Is everything over now?
With Kiana and herself dead.
She had thought the trial would end there, that she would return to the space station and properly settle accounts with Kiana.
But unexpectedly.
Nothing ended.
From the perspective of an observer, Herta clearly witnessed the changes in this world. Time advanced on the scale of thousands, tens of thousands of years in the blink of an eye.
The traces of civilization were erased by time.
Honkai, as abruptly as when it first arrived, began to slowly fade from the planet's surface after civilization vanished.
Until who knew how long had passed.
Life once again appeared on this planet, along with... new humans.
They used sparks born from drilling wood to light the bonfire called civilization once more.
And Honkai reappeared along with it.
From utter desolation, to tens of thousands of years passing as human civilization reemerged upon the planet, advancing from primitive fire and blades to stepping into modern society.
For Herta, less than a minute had passed.
She had no time to think about the relationship between Honkai and destruction, nor to figure out what exactly was happening.
In a daze.
Her viewpoint shifted from outer space to the surface, and before her stood an academy.
Four words were written above it.
—Chiba Academy.
"What is going on?"
Herta frowned. After she and Kiana died, this trial world had not ended. Instead, tens of thousands of years had passed in an instant, and a new civilization had evolved.
What did this mean?
Repeated clear attempts?
Unable to leave unless it was completed?
After the perspective shifted, that fixed, immovable sensation disappeared. Herta frowned and touched her hand.
There was nothing wrong.
Looking around again, it seemed a Honkai Eruption had just broken out in this city. No normal people could be seen on the streets—only the walking corpses corroded by Honkai wandering aimlessly.
The scale of the eruption here was not large. The Herrscher's strength would not be too great either.
Thinking back to the civilization's development she had just observed from a godlike perspective, Herta relaxed. Without a genius like her, this world's technology was ordinary. Naturally, it would not attract any particular targeting.
She herself had not left.
Kiana certainly would not be able to leave either.
The most urgent matter now was to find her.
For this world, tens of thousands of years had just passed. But for Herta, Kiana's death before her eyes had happened only two minutes ago.
The sensation of lips touching still lingered between her own.
At the thought, she unconsciously licked her back teeth, as if that faint metallic sweetness still remained in her mouth.
While she was considering what to do, two figures suddenly dashed out of Chiba Academy one after the other. The white-haired girl charged in front, a baseball bat in her right hand, her left hand gripping the wrist of a purple-haired girl as she pulled her forward at a run.
"That is..."
Herta stood at the entrance and saw clearly. She raised a brow.
"Acheron?"
Was it merely someone who looked the same?
Or was it...
That question would require asking to find out. But what displeased Herta was that Kiana ran past her without even glancing at her.
What?
Had she seen her old lover and forgotten what she had said?
Herta's eyes darkened. If that were truly the case, she would not mind letting Kiana experience the consequences of offending her.
She followed.
"Move! Don't block the way!"
With the baseball bat in hand, Kiana cut a path through everything before her. The person she protected behind her did nothing but stare fixedly at her back.
The bat became a lethal weapon in her hands.
Each swing was heavy and decisive—one strike, one kill.
Relying on the weapon in her hand, she forced her way through a bloody path, dragging the other girl along until they reached a place with supply provisions.
Her speed was swift. The sluggish, clumsy enemies were left far behind.
After dealing with the two zombies inside the supermarket, Kiana casually shut the door and finally released the hand she had been gripping.
"Who knows how long it'll take for the Valkyries who handle Honkai to reach this place. We have to prepare for the worst."
As she spoke, she grabbed a backpack from the wall and tossed it to the girl she had brought along.
"Take as much as you can. I'll get you out of this city."
Without waiting for her response, she picked up another backpack and began selecting portable food, occasionally slipping in some snacks when she thought no one was looking.
"...Kiana?"
"Hm? You've recovered?"
Hearing her name called, the girl looked up at her and nodded.
"Don't be afraid. Those things aren't my opponents. I'll protect you."
