HHR 111-121 (Patreon)

Chapter 111: Rita: Getting Ready to Deliver Herself Otto's mind was a little muddled.Most of the time, the Overseer of Schicksal wasn't someone who minded taking the blame.He wasn't like Fu Hua, suffering from hyperthymesia and able to remember every single thing he'd done over the past five hundred years. For a ruler whose actual social status was already at the top of the world, every decision and action he took could potentially affect thousands upon thousands of people.Besides, Otto was aware of his own nature.To him, everything in the world, including himself, could be seen as a tool for resurrecting Kallen. It wasn't surprising that he would do anything inhuman to a tool.So, if one day someone stood before Otto with hatred, shouting, "You scoundrel, prepare to die!" he could probably calmly and readily accept it... and then, without batting an eye, order his men to throw that person out.In this world, everyone had the right to hate him.Among those people were Durandal, whom he personally nurtured; Theresa, whom he raised from childhood; and even successors like Rita, who inherited the will of Ragnar Lodbrok, who influenced so many. Because in Otto's hands, they were merely tools to be discarded at any time to resurrect Kallen.From the moment he saw them as tools, Otto accepted the possibility of being hated by them.At the same time, Otto also believed that, now that he reigned supreme in this world, there was no one who could judge him.Even if one day in the future he were judged by someone, that so-called judgment and the person who judged him would certainly be part of a prearranged drama, a necessary price he had to pay to resurrect Kallen.He thought he was mentally prepared to face any criticism. Even if Rita betrayed him one day for Durandal's sake and turned against him, Otto probably wouldn't be surprised......until Rita suddenly mentioned something he was completely unaware of, her expression even showing a hint of admiration.Hearing Rita praise him with such certainty, "Congratulations, Your Excellency. The experiment conducted in Nagazora City has achieved preliminary results, realizing complete control over the Herrscher's consciousness," Otto's mind went completely blank.I conducted an experiment in Nagazora City? What experiment? When did it happen?And that experiment achieved preliminary results? It even realized complete control over the Herrscher's consciousness?Otto was aware that a Herrscher had seemingly emerged in Nagazora City.After all, Schicksal's monitoring satellites had detected an extremely high intensity of Honkai energy fluctuations the previous night. The wavelength of those Honkai energy fluctuations overlapped by more than 80% with that of Benares, the Judgment-class Honkai Beast granted the power of lightning by Sirin thirteen years ago. This almost certainly confirmed that something had happened to the Gem of Conquest on Anti-Entropy's side.Otto didn't know the exact whereabouts of the Gem of Conquest, but Nagazora City was one of the cities controlled by ME Corporation. Through his intelligence network, he knew that ME Corporation was one of Anti-Entropy's subordinate research institutes.Therefore, Otto wasn't particularly surprised that the Gem of Conquest had suddenly appeared in Nagazora City and seemed to have gone out of control. In fact, he felt a bit smug.Upholding the fine virtue that what's mine is mine and what's yours is still mine, Otto immediately realized that this was a golden opportunity to snatch the Gem of Conquest from Anti-Entropy.While he wasn't particularly interested in the power of lightning and the Gem of Conquest wasn't exactly a necessary tool for resurrecting Kallen, a Herrscher Core was still a rare and valuable strategic asset. It might be dangerous and deadly for ordinary people, but for a superpower like Schicksal, which had already conducted extensive research on Herrscher Cores, such risks were certainly manageable.Moreover, this operation even had the rare advantage of occupying the moral high ground."Are you people in Anti-Entropy even capable? Researching the Gem of Conquest has resulted in an out-of-control Honkai disaster! To prevent the Honkai leaking from the Gem of Conquest from causing damage to Nagazora City and to protect the lives and property of its ordinary residents, I, on behalf of all residents of Nagazora City, hereby bring the out-of-control Gem of Conquest under Schicksal's jurisdiction. Do you accept?""Well, Leader of Anti-Entropy, you can't even manage your own subordinates, and they're threatening the lives of millions of residents in Nagazora City. How about I take care of them for you?"This righteous justification was flawless from every angle. Even Welt Yang himself probably wouldn't have a single word of objection.To put it bluntly, Schicksal sent two S-rank Valkyries to Nagazora City to protect the lives of its millions of residents. For Anti-Entropy not even to express gratitude for Schicksal's assistance would be excessive, let alone dare to question Otto.Did they consider the lives of Nagazora City's millions of residents worthless?Therefore, when Otto sent Rita and Durandal to Nagazora City, his boredom from a long period of idleness was finally stirred by a ripple of interest.Coincidentally, on the way to Nagazora City, he could also deliver the experimental subject K423, who had inexplicably wandered all the way from Siberia to Nagazora City, right under Theresa's nose.Given Theresa's deep attachment to Cecilia, upon seeing K423, she would undoubtedly treat "Cecilia's biological daughter" as her own.Although Otto hadn't had much contact with the test subject K423, based on his understanding of Siegfried, he knew that as long as K423 remained by Siegfried's side, she would eventually awaken the heart that had fallen silent due to the deaths of Cecilia and "Kiana."At that time, Siegfried, with his passion rekindled, would certainly provide K423 with moral education aligned with Kaslana's values.Having received Siegfried's education, K423 would inevitably develop a value system based primarily on altruism. This value system would give her the motivation to become a Valkyrie, encourage her to build emotional bonds with others, and instill in her the Kaslana family's noble belief—a willingness to sacrifice herself to protect others. All of these would form the solid foundation of his "Sirin Project."Having received and wholeheartedly embraced Siegfried's Kaslana-style education, experimental subject K423 would inevitably choose to become a Valkyrie fighting for all that is good in the world. Because of the extroverted personality shaped by this education, K423 would undoubtedly forge unbreakable emotional bonds with her peers, teachers, and elders during her Valkyrie training at St. Freya Academy.At that point, if he were to slightly catalyze the Herrscher consciousness within K423... the subsequent developments would be quite clear.Those who had formed bonds with K423 would fight fearlessly for her, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. If any casualties occurred during the process, K423's noble belief in willingly sacrificing herself to protect others would transform into a sharp blade, tearing apart the heart of the Herrscher consciousness.To enable the experimental subject K423 to wield the power of the Herrscher with a human heart, Otto essentially used everyone as pawns.In a sense, the person who trusted Kiana the most in this world wasn't Siegfried or Theresa but Otto himself, who had always considered her an experimental subject.This was because every experiment he conducted on Kiana led to the same conclusion:"Kiana will definitely control the power of the Herrscher of the Void."In terms of sheer confidence in Kiana's ability to control the Herrscher's power, perhaps even the members of Anti-Entropy and Theresa couldn't match his unwavering belief in her.However, even if Otto genuinely believed that the experimental subject K423 could control the Herrscher's power, the timing simply didn't seem right."Recount what you saw last night."With a long-forgotten sense of bewilderment and the feeling that something was seriously wrong, Otto immediately questioned Rita, who had reported to him. Rita's slow, deliberate answer, however, did nothing to resolve his doubts. Instead, it only deepened his confusion.A café where no one except Durandal could see?Inside that café were several Little Theresas, a Rita clone, and even a girl who looked exactly like Sirin in the historical records?The café manager suppressed the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Thunder, who were on the verge of losing control, with just two flicks to the forehead?To be honest, upon first hearing this incredibly bizarre report, Otto even thought it was merely a hallucination caused by the maid's excessive concern for Durandal. If that were the case, he wouldn't be angry. He might even generously arrange a few weeks of vacation for the overworked maid.The problem was that Rita wasn't the only one who confirmed this information. Even Durandal herself, who seemed incapable of making a mistake in such a matter, acknowledged it.Furthermore, unlike Rita and the others, who "couldn't see the café," Durandal had actually entered it herself. However, for some reason, this straightforward and powerful knight refused to reveal her experiences there.Ever since leaving that café that morning, Durandal seemed to have entered a Spartan-like state, wreaking havoc upon the Honkai horde surrounding Nagazora City with near-frenzied brutality. Her savage hand-to-hand combat style made it seem as though she were venting her anger, enough to make even Otto feel uneasy.He even wondered whether Durandal had somehow learned her true identity. Logically, however, if that were the case, shouldn't she have confronted him first?Why was she taking her anger out on those innocent Honkai Beasts?Although Otto always viewed everyone in the world as a tool for resurrecting Kallen, not all tools were treated equally. A CNC machine worth tens of thousands or even millions was a tool, just as a hammer costing a few dollars was a tool.Therefore, despite Durandal's unprecedentedly uncooperative attitude toward his questions and even her outburst, Otto had no good way to deal with her.He could only take a roundabout approach and try to extract as much information about the café as possible from Rita.And then......Durandal, the strongest Valkyrie in Otto's eyes and arguably invincible, disappeared.She truly vanished.From the moment she suddenly appeared in Nagazora City, there came a point when the surveillance satellites covering the entire Earth could no longer capture her image. At the same time, her personal communicator completely lost its signal.The last image recorded by the satellites showed her sneaking up behind a silver-haired girl and knocking her unconscious with a single strike from her lance, while Theresa stood nearby.Then all three of them mysteriously vanished.To be honest, if that had been all, Rita might not have been so worried about Durandal's condition. Although she and Theresa weren't especially close, Rita knew that the senior who had single-handedly built St. Freya Academy wouldn't harm Durandal.However, ever since leaving that café, Durandal's condition had been extremely strange. No matter how much Rita asked, her captain, who had never hidden anything from her before, stubbornly refused to explain what had happened inside.Rita brought up the café with Otto to confirm whether the café she couldn't see was trustworthy. Unfortunately, Otto's answer made her heart sink as an ominous premonition washed over her.Now, about an hour had passed since Durandal disappeared, and the anxious Rita had finally arrived at the scene of her disappearance.The café's image couldn't be captured electronically and could only be seen with the naked eye.To be honest, based on the previous night's experience, Rita hadn't expected to see it. But when she reached the edge of the transport ship hovering high above the city, the scene before her left her stunned.No wonder Lady Theresa suddenly disappeared...Looking at the café standing amid the ruins, Rita silently thought to herself, her heart easing slightly.If she still couldn't see the café, then no matter what had happened to Durandal, there would be nothing she could do. Now the café was finally within her sight. Although she didn't know why it had suddenly appeared or why she could now see it, at least she wasn't completely powerless.After confirming that she could see the café, Rita immediately returned to the control room and ordered the transport ship to land."Wait, Rita. Don't go into that café yet."Communications in the control room were still active, and Otto immediately stopped her after realizing what she intended to do."We know nothing about that café. You've confirmed its existence with your own eyes, which means others must have seen it as well. Theresa, who entered that café with Durandal, is a prime example.""I'm leaving Schicksal headquarters immediately and should arrive in Nagazora City in forty minutes. Stay where you are. I'll handle Durandal's situation personally," Otto said in a low voice.For some reason, he had a feeling that if Rita disappeared there as well, she might end up just like Durandal and Theresa, completely beyond his control.To prevent the situation from escalating beyond recovery, Otto, who was usually known for his forceful personality, made the unusually cautious decision to maintain stability and handle the events in Nagazora City himself.But it was clear that Rita, who had been separated from Durandal for half a day, had long since lost her usual composure."I'm sorry, Your Excellency."Under Otto's somewhat gloomy gaze, Rita bowed slightly, shook her head, and spoke in a deeply apologetic voice."Since this café doesn't belong to Schicksal, nor is it part of your plan, then every minute Durandal remains inside it is another minute she faces an unknown situation.""As Overseer of Schicksal, you need to oversee the overall situation, and I understand your decision not to focus all your attention on Durandal. However, as Durandal's personal maid and adjutant, Rita cannot be as rational as you.""I hope you understand."Without waiting for Otto's reply, Rita disconnected the communication and walked out of the transport ship with heavy but resolute steps.On Schicksal's floating island, staring at the black screen before him, Otto couldn't help but slam his fist onto the desk. A long-forgotten urge to curse rose within him.In less than twenty-four hours, everything that had happened in Nagazora City had completely slipped out of his control.---

Chapter 112: "They Forgot to Close the Door"

Compared to the Overseer from 2013, the 2016 Otto, who had departed from Schicksal headquarters that morning and arrived in Arc City, faced a far more difficult predicament.

Before setting off, he had actually been in a good mood.

Compared to the other Overseer Otto from three years ago, in this world, "Project Sirin" was nearing its end.

As the holder of the Void Archives, Otto was very familiar with Fenghuang Down's abilities. He knew perfectly well that when he shot Fu Hua, she would definitely use Fenghuang Down's 0th power to transfer her consciousness to Kiana's side.

With Fu Hua's assistance, it was only a matter of time before Kiana successfully gained control of the Herrscher lowers.

Therefore, for this Otto, everything the café manager did, while quite unexpected, wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

Before arriving in Arc City, Otto had been very confident.

With Durandal and Rita already in Arc City, aside from a few of the Thirteen MANTIS recorded in the Void Archives and the legendary "Finality," there were few in this world, spanning both the Previous Era and the Current Era, who could pose a threat to these two Valkyries.

Then reality cruelly presented him with a major confrontation.

The leader of World Serpent, the head of the Thirteen Flamechasers from the Previous Era, had actually appeared.

And... without any regard for martial ethics, he attacked Durandal on the spot.

Otto was acutely aware that these two strongest beings from 50,000 years ago and 50,000 years later were destined for a cataclysmic conflict. He had already mentally prepared himself to face this Flamechaser, the savior.

