The Male Student (A Honkai Impact 3rd Fanfiction)

Chapter 49: The Homu

The boy slowly turned to face the others, who seem to have their own priorities at hand. Specifically, trying to find a way to get the weapon and subsequently get out of the headquarters.

"Himeko, where exactly was the floor we're gonna have to be on?" Sofia questioned.

"B3F. Based from the map's indicators, that's the weapons storage," Himeko replied.

"How convenient. About time I need to change my weapon at this point," Sofia stated jokingly, before noticing Max having the expression that screamed, 'I think I saw someone I knew.'

"Who is it, Max?" She asked, crossing her arms with a concerned look on her face.

'Just someone who I saw in my dream,' the boy replied.

"Oh. Wanna go get her?" Sofia suddenly suggested, causing the rest to become utterly flabbergasted.

"Excuse me, Sofia?! You were here to help us get the weap--"

"Oh, I didn't say anything about helping you guys get the weapon now, did I?" Sofia stated.

"Sofia, for fuck's sake. This is an important mission and all you care about is specifications?" Himeko questioned.

"You have two guys who can bullshit weapons out of their assholes and Max thought it was a good idea not to bring anything with him! Think, Himeko! Think! How would this boy be of any use other than bait?" Sofia stated, pointing her two index fingers to the side of her skull. Noticing this, Max swore that he saw this somewhere, but couldn't lay a finger on where.

Apparently Sofia does catch up with the times.

". . . Fair play. . ."

"Wha-- c'mon!"

"You heard the woman. Go on and find the weapon while we go and try getting the kids outta this place."

"Wait, that was your intention?" Seere asked. The response they got was a toothy grin on Sofia's face, and it was the reply they all expected.

And right on time too.

"The Bronya has successfully hacked into the defense protocols. Shutting it down."

They noticed the facilities in the headquarters began lighting up from the cameras, as Bronya typed up a storm non-stop in an attempt to make sure she was able to unlock all the locks that trapped the children, only for Max to stop her, pointing towards one of the cameras that showed the disfigured Homu. The corner of the camera showed 'B3F, 10'.

"That's where we're supposed to go!" Kiana exclaimed, before grumbling about something that annoyed her. Hearing this, Sofia had an idea.

. . .

Max was the only one sent down to B3F, while the others went off to save the children. Bronya was left behind in the surveillance room to deepen her hacking into the personal files left behind in the HQ to crack down on the main reason why they were experimenting on children. Sofia stayed behind with Bronya, much to the others' chagrin, but it was soon agreed that her defending Bronya is a practical idea, since Bronya won't really have any sort of defense, and Sofia, being a legitimate Valkyrie, can do her job efficiently.

Max's heart was beating out of his chest, nervous to meet with the Homu face to face. He knew from his observations that the Homu would only attack when it feels threatened, but would it still attack a defenseless boy with no way to fight back whatsoever?

His answer came in the form of turning to a corner and immediately came face to face with the Homu.

His breath hitched as the Homu stared down to him. There was utter silence between the two, and Max slowly breathed. In his mind, various scenarios played out, sparking fear into his body, especially since the Homu was so disfigured that his mind couldn't process for a few seconds.