"You're Kiana?"
Hearing the doubt in her voice, Kiana thought nothing of it. She casually tossed a few bottles of milk into the backpack and flashed a brilliant smile.
"It's me, no doubt about it. I am Kiana Kaslana!"
She planted one hand on her hip, radiating confidence.
"I'll explain the details of this disaster later if there's a chance. For now, you just need to know that I will definitely protect you and get you out of here."
After a brief pause, she looked at the girl before her.
"So don't lose hope, Mei-senpai. I'll take you out of this city. I swear it in the name of Kaslana!"
"Kaslana?"
Kiana nodded and continued packing supplies. No one knew whether something unexpected might happen, nor whether they might encounter other survivors.
Being fully prepared could never be wrong.
"Miss Acheron?"
The girl, whose expression had been complicated and dazed, showed a subtle change upon hearing that form of address.
She turned her head and saw someone.
What she had seen earlier had not been an illusion.
"Miss Herta?"
Herta's brows drew together.
"You can see me?"
As soon as she said it, she realized something. Under Acheron's gaze, she walked straight over to Kiana, who was packing supplies by the shelves. She raised a hand, intending to pat her shoulder in greeting—yet her hand passed straight through her.
Herta was not surprised.
Her expression remained calm as she looked at her own hand. She had already noticed something was wrong. No one had acknowledged her presence from the beginning.
Kiana had not noticed her. The Honkai creatures had treated her as if she did not exist.
The fact that Acheron could see her and hear her voice was what seemed strange under these circumstances.
Seeing this, Acheron's gaze flickered slightly. She deliberately moved to a more distant corner and spoke with Herta there.
"How are you here?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Herta frowned at her. "When she activated the trial, Ruan Mei and I were right beside her, so we were dragged in. What about you?"
"Weren't you on Jarilo-VI?"
"Dragged in?"
Acheron lowered her voice, though the confusion in it was hard to conceal.
"After I saw the text message Kiana sent me, I received a notification from the Stigmata."
"Whether I wished to join the trial—"
"Who are you talking to?"
The white-haired girl suddenly popped up from behind Acheron, staring curiously at the empty space. She had just heard Acheron speaking as if to someone, which made her think there was another person present.
Now that she looked.
It seemed like she had been talking to herself?
Was the shock too much for her?
With that thought, a trace of pity entered her gaze as she looked at Acheron.
This was probably Acheron's first time encountering Honkai. And the very first time, she ran into something like this.
It was normal if she couldn't accept it.
She figured Acheron had been struck so hard that something in her mental state had gone wrong. After all, when she found her at school, she had been about to jump downstairs.
Someone in a normal state of mind would not try to kill themselves.
"It's okay."
Feeling that she had figured it out, she was no longer so curious about what Acheron had just said. She spoke sympathetically.
"This will all pass."
"...Thank you."
Kiana seemed to have misunderstood something. But considering that Herta was still beside her and she had not yet figured out the current situation, Acheron responded with the simplest words.
"We're not in a rush to leave. We can rest here for a while."
Kiana took back the backpack she had just handed over.
"We ran for quite a while. You must be tired too. Sit here and rest. Leave gathering supplies to me."
She had transferred into this school from elsewhere and had no familiar friends here.
But the girl before her was different. She should be a local, someone who had grown up here. She must feel terrible right now.
Only after thinking of it did Kiana realize this.
It really was better to let her stay alone for a while and process her emotions. As for her doing anything extreme, Kiana was not too worried. After all, she had saved her when she tried to kill herself earlier. In the short term, she probably would not attempt that again.
And Kiana would not go far.
"I..."
Acheron instinctively raised her hand, intending to help, but Kiana pressed it down. The smile on the girl's face was radiant.
"Don't be polite with me. Just rest well. We've got plenty ahead of us to deal with."
With that, Kiana quickly walked away, leaving Acheron alone in the corner without giving her a chance to help.