Once the conflict between them reached a certain point, he would calmly enter the fray, present the MANTIS with irresistible terms, and smoothly forge a cooperative relationship.

—Yes.

The battlefield he had prepared right before his eyes.

Not while he was absent.

Now things were truly a mess. One of his two strongest fighters had been kidnapped by that single-minded world leader, while the other was in a state of depression. After explaining the situation, she sent him a message: "Sorry, Your Excellency. Rita has gone to pursue greater power." Then she inexplicably disappeared into what appeared to be empty space.

It turned out the eerie café was exactly as he had suspected. Because his physical body had been completely replaced with a Soulium body, his "eyes" were likely classified as electronic devices, allowing him to see only emptiness, just like the images transmitted by those devices.

He stood at the spot where Rita's body had suddenly vanished, his expression grim.

Should he send some people to surround this space...?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, an indescribable pressure suddenly descended upon him.

An abyssal black hole enveloped his Soulium-forged body with lightning speed. At the same time, countless golden chains swarmed in from every direction, mercilessly binding his hands and feet. He was crushed beneath the overwhelming force, unable to move as the restraints secured him completely.

“…”

Otto was speechless.

It was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly. Having already lost two key figures, he now found himself directly confronting Anti-Entropy's two strongest warriors.

Welt Yang.

Theresa Apocalypse wielding the Oath of Judah.

Otto considered the situation and ultimately decided to refrain from resisting for the time being. Due to the physical properties of black holes, even a minute inside would feel like an hour outside. Therefore, even if he immediately committed suicide while inside the black hole, his other backup bodies would have little chance of detecting the signal before the black hole dissipated.

To his other bodies, he was currently in the strange state of being "not dead" yet "detached from reality." Although his backup bodies had prepared contingency plans for such a situation, he wanted to transfer as many memories as possible of what he was experiencing into his next body.

Otherwise, even if his next "self" received a warning about what was happening in Arc City, without any intelligence and having already lost two S-rank Valkyries, he would still be unable to take any meaningful action.

"I wonder how many minutes they'll keep me locked up here..." Otto thought casually as he closed his eyes.

Outside the black hole, Welt Yang and Theresa stared intently at it while Bronya and Einstein stood behind them.

"Grandpa actually showed up here... Does he already know about this coffee shop?"

Theresa murmured softly, turning her gaze toward the two-story building in her field of vision. Her tone became slightly surprised.

“Just as Mei said, even though satellite imagery and the Hyperion's surveillance equipment can't capture this café, I can see it with my own eyes. Welt, you should be able to as well, right?”

“Yes, I can see the café too,” Welt Yang replied with a slight nod, his expression grave.

“Relax, Yang.” Einstein gently patted Welt Yang on the back. “I know you're wary of the Sea of Quanta, but under the current circumstances, actively making enemies is definitely not a good choice. If Mei and Kiana's demeanor isn't an act, then they haven't been treated badly in this café. Theresa, you too.”

“I know.” Theresa took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Heaven knew how agonizing it had been for her during this time, unable to accompany Mei and the others in their search for Kiana.

As a fellow artificial human, Theresa naturally felt deep empathy for Kiana's situation. After three years together, she had come to regard Kiana as family. In terms of concern and worry for Kiana, Theresa cared no less than Raiden Mei. However, greater responsibilities had fallen upon her shoulders, forcing her to travel to The Deep with Einstein and the others.

Frankly, while Theresa trusted Raiden Mei and Tesla's abilities, she had not held much hope that they could actually bring Kiana back.

Raiden Mei and Tesla were simply too outnumbered and outmatched. In both intelligence and strength, they were no match for Schicksal, whose network of informants spanned the globe and which also possessed two S-rank Valkyries.

Rather than believing Raiden Mei and Tesla could find Kiana under such unfavorable circumstances, Theresa had actually hoped that Kiana would realize their intentions and come to join Mei and the others.

She never expected such an enormous stroke of luck to fall into her lap after resolving the Gem of Haste incident.

"Welt, how long can your black hole last?" Theresa asked after composing herself.

Although Bronya had briefly inherited the Power of Reason that originally belonged to Welt Yang, she had held it for only a short time. Furthermore, her excessive use of that power in the Sea of Quanta had pushed her body to the brink of collapse. Therefore, after leaving The Deep, Welt Yang temporarily reclaimed the power from Bronya.

"About half an hour," Welt Yang answered gravely. "For Otto, it will probably feel like only half a minute."

“Half an hour?” Theresa hesitated briefly before nodding. “In that case, Welt, I'll leave Grandpa's affairs to you. Bronya and I will go into the café to deal with Kiana's situation and try to return within half an hour.”

“Okay. Hurry back.” Welt Yang nodded.

“Come with me, Bronya.”

Theresa beckoned to Bronya, took a long, deep breath at the café entrance, then, having prepared herself for whatever might happen, resolutely pushed open the café door.

The moment she stepped inside, her mind went completely blank.

Rita Rossweisse, whom Theresa had always regarded as a thorn in her side during Kiana's abduction, was kneeling dejectedly on the floor. Her wine-red eyes were filled with undisguised despair, and her alluring, beautiful face was flushed.

Deep inside the hall, Kiana and Raiden Mei kept their heads lowered, steam billowing from above them. Lying unconscious on a booth sofa against the wall was a "Kiana" who looked younger than the one Theresa knew. Her eyes were swollen into the comically exaggerated expression of a defeated Pokémon. Another "Theresa" sat beside her, seemingly tending to her. Closer to the entrance stood a horned "Raiden Mei."

Aside from a few people who seemed both familiar and strangely unfamiliar, everyone present had flushed faces. Even the "Raiden Mei," who always exuded an aloof aura, wore an expression of extreme embarrassment. Her eyes were filled with indescribable shyness and a panicked urge to turn around and flee.

"…"

What's wrong with them? Why is everyone's face so red?

Just as Theresa was wondering that, a series of indistinct sounds reached her ears, causing her to freeze in place.

Three female voices she recognized—Rita's, Durandal's, and Raiden Mei's—and a faint male voice she did not recognize drifted down from above.

Theresa froze, her mind buzzing.

Like a rusty puppet, she slowly turned her head toward the second-floor stairwell, the source of the voices. Then she shifted her gaze toward the Kiana and Raiden Mei she recognized, as well as Dr. Tesla sitting behind them.

“…They forgot to close the door,” Dr. Tesla said, pressing her temples, her voice carrying a mixture of shame and anger.

---

Chapter 113: Rita Breaks Through the Great Defense

In broad daylight! Under the clear blue sky!

How dare they do such a thing in broad daylight…

While Theresa did indeed have the urge to shout in anger at first, seeing that the people in the hall—even the other "herselfs"—didn't stop the absurdity unfolding on the second floor, the newcomer Theresa who was somewhat confused about the café's layout, surprisingly felt a long-lost sense of "following her heart."

She kept telling herself to stay calm, to be elegant, and not to be disrespectful to the café that had saved Kiana. Forcing herself to cough to appear composed, she blushed, curled her toes, and made herself walk toward Kiana, whom she knew.

As she walked deeper into the hall, the distance to the second-floor staircase naturally shortened. The sounds from upstairs showed no sign of stopping. On the contrary, they became clearer with each step Theresa took deeper into the hall.

Compared to Theresa, the headmistress whom Otto had protected well since childhood, Bronya, who had been raised as a fighting machine from a young age, didn't show much of an unusual expression.

Although a slight blush appeared on her usually expressionless, childlike cheeks, compared to Theresa, who was almost completely overwhelmed, Bronya's emotions remained largely unaffected.

Suppressing the urge to run away, a flushed Theresa stopped in front of Kiana, whose hair was steaming. She gritted her teeth and grabbed Kiana's already burning hand.

"Let's go!"

"Huh?! Wait! Aunt Teri?!" Kiana exclaimed in panic.

"What are you waiting for?! Do you want to listen to others doing... that... no... shameless thing?!"

Hearing those familiar voices utter tones she'd never heard before in her life, Theresa's scalp tingled.

Perhaps because her brain was so overheated that she'd lost most of her rationality, Kiana's mind went blank, and her retort was completely thoughtless.

"But I'm an adult! Even if I heard those sounds, I should—!"

Fortunately, seeing Theresa's visibly angry face, the dizzy Kiana finally realized what she'd said before things escalated beyond repair, so she quickly corrected herself.

"—Ptooey! No, I didn't mean I wanted to hear those sounds. I just... I just can't get away right now!"

"What do you mean you can't get away? The door to this café isn't locked! You'd better follow me!"

"Oh, oh, oh! I really can't! Let go, Aunt Teri!"

Although Kiana tried her best to resist Theresa as she attempted to drag her out of the café, it must be said that, in terms of physical strength alone, Theresa, who had exerted all her strength—no, it could even be said that Theresa, pushed beyond her limits by extreme shame—was no match for Kiana, whose body was weak from hearing those sounds. Thus, Kiana's body could only be uncontrollably dragged toward the door.

Desperate, Kiana could only turn to Raiden Mei and Dr. Tesla, who knew the inside story, for help.

"Mei! Doctor! Please help me persuade Aunt Teri!"

"..."

No answer.

Dr. Tesla rolled her eyes, choosing not to speak at that moment.

To be honest, although Dr. Tesla was indeed very tempted by this strange café, the overly open atmosphere of the café... she really couldn't accept it.

As one of the enforcers of Anti-Entropy, while willing to strive to fight the Honkai and even risk her life for something sufficiently enticing, Tesla wouldn't distort her values for her own purposes.

Raiden Mei, on the other hand—

"Mei... Mei?"

Kiana and Theresa turned their heads simultaneously, only to see Raiden Mei staring absentmindedly toward the source of the voice coming from the second floor that was identical to her own. Her face was flushed red, and her vision was blurred as though she were dreaming.

Why... why is she making that sound so... so... happy?

Raiden Mei murmured silently to herself.

Is the... manager of this café really that good?!

Compared to Raiden Mei, whose mind was so dazed it was practically a dream, the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei, who had a much stronger will, felt the same shame and embarrassment, but she hadn't completely lost her rationality.

Looking at the dazed expression on the face of "Raiden Mei," who was not far removed from her own point in time, she shook her head in exasperation, then walked up to her. Her palm transformed into a blade, and she mercilessly struck Raiden Mei on the head.

Clang!

A sound like a hard rock being struck suddenly rang out above Raiden Mei's head. The Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei roared in a clear voice filled with intense anger and frustration.

"Calm down! You spineless coward—!!!"

"Ouch—!!??"

Raiden Mei covered her head, tears welling in her eyes. Her body trembled as she crouched down, gasping for breath.

"Stars—! I see stars—!"

"You—you didn't have to hit me so hard!!!"

Raiden Mei cried out, both aggrieved and furious.

Kiana instinctively wanted to stand up for Raiden Mei, but then froze as if her CPU had suddenly overheated.

The one who hit Mei was Mei, and the one who was hit by Mei was also Mei…

So, who should I help?

"Go look at your own expression in the mirror—or better yet, don't bother looking for one!"

While Kiana's mind was in complete disarray, the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei glared angrily at the victim-like "herself" before her, sighed, and cursed. Then she suddenly stepped aside and pointed toward the door.

"Look at yourself! Isn't your expression just like Rita's, whose sweetheart has been slept with by someone else?!"

"..."

Crack.

At the doorway, Rita, already so dejected she was practically a statue, let out a crisp cracking sound.

"Wait, what do you mean?!"

Rita couldn't help glaring at the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei. She was indeed heartbroken because Lady Durandal had suddenly thrown herself into someone else's arms, but that didn't mean she would let someone else bully her.

But before Rita could utter her barbed words to show she wasn't someone to be bullied, the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei followed with a cold laugh, decisively cutting off all her remaining thoughts.

"Hmph. At least you're slightly better than Rita. After all, you're one of the few among us who knows the most about this café, and you witnessed Durandal of 3 years ago's sudden arrival and knew why she suddenly fell into the hands of the café's manager."

"..."

At the doorway, Rita—a newcomer who had been kept in the dark by her crush for half a day, completely ignorant of this café, utterly unaware of her crush's situation, and cuckolded—Rossweisse stood utterly speechless under the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei's words, which struck her like sharp blades.

"Ah..."

She lowered her head, a cloud of self-destructive gloom hanging over her.

"...Anyway, I'm just a clueless maid. Even Lady Durandal doesn't trust me at all. I don't even have the chance to be a dowry maid. Ah... hahaha..."

She broke down.

She truly broke down.

To be honest, if it were just being rejected by Durandal, or even learning that she had found someone else after rejecting Rita, Rita would feel emotionally lost and sad, but she wouldn't break down like this.

Her feelings for Durandal had been one-sided from the beginning. From the start, Rita never expected that her special feelings would be accepted by Durandal. Throughout her interactions with Durandal, Rita always maintained a very humble attitude. If Durandal ultimately found happiness with someone else, although Rita would feel disappointed, she would also feel satisfied and even secretly wish Durandal happiness.

In that sense, hearing Durandal's suppressed, sweet voice, even if Rita wasn't the one making Durandal sound like that, she should still be happy for Durandal.

But the problem was...

Right now, the sounds coming from the second floor belonged to four people.

Besides the unmistakably familiar voice of Durandal, there was another voice that was indistinguishable from Rita Rossweisse's own.

