H-how is this possible!?
A searing heat and a paralyzing numbness spread through his chest. A kick from the 500-year-old girl slammed into his abdomen, and Welt-One's body flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Aargh!"
Welt-One let out a pained cry, pressing his single hand to the wound in his chest, but he couldn't stop the flow of blood.
Yae Sakura flicked her wrist, shaking the blood from her short blades. She'd have to clean them properly later; these dual katanas weren't hers, after all.
She glanced at the fallen Welt-One, thought for a moment, and then arched an eyebrow. A flicker of contempt appeared in her eyes before she spoke.
"Is that all?"
Even though she and Kiana had been far away, she had still heard his arrogant shouting, which had displeased her. Kallen had also been a Valkyrie; these girls were Kallen's successors. How could she tolerate this jumping clown slandering them here?
Welt-One's face contorted, clearly enraged by her words.
Dammit! I am the First Herrscher! How dare you! How dare you, dare you, dare you do this to me!
Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!
But Yae Sakura didn't spare him another glance. She knew the wounds were fatal. The terror of awaiting death was the most terrifying thing of all.
"Wow, Yae Sakura, you're so strong!"
Seeing Sakura take down the infuriating bastard, Kiana felt a sense of relief, even though she hadn't gotten a chance to show off her own skills. That man had just been so incredibly punchable.
"It's these blades that are strong," Yae Sakura said humbly. As a pseudo-Herrscher wielding a Divine Key, likely only a true Herrscher could stand against her. When the Herrscher of Corruption, Rin, had forsaken her chance at a new body, it wasn't just to simply bind Sakura to Jizo Mitama.
"But... aren't you going to capture him? He's going to die like this, right?"
Kiana watched as Welt-One staggered to his feet. His blood-red eyes were locked on Yae Sakura as he began to flee into the distance, a trail of gushing blood marking his path.
"Kiana, he is the enemy. Do not pity him. He is the one who destroyed all of this." Yae Sakura could see the compassion in Kiana's heart. It was a commendable quality, just like Kallen's.
Back then, Kallen had tried to save even someone as steeped in sin as herself.
They're both... such great fools.
A faint smile touched the corner of Yae Sakura's mouth.
Kiana looked around at the devastation. The academy her great aunt was so proud of was in ruins, and several Valkyries lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
"I understand."
Kiana took a deep breath, her azure eyes trembling slightly as she nodded.
Yae Sakura smiled in satisfaction. She didn't want Kiana to die because of her own naivety. She then turned her head to the other Valkyries and spoke.
"In the past, when we hunted, we would always intentionally let one of the prey escape. A dying animal has a homing instinct. It can lead us to their nest, where we can then pull them out by the roots."
"Send someone to follow him."
"Yes, ma'am!" a Valkyrie responded.
"Kiana, let's go help the others," Yae Sakura said. She had no intention of infiltrating the enemy's nest herself. The mission Otto had given her was to protect Kiana and not to leave the academy grounds.
Kiana looked at the Titans still fighting with the Valkyries. Gripping her dual pistols, her high spirits returned. So what if the mini-boss got stolen? There was still plenty of EXP to be had here.
"It's Kiana time!"
Kiana dove into the fray. Yae Sakura watched her, and unconsciously, Kiana's figure began to merge with the image of Kallen in her memory.
Are all Kaslanas this reckless?
Yae Sakura didn't intervene, because she noticed that these strange iron hulks didn't seem to have any intention of actually harming the Valkyries.
They were like actors in a team fight, just going through the motions.
But why?
That man from before was filled with killing intent, yet these giant iron things that were supposedly on his side felt like they were just playing with the Valkyries.
And...
There's a familiar aura.
This is probably Otto's doing.
Yae Sakura stopped worrying about it. In this world, the person she trusted most was Otto, a man from her own era.
Still, I never would have thought that Otto was Kallen's fiancé.
Then Kallen's death... he must have felt even more pain and despair than I did.
Yae Sakura turned her head, her gaze piercing the darkness outside St. Freya's walls. It was a bottomless, unknown blackness, as if a single touch would cause one to be swallowed whole.
But she, who had been saved by Kallen, would never step into that darkness again.
And Otto is Kallen's man. Staying by his side must be the right thing to do. Kallen would want me to do this, wouldn't she?
I should ask Otto to take me to visit Kallen's grave sometime.
