Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

The world is a complicated place.

While Rita struggled to restore order, Lin Wei and his companions, high above in their aircraft, had a clearer view of the approaching disaster.

They'd just escaped the collapsing building. Anna, overwhelmed by relief and lingering fear, was sobbing uncontrollably in Lin Wei's arms. Jell, ever the responsible captain, was scanning their surroundings, alert for further dangers, oblivious to the distant threat.

Only the Chen siblings, equally shaken and with nothing else to do, were anxiously looking around, desperately searching for any sign of hope.

"Brother, look!" The little girl, her senses sharp, noticed the change on the horizon first. She tugged on her brother's shoulder, pointing towards the sea. "Am I seeing things?"

Chen Tianwu followed her gaze, seeing a thin, dark line on the horizon rapidly growing thicker, taller.

"Look!" He'd never seen a tsunami before, but he remembered the terrified screams from earlier. A shiver ran down his spine. "What is that? A tsunami?"

Lin Wei turned, his expression darkening. "What have those Anti-Entropy idiots done now?!"

There was no other possible explanation.

He couldn't believe they'd made the same mistake twice, in almost the exact same way.

Are they deliberately sabotaging us? He was furious.

"Lin Wei…" Anna tugged on his sleeve, her voice hesitant. "What do we do?" She'd just urged him to leave with the Chen siblings. Now, this. She was at a loss.

Lin Wei took a deep breath, composing himself, then smiled reassuringly at Anna. He looked at Jell, gesturing towards her wrist. "Captain Jell…"

"I understand." Jell tried contacting the other Valkyries, but only static answered her. She shook her head at Lin Wei.

"…Is that so?" Lin Wei nodded, muttering under his breath, "Back to square one…"

"Lin Wei… find a safe place to land. Let me and the captain down," Anna said, steeling herself. "Then, while you still have time, take the siblings and leave…" She spoke quickly, then lowered her head, as if afraid to meet his gaze. "We'll be fine," she added softly.

Lin Wei chuckled, then looked at Jell. "Captain, can you see your base camp from here?"

"Of course." Jell knew Manila like the back of her hand. Even in ruins, she could still navigate. She pointed. "It's over there."

Lin Wei followed her gaze, spotting the partially collapsed stadium, the tiny figures swarming around it.

"So many people…" he murmured, a strange smile playing on his lips.

Anna also looked towards the stadium. She hadn't rejoined her squad yet. This was the first time she'd seen where they'd been fighting.

Jell lowered her hand, her expression somber. So many…

"Captain Jell, a question," Lin Wei said, his smile fading, his tone serious. "Can your defenses withstand another tsunami?"

"…With Rita there, we can," Jell replied, her voice barely a whisper, her mind reeling.

"Is that so? I hope you're right." Lin Wei shook his head. "But she's not Durandal…"

In this world, the gap between individuals, between Valkyries, even between S-rank Valkyries, was vast.

Stan had toyed with Rita, yet Durandal had defeated it effortlessly. It was absurd.

"If your defenses fall, many will die…" he mused, as if talking to himself. "I brought Rita to Manila. And Snow Lotus's base camp is the most vulnerable point on the coastline. The weakest link."

"Rita is an S-rank Valkyrie! You don't…" Jell protested, but Lin Wei cut her off.

"I've fought her." He made her face pale with those four words.

"Right before the eruption." He sighed, seeing her shock. "But it's also because of Rita that Manila's defenses are the strongest. Both in reality, and in the minds of the Valkyries…" He looked at Anna, her face equally pale. "Do you understand now?"

He pointed towards the stadium.

"If the defenses here fall, there will be a massive gap in the line. And the loss of an S-rank Valkyrie's position would be a devastating blow to morale." His voice was heavy.

"If that happens… it will be a catastrophe. Many will die…"

He suddenly felt a surge of… absurdity, a strange smile twisting his lips.

He burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha!" His sudden, almost hysterical laughter startled the others. Anna grabbed his arm, her voice filled with concern. "Lin Wei, what's wrong?! Don't scare me! There has to be a way!"

"Cough, cough… I'm fine." He wiped away the tears that had streamed down his face, his smile still strange, his voice oddly detached.

"I was just thinking… if I hadn't been so… righteous back then, if I hadn't insisted on a truce with Rita, if I hadn't practically forced her to come to Manila with me…"

He chuckled, then continued, "If I'd been more… ruthless… if I'd just left her there, or even… defeated her, preventing her from coming here…"

"If I'd done nothing, if I'd let events unfold naturally, if I'd let Snow Lotus be overwhelmed, if I'd let the Honkai ravage the Philippines, if I'd let the Valkyries fight their losing battles alone, suffering heavy casualties… then you would have achieved your… tragic victory…"

His laughter turned cold, chilling.

"Instead, because of my arrogance, my self-righteous interference, I gave you hope. And now, that hope will turn into despair, making things even worse!"

If the local Valkyrie squads had been wiped out, the reinforcements would have arrived to a more manageable situation, gradually pushing back the Honkai.

But now, because of him, the reinforcements would face a greater challenge, a greater disaster.

He laughed again, his voice filled with a bitter self-mockery. "Aponia, Aponia… is this what you've been doing all along? No wonder you're so disliked… hahaha!"

Trying to change a predetermined future, only to make things worse – wasn't that exactly what Aponia had done? Wasn't that what he was doing now?

He was rambling again, his words nonsensical to the others.

"Lin Wei, stop talking nonsense! What are you talking about?! I don't understand!" The others were scared by his near-hysterical outburst.

