Trapped in Honkai: Integrated Strategies [13]

"No way!"

Theresa felt as though her words had inadvertently struck some nerve in the petite, black-haired girl, who suddenly raised her head sharply, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"I can fight! I want to fight alongside you!"

The girl clutched desperately onto Theresa's sleeve, clearly unwilling to let go until she agreed.

"Fine, just stay close to me."

"Her power lies in her vines and the deadly toxins they carry, but don't worry—[Judah] will protect you."

Seeing the girl’s expression and recalling how she’d called out her name earlier, Theresa had already formed some guesses in her heart.

Lyra pressed her palms together, enveloping Theresa in an amber-yellow barrier identical to her own.

[By the way, why did you deliberately choose amber-yellow for your Honkai constructs?]

It’s a tribute to a certain strolling old man. My goal is to one day flash a victory sign in front of my own gravestone, just like him, Lyra answered inwardly.

[You're still planning to knife yourself, huh? Your goal is really to make others mourn for life. Very you.]

At the sports field, now reinforced by Lyra’s shield, Theresa charged forward again. Simultaneously, the fully deployed [Oath of Judah] shot out twelve radiant lances—some shielding Lyra’s position, others assisting Theresa in offense, sweeping aside the attacking vines.

Lyra, however, didn’t recklessly engage in close combat. Theresa could move gracefully because she was, after all, an S-rank Valkyrie. Fighting a pseudo-Herrscher came naturally to her.

As a mere B-rank Valkyrie, Lyra wasn't confident that getting close would end favorably.

Thus, she folded [Crescent Rose]’s blade, converting it fully into sniper form, carefully targeting the thick roots of vines approaching Theresa. The vines were large and stationary enough that even her amateur marksmanship could consistently hit the mark.

The tide of battle was clearly shifting in Theresa's favor. Yuna’s vines failed repeatedly to breach [Judah]’s defense or Lyra’s sniper fire, and as a former student inexperienced in melee combat, Yuna was thoroughly outmatched by Theresa.

Yet, Yuna seemed unfazed.

"I admit, you're strong. Without ambushing you last time, I'd never have defeated you."

Yuna knelt with one hand bracing the ground, her vines drooping listlessly. Theresa's fierce attacks clearly inflicted considerable damage.

"But today...I’m no longer the same!"

"Just yesterday, the nearby pseudo-Herrscher whose presence had been hindering me suddenly vanished."

"With that interference gone, nothing can stop me from absorbing Honkai energy freely. My abilities have finally evolved beyond imagination."

"Haven't you realized? You're already poisoned!"

Panic flashed briefly in Theresa's eyes. "That fragrance earlier…?"

"But I already noticed?"

"?!" ×2

Theresa and Yuna simultaneously turned to stare at the black-haired girl behind them.

Meeting their stunned gazes, Lyra feigned innocence by tilting her head in confusion. "Why wouldn't I notice? Didn't your strange flower scent feel incredibly out of place in this ruined city?"

"And with Theresa-san mentioning your abilities were poison and vines, wouldn’t it be stranger not to connect those dots?"

Ignoring Theresa, whose cheeks reddened in embarrassment, Lyra continued speaking calmly to Yuna. "You didn’t realize it, did you? Ah, that's right—you never physically touched Theresa-san, so you didn't notice."

Lyra lightly poked the amber-yellow barrier in front of her, its surface rippling slightly. "This barrier isn't just an energy shield—it's a physical filtration barrier. Whether it’s your airborne toxins or your Honkai-infused poisons, if they can't get through, they're completely useless, aren't they?"

"You...you little brat!"

Her last trump card thoroughly exposed by Lyra, Yuna glared murderously at the girl. If looks could kill, Lyra would’ve been shredded hundreds of times over.

"Even if I die here, I'll drag you both down with me!"

With a furious shout, Yuna’s body started disintegrating, returning to raw Honkai energy.

After all, pseudo-Herrschers were just concentrated manifestations of Honkai energy.

As Yuna dissipated, her vines erupted into a wild frenzy.

Despite her rage, Yuna retained a trace of rationality. Knowing her poison was useless, she turned her focus entirely to the vines themselves.

Fueled by her life essence, the vines exploded into violent growth, rapidly lunging toward Lyra.

Yet Theresa was quicker. Anticipating danger, she’d already retreated next to Lyra. Without hesitation, Theresa activated [Judah] and attempted to push Lyra inside its protective interior.

"Theresa-san?! What are you doing?"

"Just get inside first!" Theresa wasn’t particularly clever, but her Kaslana blood granted her monstrous strength, leaving Lyra completely helpless.

"These vines can't break through Judah’s Soulium defenses. I’m an S-rank Valkyrie; mere vines won’t even scratch me!"

"As if I'd believe you!"

Lyra swiftly activated her E1 accelerated speed talent. With a twist, she slipped from Theresa's grasp and forcefully kicked her straight into Judah instead.

"I've got my own ways to dodge these vines! Just take care of yourself first—stop always thinking about self-sacrifice!"

Lyra's voice cracked slightly, clearly upset by Theresa's reckless behavior.

Then, enveloped in a familiar blue glow, the girl vanished before Theresa’s eyes.

"Oh no...did I accidentally upset her again…?" Theresa recalled Lyra’s visibly frustrated expression and felt a pang of guilt.

"I'll apologize once the vines settle down. I didn’t even get her name yet…"

...

Meanwhile, inside the system space.

"Perfect! I knew it. The more experienced a person is, the more they trust their own knowledge and judgment."

Lyra excitedly pumped her fist in triumph, grinning smugly at the system. "See? Didn't I tell you? Theresa-san herself would fill in my entire backstory based on her own knowledge about the Quantum Sea and bubble universes. Just look at how apologetic she was!"

[Lyra-sama, you really know how to play this.]

[Though, next you aren’t planning to dramatically drop yourself in front of her half-dead, right? Leaving her with lifelong regrets?]

Lyra gave the system a complicated look. "You say I'm dramatic, but aren't you perfectly in sync with my way of thinking?"

"Still, that's unnecessary—it'd be too forced. Right now, all I need is to clearly explain things to Theresa-san, pretend to have nowhere else to go, and easily secure myself a spot at St. Freya Academy."

"The only real issue is making sure Otto doesn't notice me… Unlike Theresa-san or Anti-Entropy, Otto's understanding of the Imaginary Tree system isn't something I can bluff through."

[But host, as soon as you make contact with the Big Three factions, getting noticed by Otto is inevitable. And don’t forget, at this point Fu Hua is still Otto’s eyes and ears.]

"Well...I've only got some preliminary thoughts about that. My exact approach will depend on which [Operator Card] I get first once I'm inside the academy."

---

This is a fan translation of 人在崩坏，但是集成战略启动 by 想做饭的饭之律者 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!