Honkai Impact 3rd, But I'm Ren Amamiya! (Chapter 141-142) (Patreon)

Chapter 141: Wendy: What Do You Mean the Will Seed is Engraved with My Memories?

"Who are you people? This is Schicksal's Oceania Branch base! If you cause trouble here, the Valkyries stationed at this base won't let you get away with it!!"

As the wheelchair drew closer, Ren Amamiya got a clear look at the strange Shadow girl.

Her outer hair was a deep, frosty green, while her inner hair was a vibrant, life-like teal. The girl had beautiful teal eyes, but they were filled with unease. Her sickly pale, delicate face tried its best to look fierce, but her body, unable to even stand and forced to rely on a wheelchair for mobility, betrayed her blustering nature.

The wheelchair girl's Shadow was like a raccoon cub trying to intimidate an adult with its flailing paws. Ren felt no threat whatsoever. In fact, he thought she was kind of cute.

Watching Ren, controlling the Persona Magatsu-Izanagi, mow down one row after another of the Oceania Branch's Valkyrie Shadows—now lying scattered on the ground in pieces—Wendy's face paled even further.

It wasn't just because of Ren's and his team's overwhelming power, but also because the scene was so brutally horrifying.

Although Wendy had been a powerful A-rank Valkyrie with the potential to be promoted to S-rank back when she was healthy, she had always only dealt with Honkai beasts. She had never witnessed such a hellishly cruel and terrifying scene.

Compared to the carnage in the base corridor, everything Wendy had seen during Honkai outbreaks felt like child's play.

Of course, the most important point was that Wendy had not only lost her former strength, but also her basic ability to move. Facing these mysterious individuals who had invaded the Oceania Branch, Wendy deeply felt her own powerlessness. She could do nothing but watch.

"We are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, here to take the Treasure in this Palace... Miss Wheelchair, you must have some clue about the Treasure in this Palace, right?"

Ren didn't hide his intentions or purpose. After all, the Treasure was a special item that only materialized when the Palace Ruler felt a sense of alert. While a Herrscher's Palace might be slightly different, this was still a good habit to have.

"Don't worry. As long as you give us a lead on the Palace Treasure, we Phantom Thieves won't do anything to you."

As Ren said these words to the wheelchair girl, he felt a strange sense of unease himself, like he had become some kind of evil villain.

"Oh, are you worried about the corpses of these Shadow soldiers on the ground? They are a little different from the Shadows outside. This is the first time I've seen Shadow soldiers this realistic... The feeling of eliminating them is as terrible as actually killing someone. But don't worry too much. They'll disappear soon."

Ren noticed Wendy's gaze frequently drifting to the corpses of the Valkyrie Shadows on the ground. Her pale, helpless expression clearly showed that she was frightened by them.

Honestly, it was the first time Ren had encountered such realistic Shadow soldiers. Although his mental fortitude was such that even eliminating highly realistic Shadows wouldn't make him flinch, he couldn't deny that he felt a bit uneasy during the process.

It wasn't just Ren. Bronya, who had grown up among corpses since she was a child assassin, could maintain her composure. But for Raiden Mei and Seele, even knowing they were eliminating Shadows, they couldn't remain as indifferent as they usually were when dealing with ordinary Shadows.

The high degree of realism of these Valkyrie Shadow soldiers was caused by the wheelchair girl, the Palace Ruler herself. Yet, Ren had to come over and comfort the wheelchair girl who was frightened by the Shadow corpses.

As soon as Ren finished speaking, as if to prove the correctness of his words, the horribly mangled corpses of the Valkyrie Shadows on the base floor turned into wisps of dark red smoke and dissipated, revealing a pristine clean surface.

"Wh-what did you do to everyone's bodies? Why didn't they even leave corpses behind?!"

However, seeing the normal disappearing process after the Shadow soldiers died, Wendy looked even more terrified, as if Ren had not only harmed the Valkyries in the base but had also completely destroyed and erased any trace of their existence.

"...That reaction... Could it be that you're the Palace Ruler's real self in the real world?"

The green-haired girl huddled in her wheelchair, trembling. Since her appearance, she hadn't engaged in any meaningful communication and seemed completely out of the loop.

Based on similar experiences in the past, Ren quickly concluded that the wheelchair girl he was facing was most likely the Palace Ruler's real self, who had no knowledge of the existence of the Palace.

