Honkai Star Rail: Destiny Card System of the Multiverse — Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Sword Champion Yanqing’s Trump Card — Unshackling the Free-Roaming Incarnation

Kazuki followed the Knight of Beauty aboard his vessel. The ship’s hull was etched with complex, sweeping patterns, a masterpiece of interstellar engineering known as The One and Only.

“This ship is truly beautiful.” Kazuki traced his fingers along the polished bulkheads.

Just as Don Quixote had his loyal Rocinante to carry him across the plains of La Mancha, Argenti had The One and Only. It was his noble steed, carrying him through the vast, unforgiving sea of stars in his eternal pursuit of Idrila’s light.

Argenti’s smile bloomed, radiant and earnest. He offered a flurry of gracious thanks before turning his crimson-armored frame to settle into the pilot’s seat, his movements as fluid as a stage performer.

With the ship coasting into auto-navigation and nothing pressing to occupy his time, Kazuki casually drew one of his Destiny Cards. A soft chime rang out in his mind.

[Model · Argenti] materialized on the system screen.

Kazuki stared at it for a flat second. He immediately deleted it, unwilling to deal with the sheer theatricality that would undoubtedly follow.

With a mere thought, his consciousness slipped away from the physical realm, diving deep into the Card Space belonging to the [Emanator of Beauty Herta].

The atmosphere inside the space was warm and serene, bathed in perfectly calibrated lighting. Because [Sword Champion Yanqing] had succumbed to the terrifying affliction of being Mara-Struck, his mind teetered on the edge of paranoid insanity. To anchor his fractured psyche, Kazuki had consulted with the others and arranged a strict regimen. Yanqing would share the exact same academic schedule as [Student Himeko].

Right now, the young swordmaster sat quietly at a desk. He had removed his signature blue blindfold, revealing eyes that were finally clear of madness. He was engrossed in his studies, while [Student Himeko] leaned over from the adjacent seat, a gentle smile on her lips as she highlighted crucial passages in his textbook.

Kazuki approached, his footsteps deliberately heavy so as not to startle the boy. He placed a reassuring hand on Yanqing’s shoulder. “How are you holding up? Any lingering discomfort in your body?”

Yanqing flinched slightly, then hurriedly snapped his book shut and stood at attention. He scratched the back of his head, a sheepish flush coloring his cheeks. “Thank you for your concern, sir. I’m actually feeling fine. It’s just… I’m deeply sorry for the trouble I caused you yesterday.”

“What silly things are you saying.” Kazuki waved off the apology, taking a seat beside him. Despite his casual dismissal, his mind drifted back to the sheer, unadulterated chaos of the previous day.

Yesterday, Kazuki had assumed the form of [Sword Champion Yanqing] to purge a localized infestation of the Abominations of Abundance. During the slaughter, he had unlocked a terrifying combat buff buried deep within the swordmaster’s repertoire, Releasing the Shackles of the Free-Roaming Incarnation. It was the ultimate, perfect posture of a celestial being, a state of absolute martial transcendence.

It was also a suicidal technique. A method of mutual destruction that sacrificed eight hundred of one’s own vitality to inflict a thousand upon the enemy.

Driven by a need to understand the limits of this power and to prevent Yanqing from accidentally detonating himself in the future, Kazuki had deliberately activated it.

The result was that he had literally exploded.

The memory was etched into his senses. In that ascended state, a single, casual swing of his blade had instantly vaporized half a mountain’s worth of Abominations. Not even ash remained. Even a towering monstrosity on par with the legendary Abundant Ebon Deer had been cleanly cleaved in twain with a flick of his wrist.

But the backlash was instantaneous and catastrophic. Mere moments after wielding that godlike power, his physical form began to warp like molten iron caught in a vice. The agonizing sound of his own bones being crushed into powder echoed in his ears. His vision had violently blacked out as his body collapsed under the sheer weight of the incarnation.

Three seconds later, Kazuki had jolted awake in his original body, gasping for air. The [Sword Champion Yanqing] card had instantly grayed out, locked into a severe cooldown period.

There was no denying it. He had died in that moment.

Jing Yuan had witnessed the aftermath. The usually unflappable general had been visibly shaken. Upon learning that this catastrophic self-destruction was an inherent ability of [Sword Champion Yanqing], Jing Yuan had issued a stern, uncompromising directive. Unless they were facing an apocalyptic disaster, Yanqing was strictly forbidden from ever using that move again.

It was a power too dangerous to see the light of day. Jing Yuan had resolved to keep [Sword Champion Yanqing] as their ultimate hidden piece, a trump card to be played only when all other hope was extinguished.

Pulling himself from the grim memory, Kazuki looked up at the earnest young man before him. “Jing Yuan said… he doesn’t want to stand by and watch you treat your own life like child’s play.”

Yanqing’s breath hitched. He clenched his fists tightly at his sides, his knuckles turning white. “I understand, sir!”

Having successfully soothed the young swordmaster’s guilt, Kazuki turned his attention to the center of the room. [Emanator of Beauty Herta] was lounging elegantly on a floating, ornate desk. Kazuki walked over and recounted the recent events, detailing his encounter with Argenti and the Knight’s tearful reaction to the literature of The Beauty, as well as their upcoming trajectory.

Herta propped her chin on a delicate hand. As she listened to the part about Argenti weeping over her aesthetic philosophy, the corners of her lips curled into a smug, triumphant smirk.

“Hmph. Finally, someone with actual taste who knows how to appreciate this genius’s literature of The Beauty.” Herta lifted her chin.

She cast a sidelong, disdainful glance at Kazuki and Himeko. “I told you long ago, this genius’s lectures are a one-of-a-kind treasure in the universe. But you two? You can’t even appreciate such refined sustenance. You’re either daydreaming or sleeping through my class.”

Kazuki and Himeko exchanged a guilty look, both of them awkwardly scratching their heads.

She was not wrong. To the two of them, Herta’s grand Philosophy of The Beauty felt less like a deep revelation and more like a mandatory, mind-numbing elective course in college. They were purely there to slack off and enjoy the peace.

Desperate to deflect her ire, Kazuki pointed eagerly at the ramrod-straight swordmaster. “Hey, didn’t I just bring you a model student? Don’t worry, Yanqing is absolutely obedient. He’ll be a hundred times more serious in your class than I ever was.”

Hearing his name invoked, Yanqing hurriedly straightened his posture even further, executing a crisp, respectful bow. “Please do not worry, Teacher Herta! Yanqing will definitely listen carefully to every word and never slack off!”

Herta rolled her eyes, though she looked somewhat appeased. “Do you even need to say that? Yanqing is already leagues better than you.”

Then, her aristocratic smirk vanished, replaced by a cold, serious glare directed squarely at Kazuki. “Alright, the time for joking is over. Kazuki, you must study honestly during this period, do you hear me? If you go out there and embarrass me with your ignorance, you’ll be losing face for this genius.”