The voice was delicate yet elegant, alluring yet touched with just the right amount of awkwardness…

Rita was no slow thinker. Therefore, after seeing several identical faces in the café—even one with long hair resembling herself—she already had a rough idea of the identities of the people in the second-floor bedroom.

Durandal was in the man's arms.

But Durandal wasn't the only one in that man's arms.

One of them was Rita Rossweisse.

Not the "her" standing at the door, but another Rita Rossweisse.

So, to summarize—

Durandal, for certain reasons, chose to submit to the manager of this café.

This magical café allowed Lady Durandal to encounter people from different worlds, one of whom was "Rita Rossweisse," just like herself.

For reasons unknown, Lady Durandal chose to face the challenges of being with the manager alongside "Rita Rossweisse," rather than "herself."

"..."

Lady Durandal would rather seek help from other Ritas than reveal the truth to her. She would rather have other Ritas help her defeat powerful enemies. She would rather have other Ritas climb into their beds than leave a place for her—

Thinking about all this, Rita felt her entire life turn bleak, as though everything she had done had become utterly worthless.

...I'm probably already a useless maid, Rita thought to herself, her face pale.

Compared to Rita, who had fallen into a state of complete isolation, Present Day Raiden Mei, though also somewhat depressed, at least still managed to muster the will to resist.

She rubbed her face, took a deep breath, straightened her body, and said word by word.

"I didn't have my sweetheart stolen like Rita did!"

Thud.

A sharp arrow pierced Rita's heart.

"Hmph, still saying you didn't? Then why are you making that same expression as Rita? Do you even believe yourself?" the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei, sneered.

Raiden Mei pursed her lips.

"I don't deny that I seem to have developed some special feelings for the shopkeeper, but until I'm sure those feelings come from his ability, I won't consider them my own."

"Oh~" the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei, replied meaningfully.

"Then why are you still standing there? Go with the headmistress and the others."

"?" Raiden Mei was momentarily stunned.

"Since you don't acknowledge that those feelings originate from within yourself, getting rid of them shouldn't be too difficult for you," said the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei, with her arms crossed.

"Even if Kiana can't leave this café because she needs to control the Herrscher consciousness within her, you don't have that need. Besides, if I remember correctly, the Gem of Conquest within you should have already been taken away by the Herrscher of the Void."

"Then why are you still staying in this café? Let's go.

" The Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei, gestured toward the door with her chin, speaking calmly.

"I..." Raiden Mei hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "But if Kiana is alone..."

"With that long-haired Rita here, this café shouldn't need any other staff. Besides, if they really need someone, I can come and help them anytime," said the Herrscher of Thunder - Raiden Mei.

"In my world, the door to this café appears in a trial area called the Elysian Realm. I won't be leaving that place anytime soon. If you're really worried about Kiana, I can look after her for you. As a fellow Raiden Mei, you should be able to sense the difference in our strength, right? If it's a problem even I can't handle, then you'll only be a hindrance here."

"But..."

Raiden Mei's voice trailed off after only two words.

She was unable to refute it.

Faced with the words of her near-future self, Raiden Mei was completely unable to offer any effective rebuttal.

Damn it. In the not-too-distant future, will she—Raiden Mei—become someone who doesn't care about other people's feelings at all?

This woman's words were like knives, completely disregarding her feelings and stabbing the truth into her heart again and again—

But just as Raiden Mei's resentment began to rise, Theresa, who was already near the door, objected.

"Wait, when did I say I was going to leave Kiana here?!"

"The two doctors from Anti-Entropy and Welt will help deal with her problems. Even if this café is so special that it can continuously control the Herrscher consciousness within Kiana, I can't just leave her here forever because of that! Besides, this café is so... so..."

After stammering for a while, Theresa, who ultimately knew that this café had indeed helped Kiana a great deal and that they shouldn't make enemies so easily, didn't quite utter the word "shameless."

But as a proper elder, how could Theresa allow her niece to stay in a place where such impromptu acts could be carried out in broad daylight?

"Anyway, I can't leave Kiana here any longer! I'll visit again sometime to personally thank the café manager, but for now—Kiana, come back with me!"

"Hey, hey, hey—no, no, no! Don't pull me like that! Aunt Teri—"

Theresa ignored Kiana's struggles and walked straight out of the café.

At the instant Kiana's body crossed the café's doorway, a sudden change occurred.

In less than a millisecond, her pupils turned gold without warning.

However, those golden pupils had lost their previous madness and indifference. Instead, after the personality shift, they revealed an unprecedented sense of shame and indignation.

An unprecedented sense of shame and indignation.

---

Chapter 114: The Herrscher of the Void Corrupted by the Herrscher Core

Kiana's Herrscher persona had spiraled out of control yet again.

This was the fourth time this had happened since the café opened.

The first time was yesterday evening at 7 PM. The manager left the café for Nagazora City in 2013. After suppressing the out-of-control Herrscher of Thunder, Kiana from that world suddenly appeared. Upon seeing Siegfried, who had also been summoned, she was briefly overtaken by the Herrscher of the Void's will.

The second time was yesterday evening at 9 PM, just before the café closed. Kiana from Arc City in 2017 suddenly arrived. Shortly afterward, she witnessed the magical girl Sirin coming to seek refuge with the manager, causing her Herrscher will to go berserk.

The third and fourth times both occurred shortly before today.

Compared to Kiana from 2013, whose two losses of control lasted less than half a minute each, this Kiana from Arc City in 2017 had her Herrscher will suppressed.

However, before arriving at this café, the Herrscher's will within her had already completely spiraled out of control once as part of Otto's plan.

If the Herrscher's will within Kiana from 2013 was mostly dormant, then the Herrscher's will within Kiana from 2017 was consistently fully active.

In a sense, the Herrscher persona within Kiana from Arc City wasn't suppressed. Rather, She voluntarily allowed it to subside.

After all, from the beginning, the café manager didn't interfere with Kiana's will at all.

He merely used his ability, remarkably similar to the "Cocoon's," to forcibly requisition the Herrscher powers possessed by Kiana within the café.

Although filled with hatred and a desire to kill humanity and destroy the world, the Herrscher of the Void wasn't mindless. In fact, having inherited most of Sirin's memories, She understood the importance of power better than anyone else.

Without divine intervention, She would have suffered the same fate as her fellow researchers in the laboratory, with Schicksal's researchers wantonly inflicting the scars of human experimentation upon her body.

She still remembered the agony Sirin felt when those people forcibly injected her with Honkai energy. The corrosive patterns of Honkai energy relentlessly crawled across her wounded, bloodied skin like a thousand shards of broken glass cutting into her body. In her memory, Sirin could only watch helplessly as her skin gradually decayed and peeled away from her muscles. Every time she smelled the putrid stench mixed with blood, she couldn't help but cry out. At those moments, she would always gaze at the experimental subjects beyond the glass window, tears streaming down her face as she prayed from the bottom of her heart that something would send all those demons to hell.

In the end, Sirin succeeded. The divinely granted power allowed her to wash away the hellish Tower of Babel with blood. But Sirin also failed. Theresa's Oath of Judah stripped her of her Herrscher powers, leaving her only to endure the piercing of those golden spears again and again in a familiar yet desperate sense of powerlessness.

Having absorbed these memories, the Herrscher of the Void naturally understood the importance of power.

Therefore, despite her arrogance and madness, viewing all humanity as a target for slaughter, She was able to temporarily retreat the moment Otto revealed his "Holy Blood," sensing the potential threat it posed.

Similarly, the Herrscher of the Void understood that after her Herrscher powers were forcibly taken by the shopkeeper, even if she regained control of this body, it would only be self-humiliation. Therefore, it was better to temporarily return this body to its original owner.

Thus, she chose to retreat into the depths of this body's consciousness. The Herrscher of the Void believed that as long as Kiana refused to acknowledge that she was Sirin, She would eventually find a chance to rise again.

However, this confidence was completely shattered in less than twenty-four hours.

Because, in this café, She saw another, completely different "Sirin."

That Sirin was kind and upright, radiating a warm aura. Unlike the Herrschers, whose mission was to destroy the world, the magical girls in Sirin's world were always seen as saving the world and others in times of crisis.

She was the complete opposite of the "Sirin" in Her memories.

If that were all, it wouldn't have been so bad. The problem was that Sirin had achieved almost all the dreams the Herrscher of the Void knew the "Sirin" in Her memories had ever possessed.

She became the magical girl that every girl had, to some extent, aspired to be. She became a fashion designer, able to sew the clothes she wanted. She also had companions she knew, a loving foster mother, and even the "god" who always supported her was the shopkeeper—someone she could touch and who protected her at any time.

Undoubtedly, this magical girl Sirin possessed everything that the "Sirin" in her memories had longed for but could never obtain. The Herrscher of the Void was immediately stunned by the radiance and warmth emanating from her.

What followed was deep-seated hatred and a feeling of betrayal.

It was impossible not to hate her.

We're all Sirin, so why, why does she get everything she wants?!

The Herrscher of the Void was an existence split from Sirin's will. She had always identified Herself as Sirin, carrying on Sirin's unfinished mission and inheriting the hatred and malice within Sirin's heart. In this sense, the Herrscher of the Void's actions were merely imitation, like a child subconsciously admiring their parents.

However, because the memories the Herrscher of the Void received from Sirin were too vivid and the malice too intense, the degree of imitation reached an almost perfect level, becoming nearly identical to the original "Sirin."

To put it bluntly, neither the past Sirin nor the present Herrscher of the Void was truly an irrational monster. She possessed thought processes similar to those of humans and even accepted universally recognized notions of good and evil. Sirin, and the Herrscher of the Void who inherited her will, desired to destroy the world precisely because She accepted those notions of good and evil, ultimately concluding that "humanity's existence is a mistake."

Now, conversely—

What if there existed a Sirin in this world?

What if she accepted human kindness, thrived in a normal social environment, and even achieved her dreams?

Would the Herrscher of the Void accept such a Sirin?

The answer was no.

She could not accept such Sirin. She could not accept that this Sirin was the same as Herself.

The Herrscher of the Void could fully unleash Sirin's power because she accepted everything about Sirin from the beginning. If Sirin's life were considered a scale, then the overwhelming majority of the feelings she experienced after becoming an orphan were pain.

Even if she received some warmth during that time, compared to the overwhelming pain and hatred, that warmth was negligible.

Therefore, in the struggle for the Herrscher Core's power, the Herrscher of the Void had always held an almost absolute advantage, while Kiana could only barely use that power with the help of external forces. Even when the shopkeeper requisitioned her Void powers, the Herrscher of the Void remained fearless because, in her mind, even if they were temporarily taken away, those powers still belonged to her.

However, the moment She subconsciously began to deny that "Sirin" was "Herself," the moment She genuinely rejected this version of Sirin, an irreconcilable contradiction arose.

Although the moment her physical body left the café, the Herrscher of the Void seized the opportunity to forcibly take over it. Because she had left the space governed by the order established by the café manager, the requisitioned powers returned to this body.

At the same time, just like Kiana's previous experience, the instant the power returned to her body, the feeling of being completely rejected by the Herrscher power, along with her body being eroded by the Honkai energy stored within the Herrscher Core, spread throughout her entire body in less than a millisecond.

Pain.

Pain from the very marrow.

But the Herrscher of the Void didn't show any distress. Instead, She revealed an unprecedented sense of shame and indignation.

Because, along with the return of the Herrscher's power, came not only the feeling of physical erosion.

Within the Herrscher of the Void's inherited memories remained the scene of the true "Sirin" and "God" facing one another directly.

This was probably the same situation as back then.

Because her power had been requisitioned, after escaping the Manager's control, the Herrscher powers that returned to her body allowed her to directly witness the Manager and the scene around him, just as She had when facing "God."

The Herrscher of the Void was filled with shame and indignation. To be honest, last night, when that shameless bastard Kiana spied on the shopkeeper and "Sirin" embracing and making love, She had been forced to watch and was already mortified.

Now, with the return of Her powers, She was once again facing the "god" who had granted those powers—the shopkeeper, in the middle of a raid.

While feeling ashamed and indignant, She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the magical girl Sirin.

No, that's not right! How could I have such thoughts?!

She was startled, then groaned softly as the pain intensified.

"Ugh—"

After a brief moment of shock, a bone-deep fear instantly gripped her.

Why... why is the Herrscher Core rejecting me?!

Damn it—I am the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin!

The incarnation of Honkai! The Queen who embodies destruction!

Why is the Herrscher Core... just like it did with that damned experimental subject—?!

Amid the intense pain, the Herrscher of the Void couldn't help but kneel down. Although She inherited most of Sirin's memories and malice, She had never undergone systematic Valkyrie training. Her pain tolerance was far inferior to Kiana's.

"Ugh—it hurts... it hurts... it hurts so much..."

Tormented by the pain, the Herrscher of the Void collapsed to the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably down Her face.

Theresa was shocked by what she saw. In her mind, the Herrscher of the Void shouldn't have been susceptible to corruption from the Herrscher Core, so she hadn't realized that Kiana's personality had silently switched. Therefore, after "Kiana" cried out, she pulled her back into the café without thinking.

"You... what's wrong?!" Theresa asked anxiously.

The Herrscher of the Void, still crying, instinctively replied, "It hurts... my whole body hurts..."

