Volume 3: Emergence at DesuMachi
Chapter 190: Well… We Had The Time, So Why Not?
Astral Express, Star Rail Universe…
Sirin felt like she had worked for a hundred years straight. The once-feared Queen of Honkai—now a self-proclaimed magical girl—had dark circles under her eyes from all the sleepless nights she and the rest of the Astral Express crew had endured.
The others weren't any better.
March 7th, who was usually full of energy, had wrapped herself around an unmoving Caelus, using him like a body pillow as she slept without a care.
Even Himeko and Welt looked drained. The coffee in front of them had gone untouched for a while now. A floating screen filled with reports in front of them, but Sirin could tell neither of them had the energy left to deal with it.
Dan Heng sat as he always did, posture straight, but his head kept nodding every now and then. It was clear he wasn't fully processing the news playing on the screen in front of him.
Noah lay beside Sirin on the sofa, hugging Hayate by the waist. Hayate looked like her soul had already left her body. Reinforce was sprawled on top of Noah's head, fast asleep.
The mighty Nameless of the Astral Express… were completely spent.
And it all started a few days ago.
After the war on Pandora ended—with Noah somehow becoming the god of the Solar System (Earth's system) and Alpha Centauri (Pandora's system)—everything moved quickly. Just as planned, the RDA's fifteen ISVs were secured around the Astral Express and ferried back to Earth.
The scientists and the people of the RDA didn't know how to feel. A journey that would normally take their best ships six to seven years… had been completed by the Astral Express in less than a minute.
That single moment made the technology gap even more painfully clear. They were truly incomparable. It was just how overwhelming it was.
But because of that, it became much easier for them to accept Charles' decision to "give" Earth to the Astral Express.
However, while the journey itself had gone smoothly, making the people of Earth accept that reality… was a completely different matter.
After Charles explained everything to Earth's governments and the RDA higher-ups—what happened on Pandora, and even his unilateral decision to hand Earth over to the Astral Express—the information was made public.
And as expected… The reaction was split.
Around fifty percent of the population—mostly those who directly felt how dire Earth's situation had become—agreed with Charles and even praised his decision.
Another twenty percent chose to remain undecided. They weren't sure yet whether this would lead Earth toward prosperity… or ruin.
The remaining thirty percent, however—those in power, or those benefiting from the current system—condemned him.
To them, what Charles did was nothing short of betrayal.
They called it selling humanity's future to outsiders. Some demanded that the Astral Express be pushed away, insisting that the RDA should continue its original plan to colonize other worlds instead.
Others even threatened to pull their investments from the company if this decision stood.
Noah, who heard that, couldn't help but speak up.
"Future? What future?" he said, his tone blunt. "This planet is already dead. There's no future left here. It doesn't even have any value anymore—at this point, even the greedy IPC would throw this world away without hesitation."
He leaned back at his seat, scoffing at them.
"Rather, aren't we the ones at a loss here? Why should we repair this world and make it livable again… just so your people can stay?"
He shook his head in exasperation.
"In your terms, that's us investing in something that's already a loss… and forcing it back to life."
Charles saw where this was going. If this continued, the Astral Express might simply walk away.
So he acted.
He silently ordered Ardmore to 'take care' of the politicians, businessmen, and RDA directors who kept opposing the decision.
Their actions were swift.
Within half a day, those who openly opposed placing Earth under the Astral Express were… gone.
The rest?
Their stance changed overnight. Those who had hesitated and remained neutral suddenly became supportive, openly supporting the plan.
When Charles reported this to Noah, Himeko, Welt, and the others… they all looked at him a little differently.
'This guy is really ruthless… No wonder he could order the extermination of the Na'vi without hesitation.'
With no more opposition, Noah moved immediately.
He contacted his other self, the Captain, and requested the use of the Fourth Divine Key—Key of Restoration—to begin repairing Earth. At the same time, he planned to terraform Venus and Mars—planets relatively similar to Earth—to make them habitable to support humanity's population.
