Chapter 33

I stood on another place. It looked like some non-descript house in the middle of some town. Two stories just like any other in view. Then the stuff went strange.

As I walked towards that house, the empty streets began filling with children of all ages. They played around in a manner I hadn't seen since my own childhood. Old games that involved a lot of climbing and running around were aplenty. Chalk drawings where the kids jumped in and out littered the street.

I felt odd. This was a scene I was used to seeing from a distance. For almost all my life, I never got to enjoy these little childish games. It was noisy, filled with laughter and squeals of delight. It brought back many memories, not all of them good.

I finally pushed my way through the masses. Reaching the house, a girl was sitting down on the porch, watching with sadness at the commotion going on before her. I sat down next to her. "Yo."
She looked at me strangely. "You are way too old."

I did my best to look offended. "Hey, at least have some respect for your elders, dammit."

"As if they have ever done something for me."

"Eh, fair point." We just sat there. she looked a bit uncomfortable at me being so close to her but didn't relinquish her place in the porch. I kept staring at the 'idyllic' scene before me.

"I thought that if I kept them here, they wouldn't have to suffer." She finally broke the silence.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Uh… right, I guess you couldn't see what happened to them outside…"

"No, I did that. I had to set them free."

"Your methods left a lot to be desired about."

"Fuck off geezer, I never wanted to hurt them. I just wanted my sister back."

"…If you want, I could search for her…."

"No. I know what happened to her… guess trying to do something for these kids was me trying to make up for my failures."

"…Ah, I'm sorry."

"I hated my parents."

"OK?"

"I didn't mind that they didn't pay attention to me, or that they often left me to live alone most of the time. But what they did to my sister…"

"…What happened?"

"…They overworked her. She was just eleven, but she was a prodigy in everything she did. Music, school, singing… even that time I played cards with her, she kicked my ass."

"She sounds amazing."

"She was… I used to be so jealous of her. Until I noticed just how shitty her life was. She barely got any sleep from everything my parents forced her to do. There was always another class to get to, another party to show her off, another meeting with some rich dude to sponsor her…"

I saw where this was going. "…Did they…?"

"Yeah… fucker wanted her; my parents were all too eager to exchange her for monthly money or some shit… I managed to sneak to the bastard's mansion a few times to see her…"

"Oh."

"Every visit she had some new bruises, and she looked even more tired than when my parents managed her, then…"

"You found her."

"I found her. I told my parents that that bastard was no good. They didn't care. They didn't bat an eye when I found her. I managed to see the autopsy report… three months pregnant…"

"Shit…"

"I don't know what to do… what he did to her… what they did to her… then this voice appears in my dreams and offers me a way…"

"Power, it offered power to do what you wanted without consequences reaching you."

"Yeah… so I took it. Then I got killed."

"And since then, you've been here."

"…I admit I was a bit lonely… but then these old farts began showing up. I kicked their asses before evicting them. After a while the kids appeared."

"And you learned about what they did."

"Not all of them were prodigies… but all their parents were just as shitty as mine. I wanted to get to know them better, and then I saw."

"Not something you wanted to learn, I guess?"

"How would you feel if you learned that people wanted something badly enough, they would send every child they could get their hands on to die?"

"Like kicking their asses… not that I could without getting in some deep shit. Just talking about that would likely get me kicked out of everywhere."

"Imagine being offered a way that worked? And being above the consequences?"

"Sounds too good to be true."

"It was good, and it was true… even if it made me talk like some snotty princess and shit."

"Honkai tends to make you do that…"

"Yeah, imagine dying and then waking again realizing you took on the world by copying everything you despised… at least I didn't get on any videos…"

"Lucky you."

"Not really…"

We kept sitting there and I offered my arm. The girl finally broke down crying loud enough that some of the kids turned to look at us. I smiled at them and hugged the girl next to me. They went back to their games once again.

I patted her back as she let out years and years of suffering. Her own and many more she knew. I couldn't sympathize completely with her, as I had an older brother, not a younger one. I did like treating my nephews though… but I could only guess at what she went through. "I'm sorry, but there is something I came here to do. Out there is a girl whose sister is most likely here, she too took the offer and is now destroying everything in a roaring rampage of revenge."

Amidst sobs, she managed to say something. "Lucky bitch."

"Not really. The whole world is now gearing to fight her and…"

"Not that you idiot. She might get to see her own sister again. I don't have that chance."

"It might be odd, but… who was she?"

"Oh, that. Well, little Kelly was born when I was five, didn't cry all that much, though. She would stay inside and even then had begun reading through my school books and then…"

After a while, I had learned about Kelly from Holly, I mean, the First Herrscher. She said every word with such emotion that I could easily picture the two playing around in this same street, in this same house…

Holly sucked a breath like she'd been sucker-punched. I turned to see what got her so starltled and I saw someone making their way through the mass of children still paying around. She was a cute little tyke. Reddish hair and eyes that shone like jewels. While Holly had pretty honey-colored eyes, this kid had glowing golden ones… oh crap.