Only Anna held on tight, her voice firm. "Do what you think is right! Don't have regrets! Our eyes can deceive us, our ears can deceive us, but our hearts can't… you taught me that. You told me not to lie to myself, and I haven't. Are you trying to lie to yourself now? You always say I overthink things, but look at you! You're always trying to have it both ways, always afraid of hurting someone. I know you, Lin Wei! You're not capable of being ruthless! Even if you could go back in time, you would still make the same choices. Because that's who you are!"

Her impassioned speech stunned him. Was this really Anna?

Did we get the wrong script?

"…I can't believe I'm being lectured by you, silly girl," he said, his voice softer now. "But… thank you."

"Ah? I… it's… you're welcome…" Seeing him calm down, Anna's bravado vanished. She blushed, stammering.

"Anna is right. There's no point in dwelling on what might have been," Jell said, her voice serious. "Regardless, we are grateful for your assistance, Mr. Lin Wei. Snow Lotus won't forget this."

"You don't have to…" Lin Wei replied, then brought the conversation back on track. "Rita doesn't have our vantage point. With communication down, she won't see the tsunami coming. This could cause… problems."

"Then we have to warn her!" Anna exclaimed, her composure returning. "If we join them, if they're prepared, they'll have a better chance!"

It was a reasonable suggestion, but Lin Wei wasn't convinced.

"Captain Jell, in your experience, is this tsunami larger than the last one? Even the earthquake was stronger. I don't think we can take any chances…" He pointed at the river flowing through the ruined city. "If that wave carries Honkai beasts inland, flooding your base camp… even Rita won't be able to hold the line."

They looked at Jell, hoping for a more optimistic assessment.

"It's too far to tell," Jell said, dashing their hopes. "But we can't risk it…"

"I see." Lin Wei seemed strangely calm.

He looked at the approaching wall of water, then, without warning, landed the aircraft and put it away.

"Lin Wei?" Anna was confused.

"Hah! Lucky you, Captain! Your motorcycle survived!" He'd spotted the damaged motorcycle they'd used earlier. "Go check if it's still functional. I have a plan."

Jell, though puzzled, trusted his judgment. She ran to the motorcycle, carefully lifting it.

The engine sputtered to life.

She checked the fuel and the various systems, then rode it back to them, gently patting the handlebars. "It's a lucky machine. Twice now… it's still… mostly intact." Seeing the dents and scratches, she amended her statement.

"Good. My plan is simple. We split up," Lin Wei explained concisely. "If we can stop the wave, or at least weaken it, we can buy them time to retreat or regroup. They won't be caught completely off guard."

"And someone needs to warn Rita. Let her know what we're doing, what she needs to do. And…" He glanced at the Chen siblings, who had been quietly waiting. "Take them to safety. It's risky on a motorcycle, but we don't have any other options."

Anna was right. He was greedy, wanting to save everyone.

His seemingly impossible plan stunned Jell and Anna. Stop a tsunami? How?

"Are you… going to use the Divine Key again?" Anna realized what he was planning, her voice rising in panic. "Do you know what you're saying?! You'll die!"

Creating a path through calm, still water had almost killed him. Facing a tsunami, a raging torrent of Honkai-infused water and monsters… he wouldn't survive.

"No! I won't allow it!"

But Lin Wei seemed indifferent to her protests. He turned to Jell. "Captain, I need a guide."

"I can't stop the entire wave. I can only create a path, a safe zone, a wedge-shaped area behind me. Anything beyond that is… beyond my capabilities."

"So, I need you to choose the optimal location. A place that will protect Rita and her forces, and also ensure Anna's escape route is clear."

Jell, with her knowledge of Manila, was the perfect guide.

"What?!" Anna was furious. "You want me to abandon you, to run away like a coward?! Never!"

"You're not alone. You have the siblings to escort. It's an important task, Anna," Lin Wei tried to reason with her, then, seeing the fire in her eyes, turned to Jell. "She's your subordinate, Captain. I shouldn't overstep. Please give her the order."

"You certainly know how to delegate, Mr. Lin Wei," Jell said dryly, meeting Anna's furious gaze.

"Sorry. I'm a terrible person," Lin Wei replied with a shrug.

"That's not important. But…" Jell looked at him, searching his eyes. "Are you sure about this, Mr. Lin Wei?"

"I don't know…" He sighed, his hand resting on his staff. "But I'm the only one who can do this."

"If not me, then who?"

Anna suddenly lunged forward, snatching the staff from his hand. "Don't be so arrogant! There's still a Schariac here! I'll be the hero! It's just a Divine Key! I can use it too!"

Lin Wei looked at her, his voice gentle. "Look closely, Anna. It's just a sword."

"Wha…?" Anna looked down, realizing the object in her hand wasn't his staff, but an ornate katana.

"Didn't I tell you? Pandora is a black box." He held up the black box. "And only I can use it. So, it has to be me…"

He turned to Jell. "Captain, we're running out of time. We need to…"

"Clang!" Anna drew the katana, placing the blade against her throat. "Lin Wei, you arrogant bastard! Say another word, and I'll kill myself!"

"Anna, you…"

"There are still Schicksal Valkyries here! We don't need some… outsider playing the hero!"

"If you insist on being the hero, then I'll join you! If you're in danger, I'll save you! Even if it means dying, I'll die with you!"

"And if you abandon me…" She pressed the blade harder against her throat, her voice filled with a fierce determination he'd never heard before.

"Then I'll go ahead and wait for you!"