The Captain agreed without hesitation.
Soon after, the Hyperion descended—appearing in the skies above Earth.
Charles, Ardmore, the RDA personnel who had fought the Astral Express on Pandora, and even those watching from Earth… couldn't help but swallow nervously.
The sight of the Hyperion floating in the sky filled them with both dread… and reassurance.
With the Captain's support, Noah deployed the Fourth Divine Key above Earth's exosphere and activated its power. The moment it came online, the weather changed, the air cleared, and the pollution that had choked the planet for decades began to fade.
With his Imaginary energy and the power of Trailblaze mixed into it, Noah pushed the Key further—repairing damage that should have taken thousands of years… in just a single day.
The sky cleared.
The oceans turned clean.
The land, once filled with filth and decay, was restored—replaced by growing forests and spreading life. People all over Earth watched it happen in real time. At first, there was disbelief, then silence. And finally... awe.
All the doubts and resistance they once had toward Noah and the Astral Express… began to fade. What replaced it was gratitude. And for some… something closer to worship.
Once Earth had been restored, Noah activated Crowned Clown. The Sacred Gear linked him directly to the planet's core, allowing him to face the will of the world itself.
The recovered will of Earth, though grateful for being healed, rejected humanity completely.
It was grateful to Noah... but not to humanity.
It had no intention of accepting them again.
At the same time, Sirin activated the Eighth Divine Key—Key of Sentience. She forced every human to hear the voice of their world… and understand it.
She didn't soften anything; she made them hear everything.
Their mistakes, the damage their actions made. The years of imbalance they had caused.
And the very truth—the world itself hated them.
When humanity heard that the planet was already considering calling its 'Ultimate One' to erase them completely… The shock hit them to their core.
Many broke down. Some went silent. Some simply stared at the sky, unable to process it.
If Noah hadn't been there to calm the will of the planet at that moment… Those twenty billion lives would have ended right then and there.
After some talk—both with words and with force—the will of the planet finally gave in. Begrudgingly allowed humanity to continue living on the planet.
Noah laid it out clearly. He would take the planet under his authority and leave the Will as his agent, watching over humanity and keeping them in line.
The Will agreed, but with a condition: if humanity crossed the line again… it would erase them without hesitation.
Noah didn't argue.
"That's fine," he said calmly. "This is the only chance I'm giving them. If they break it… I won't stop you next time."
It was enough for humanity to understand that if they didn't change their ways, they were finished.
In the next two days, Noah repeated the same process on Mars and Venus. Venus went smoothly. It's resurrected will had accepted Noah's proposal without much resistance. Mars… was a different story.
The Will of Mars didn't like being ordered around, much less conquered. So it reacted the only way it could. It sent out its Ultimate One to kill the intruder.
"Yep… I'm done negotiating."
Noah, already tired of the situation, didn't hold back. Without hesitation, he took out the Judgement of Shamash and ended it in a single slash.
Just One Blow. That was all it took.
…Unfortunately, he might have used a little too much power.
Mars almost broke from the impact.
"…Ah." For the first time in a while, Noah actually panicked.
"Oh crap—!"
He immediately moved, stabilizing the planet and restoring it before things got worse.
After that… Mars changed its attitude.
The Will of Mars started calling him "boss."
And its Ultimate One—well… what was left of it—declared itself Noah's pet.
The RDA operatives from Pandora who witnessed the whole thing went pale. They slowly turned toward Charles. Then, one by one… they thanked him sincerely for choosing to submit to the Astral Express.
Because if things had gone differently—if they had pushed that war any further, there might not have been anything left of them to bury.
With three planets now habitable, humanity began dividing its population between them. The next challenge was clear—build infrastructure people could actually live in… and do it in a way that wouldn't ruin the environment again.
Noah made one thing very clear early on.
"The way you've been developing things?" he said bluntly. "It won't work anymore. Your tech is too crude. Too dirty. You'll wreck these worlds again if you keep using them."