Looking at Kiana's tearful face, Theresa instinctively felt something was amiss with her suddenly golden eyes. However, she reasoned that the Herrscher of the Void, with Her queenly nature, would disdain appearing so pitiful. Without further suspicion, she turned toward Dr. Tesla.

"Doctor, could you please retrieve some Honkai inhibitors from the Hyperion?"

"No need."

At that moment, a faint, ethereal voice suddenly rang out, and a flame unexpectedly erupted from the Herrscher of the Void's brow.

A translucent red-and-white figure rapidly coalesced directly above the Herrscher of the Void.

Fu Hua looked at the tearful Herrscher of the Void with a complex expression, remaining silent for a long while.

Hidden deep within Kiana's consciousness, she had been observing the two wills within this body. The instant the Herrscher of the Void suddenly seized control, she had actually been prepared to act.

However, for some reason, this Herrscher of the Void inexplicably encountered the same situation as Kiana.

Seeing the Herrscher of the Void crying her eyes out, Kiana, already filled with resentment, decisively attacked.

Heaven knew how many times the Herrscher of the Void had tried to retreat into the depths of her consciousness during this time, but every attempt was invariably kicked back by Kiana.

"You wanted control of the body, didn't you? Here you go!"

This was supposed to be a serious struggle over control of the body, so why did the conflict between the two wills feel like a girls' quarrel?

Holding this strange thought, Fu Hua shook her head helplessly.

“Compared to using Honkai suppressants, taking her directly to the manager for help would be more efficient.”

Theresa hesitated, a hint of struggle flashing across her slightly flushed, youthful face.

“But the manager of this café, isn’t he…”

Perhaps having subtly crossed her moral boundaries during her recent experiences, the upright Fu Hua replied without changing her expression,

“He didn’t close the door properly.”

A few minutes later, in the second-floor bedroom.

A silver-haired girl, her face streaked with tears, was suddenly thrown inside.

“Excuse me, could you help deal with this child?”

“Hmm, I didn’t see anything. Please continue.”

At Fu Hua’s booming voice, the three women in the bedroom felt their hearts stop.

The manager rolled his eyes, a strange, profound sense of powerlessness washing over him

---

Chapter 115: One Seele, Two Seeles...

—A few more minutes passed.

"Do you know you were wrong?"

"Waaah... I... I know."

"Will you still kill people in the future?"

"Waaah... No, I won't..."

"Will you still use this power recklessly?"

"Waaah... No, I won't..."

"You have to be a good girl from now on, understand?"

"Waaah... Good... I'll be a good girl..."

Hyperion Café, first floor.

In the center of the lobby, the Herrscher of the Void sat in a chair, sobbing uncontrollably. The young manager spoke to the tear-streaked Herrscher of the Void in a gentle, persuasive tone.

Theresa stared blankly at the Herrscher of the Void, who sat in the center of the lobby, crying and obediently nodding, feeling as though her world was collapsing.

"Yes, good girl."

After receiving obedient answers to a series of questions, the Store manager patted the Herrscher of the Void's trembling head, his expression melancholy.

How long does it take for a person's beliefs to be completely destroyed?

The answer could be long, or it could be short.

For the Herrscher of the Void, who had always identified herself as Sirin, the moment the Herrscher power utterly rejected her, turning against her and eroding her body, her will, her ideals, and her very sense of self were completely shattered.

The Herrscher of the Void's power rejected the Herrscher of the Void.

This not only meant she was no longer an apostle of "God," and the will she represented was no longer recognized by "God," but also meant... that "God" had completely abandoned her.

Completely.

When the Herrscher of the Void was no longer the Herrscher of the Void and refused to admit that she was "Sirin," what was left of her?

Probably just a bewildered and aggrieved little girl.

"..."

Watching the Herrscher of the Void constantly sniffling, the Shopkeeper couldn't help but feel another headache coming on.

He glanced around his café. Hmm, a huge crowd of customers. Only three days after opening, business was already booming—truly a cause for celebration, but also a cause for regret...

...Yeah, right!

"...Just in case, let me ask first." The manager rubbed his forehead, gently smoothing his furrowed brow.

"Are you... here for coffee?"

Aside from a few staff members, everyone in the lobby shook their heads in unison.

"..."

His headache worsened.

Not only his head, but his lower back and stomach also began to ache.

"Let's go one by one, according to the order in which everyone arrived." He waved his hand wearily, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "Who arrived first?"

"..."

Bronya, from Nagazora City in 2013, looked around, a subtle hint of confusion flashing across her expressionless face.

She pointed to herself, then to another "self" from 2017.

"Bronya... justs want to ask that other 'me' about Seele—"

"Seele, right? Okay, I'll help you look—"

The Store Manager closed his eyes, and an invisible wave suddenly spread outward from his body.

Having experienced a similar power once with "Finality," Fu Hua instinctively tensed her semi-transparent body.

The Herrscher of the Void, her eyes misty with tears, blinked her golden eyes. A hint of fear uncontrollably appeared in her cross-shaped pupils.

Sure enough, this feeling... is exactly the same as when... facing "God" back then...

"Ugh... Seele who fell from the original world into the Sea of Quanta... Seele who fell into the Sea of Quanta..."

The young Store Manager murmured for a moment before raising his hand.

"Eh...? Eh, eh, eh—? W-what is this?"

"Seele—? Damn it! Let go! How come even me—???"

Outside the café, two panicked voices suddenly rang out, one soft and gentle, the other explosive like a firecracker about to go off.

Then the café's doors suddenly flew open, and two girls, one dressed in black and the other in white, bound by invisible patterns, were flung into the café's lobby.

Everyone instinctively looked up, staring blankly at the two struggling girls.

"Huh? Bronya Onee-chan? Headmistress Theresa... and Kiana-neechan, Mei-neechan... Dr. Tesla is here too..." The girl in the white tutu looked around and let out a soft "Huh?" Her struggle immediately slowed.

"W-why is everyone gathered here? This... seems to be a café. What is this place?"

"Don't speak yet, Seele!"

A shout tinged with anger and fear suddenly rang out. Another black-haired girl in dark armor stared at the young manager like a black cat with its fur standing on end. Her slightly constricted pupils revealed intense wariness and astonishment, and her voice trembled slightly.

"This guy... is actually like Kiana... no, even more..."

"What are you talking about, Seele? Kiana-neechan is right here..."

The girl with the gentle expression suddenly froze.

Right... shouldn't Kiana-neechan be living on the moon?

So who exactly is Kiana here...?

"...Wrong number. It's not either of you. Go back."

Just then, the young manager's somewhat dejected voice interrupted the white-clad girl's thoughts.

With a wave of his hand, before the two girls could react, they were suddenly thrown out of the café by a powerful force.

"Eh? Eh? Wait—!"

After being unexpectedly thrown out of the café, a gentle voice filled with utter bewilderment drifted from afar.

"W-what happened—?"

"Seele—Damn it! How dare you treat Seele like that! You bastard, just you wait—!!!"

The voices fell silent once more.

From the moment the two Seeles were dragged in to the moment they were thrown out, the entire process took less than half a minute, leaving everyone in the hall dumbfounded. Bronya from 2013 was completely stunned.

"Seele...??"

After a long while, Bronya finally came to her senses.

Her expressionless face betrayed a barely perceptible bewilderment.

"Why... why did you kick Seele out again?"

Her flat tone carried deep, hidden anger.

Bronya had finally managed to see Seele. Why was she thrown back out after only half a minute?

Is he playing a trick on her? Does the manager of this café have such a wicked hobby?

"I told you, I've got the wrong one. Those two aren't from your side." The shop manager coughed, a hint of embarrassment in his voice, as an invisible aura spread outward once more.

"Don't panic. Let me look again..."

"Yi... um, I've got it. This time it should be right."

He beckoned, and another soft, surprised exclamation rang out from outside the door.

"Eh...? This power is... Let's follow it and see."

The café door opened, and another gentle girl, identical to the one in white he had just dragged in, was pulled inside.

—No, judging from the fact that she offered absolutely no resistance, and her gentle face now wore a serious expression, although both her appearance and clothing were identical to the girl from before, it was clear that they were not the same person.

"Huh?"

The moment the manager dragged her into the café, she blinked.

"Bronya Onee-chan, Mei-neechan, Kiana-neechan, have you all met up yet? As for World Serpent..."

"Wrong again."

The young manager, somewhat annoyed, flicked his hand, and the bewildered girl in white was helplessly thrown out of the café again.

"..."

An eerie silence fell over the hall.

"Hiss... Does the Seele from the original world have that many experiences falling into the Sea of Quanta?"

The young manager scratched his head, questioning his own existence.

Bronya wore a slightly displeased expression, her beady eyes fixed on the manager.

Stare—

"Ahem, well... after all, it's the Sea of Quanta. In a place like that, where there's absolutely no pattern, anything could happen, right?"

The Store Manager coughed, sounding a little guilty.

"One last time! One last time! I'll definitely bring you Seele this time!"

This feels a bit like playing a claw machine...

The shopkeeper muttered to himself as an invisible aura spread outward again.

The Seele that fell into the Sea of Quanta... the Seele that fell into the Sea of Quanta...

Found it! This time it should be you—!

Suddenly—

The invisible fluctuation dissipated without warning.

At the same time, outside the café, an incredibly powerful current of cold air, drawn by the manager's force, rushed into the café at lightning speed.

The manager's expression changed slightly. He swung his hand and roared,

"Go back!"

With a deafening rumble, the entire café floor shook from the force of the impact.

Damn! Kevin?

Identifying the source of the freezing aura wasn't difficult for the manager, but he still felt the urge to curse.

Whose Seele did he just touch? And why was Kevin there?

Not only him, but everyone in the café familiar with this chilling aura—including Fu Hua, floating in midair, and Mei The Herrscher of Thunder—couldn't help but change their expressions.

Bronya, eagerly awaiting her best friend's return, wore a stiff expression, her gray eyes revealing profound existential doubt.

No... how many Seeles are there in the Sea of Quanta? Why do all these Seeles who fell into the Sea of Quanta seem to have run into trouble?

Is her best friend destined to be at odds with the Sea of Quanta for her entire life?

Bronya felt a little withdrawn.

Actually, the shopkeeper felt a little withdrawn too.

"Hiss... This can't be right. Is it really that hard to find a Seele in the Sea of Quanta? I just don't believe it..."

The slightly exasperated manager gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.

This time, he closed his eyes, temporarily shutting down all five senses.

At the same time, an unprecedentedly powerful fluctuation almost materialized as it spread wildly out of the café.

"Holy crap—!!!"

Suddenly, the hairs on the Store Manager's back stood on end. He snapped his eyes open, and his body vanished from the spot in an instant.

"???"

Before anyone in the hall could react, a force hundreds—even thousands—of times stronger than the previous freezing current arrived instantly from an unknown world outside.

A blinding light flashed through the crack in the café door. Although the power of the flash didn't affect the café itself thanks to the manager's intervention, the fluctuations contained within that power made Fu Hua's eyes widen instantly, and she exclaimed,

"The Herrscher of Finality??? How is this possible—???"

Upon hearing that suddenly steady voice, most people in the hall froze, and the Herrscher of the Void's pupils dilated sharply.

"???"

Even Bronya from 2013 was stunned.

Why would trying to find a Seele in the Sea of Quanta result in an attack by the Herrscher of Finality?!

Wait... is there a Herrscher of Finality in the Sea of Quanta too?

Just as these thoughts raced uncontrollably through everyone's minds, the shopkeeper's furious roar faintly drifted in from outside the café door.

"You... you're out of your mind! Was it any of your business that I was using my senses in the Sea of Quanta to find someone? Did you have to shoot me right then and there?! Huh??"

"...?...!!"

"...What! 'Sa'? You've got it wrong! I'm not some 'Sa'! I was using my senses throughout the Sea of Quanta to find someone, okay? What does that have to do with you? Was my searching for someone in the Sea of Quanta stopping you from fighting?"

"...!"

"Absorbing the energy of the World Bubble? Damn it! When did I absorb the energy of a World Bubble?! Don't make baseless accusations!!!"

"...!...??"

"I took Seele and Fu Hua away? No, be reasonable! The Fu Hua in my shop isn't the one next to you. If your Fu Hua is missing, go find the person who kidnapped her! The Fu Hua in my shop came here on her own, following the previous you!!! As for Seele, didn't I immediately send every one of them back after bringing them here? Is it wrong for me to help Bronya find Seele?!"

"...?"

"What do I mean, 'the previous you'? You, a Herrscher of Finality with the power of time, are asking me that kind of stupid question? You haven't even mastered your own power, have you? No way, no way, no way??"

"...!...?"

"What do I care if you can't do it! And since you say you misjudged, where's the thing you were originally aiming at? I didn't see that so-called 'Sa' you're talking about in the Sea of Quanta either. Where is it?"

"!!!!"

"Damn it! Are you still arguing with me? Fire another shot! Just pay attention next time and don't misjudge!!"

As the words fell, the café door opened from the outside, and the young manager walked in with a dark expression, exuding a gloomy aura.

The people in the lobby remained silent.

---

Chapter 116 Hare: Mother-in-Law's Lucky Draw

—A world from the future.

Mid-year, 2018.

On the Moon and in near-Earth orbit around a dwarf planet dozens of astronomical units away, two different groups of people found themselves in strikingly similar awkward situations at the same moment.

At the lunar base, a certain Kiana maintained her pose, her hand forming the shape of a gun and pointing straight ahead. Her face, which had been radiant with ease and cheerfulness just moments before, now wore the expression of someone who had failed an exam and run into their parent.

