"Ah? Um... well... it's not that she doesn't want to come out. It's just that Your Majesty scared the other me..."
"Oh? Am I that frightening? Do I look like a bad person?"
"No! No, that's not it. Your Majesty is a good—" The words came out haltingly, growing softer and softer. Her voice was gentle and delicate. Clearly, Selene's seemingly casual question had thrown Seele into complete panic.
"You don't need to force yourself like that. I have never been a good person."
"No, no... Your Majesty is a good person. You were the one who healed Bronya-nee," Seele hurriedly said.
So that was her standard for judging whether someone was a good person.
Selene could not help but sigh at how easily this girl awakened people's protective instincts.
Selene might be petty, violent, cruel, cold, curious about everything, prone to abusing manpower, fond of constant warfare, extravagant and indulgent... but setting aside the facts, everyone knew she was clearly a good person.
"Very well. I will accept your flattery as sincere," Selene said with a faint smile.
The tip of her crystalline fingernail slid across the smooth surface of the long table. The tapping sound was crisp and pleasant, echoing lightly around the room.
"That said, do you need my help? A split personality is not a good thing." Tilting her head slightly, Selene walked over to Seele.
From Selene's perspective, behind the pure and gentle girl—clear as the sea—stood another completely different version of her.
The outer personality was kind and innocent. She feared violence and cried easily. Her thoughts were delicate, and she was highly empathetic, always noticing things others failed to see.
The inner personality was yandere, manic, and worshipped violence.
But at this moment, that inner personality no longer possessed its usual madness. Instead, she had become even more timid and fragile than the white Seele.
Within the mental world, the "black Seele" hid behind the "white Seele," crouching with her head covered as if trying to defend herself. When she sensed Selene's gaze, she timidly peeked up for a moment—then immediately lowered her head again, letting out a small animal-like whimper as her entire body trembled.
"Only by becoming whole can greater potential be brought out," Selene said.
Although she did not directly state that she intended to erase Seele's inner personality, the meaning was obvious.
"N-No!" Seele blurted out immediately without hesitation.
The girl let out a long breath and raised her head. This time her gaze did not evade Selene's.
With the gentle yet firm voice unique to a young girl, she said, "The other me is also Seele. She is Seele's family."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
Soft yet stubborn.
Even if it meant hurting herself, she would never harm someone else.
What a gentle girl, Selene thought silently as her crimson eyes met Seele's determined gaze.
But soon, pale gray pupils replaced the sky-blue color in Seele's eyes as a small gray-haired girl stepped in front of Selene.
"Your willpower isn't bad. You recovered your ability to move this quickly..."
"Don't bully Seele." Holding her head and hissing through the pain, Bronya struggled to stand. She spread her arms in front of Seele, speaking weakly but stubbornly.
Selene looked at the gray-haired girl before her—whose figure was so flat that she could not even compare to Hua—and frowned slightly.
"Very well. Since you can move, I will deal with everything at once."
"Compared with other Herrschers, the Herrscher of Reason of this era has, from the very beginning, always stood against the Honkai. Welt Joyce was like that. Joachim—Welt Yang—was the same."
Selene's tone turned colder. Even Fu Hua and the others standing nearby could not help but shiver as they all looked toward Bronya.
"So then, Bronya Zaychik—the third Herrscher of Reason of the current civilization—tell me. What about you?"
An invisible pressure suddenly descended.
Bronya's body froze instantly. The Herrscher Core of Reason within her abruptly severed its connection with her, causing her entire body to stagger.
Even her blood circulation seemed to stop.
At that moment, Bronya's mind began racing.
"The place where everyone is together... that is 'home.'"
With her typically quiet and emotionless voice, Bronya gave a very cunning answer.
She did not shout the slogans of Welt Joyce and Welt Yang—that humanity would fight to the very end.
Because Bronya knew that doing so would be nothing but suicide.
It would completely cut off her own retreat.
Indeed, her inheritance had passed the trials left behind by those two. But that did not mean she could not flexibly adjust her own bottom line.
Even the declaration that "humanity will resist to the end" required a basic understanding of reality.
Right now it was the human armies of the Holy Selene Empire occupying the world. This was no longer a simple conflict between humanity and the Honkai.
It had become a civil war between humans themselves.
