered the city, a dark shadow smashed into the ground beside her. She shook, seeing a man in tattered gear with a shattered helmet crawling up. There wasn't a single uninjured part of him; blood soaked him from head to toe, his back and ankles looking as if they had been through a grinder.
"Phew... why did you come back..."
He stared forward. The monster's ability was unique; half the squad had been killed. As a recruit thrown into the field without a squad, he had no support and couldn't even reach headquarters.
"I don't plan on running! Let's work together to take down that beast!" she said, standing tall.
The man seemed surprised to hear the term "Honkai Beast" from the girl. He glanced at her through the helmet. "Go. You'll die."
In the dark night, everything was a blur. Only the black eyes peering from the broken helmet seemed to emit a faint light.
"I'm a warrior. I've been prepared to die for a long time." Bianka body trembled. She gripped her arm, her gaze resolute. "Since I can't stand by and watch destruction, I've already decided what kind of person I'll be. I don't know who you are, but you're in the database, which means you're a warrior who can be recorded here for making the same decision, right?"
"..."
"Schwing!"
The man said nothing. He suddenly pulled Bianka into a hug. A tearing sound echoed, and Bianka saw blood spray from his shoulder.
"Cough..." The man spat out a clotted chunk of blood. She hadn't even seen where that attack came from.
Bianka stared at him. His eyes were still as cold as a corpse. He reached out a hand where skin and muscle were stuck together and patted her head. "I'm not a warrior, just a soldier. The reason I fight is so I don't have to see anyone else 'preparing to die' ever again."
Bianka breath hitched. she looked up at this stranger. He stood, facing the mocking, approaching monster. Moonlight spilled behind him, and he sank into the shadow.
"I don't know who you are or why you're here... but I sincerely pray that one day, you won't need to tell me you're 'prepared to die' ever again."
"You were right about one thing. We've both decided what kind of person to be. So, I hope next time we meet, you've already become the person you want to be."
Bianka watched his staggering back. "Are you... data?"
"Perhaps. So, leave."
The man's words scattered into data particles, vanishing with a breeze.
...
"Bianka? Bianka? Bianka!"
Bianka snapped awake. She backed up a few steps, looking at the stern golden-haired man. He rarely looked this way. After tapping the system, he said, "A set of erroneous data appeared in the database. I've deleted it. Do you feel unwell? Is your consciousness clear?"
"Ah... yes."
The bright moonlight through the window fell before her, just like that sudden moonlight in the simulation.
Who was that?