Looking at the silver haired loli with widened eyes and a surprised expression, Adam smirked
"Hey Bronya, long time no see" The silver haired boy crossed his arms in front of his chest "It seems that you haven't grown up at all, huh?"
[Kazuma: Yo? Is this loli what you call your 'past'?]
[Red Princess: Tch, tch…. I didn't expect Admin-kun to be a lolicon]
[Good Slime: Hey! What's wrong with that?!]
[Just Monika: Indeed…. Aren't they both underage~?]
[Homura: ...]
[Shiraori: Gender Equality-san, isn't your girlfriend also a loli?]
[Kazuma: …..]
[Kazuma: Fuck! I can't say anything because you're actually right!]
[Phoenix: Um…. Are you a so-called 'lolicon'?]
[Kazuma: .......]
"What…. Happened to you? And…. Why is your hair like that?"
The silver haired girl asked with a trembling voice, her fists clenching as she stared at him with a rare intensity in her eyes
"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow, before just shrugging "Nothing really. I just experienced some stuff"
Yeah, only 'some stuff'
What? Should he maybe tell her that he obtained a magical group chat, and that he traveled to other worlds?
Obviously not
[Kazuma: Oh, yeah. 'I traveled to 3 other worlds, became overpowered, and returned to my main world to meet with my childhood sweetheart']
[Kazuma: And with all of that, you only experience 'some stuff']
[Shiraori: That sounds like a perfect title for a light novel~!]
[Good Slime: I agree! It really sounds like a title that a second rate trashy light novel would have!]
[Red Princess: What's wrong with that? I would gladly read it….]
"....."
Bronya stared at him, opening her mouth-
She closed it, apparently to speechless to say anything else
"....Adam…" After a pause, the silver haired girl spoke up "You should…. Leave."
[Homura: It seems that this girl cares about you…]
[Kazuma: No shit, Sherlock]
[Homura: ….?]
"I refuse"
Adam raised his arm, palm facing Bronya as he expressed his refusal in a nonchalant tone of finality
[Shiraori: Daga kotowaru~!]
"....."
Bronya's face twitched, as if trying to hide her emotions
"Trying to activate project bunny?" He raised an eyebrow at her motionless body "Unfortunately, you can't"
With a mental command, Project Bunny, that was still wrapped with threads, floated to his side obediently
"....How?"
The silver haired girl looked dazed at seeing someone else other than her controlling Project Bunny
[Shiraori: Skill Issue]
[Red Princess: Why does this girl look as though you NTRed her??]
[Phoenix: What does that mean?]
[Good Slime: Rias-san….. Why are you shamelessly saying this again?!]
[Just Monika: I'm curious…. Has our resident princess delved into this sub-genre of 'Japanese media'~?]
[Red Princess: …..]
[Red Princess: No comment]
[Kazuma: Wait just a bit, you AI!]
[Kazuma: How do YOU know of this?]
[Just Monika: ...]
[Just Monika: It's none of your business~!]
"An ability I have acquired"
The silver haired boy shrugged his shoulders once again
He had no intentions to lie, fool, or misdirect Bronya. There was no reason to come up with an elaborate excuse for his change or his new powers, either
He would either not mention it, or just say it was a secret. The relationship he had with Bronya was pretty close…. At least in the past.
She would understand
"Can you…. now beat a Herrcher?"
Bronya questioned. Though her expression had turned cold, the doubt in her eyes couldn't be hidden
Adam could see that she had guns and knives on her body. However, it was obvious that she wouldn't draw them out, even if he stopped her from getting to Raiden Mei
At least it was good to know that Cocolia hadn't brainwashed her to the point that she would try to kill or injure him
[Homura: From the previous members' reactions…. The answer seems obvious]
[Red Princess: If you had seen this guy fight, you'd have the same reaction too]
[Good Slime: Rias-san, have you seen him fight?]
[Red Princess: Well…. Kind of? At least I haven't seen his true strength….]
[Kazuma: So this dude is so overpowered that he doesn't even need to put in his all?]
[Kazuma: Damn! Why is there such a big difference between Isekai protagonists!]
[Shiraori: Because he's a reincarnator, Gender Equality-kun]
[Good Slime: Uhh…]
[Kazuma: See! Isn't this slime also op!? Why couldn't I also be overpowered!!?]
[Just Monika: Skill issue~]
[Shiraori: Hey! Don't copy me!]
[Kazuma: ….]