Beside her, a semi-transparent mechanical doll floated silently above the ground.

The doll turned its head, its bionic pupils revealing remarkably human-like bewilderment as it gazed at the legendary "God of Earth."

"Excuse me, who were you just talking to?"

The flat, monotone voice carried a clear hint of confusion.

"..."

Faced with the projected question beside her, Moon Tuna Kiana's already guilty expression stiffened even further.

She looked away. Despite not having exercised and with the surrounding temperature perfectly comfortable thanks to the lunar base's climate control system, a fine layer of cold sweat still formed on her forehead, and her voice began to tremble.

"Um, well... Prometheus, can you contact Misteln and Fu Hua now?"

"..."

It was a clumsy attempt to change the subject.

Seeing the "God of Earth" beside her being so evasive, Prometheus remained silent for a moment, her eyes revealing an expression that was difficult to interpret as either concern or speechlessness.

ᗜ‸ᗜ...

"..."

The sweat on Kiana's forehead poured down even more. The intense torment and self-reproach almost made the "God of the Earth" want to slap herself.

"Although I don't know why your emotions fluctuated so drastically—"

Prometheus said calmly,

"—your attack perfectly achieved the result everyone wanted, and Misteln wasn't affected by it."

"Phew—"

Moon Tuna Kiana let out a heavy sigh of relief, her heart finally settling back into place.

Then she suddenly paused.

"Wait, it worked?"

"?" Prometheus tilted her head.

"I didn't attack the wrong person?" Moon Tuna Kiana pressed, unwilling to give up.

"I'd like to ask why you think you attacked the wrong person," Prometheus replied in a voice laced with electronic distortion. "Within the allotted time, you delivered a cross-space attack to the real-time coordinates provided by Misteln. You completed the task perfectly. Even if any problems arose afterward, they would be mistakes in Misteln's judgment or instructions, not your responsibility—"

She paused mid-sentence, suddenly becoming stunned as well.

She looked up at the dark sky, then covered her ears as though receiving some information.

A moment later, she frowned.

"—What did you say? You're going to the Sea of Quanta?"

... 

—Meanwhile, on a dwarf planet dozens of astronomical units away from the Moon.

Fu Hua, Misteln, and Griseo, all fully transformed into their AHR Forms, stood before a deep spatial rift. The three had either just experienced a great battle or contributed to it.

"That thing inside... is it the 'Cocoon' of the Sea of Quanta?" Fu Hua whispered.

The deep spatial rift revealed the chaotic dimensions of the Sea of Quanta. On a platform within it, thousands of shapeless fragments were rapidly dissipating at a visible rate.

'Sa'—not invincible, but undoubtedly a formidable foe. Even by using the power of Finality to strike it directly, no one could guarantee that a single blow would truly annihilate this parasitic entity.

Yet now it was dead, with no chance of recovery and no possibility of resurrection.

From its body, long detached from the concept of "humanity," to its consciousness, completely devoid of rational thought, everything had been utterly destroyed.

This outcome was completely unexpected.

However, none of the three present doubted it.

As for the reason—

"I don't know." Misteln unusually abandoned her nonchalant expression and shook her head gravely.

"But in any case, the opponent possesses at least the power to block Miss Kiana's attack with ease, as well as control over the Sea of Quanta far greater than 'Sa's.'"

After the Sea of Quanta and the outside world simultaneously endured two attacks equal to—or perhaps even surpassing—Finality, even someone as formidable as 'Sa' had no chance of survival.

'Sa' was, after all, merely a clumsy imitation of the 'Cocoon.' Even disregarding the power of reincarnation and considering only raw strength, the power it had accumulated within the Sea of Quanta was not even half that of the 'Cocoon.'

"Speaking of which, when I brought Miss Seele into the Sea of Quanta, she seemed to have been captured by some being and taken to a strange space." Misteln looked thoughtful. "According to her, that strange space resembled a café that was open for business. There were many 'projections' of familiar faces inside that café, as well as a young man dressed as a Schicksal Major."

"After the events in Salt Snow City and the Iron Sand Kingdom, I once thought that encounter was also the work of 'Sa.' That strange café was most likely a miniature World Bubble created by 'Sa' to confuse us Earthlings. But now that I think about it, although 'Sa' can control the rules of a World Bubble to a certain extent, she can't interfere much with the Sea of Quanta itself."

Fu Hua pondered for a moment.

"You mean the being that suddenly 'captured' Seele and the being that just retaliated against Kiana's attack are the same entity?"

"It's only irresponsible speculation. After all, it's difficult to imagine what could retain its humanity while infiltrating the rules of the Sea of Quanta to such an extent. As the holder of Fenghuang Down, when 'Sa' opened that passage, you should have noticed the consciousness fluctuations that filled the entire Sea of Quanta to the point of nearly overflowing into the real world, right?"

Misteln said calmly. "Besides, haven't we already seen what that thing looks like?"

Just as Misteln had said, with the gap between the Sea of Quanta and the real world still open, the three could observe with their own eyes the "being" that had suddenly attacked Kiana.

It was a distorted space. Although the Sea of Quanta itself was already bizarre and chaotic, even within its chaotic dimensions, that spherical space remained remarkably distorted. Compared with the surrounding disordered regions, it exhibited an astonishing degree of unity and stability.

That was truly incredible for a folded plane like the Sea of Quanta. There should not have been any stable space within it. In fact, within existing three-dimensional and four-dimensional mathematical systems, it was impossible to accurately describe the Sea of Quanta's structure. Yet that distorted but stable space undeniably existed.

It was like a fixed point, silently lurking at the very bottom of the Sea of Quanta and subtly dominating the entire sea in a way that even Fu Hua and the others could not comprehend.

Things had reached this point, and no one cared about 'Sa,' who had caused them so much trouble. Compared with the thing lurking at the deepest part of the Sea of Quanta, the power 'Sa' possessed was practically insignificant.

Fu Hua pondered for a moment before silently closing her eyes and sinking her consciousness inward.

Rather than wandering aimlessly like a headless fly, it was better to seek help directly from her backup, who had been monitoring the situation almost constantly.

(Su, can you see what's happening in the Sea of Quanta?)

"..."

A moment later, a refined and peaceful voice quietly echoed within Fu Hua's mind.

(He is a friend, not an enemy.)

With those five simple words, Fu Hua's expression immediately relaxed.

She understood Su's personality well and already had a basic understanding of his current power. Since even Su had stated without hesitation that the being lurking at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta was not an enemy, it meant that whatever it was posed absolutely no threat to the original world.

However...

(He? That being dominating the Sea of Quanta is human?)

Fu Hua asked inwardly, somewhat astonished.

Su's calm voice answered from the depths of her consciousness.

(Yes. In a way, the being you observed is similar to my current state. Although he has acquired power and authority beyond reason, he can exert only very limited influence upon your intrinsic world.)

(If I am, at this moment, a "prayer lamp" constantly rising and drifting farther away from the real world, then he is the "stabilizing force" that must remain at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta, maintaining its stability and order.)

"Stabilizing force"... that sounded like a reliable description, Fu Hua thought.

(Since that being... no, that person is our friend rather than our enemy, could we try contacting him?)

Su calmly answered her question.

(Theoretically, yes, but I don't recommend it.)

(Why?) Fu Hua asked inwardly.

(...)

For some reason, Fu Hua suddenly sensed helplessness and embarrassment from the other end of their mental communication.

(To you, that person is indeed a friend rather than an enemy. There is no doubt about that. However, the environment he's in... might leave you feeling... troubled. Yes, troubled.)

(Troubled?)

Fu Hua's mind filled with questions.

(Why would that trouble us? Is there something unusual about the environment where the person controlling the Sea of Quanta lives?)

(...)

A soft sigh followed.

(He is a man with multiple lovers.)

Fu Hua paused. She first frowned slightly, expressing her personal disapproval of the being who controlled the Sea of Quanta, then became even more puzzled.

(Having multiple lovers only means he has moral failings, right? What does that have to do with his environment?)

(Because it was basically his lovers who created it.)

Su's voice carried a strong sense of embarrassment.

(Moreover, those 'lovers' are all versions of you from different timelines.)

(???????)

The communication ended, and Fu Hua slowly reopened her eyes.

"How is it, Miss Fu Hua (Sister)?"

Knowing that Fu Hua had established two-way communication with Su, Misteln and Griseo, who had guessed what she was doing, did not interrupt her. They spoke only after she reopened her eyes.

"What did Mr. Su (Uncle) say?"

"Uh..."

Faced with their questions, Fu Hua felt slightly embarrassed.

She immediately understood why even someone as calm as Su had shown helplessness and awkwardness after her repeated questioning.

How could she possibly explain something like that?

As an immortal who had lived for more than 50,000 years, Fu Hua quickly recovered from the brief embarrassment.

"Anyway, there's no need to worry. They're not our enemies. They're actually partners we can befriend. It's just that when we interact with them, we might need to... well, yes, be a little cautious."

Griseo glanced at Fu Hua, whose expression remained slightly awkward. Having grown into an adult, she no longer blurted out everything she noticed as she had when she was a child.

Instead, she silently kept one question to herself.

...Why had Fu Hua's color suddenly turned yellow?

"Cautious?"

At that moment, Misteln's lips suddenly curled into a smile. "Something capable of troubling someone like Miss Fu Hua must be rather unusual, right?"

"What are you planning to do?" Fu Hua immediately asked.

"Of course we're going to pay them a visit while this doorway is still open!"

For some reason, Misteln suddenly looked quite cheerful.

"Given our current situation, aside from Ms. Fu Hua, who is originally just a 'projection' and can return to Earth at any time, Griseo and I will probably remain stranded near this planet for quite some time. Under those circumstances, having a neighbor is a good thing. Naturally, I'd like to build a good relationship with that neighbor."

---

Chapter 117: Daughter of the Sea

Cecilia Schariac.

As an S-rank Valkyrie renowned throughout Schicksal and a heroic figure who sacrificed herself during the Second Eruption, her legend is well known within Schicksal.

The unique Schariac bloodline, a born warrior, the strongest Valkyrie before Durandal, single-handedly annihilated the Herrscher of Wind summoned by the Second Herrscher during the Second Eruption…

But even more striking than these heroic deeds, familiar to anyone who has read history books, is her breathtaking beauty.

Even a single photograph in a history book is enough to elicit gasps of awe at Cecilia's appearance.

What a holy, beautiful, and gentle face it was.

Sadly, this face, which should have been gone forever, a face that would have left everyone in awe, as pure as an angel, has now been inherited by a frivolous person.

Misteln Schariac.

As a born rationalist, naturally drawing upon a vast amount of knowledge from the Stigmata, she is "born a knower." There are very few things in this world that she doesn't know.

Most things, before she even encounters them, already have corresponding "knowledge" stored in her mind. Even in areas not preserved in the Stigmata or untouched by humans, as long as she has seen them, her rational ability to "read concepts" can easily transform the "unknown" into the "known."

Therefore, although Misteln's personality is quite eccentric and, like other newborn humans, she is filled with longing and curiosity for the unknown, in Misteln's eyes, having lived in this world for some time, the things that can pique her curiosity and interest are rapidly decreasing with the passage of time.

For a free-spirited, fun-loving person like Misteln, this was practically torture.

So, when something appeared before her—something completely absent from the Schariac Stigmata and unrecognizable even to her as a "Type"—then for someone like Misteln, the choice was simple:

Seeing Misteln's enthusiastic expression, Griseo hesitated. "But Sister Fu Hua told us to be cautious..."

"You're not dead, Griseo. You should know Mr. Su's personality better than I do. Since he's already decided that being is worth befriending, it means this so-called 'trouble' isn't such a serious problem."

Misteln said with a smile. Her pure face, which could only be described as holy and gentle, revealed a rather delighted expression as she rediscovered a long-lost source of amusement.

"Or rather, judging from Ms. Fu Hua's reaction just now, perhaps that so-called 'trouble' is actually quite an interesting thing?"

"..." Fu Hua rubbed her forehead, unsure of what to say.

From a rational perspective, Misteln's willingness to take the initiative to contact the being at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta is certainly a good thing.

After all, that being has achieved near-complete "domination" of the Sea of Quanta, equivalent to or even surpassing Kiana's still not fully mastered "Cocoon." Compared to that being's achievements, their only shortcoming is moral failure—or perhaps not even that. Those who have only recently escaped the "Honkai" should approach that being with a more proactive attitude.

Hesitantly, Fu Hua closed her eyes again.

(Su, can you see what's happening over there?)

(...No.)

Fu Hua was utterly astonished.

(Is there anything in this world that you can't observe right now?)

(...In fact, my knowledge of his existence was purely accidental.)

Su said somewhat helplessly.

(In terms of the scale of life, even I, in my current state, cannot surpass the figure you see who has reshaped the order of this world. Theoretically speaking, if he has always been guarding the bottom of the Sea of Quanta, then I wouldn't be able to indirectly perceive his existence from an outsider's perspective.)

(It's just that, while I was observing the myriad possibilities I've encountered, I happened to see him personally involved.)

Fu Hua pondered for a moment.

(So, you know of his existence not because you can see him, but because he has the potential to interfere with the intrinsic world at some point in the future?)

(Not just the future, but also the past.) Su said within Fu Hua's heart.

(The past?) Fu Hua asked.