So instead, he gave them access to the prototype technology he and Hajime had been developing.
And because it involved their tech… he had no choice but to call in backup.
Hajime answered first—right after wrapping up the god trouble in his home world. Tobio and Kouki followed from the DxD side. Once Noah finished explaining everything, his bros just stared at him... in deadpan.
"...What exactly are you doing?" Hajime asked flatly.
"Aren't you supposed to be chasing some dimensional entity?" Tobio added.
"So, how did that turn into you becoming a god of two civilizations?" Kouki cut in.
Noah looked at the sky with a faraway expression. "...I'd like to know that too."
Noah's answer didn't help at all. That only made them stare harder.
"…You're unbelievable."
"…Seriously."
"... Really now, Bro."
In the end, all three sighed—and came anyway.
They crossed the multiverse to help him.
Hajime and Anisphia worked alongside Welt, guiding the RDA scientists and teaching them how to properly use the new technology.
Alice, Euphyllia, and Sona stayed with Himeko, helping Earth's leadership rebuild a functioning government suitable for an interstellar civilization.
Meanwhile, the rest—Team Reason: Ingvild, Sagiri, Lavinia, Ophis, the maid team accompanying them, and another person. Team Slash/Dog: Tobio, Sae, Natsume, Shigune, and Kouki worked together with Sirin, Hayate, Caelus, March, and Dan Heng to stabilize society.
Some handled food distribution, others focused on housing, and the rest took care of the critical systems—hospitals, roads, ports, and everything else needed to keep civilization running.
However, even with the full support of the Astral Express from two universes… it still wasn't enough manpower to rebuild an entire civilization.
That's when Hayate and Himeko proposed bringing in additional support.
"Let's request help from the Space Station and Planet Screwllum," Himeko said. "If it's them, we can cover the basic needs in just a week or two."
"…Yeah," Hajime nodded. "And knowing Madam Herta, once she finds out we're from a different universe, she'll definitely get interested."
"I'm also thinking of contacting the TSAB in this universe," Hayate added. "Not only can they help with development, but they can also help secure the Alpha Centauri system."
"But will they even help us?" Alice frowned. "Even if things are mostly the same… there's still some differences between this universe and ours."
"I think it'll be fine," Sirin answered. "I already did some scouting in this universe's TSAB territory. It's mostly identical to ours."
"Ehh?! Since when did you do that?!" Anisphia asked, startled.
"After the Captain and the Hyperion arrived," Sirin replied casually. "I borrowed the Second Divine Key to check Doordormu's location—"
"Dormammu," everyone corrected at the same time.
"…Right. whatever," Sirin shrugged. "Anyway, it turns out it's within TSAB's operational range."
"Ehh, really?!" Hayate leaned forward in surprise.
"That's not all, Hayate-chan," Reinforce added. "Sirin-san and I also discovered that the planet Dormammu is hiding on… is actually our home planet in this universe."
"…Whaat?!"
That shocked Hayate more than anything.
Anyway, after that short episode, Hayate and Reinforce contacted the TSAB, while Himeko sent March and Caelus to the Space Station to request additional support. Without much surprise, both groups answered quickly—partly because they were intrigued, and partly because the idea of visitors from another universe was too interesting to ignore.
And then Herta came.
Not the puppet one, but the real one. The one and only The Herta, herself.
She arrived along with the support crew Asta dispatched to assist the Nameless. Screwllum accompanied her, both of them clearly eager to meet Noah's group in person.
What followed was… an interrogation.
A long one.
After an exhausting round of questions, Herta leaned forward with bright eyes. "Connect me to my other self." Noah, not thinking too much about it, opened a line to their Astral Express.
That… was a mistake.
The meeting of the two Hertas was chaotic in its own way—fast, sharp, and completely incomprehensible to anyone else in the room.
As for Noah—
He got grilled... Hard.
Kiana crossed her arms. "You went to another universe… became a god… and didn't tell us?"
Elysia mock cried. "How cruel, Noah~ leaving us out of something so interesting."