---o---
In the dark forest outside St. Freya Academy, Welt-One ran for his life. The once-invincible man was now no better than a stray dog.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! I can't die!
He tried to heal himself, but the lightning from the wound continued to ravage his body. Overexerting his power, the counterfeit Herrscher coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Dammit, dammit, dammit!
The thought of Yae Sakura brought a crazed look to his face.
"Those bastard Valkyries... one day I will make every single one of them pay!"
If he survived, he would kill everyone at St. Freya Academy and throw their heads at that woman's feet.
I am the First Herrscher! How could I possibly die here!?
His body crashed through several trees, tearing his clothes to shreds, but he didn't care. The only thought in his mind was to survive.
Right, there should be people waiting for me outside. As long as I can find them, I'll be safe.
The desperate desire for life gave him a burst of speed.
He could faintly see a glimmer of light ahead. Dragging his broken body, Welt-One charged towards it. As he broke through the tree line, he found himself in a clearing where a small transport craft was parked.
Standing at the entrance of the transport was a red-haired girl with twin pigtails.
Tesla stared in shock at the heavily wounded Welt-One. The acrid smell of flesh being destroyed by lightning hung in the air.
"Lord Tesla."
Seeing Tesla, Welt-One breathed a sigh of relief. Back in Nagazora, the golden-haired man had told him that Tesla was a loyal follower who supported him.
He had believed it without question ever since.
"Quick, quick! Save me!"
Welt-One reached out his remaining arm towards Tesla. She frowned and took a step back. It was clear to her that he was beyond saving; he would be dead in moments.
Still, watching a clone of Joyce die before her eyes left a bad taste in her mouth.
Welt-One's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Lord Tesla, why are you backing away? Were your words about supporting me to break free from Cocolia all lies!? I am the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy!" Welt-One shrieked, pseudo-black holes coalescing around him in a final, dying frenzy.
He couldn't accept it. He couldn't accept his own death.
Tesla took another step back, small drones floating up around her. She frowned and said, "I have never said such a thing."
What a joke. Who the hell are you?
But looking at the vaguely familiar face, Tesla refrained from saying anything harsher. He was about to die anyway.
Welt-One's eyes were bloodshot. He screamed hoarsely, "You dared to deceive me! Go to hell!"
The poor kid had been completely duped by Otto.
Just as the pseudo-black holes were about to crash down on Tesla, a slightly weary voice echoed through the clearing.
"Did you know?"
The sound of footsteps on leaves followed.
Tesla looked into the dark forest, a joyful smile spreading across her face.
Welt-One turned his head. He suddenly felt the world around him darken.
"Within ten thousand times the force of gravity..."
"...even light will vanish."
A figure emerged from the trees.
He was an unassuming teacher.
His face was somewhat gaunt, with faint dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in days. There was a bit of stubble on his chin. He wore a white shirt under a dark cyan jacket with orange stripes on the sleeves, and black slacks with a matching orange stripe.
But Tesla's eyes curved into a smile. She placed her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and said with a grin, "Long time no see, Welt."
Who's she calling? Welt-One turned his head, but it was the history teacher with glasses who replied.
"Long time no see, Tesla," the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Welt Yang, said gently.
Eh?
But I'm Welt.
Welt-One was stunned, but he couldn't get a single word out. Where he stood, a terrifying pseudo-black hole had suddenly erupted.
This was the power of the genuine Herrscher of Reason.
Ah... am I going to die?
As his bones were ground to dust and devoured by the black hole, Welt-One's vision went black. He couldn't see the expressions on the faces of Tesla or the man who had just appeared.
Welt Yang watched as Welt-One was nearly consumed, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. His body was still injured, and using the power of the Herrscher of Reason put a strain on him.
Tesla took out a handkerchief and stood on her toes to wipe the blood from his mouth. To accommodate her height, Welt Yang bent down slightly.
"I didn't expect the clone to be this complete. Cocolia really is..." Welt Yang said. If such clones could be mass-produced, Cocolia would possess an invincible army.
"We will not allow Cocolia to do as she pleases," Tesla said, putting the blood-stained handkerchief back in her pocket. "But... you don't look like you've been resting well."
At this distance, she could clearly see how exhausted he looked.
Welt Yang had a strange expression. The Will of Honkai had reconnected its 'internet cable' to him. It had ordered him to kill Otto, and when he refused, it had started sending him incomprehensible whispers at random times of the day, making it impossible for him to sleep.
