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Chapter 232 – Ich liebe dich
🕑 Added 2025-08-07 15:22:14 +0000 UTCIn the world of Honkai Impact 3rd, the true nature of Honkai is a trial.
When the previous era left answers on the desk for future examinees, the system responded—by summoning the copy of colossal beast, Chiyou.
All things considered, Chiyou wasn’t stronger than what the Pre-Era’s contingencies could handle.
In the end, the one who passed the answers and the one who received them both paid with their lives to put Chiyou down.
That chapter, at least, was closed.
It's not forbidden for those on one "leaf" of the Tree of Imaginary Numbers to draw strength from another—but in this case, the help came from a completely external force.
This wasn't just inter-leaf collaboration.
This was full-on cheating. And so, the Honkai Will turned up the difficulty level by just… a little.
Well—actually, this was the maximum level of escalation it could achieve without breaking the world's rules.
If Nagami could survive this trial, then even if the Honkai Will wanted to stop him, it would no longer have the strength to do so.
And this time?
This was the Trial of the Cheater.
A violent gale tore through the air as energy exploded outward.
The nuclear-blast clouds surged, smothering the sky once more.
“How the hell are we supposed to fight that?”
In an instant, the air shrieked as Nagami’s boots tore through the void.
A slim shadow streaked toward him like a lightning flash.
And then—
The Xuanyuan Sword, glowing with a storm of iridescent colors, came down like divine judgment.
The killing intent was suffocating.
‘BOOM!’
Even though Nagami managed to block the blow aimed at his heart with the Void Greatsword, the impact was massive.
He was flung backward like a meteor crashing to earth.
“Nagami!” Kiana reached out as she yelled.
A spatial gate opened along Nagami’s trajectory— Right above Ji Lin’s head.
Using the rebound from Ji Lin’s strike, Nagami spun his greatsword in midair.
Kiana, not exactly the best at using spatial powers and had barely kept up.
But Nagami’s understanding of the Herrscher of Void’s abilities was now reaching its advanced stages.
All he needed to do was create spatial ripples where he wanted the gate.
And even if Kiana intellect didn’t always keep up, the bond between them let Kiana guess his intent.
“Time to cut this clean—”
Stardust-like particles spiraled around the Void Greatsword as Nagami’s inner power surged to its peak.
Sword energy slashed down like a sky-splitting blade.
The phrase “Taixuan Divine Blade” nearly left his lips— But Ji Lin, as if she had foreseen it all, raised her dark-gold sword at the perfect moment.
The clash was explosive.
The Xuanyuan Sword responded with a cascade of fire, lightning, frost—and within the black glow, a wave of destructive power burst forth.
The next moment, Nagami’s body was sent flying again, drawing a sharp arc through the sky before landing—
In a pair of warm, soft arms.
“Nagami! Are you okay?” Mei’s face was filled with open, unfiltered concern.
“I’m fine. Just broke a few bones. Already healed.” As Nagami was blasted away, Himeko and Durandal flanked Ji Lin from both sides.
Flames surged, but were redirected by the overwhelming force of Domination.
Ji Lin flicked her blade again and casually deflected Abyss Flower.
A shockwave followed.
Already drained from transforming into Super Durandal, she was blasted away even faster than Nagami.
A spatial gate opened just in time to catch her—courtesy of Kiana.
“You traitors. If you return your Herrscher powers to me now, I’ll give you one last chance.”
Flames, storms, lightning, and shadow swirled together on Ji Lin’s blade.
A roaring storm surged forward—covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.
“Wha—?!”
Yae Sakura could only raise her sword in time.
As the sheer impact blasted her body across the sky like a comet.
She didn’t even get the chance to use her Erosion powers.
Because any [Erosion] released into the air… would be instantly [Dominated].
“Otherwise, you’ll all die here—with the outsider.”
Just as Kiana reached to open another gate to save Yae Sakura, Ji Lin was suddenly in front of her.
Her blade tore through space itself.
‘Too fast!’
Kiana’s eyes widened.
She tried to dodge—but her body felt impossibly heavy.
A gemstone on the Xuanyuan Sword—one representing the Rock Herrscher—glowed ominously.
‘No! I can’t dodge it—!’
And then—
Her bright-blue right eye suddenly shifted to a molten gold.
A ripple in the void behind her shimmered, and a dark-gold spear of subspace appeared, deflecting the incoming strike.
“Idiot! My powers aren’t just for saving your ass!”
The girl with mismatched eyes rose into the air, gold iris burning like molten lava—furious beyond belief.
‘This dumb worm only knows how to use Void powers to save others.’
‘Nearly got this body wrecked because of it.’
Still, the enemy had seven Herrscher cores—one more than she had at her peak.
That golden eye narrowed in seriousness. 'Kiana' glanced at Nagami next to Mei, then turned her gaze back to Ji Lin.
“Tch.”
Her raised right hand moved like an emperor issuing a decree.
Three subspace spears shimmered into view, Honkai energy coiling around them.
Their razor-sharp edges gleamed menacingly.
With a flick of her wrist, they launched forward like missiles.
“Second Herrscher… why are you standing on humanity’s side?”
Ji Lin’s voice was frigid as winter.
Her brow furrowed as the spears met her sword and scattered into dark-violet particles.
It wasn’t physical destruction—it was the clash of Domination and Decay.
The Second Herrscher—born in the Second Eruption, long blessed by the gods, wielder of multiple cores had always followed the Honkai order to destroy civilization.
She was the only Herrscher so far who’d actually carried out her duty.
No one expected her… to betray them without warning.
Now, with the exception of Ji Lin, every Herrscher had turned.