"The Palace Ruler's real self in the real world? I don't understand what you mean. Please leave quickly. This is Schicksal's Oceania Branch base. The ones you encountered were just a patrol unit. There are even stronger Valkyries in this base."

Although she couldn't understand what was happening, Wendy knew at least what she could do right now. So she mustered her courage and verbally tried to drive away Ren and the others, the mysterious invaders who called themselves Phantom Thieves.

"The task of soothing her can be left to Bronya. She has plenty of experience in that area."

Just as Ren frowned, pondering how to explain things to the wheelchair girl, Bronya, dressed in her silver-blue pleated-skirt Phantom Thief outfit, slowly approached. She volunteered to take on the job of taking care of the wheelchair girl.

"We can talk as we go. This young woman is right. There are multiple Shadow reactions approaching our location. If we don't leave quickly, we'll soon face another wave of Shadow attacks."

Bronya stood in front of Wendy, looking at the green-haired girl huddled in her wheelchair with a hunched, small frame and an expression of fear and anxiety on her delicate face. Bronya's silver-gray eyes were filled with tenderness and reassurance.

The girl's unadorned state reminded Bronya of Seele in the beginning... Looking closely, the contours of her face really did resemble Seele's somewhat.

The fact that the wheelchair girl couldn't stand and had to rely on a wheelchair to move further resonated with Bronya.

Once upon a time, Bronya had also been a wheelchair girl with limited mobility, until Cocolia found her a leg exoskeleton that allowed her to levitate and move. Only then did Bronya finally escape the confines of her wheelchair.

Everything from the past seemed to overlap at that moment. Bronya gently gripped the handles of the wheelchair, her voice soft and patient as she reassured the green-haired girl.

"It's alright now. Bronya won't hurt you. Bronya is a Phantom Thief, not a heartless robber..."

Faced with such tender kindness, Wendy, who had been imprisoned in the Oceania Branch base for so long as a Gem of Desire container and had long forgotten what it felt like to be treated gently as a human, suddenly felt her eyes well up with tears.

She clenched her mouth tightly, sitting quietly in the wheelchair that Bronya was pushing, without any struggle or resistance, and without shouting to attract the patrolling Valkyries.

"This is where the first Will Seed is located. Instead of waiting for Wendy to tell us, perhaps we can learn more about this Palace by directly examining the memories inside the Will Seed."

Ren and his team weren't just running around aimlessly. With Hare's guidance, they quickly arrived at the location of the first Will Seed, finding it hidden behind a potted plant in a corner.

Although Bronya had managed to open Wendy's mouth by transforming into a kind and understanding older sister during their journey to the first Will Seed, she had only managed to get the girl's name. Any further questions were met with Wendy's tightly pursed lips.

It was clear that Bronya needed more time to break down Wendy's defenses.

Instead of wasting time there, Ren felt it would be faster and more reliable to read the deep memories contained within the Will Seed. After all, a Will Seed's memories didn't lie.

Grasping the first Will Seed he had found behind the flowerpot, Ren closed his eyes and immersed his mind in the memories contained within.

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【I announce that I, Wendy, from this day forward, will join Schicksal and become a member of the Valkyries, to fight for all that is good in the world!!!】

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Reopening his eyes, Ren retreated from the memory carried within the Will Seed.

Ren's judgment had been correct. The green-haired girl in the wheelchair was indeed the Palace Ruler of this Herrscher of Wind's Palace.

As of now, Wendy didn't seem to be trying to deceive Bronya. At the very least, she hadn't given a fake name to appease her.

Glancing once more at Wendy, who was huddled against the back of her wheelchair, her expression still uneasy, a thoughtful glint appeared in Ren's eyes.

In the memory engraved in the first Will Seed, Wendy, who was swearing to join Schicksal and become a Valkyrie, had been radiant, radiating an almost visible aura of optimism and confidence. Compared to her current timid and humble self, they were like two completely different people with a world of difference between them.

As for what exactly had happened to Wendy during that time, given their current level of friendship, she probably wouldn't be willing to reveal that secret.

However, Ren had a few guesses.

In the Will Seed memory, Wendy's legs had been straight and long, and she had looked incredibly healthy, showing no signs of difficulty in movement.