Gabriel just sighed. "You really need to start reporting things properly."
He had no defense on that.
On the other hand, the TSAB's arrival was much calmer.
Among the dozens of ships they sent, one stood out immediately to Hayate. The Arthra, carrying Lindy and her crew, was taking the lead, just like before.
TSAB, even in this universe, was almost identical to the one they knew. Force Sensitives were still treated as legends, with records dating back thousands of years. Even the history lined up—the events that led to Hayate, Nanoha, and Fate joining the TSAB were nearly the same.
Only one thing was different. The Aces of this universe were younger. Slightly younger than those from their universe.
Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate were still in their middle school years—right around the time EXCEEDS was first formed.
Noah caught sight of the long-haired Hayate, Twin-tailed hairstyle Fate, and a shorter-haired side tail Nanoha... found himself staring at them
"…Oh."
Then, without thinking much, he sent a message to his Fate—who, along with Nanoha and Lumine, was stuck with Chrono back in their universe.
"Fii, can you please send me a picture of you with the same hairstyle?"
Fate replied almost instantly. A second later, the photo arrived. She was clearly blushing on the other side.
Noah took one look and saved it.
Then saved it again.
…and again and again.
Five copies in total, all stored in different places.
Just to be safe.
Everyone who saw him do that… deadpanned, except from this universe's blushing Fate and the curious Nanoha and Hayate.
Naturally, his Hayate couldn't let that chance pass.
She leaned in with a teasing smile. "Nee, Noah-kun~ do you want Hayate-chan to grow her hair out like my younger self here?"
Noah actually thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Nah. No need. I like your current hairstyle more, Hachan."
He reached out, took a small strand of her hair, and gently kissed it.
"It suits you the best… and it lets out your charm more."
"Fueee!!!"
Hayate turned completely red, and so did her other self. Even Nanoha and Fate of this universe couldn't hide their blush.
"GET A ROOM, YOU TWO!!!"
Hajime, Tobio, and Kouki fired back at the same time, their tsukkomi landing perfectly.
Even with all that, the rebuilding and restructuring of the Solar System moved forward smoothly, thanks to everyone's effort and support.
Before the first week (Earth time) was over, most of the civilization's core operations were already back online. Cities that blended naturally with the environment began to take shape, roads were rebuilt, and water systems were fully operational—not just on Earth, but on Venus and Mars as well.
Mining facilities were even established in the Asteroid Belt, marking the return of large-scale resource gathering.
But their greatest achievement… was the first fully working Imaginary Engine.
Designed by Noah and Hajime, it could harness the Imaginary energy that filled the universe—and even convert it into other usable forms.
It was a clean, harmless, and practically unlimited source of energy.
Since Imaginary energy exists everywhere, refueling won't become an issue. Combined with Hajime's gravity propulsion system and the Trailblaze Drivers, the next generation of ships would finally stand on the same level as the Astral Express in terms of spacefaring capability.
"My dear, and Little Reason… you've been secretly developing something like this without informing me?!" Noah's Herta complained, clearly annoyed.
She even completely ignored Anisphia's protest from the side.
"Hey, I helped too, you know?!"
Noah and Hajime simply shrugged, which only made Herta more frustrated.
"Well… we had the time," Hajime said casually. "So why not?"
Noah added, "Besides… we built this for… 'that.'"
Herta's expression sharpened the moment she heard that word.
Of course, she knew what he meant.
'So they're already preparing for the prophesied END…'
She crossed her arms and let out a snort, choosing not to say anything further in front of the others.
Then, after another seven Earth rotations, the old governments were disbanded and replaced by a single unified authority—the Sol Federation. It became the central governing body of humanity, overseeing the entire star system.
They didn't stop there.
The Solar System was officially renamed Sol.
And Earth… became Terra.
It wasn't just a name change but also a reset for their civilization. It is a message telling that they are different from their previous civilization.
With that declaration, the system slowly stabilized. The economy recovered, infrastructure returned, and life began moving forward again. Under the banner of Trailblaze, no one would dare to threaten them.
