Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Most people living in Academy City had no idea what the future held for the Far East.

If they knew that an American was calling for the Far East to open its borders, who knows what the Far East citizens of Academy City would think.

In any case, everyone was just happy for now.

The weather today wasn't great.

Hikigaya Hachiman looked up at the muggy sky. Thick, dark clouds rolled across the heavens, dampening his mood.

'Looks like it's going to rain. I wonder how Shirogane is doing.'

He wasn't too concerned about what Shirogane had turned into. He'd have to change back eventually, right? You can't just stop hanging out with someone because they've transformed.

Besides, the people Kuro had gathered were getting stronger and stronger. Hachiman didn't know what to say. The Security Patrol didn't actually have that much intel. Most of their work involved dealing with new conflicts arising from new technologies among the general populace.

It was in dealing with these new conflicts that they gradually replaced the original local police force. This was actually a very normal developmental trend.

But in terms of effectiveness, it didn't seem to be going very well...

Lost in thought, Hachiman found himself on the same small path where he had last seen Yukinoshita Yukino.

It was daytime, and there were a few people coming and going on the road.

Lately, there seemed to be an undercurrent of unrest in Academy City that he couldn't see. Many people seemed to have their eyes on the students' life-saving implants, and most of the ordinary people in Academy City wanted one for themselves.

'Click...'

A crisp sound echoed in the air.

A sudden impact struck his body.

A look of confusion crossed Hachiman's face. His body fell backward uncontrollably.

Thud. He heard his head hit the ground.

Then, endless pain consumed his entire being. His body began to convulse uncontrollably.

"Ah... Aaaargh—!"

A pained scream escaped Hachiman's lips. A passerby or two saw the scene and screamed in terror before fleeing.

What? Call the police? The person lying on the ground was wearing a Security Trainee uniform.

Hachiman looked down at his body. Where he had been shot, strange, purple-glowing patterns began to spread across his skin.

[...Honkai sickness is neither a virus nor a bacteria, but a special kind of energy radiation...]

[...The reason women have a higher resistance to Honkai Energy is not because of any strangeness in their chromosomes, but simply because they can more stably inherit the genes of ancient humans, creating the illusion of higher resistance...]

[...Injections of serum can also alleviate Honkai Energy...]

[...It is not a particularly terrible disease, but humans who are corrupted by it will turn into Deadwalkers...]

[...For you, Honkai Energy is the only weapon that can kill students, an explosive killing tool that targets the brain-protection implants in your bodies...]

[...Once the protective implants developed by Academy City are eroded by Honkai Energy, you can basically just wait for death...]

[...The only way to save yourself is to break through the fourth stage of the Stigma Battlesuit and gain control over Honkai Energy...]

'Someone is conducting Honkai Energy experiments in Academy City?!'

Hachiman knew that Academy City was under strict lockdown. It wasn't because the Far East government enjoyed watching people in the steel city play a battle royale, but because they absolutely could not let the Honkai reappear in the outside world.

He had never imagined that because of his own weakness of will, he would have to face such a cruel death.

'Why? Why? Why?'

'WHY! WHY! WHY!'

He didn't understand. What was so special about him that he had been targeted?

[The cowardice rooted in your heart is laughable to behold. It makes one want to walk over and give you a couple of slaps.]

Nakamura Shin's words now drilled into his mind like the devil's whisper.

'Is it because I'm a pushover? Just because I'm a pushover, they can bully me to death without any restraint?!'

Hachiman's anger and grief were simultaneously infected by the pain of the Honkai corruption. He could even feel his consciousness and existence about to be swallowed whole.

That feeling of his body no longer belonging to him, of his very sense of existence dissolving into endless darkness.

After the initial wave of anger and sorrow, he seemed to reach some kind of endpoint.

A tranquil, peaceful warmth enveloped him. His consciousness seemed to be making one last struggle, trying to find a way to save himself from his memories.

In the end...

The thing that left the deepest impression on his memory was, surprisingly...

[The thing with four heads is not actually an angel. It's a description of the sacrificial process. First, there is a sacrificial person, then a lion and an ox, and finally an eagle.]

[...The angel is the sacrificial person...]

[...The angel is the sacrificial person...]

[...The angel is the sacrificial person...]

A cryptic message appeared in Hachiman's mind. He seemed to have vaguely guessed something.

The angel is not an angel, but a sacrificial person.

The angel described in religion is the personification of the sacrificial process.

In that flash of inspiration, Hachiman realized what the so-called Stigma Battlesuit truly was.

'Living Stigmata, living Stigmata?! That's not a Stigmata. It's the process of personifying something non-human through genetic information.'

'So the 'self' within the Stigmata is not the real self, but a mental fragment of the self in action. Then the fear in the second stage of the Stigma Battlesuit is not a space, but a mental fragment condensed from human sensory emotions after personification!'

But at this moment, breaking through the second stage couldn't help him out of this crisis.

The wound caused by the Honkai Energy bullet was methodically eroding his body. Death was still approaching, bit by bit.

"Nakamura Shin—!"

Hachiman didn't shout the name of his killer, but the reason he knew why he had been targeted.

Nakamura Shin had left some crucial information with him. Although he didn't know what that information was, someone didn't want Shin to say certain things.

And all of this was just because he was a pushover, easy to use.

His blurry vision caught sight of the killer.

The killer wore a hood and a white mask with a pair of crossed daggers on it.

The killer opened an umbrella and disappeared around the corner of the road.

The rain began to fall from the sky, as if to give the person a reason to hold an umbrella.

He moved his hand, wanting to use his communication device to send one last message, but he ran out of strength before he could even touch his clothes.

"Ah... urgh..."

Hachiman struggled for two seconds before finally collapsing in the rain.

His last thought was strangely peculiar.

'What kind of person wears a hood and holds an umbrella?'