"Holly?" I had to ask, as she reached with a trembling hand to the newest arrival.

"Kelly, that you?" her voice sounded this close to breaking.

"Hey… long time no see…" The little one sounded a bit too old for her appearance. I didn't want to be surprised so I gripped the handle of my gun just in case she… "Mister, don't be so worried. You called me here."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh Kelly… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I tried to get you out, but the bastard got his goons to beat me and then you…"

"Holly… I never blamed you… but every time he… he would tell me how he would come for you… I had to protect you…"

"Kelly! That is not how it's supposed to go! I'm the older sister, I'm the one that was…"

"Does that even matter? You are here."

The sister hugged each other as the waterworks began again. I sat there awkwardly trying not to intrude but also trying to not look suspicious when reaching for my gun. Dammit, I don't want to interrupt and risk having another Herrscher awakening.

Then the whole place began shinning… no, more like fireflies began appearing from everywhere around us… ah… she did say that she made this place for them, didn't she?

"Hey, old fart." The elder finally stopped crying long enough to talk to me.

"I'm not old, but what?"

"You say you needed to see someone in here?"

"Yeah… I was hoping she was around…"

"I'm sorry… but I couldn't get her, someone pulled her out before I could…"

"Her father, I guess… well…"

"Say, you said you needed to beat that one out there?"

"No… but are you offering to help me?"

"No… I'm tired. So tired. And I got Kelly back now."

"Right."

"Hey… would you mind avenging these brats? They were duped by people just because they were a little above everyone in their own ways…"

"I can't say I will avenge them… but those that put them here, I will make them pay."

"Thank you… hope you like mathematics, because I sure as hell didn't."

"What for?"

"Catch!" something flew at me and I caught it. Shining like a miniature sun, the Core of Logic didn't burn me or anything. I looked at the sisters and they two began glowing. "Thanks for the therapy, old fart!"

I couldn't speak anymore. The glow intensified and the last thing I heard was the laughter of a teenager among the giggles of thousands of children.

I'm not old, dammit.

At the same time Yinsen pierced the crystal, Himeko realized her own little plan.

Yinsen's little girls had some nice stuff stored in their plane, so she asked for something to recreate a memory from long ago: How people split rocks in half without super strength or destroying the rock.

A pair of those yellow foldable swords Yinsen's people like to use put in place by Tyler and Asahi, and she now had her chisel in place. Now for the hammer.

"Hey Yinsen, you said we needed to break all this stuff?"

"No, just crack it enough for the energy inside to go outside while we dig out the Core."

"Got it, better brace yourself, dear!" Himeko pressed the button on her key.

"Wing!"

Ask she felt the power being to course through her body, she took off running. Then she pressed the trigger mid-stride.

"Flying Blast! Fever!"

Her wings unfolded and she flew in a loop, gathering speed before getting her objective in sight: the two swords stabbed in the weird gem. She extended her left in a pose she'd seen the odd man favor when kicking. Suddenly her armor locked up and she felt herself accelerate even more. She couldn't resist the impulse to let out a primal shout. She felt herself hitting the pair of swords and the 'ground' gave in. Time slowed down and she saw how the energy that had been surrounding her body flowed into the crystal.

She barely had time to fly way from the torrent of energy that came out of the crack in a pillar of light.

The crystal broke, and from the hole in the sub, came out Yinsen, floating like some possessed in those horror movies. Then the lightshow ended, and he stood there, glowing rock in hand. "Yinsen? You ok there?"

His helmet retracted and his heterochromic eyes for a second were pure deep blue. The sight made Himeko hold her breath and something stirred before going away. Yinsen looked at her and smiled. "Hey Himeko, you want to see something, really, really cool?"

From the outside, the battle kept going. The Steel Locust forces kept going through ammo and spare weapons. Guns matching their size laid discarded here and there, their barrels completely shattered as they had been firing non-stop since the fight began. Swords laid shattered with tier victims having long evaporated. The robots had been bloodied for the first time, bite marks, scratches and dents adorned them in ways that didn't deter from showing their prowess. The TSF pilots had long gone through the tradition from that other world called the seven minutes of death. In that other world or this one, they truly were now Eishi.

The beast they had tried and filed to kill stood there, not moving despite having firepower level a country constantly hitting it. The monster then went completely still. The SL forces suddenly got a sensor warning that made them raise their shields or fly behind the Avengers

The mountain-like monster then began budging in places. Its face(?) began contorting as if it was in pain, causing the Honkai still around to suddenly begin clutching their head with whatever limbs they had.

Then the beasts' screaming started.