"It doesn't matter if I can beat her or not." Putting his hands in his pockets once again, the silver haired boy frowned "She's my friend. No matter what, I won't allow you or Cocolia to hurt her."
His voice was exuding confidence and arrogance
"But she's now a Herrscher-!"
"I don't care"
Adam interrupted her.
Did he care? Obviously not. It doesn't matter if Mei is a Herrscher of not
In fact, if he was a bit more shameless… He would shout 'Even better!'
"What about…. Seele?" The silver haired girl pursed her lip "Mama Cocolia said-!"
"I don't care about what she said"
Adam sharply and rudely interrupted Bronya
"Cocolia is an idiotic woman of stupid proportions." He sneered, putting his hands on his hips "She knows nothing. All of her plans are meaningless and worthless."
The silver haired boy mocked the one Bronya calls 'Matushka'.
Yes, he mocked this woman who thinks killing Raiden Mei, and putting her herrscher core inside a robot to power it up, is a good idea.
He spit upon all of her ideals and plans as if they were nothing but trash.
[Just Monika: ⊙▂⊙]
[Kazuma: Yo, bro? Isn't that a bit cruel?]
[Red Princess: Hm? I suppose this woman must have done something really bad for you to hate her so much…]
[Homura: So this Admin can also scold people?]
[Kazuma: Of course! Just what is your impression of this guy?!]
[Homura: …..]
"Y-you…?!"
Bronya's mouth gaped, jaw slackening and eyes widening as actual emotions of pure beffudlement and surprise appeared on her face
"H-how….c-could you-?!"
It was cruel. Psychologically cruel.
Hearing this about the person who took her in and gave her a warmth…. Was painful.
Especially when it came from a person who had lived and visited that same orphanage.
[Shiraori: Aw, she looks freaked out~!]
[Phoenix: This reaction seems a bit weird…..]
[Homura: Agreed. For Admin to hate this woman, she should have done something extreme]
[Homura: Though it seems that this girl hasn't realised....or she just chooses to ignore it]
[Phoenix: ….. I was talking about Shiraori's reaction]
[Homura: Oh….]
"I just can…" Adam sighed "Frankly, it's quite easy. Especially with what she's done"
Did he hate Cocolia? Not really. That woman did truly care about her step children
….Which makes the fact that she used these same children for experiments even worse.
That's right. The X-10 experiments
This is what Cocolia had come up with as a solution to honkai. She put young girls through these experiments… and all of that, for what?
The silver haired boy can't understand- wouldn't understand.
What was the point? It seemed stupid. This woman said that everything she did was for her children and for humanity to defeat honkai
But that's bullshit.
"B-but Seele-!?"
"Okay, that's enough"
Adam raised his palm, stopping Bronya from talking any more
The X-10 experiments also caused Seele, a girl from the orphanage, to quantize and sink into the Sea of Quanta
Actually…. The girl named Seele had volunteered for these experiments.
Why? He doesn't know. Perhaps it is naivety, or maybe a childish hope that she would be able to help the person she calls 'Mom'.
Bronya had learned of this fact. And then she volunteered to take the place of Seele. The silver haired girl suffered damage to her brain because of that.
Her emotions became dulled, and her face has been paralysed. Of course, she could still feel some emotions, as evidenced by her previous outburst
"Stop talking about Seele"
Adam once again sighed.
He did care about Bronya. But there were other, more important and urgent matters that needed his attention
-Like meeting Raiden Mei!
…
Bronya continued staring at Adam with confusion and bewilderment
Doesn't he care about Seele?
"....."
She doesn't know. Since the day Seele sank into the Quantum Sea, Adam stopped visiting the orphanage
Did he feel ashamed? Was he angry at Cocolia? Or was he angry and disappointed at herself and the other children?
Again, Bronya doesn't know, and she honestly didn't want to think of this matter further.
"Even if you somehow open a door to the Sea of Quantum- and that's a big if…."
Adam brough his hand towards his face, brushing a bang of silver that got apparently displaced by wind
"-You still wouldn't be able to save Seele"
What?!
"Why are you surprised?" He smirked "Hasn't Cocolia told you? Or maybe…. Even that woman doesn't know of this?"
"What do you mean?"
She really tried to hide the trembling in her voice
"It's actually simple."
Adam shrugged
"Even if you somehow open a door to the Sea of Quanta and obtain Seele's coordinates…" His eyes half closed as he stared at her "She still wouldn't be able to get out. Her body has already been Quantized. She can't exist in the 'physical' world"
"......."
