From the void of space, Selene quietly observed Rick's group. Seeing them discover the results of her "work," she nodded with satisfaction. She might have declared that she would seek strength at any cost—but that didn't mean she had to abandon all traces of humanity.
Before returning, she erased the zombie virus from Earth entirely.
"It's over," she murmured. "Time to go home."
As soon as she made her choice, her surroundings distorted like a warped painting. Through her control of space, she could feel her body being displaced across dimensions.
...
Academy City, District 2 — Schicksal Research Institute, Underground Storage Bay.
A surge of violet-red light filled the chamber as a circular portal rippled open midair. Out of it stepped a single high-heeled shoe—black with orange trim—followed by the rest of Selene's elegant Herrscher form.
Once she was fully through, the portal collapsed into nothingness behind her.
"Ugh…" Selene groaned softly, pressing a hand to her temple as she knelt on one knee. A wave of weakness washed over her, accompanied by a faint sense of rejection from the world around her.
As expected—after absorbing a World Core, the aura of an invader clung to her, provoking rejection from every other world. If not for the fact that she was, technically, an "inhabitant" of this one, the suppressive pressure would have been far worse.
"This weakness... so it's true. I've left the range of the World Core's authority."
She sighed softly, then smiled faintly. "Still, the gains were worth it. Time to get familiar with this new power."
Closing her eyes, Selene could now feel the electromagnetic field itself—the subtle interactions between charged particles, the invisible currents weaving through the air. She could manipulate them with ease, suppress or redirect them at will.
A satisfied nod followed. "Perfect. Electromagnetic control... far better than I'd hoped. Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, after all."
Through this expanded sense, she confirmed that the research institute was empty—it must have been late at night. Her body rose silently, melding through the concrete like vapor as she ascended to the upper floors.
Selene needed to check her office—to verify the date and compare the time flow between worlds.
She had taken a one-month leave of absence from Tokiwadai Middle School before leaving, and had spent about twenty days in The Walking Dead world. If the time ratios were different, she might still be within her approved leave.
The electronic clock on the wall blinked in the darkness. Everything in the office was just as she left it—spotless, orderly, a neat stack of documents centered on the desk. Someone had clearly been maintaining the place in her absence.
"So... only three days have passed here since I left the A Certain Magical Index world?" she muttered. "While I spent nearly three weeks in another... Looks like the time flow really is different between worlds."
She exhaled a small sigh of relief.
Still within her leave period. No trouble explaining her absence. No need for excuses.
Sinking into the sofa, Selene reflected on the past weeks. Looking back, it had almost felt like a leisurely outing—smooth, effortless, without much pressure.
When she had first entered The Walking Dead world, her plan was simple: lie low in a city for ten or fifteen days, wait for her powers to recover, then consume the World Core and complete her Herrscher evolution.
But after seeing the characters of that world, she hadn't been able to resist intervening—and somehow, it had turned into all that. Even she hadn't expected to become so... soft-hearted.
"Well, plans never keep up with reality," she said with a faint laugh. "That's life."
At least she'd gained everything she wanted from that world—power, experience, insight. Helping them in return was a fair exchange.
"Now... time to assess my current state."
As she thought that, a familiar interface appeared before her eyes. "Still too plain," she said, frowning slightly. "Needs... something."
Then her eyes lit up. "Got it."
After a few adjustments, the interface expanded into a detailed status sheet—modeled after a certain familiar "monthly report" format.
Name: Selene von Habsburg
Race: Herrscher
Gender: Female
Height / Weight: 164 cm / 54 kg
Attribute: Honkai
Alignment: Chaos / Evil
Innate Abilities:
[Absolute Honkai Adaptation] — Derived from the Kaslana bloodline. The blood itself carries dominant traits such as superhuman strength, robustness, and tenacity. After full Herrscher transformation, these traits have ascended to an even higher level.
[Honkai Manipulation] — Originating from the Schariac bloodline. After achieving Herrscher form, Selene gained powerful command over Honkai energy and the ability to exert absolute control over its flow and manifestation.
[Space Manipulation] — The ability to create and control layers of imaginary space superimposed over real space, usable for both offense and defense. Imaginary space refers to everything beyond the four-dimensional reality humans inhabit—an infinite realm of alternate dimensions. Selene's power acts as the bridge between imaginary and real space, projecting entities from one into the other and transforming them at will.
[Electromagnetic Mastery] — Absolute control over electromagnetic forces. Selene can expand this ability in limitless ways according to her understanding, such as generating an "ultra-electrical field" that nullifies physical and energy-based attacks, or an "electromagnetic pulse" capable of breaking molecular bonds.
