Since the live broadcast by Interstellar Peace News, the death of the Duke Inferno has caused a massive uproar across the universe!
At Herta Space Station, a group of researchers and Herta sat in a spacious conference room. The screen displayed the full coverage of the Interstellar Peace News report.
After the live broadcast, the Interstellar Peace Corporation dispatched multiple experts for verification. In the end, they reached a definitive conclusion—the Duke Inferno was truly dead!
At this moment, Herta and the researchers fell into deep thought. After an unknown amount of time, Herta let out a long sigh and spoke:
"So... we were too late?"
"We thought the Duke Inferno was incredibly arrogant, looking down on everyone. But it turns out he just... dropped dead beforehand?"
The researchers also sighed: "In the recent versions of Honkai: Star Rail, the Duke Inferno had so much screen presence, practically setting himself up as the big boss... Yet he died so abruptly?"
"In The Everflame Night: Act 33, the Duke and his descendants built up such an imposing aura! And now... look at this..."
"We were all prepared for a desperate battle, gathering so many of the Space Station's advanced weapons—only for the big boss to keel over ahead of time."
"Gotta admit, this is kinda hilarious!"
A researcher raised their hand and asked, "Miss Herta, does this still count as a victory for us?"
Herta pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"After all, the goal of this battle was to oppose the Duke Inferno. Though the outcome was unexpected, it's still a victory for our Space Station."
Hearing this, a few researchers let out brief cheers—though not as excitedly as one might expect.
If the Space Station had contributed to the Duke's defeat, there'd at least be some sense of participation! But now, it just feels... weird!
It's hard to force a celebration when things are so anticlimactic.
And this leads to another question—
How did the Duke Inferno die?
Just then, a new Interstellar Peace News alert appeared on the split screen in the conference room! Herta immediately switched it to the main display.
The anchor's voice rang out:
"...After technical personnel conducted sampling and analysis of the scene within the Everflame Mansion... we have sufficient reason to conclude—the Duke Inferno died after being attacked!"
As soon as this conclusion was announced, the conference room erupted in murmurs!
Though this outcome was somewhat expected, having it confirmed still sent a shock through everyone's hearts.
Now, new questions arose:
Who killed the Duke Inferno?
---
Guinaifen's Livestream
After watching the news, Guinaifen was stunned, her mouth hanging open for a long time.
"The Duke Inferno was killed in an attack?!"
Before this, she'd never paid much attention to cosmic affairs, feeling they were too distant from her life. She'd rather worry about what to eat for dinner than some far-flung galactic drama.
But after playing Honkai: Star Rail, that sense of distance vanished instantly!
It was as if she'd become a Nameless aboard the Astral Express, carrying the spirit of Trailblazing through the cosmos, station after station.
And since the Duke Inferno was deeply tied to the game's plot, she naturally had to pay close attention!
After calming down, Guinaifen decided to rewatch The Everflame Night: Act 33.
But the moment the video started—
The barrage had completely changed.
Previously, players had flooded the comments with remarks about the Duke's imposing aura, arrogance, or over-the-top theatrics.
Now?
It was a uniform sea of mourning messages!
- "Gone but not forgotten."
- "Rest in peace."
- "In loving memory."
- "Rare footage from his lifetime."
- "Who'd have thought the Duke would be the first to arrive in Penacony—just in the form of Relic fragments?"
- "Thought this PV was a declaration of war—turns out it was his last words."
- "Duke Inferno: 'Children, this is not funny.'"
- "Forget seeking Destruction, my dude—if you'd sought Aha, you'd at least be an Emanator."
...
Guinaifen was dumbfounded.
If she didn't know better, she'd think this was a funeral livestream!
Why was the barrage all eulogies?!
"What... what kind of mess is this?!"
"Then what about Penacony's upcoming plot?"
"Will the Duke Inferno still appear in Penacony?"
"Will Yu Ling rewrite the story because of what happened in reality?!"
As she rambled, Guinaifen's eyes suddenly lit up—
Time for some mischief!
"Can the Duke Inferno win the resurrection match in Penacony?"
"Major documentary The Legend of the Duke Inferno—Guinaifen will keep you updated!"
---
Penacony – Hotel Lobby
Right now, neither tourists nor staff were in the mood for work.
People huddled in small groups, discussing the Duke Inferno' assassination—
As if this wasn't a hotel lobby for dream-seeking guests, but a gathering of the universe's greatest detectives!
- "The Duke Inferno died horribly, his children missing—I suspect his own offspring are behind it..."
- "I bet it was that Dahlia Constance! The PV made it clear she's got betrayal written all over her!"
- "Use your brain, pal! Why would the Duke's own children betray him?"
- "And judging by the scene, the killer struck with such inhuman precision that their skill far exceeds normal limits!"
- "...Could it have been Yu Ling?"
- "I mean, the Duke was still alive when Yu Ling already put his Relics in the game!"
- "Holy shit?"
- "Genius! Case closed!"
- "Yu Ling went too far! Just to justify turning the Duke into Relics, he resorted to such brutal methods!"
- "Duke, bless me with a god-tier double-crit Follow-Up set from the afterlife!"
---
Xianzhou Luofu – Central Starskiff Haven Square
Players crowded the plaza, eagerly debating the Duke Inferno incident.
- "If you think about it, that's actually plausible!"
- "If it's Yu Ling, he could pull off such an impossible assassination!"
- "Yu Ling's just built different, huh?"
- "From a Feng Shui perspective, Yu Ling adding the Duke's Relics to the game early severed his lifeline—his death was inevitable."
- "Case closed! Yu Ling cursed the Duke to death!"
- "No use just talking here—let's go spam Yu Ling's official account!"
- "Right! Yu Ling, take the blame!"
- "In the entire universe, only a handful could pull this off—and none of those big shots had direct ties to the Duke. But Yu Ling... you're one of them!"
Soon, Interstellar Peace News, planetary bulletins, and gaming forums across the cosmos all pointed fingers at Yu Ling!
Under Yu Ling's official account, countless players flooded the comments.
In just half a day, the comment section was completely overrun!
- "Who killed the Duke Inferno? Yu Ling, take the blame!"
- "Just admit it, Yu Ling!"
- "It's not exactly honorable, but since the Duke was a universal enemy, killing him counts as justice."
- "I'm siding with Yu Ling on this one!"
- "Even if it's Yu Ling, he can't just execute people! He has to be punished—at least make him give us a free 5-star selector!"
- "Your ulterior motives are showing!"
- "???"
- "Dr. Ratio: Thinking about me?"
- "That day, Yu Ling visited the Duke Inferno and showed him The Everflame Night: Act 33 PV.
The Duke asked, 'You made such a gorgeous trailer for our Everflame Mansion—what do you want in return?' Yu Ling replied: 'Your life.'"
To be continued…
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