"You know, Kiana, the past I have in this world is fake too."
"Huh?"
Elias gently patted Kiana's head. If it could bring her a little comfort, he didn't mind exposing the lie about his identity—a backstory forged by the system to help him integrate into this world.
Kiana stared at him in shock. She had never imagined that Elias, too, might have a past as false as her own.
To her, he had always seemed so real—especially now, he felt like the only real thing left in her world.
"Elias... your past, it wasn't good either?"
"No. I just can't return to it."
He thought of that other beautiful, blue planet—Earth, his homeland in a previous life.
Elias knew there was no going back to his true home. Often, he shared in Fu Hua's lament: "When I wake, I fear it was all a dream. My past forgotten—where then is my home?"
But so what?
No matter how much he longed for the past, Elias was already here. He could only move forward.
He chose to live fully in the present.
To let the past, truly become the past.
"One night, I burned all my memories. From then on, my dreams became clear."
"One morning, I cast away all my yesterdays. From then on, my steps became light."
"When you're lost, just look around you, Kiana. I will always be by your side. We will always be by your side."
As he spoke, Elias gently cupped Kiana's face and had her look behind him and around them.
Only then did the girl realize—
Mei, Bronya, Fu Hua, Rita, Himeko, Theresa, Ji Xuanyuan, Wendy, and many other Valkyries of St. Freya were all gazing at her with eyes full of concern.
So many warm and caring gazes rested upon her, and yet she had never noticed until now.
"Everyone..."
Kiana stared blankly at the group. Seeing their normally bright and cheerful paramecium looking so pitiful and vulnerable now tugged at everyone's heart.
"Kiana, we'll always be with you!"
"That's right! No matter who you were before, you're now a Valkyrie of St. Freya Academy!"
"Elias is right. Your past shouldn't shackle your future."
"Don't give up, Kiana. Never give up. We'll stay by your side."
"Kiana! Your Aunt Teri is also an artificial human! Created by that bastard Grandpa too! So no matter what, you're still my dear niece!"
"Kiana, you'll always be our friend!"
In that moment—
Big, heavy tears streamed from the girl's eyes.
The despair in Kiana's heart was completely shattered.
So what if her name was borrowed?
So what if her past was fake?
Even if her very birth was nothing more than a human experiment never recognized by the world—so what?!
"See, Kiana? Even if you abandon all that, you still have so much beauty in your life."
Elias gently embraced the girl in his arms, and Kiana wept tears of joy, overwhelmed with emotion.
"You're right... I still have so much that's beautiful."
"Yeah. So it's time to be strong again. Don't forget, you're a Valkyrie of St. Freya Academy. As a Valkyrie, you must fight to protect those beautiful things."
"Mm!"
Kiana nodded vigorously and wiped away her tears.
In that moment, she was no longer lost, no longer afraid.
The girl's blue eyes looked straight toward the Fool in the sky.
Even if her name, her origin, and her very birth were all mistakes, she had still found her future! St. Freya Academy was her true home! And Elias' side was where she belonged!
"I won't run anymore! For all the people I love, and all those who love me! To protect the happiness I have now, I will—never despair again!"
Kiana's blue eyes were full of resolve. In that moment, Elias seemed to see a glimpse of the Herrscher of Flamescion from another timeline. He couldn't help but feel both pride and relief.
"That's the spirit, Kiana. I will protect you. I will light your path. Ich liebe dich — this is my eternal vow to you. I love you!"
"Mm! As long as you're with me, I can do anything!!"
Kiana looked at the boy in front of her and tightly held Elias' hand. She would never feel despair again.
Because she knew—even if she lost everything, this one person would still stand by her side.
He loved her so deeply.
And she—
Had already fallen hopelessly in love with him.
Perhaps because of that false past, many had seen Kiana as an unfortunate girl. But now, she felt there was no one in the world more fortunate than her!
The one she loved—loved her back just as deeply.
What could be more beautiful or lucky than that?
Elias smiled as well. One hand holding Kiana's, the other lifting the Judgment of Shamash: Might of An-Utu—toward Otto.
The boy raised the sword of rebellion to the heavens!
In the moment his gaze shifted away from the girl, his gentleness gave way to cold fury.
"You over there, damn Otto! Because of you, my Kiana—my angel—cried. For that sin, death a thousand times would not suffice!"
"..."
