Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Firefly and Kafka

You fell from a dream of fire and blood.

Endless white light swallowed everything: the roar of war, the screams of your comrades, a collapsing, war-torn earth… Someone was calling your name, a desperate, familiar shout, but you couldn’t hear it clearly.

Then—you suddenly opened your eyes.

A cold, sterile, metal ceiling greeted you, illuminated by the steady, antiseptic blue light of a medical pod.

“Hoo… hoo…” You gasped for breath, your entire body slick with cold sweat and a slimy, viscous fluid. Your heart hammered against your ribs with a strange, heavy palpitation.

You tried to grasp the afterimage of the dream, but it slipped away like smoke, leaving only a profound sense of loss and a name echoing in your mind.

Neergul…

You tried to sit up, only to realize you were submerged in a container filled with nutrient solution. The pod hissed, the front glass retracting, and the cold air of the room hit your bare skin.

Who am I? Where am I?

Your brain was a chaotic, throbbing mess. Your memories seemed to have been wiped clean, formatted, leaving a terrifying void. Only one name stubbornly surfaced from the emptiness—

Orion.

Yes, my name is Orion.

Beyond that, nothing. You remembered nothing else.

You awkwardly climbed out of the pod, the warm nutrient solution sliding down unfamiliar skin. You looked down, only then realizing a serious problem—you weren’t wearing anything.

A jolt of panic, primal and human, shot through you. Fortunately, there was a set of clothes neatly folded on a nearby shelf. You quickly put them on—a black uniform of some special, durable material. It was a perfect, unsettling fit, as if it had been made just for you.

After getting dressed, you observed your surroundings. This was a high-tech medical room, filled with instruments you didn’t recognize.

Just then, your gaze was drawn to another medical pod near the door. Through the translucent, fogged cover, you vaguely saw a figure inside.

Another person?

Curiosity, or perhaps a deeper instinct, drove you to walk over. You wiped the condensation from the glass.

It was a young girl.

Her long, silver-grey hair floated gently in the clear liquid, like seaweed in a serene, colorless ocean. Her eyes were closed, her sleeping face serene and almost unreal in its delicate beauty. She looked peaceful, a stark contrast to the storm of confusion raging in your own mind.

You instinctively wanted to see more clearly, your face almost pressing against the cold pod cover—

Just then, the young girl’s eyes, without warning, snapped open!

A pair of striking, blue-violet eyes met yours directly.

“…”

“…”

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

The young girl’s pupils, initially hazy, slowly focused on your face. Then, they widened in abject horror. Her gaze shot down, landing on her own submerged, vulnerable state… then back up to you, a strange man staring intently at her.

The next moment, her face turned a brilliant, violent red at a visible speed, starting from her neck and rushing all the way to her earlobes.

“You—!!”

But unexpectedly, her first reaction was not to scream. Instead, with a speed that defied logic, her hand shot out inside the liquid, grabbing a fluorescent green device that looked like a cell phone.

“SAM!” she shrieked, her voice muffled by the pod.

Boom!

Flames and steam instantly engulfed her entire medical pod! You were thrown backward by the sudden, violent wave of heat, shielding your face with your arms.

The next second, the sound of tearing metal and hissing hydraulics filled the room. A giant, silver-white mechanical suit burst out of the pod, landing with a heavy thud that shook the floor.

By the time you regained your footing, there was no longer a sleeping beauty in front of you. Only a murderous, 3-meter-tall mech, poised in a battle stance, its glowing green optic aimed directly at you.

“???”

Your brain was a little slow to process. Where was that young girl? She turned into a mech??

“Who are you? How did you get in?!” a deep, male, and synthetic robotic voice came from inside the mech. Its optical eye flashed with a dangerous green light. “I advise you to state your identity immediately, otherwise…”

[Inorin’s Note: SAM, or ‘Stellaron Hunter Mechanical Armor,’ is Firefly’s combat suit, which she can summon and pilot.]

“Huh? I don’t know either, I woke up here…” This was the absolute, frustrating truth.

“Still trying to quibble!” the mech seemed enraged. “Peeping tom, prepare to die!”

“Wait, I’m not—”

Before you could finish, a huge steel fist, whistling through the air, slammed towards your face! Your body reacted faster than your brain. You didn’t think. You just moved.

You instinctively dropped into a defensive posture, your arms crossing to block. The instinct for combat, for survival, had long been carved into your very bones, even if your mind had forgotten why.

Just as the punch was about to hit, a sound like a violin string being plucked, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!, echoed through the room.

Several delicate, shimmering purple threads appeared out of thin air, instantly wrapping around both of you like spider silk, binding you like dumplings. You couldn’t move, and the mech’s massive fist was also firmly fixed in mid-air, just centimeters from your face.

“This is…” A surprised, synthesized voice came from inside the mech. “Kafka?”

Tap, tap, tap…

The elegant, unhurried sound of high heels on the metal floor approached. A woman walked in.

She had long, dark purple hair, and her wine-red pupils held a perpetual, faint, enigmatic smile. She wore a stylish black coat that revealed her long, pale legs, exuding an aura that was both dangerous and impossibly alluring.

“Oh dear…” Kafka tilted her head, her voice lazy and magnetic, as if she were amused. “So lively first thing in the morning.”

[Inorin’s Note: Kafka is a high-ranking member of the Stellaron Hunters, known for her ‘Spirit Whisper’ ability, which allows her to control others.]

She walked between you and the mech, seemingly unfazed by the giant, weaponized armor. She extended a single, gloved finger. “However, listen to me—good children don’t fight.”

The purple threads instantly snapped and dissipated.

The mech also regained its mobility but did not attack again. A ball of flame ignited on its chassis and then extinguished, and the silver-haired girl reappeared, as if stepping out of the armor itself. This time she wore a simple, fluorescent green dress, but the furious blush on her cheeks had not faded in the slightest.

“Kafka!” the girl pointed at you, her voice sharp, like an annoyed kitten. “Who is this guy? Why is he here in my medical room?!”

The woman called Kafka turned her intrigued, wine-red gaze towards you. Her eyes swept over you, from head to toe, as if she were appraising a fine, and very interesting, piece of art. Then, she glanced at the empty medical pod you had just climbed out of.

“Firefly,” Kafka turned to the girl, her smile widening slightly. “Don’t be so nervous.”

[Inorin’s Note: Firefly is a Stellaron Hunter and the pilot of the mech SAM.]

“He’s not an enemy.”

Kafka’s gaze returned to you, her smile holding a world of secrets.

“He’s our… special new companion.”

The girl called “Firefly” widened her eyes, her anger instantly evaporating, replaced by pure, unfiltered shock. “He… he’s the one? The one you mentioned? The one Elio told you to pick up…”

She stared at you, her mouth slightly agape as she processed the information.

“The one who was… just a head?”