It was clear that she had later encountered an unfortunate event that had made her lose her confidence, forcing her to huddle in a wheelchair like a good-for-nothing.

"Continue searching for the second Will Seed, Hare."

Because the Valkyrie Shadows in the Herrscher of Wind's Palace were too human-like, Ren didn't want to experience that terrible feeling of slaughter again unless absolutely necessary.

So, this time, his method of exploring the Palace was mainly stealth-based, only eliminating witnesses when discovered.

Putting the first Will Seed into his pocket, Ren issued instructions to Hare, who had already scouted out the location of the second Will Seed. The entire team, led by Hare, began moving again in the Herrscher of Wind's Palace.

"Big Sister Bronya, what's a Will Seed? They said it has memories inside it?"

Sitting on the rapidly moving wheelchair, watching the scenery blur by, Wendy recalled Ren's actions. She opened her mouth, and finally, couldn't help but quietly ask Bronya, who was pushing the wheelchair from behind.

Bronya had already explained to Wendy that this wasn't Schicksal's Oceania Branch base in the real world, but the Herrscher of Wind's Palace formed by cognition and impressions.

The Valkyries wandering in the Palace weren't real Valkyries with flesh and blood in the real world, but Shadow soldiers disguised as Valkyries created from imaginary entities.

However, because Ren and his team were mysterious and called themselves Phantom Thieves, Wendy didn't dare to fully trust their words. Even though Bronya gave her a very kind feeling, Wendy was only willing to believe them to a limited extent.

But after observing for so long, Wendy could tell that Ren's goal in infiltrating the Oceania Branch base was the so-called [Will Seeds] and [Treasure].

And that Will Seed, one of the Phantom Thieves' goals, wasn't being stolen from a heavily guarded laboratory, but was being found behind a flowerpot in an inconspicuous corner... This ridiculous situation was gradually making Wendy believe Bronya's claims.

"...Will Seeds are crystallized manifestations of a Palace Ruler's desires, symbolizing the sins they have committed. At the same time, each Will Seed contains the Palace Ruler's most profound memories."

Bronya's pushing movements paused slightly.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally honestly explained the concept of Will Seeds to Wendy, who was sitting in the wheelchair in front of her.

"Ah?"

Chapter 142: Herrscher of Wind: You Expect Me to Fight the Schariac Holy Blood?!

And that ruler was most likely her.

The thought of Ren casually peering into her memories made Wendy feel like ants were crawling all over her skin. She felt uncomfortable from head to toe, and her long-numb toes tried desperately to curl and grip the floor.

But in the end, there was nothing she could do.

Wendy could only sit and watch from her wheelchair as Ren, guided by Hare's senses, collected the remaining two Will Seeds in the Herrscher of Wind's Palace and fused all three into a single, pure Will Seed Crystal.

"So this is the Will Seed Crystal of Greed."

Examining the Greed Will Seed Crystal in his hand, which looked as if it were coalesced from teal wind, a satisfied smile curved Ren's lips as he slipped it into his pocket.

Wrath, Sloth, Envy, Melancholy, Pride, and now, the newly acquired Greed.

Of the Seven Deadly Sins, Ren had now collected six.

Perhaps he could even collect some of the sins that had been removed from the official list throughout history to maximize the power of his ultimate skill.

But if he could just collect one more sin, even if he hadn't awakened his ultimate Persona, Satanael, he might be able to try using that final skill—Sinful Shell.

"Wh-what are you talking about?! The Sin of Greed? I'm a Schicksal Valkyrie! I've never committed any wrongdoing out of greed!!"

Wendy was already feeling embarrassed and uneasy knowing Ren had peeked into her memories. But when she heard him name her Will Seed Crystal the "Will Seed of Greed," she instantly became flustered and indignant.

Her honor as a Schicksal Valkyrie was on the line. Despite her fear of Ren and these mysterious Phantom Thieves, Wendy finally mustered the courage to voice her rebuttal.

"Isn't it true? I've already seen the memories buried within these three Will Seeds. You weren't satisfied after becoming a Schicksal Valkyrie, so you climbed your way to the position of an A-rank Valkyrie. If you had stopped there, the drive from your greed would have only brought you benefits."