(In the several "pasts" that I've glimpsed, seemingly similar to your present world, and in the parallel worlds I observed while executing Project VALUKA within the Second Divine Key before my physical body perished, traces of that being can be found in this original world.)

(For example, on the eve of the Third Second Eruption in your current world, there was a parallel world that seemed similar to yours but whose history was altered by that being. With that being's intervention, the "future" of that world has become a fog that even I, in my present state, find difficult to perceive.)

(Countless similar mysteries exist: the First Second Eruption in 1961, the Second Second Eruption in 2000, the Third Second Eruption in 2014, and even those from 500 years ago and 50,000 years ago that should have belonged to "us"... I have found faint traces left by the controller of the Sea of Quanta, the one who transcends time. After I captured the traces left by that being, these "pasts" that should belong to you became a fog whose exact state could not be discerned, without exception.)

Hearing Su's calm narration, Fu Hua froze, her heart clenching.

(These times... are...)

Su's voice echoed faintly within Fu Hua's heart.

(To this day, I still don't know the purpose of that being's interference in this world. In any case, we can be certain that that being has endowed the past, the future, and your present with infinite possibilities.)

(Among those possibilities is even the possibility of "our era" surviving Finality. Hua, you should know better than anyone that no matter what achievements you have made now, for humanity of our time, the tragedy of fifty thousand years ago remains an indelible regret.)

(...)

Fu Hua did not refute Su's words.

She wanted to save those she couldn't save.

They wanted to bring back those who shouldn't have died.

They wanted to stop disasters that could have been avoided.

They wanted to go back in time and undo the regrets they were powerless to change.

For those who have experienced great upheavals, even if they are unwilling to admit it, similar fantasies have arisen deep within them to some extent.

Most of the time, they don't do these things either because they simply can't or because, even if they could, the price would be unbearable for the people of today.

The most convincing example of this is Kiana Kaslana, the Herrscher of Finality who wields the power of time.

With the power of time, can she turn back time on Earth?

Even if she can't do it now, once she fully masters the power of the "Cocoon," Kiana will one day be able to completely control time on Earth.

Fu Hua also believes that even if Kiana does gain complete control over time and the power of the "Cocoon" one day, she will not recklessly alter time on Earth.

The power of "Finality" is less about time itself and more about reincarnation. Forcibly reversing Earth's time would mean killing everyone alive in the present. Therefore, even if Kiana were to fully master the power of time one day, she couldn't possibly reverse time and erase the "present" of everyone on Earth for the sake of past regrets, such as that admirable mentor.

(A... transcender of time.)

Fu Hua murmured to herself.

(Does this mean that being's precise control over time has reached a level even Kiana can't match?)

Su calmly replied, (To be precise, that being doesn't truly possess the power of time. He merely utilized the characteristics of the Sea of Quanta itself, making minor adjustments to the processes of various parallel worlds when the time was right.)

(That's why I don't recommend that you actively seek him out. Given enough time, that being will naturally appear before you in some way.)

I see...

Fu Hua nodded, reopened her eyes, and was about to speak when she suddenly hesitated.

"Where is Misteln?"

Griseo shook her head helplessly.

"That lady said that if we continued to hesitate, this door to the Sea of Quanta would probably dissipate soon, so she left first."

"...Still as self-willed as ever."

Fu Hua sighed softly.

...Garlic.

As the strongest mental perception system in the current civilization, since the being at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta has no intention of harming this world, letting Misteln make contact with him first... isn't a bad thing.

Let her do as she pleases.

For some reason, looking at the gradually closing spatial rift, Fu Hua suddenly had a random thought—like throwing a meat bun at a dog.

—Hyperion Café, first-floor lobby.

An awkward atmosphere gradually spread through the silence.

Some were bewildered, some were horrified, some were confused, and of course, some wore indifferent expressions.

Just a few seconds ago, everything that happened in the blink of an eye contained so much information that even Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, who thought she had already seen plenty of explosive revelations in the Elysian Realm, found herself at a loss for words.

"Was that... the Herrscher of Finality?"

Unlike Fu Hua, although she had never directly faced the true "Finality," for some reason, the moment that terrifying power descended upon the café, Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei instinctively realized what it was.

The so-called "Herrscher Cores" possessed by these Herrschers were merely projections of the "Cocoon" onto the real world. Although their connection to the "Cocoon" had been hijacked by an AI embodying the "Will of Honkai," and the "absolute interference" exerted by the "Cocoon" upon them had been completely severed by a certain fairy, the nature of the "projection" remained unchanged.

For Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, facing Finality, who directly controlled the "Cocoon," was equivalent to confronting the true form of the power of Thunder.

"Yes. In a parallel world's future, she became Kiana Kaslana, the Herrscher of Finality."

The Manager wiped his face, flicked a few specks of dust onto the wooden floor of the hall, rubbed his fingertips, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"That idiot... what on earth is she doing? Making such a fuss just to clear weeds for me?"

"Weeds?" Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei asked instinctively.

The Manager spat.

"Yeah, some idiot from who-knows-where. Since I took over the Sea of Quanta, I've cleared those things out countless times. Every time I think I've cleaned them up, another clump sprouts up. Like your a certain cockroach ○ (Propagation Emanator), you can't kill them no matter how hard you try. I guess she's hidden her true form somewhere weird in the real world."

"Later, because I had to deal with this café, I left that thing alone for a while. After all, she only steals nutrients, and only from World Bubbles. Her efficiency is incredibly low. I figured it was fine to give her such a small amount of energy. As long as she didn't grow wildly in the sea and disrupt the order, I'd let her be. I never expected that idiot would provoke Finality in the real world so quickly. I really don't know what to say."

"Emmmm..." Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei hesitated for a moment. "Is it the 'Sa' you were talking about with the people outside... that Kiana outside?"

"Probably. I heard she kidnapped Seele and Fu Hua at the same time..."

As he spoke, the Manager's expression suddenly froze, like a robot that had suddenly lost power.

At the same time, footsteps approached from outside the café.

"Eh... wait, Diana? Where are you taking me??"

The moment the soft, bewildered voice fell, a spirit deer suddenly burst through the café's doors, carrying a long-haired Seele in a gorgeous white dress on its back.

The deer immediately spotted the Manager, trotted over to him, and let out a cheerful bleat as if proudly lowering its forelegs to present Seele right before him.

"???"

Everyone froze except for the Manager, whose eyes twitched wildly. His voice trembled with unprecedented terror and bewilderment.

"What... what... what the hell?? The Sea of Quanta... gave me a daughter???"

Click.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall froze.

---

Chapter 118: It's Best to Let Your Family Know Before You Go Missing

What is the most important quality for a man?

In the eyes of a Store Manager who has experienced countless worlds and traveled countless journeys, there are many answers to this question. It could be unwavering perseverance and the courage to protect what one cherishes, the loyalty and sincerity to speak truthfully and act consistently, or the cultivation and magnanimity to be tolerant of others and content with oneself.

The most important thing for a proper man is to remain calm in the face of both honor and disgrace, to accept gains with gratitude and losses without regret, and to face all problems with equanimity.

Even if a formidable enemy is at hand—a nuclear explosion, the Earth frozen, a planet falling, a solar helium flash, a supernova eruption, the universe destroyed, everything reduced to nothing, a fire in the backyard, a crystal exploding, a cleaver at hand, or an illegitimate daughter showing up at the door—there's nothing to be afraid of.

What else can you do? It's like someone looking at their house, now a burnt-out ruin, wandering around trembling and screaming, "Ah! My house! My furniture! My belongings! My life savings!" What's the point besides adding to their troubles?

A proper man, at this moment, should calmly find some pleasant surprises in the ruins, like unbroken ceramic bowls and chopsticks or billions in assets hidden in a safe. He opens the safe, looks at the intact money and valuables, and a relieved smile spreads across his calm face…

"...So, that's why you suddenly had a daughter behind our backs?"

On the first floor of the Hyperion café, the young Store Manager stared stiffly at the smiling silver-haired woman before him. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly against the chainsaw's teeth, and his voice trembled.

"I think I need to explain. This is just the Sea of Quanta—"

"—Is she your daughter?" Luna interrupted the Store Manager with a beaming smile.

The Store Manager's lips twitched. "So I think we need to discuss the definition of a daughter. Biologically speaking—"

"—Is she your daughter?" Luna still smiled.

"This question needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis. According to modern law—"

"—Is she your daughter?" Luna's smile remained unchanged.

"..."

The young Store Manager fell silent.

After a long silence, he nodded resignedly.

"...Yes."

"An illegitimate daughter?" Luna's smile widened.

The Store Manager's scalp tingled. "No, no, no—wait. I don't think this situation should be handled with real-world law—"

Luna persisted. "An illegitimate daughter?"

Everyone in the hall turned their gaze toward the Store Manager.

"..."

Hiss— Feeling the various gazes directed at him, the Store Manager couldn't help but gasp. His mind raced for a while before he covered his face.

"It seems... perhaps, maybe, possibly... it could indeed be considered that."

Speechless, his fate was sealed.

"Th-that..."

Seated on her spirit deer, the long-haired Seele looked somewhat bewildered by the scene in the hall. She raised her hand and asked timidly.

"Excuse me, what exactly happened?"

"Woo—"

For some reason, after hearing Seele's bewildered question, the spirit deer beneath her suddenly raised its head high and let out a joyful, triumphant cry.

"Huh? You... what did you say?"

Seele's expression froze.

As a manifestation of Herrscher authority in the real world, Spirit Deer Diana is not only a being possessing some of the power of death but also, in a sense, a detached organ of Seele. However, unlike most physical organs that lack consciousness, Spirit Deer Diana possesses a complete set of biological characteristics and even a self-awareness independent of Seele.

Of course, like the "clones" created by Hua using Fenghuang Down, even with individual consciousness, Diana is still part of Seele.

Furthermore, because she is not human, Diana's intelligence level is not high enough to act independently. However, as a creation of authority, this spirit deer's understanding of "authority" is slightly deeper than Seele's own.

While Seele did inherit the powers of creation and decay, this was only because her adaptability to the powers of life and death was higher than her adaptability to other powers.

Unlike the Herrschers of the original world, she didn't have the experience of directly confronting the "Will of Honkai" upon becoming a Herrscher, nor did she receive any knowledge infusion from the "Will of Honkai." Therefore, she couldn't fully understand the powers of life and death.

Therefore, even as the Herrscher of Rebirth, Seele didn't truly understand the principles and technical details that enabled her to become a Herrscher.

In her understanding, she became a Herrscher because "Sa" implanted rules mimicking the "Cocoon" of the original world into the Twin World Bubble that Misteln visited. By utilizing "Sa's" rules, they were able to attempt Herrscher transformation and defeat "Sa's" creation, the wicked woman named Vita.

But just now, Spirit Deer Diana gave her an answer completely different from that understanding.

She stood there stunned for a long while, then blankly looked up at the young Store Manager, who was covering his face. Her bewildered expression quickly transformed into one of guilt, as if she'd been caught red-handed stealing.

"I... I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Hearing Seele's apology, the Store Manager was puzzled. He lowered his hand from his face, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Why are you suddenly apologizing to me?"

"Because... because Diana said that its existence, and this power of creation and decay, originated from you, right?" Seele said timidly. "I... I'm sorry. Did I cause you any harm?"

"...No, not at all. To be honest, if your spirit deer and the flower spirit within you hadn't sent me messages, I wouldn't have even noticed that a portion of the Sea of Quanta's power had been lost. For the amount of power I possess, diverting a portion to create a Herrscher wouldn't have much of an impact." The young Store Manager rubbed his face, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"It's just that... suddenly having a daughter out of nowhere... was indeed a bit unexpected."

"..."

Seele's face flushed red, but she didn't immediately offer a rebuttal. She knew that, in a way, it was indeed true.

After becoming a Herrscher, she had, in a sense, become his creation... calling her his daughter wouldn't be entirely inaccurate.

"Uh, so what's next?"

The young Store Manager rubbed his forehead, which was starting to ache again. "Since you've already taken the power, I'm not going to take it back. Ultimately, you acquired this power entirely through your own efforts. Although I reshaped the rules of the Sea of Quanta, granting most World Bubbles near-infinite lifespans, I'm not selfish enough to think that everything in the Sea of Quanta belongs to me. Except for 'Sa,' who turned my controlled seas into a mess, I've mostly adopted a hands-off approach. So... what kind of relationship do you think we should have?"

This question immediately stumped Seele.

To be honest, having lost her parents at a very young age, she had never experienced "fatherly love." So she didn't feel any resistance to suddenly having a father; she was simply having a hard time accepting reality.

Although the Store Manager said he wouldn't take back the power and emphasized that it was earned through her own efforts, based on what Diana told her, her easy acquisition of the Sea of Quanta's power was inextricably linked to the Store Manager.

Moreover... how should she put it...?

After learning the whole story, Seele couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for the so-called "Sa."

After the Store Manager reshaped the rules of the Sea of Quanta, the first to be affected was "Sa," who had been secretly drawing sustenance from within the Sea of Quanta. Although the order established by the Store Manager didn't completely eradicate this thief, it prevented "Sa" from ever venturing deep into the Sea of Quanta again.

It was against this backdrop that the "avatar" created by "Sa," Vita, was given a duty that was practically dancing on a knife's edge.

She wondered what sins this so-called "Sa" had committed to provoke both Kiana, the Herrscher of Finality in the main world, and the Store Manager, the rule-maker at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta, in just a few days.

