Bronya's goal was to kill Sin.
Just as the condition for clearing a game is to kill the demon king, when faced with this girl named Sin Mal, who was completely different from the one in her memory, Bronya easily identified her as the main culprit.
The night was dark and the wind was high—the perfect time to strike.
Although Bronya hadn't trained in a long time after the Honkai ended, causing her to gain quite a bit of weight, she believed that with this young, trained mercenary's body and her years of combat experience fighting the Honkai, dealing with Sin shouldn't be a problem.
'Sin, don't...'
If you must blame someone, blame yourself for hurting Seele. For a villain like you, more people would be happy if you were dead than alive...
Taking out a military dagger she used during her mercenary days from a cabinet, Bronya rose silently while Seele, her roommate, was sound asleep.
She was like a gray lone wolf about to hunt its prey—though right now, she looked more like a husky that had forgotten ninety-eight percent of its wolfish skills.
She crept through the dead of night, feeling her way along the wall, heading for Sin Mal's room.
Sin's room wasn't far from the one Bronya and Seele shared, yet Bronya felt like the short distance took her a very long time to cross.
She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she always felt the night in this Cocolia Orphanage of the past, where she had been reborn, was thick and dense, carrying an uncomfortable, suffocating feeling.
It was as if staying in the dark for too long would cause one's very soul to be suppressed until it left the body.
'I'm here!'
Finally arriving outside Sin's bedroom, the hesitation in Bronya's heart flickered for only a moment before she took out the orphanage dormitory master key she had prepared earlier.
'Be brave, Bronya. You used to be the great Siberian Silver Wolf...'
How many people have died by your gun? Why are you so timid now that you have to do it yourself?
Giving herself another pep talk, Bronya didn't know why, but she clearly remembered her past self as a decisive Siberian mercenary.
Had the passage of time changed her, or was it due to some other complicated reasons?
Bronya couldn't tell. She felt as if two contradictory natures were conflicting within her, making her feel very uncomfortable.
She had never felt this discomfort before, but it became especially obvious after being reborn in the Cocolia Orphanage.
Click.
Creeak—
She inserted the key into the bedroom door, turned it gently, and after carefully controlling the force so the door wouldn't make a startling creak, Bronya entered the bedroom as planned.
She saw the lump in the blankets on the bed, and the girl's clothes folded on the bedside table.
She moved a little closer and saw Sin Mal's face, sound asleep on the bed, confirming that it was indeed her under the covers, and not some other innocent person.
At this moment, Sin Mal, asleep in her pajamas, was surely at her most defenseless. This was the best opportunity for Bronya to kill her, end this rebirth, and escape this place.
She had to save Seele. Even if this was another Seele, she couldn't lose either of the two Seeles she wanted.
Rustle, rustle...
Bronya suddenly felt something brush against her heel.
"!"
Already on edge with a guilty conscience, she froze, nearly making a sound as her steps faltered.
She quickly looked down and saw a pair of reflective cat eyes staring at her in the darkness.
'Is this the cat Seele is raising?'
'This Sin girl is as annoying as ever...'
After seeing the black cat on the floor, Bronya's disgust for Sin grew even stronger.
Ever since they were children, Sin had always bullied Seele, whether it was snatching her toys or taking things that belonged to her.
If Bronya remembered correctly, the black cat Seele had raised as a child was also taken by Sin during some incident, and then died in another.
'Sin Mal, you were born evil. Bronya will now...!'
And so, at this moment, there was no longer a trace of hesitation in Bronya's heart.
Gripping the dagger tightly, she crept to Sin's bedside, and prepared to end the life of the girl who had caused all the tragedies for Seele and her younger self.
Shhhlick—!
The former mercenary plunged the dagger into the lump in the blankets without hesitation. At that very moment, Bronya felt her heart being dominated by a powerful emotion.
For this girl who caused the past Seele to take her place in the X-10 Experiment and fall into the Quantum Sea, and who broke her own legs, her hatred was boundless!
'Die...'
'Die.'
'Die!'
The dagger stabbed into the bedding again and again. Bronya felt completely controlled by her emotions, finally avenging the hatred buried deep in her heart from the past.
A person like Sin was irredeemable, incorrect, an outcast shunned by everyone, just like a detestable witch.