Onboard the Schicksal warship—
Otto took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He looked at the Honkai energy detector in his hand and found that Kiana's Honkai levels had returned to normal.
Absurd, yet undeniable.
The despair he had so carefully crafted... was shattered just like that? In the end, it had only taken one kiss, one confession, and a few words of encouragement from that boy!
"It seems I've hoisted myself with my own petard. The bond between Elias and K423 isn't just the key to awakening her humanity post-Herrscher transformation—it's also the shield that prevents her from falling into despair in the first place."
(Now that K423 has accepted her past and decided to move forward, she's surpassed the despair I gave her. Her heart is stronger than before. The awakening of the Herrscher of the Void has actually become more difficult.)
Otto clenched his fist.
He stared intently at the pair of youths below. Equal parts rage and envy roiled within him. He couldn't help but think—if only he, five hundred years ago, could've been like Elias...
"Hahahaha, hmph, hahahaha~! Very well~ very well... Emotions truly are more powerful than I imagined. I've always believed the bonds between people could become a pure and powerful force—but I still underestimated it."
In the end, he'd made a clown of himself.
Otto covered his face with one hand.
But in the next second, his voice turned cold.
"Then I'll destroy your happiness. If St. Freya Academy is your sanctuary, then let us see if you can still cling to hope after it lies in ruins."
"All Schicksal warships, fire all main cannons!"
In an instant, over a dozen Schicksal warships lit up with energy beams. Terrifying Honkai energy blasts surged toward St. Freya Academy—a bombardment no city wall could withstand. A single volley was enough to reduce half a city to ashes.
Cautious and calculating as always, Otto Apocalypse had already prepared all Schicksal forces to open fire.
There was no chance for anyone to stop it.
Yet—when the smoke and dust finally cleared...
"What?!"
Otto stared in disbelief at St. Freya Academy on the ground, now enveloped in a pure white barrier.
The terrifying simultaneous barrage from the warships hadn't damaged a single brick, blade of grass, or piece of wood!
"Did you really think I was just enjoying school life all this time? Otto, don't be so sure everything is within your calculations. I thought I'd already taught you that lesson."
Elias raised Might of An-Utu in its 0th Power mode.
With a single strike of a basic Shamash Assault Slash,
The searing flames—the embodiment of the truth called power—engulfed the warship Otto stood upon.
That battleship's shield, capable of withstanding Judgment-class Honkai Beast attacks, didn't even last three seconds before being breached. In the blink of an eye, Elias took down the flagship.
Most of the seasoned Valkyries abandoned ship in time. Clad in Valkyrie armor, even a fall from such heights wouldn't cause them serious harm.
But Otto, always behind the scenes and never a frontline fighter, couldn't react in time. His soulium body was vaporized in the flames.
Though, of course, it was only one of his many bodies.
"A little greeting in return."
"...Quite something, Elias."
"Oh? Looks like you brought more bodies with you this time. Good—one isn't enough for me to kill."
Elias sneered coldly as Otto emerged from another ship.
"..."
Otto, now in another backup body, eyed the white-haired boy warily—the boy who had just taken down one of Schicksal's warships in a single blow—and the barrier that had withstood the main cannon barrage.
No single Herrscher power could've created such a vast shield so quickly—unless it was...
The Herrscher of Reason, fully prepared in advance!
Otto now realized the truth.
Elias must have used the power of the Herrscher of Reason to transform St. Freya Academy into a full-scale fortress!
At this point, the academy's defenses might rival those of Anti-Entropy—even Schicksal headquarters itself!
Only the Herrscher of Reason could achieve such a feat.
To turn a defenseless academy into a fortress on par with the strongest institutions in the world in such a short time—this Herrscher's power was simply too suited for building and accumulation.
And just as expected—
Mechs from Anti-Entropy and Aesir mechs from Schicksal emerged from underground hangars. In moments, they closed the numerical gap that should have been absolute.
"Since you want war, then let's have war! Let's see who's left standing! All units—fire!"
A one-man army—this is the Herrscher of Reason.
With Elias' command, the mechs began firing all at once. Bullets, lasers, heavy artillery—a nonstop barrage blasted toward Schicksal's ships above.
"You really are full of surprises. Valkyrie units, full deployment!"
Otto responded, ordering his Valkyries to launch.
And the moment both sides clashed—
The war between mechs and maidens had begun.
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