Of course, remembering all the awful things "Sa" had done in the past, this pointless sympathy vanished.

However, what kind of relationship should she maintain with the Store Manager?

"You... what do you want me to do?"

After a moment of contemplation, Seele decisively passed the question back.

Since obtaining power from him was an undeniable fact, with her personality, Seele wouldn't easily deny the relationship between the two.

However, she truly had no experience dealing with a so-called "father." Before today, she had only met this Store Manager twice, and both meetings had left her quite bewildered.

It's fair to say that Seele knew nothing about the coffee shop or the young Store Manager. In this situation, she was unsure how to approach him, so she ultimately returned the choice to him.

"Hmm... how about this?" the young Store Manager thought for a moment. "I'm a first-time father, and you... while you're not a first-time daughter, you probably don't have much experience with fathers either. How about we just make do like this for now? You can be casual with me, and I'll be casual with you."

Before Seele could even respond to the Store Manager's nonsensical and abstract proposal, the others in the hall couldn't hold back any longer.

Kongming's face darkened. She couldn't resist raising her feather fan and slapping the Store Manager on the back of the head.

"You shameless bastard! You really want to treat someone else's young girl like your own daughter?!"

The two Bronyas also started to lose their composure. The two double-helix ducks from 2013 and 2017 stepped forward in perfect coordination, one on each side of Seele.

Bronya from 2013 spoke expressionlessly. "Although this Seele isn't from the same era as me, I still can't just stand by and watch her be deceived by another man."

"Same here," Bronya from 2017 said calmly. "Seele's innocence will be protected by Bronya."

"...Don't you two even ask what she herself thinks?" The young Store Manager wore a helpless expression.

"If she doesn't have that idea... I'm not so forceful as to compel someone to become my daughter."

"...Hmph, what are you thinking? How could Seele possibly agree?" Bronya from 2017 rolled her eyes slightly, crossing her arms confidently. "No one in this world understands Seele better than Bronya."

"While Bronya is skeptical of the latter part of that statement, she agrees with you on the first point." The Bronya from 2013 maintained her expressionless, indifferent demeanor. "Seele won't agree."

"...Wait, Diana—!!"

Just then, both Bronyas suddenly felt a gust of wind behind them.

Knowing that Seele was standing behind them, neither of them took any precautions. When something hard poked them in the waist, the two Bronyas, unable to resist, could only squat down helplessly in pain.

They turned around simultaneously, staring in disbelief at Seele's tearful face, and spoke in unison, their voices filled with disillusionment and despair.

"Seele...??"

"No, it wasn't Seele who did it! It was Diana herself..."

"Waaah—!! Waaah—waaah—!!!"

The spirit deer that had suddenly used its antlers to strike both Bronyas in the waist let out a cry full of anxiety and grievance.

"You... you're not lying to me! It was clearly your own disobedience... I... I would never have thought of harming Bronya Onee-chan!!" Seele was getting desperate.

"Waaah...? Waaah—!!"

"You said you've already stopped...? No! That's not the point! Even if you stopped, you can't suddenly run into Bronya Onee-chan..."

"Ugh—! Ugh—! Ugh—!!"

"I did fantasize about having a family, but... but you can't just suddenly run into Bronya Onee-chan! And... and I only just met him, the Store Manager here. How am I supposed to suddenly accept this..."

"Ugh—!"

"Wh... what? You said I accepted it when I actively chose to become a Herrscher...? No! I only became a Herrscher because I needed to face Vita! Back then I..."

"Ugh—! Ugh—!!!"

"..."

It's unclear what the spirit deer said to Seele, but amid the puzzled expressions of everyone in the hall, Seele's face went from slightly flushed to completely red, and her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke to the spirit deer.

Of course, even the faintest whisper was perfectly clear to the two Bronyas, who were less than a meter away from Seele.

However, the content of those words stunned both Bronyas, followed by a long silence.

After a moment of silence, the two Bronyas from different points in time, clutching their aching lower backs where the Spirit Deer had struck them, stood up unsteadily, turned toward Seele, walked to her, and simultaneously raised their hands, each placing one on a shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Seele. I couldn't be by your side when you needed help the most," said the Bronya from 2017, her voice tinged with sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Seele..." The Bronya from 2013 was even more dejected than her counterpart. Clearly, she recalled watching helplessly as Seele became lost in the Sea of Quanta, unable to do anything about it.

Because she didn't possess enough power, she had to borrow it from the outside world, drawing power from "others" who didn't belong to her. This was the only point that neither of the two Bronyas nor even Seele herself could refute, let alone the two Seeles.

"Bronya Onee-chan, you haven't wronged Seele. Seele... Seele just..."

"It's alright, Seele." The Bronya from 2013 gently squeezed Seele's right hand. "Whatever choice you make, as long as it's Seele's own choice, Bronya will always support you."

Bronya from 2017 calmly added, "Of course, if anyone bullies Seele or makes her sad, Bronya will absolutely make that person regret ever being born. I swear."

"Hey! That's too much! I'm still listening!"

The young Store Manager glared at the two Bronyas, muttering under his breath.

"This is ridiculous! I was trying to help you find a Seele. Not only did I fail to find the Seele I was looking for, but a Seele who turned into my daughter just flew in out of nowhere... This world is so damn strange and absurd."

Suddenly, the Store Manager looked up as if remembering something.

"...By the way, you were suddenly led to my store by your spirit deer. Aren't the people around you worried after finding you missing?"

"...Ah!!!" Seele's expression froze.

—From a world in the future.

"Seele——!!"

"Seele——!!"

"Seele!!!! Where did you go?!!!!!"

In Salt Snow Holy City, everyone was thrown into chaos after Seele's sudden disappearance, running about in a frantic search.

---

Chapter 119: The Herrscher's Authority and Stigmata's Consciousness Clash!!

For the other Seele—let's call her Black Seele for now—

For Black Seele, the journey through the Twin World Bubble was probably not exactly joyful, but it was certainly unforgettable.

From tracking the Gray Serpent to falling into the "claw machine" at a mysterious café.

After being inexplicably captured by that strange café, she was inexplicably thrown back to where she had started.

Trying to return to her original world, she accidentally stumbled into the Twin World Bubble, a world that simultaneously possessed both life and death.

Ultimately, through everyone's combined efforts, Seele—her other self—transformed into a Herrscher born from the Sea of Quanta, defeated the evil woman, and saved the collapsing Twin World Bubble.

Although the process wasn't easy—and frankly, if Black Seele had the choice, she would never have chosen to go through that ordeal again—the outcome was ultimately happy for everyone. She was genuinely happy for "another Seele," who had gained new power and could stand on her own two feet without relying on "herself."

But just as everyone was enjoying the afterglow of victory and their hard-won peace—

—Seele disappeared.

She had vanished completely.

At first, Black Seele thought that her "other self" was simply too busy to meet with her companions after taking over the position of "Sage of the Tower."

But she quickly realized something was amiss.

Although she had separated from Seele's body and acquired an independent body through Seele's "creation" power, the fact that they were still one remained unchanged.

Black Seele could return to Seele's body at any time she wished—

—as long as they were still in the same world.

"Did you find her?"

"No, I haven't found her here either."

"Damn it, why did Seele disappear even though everything in the World Bubble is over?! Who?! Who did this?! Come out here! I'll beat you to death!!!"

The world was white. Snowflakes fell heavily onto the pristine ground, chilling both the land and the hearts of those who hadn't yet left the World Bubble.

Most of the people who came to this World Bubble were Valkyries whose mission was to fight the Honkai. In most cases, they were not afraid of battle, and even sacrifice was not unacceptable. However, Seele's disappearance was simply too sudden and too absurd—so absurd that no one could accept it.

The greatest contributor to the battle had vanished without a trace after the victory. Who could accept such a thing?!

Frankly, all the frontline fighters present simply couldn't believe that Seele, who now possessed the power of death, had disappeared so completely.

Even if Kiana, the Herrscher of Finality, were here, she wouldn't have allowed Seele to disappear so effortlessly. Logically, Black Seele's combat instincts shouldn't have been so poor, but the PTSD caused by Seele's disappearance was too severe.

Ater all, not long ago, Seele's existence had vanished before her very eyes, and even the memories in her mind had disappeared completely.

Fortunately, her memories were still intact. If even they had begun to malfunction, Black Seele couldn't guarantee that she would be able to maintain her rational thinking.

Not only Black Seele, but everyone present was extremely anxious about Seele's disappearance.

Overlooking the panoramic view of Salt Snow City from their respective high-rises, Mei and Bronya saw each other's furrowed brows whenever their eyes met. Miniature Prometheus crouched before a semi-transparent virtual screen, her eyes flashing rapidly as she searched for Seele's movements before her disappearance. Shigure Kira and Susanna searched every street and alley, practically turning the entire World Bubble upside down. The Stigmata 0014 and 0015, after Seele's disappearance, temporarily returned to their positions as "Tower Sages" to maintain the boundary between life and death in the World Bubble before the "rules" planted by "Sa" completely annihilated it.

"Seele—!"

"Seele—!"

"Seele—!"

Across smooth rock faces, through dense forests, and into narrow alleyways, desperate shouts echoed. A girl in light red and black armor frantically rummaged through wooden trash cans on the street, then emptied every one of them before letting out a long, desperate scream.

"Seele!!!! Where have you gone?!!!!!"

Black Seele was truly frantic.

She knew Seele's personality well and knew better than anyone that Seele wasn't the kind of good girl who would make others worry. If she truly had something important to do and urgently needed to leave, she would definitely have tried to leave a message telling everyone not to worry.

This kind of disappearance without a trace could only lead Black Seele to think of two possibilities: either Seele was dead or she had suddenly been deprived of her freedom. Black Seele didn't even dare to consider the former. As for the latter—

Suddenly, the bright sunlight dimmed, and a pitch-black vortex appeared out of thin air in the boundless sky. Black feathers fell like snowflakes. The people on the ground couldn't help but look up. Raiden Mei and Bronya, standing at the highest points of the two buildings, immediately assumed fighting stances after witnessing this bizarre sight.

But the next second, everyone was stunned.

The pitch-black vortex, though terrifying in appearance, emanated an extremely warm power. The slowly descending black feathers weren't as eerie as they seemed. Instead, they gave everyone in the Holy City who had witnessed that battle a strangely familiar feeling.

...Isn't this supposed to be the power of creation? How did it turn into this?

Before anyone could voice the question, a soft voice drifted from the horizon.

"I'm sorry—I'm back!"

Dressed in a magnificent gown and adorned with black wings, Seele descended rapidly from the dark vortex aboard a spirit deer whose appearance had completely changed. Its smooth, silky dark-chocolate-colored coat was irresistibly tempting.

"I... I didn't cause anyone any trouble, did I?"

Looking at Seele, now back in the Salt Snow Holy City, Black Seele opened her mouth, her astonished voice escaping uncontrollably.

"You... how did you suddenly become like this, Seele?"

"Huh? You mean this outfit?" Seele, sitting on the deer's back, looked at herself, a little embarrassed.

"Is... is it not very suitable for me?"

Black Seele suddenly realized something.

"...You suddenly left the World Bubble to change clothes?"

"No, no. I just went to see the ruler of the Sea of Quanta..." Seele twirled a strand of her soft hair, speaking cautiously.

"I seem to have worried you. I'm sorry."

"It's good that Seele is alright."

At that moment, a voice with a hint of childlike sweetness approached from afar. Bronya, fully encased in exoskeleton armor, quickly approached the two Seeles with the help of her flight module.

"But can Seele tell Bronya what she meant when she said she went to see the ruler of the Sea of Quanta?"

As Bronya voiced her question, the people who had been searching for Seele approached one after another. Shigure Kira and Susanna visibly breathed sighs of relief. The two Stigmata beings appeared at Seele's landing spot in a flash. Even Prometheus projected her semi-transparent image nearby.

"It's... it means exactly what it says..."

Although Seele, now nearing adulthood after experiencing many things, was no longer as reserved and introverted as she had been as a child, the sudden focus of everyone's attention still made her timidly shrink back.

For various reasons—mainly out of shyness—Seele didn't immediately reveal her relationship with the café's store manager. Instead, she glossed over it and pinned the blame for her sudden disappearance on the materialized being, Spirit Deer Diana.

"So, the one who kidnapped you without telling anyone was this wretched creature—this damned spirit deer, right?"

Black Seele walked up to the spirit deer, radiating a ghostly aura of resentment, her gaping mouth trembling slightly with intense anger.

Diana, adorned with ornaments on her body and antlers, glanced at Black Seele and snorted.

Even though she didn't speak or make a sound, Black Seele inexplicably sensed near-contempt emanating from the damned deer.

"You *******—!!" Black Seele was about to explode. "Seele, get down here! You kidnapped Seele without a word, didn't you?! Today I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!!!"

"You... you calm down, Seele..." Seele said weakly.

"Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down?!" Black Seele glared fiercely at the infuriating spirit deer with her crimson eyes.

"Listen to me, Seele. Get down!"

Seele was on the verge of tears.

"Di... Diana, don't mess with my other self..."

Diana jerked her head to the side, narrowed her eyes into slits, and exhaled a long breath through her nose.

Before Black Seele's anger could escalate further, a dim light swiftly enveloped the spirit deer's body. It then merged into the light and disappeared into Seele's body.