Once everything is settled in these two weeks, the Astral Express is ready to depart once more—heading toward Midchilda alongside the TSAB fleet, before continuing to Hayate's home world in this universe: Non-Administrated World #97… where Dormammu was hiding.
A holoscreen appeared in front of Sirin.
It was a call from Hajime.
She answered it almost absentmindedly.
[Yo!] Hajime greeted casually. [We saw the Express moving. You guys heading out already?]
"…Yeah. The conductor's already preparing the jump to Midchilda," Sirin replied.
Hajime raised an eyebrow, immediately catching how drained she sounded.
[You sound dead. Was it that bad?]
Sirin gave a faint, tired smile.
"…Take a guess."
Hajime let out an exaggerated sigh.
[This is why I offered everyone to try the energy drink I made. With just one bottle, you'd be running for a week.]
Sirin's cheek twitched, and she ignored the rest of his usual pitch-'Why does only Anis like it? It works perfectly fine.'
"…How about you and your group? Tobio and Team Slash/Dog already returned to our universe, right?"
[We'll be leaving later today as well. I'm just finalizing the blueprint for Project: EDEN.] Hajime replied. [That way, Sol can start building a city-sized colony as a test run.]
Even in her exhausted state, Sirin couldn't hide her surprise.
Project: EDEN…
It was something Noah had been planning for a long time—a safe haven for all living beings in the universe against the inevitable END.
"…But they already have three planets to live on now. Why build more colonies?"
[It's for the future.] Hajime answered. [Even with three planets, it's still not enough to support the population long-term. The eggheads of Sol, Charles, Ms. Himeko, Uncle Yang, and Noah all agreed on that.]
"…I see?"
Hajime let out a small, wry smile.
[Besides, these colonies won't just be for living space. They'll serve as forward bases for future development. Especially for Alpha Centauri.]
"Ahh… right." Sirin nodded slowly. "We still need to develop Alpha Centauri and properly connect it to the rest of the universe."
[That's the plan.] Hajime continued. [While Sol will be the industrial core for the Trailblaze… Alpha Centauri will be more suited for tourism—vacation, leisure, that kind of thing.]
"Hmm… will the new ships be ready by the end of the month, though?" Sirin asked. "They'll be carrying the teams to set up transmitters and facilities for a stable connection between the two star systems, right?"
[Yep. They'll also start building the space station there—something that can act as a proper port. After that, we'll slowly develop the entire system over the years.]
Sirin let out a tired sigh.
"…Why does this feel like we're building a kingdom?"
She leaned back, eyes half-lidded.
"Aren't we the Nameless? Travelers of the known, discoverers of the unknown… the ones who chase the Unknowable?"
Hajime smiled on the other side of the call.
[Blame that on your husband.]
Sirin slowly turned her head toward Noah.
Deadpan.
She tried to raise her hand to pinch him... but she was too tired to actually do it.
"…I'll do it later."
That only made Hajime laugh.
[Attention to all passengers, this is the conductor speaking. The Express has left at a safe distance from Sol and entered a stable space. We will now be preparing to jump to Midchilda.]
Pom-Pom's voice was heard through the lounge.
[Looks like you guys are ready to leave.] Hajime said after hearing Pom-Pom's announcement.
"...Yeah. Looks like it," Sirin replied softly.
[Then that's it for now. We'll see each other again back in our universe.] Hajime said with a small smile. [Good luck on your mission.]
"…Yeah. You too, Hajime. And… thanks for coming."
Hajime gave a thumbs-up before ending the call.
Sirin leaned back slightly, her eyes turned toward the window as she watched the passing stars.
'Let's just hope… the next world won't be too troublesome.'
[The train is about to make the jump! Hold on, everyone!]
Along with Pom-Pom's announcement, Sirin leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes.
[5… 4… 3… 2… 1…]
A flash of silver light—
And the Astral Express leapt forward, continuing its journey once more.
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