[He's just too polite—way, way too polite. I'm crying over here!]
[Brothers, post your "tears" emotes on the public screen.]
After Kalpas finished speaking, he ignored the stream chat and continued progressing through the main story.
Raiden Mei received orders from Theresa to escape but was tagged with a tracker by Rita.
Meanwhile, Theresa was at a complete loss on how to deal with the little girl who called herself a "humanoid machine."
While they were still entangled with the humanoid, Rita once again reported the situation to Otto.
After assessing the situation—
Otto gave a simple command: "Bring the humanoid back to me."
"Yes, sir!"
"However, bringing the humanoid back alone is meaningless. It must be used to its fullest. Obtain the highest level of control over it."
Rita paused for a moment and asked, slightly perplexed, "If the humanoid falls into Lady Theresa's hands and cannot be retrieved...?"
"...Then destroy it at all costs. What the enemy fears, we must grant them in full. What the enemy desires, we must not leave a scrap."
"I understand."
She nodded slightly. Asking that question hadn't been pointless.
The Overseer's decision would determine how she handled things next.
The perspective shifted back to Theresa's side.
Theresa had already contacted Dr. Einstein and requested an airship for extraction.
But—
The humanoid overheard their conversation and firmly refused to leave. In protest, it summoned all the city's mechs.
Facing this sudden chaos—
Bronya immediately chose to use Grey Serpent's chip to gain the highest authority and halt the mech riot.
Theresa and Mei fought side by side to fend off the mech wave that surged in like a tide.
The story reached the point where players took control for battle.
Perhaps to heighten the tension, waves of mechs attacked one after another—as if endless.
A normal person would probably be panicking by now.
But Kalpas only got more hyped the more he fought. His flashy maneuvers kept viewers sweating.
Thankfully, this segment of the plot passed without incident.
However, before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief—
"Sorry to interrupt you kidnappers."
"This child… is best left to a maid like me."
Rita appeared, clad in her resplendent Phantom Iron armor, seated atop a classical rooftop under a round moon.
A serene BGM began to play.
Before everyone's eyes, she displayed that thorned rose beauty—elegant, mysterious, and dangerous.
Viewers instinctively held their breath, their eyes fixed on the elegant silhouette in icy blue.
"Rita Rossweisse, commencing battlefield cleanup."
As Rita spoke, she leapt from the rooftop and used Grey Serpent's eye to gain full access to the humanoid.
Combat resumed, and the viewers finally snapped out of their trance.
[So this is Phantom Iron? So fierce, so cool!]
[Even if Rita is a villain, I really can't bring myself to hate her anymore. I admit, I follow my eyes, not my morals.]
[Tch, isn't Otto handsome too? Why don't you like him?]
[Kalpas bro! Are you really not gonna pull for Rita?!]
Some viewers once again asked the earlier question.
Since Elysia had reminded him to be polite, Kalpas was somewhat (maybe?) influenced, and didn't ignore them. While fighting, he replied as he controlled the character:
"Heh. A villain is a villain. Just a character destined to be defeated."
"Nope. Not pulling."
[Exactly! We won't sink to these face-lover levels.]
[What Phantom Iron? What Shadow Knight? Heh. They're nothing to our Kalpas bro.]
Amid this noisy chat—
The battle came to a close.
With the line "Let's end here for today" floating across the screen—
Rita vanished from in front of Theresa.
Theresa and Bronya immediately rushed to check on the humanoid.
Bronya discovered that Rita hadn't destroyed the humanoid—just reformatted it.
From their godlike perspective, the audience sensed something was off.
Didn't this go against Otto's orders?
Wasn't she Otto's tool?
Why would she disobey?
While the chat buzzed with confusion—
Kalpas opened a short cutscene.
It began with Rita reporting to Otto and receiving his approval.
This led into the key moment for Rita's character development.
Amid a skybridge lined with cherry trees, Rita sat with legs extended and crossed, leaning back against the railing under vibrant, dazzling lights.
The camera panned upward. Stray hair fell over her face, obscuring it.
Her voice drifted in, distant and haunting—
"People have two hands~♪ One is for taking… and the other… is for giving…"
Kalpas: ????
[What does that even mean?! Can someone translate for me?]
Kalpas momentarily turned his attention from Honkai Impact 3rd to the chat.
His gaze shimmered.
[That line is from Faust, and has many interpretations.
In this context, I think it means Rita took the humanoid's data—resetting her, erasing her past as a mere tool.
But in doing so, she gave her to Theresa and the others—granting her a new future, a new life.]
[Bro that was deep! So that's what it meant?]
[Then doesn't that mean Rita's a good guy?]
[Cool, beautiful, villainous, and now secretly kind too? miHoYo absolutely owns my taste preferences.]
[Hmph, while some are still confused, I've already got Phantom Iron at SSS.]
The chat exploded with discussion.
Kalpas lingered on that last message analyzing Rita for a few extra seconds.
Then said aloud, "That's all for today's stream."
With that, amid a flood of "888" (bye-bye) from the viewers, he shut the stream down.
But even after closing the stream—
Kalpas didn't quit Honkai Impact 3rd. Instead, strangely, he opened the gacha screen.
"..."
Staring at the screen for a moment—
He slowly clicked the button.
Golden lights filled the screen.
[Homu's Treasure]
[Premium Mecha Chip]
[Basic Skill Materials]
[Shadow Knight: Moonblade]
...
Kalpas, I still prefer your defiant side.jpg
Buzz~~
A chat notification popped up.
Elysia: [Lemme see~~ Who hasn't pulled Phantom Iron yet?]
Elysia: [I already got her~♪]
Elysia: [[image]]
Eden: [Got her too. Spent a bit, but no big deal.]
Kalpas: [[image]]
Two seconds later—
Overcome with glee from pulling her in a single try, Kalpas reflexively posted a screenshot in the group chat—only to immediately delete it.
Elysia: [Oops~♪ I didn't see a thing. Kalpas, I'll keep your secret safe.]
She had definitely watched the stream earlier.
Kalpas: [...]
After sending that last message, Elysia set her phone aside and changed into a loose pink nightdress.
"Time to rest. Moving today was exhausting."
"It was just a bag from Linjiang," Eden murmured from the bed in light pajamas.
"Oh~ Eden, don't say it like that~ It was exhausting! I'm a delicate, beautiful maiden, you know~♪"
Elysia climbed into bed.
Eden looked at the approaching Elysia with a smile and gently asked in her soothing voice, "Well then~ Elysia, do you want me to give you a shoulder massage?"
"My sweet Eden~ you're the best~~" Elysia smiled happily.
Eden raised her hand and gently began massaging Elysia's shoulders.
"By the way, Elysia—if our new neighbor's a girl, don't scare her like last time, okay?"
"A neighbor? I heard he just moved in too."