Bronya remained silent, her eyes blank
Oh
She didn't want to believe his words. She didn't want her hopes of saving Seele being crushed just like this.
But…. She trusts him. He wouldn't lie about this.
Is this why Adam has such dislike for Matushka? Because he knows that, even if Cocolia sacrifices Raiden Mei and gets her herrscher core, Seele still wouldn't be able to be rescued?
"Besides this…." The silver haired boy continued, narrowing his eyes at her "Do you think Seele would accept being rescued at the cost of a girl's life?"
"She… would not…."
Bronya replied without a second thought.
Forcefully removing the Herrscher core of a Herrscher is very dangerous. It will definitely cause death to the Herrscher
…..But frankly, which Herrscher would just sit obediently and let her Herrscher core be extracted? No one.
Cocolia thinks she can forcefully capture the Herrscher of Thunder with her Titan robots…. But Bronya also had her doubts about this.
Even if it's a newly awakened Herrscher… A Herrscher is still a Herrscher. The Herrscher of the Void who caused so much damage to the world is evidence of this.
Can a few titan mechas capture such a being?
But nevertheless, Seele was a kind person, and she would never accept her rescue if she knew it came at the cost of another innocent girl's life
"Haah…." Adam suddenly interrupted her thoughts with a sigh "Anyway, I have a girl to save. I don't have any more time to convince you."
"..."
Should she just let him go? Let him get close to such a dangerous being?
Maybe she should-
"!!"
Bronya gasped as she saw Adam raise his hand and-
She froze
Looking downwards, she saw her shadow moving, twisting, as if wrapping around her in an attempt to suffocate her
Bronya couldn't move. No, she could only shift her eyes around and nothing else
"That's…. kind of cool."
The blue haired woman who had remained silent throughout their conversation suddenly spoke up
"Yeah, they also agree…." Adam's eyes shifted to…. something to his side "And no, it's not shadow imitation technique from Naruto."
"...."
"I said no! While I do have chakra and could probably create that technique…. The thing I used now was [Negativity Manipulation] to manipulate the darkness of her shadow"
The silver haired boy messaged his temples in exasperation as he explained his… abilities to…..someone??
"Anyway…" Adam turned his head to look towards the blue haired woman "Olivia, do you want this ability? Or well, maybe I could just give you only a [Shadow Manipulation] or [Darkness Manipulation] version? I think I could make that…."
"Oh?"
The woman- Olivia- tilted her head in thought
"Sure!" She shrugged with a smile "I don't think it fits my fighting style…. But I don't mind more powers"
Adam smiled at her answer
"I taught you well!"
He brought a hand towards his face, making a wiping motion with his finger at his eyes, as if to wipe a tear moved emotions
Bronya stared slackjawed at their interaction.
She mostly ignored the topic of their conversation as she didn't particularly understand what they are talking about…. Oh, she did understand that… Adam had obtained some powers?
Anyway-
The silver haired girl had never seen the blond- or well, silver haired boy so… carefree and happy?
He did smile when he was at the orphanage… But behind that smile, Bronya could see that he was always worried and wary
Why? She didn't understand at the time. But now…. The obvious source of his worries is honkai.
Again, why? She doesn't know. Adam had a certain amount of resistance that would not get him instantly killed even when a honkai eruption occurs.
So, again, why? He didn't seem like the kind of person who would care about the deaths of unknown people who had nothing to do with.
He should have been able to stay safe as long as he stayed with her and Cocolia. Moreover, Anti-Entropy could certainly keep him safe
"Yes, I can do that. And no, Scumzuma! I'm not giving you any abilities!"
Adam's overbearing voice interrupted her thoughts. He was frowning, with a disgusted expression on his face
"Oh…" A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on his face "But if you manage to send me Wiz or Yunyun… I wouldn't mind giving you a few abilities"
"....."
Did Adam go crazy because he couldn't handle the stress?
Bronya could only come to this conclusion. After all….. She couldn't explain it any other way.
Speaking to someone/air…. He either had mental problems, or was making a call with technology so advanced that was invisible to other people
Which was it?
…
..
.
-----
A/N:
Next chapter is Mei. And for it, I think I truly cooked.
Anyway, this chapter had some explanations for people who aren't familiar with Honkai Impact, or for those who just don't know the plot.
Though I think most people reading currently are aware of the plot.... I still feel the need to at least explain certain stuff.
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