“Like I care about those insects.”
She ignored the annoying voice of the “tuna” in her head.
That molten gold eye—representing Sirin was filled with nothing but scorn.
“I assume your God sent you here to deliver those cores to me, didn’t they~?☆”
Her gloved hand reached back and plucked three cubic frames from the air, made of crystalline Honkai energy pillars arranged in twisting spirals.
“Well? What are you waiting for? Hand them over!”
She grinned, lips curling in arrogance.
As her fingers released, the crystal structures shattered the sound barrier, tearing through the air and space like ripples in a pond.
It was the ultimate taunt.
Ji Lin’s face twisted with rage.
“Then I’ll give you… half of the Core of Death as a gift—right now!”
In an instant, her almost-frozen form exploded with violent energy once more, as if lightning itself had broken through the fabric of space.
A pitch-black darkness, deeper than eternal night, spread across the Xuanyuan Sword—devouring every trace of light in its path without mercy.
Empowered by the death authority of seven Herrscher cores, the swing of the Xuanyuan Sword decayed the crystalized Honkai arrow the moment it touched.
The gleaming blade streaked forward like a silver comet, piercing straight toward the Herrscher of the Void.
Space rippled around it, letting out a bone-chilling wail.
The once-proud and confident face of the girl changed in an instant—shock and disbelief flooding her expression.
She tried to open a portal to escape, but her authority was interfered with… overwhelmed by the power of Domination.
The Herrscher of Domination could override other Herrscher abilities—though only if her opponent's will was weaker than hers.
It wasn’t absolute, but it was terrifyingly close.
(This is also why, in the game, she can only steal Bronya’s logic-based Herrscher powers…)
Yikes. That blunt truth might sting more than sarcastic teasing.
Let’s be honest—Bronya’s Herrscher of Reason abilities, aside from her tutorial-phase Angel Reconstruction, got clapped pretty much the whole time.
Jixuanyuan, or rather Ji Lin, wasn’t on the same level as mere puppets.
Interfering with the others’ Herrscher powers was like child’s play for her.
If they hadn’t been ganging up on her, she could've easily stolen any one of their abilities… except Nagami’s.
After all, Nagami’s core was no longer just a simple Herrscher of Reason core.
A few white strands of hair, eroded by Decay, floated to the ground as Ji Lin turned slowly, her gaze locking onto something behind her.
“Oh my queen, could you please stop inflating your ego? Have you seriously not learned that arrogance always backfires?”
Nagami stepped out from a portal he had opened himself, looking down at the dazed girl in his arms, clearly exasperated.
“Shut up!”
Sirin snapped, her face flushed with embarrassment.
She glared daggers at him, and the golden glow in her right eye instantly faded.
“Whew. That was close. Sirin almost got us all wrecked again.”
Back in control of her body, tuna Kiana let out a long breath, her chest rising and falling with the motion—completely forgetting that Sirin had bailed her out in the first place.
“Spatial abilities are annoying, I’ll give you that,” Ji Lin said with a twisted smile as her gaze swept across the group that had surrounded her, “but so what?”
She soared into the sky, raising the Xuanyuan Sword high above her.
And then—an ominous light erupted, engulfing the entire sky.
Everyone suddenly felt like they were falling into a pitch-black ocean.
An immense, crushing pressure pressed down on them like a collapsing mountain.
At the same time, the air around them warped like ink in water, the very space swallowed by an abyssal darkness.
Gravity surged, pinning them in place.
The power of Domination spread out, transforming the area into something like the “Theater of Domination” from the game.
In this space, the Herrscher of the Void’s powers were suppressed—rendered nearly useless.
Fire, lightning, wind, frost, and dark light—all were pulled inward by the force of Domination, merging into a singular, explosive beam of pure black radiance.
It radiated with the power of a god’s final judgment.
The beam tore through the sky like a heavenly lance, shattering the sea of thunderclouds and freezing even the ocean below into silence.
“This is the end for you, outsider.”
Nagami could feel it—that dreadful, world-ending intent locking onto him like the gaze of the abyss.
Marked for death.
There was no escape from this attack.
“Okay... everyone has an ultimate move, but this? This is just ridiculous!”
As the target of the attack, Nagami knew there was no point in panicking.
He looked up at the beam of destruction, then lowered his gaze to the delicate girl in his arms.
“Kiana, are you scared?”
He smiled, his voice gentle and calm.
For the first time in this entire battle, his heart felt still—like the surface of a peaceful sea.
Kiana stared back into his dark eyes. The fear in her blue gaze slowly faded.
“With you, Nagami, I’m never scared. But... this time, we might really…”
We might really die here...
Lying in Nagami’s arms, Kiana gazed at the sky.
Even just the residual energy from the attack targeting Nagami was enough to freeze the blood in her veins.
She could barely breathe.
“Nagami… there’s something I want to tell you.”
She wrapped her slender arms around his neck, resting her head gently against his chest, curling up like a sleepy cat.
“What is it?” His voice was as soft and warm as ever.
“I love you.”
There was no embarrassment on Kiana’s face—only sincerity.
She met his gaze head-on, her long lashes fluttering, and her blue eyes shimmering with light.
“But at a time like this, you’re supposed to say that magic phrase, right~?”
As if responding to the incoming divine punishment, the entire world trembled under a thunderous roar, shaking from the heavens down to the ocean floor.
“Ich liebe dich.”
A radiant, tangible light descended from above, illuminating Nagami’s smiling face.
As if the impending apocalypse didn’t exist, the boy leaned in and gently kissed the girl on the lips.
And then, the world was swallowed by light.
