"You don't seem the least bit worried about your comrades in the Far East Branch?"
Durandal temporarily suppressed her simmering frustration and stared at Kyuusyou, whose casual demeanor immediately struck her as odd.
"You even brought little Ninti along?"
The golden-haired Valkyrie glanced at the tiny Valkyrie being cradled and coddled by Rita, her lips twitching.
"The Lord Overseer may have forbidden you from interfering with the Second Herrscher... but he didn't seem to stop others from providing support, did he?"
"You're not concerned about their safety at all?"
"...?"
Kyuusyou gave the Valkyrie a puzzled look.
"Why should I worry about them? The story's ending has already been determined, a conclusion I've reviewed countless times. Why would I need to be present for it?"
"Oh... so the ending is already decided? Can't you stop speaking in riddles like the Overseer?"
Bianca rolled her eyes.
"I'm simply stating facts—some will be reborn, while others will rise from the ashes like a phoenix."
"Then tell me, what exactly is this so-called 'ending' you keep talking about?"
Bianca crossed her arms, her gaze growing increasingly curious as she watched the purple-haired Valkyrie lean against the wall, slowly sipping her bubble tea.
"The ending? It means none of them will die, so I have no worries at all—"
"Are you serious? We didn't stop her, so Fu Hua will definitely..."
"She'll definitely what?" Kyuusyou countered, her voice utterly nonchalant.
"She'll die! I can tell Fu Hua's condition is critical..." Bianca insisted, her tone serious.
"Death... The immortal of Shenzhou, or rather, the MANTIS (Fusion Warrior) Hua from the previous era, don't vanish so easily—"
"As long as Fenghuang Down exists, she can persist even if her physical body is destroyed. By harnessing the power of the Eighth Divine Key, she can transfer her consciousness into that Herrscher you mentioned, shedding the limitations of her decaying body."
"Human death generally progresses through stages: the physical body's demise, the fragmentation of the spirit, and physiological death, followed by interpersonal death—the obliteration of all traces upon one's passing. Finally comes the ultimate death—being forgotten by the world."
"But that warrior from the previous era hasn't even reached the First Phase. How can we speak of her death, my dear Miss Bianka?"
Leaning against the wall, Kyuusyou scrutinized the Golden-haired Valkyrie with a mocking gaze, causing her face to flush crimson.
"If the physical body is already dead, what's the difference between a spirit clinging to another's body and a wandering ghost? How is that any different from death itself?" the Valkyrie argued, facing Kyuusyou.
"The difference... indeed, there is none. Unable to interact with the material world, able to communicate only with the possessed person, cut off from all others—isolated from the world and forgotten by most of it."
"But wasn't that her own choice? If she had chosen to stay here with us and await the inevitable end, none of this would have happened."
"What else could we do? Your mission is to prevent any unnecessary interference with the Second Herrscher. You've already let Fu Hua pass. Do you intend to let me through as well?"
Bianca shook her head decisively in response to Kyuusyou's question.
"Personal matters are personal matters, and official duties are official duties. I've already let one person pass—that's my limit. Unless she can defeat me—at least prove the newcomer isn't just throwing their life away—I won't allow anyone else to pass."
"That's exactly right, Miss Bianka," Kyuusyou said. "I've already seen the outcome of this act. I understand the Overseer's intentions, which is why I'm here. There's no need to interfere with a predetermined outcome, and I have no interest in fighting you."
"Even if you didn't stop me, I wouldn't bother moving—oh, this apple is quite sweet."
After finishing her bubble tea, Kyuusyou grabbed an apple from a nearby Schicksal food cart and began munching on it. She shrugged nonchalantly at Bianca and focused entirely on her apple.
"So I'm stuck here all day, just idling with you, the master of slacking off?" Bianca glared at Kyuusyou, who was crunching on the apple beside her, seemingly realizing something.
"Exactly," Kyuusyou replied. "You're stuck here with me until the Second Herrscher's rampage ends. You're not going anywhere until then."
Kyuusyou, with a deliberately infuriating tone and an equally infuriating expression, addressed the suddenly realizing Bianca.
"You little brat! I should just beat you senseless and toss you into Schicksal's prison until this whole mess is over!"
The airhead Bianca was thoroughly provoked by Houraiji Kyuusyou's theatrical posturing, achieving the desired effect perfectly!
"Ooh-la-la, Miss Bianca! A Knight shouldn't beat up unarmed girls who can't fight back, you know~"
With that, Kyuusyou casually deactivated her Valkyrie Battlesuit, leisurely watching Miss Bianca struggle to speak, trapped by her own rules.
"You... where's your sense of honor? Your fighting spirit? Draw your sword, don your armor, and come duel me properly!"
Speechless at Kyuusyou's antics, Miss Bianca pointed a disbelieving finger at the purple-haired girl, utterly shocked by her shamelessness.
"Huh? Honor? What honor is there in beating you? Ah, and the same goes for fighting spirit—they've all died at the end of time, completely vanished!"
Kyuusyou replied with her usual flippant tone to the Knight before her...
"You! All you do is drive up the price of Schicksal's rice!"
The golden-haired Valkyrie glared with the fury of an S-rank Valkyrie, her expression screaming, How the hell did a pest like you even infiltrate Schicksal?
"Rice? Where's the rice, Rita? Is it mealtime already?" Kyuusyou feigned looking around, causing the Immortal Blades Valkyries nearby to click their tongues.
Damn, to make the Captain this angry and still not get punched? Kyuusyou, you're seriously badass.
"Alright, alright... Miss Kyuusyou, stop teasing Miss Durandal. I just whipped up some snacks using the ingredients from this cart. Want to try some?"
"Snacks... Rita, I don't think I've reached my calorie limit for today..."
"If it's not specified, it's zero calories! If you don't want it, I'll feed it to Ninti!"
Hearing her name, Ninti popped her head out from behind the cart, her small face smeared with cream—evidently having just been fed by Rita.
"...?"
"Oh, Ninti's already eaten... Well, if the dummy doesn't want it, I'll just help myself then—!"
Kyuusyou—Snatching Food from a Goose's Beak.
"Who said I didn't want any, Rita? Give me a serving—!"