Anti-Entropy was merely a North American organization. What right did it have to represent all of humanity?
Besides, Principal Theresa had already surrendered. Schicksal had fallen to the Empire. Even the slogan of "native humans resisting invaders from beyond" could no longer stand.
Seele, Kiana, Mei, and even the class monitor had already made their choices.
Bronya had no intention of standing alone.
She was very practical.
"Oh?"
After Bronya finished speaking, Selene did not immediately respond.
Instead, she fell silent.
This answer had given Selene a way to step down while also leaving Bronya herself some room. At the same time, it expressed Bronya's own simple wish.
If Bronya had really shouted the slogans of the two Welts, Selene would have "washed" her mind at least three or four times. From then on, the monitoring level of the Imperial Inquisition would be raised to the highest possible level, never to cease.
After a brief moment of thought, Selene chuckled softly.
"A slippery one."
With that single comment, the matter of the Herrscher of Reason was dismissed.
Selene simply walked past Bronya.
Seeing this, Seele immediately let out a sigh of relief. Just now, when Bronya had stepped in front of her, it felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
Selene was not easy to deal with.
Seele knew that very clearly.
Ever since encountering Selene, the other Seele had been completely subdued. The usual tsundere arrogance had vanished. She only kept telling Seele to be careful.
"Come here." Selene beckoned toward Kiana, who was clinging to Raiden Mei.
"Selene-sister, hehe..." Kiana ran over and scratched the back of her head with a silly grin.
"Ow."
Selene pinched Kiana's cheek, then tilted her head slightly before glancing back at Bronya.
"She belongs to you. Keep her under control."
"Huh? Mine?! Then that means—hehe—ahhh!" Selene tightened her grip.
"Stop thinking about nonsense. Go get some proper rest. The battles in the World Serpent and Anti-Entropy war zones are almost over."
"After that, new challenges will be waiting for you."
With that, Selene ruffled Kiana's white hair, then gestured for Fu Hua to follow. She refrained from disturbing the reunion of St. Freya's three and walked away.
"Hua."
"Yes."
Watching the three figures depart—Selene, Fu Hua, and Mobius cradled in Fu Hua's arms—Seele hurriedly nudged the still-dazed Bronya.
"Bronya-nee..."
Only when Seele gently pushed her did a cool breeze sweep past. Bronya suddenly shuddered and snapped back to her senses.
It was only then that she realized her entire body was drenched in sweat. When the wind hit her, it felt unbearably cold.
Cold to the bone.
"Ha... ha..."
She staggered forward a few crooked steps. With a slip, she nearly fell, collapsing straight into Seele's arms and gasping for breath.
"Bronya, how could you be so impulsive just now? With Kiana here, as long as we don't go too far, Her Majesty Selene would never make things difficult for us..."
Raiden Mei walked over to help support Bronya.
"..."
After a long pause, Bronya finally looked up at Raiden Mei and said awkwardly, "Sorry. Bronya was reckless."
"Honestly, you used to be the calmest among us," Raiden Mei sighed. "You're just flustered because you care too much."
Bronya fell silent.
Under normal circumstances, she was indeed calm. But when it came to Seele—when it came to everyone at Cocolia's orphanage—she was even more reckless than Kiana.
But Mei-nee, do you really have the right to say that?
Every time Kiana was in danger, you were just as reckless. No one could stop you.
The corner of Bronya's eye twitched. Seeing that Raiden Mei was about to continue lecturing her, she quickly interrupted.
"Alright, Mei-nee. Bronya knows she was wrong."
"By the way, Mei-nee, where are Durandal, Dr. Einstein, and Dr. Tesla?"
A classic change-of-subject maneuver.
"In the sky."
"The sky?"
"Mm. Durandal should still be aboard Her Majesty Selene's flagship, currently stationed in Earth-Moon orbit," Raiden Mei said seriously, pointing upward.
"Earlier, while you were still unconscious, Rita was here too. But she later went up as well, saying that as a vice-captain, she needed to accompany her Lady Durandal."
Spreading her hands, Raiden Mei continued, "As for Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla, they were reassigned. From what I understand, they were requested by General Liver, the Legion Commander of the Third Legion—Black Marlin. The region under his command includes the Americas, where Anti-Entropy's headquarters is located. It's probably for negotiations of surrender."
