It all started with a brief incident in the Sea of Quanta.
While Lunelle was unconscious, something strange occurred for a short time—her attribute panel's [Special Relationship Column] briefly changed in a way that shouldn't have been possible.
Only the simulator wizard has access to the related history logs, and even there, this so-called "minor fluctuation" was recorded like this:
[Special Relationship History Change Record (host access denied)]:
[In the Sea of Quanta, a special existence who has confirmed your identity suddenly receives "a gift from you."
She is delighted by your gift—so delighted, in fact, that she's eager to meet you right away and do something with you!!!
But due to a powerful interfering force, she is unable to form a proper link with you and cannot manifest in the real world for now.]
Still, it's not like anyone could blame Lunelle for not checking her attribute panel every day.
And so, after a while, that odd description quietly reverted back to normal, as if it had never changed at all…
Right around then, the simulator gave Lunelle a direct command—not to seek out the beautiful Seele during the simulation.
At that exact moment, inside the principal's office at St. Freya Academy, Murata Himeko and Theresa Apocalypse, the school's head, were having a familiar conversation, just as in the original story.
Except this time, they'd brought back a particularly adorable Seele from Nagazora City, and a few unusual things had happened during their battle with the Herrscher.
As a result, the story began to shift clearly from how it originally unfolded.
After the usual scene where Theresa berates Himeko for her recklessness, and Himeko makes a jab at Theresa's tiny stature in return—
She pulled out Himeko's still-warm portable data projection device from somewhere best left unmentioned and placed it atop a desk nearly as tall as she was.
"Well then, report what happened three nights ago, Major."
Theresa, the world's shortest principal with a massive height complex, stood on tiptoe as she tried to look dignified and questioned Himeko, who had led the operation to subdue the Herrscher.
"Principal, we technically won, but the battle itself… was kind of surreal."
With that, Himeko began recounting the details of what happened during the Herrscher subjugation mission three nights ago.
Back in Nagazora City, three days earlier.
That was when the Herrscher of Thunder awakened and instantly annihilated a Templar-class Honkai Beast that just happened to get in her way.
But from that point on, events began to veer wildly from the established storyline.
In the original plot, Kiana took a sword for Mei, and Mei's kind side couldn't handle the trauma. Her mind collapsed, and the Herrscher persona seized control.
This time, however, Mei's gentle self didn't even get the chance to react—she was instantly shoved aside by the furious, panicked Herrscher of Thunder!
And Kiana? She wasn't badly hurt this time.
From the Herrscher's behavior back then, it was clear—though no one could explain why—that instead of Kiana, who had always had a complicated relationship with her, she now fixated on Seele, who was presumed "dead."
So, when the Herrscher emerged this time, there was no scene of her cradling a gravely wounded Kiana and clawing at her chest while shouting the iconic line, "Only I get to kill you!"
When Hyperion received the order to retrieve the Herrscher, they tracked her down through the massive Honkai energy spike she released—just like in the original.
Unfortunately, they charged in right as she was boiling with rage over "losing her beloved."
The result? The Hyperion got utterly smashed again, maybe even worse than last time.
Left with no choice, Himeko, as the current captain, equipped her Scarlet Fusion Armor and engaged the Herrscher head-on.
(T/N: Honestly, no clue what battlesuit she was using.)
But without a sisterly figure in the Herrscher's arms this time, the famous scene where Kiana suddenly awakens, clutches her body, and delivers a wing-snapping, plot-breaking blow never happened.
As Himeko neared the limit of her suit's power and looked ready to fall—
Kiana suddenly got up!
But her abilities weren't ready. She hadn't even encountered Sirin yet.
Naturally, there was no dramatic moment where she transformed from White Comet to Knight Moonbeam and pulled out a deus ex machina victory.
In fact, she didn't even have the White Comet battlesuit now.
So this time, when Kiana stepped forward, she didn't fly up and rip off the Herrscher's wings to change the tide of battle.
Instead, she noticed that Lunelle, lying in a pool of blood, was still alive—barely clinging to life despite her gruesome wounds.
Even though Lunelle hadn't died yet, and her newly awakened talent should've helped her survive…
The Herrscher of Thunder had been too violent. The central battlefield trembled with every move she made.
Lunelle might've survived being thrown down, but the sheer shockwaves were killing her.
In that moment, Kiana, feeling helpless, did the only thing she could—step between them and try to stop the fight.
And her way of intervening...
Himeko would later recall it as laughable, but strangely, it worked.
Picture it: two men locked in a dramatic rain-soaked fight, with their faces photoshopped into the Herrscher and Himeko.
Then there's Kiana on the side, holding a dying Lunelle in her arms, screaming into the chaos.
"Stop it! Stop! Please!"
Of course, the Herrscher of Thunder didn't hear her at all. She was too far gone.
But Kiana kept shouting, even as the Herrscher began to gain the upper hand.
"If you keep fighting… Seele will really die!"
That scream, right then, struck something deep inside the Herrscher's blood-frenzied mind.
"What? Seele's still alive!!!"
Just like that, at the peak of the clash, the Herrscher froze.
And when one side in a deadlocked battle suddenly pulls back… well, you can imagine the result.
So, despite fully expecting to die that night, Murata Himeko somehow won.
She had no idea how, but somehow… she'd won.
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