Acheron watched her back disappear behind the shelves, slowly lowering her hand before turning to look at Herta again.
Only then did she realize Herta's gaze had been following Kiana the entire time. Even after she vanished from sight, her eyes still lingered on the shelves.
"Do you know what's going on?"
Acheron instinctively felt something was off. Yet after thinking about it carefully, she wondered if she was simply overthinking.
"Don't you already know?"
Herta withdrew her gaze. After hearing Acheron mention receiving the notification earlier, she had already pieced something together.
"I know?"
Acheron frowned. She had not truly grasped the situation. After confirming that she would join the trial, her consciousness had sunk into the depths of the Stigmata. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Kiana struggling to pull her upstairs.
Before she could even understand what was happening, Kiana had dragged her outside, speaking strange things along the way.
She was full of unanswered questions.
Kiana seemed...
Not to recognize her anymore?
At that thought, Acheron felt her heart sink uncontrollably. The last time something like this had happened was when Kiana left Izumo and was encountered by Ruan Mei.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Herta said, "We're inside her Stigmata trial."
As she spoke, she placed one hand on her hip and looked at Acheron with a deep gaze.
"And we're part of the trial as well."
"Part of the trial?"
Acheron's frown deepened. She pondered the meaning behind Herta's words. At the mention of the Stigmata trial, she recalled what she had experienced last time.
She remembered that battle.
She remembered the enemy who had looked exactly like Kiana.
A faint unease stirred in her heart.
"What do we need to do?"
"I don't know."
Herta spread her hands.
"If I knew what this trial was about, I wouldn't be floating around you like some ghost."
"What?"
Acheron had lost count of how many times she had asked that. There were simply too many questions—about the current situation, about Herta beside her.
Kiana could not see Herta.
Was that reasonable?
And why had Kiana lost her memory?
And why was she calling herself Kiana Kaslana?
There were too many problems.
"I know you have a lot of questions right now. If you want answers, it's simple. Just follow her, and you'll find out what's going on."
Wasn't that the same as saying nothing?
Acheron fell silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on Herta's face as if trying to read something from it.
"I know I'm beautiful, but there's no need to stare at my face like that."
"...Sorry."
Acheron apologized without much sincerity, not looking away as she continued to ask,
"Why have you... become like this? Because you entered the trial differently?"
"...Heh, perhaps?"
Faced with Acheron's question, Herta did not mention that she had already gone through one round of the trial with Kiana.
Herta knew a great deal.
But she was unwilling to share too much information.
Why?
Acheron felt puzzled. She could not understand her reasoning. But if Herta did not wish to speak, there was no way to force her. She could only bury her questions in her heart.
"...Have you seen Ruan Mei?"
Although she knew the chances were slim and had already considered another possibility, Herta still asked after a moment of silence.
"Ruan Mei?"
Acheron shook her head.
"Didn't the trial just begin? She might be nearby."
If Herta was here, then Ruan Mei was most likely nearby as well. They had both been dragged into the trial world in the same way.
That was Acheron's assumption.
"Weren't you affected together?" she asked curiously. "You're not together?"
"She is she, and I am me. How would I know where she is right now?"
Herta crossed her arms and looked toward the busy white figure in the distance.
"You'd better maintain your persona. Be careful not to get treated as a Herrscher."
Maintain her persona?
Thinking of how Kiana had addressed her earlier, Acheron's eyes darkened slightly. Herta's reminder was necessary. Before understanding the situation, it was best not to cause trouble.
Herta...
She might be different from her. She might have arrived here earlier, which would explain why she knew so much.
The answers she wanted.
Herta might be able to provide most of them.
Yet she seemed more inclined to let her follow Kiana and discover the answers herself.
A genius's peculiar hobby?
Or was it better this way than asking directly?
The trial had only just begun. There was no need to rush.
Herta was right.
By following Kiana, she would learn what she wanted to know.
And later, when the time was right.
Herta might say something more.