It was trying to break his will on a spiritual level.
As expected of the Will of Honkai.
But I will not yield.
If he gave in and killed Otto, the Will of Honkai would probably order him to harm humanity next. He couldn't allow that to happen.
"I will explain everything once Einstein arrives," Welt Yang said. He planned to tell Tesla and Einstein about the Will of Honkai. After all, if he couldn't even trust them, there was no one left in the world he could trust.
"Mm." Tesla sensed he had something important to say and nodded.
"Urgh..."
At that moment, a final groan escaped from Welt-One. Tesla and Welt Yang turned simultaneously to look at him as he was almost completely swallowed by the black hole.
They both felt a bit uneasy.
Because Welt-One's face bore the shadow of Walter Joyce.
"Be at peace," Welt Yang said softly.
No, I don't want to die! I am the Herrscher of Reason! I am the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy!
Gazing at the endless night sky, Welt-One reached his left hand toward the crescent moon.
He saw golden threads in the sky. They descended, wrapping around his hand, then burrowing into his body.
What is this?
Welt-One was momentarily stunned, but his thoughts ceased in the next instant as he was completely consumed by the pseudo-black hole.
"Hah."
Welt Yang let out a breath. He disliked these clones, but for the sake of stability within Anti-Entropy, he had to tolerate some of Cocolia's actions. And Cocolia had always been very good at staying on the right side of that red line. Unless she openly betrayed the organization, there was no good pretext to deal with her.
"Let's wait for Einstein to return. Did Siegfried come this time?" Welt Yang asked. He and Siegfried were old acquaintances, comrades who had fought side-by-side.
"That guy Siegfried is still back at HQ, drinking his sorrows away. Serves him right for handing his own daughter over to that bastard Otto," Tesla said, gritting her teeth.
Just thinking about the message Otto had made Siegfried deliver made her want to stick a few more needles into the paper effigy with Otto's name on it in her room.
"But Otto did a good job in Nagazora this time. With Cocolia causing trouble, the low casualty count was truly a miracle." The birth of a Herrscher was always accompanied by disaster, Welt Yang noted.
Tesla just snorted. "A dog can't change its ways. He must be plotting something."
Tesla, Otto's chief hater, spat on the ground. Welt Yang said no more. Tesla was never calm when it came to Otto.
"However, the Third Herrscher isn't in St. Freya. Siegfried's daughter is, though."
Welt Yang knew the purpose of this invasion. Cocolia's goal of capturing the Third Herrscher was doomed to fail. The Herrscher energy signature they had detected was most likely his own, leaked by accident when the Will of Honkai had suddenly contacted him.
Cocolia had mistaken her own boss for the Third Herrscher.
After all, she never would have imagined that the long-missing Sovereign of Anti-Entropy was hiding right inside Schicksal's headquarters.
"Hmph, it's good enough that we exhausted some of her forces. It seems Cocolia really went all-in this time. But the Third Herrscher..."
"Dammit, she's with that golden-haired mongrel Otto, too."
"Why don't we take Kiana back while Otto isn't here?"
Welt Yang shook his head at Tesla's suggestion.
"She is in St. Freya. Theresa will treat her well. And she is an important part of our plan."
"I have to go back after I explain things to you, before someone notices I'm gone."
"Tesla, contact Einstein. Make sure nothing has gone wrong," Welt Yang said.
Tesla took out her communication device. Just as she was about to contact Einstein, a very familiar voice drifted into her and Welt's ears.
"Oh?"
"Einstein isn't here?"
"But, Tesla, you really haven't grown at all."
"And..."
"Is this Joachim? You're taller than me now. You look just like your father."
Welt Yang and Tesla whipped their heads around. They stared at the spot where the black hole had just vanished. By all rights, everything there should have been annihilated.
But a slender figure was standing there.
It was a man.
He had long, deep-blue hair and light-blue eyes. His features were handsome, and he exuded a gentle, scholarly aura. He wore a white dress shirt with a blue tie, a black-and-grey hooded coat, and blue-grey slacks.
Golden threads, visible to no one, were wrapped around his body.
He looked at Welt Yang and Tesla with a gentle gaze.
Tesla and Welt Yang held their breath.
"Why is no one talking?"
"It's been decades. Don't you recognize me?"
He... revealed a smile.
"It's me."
"It's me, Walter Joyce."