"Huh??" Black Seele was stunned, then immediately flew into a rage.

"How... how did it get inside your body?!"

"Diana is my power... where else could it go but back into my body..." Seele said weakly.

Black Seele froze as countless truths suddenly flooded her mind.

Cosmic Cat Head.jpg

—Hot Fact.

She, Black Seele, was the will manifested from the power of the Seele's Stigmata.

Moreover, the power stored within that Stigmata was, from a certain perspective, also intricately related to the power of death.

In the past, the "twin" power Seele used was quite similar to the power of death. To put it simply, the power that Black Seele supplied to Seele could, in a sense, be considered a form of the power of death.

And that damned spirit deer was the power of death that Seele now wielded.

Therefore, this damned spirit deer had replaced the position that she should have occupied in the past.

The instant she realized this, Black Seele felt a "snap" deep within her mind.

The string of reason snapped.

A gentle smile appeared on Black Seele's face.

She spoke to Seele with unprecedented tenderness.

"Seele, let that deer come out."

For some reason, looking at Black Seele's smile, Seele felt a chill run down her spine.

"...Seele, shouldn't you calm down?"

"Let the deer come out first."

Black Seele's smile remained.

"..."

Seele sighed, closed her eyes, and used her power to reform Diana's deer body.

The spirit deer's body reappeared.

The moment it did, Diana instinctively assumed a fighting stance but couldn't detect any hostile creatures around. Seele, the user of her power, didn't seem to have locked onto any target either, so Diana tilted her head, her eyes showing a remarkably human-like bewilderment.

The next second, her head was suddenly seized by a huge blood-red chain claw.

"...!"

The spirit deer's body stiffened.

This being, the embodiment of the power of death, witnessed the wickedness of society for the first time.

"You really have guts, don't you? Your name is Diana, right?"

Black Seele grinned, turning the spirit deer's head toward herself as she gritted her teeth.

"You suddenly kidnapped Seele and even provoked me, the will of the Stigmata. Have you thought about how you want to die?"

"..."

Dark light impatiently enveloped the spirit deer's body again, then swiftly swept toward Seele's body. Seeing that the damned spirit deer seemed about to escape again, Black Seele roared in a low voice.

"Don't even think about running!!!"

Then a similar dark light enveloped Black Seele's body at lightning speed.

Wasn't it just running back into Seele's body? She had done this countless times already. Did Diana think she was the only one who could do it?!

Then the spirit deer and Black Seele vanished without a trace before everyone's astonished eyes.

Seele's expression stiffened. After a long while, she couldn't help but sigh wearily, resting a hand on her forehead.

Bronya, hovering beside Seele, also revealed a subtle expression.

"Seele's power... it really is... each part has a very individual personality."

The Stigmata's consciousness and the Herrscher authority belonging to the same person had clashed. Who would believe that if she told them?

...Wait, did I forget something?

Bronya tilted her head.

Never mind. Since it's something I can forget, it probably isn't important.

At Hyperion Café, the Store Manager, sitting in the lobby on the first floor, couldn't help but sneeze.

---

Chapter 120: You Can't Get Fat in One Bite

The Store Manager rubbed his slightly itchy nose and muttered to himself, "Who's thinking about me?"

Then he looked up, met the strange gazes of everyone in the lobby, and paused.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"..."

Everyone in the café fell silent. The two Bronyas from different eras exchanged a glance, then turned their gazes toward the closed café door before simultaneously looking back at the Store Manager's innocent face with unreadable expressions.

After a long silence, the Bronya from 2017 couldn't help but ask, "That Seele from earlier... became a Herrscher?"

"Broadly speaking, yes." The Store Manager nodded. "However, her Herrscher Core is projected onto herself, not a 'Cocoon of Finality' like yours."

"What is the 'Cocoon of Finality'?"

"Think of it as the core of all of you Herrschers. It's not something you can access right now," the Store Manager said. "When you can fully understand the nature of the 'Cocoon' and modify its method of interfering with the real world, that will be the time when you completely defeat Honkai."

"And then, what are you?"

"In terms of identity, I'm just an ordinary store manager at a coffee shop. If you ask about my deeper nature, I'm probably just a programmer who slightly modified some of the Sea of Quanta's underlying laws."

The Store Manager sighed deeply. "Even so, as you all know, it's impossible for humans to absorb all the information about the Sea of Quanta into their senses. So while I can use my control over the Sea of Quanta to conduct targeted searches in this area, the accuracy of those searches... as you just saw, isn't something you can expect too much from."

"Not only did I fail to find Seele in 2013, but I also suddenly discovered that Seele had inexplicably become one of my Herrschers... I really don't know how to evaluate this."

The Sea of Quanta is immense in scale. The sheer number of World Bubbles floating within it already exceeds any limit. While not truly "infinite," it surpasses the "finite real numbers" comprehensible to human intelligence. Furthermore, the information contained within each World Bubble far exceeds the capacity of the human brain to fully grasp. Although the Store Manager has somehow gained complete control over the Sea of Quanta through a somewhat opportunistic method, buying a computer does not mean one has mastered all computer knowledge. Even if the Store Manager has achieved absolute control over the Sea of Quanta in terms of its physical existence, he can hardly exert truly meticulous control over every single detail.

No, perhaps he could do so, but to accomplish that, he would have to abandon humanity's original way of thinking—just like the so-called 'Sa,' who, after absorbing a little of the Sea of Quanta's power, began to lose her human form. Abandoning humanity's original way of thinking clearly contradicts the Store Manager's own goals.

Bronya from 2013 didn't show much disappointment.

"Anyway, just knowing Seele is alright and seems to be doing well in the future... is enough for the current Bronya."

Bronya from 2017 nodded in agreement. "And since the underlying rules of the Sea of Quanta have been rewritten by the Store Manager, this sea shouldn't be as dangerous as it used to be, right?"

"That's true. While it's not as though any ordinary person can just take a bath in it, for Seele, with her Stigmata, as long as she doesn't run into something dangerous like Kevin, she shouldn't find herself in an insurmountable predicament." The Store Manager nodded.

Bronya from 2017 froze.

"What's wrong?" Bronya from 2013 keenly sensed the unease in her near-future self and asked.

"Um, come here with Bronya for a moment." The Bronya from 2017, her face ashen, pulled her past self aside. "Bronya will tell you about the situation on Seele's side."

"In short, if what you know about Seele is the same as what Bronya knows..."

"..."

The two Bronyas found a table and sat facing each other, beginning their discussion about Seele, who had just participated in the X-10 experiment in 2013. Seeing that the first person's question had finally, albeit barely, been resolved, the Store Manager, feeling inexplicably exhausted, waved his hand weakly.

"Next, who's next?"

The people in the hall exchanged glances. Actually, in terms of arrival order, Kiana from 2017, Mei, and the others who entered the café later had arrived even earlier than the Bronyas from 2013.

However, these people from the same world wisely refrained from speaking. Instead, they unanimously turned their gazes toward Rita—the Rita from 2013.

Feeling the concerned and encouraging gazes from everyone, Rita from 2013 gave an awkward but polite smile.

She didn't refuse the others' encouragement. Instead, she gracefully approached the Store Manager and bowed slightly. However, her slightly trembling voice clearly wasn't as calm as she appeared.

"Hello, Store Manager of this café. Although you probably already know my name, let me introduce myself first."

"I'm Rita, Rita Rossweisse. In terms of time, like Ms. Kiana lying against the wall, I entered this café in Nagazora City in 2013."

"..."

Seeing Rita's smiling expression, the Store Manager swallowed hard before nervously turning his face away.

"Ah, I know. You... is there something you need?"

"I don't have any personal requests regarding your café, but I have a question I'd like to ask you, Store Manager."

Rita smiled, but her crescent-shaped eyes were lifeless.

"Lady Durandal... I mean, Lady Durandal, who comes from the same world as me. How is she doing? Is she alright?"

"Uh..." The Store Manager wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Okay, she's fine, just a little tired. She's sleeping soundly in her bedroom upstairs."

Everyone in the lobby who recognized Durandal immediately looked at the Store Manager with horrified expressions.

Who was Durandal? Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie—the relentless woman who had tirelessly fought through every Honkai incident, large and small, around the world for a month. And now, the Store Manager of this café was telling them that this formidable woman had only been at the café for a few hours and was already so exhausted that she couldn't get out of bed.

Just how intense was their fight?

Mei from Arc City blushed crimson. Even Herrscher of Thunder—Mei turned her face away and silently covered it with her hands. Both being from 2017, they knew better than anyone what their past selves had been like three years earlier. Since even the legendary Durandal was bedridden, the first "her" to face the Store Manager would likely suffer an even more miserable fate.

"Since... since Lady Durandal is alright... then... Rita is relieved..."

"Are you alright?" the Store Manager asked with concern. "Why does your voice sound like you're about to cry?"

"How dare you, the culprit, ask such a question?!" everyone in the hall roared inwardly.

Rita's lips twitched, and she barely managed to hold back her tears.

"Y-You're overthinking it. How could I possibly cry out loud?"

"Since Lady Durandal is alright, Rita won't bother you any longer. You should focus on everyone else's problems first. I... I might need to find a place in your store to calm down..."

"Alright," the Store Manager said worriedly. "Don't do anything rash. Your Captain is waiting for you upstairs."

You might as well not have said that, everyone in the hall thought.

Rita from 2013 walked stiffly to a table, exuding a strong sense of gloom.

The Store Manager sighed with a complicated expression.

"...Next."

Everyone in the hall instinctively turned their gaze toward Herrscher of Thunder—Mei.

"I'm... I'm fine." Herrscher of Thunder—Mei shrugged and adopted an indifferent expression. "It's just that your café appeared in Elysian Realm, so I came in to take a look. I didn't expect to see such a spectacular show. It's truly eye-opening."

"I've become a spectacle?" The Store Manager's expression turned somewhat melancholy. "...Well, better safe than sorry. I'll return your Corruption power to you after I've used it. How long are you planning to stay in Elysian Realm?"

"I don't know. I'll wait until I figure out the truth about the Honkai."

"Then why didn't you just ask me?" the Store Manager asked.

Herrscher of Thunder—Mei was taken aback.

"You know?"

"Didn't I just say it already? The Cocoon of Finality, you know? If you control that thing, Honkai will be done for. Do you think I'm some kind of riddle-maker like Kevin and the others, keeping what I know to myself?"

The Store Manager looked at Herrscher of Thunder—Mei with a strange expression. "Were you daydreaming?"

"???" Herrscher of Thunder—Mei was stunned. "Wait, didn't you just say that it's not something we can access right now?"

"Are you stupid? You and Bronya aren't from the same world. They haven't even seen the Herrscher of Ice yet, so dealing with the Cocoon of Finality is still a long way off. I've already taken Corruption from your world. Finality is almost here. Finish off that damned 'Cocoon' and defeat Honkai so you can live a good life. Why wait until the New Year?"

The Store Manager looked at Herrscher of Thunder—Mei as though she were an idiot.

"'Cocoon' is a bit more difficult for you, but at best she's on par with me. If you include the Sea of Quanta, she's even weaker than me. Go tell Kevin to stop working on that abstract Project Stigma. Later, lure your Kiana to my café. I'll send her directly to the Cocoon and give her a buff. It's a quick Finality upgrade anyway, and Kiana from Seele's world will likely have a lot in common with her. Let those two Kianas with similar intelligence communicate with each other. I won't waste my energy teaching them how to use that power."

"Wait... hold on..." Herrscher of Thunder—Mei's brain was about to explode. She rubbed her temples, her face contorted in a grimace. "You mean, make Kiana the Herrscher of Finality?"

"Is there a problem? Becoming the Herrscher of Finality isn't so bad, is it? Look at Kiana from Seele's world. She's perfectly healthy and lively, and she even has time to shoot at me," the Store Manager said.

"Then... then I'll—"

At that moment, Kiana, tears streaming down her face, hurriedly raised her hand.

"Go take a break. Kiana from other worlds has already mastered several powers. She's just one step away from becoming Finality. What are you doing, a half-baked amateur who can't even handle the Herrscher of the Void?" The Store Manager gave Kiana a disdainful look. "Go wipe your face before you speak. Don't you find it unsightly?"

"Uh, these tears weren't my doing!" Kiana glared at the Store Manager angrily but still obediently found some tissues and wiped her tear-streaked face. "If Kiana from other worlds can do it, why can't I? You're biased!"

"Then why don't you master the Herrscher of the Void first? What's the use of just talking?"

"Then why don't you give me back the Herrscher of the Void first?"

"I mean, is there a possibility," the Store Manager said quietly, "that after Miss Pufferfish inside you also starts suffering the backlash of the Herrscher of the Void's powers, I've already returned the Herrscher of the Void's powers to you?"

"Huh?"

Kiana froze and quickly closed her eyes to sense the power of the Herrscher Core within her. The moment she linked her consciousness with the Core, an indescribable, piercing pain assaulted her. The faintly glowing corruption patterns mercilessly spread from her eyes across her face.

"Ugh—!!!"

"Kiana!!"

Mei and Theresa from the same world rushed to Kiana's side and asked in unison, "Are you alright?"

"Store Manager, what happened to Kiana...?" Mei looked pleadingly at the Store Manager.

"She's been affected by the backlash of the Herrscher of the Void's power." The Store Manager shrugged and snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the Honkai Corruption patterns on Kiana's body faded at a visible speed.

---