"...So that means the entire world has fallen. From now on, we're all subjects of Sister Kiana?" Bronya murmured.
"It really does feel like that." She joked lightly. "So what should I call Kiana now? Your Highness the Princess?"
"Ah, right. But it's fine. As long as everyone is safe—" Raiden Mei's voice softened slightly. "—as long as Kiana is safe."
She secretly glanced at Kiana.
Unlike most Valkyries, Raiden Mei had never possessed some grand ideal.
She joined St. Freya to be with Kiana. She joined World Serpent for Kiana as well.
I will fall into darkness, so that you may return to the light.
In her eyes, Kiana was more important than her own life.
"Mm." Bronya nodded, glancing at her own precious people—Seele, Rozaliya, and Liliya—with a faint smile.
If the Honkai could be controlled—if it would no longer harm those important to her—then what was wrong with submitting to it?
"How boring. Let's keep eating."
After her father Li Shen was killed by the resurrected Phoenix, Li Sushang had followed Otto Apocalis to Europe.
Now, five hundred years had passed without contact with her paternal clan. They had long since grown old and died, with no more ties between them. Upon learning that Selene had spared her paternal line out of consideration for her, Li Sushang simply sat back down at the table.
"Sigh. So the little sect Master Lingshuang and I founded actually survived all this time. Now that it's been wiped out, I wonder if Master Lingshuang would be so angry she'd climb out of her coffin to challenge Her Majesty Selene to a fight."
Shaking her head, Li Sushang spoke with exaggerated filial enthusiasm.
Selene had specifically avenged the Phoenix and had not expanded the slaughter indiscriminately. Aside from her methods being somewhat rough, Li Sushang could not find much fault.
After all, she had grown up on tales of wandering heroes. Repaying kindness and avenging grudges decisively was the very core of chivalry.
To repay debts of gratitude and to settle grudges cleanly—without hesitation—that was the way of the martial world.
"Ugh, what am I even now? An S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal? But Schicksal has already surrendered. A successor of the Edge of Taixuan? The one who created it—the Phoenix—is now part of the Empire too. If we're being honest, weren't my mother and masters the ones who betrayed and killed their own teacher?"
The Seven Swords of Taixuan murdering the master who had taught them—it violated every moral principle imaginable.
But then again, all seven had been taken in and raised by Fu Hua.
It was likely that Fu Hua had brought them back as survivors after purging Honkai disasters. Their parents might very well have become zombies and been killed by Fu Hua herself.
It was a tangled account.
Of course, such situations depended on the person.
Fu Hua at that time did not understand human hearts. If it had been Selene, none of this mess would have happened.
Tearing off a massive hind leg of some unidentified Danger Beast, Li Sushang lay sprawled over the table and mumbled through a mouthful of meat while glancing at the affectionate trio from St. Freya.
"All paired up..."
"What a pity they can't have kids."
...
"Your Majesty!"
"Shh. No need to inform Alex and the others. Take me there directly."
"Yes!"
"What do you think of your disciple's descendant, Li Sushang?"
Following behind a member of the Astartes Honor Guard, Selene walked through the corridor with Fu Hua and suddenly asked.
After choosing her words carefully, Fu Hua replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Li Sushang is upright to the point of being nearly rigid. She's a bit foolish... She isn't suited for high-intensity warfare."
"Oh? Is that so... What I see is a warrior of exceptional talent."
Shaking her head, Selene revealed her next plan.
"When we return to the Imperial Capital, I will hand her over to Sebas, along with Kiana."
"Who is Sebas?"
"My personal butler—and my teacher. The Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Household."
"Understood." Hearing that, Fu Hua said no more. Being taught by the Empress' own teacher—there could be no better guidance. Nor would there be any great danger.
"We can discuss this in detail after returning to the Imperial Capital. As for now—Herrscher of Sentience. You know her, I assume?"
"Her? Your Majesty, you have news of her?"
As they spoke, Selene followed the guidance of the Astartes Honor Guard and took a seat at an empty chair at the central banquet table.
In an instant, the lively banquet fell silent.
An invisible awkwardness spread through the air.
Several Legion Commanders froze in place. One could hear a pin drop. The only sound left was the faint popping of bubbles in the oversized glass goblets of honeyed wine.
"..."