Ren fixed his gaze on Wendy in her wheelchair. Wendy's eyes immediately darted away, subconsciously avoiding his. She stared intently at the ground by her feet, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her whole body hunched over slightly.

Facing Ren, who had peered into the memories of her Will Seeds, Wendy felt as if his gaze could see through all her disguises, piercing straight to every thought that flashed through her mind.

Bathed in Ren's line of sight, Wendy felt an intense sense of shame and fear, as if she were standing completely naked.

"However, you weren't satisfied with that. Even though you could have become one of Schicksal's top S-rank Valkyries just by following the original path, you chose to take a shortcut. You had the Treasure, the Gem of Desire, implanted into your body. But the result was far from ideal. Not only did you fail to gain a leap in power, but you also lost your original strength and even your basic ability to move."

"Stop it..."

Under Bronya's worried gaze from behind, Wendy bent forward, lowering her small head, and pleaded with Ren in a weak, powerless voice to stop.

Wendy was a Schicksal Valkyrie.

She had chosen to undergo the surgery to implant the Gem of Desire to uphold her belief in fighting for all that is good in the world... That being said, this didn't conflict with the faint hope in her heart that she could grasp the Gem of Desire's power and ascend to greatness in a single leap.

"After losing your original power and status, you became nothing more than a container for the Treasure. Schicksal stopped treating you like a human. Forget about a luxurious exoskeleton like Bronya's; the wheelchair they gave you is the most basic model, without even an automatic movement function. They showed no respect for your dignity as a human being."

Ren extended a hand toward the increasingly pale Wendy, his tone not softening in the slightest, but becoming even more aggressive.

"Even so, you have no intention of removing the Gem of Desire from your body. You still greedily covet the Herrscher power within the gem, dreaming of soaring to the heavens... It's not too late. Hand over the Treasure, and you will surely be able to stand on your own two feet again. Trust in our methods. Even if the Gem goes out of control, we can handle it without telling your superiors everything. You just need to sit back and reap the benefits."

"Joker, don't you think you're being a little too harsh on Wendy..."

Even after only a short time, Bronya could sense the softness and gentleness in Wendy's heart. Even if she did harbor greedy thoughts, it was only natural for a human.

Bronya wanted to plead for Wendy, to ask Ren to soften his words, but before she could finish, Seele gently tugged on the corner of her clothes and gave her a slight shake of the head.

Bronya pursed her cherry lips. Her expression was a bit lost, but in the end, she decided to trust Ren and Seele, keeping her mouth shut and remaining silent.

"No, I can't give you the Gem of Desire. It belongs to Schicksal. I'm just holding it for safekeeping. Unless you get permission from Schicksal and find a better way to contain it..."

Wendy shook her lowered head forcefully, her voice hoarse. Even with no ability to fight and with the Palace's Valkyrie Shadows completely helpless against Ren's team, she refused to hand over the Gem of Desire in her body.

"You're just being defensive. You still dream of mastering the Gem's power. You don't want to lose its power, but you also want to be able to stand again. Isn't that your Sin of Greed?"

Wendy hugged her thin, frail body, looking pitiable, as if she would break at any moment. But Ren showed no sign of letting up, continuing his cold, mercilessly sharp words.

"No, that's not right, I don't think that... The person you're talking about, that's not me at all!!!"

With a final, hysterical roar, the string of her sanity finally snapped. Wendy lifted her hands to clutch her head, her voice cracking as she screamed her denial.

As Wendy roared, a violent, teal wind erupted around her. The raging gale forced Bronya, who was standing behind the wheelchair, to retreat.

Under Bronya's terrified gaze, Wendy's dark-and-light green hair whipped wildly in the storm. As her pale, ferocious face slowly lifted, her teal eyes, once filled with fear and timidity, were replaced by golden pupils brimming with arrogance and madness.

"This is... Wendy's Shadow?!"

The golden-eyed Wendy, a twisted smile on her face, rose from her wheelchair into the air, carried by the teal wind. Bronya's pupils trembled.

She immediately put a safe distance between herself and Wendy, finally understanding why Ren had been uncharacteristically aggressive.

"So Wendy's real consciousness and her Shadow consciousness share the same body... I never would have thought. No wonder you were deliberately provoking her, Joker. You were trying to force out the Shadow consciousness hidden inside her."