Skills: Spatial Teleportation, Spatial Shift, Phase Shuttle, Subspace Lance, Subspace Ribbon, Imaginary Space, Imaginary Hand, Imaginary Conversion, Imaginary Barrier, Imaginary Claw, Imaginary Cube, Imaginary Spear, Void Unleashed, Temporal Shock, Space-Time Prison, Honkai Arrow... (the list goes on).
This new panel gave Selene a clearer, more intuitive grasp of her evolution.
After becoming a Herrscher, even her race classification had changed. She no longer needed food—sustaining herself solely by absorbing imaginary energy.
Her physical capabilities had also skyrocketed. Her raw arm strength alone now measured in tons; even without using her abilities, she could physically tear down entire blocks of buildings.
Among all these abilities, Space Manipulation remained the core—her most familiar and developed power. Manipulating space meant manipulating the imaginary itself; it was the bridge between the abstract and the real, allowing her to project, control, and reshape anything within both realms.
Honkai Manipulation, on the other hand, marked the true evolution of her power. Honkai was the source of all Honkai energy—and mastering it meant Selene had transitioned from a carrier to a creator.
Before, Honkai Energy Manipulation merely allowed her to extract Honkai energy from imaginary space. Now, as a full Herrscher, that ability had ascended to Honkai Manipulation. She herself had become a Honkai source—creating energy was now as effortless as thought.
The newly gained Electromagnetic Mastery gave her control over one of the universe's four fundamental forces—an ability with near-limitless potential for development.
Her overall power had multiplied several times over. Even if she had not yet reached Level 6—Absolute Ability—her strength had long since surpassed the scope of Level 5.
Such gains were more than enough. Though her pursuit of strength was relentless, Selene still knew when to be satisfied.
"What I need most now," she mused, "is to stabilize and adapt to this sudden surge in power—to make sure my control is solid."
She also planned to develop new applications of her Electromagnetic Mastery to broaden her combat options.
With her goals set, Selene began reviewing the stack of documents on her desk.
As she opened the first folder, she sensed someone approaching—Shuji Matsuzaki's familiar energy signature.
Moments later, the office door opened. Dressed in a white lab coat, Shuji stepped in, his eyes lighting up with relief and surprise.
"Boss! You've returned!"
Selene glanced up from the file, replying calmly, "Not long ago."
"Excellent. Everything here has been running smoothly," she added, flipping through the reports. "Good work."
Hearing her praise, Shuji visibly relaxed, a trace of pride crossing his face. "Thank you for your confidence, Boss."
Selene waved a hand dismissively, though her expression softened. "Still as humble as ever."
Then, shifting the topic, she said, "Good timing. I have a new task for you. Expand production on the military robot project. Its performance is stable enough for mass deployment and has reached export quality."
Shuji nodded, immediately understanding the implication—but wisely refrained from asking where or how she had tested them. "Understood. Will the exports be for Academy City or beyond? If it's international, we'll need authorization from the Board of Directors. If internal, I can arrange procurement through the security corps."
"Both," Selene replied. "But prioritize domestic supply for now. Once production stabilizes, we'll move to the global market."
"Understood!" Shuji answered firmly.
...
Three days later.
Selene could feel the world's rejection of her fading. As an indigenous being of the A Certain Magical Index world, this was expected—this world was more tolerant of her presence than others.
In the time since her return, she had fully adapted to the weakness caused by leaving the World Core's influence and had reorganized the research institute's operations.
It was much like having a "domain." Within The Walking Dead world, her combat strength had increased exponentially—it had been her world. To put it simply, if her base power here was 1, it had been 7 or even 10 there. But outside her own domain, her power reverted to 1.
In entirely foreign worlds, it could even fall below that, depending on each world's rejection effect. That was why adaptation time was necessary—to restore her full combat potential.
Having finished reviewing both her personal gains and the institute's progress, Selene turned her thoughts to her other identity: Director.
She had largely neglected her duties on the Board of Directors since acquiring the position. That wouldn't do—if used wisely, such a title could become a powerful tool.
But handling bureaucratic politics herself was impractical. She lacked the patience—and the interest—for such petty maneuvering. Better to find someone competent to manage it for her, while she simply acted as the intimidating figurehead.
Selene rubbed her temples, exhaling softly. "So... who should I pick?"
Then, suddenly, an image flashed through her mind—of a certain butler.
Her eyes lit up.
"Of course. I know just the person."