The dagger rose and fell. With bloodshot eyes, Bronya lost count of how many times she struck the bed, as if terrified her target would have the strength to fight back or cry for help.
"Hah... ah..."
I did it, Seele. I avenged that past wrong for you.
The feeling of washing away old hatreds was quite wonderful. Bronya felt her entire body become lighter, and she couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.
However, at that very moment—
"Click."
The sound of the bedroom light switch echoed. A piercing light hit Bronya's dark-adjusted eyes, making her squint.
Wait...?
Bronya realized something was wrong.
She quickly looked down at the dagger in her hand. There wasn't a single trace of blood on it, only cotton stuffing from the pierced bedding.
Wrong...!
"What are you doing, Bronya?"
Whirling around, Bronya saw Sin Mal standing behind her in pajamas.
The girl with heterochromatic eyes watched her coldly, holding Seele's black cat in her arms. Her left eye, a gray pupil glowing with red light, shone with a brilliance completely different from the one in Bronya's memory.
Bronya remembered reading Sin's file. It said Sin Mal's left eye had been damaged by smoke in a fire, which was why her eyes were different colors.
But that was just a smoke-damaged eye, completely unlike now, where it seemed as if the hands of a clock were moving within it—
Bronya reversed her grip on the dagger and stabbed behind her!
She had no time to wonder how Sin Mal, who was on the bed a moment ago, was now behind her. Since her target had discovered her, the most urgent thing was to act immediately!
Thud!
"Guh!"
But unfortunately, Sin's fist made contact before her dagger did.
Her fist was unbelievably fast, like a skipped frame. Bronya didn't even see her throw the punch.
A wave of pain and nausea shot through her abdomen. With a muffled grunt, Bronya's body went limp, and she swayed before collapsing to her knees!
"You... cough, cough! How could you..."
Bronya's eyes were filled with shock. Logically, at this point in time, neither she nor Sin Mal had awakened their Honkai energy through the X-10 Experiment. Based on physical combat alone, there was no way her opponent should be able to overwhelm her!
But that attack just now, like a skipped frame...
It made Bronya think of a certain term: "time stop."
Logically speaking, her dear friend Kiana, who had become Earth's strongest guardian stationed on the moon, could theoretically accomplish this with her incredible power to control time.
But, in this era before the Honkai had fully erupted...
"You're just as overconfident as ever, Bronya."
Sin coldly looked down at the kneeling Bronya. She still maintained her elegance, her hairstyle and clothing preferences different from what Bronya remembered.
"You wanted to... kill me, didn't you, Bronya?"
Bronya saw the scene before her flash again, like a skipped frame, and the dagger she had dropped appeared in Sin's hand.
She looked at the dagger in her hand, then at the girl before her, and finally at the black cat in her arms.
"Brother, what do you think Sin should do with her?"
"Oh... okay, okay. Brother is so considerate of Sin. I was originally planning to let her go."
Sin spoke to the black cat as if to herself, leaving Bronya momentarily confused about what she was doing.
Had Sin Mal gone mad? Is that why she changed her clothes and hairstyle?
"Then, as you wish, Brother. Sin will test it out for you..."
"But before that... do you have any last words of pleading for Sin, Bronya?"
Sin looked at Bronya again, smiling faintly, as if waiting to enjoy the sight of her pathetic state.
Being stared at like this by Sin, Bronya felt a little uncertain.
Although, if her memory served her right, this lunatic Sin was doing all this just to get close to her, to attract her attention.
Theoretically, she shouldn't harm her, unless...
"Sin, Bronya will never forgive you. If you have the guts, then... urk?!"
Sliice—!
It was the cold sensation of a blade slicing across her neck.
Before Bronya could finish her defiant words, she felt her pupils constrict as gushing blood burst from the large gash the dagger had carved in her neck!
This...!
Bronya stared at Sin Mal in utter terror, looking at those eyes that seemed to see through a person's desires, filled with disbelief.
Her consciousness faded rapidly. Her body collapsed to the floor, the blood not even having time to stain the ground.
And at the very moment the girl stopped breathing, the entire world, just as expected, began to rewind as if time were flowing backward.
"Hold on tight to Sin, Brother."
____
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