Bronya had once heard from Seele the story of her first encounter with Ren. In Seele's Palace, Seele and Shadow Seele were two separate individuals.

Because of this, Bronya had subconsciously applied that experience to the current situation, mistakenly believing that besides Wendy herself, there was another Shadow Wendy, the true Palace Ruler, hiding somewhere.

She never imagined that Wendy's situation was completely different, and that Shadow Wendy's consciousness had awakened directly within Wendy's own body.

"Hmph, we've finally reached the familiar and easy part. Everyone, get ready to fight again!"

Having baited Wendy into uttering the forbidden phrase, Ren looked at Shadow Wendy with her now-golden eyes and let out a sigh of relief. The situation had finally developed into a domain he was familiar with. The rest would be much easier.

He wasn't afraid of Shadow Wendy being powerful; he was afraid of her staying hidden and refusing to show herself.

"Insignificant human, don't think you can get away unscathed after spouting all that nonsense at me!!"

Enveloped in the teal wind, Shadow Wendy revealed her true form. She had a white scarf around her neck and wore a white dress with a black sash and a green pinwheel decoration at her waist. Large, teal wings of wind spread out behind her.

Her slender, pale feet stood upon the storm itself, with only her thin thighs wrapped in white bandages.

A wild, arrogant smirk graced Shadow Wendy's lips. She stood in the eye of the teal storm, looking down on Ren from above, already contemplating what cruel method she would use to kill him.

"She has mastered the power of the Herrscher of Wind. A direct confrontation isn't ideal. In times like these, we should use the power of Schariac... Call my name, Joker! Grant me greater power!"

The teal tornadoes, like a natural disaster, churned and spun, tearing the base's blast doors and walls to shreds. Rocks and steel mixed into the teal storms, adding another layer of destructive power to the terrifying gales.

The howling wind affected the breathing and movements of Raiden Mei and Bronya.

Even with their Personas summoned, Kurikara and Veliona would have a hard time reaching Shadow Wendy, who was manipulating the wind, her soul intermingled with the storm in the sky.

Faced with this predicament, Hare remained calm and composed. She didn't summon her Persona to attack Shadow Wendy. Instead, she returned to the sky above Ren's head, spread her arms wide, and called out to him.

"Then I'm counting on you! Persona—Hare!!"

Ren ripped the white crow mask from his face as a red World Arcana card floated down from above.

Hare's body, floating in the sky, was instantly engulfed in azure flames. With the infusion of Ren's power, the flames turned a deep, spectral red, and her white and purple battlesuit was completely dyed in Ren's signature crimson.

"Take this, Wendy! Have a taste of the Schariac Holy Blood!!"

Since reversing the poison in her body into Holy Blood, this was the first time Hare had used its power against an enemy. The previous foes were just small fry, not worthy of such a powerful weapon.

Only a Herrscher like Shadow Wendy was worthy of experiencing the taste of the Schariac Holy Blood, renowned as the 'Herrscher Killer'.

A fingertip gently brushed across a pure white wrist. Drops of eerie, bright red blood welled up, shimmering like rubies. Wisps of blood coalesced into red lines, then, under Hare's will, formed the shape of an arrow.

A slender, pale finger waved forward, pointing at Shadow Wendy in the teal storm. The arrow formed from the Schariac Holy Blood shot out at incredible speed, as swift and powerful as if it could cross space itself.

"Hmph, a mere arrow. You think you can keep up with the speed of the divine wind?!"

Looking at the unassuming, crimson blood arrow rocketing toward her, a scornful smile appeared on Shadow Wendy's face.

With a beat of her teal wings, she deftly weaved through the storms, sending the tornadoes she had created to converge and sweep down upon Ren and his team.

"————What?!"

Shadow Wendy dodged the blood arrow's path. The crimson light shot into the teal tornadoes she had summoned.

The Honkai energy that constructed and sustained the swirling storms was instantly disintegrated and erased by the Schariac Holy Blood.

The terrifying tornado collapsed in the next second, dissolving into harmless currents of air. The debris and steel caught within it clattered to the ground.

The Schariac Holy Blood arrow, fired by Hare and Ren together, had not lost its target. After passing through the now-dissipated storm, the blood arrow carved a nimble and strange arc through the air, striking the wide-eyed and incredulous Shadow Wendy directly in the chest.